2020-1 A New Begining, Tucson, Quartsite AZ

2020-1

2020 my 16th year on the road
join me on this new journey

A new adventure is about to begin

well it is almost time to begin our summer travels which will start near the end of March of 2020.

but before we start our adventures together I need to fill you in on my winter stay in Tucson Arizona at Desert Trails RV park and all the happenings that have occurred throughout the winter.

as usual with a certain age one visits their doctors and I was no exception starting with a general physician slight changes to my cholesterol and blood pressure medications.

next were multiple trips to my glaucoma specialist for initial exams pressure readings setup for a third laser eye procedure on my left eye. good results so far indicating I may not have the need for further surgeries on my eyes or at least a year or more. and on my final visit of the season I received the awesome news that my eye pressures are 12 and 13.  it couldn't be better.

the last doctor I visited was of course my dermatologist with the usual attending to a few spots that were dually frozen and taken care of.

those items out of the way, I have been free to enjoy my stay with fellow RV campers dear friends I have acquired throughout the years. spending much time at Desert trails preparing for the weekly RV Travel Club which I have led for a number of years. it is a ton of work but very enjoyable. I have been experimenting with a couple of different formats for the presentations and have discovered that folks really enjoy when I add personal stories along with the various places we visit along the way.

A NEW BEGINNING and a Different mode of travel

what led to the second phase of my travels

Zippy, my new mode of transportation
Summer travels here we come

as my regular readers may realize I have been traveling in various fifth wheels being towed by a three-quarter ton truck for the past 15 years. as I begin my 16th year, at the age of 70, I have decided it would be more enjoyable to continue my travels less encumbered by a larger RV and truck. to that end I've been doing my research on small Class C RVs and B+ Rvs.

with lots of research online for RVs that would fit the bill as well as visiting numerous RV dealerships looking at used Class C RVs.  Without going through the details, it was a long and drawn out affair.

talk about a sign
my new camper came
with my name already on it!

One day, my friends Kathy and Randy came along to look at the unit I thought would be the one.  As we arrived in Appachie Junction, that 1st unit, a Solara model was in horrid shape.  We decided to go to lunch and along the way we saw two others similar units on differant RV lots.  After a fine and filling lunch, we checked both out and of course it was the third Solara that was perfect.  To the point that a name tag with the previous owners was on the side of the camper, Missy and Doug.  We all looked at it as a sign, having my name already on it.  Missy could easily be removed (grin)....

It's a 2013 model, with one large slide

lots of storage

the passenger seat swivels around, lots of floor space

the table slides down and forms a day bed, nice

very comfy corner bed and bathroom

the new controls next to the microwave are
for the solar panels and lithium Ion batteries

my 1st night camping on BLM (free camping) site

QUARTSITE AZ

distance traveled: 256 miles

It's been a month and I've had my first venture out with the new Class C camper I've nicknamed Zippy, as I think I'll be zipping along all those back-roads and byways.

Every adventure takes preparation to do it right and this one is no exception.  A water pump needs to be replaced in a few days (it's on order).  On my way to Quartsite I had to go back to the dealer in Apache Junction to get him to sign the back of the title before I can get my Florida tags.  Stop and go traffic through Phoenix finally brought me to Quartsite later in the day, where I've just had one solar panel, two lithium Ion batteries and controllers installed.

One solar panel installed along with two lithium Ion batteries
equivalent to 4 deep cycle batteries, and a controller
It's all I could afford at this time

This was important to me as I wanted to have enough overnight power to run the furnace in cold weather.  I can tell you from last nights experience, the batteries held up well enabling me to have the furnace come on multiple times throughout the night and barely putting a dent in the battery storage.

I'll be returning to Desert Trails in a couple of days as I need to check out the systems on board and ensure everything is working fine.  I'll then begin to close up the 5th wheel camper and truck and leaving it in the desert for the summer and my return next fall.

poppies, it's springtime in the desert

trip to Tubac iwth friends

Tom and Chris, wonderful day touring Tubac AZ

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a celebration of friends at Ironwood picnic area
and open house for the new Class C camper

thanks to everyone who were able to join us

Tucson Az

evening setting in over Desert Trails Rv park
Tucson AZ