Springtime in Yuma Arizona - The Lockdown Continues

Hi there, welcome back to the story. Our last chapter ended on Sunday, April 5^th, while we were still hunkered down in Yuma, Arizona, sheltering in place due to the COVID19 pandemic. Monday was a chores day. Since we are grounded we don't get to go out much, but I left the coach about 9:30 to make another visit to the local Ford dealer. As most regular readers will know, our car is a 2017 Ford C-Max, which is a plug-in hybrid. The car comes with a 120 volt charger which plugs into a standard outlet and then into the car. The commercial chargers you see in parking lots are 240 volt models that charge the car twice as fast, but the one that came with the car will do it in about 6 hours, so it works overnight. At any rate, I have been noticing for the last couple weeks that I was getting a red “fault” light on the charger. It usually happened towards the end of the charge period and would reset when I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in. I did some research and learned that they had problems with the chargers in the past overheating, so in 2016 they came out with a new model with a device inside which would show a fault light if it started getting too warm, and shut it off if the heating continued. I suspected that this device was going bad, but it was intermittent. I went to the dealer fully expecting that they would plug it in, see that it was working, and say they couldn't do anything without seeing the problem. I only wanted to get it on the official record that I had seen a problem because the car's warranty is up at the end of this year. To my surprise, the service consultant at Alexander Ford here in Yuma listened and took both the car and charger into the shop and said they would check it out.

It took two hours, during which I took a little walk and got a nearby geocache. When the tech came out he said that their tests had determined that the charger was indeed going bad and they had ordered a new one under warranty. I was impressed. They even washed the car. Great service. On the way home I stopped and picked up a take and bake pizza for dinner, then went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the day in, getting some chores done around the coach. We had cocktails and then pizza for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, April 7^th, we decided we needed to get out of the house for a bit, so the three of us drove southwest out of the Foothills and down to San Luis, Arizona. San Luis is one of the three major border towns in Arizona, the others being Nogales in Central Arizona, South of Tucson, and Douglas in Eastern Arizona. The Mexican town on the other side is San Luis Rio Colorado and is in the State of Sonora. We have never been to San Luis because we don't like to go into the big Mexican border cities. Algodones is just fine for us for Mexican visits. San Luis is a fairly big town, almost 40,000 population, with almost 99 percent of the population Hispanic. San Luis Rio Colorado has a population approaching 200,000. In keeping with our virus protection protocols we just drove around town, doing some “drive by tourism” in the area. The downtown ar

ea right at the border crossing is pretty dumpy, but the areas away from the border are pretty nice with a number of new suburban housing developments. There are also some Barrio areas and while we were there a house fire brokeout in one of the them. They got it knocked down pretty quickly. After driving around San Luis we started back North towards Yuma, doing a little geocaching in the farming area North of San Luis, near Somerton, another small farming community. We were able to get ten new finds, and one DNF in about an hour. One of the finds was number 9,800 for us! Yea! We are on a quest to hit our 10K finds mark by end of this year. Less than 200 to go! After caching we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon inside. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then had leftover ham and bean soup for dinner. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.  It was the night of the full moon and had we not been quarantined we might have gone out to the desert for the "howl at the moon"gathering.  There is a country singer named Kelly Hughes who is from Idaho, but winters in Yuma.  He puts on a free concert in the desert on the night of the full moon during most of the winter months.  We have been to a couple and they are a lot of fun.  It has been called a "rave for seniors" by some.  However, with the virus scare they have been cancelled for the rest of this winter.  We did get a picture of the moon coming up over the mountains.

