Feb 18 -24, 2019 Boondocking in the Desert: Part 3

Feb 18
Time is just flying by this month. It's already the 18th! We are really enjoying our time out here. It's so relaxing and the nights are perfectly quiet so we sleep like babies. We are having a quiet morning, leisurely having breakfast and getting ready to go outside. Leslie did a long walk with Margaret while I stayed at the rig. My leg is improving but not for long walks yet. When Leslie got back we decided to try a bike ride around the area here. Riding a bike doesn't put as much stress on your calf as walking because you use different muscles to pedal, mostly thighs vs lower leg. It worked out pretty good. We rode together for a few miles and then I tried a faster ride on the road up to the gate house and back. Feels good to get out and get my lungs pumping again. 

A bike ride through the desert trails.

We had chores to do after lunch so we got in the truck and headed into town. Just the usual water / propane / gas for the genny run. Nothing super exciting. The rest of the day was just normal stuff. That's the relaxing part of this place.

Feb 19

We woke up to a major frost this morning!! Come to Arizona they said. It's warm they said! haha. Still not as bad as what Canada is getting. Even Vancouver Island is seeing snow this year and that is incredibly rare. We have been messaging with family and friends in BC and they have over a foot of snow! Incredible! We have frost on the truck cover....

Pretty frosty for southern Arizona.

We are dumping our tanks today and refilling with fresh water. Leslie and I got busy with that and after about 2 hours we were back in our spot and ready to go. 

I want to put in a couple paragraphs about a problem we have with our smaller generator and our surge protection unit that might help others with a similar system. We have an onboard Onan 5500 LP generator plus we are carrying a Yamaha EF2000IS for smaller loads and just charging batteries etc. The Yamaha has been flawless for 3 years but for some reason lately the built in Progressive Industries HW50C is shutting down power to the rig on fault code E9: Data Link Down. I have been doing some searching online and I did find a disclaimer from Progressive Industries voiding the warranty if using the Yamaha IS?? 

Yamaha Generator

Please be advised the Yamaha Generator Model EF2000iS does not generate enough start-up current which causes the unit to overload. The generator then puts out non-true Sine Wave power. Progressive Industries units are designed to operate only on True Sine Wave power.

For this reason, The Progressive Industries Warranty is hereby void if an EMS Unit is used in conjunction with a Yamaha Generator Model EF2000iS. Any damage sustained to the EMS unit are the sole responsibility of the customer.

I called Progressive Industries tech help and they said my problem was an open ground from the generator causing the fault code. I questioned that because the code is not E2, which is an open ground but an E9, Data Link Down. The tech said that I need to build a neutral bonding plug to put in the other receptacle on the genny and that would bond the genny to ground and clean up the frequency issue from the Yamaha. He believes that's why it throws the E9 code. The open ground throws the frequency out of sync.  I drove to town and bought a three prong male plug to build the neutral bond. It's on YouTube and images on google.

Explains how to build the plug.

My EMS, Progressive Industries HW50C

Well that didn't help and the Yamaha works through the display sometimes but not always. Back to the drawing board. Another call to Progressive and the tech is willing to send me a new remote display and cord because maybe that is the problem. I still don't know if he actually sent the display, 2 emails and a voicemail unanswered as to whether he sent it. (Update: I got the new display on Feb 27) I could still use the Yamaha for power if I shut off the display and technically "bypassed" the display. Power is still going through the EMS and the rig is protected but I have no display anymore. It's like running blind. I gave up on calling Progressive Industries anymore. That's a waste in my mind. I won't give up on figuring out why we are getting the code though, that's not my nature. More google searching and lots of thought and trying different things led me to the answer... finally. The EMS worked fine using the Onan generator. That is a clue. That made me look harder at the path from the Yamaha to the EMS. I cleaned and checked my extension cord connections and all the prongs on the plug to adaptor to the rig. I noticed a loose screw on the male plug on my extension cord so I grabbed a screwdriver to tighten it. That's when I finally found it !! The ground prong on my extension is loose! I took that apart and also found that the plastic is cracked on the plug and the ground screw can't be tightened. The cracked plastic just splits and leaves a loose ground. It makes contact sometimes but can be loose at times without being visible. I didn't take a picture of it but Leslie and I drove to town for a new three prong male plug. With the new plug on the cord I am happy to say I have no more error codes. Yayy! I did change the way I load the genny by shutting off the ECO mode while loading so that it's already running at higher rpm. I switch back to ECO mode after the amperage lowers a bit. My thought is that the output doesn't drop as much and according to my functioning display that's true. The disclaimer says the initial current is not enough so I hope the extra rpm takes care of that. I also make sure most of the high power draws are off. Voltage drops from 125 with no load to about 115 volts with a 14 amp load on startup. Plus I have the neutral bond plug on the second receptacle to correct any bonding issues. It has worked flawlessly again since fixing the cord.

