Getting Stockpiled, I Lost Kathy and Hot Pizza On The Grill.

Our Location today is La Posa South L.T.V.A., Quartzsite, Arizona, U.S.A.

As mentioned in last night’s Blog it was to be the coldest temperature since we headed to the Southwest back in November. Since I was unsuccessful at running the Propane Line for our Blue Flame Heater the only thing we could do was to cycle the Furnace before going to bed and then repeat the process as we ate breakfast this morning.

Also mentioned was that with the Government Shutdown things were going to change here as well with the services being affected. The sign by the front gate stated that the Water (Fresh and Non-Potable) would be shut down as of 11:00 MST this morning.

Being that Kathy and I have never experience this kind of thing there was a little concern as to what we would do for Fresh Water, Trash disposal and Waste disposal. Knowing how long it takes to fill our Waste Tanks the only concern I had was stocking up on Fresh Water. 

I woke before 6:00 this morning partly because I was cold and second because I intended to take care of our Water issue. Having left my clothes purposely in the Living Room last night I was dressed and out the door in minutes. Since there was still Twenty Gallons of Fresh Water in our Barrel I set up the pump to fill the Fresh Water Tank in the Trailer. That gave me time to get things ready in the back of the Truck. With the Empty Barrel I was soon off to refill it. 

It was close to 6:30 when I arrived at the Fresh Water Fill Area and there were others ahead of me. I managed to pull up to a Bib and immediately start filling our Barrel. Looking across the road there were RVs dumping their tanks while others were filling their Fresh Water. Suddenly just like a few days ago Cars, Trucks and RVs were forming lines to fill Tanks, Barrels, Jugs, whatever would hold water in an effort to beat the shutdown. 

Back at Home before 7:00 I was confident we would be able to ride out this Shutdown. The Temperature Gauge in the Truck showed 1 C (34 F) and even with the layers I was wearing it could be felt. I left the Fresh Water Barrel in the Truck and went inside out of the breeze. 

Instead of waking Kathy so early I got a real early start to reading my E-Mails, the News and Blogs on my Computer. When it dimmed due to a low battery I knew it was time to get things ready for breakfast and to wake Kathy. She kept herself snuggled in the warm Blankets and was shocked to see it was past 9:00 when I shook the covers.

Kathy’s hot cereal hit the spot and the Double Cup of Coffee helped me to lose some of the chill from my early morning. Around 10:00 Wayne came over to make certain that we knew about the Shutdown of services. It must have been cold because he was wearing Long Pants and a Jacket.

Our plans for later today was to check out the few vendors we had missed but with the Fresh Water Barrel being too heavy to take out of the Truck I tied it in with Cargo Straps. I also replaced a Propane Tank that was nearly Empty with our spare. 

We wanted something different for lunch so Kathy made us Peanut Butter and Jelly on Bagels. They were filling but didn’t leave us full and it had been quite some time since we’d had that for a snack let alone a meal. While we were eating I saw the Garbage Truck leaving the LTVA then a Front-End Loader and a Tractor with a Back-Hoe heading into the LTVA. Thinking that was strange since the Shutdown meant there would be no services. Kathy would later read that the Trash had been picked up and the Loaders had cleaned what was on the ground around the Bins. 

We headed down to Tyson Wells Road where we needed to find a certain vendor that’s not open on the weekends. With the traffic crawling along I dropped Kathy off while I went to park the Truck. Ten minutes after dropping her off I was parked and heading into the Vendor’s Area. I managed to find the vendor but Kathy wasn’t there. She has a habit of getting turned around so I tried calling her four times on her phone but she didn’t answer. I finally walked up and down every aisle in the Vendor’s Area twice before heading back to the Truck in case. Just then Kathy calls me on the phone wondering where I was. I just told her to stay put. Kathy liked a certain tone on her phone but you can’t hear it in her purse. She now has a different tone that everyone around her can hear. I didn’t let go of her hand until we were back in the Truck.

We checked out the other Vendor’s Areas before heading to RV Pitstop to refill our Empty Propane Tank. We then drove to Herb’s Hardware where I couldn’t find the “O” Rings I need but found the Electrical Boxes and Faceplates that are needed for another project.

The traffic had thinned by the time we headed Home. The temperature reached 59 F (15 C) and we even opened most of the windows for a while. I wanted to get started on replacing the Reading Lamps at the rear of the trailer but the early start to my day and my panicked search for Kathy left me drained. I needed a Snap in my recliner and when I mentioned that to Kathy she joined me. 

Shortly after 4:00 I went outside and prepped the Weber to cook up a Store-Bought Pizza. After it was lit we got the pizza ready and a Half-Hour later we were enjoying Fresh. Tasty, Hot Pizza. 

Amazing how zooming in changes the picture.

After all our concerns about the Government Shutdown Kathy read this evening it is temporarily over for another month. We’ll be better prepared for that one. Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment and click on the pictures to enlarge them. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You can get a haircut, a tattoo and a transmission rebuilt without leaving home.