Wednesday, April 8^th, another day in lockup. Today we woke up to a stormy, rainy day. It rained on and off most of the day, sometimes pretty heavy with some strong winds. I was chasing patio furniture all day. We didn't go anywhere but did get a few things done around the coach. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and then Jackie served a big pot of clam chowder, which was great for the cool, wet day. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday was a quiet day. No rain, but we were still grounded. Peggy and Jackie colored each other's hair in the afternoon and I got some chores done. We had cocktails with Peggy then dinner at our house. We had leftover soups, a little bit of the ham and bean and some of the chowder. After dinner Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime. Friday we had another day of expected rain. We mostly stayed home and dog-sat Belle because Peggy went out on a Jeep run with some friends of hers. We did go out and do a Walmart run in the morning and then did our laundry here at the RV park in the afternoon. Peggy got back in time for cocktails and then after cocktails we had a nice dinner of chicken curry that Jackie made. After Peggy went home we watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 11^th, the weather cleared again, although it was a little chilly. Although it was another stay at home day, I did go out by myself briefly in the morning to drive to the Ford dealer and pick up my new charger for the car. The old one was having issues and they replaced it under warranty. We spent another day in the house doing chores, today cleaning out a couple more closets. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then did some chicken on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, April 12^th, Happy Easter. We had a stay at home holiday. Spent most of the day relaxing. After our 5:00 happy hour I did two racks of ribs on the BBQ for a non-traditional Easter dinner. The three of us had ribs, coleslaw and baked beans for dinner and it was wonderful. After dinner the girls played some cards, then after Peggy went home we watched some TV and headed to bed. Monday we left the coach about 11:30 with Peggy and drove to the mall on the other end of town. We went through the drive through at In N Out and picked up lunch, which we had to eat in the car in the parking lot as the dining room was closed. It was still a great lunch and the first outside food we have had in a month. After lunch we drove to rural farming area southwest of town to do some geocaching. We are fortunate that there are a large number of geocaches in the rural areas. They are not very challenging, mostly just caches for the numbers, but at least we were outside on a nice day and not around any other people. In a couple of hours we were able to score 20 new finds with no DNFs. After caching we headed back home, stopping at KFC on the way to pick up some more coleslaw. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then a repeat of last night's dinner with leftover rib and some more beans and coleslaw. The girls played some more cards, then Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 14^th, still on lockdown. Had a stay at home day. Had cocktails at 5:00 and then dinner for the three of us. I made a tuna casserole for us and it was pretty good. After dinner the girls played some cards, then Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we had another stay at home day for the most part. About 5:30 the three of us left and drove to another RV park a couple of miles west to visit with my brother Ken and his wife Susan, who had just come down to Yuma from their home in Goodyear, Arizona, for a brief visit. Ken, who is my youngest brother by 20 years, and Susan have been RVing for about ten years now and have always told us that they want to go full time as soon as they can retire. They just moved up from a mid-size trailer to a 40 foot Newmar Kountry Star diesel pusher motor home. They have only had it out a couple of times and wanted to take it on a little longer trip to work out any bugs. We were anxious to see it. When we got to the RV park we got a tour of the new coach. It is about the same size as ours, and the exterior is similar, mostly grey and silver. The interior is all tile and grey leather and the coach has one of the new full length slides on the drivers side, which really gives the impression of open space. They really have a coach now that can accommodate an easy full time lifestyle. Susan has a couple more years before she can retire, so they have time to get into the rhythm of the motor home. We sat and talked for an hour, but then left so they could rest after their travel day. They will be here for about five days. After we got home we had dinner at Peggy's, she made a chicken and linguine dish with a mushroom cream sauce that was quite good. After dinner the girls played some cards, then we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, April 16^th, we went out after lunch with Peggy and did some more rural geocaching. Again we were able to get 20 new finds, and no DNFs, in a couple of hours. After caching we went back to the coach, did a few chores and relaxed. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched TV and then went to bed. Friday we stayed at home. Mid afternoon Ken and Susan came over to spend the day with us. We sat outside and talked for most of the afternoon and had an enjoyable time. At 5:00 we did happy hour and then around 6:30 I did some burgers and brats on the BBQ for dinner, along with beans, mac salad and coleslaw. Another great dinner, although it got a little windy and cool towards the end. Peggy went home after dinner and Ken and Susan came in our coach and visited for another hour or so. After they left to go back to their coach we watched a little TV, then went to bed.

Saturday, April 19^th, another day in lockdown. We had a quiet, stay at home day. Got a few chores done, but mostly relaxed. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then Peggy served an Asian chicken dish for dinner. It was an new recipe for her, but it came out pretty good. After dinner we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime. Sunday Jackie and I left the RV park after lunch, drove over to the park where Ken and Susan are staying, and picked them up for an afternoon of COVID-safe geocaching. We got Ken and Susan interested in geocaching about seven or eight years ago and they are still caching. We went in our car since they have a new Jeep Wrangler that is lifted and setting on big tires, making it too high for Jackie to be able to get in and out of easily. We drove to the farm country southwest of Yuma and started caching. In a couple of hours we were able to get 25 new finds, along with a couple of DNFs. After caching we went back to the Foothills and dropped Ken and Susan off at their coach. We went back to ours and after a little rest I drove to KFC to pick up dinner for everyone. Ken and Susan drove over to our place a little after 5:00 and we had happy hour and sat outside and talked. About 6:30 we had dinner after which Peggy left and went back to her place. Ken and Susan stayed and talked until about 8:30 when they left for home. We watched some TV and went to bed. Ken and Susan are leaving to go home tomorrow. They actually have jobs! Our plans are to go to Goodyear, Arizona, for a week after we leave here in May, so we should see them again in just a few weeks.