The bonding plug in bottom and happily powering the rig on top!

Took me a while to figure this out but we don't need a new genny right away so that's great. I might look at a slightly larger generator but still one I can carry around and store in the truck box. We have time for that upgrade later.

Alrighty then, back to our day. While I was playing genny games Leslie went in to the QIA to play some indoor pickleball. She still enjoys playing as often as possible. It's not as much fun here as it was at High Chaparral by any means but she still gets a good workout. It's mostly an old boys club with a couple token girls; Leslie and a beginner player, Hanna. Leslie also picked up a few groceries while in town. We had dinner and then over to Steve and Dianne's for a couple TV shows. They have satellite TV :)

Feb 20

We got up a little earlier today because Leslie is going with Pam, Dawne & Marilyn to line dancing at the QIA. It's great she's taking advantage of all the free activities plus getting some time out with some of the other girls here. Dianne declined this event because of her knees. She's walking lots but not into the line dancing thing. The girls left around 9:30 for town and I'm doing some blog writing and some chores while they're gone.

Line dance lessons.

We both went for a walk when Leslie got back to the garbage bins and back. That's actually a good walk for me right now. My calf is still pulling pretty good. We kept busy for most of the afternoon and then over to Steve & Dianne's for happy hour and supper. It's the first episode of the new Survivor season! Steve PVR's it so we don't have to watch commercials. Awesome. Great start and they picked the right one to go to the edge of extinction.... da da da da insert dramatic music here lol.

Feb 21

We're all getting in our truck today for a trip to Blythe, California, about 25mi/ 40km away for some groceries and a look at a different BLM area north of that town. We did the morning routine and got going by about 10:30. No rush today. We crossed the California State Line and drive through an agricultural inspection station. They waved us right through without so much as a question. Nice! We must look like honest Canadians out for a drive.

It didn't take long and we exited off I10 to downtown Blythe. Not a huge place but it has all the big town amenities.

Across the State line in California.

Nice little doggy watching his sheep.

  Guessing he's about 120 pounds.

We think these are turkey vultures? Sheep in the background.

We're going for a look at Midland LTVA first and then come back for shopping. You drive through the town to the north and get to look at some really nice mountain scenery on the way. It's lots of farmland just outside town and the largest amount of sheep I have seen in different fenced pastures. Plus there are huge dogs walking around with the sheep no doubt keeping the coyotes at bay. 

We arrived at Midland LTVA and did a quick drive through to see where Steve & Dianne were in previous years with their friends Dennis & Charlene. Very open area and hardly anyone here right now. I'll keep this one in the memory banks. There is a dump station but you have to get fresh water in town.

Driving in the entrance, beautiful mountains in the back.

Tons of open space and places to park.

An interesting  plaque about a war simulation done here in 1964.

We drove back to town and stopped briefly at a Verizon store for Dianne to straighten some things out with them and then to a grocery store called Smart & Final. Not a big chain store but it had all the necessities for today. I waited outside with Margaret and quickly hit a car wash to blast some desert dust off the truck. Didn't take long and everyone was back in the truck for the drive back to our rigs. Thanks guys for showing us a new LTVA that we can stop at if necessary. 

The clouds and showers have been around all day but it's supposed to rain hard tonight. The forecast is showing lots of rain here in Q and up in Flagstaff at higher elevation they are bracing for a record 31 inches or almost a meter of snow tonight!! We all just cozied up for the evening and then listened to the rain all night.

Feb 22

This morning is cold and windy so we are just taking our time getting going. The rain has mostly stopped here but Flagstaff is still getting snow and it's raining hard in the Phoenix area. Barry and Ailsa's place in Cave Creek is getting a light dusting of snow and the rain too. They're up in Ft McMurray enjoying the -40 nights there. Flagstaff ended up breaking a 100 year record for snowfall, 36 inches in 24 hours and the entire snow event gave them 44 inches of snow in one shot! That's well over a meter of snow in just over a day. Note to self: NO camping in Flagstaff after November! You can see snow to the south of us on the Kofa Mountains. Everyone here says that is incredibly unusual. We tried to get a good shot of the snow but it's tough with the light, Leslie did pretty good though.

Pretty rare for the Kofa's to get snow.

We finally got outside when the sun peaked through the clouds and loaded up the truck for a run into town. There is a small recycle (recycling is not the normal in Arizona) at the landfill so we are taking a couple bags out there. They only accept aluminium cans and hard plastic stuff. Cardboard and bottles are garbage. They could really use a recycle program here. You don't pay a deposit on anything though. We also stopped for a propane fill as we are going through lots with the cold weather, and then back to the rig. We have some time so Leslie is giving me a haircut. Good thing because it's getting pretty long. I can use less water if I have less hair to wash lol. Dianne messaged us that everyone is going to the Yacht Club for supper and would we like to go. Yes we will thank you! They joined us in our truck and we drove in to town about 5 pm. Thanks Pam for reserving a big table on the heated patio for all of us. Good food, good service and great people. What a great way to have dinner!

Nice to be on the heated patio. Way less noisy so we can chat.

Leslie volunteered to drive so she didn't have beers but the rest of us did. Thanks Leslie! We cheered when she found her way back to the rig in the dark without much help. It's harder than you think out here. No street signs, lights or landmarks in the desert.

Feb 23

Today the sun is out and it's about 15C/60F and you can tell everyone has been cooped up for a couple days. Everywhere you go people are outside doing stuff or just enjoying the sun. It's supposed to get even warmer this week. We were chatting with Harry in the rig behind us as he was organizing the stuff in the trailer storage compartments of his rig. We walked back to our rig and started looking at our stuff and you can guess what happened next..... we pulled out a ton of stuff and reorganized our rig too. We even gained 2 big shepherds hooks from Harry for planters back home. Thanks Harry. Of course after the organizing we have a trip to the garbage so we walked Margaret up there so she gets to sniff etc. With such a nice afternoon and lots of folks outside there was a pretty big happy hour at the Colibaba's. They are the unofficial social club here haha.

Nice sunny day ! Happy hour!!

Leslie and I came back to our rig and Leslie put together an awesome healthy supper. It was fantastic. Just what we needed and then we just chilled in front of the TV.

Looks great doesn't it?? Just a little something

Leslie whipped up.

Feb 24

We made plans yesterday to drive up to Parker and then out to a place called the Desert Bar. It's another place that I have read about on several blogs and we really want to see it for ourselves. The road to the bar is rough gravel so I let some air out of the back tires on the truck to smooth out the ride a little. It was still pretty rough, max speed was about 15 mph but mostly about 10 mph. We only had to drive about 5 miles on the gravel so it's not terrible. We got there fairly early which turned out to be a good thing because it got super busy. The parking lot was pretty full when we left but we had a great spot that allowed us to drive straight out. The place has expanded lots according to Steve and they are still expanding. Lots of concrete forms and building materials around. Must be tough getting building supplies up there.

It's not too hot outside so we left Margaret in the truck with the windows open a bit and walked in to the Desert Bar. What an incredible place! They have a live band setting up and the whole place is on solar power. There is an upper and lower bar area and sometimes the band plays downstairs but today is upstairs. There are old cars displayed and lots of desert mining stuff. I can't describe it real well. Pictures will help.

The sign to Desert Bar.

The last part of the road in. Notice how green the desert is!

They did lots of work to cut a road in.

Built all of steel at the entrance.

Look at the solar panels! This part is newer.

Looking down from the entrance to the downstairs part.

Odd pic but... this is the view from the sinks in the open-air ladies room .

Enjoying lunch at the metal tables. good burgers.

The band fired up while we were eating.

This place is incredible. It started as a little shack with a tin roof in the desert and grew to this place. After lunch we all went for a walk around to check out the place. You can climb the hills behind it so you can get good pics and they have a souvenir shop to check out too. 

Leslie taking pics from the hill, Dianne and I are on the stairs.

Zoomed in on us.

Moving to the right.

The original bar is that white roof in the center. Lots of ATV's.

We stopped at the souvenir shop for Dianne to buy a hoodie and then back to the truck to head out. The flowers on the hill on the way out was incredible! The extra rain this year is bringing out so many plants and grass in the desert.

Cool hanging fireplace in the shop.

Purple flowers on the hill, didn't photo as well as it looked.

We had a great time at Desert Bar and headed back to Parker to do some shopping for groceries. Steve and I dropped the girls at Safeway and then did a quick trip to Spanky's RV. It's a really nice RV store in Parker. We got back to Safeway way before the shopping was done so we patiently(?) waited in the parking lot for them to come out. Mostly patiently maybe lol. With the shopping done we headed back to La Posa South and put everything away then walked over to Steve & Dianne's for a beverage. 

Another awesome day with good friends showing us some cool stuff in the desert. Thanks guys! We are so lucky to have such great guides to show us all the fun stuff. Time flies when you're having fun right?

Cheers everybody!