Monday, April 20^th, Happy Anniversary to my brother Ken and his wife Susan on their 24^th anniversary. We had a stay at home and relax day. Didn't do much of anything until happy hour. Drinks with Peggy and Belle, then dinner at Peggy's. She made a cheese and sausage pasta dish that was very good. Had a nice meal and went back to our coach about 8:00. We watched a little TV and went to bed. Tuesday was another shelter in place day. Stayed in and around the coach all day. Had our usual happy hour and then dinner at our place for the three of us. Jackie made pasta and calamari in a cream sauce. Very good dinner. The girls played some cards, Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, April 22^nd, we needed to get out of the house, so about 10:00 the three of us got in our car and drove East to Wellton, a small farming community in Eastern Yuma County. It was only 23 miles from the RV park, but it was a rural, desert community with about 3,000 population. We did some geocaching there, getting eleven new finds in a couple hours. We had lunch at a Jack in the Box drive through, did a little sightseeing, then by 1:30 we were headed back over the mountains to the Yuma Foothills area. We were back home by 2:00 and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and leftover pasta for dinner at Peggy's house. After we got home we watched TV and went to bed. Thursday was a stay at home day. Did a few chores but mostly relaxed. Jackie made chili relleno for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Friday, April 24^th, we left the coach about 9:00 with Peggy and drove to Sam's Club to do some shopping. We wanted to get there early to beat the crowds and also the heat. The triple digit temperatures are starting this week in Yuma. We got our supplies and headed for home. After we got the car unloaded we stayed in for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then had left over chili relleno for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and then went to bed. Saturday was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out to Frys after lunch to do some shopping, but other than that we stayed in for the day. We had cocktails at 5:00, then did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner. The girls played some cards and then after Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, April 26^th, was another stay at home day. Today was the hottest day yet, about 103, so we stayed in except for our morning walk. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then did some hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed. Today marks another three week mark for the blog, so it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, stay safe and pray we can all start to enjoy whatever we like to do again soon. See ya.

Winter in Yuma Arizona - Part 4 - The COVID Lockdown!

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, March 15^th, while we were still in Yuma, Arizona. Monday was another stay at home day for the most part. We are in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic panic of 2020, with all events and gatherings being canceled, including the two RV rallies we were go to starting this week in the Tucson area. Fortunately, we already had reservations at this park to the middle of April, so travel wise we weren't affected. Peggy was able to add another month to her reservations so at least until mid April we will remain hunkered down here in Yuma. Monday afternoon we watched the last 45 minutes of the film The Irishman, a Martin Scorsese mob film. It was a great movie, but at three and a half hours, a little too long. About 5:00 we drove over to another Foothills area RV park, Carefree Village, to have cocktails and dinner with Clark and Judi McKay. We had also stayed at Carefree for the previous three winters, but were not able to get reservations there this winter. We had cocktails and a very nice dinner with the McKays and talked for a couple of hours. We left around 7:30 and went back home. After we got in the coach we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, March 17^th, Happy St. Patrick's day. Of course, due to the ongoing virus crisis there are no celebrations. It appears that the dinner here at the park was not canceled, but we hadn't planned to go anyway. I got a nice, big five pound corn beef in the crock pot at 8:00 this morning and had two big heads of cabbage and some carrots standing by for cooking later. The news of the crisis continues to show more and more of a trend towards an unofficial martial law in the country. The government is now calling for the canceling of any gathering of more than ten people. Individual states are mandating the closure of bars, restaurants, theaters and any other place where people gather. I went to the store yesterday and the shelves are still eerily empty. Unlike a lot of people this does not scare me as much as piss me off. We did go out after lunch to the Dollar Store to try and return a hundred plus dollars worth of table cloths and decorations that Jackie had bought for the Monaco rally. The receipt said no refunds and the store manager confirmed that they would not refund the money or give a credit. She could exchange them for a hundred dollars worth of something else, but no refunds. After we got back home we just relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then a very nice corn beef and cabbage dinner at 7:00 with Peggy. We watched a little TV after dinner and then went to bed.

Wednesday, March 18^th, we woke up to more rain. So far this year Yuma has gotten as much rain as it normally gets in a year, which is not really that much. Since it was cold and wet we had another stay at home day. Of course, the governments has us grounded anyway. We got a few chores done but mostly relaxed. For dinner Peggy made some Ruben sandwiches for us with leftover corn beef. It was really good. We watched some TV after Peggy left, then just relaxed for the rest of the day. Thursday I was out of the house about 9:30 and heading back to the local Ford dealer. Since we had the car serviced last week there has been a high pitched whistle inside the car which I finally narrowed down to something in the heating/air conditioning system. Before I got my hearing aides I would have never heard it. It varies in tone depending on the speed of the fan and stops when the fan is shut off. Since they changed the cabin air filter in the system when they did the service, I suspect that there is a small air leak. They took the car in as soon as I got there and a technician took out and replaced the filter and the noise was gone, so I was correct. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Yea! On the way home I stopped at a couple of grocery stores to see if I could get some paper products, but still no joy anywhere. I also stopped at the local gun shop since I needed a new holster for my concealed carry. The place was buzzing, with a couple dozen people looking at guns. After I got home we just relaxed around the house as is our new normal now. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and had dinner at Peggy's. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, March 20^th, the first full day of Spring! I was planning on going down to Mexico to get some adjustments on my hearing aides, but this last night the government issued an order to close the border to people just crossing for recreation and shopping. I think technically I could have gone, but I decided the work I was looking to have done was not important so we just stayed home. We spent the day around the house doing the usual things. Cocktails at 5:00, dinner at 7:00 and then a little TV before bed. Saturday we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. We had planned to go out to eat, but yesterday Yuma county reported it's first confirmed case of COVID19, a Marine at the air station, so under the Arizona Governor's orders, all restaurants and bars in Yuma County were ordered closed except for take out and drive through. We did get nine new finds and two DNFs in a couple of hours. After caching we stopped at Fry's for a few things, then went back home. We had hamburgers on the grill for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, March 22^nd, I decided to go out to Sam's Club on a supply run. We needed a few things, but mostly we were on our last bottle of vodka. I left the coach a little after 9:00 and got to the store around 9:30. The store opened at 10:00 and there was already a line halfway around the side of the building. I was probably number 50 or 60 in line. We all got in when the store opened I was close enough to the front of the line that I was able to get one of the large containers of paper towels, 15 rolls, before they ran out. They also had a lot of small water bottles, but we have good water and didn't really need that. I was able to get some paper plates, frozen fish, tuna, and a few other things we needed, including two cases (6 bottles) of vodka, one for us, one for Peggy. Still no toilet paper available, but we are OK for a few weeks. I stopped at a couple other stores in the area just to check on TP, but no luck. After I got home we relaxed for a while. We split the paper towels with Peggy and delivered the vodka. Around 5:00 Clark and Judi came over for cocktails and then we all did steaks on the BBQ and had a nice meal. After they left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, March 23^rd, we had another stay at home day, or shelter in place day as it is now known. Did a few chores but mostly just relaxed. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then we had dinner using the chicken I bought when I was at Sam's yesterday. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out and do a Walmart run after lunch to pick up a few things. We then stopped at Fry's just to see if they had things we were having a hard time getting. I was able to get toilet paper. Now Kleenex and hand sanitizer are the only things on our “yet to find” list. Yea! We spent the remainder of the day watching some of our shows on TV. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and Clark and Judi came over for bit too. They had been to Algodones today to finish up some ongoing dental work Judi had going. They said the dental office opened just for patients like her who had work to finish off. Everything else, restaurants, stores, medical places, were all closed. I think their season is over early. After cocktails the three of us went to Peggy's and had sausage and sauerkraut. for dinner. After dinner we went home and watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, March 25^th was another shelter in place day for us. Peggy went off on a Jeep run with her friends Don and Barb, but she left Belle with us to dog sit. We had a quiet day, getting a few chores done, including some revised travel planning. The plan now is to stay here in Yuma for another month, with our leaving date now pushed out to May 12^th. We hope that this virus thing will have peaked by then and it will be safe to travel. Assuming that, we will be going to Goodyear for a week, then back to Indio for a week and then up to Silent Valley for a month before hopefully going back to our original summer trip schedule. Not too sure what Peggy is going to do, but she will likely stay here until at least May before trying to go home to Northern California. I have talked to my brother Ken, who lives in the Phoenix area, and he and Susan are doing OK. Both are still working as Ken is a part time flight instructor and part time executive pilot, and Susan works for Southwest Airlines in the reservations office. They just bought a new 40' diesel pusher and are really upset that they are temporarily grounded from their hoped for travel. They did go to Gila Bend for a few days just as a test run.

My brother Russ, who works in Las Vegas is home on an enforced vacation as he works at a casino. The governor closed all casinos in Nevada, putting a million people out of work for a month. Right now they are getting paid, but that can't last long, even for a casino company. Our friends Dick and Millie Duffin came over for happy hour and let us know that they are headed back to Pahrump tomorrow. They feel that they will be safe there assuming they can avoid contact with people on the way. After cocktails we had dinner at our place with Jackie making chicken enchiladas, rice and beans. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, March 26^th, another stay at home day. I got a number of chores done today, including working on some small water leaks on the roof, weeding the yard and fixing some lights. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle and then did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we are still staying at home for the most part. Peggy and Jackie went out after lunch and did a quick Fry's run for a few supplies. The stores seem to slowly be getting their shelves restocked after the panic buying from a month ago. I got a few more maintenance chores done around the coach. We had cocktails, then Peggy made dinner, a nice pork roast with sweet potatoes. After dinner we went back home and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, March 28^th, another chores and relaxation day. I got some storage cabinets rearranged and cleaned out and a few other chores. We had cocktails at 5:00 and I made a batch of stuffed peppers for dinner. After dinner Peggy left and we watched TV until bedtime. Sunday we went out after lunch to do a little geocaching. We were with Peggy and caching in a rural area of Southwest Yuma, so we weren't violating any “social distancing” rules. We were able to get a dozen new finds, and one DNF, in a couple of hours. After caching we stopped at Walmart for a couple things, then went back home and relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then Peggy turned the left over pork from the other night into chili verde. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, March 30^th, we had another stay at home day. My big project for the day was to finish the quarterly newsletter for the Full Timer's Chapter of FMCA. I got it done and ready to publish by late afternoon. I had been cooking a pot roast all day, so that's what we had for dinner. After dinner we spent some time with the TV and went to bed. Tuesday and still grounded, now it appears for at least 30 days. We stayed home, did a few chores and continued to safely relax. Cocktails at 5:00, a dinner of cheeseburgers on the grill later. Watched some TV, went to bed. Wednesday we decided to get out of the house for a bit and left after lunch to do some geocaching. Peggy didn't go, so it was just Jackie and I. We had a fun afternoon, getting 14 new finds along with two DNFs. It was also responsible pandemic caching in that we were in a rural area and never got closer than 50 feet to another human who was not sealed in a vehicle. Washed and disinfected after caching, then went home and relaxed for a bit. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then a nice dinner of tamales. After we got back to our coach we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, April 2^nd, was another stay at home day for the most part. I did some chores for Peggy that I had been putting off. Also did a few things around our coach. We mostly relaxed. After cocktails we had dinner at Peggy's, tacos. They were great. After we got home we did the TV thing and went to bed. Friday still grounded. I did go out before lunch, by myself, to do a supply run at Frys. Things are starting to look a little better in the stores. Still no toilet paper or paper towels, no disinfectant products like wipes or hand sanitizer. But the food isles are mostly full now, lots of dairy and eggs, meats, and most can goods. The pasta isle is still a little barren, but there are a few of most types now. I got our supplies, making sure to stay clear of people, then went back home. Did a few chores and some office work. For dinner the girls both had rack of lamb on the BBQ and I had a nice T-bone steak. We had some potatoes and asparagus to go with dinner. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Saturday, April 4^th, another day in the hunker bunker. Did get some office work done, including filing a dispute with the credit card company over the refusal of FMCA to refund all, or even any, of the $675 we paid for the canceled Tucson rally. Well over half that money was for the full hookup 50 amp parking site which FMCA would not have spent any money on yet. We had cocktails with Peggy and Belle, then dinner at our house. We had Asian pork ribs that had been cooking in the crock pot all day. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Sunday we Jackie and I went out after lunch and drove to Sam's Club. I needed to return a computer hard drive I had bought just two weeks ago that just stopped working. All of a sudden it gave error messages and then the computer wouldn't recognize the drive any more. I tried to do the reformat fix, but it still wouldn't work. Although I didn't have the box, I did have the receipt and documentation, so they refunded my money with no problem. As long as I was there I picked up some more vodka and a couple other little things. Jackie came along just to get out of the coach, but stayed in the car while I went in. After we got back to the coach we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails and then dinner with Peggy. She served some ham and bean soup which was excellent. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

It is now three weeks since we last published. Most readers will agree that this episode is pretty damn repetitive, and it is. However, it is something that we will want to remember in a year or two. It's like we are all living “Ground Hog Day” in real life. Same crap, different day. Oh well, this too shall pass. Until next time, remember the words of author C.J. Redwine. “Losing your head in a crisis is a good way to become the crisis.” Stay safe and see ya soon.