2020-9
Payson, Arizona
Holbrook, Arizona
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Campground: Little
Green Valley. Payson AZ Tonto National Forest. Dispersed camping.
Dusty dirt road, with ATV’s, dirt bikes and rednecks kicking up
dust. Not many level sites. Nice forest setting. 5 over-the-air TV
stations. Minimal to no Verizon coverage.
Campsite: Holbrook
AZ, parking lot side where a department store closed, near the
Tractor Supply Store. Free. Paved, good Verizon signal. No TV.
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| parking lot camping far side, next to closed store |
Payson, last week,
heading out in a couple of days
I’ve definitely
enjoyed my stay in the area. The weather has been awesome, low 80’s
mostly, breezy and sunny every day. The locals are friendly, some
taking the necessary precautions with the Covid 19 things, others
ignoring it completely. I’m sure this is standard all across the
country. I continue to wear my mask in public, not sure it’s
doing much good, but worth the effort. Also I wash my hands
constantly and try to avoid places with lots of people.
I brought my camper
in for an oil change/filter as I didn’t have any info as to when it
had last been done. Good thing I did, while Big O tire company was
checking on it all out as well as cleaning the permanent air filter,
they checked all my fluids. Discovering that I was almost completely
out of Steering wheel fluid. Had a leak in the hose and the pump
needed replacing. Big O was able to order all Mercedes original
parts including oil and filter and they were able to install it all
the following day. I spent the night parked on the side of the
store. I really think my guardian angels are working overtime taking
care of me.
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| At Big O Tire, they do more than just tires |
Was awakened about 3
am in the morning when I heard and saw blinking red and white lights
coming at me…. I have two windows surrounding my bed. Ekkk! A big
ole garbage truck was backing up after picking up a dumpster.
Fortunately he didn’t hit me, but wow, what a wake up call.
I was able to have
breakfast the next morning at a local restaurant right across the
street from the repair shop, with outdoor picnic tables nicely spaced
out. Even had lunch later on, as the repairs took until about 1pm
that day. It was the first day permitting indoor dining which I did.
All the staff were wearing masks, as well as myself. The two other
diners spaced every other booth, had no masks on. Well, how do you
have lunch anyway with a mask on. I kept mine on until dining…. It
was odd, felt almost safe, but still one comes in close contact with
the waitress for short periods of time. Noticed the menus had been
sanitized before giving them to the customers.
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| and they sure did a great job |
Good news, I’m
able to pick up my Florida License plates and mail on Monday before
heading out of town. It took over two months to straighten out the
paperwork between Arizona and Florida. Florida tried to charge me
taxes, which I already paid in Arizona, that was finally settled and
we are finally ready to travel “legally” with the new Fl plates.
Side note; the tag is good until July 2020, really, then pay again to renew....
My neighbors camping
across from me the past couple of days are a young French couple with
a daughter of perhaps 7 years old. They are traveling the country
now for the past 3 years. Working on-line. Looks like they are
living out of a modified trailer. I meet so many different
travelers/campers. And now that I’m doing more boondocking, it is
a whole new set of camper/workers, retirees enjoying the country
on a dime that I’m meeting. As the saying goes.
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| Young French couple and daughter, traveling throughout the U.S. and working via Internet |
Distance Traveled:
86 miles
Holbrook AZ, Route
66
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| the only thing about travel during this period is I can't go into shops, or museums to get more information on the area |
Ahh, the open road.
And a pleasant drive through Arizona’s pine forests and high
country grass lands. I’m heading to Holbrook Az which is on part
of the original Route 66. The Wigwam Motel has been on my bucket
list for a number of years and I finally was able to see it, walk
around all the old rusted out vintage cars and see what for me is the
4th Wigwam village I’ve visited. The owner actually
owns a total of three original sites. One in California only has
three of the Tee Pees still standing. This one is beautifully
maintained. Along with taking pictures of the Wigwam Motel, I was
also to explore the town and take a couple fun pictures. it’s
close to Petrified National Forest, which I’ve gone through in the
past. It’s currently closed, but here in Holbrook, I’m able to
see lots of petrified wood trees. Some at the Wigwam Motel, and a
number of Rock shops in town.
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| Wigwam Motel, the 4th one I've seen across country Orlando had one that I saw in 1972, gone the following year |
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| a part of the Route 66 history when auto travel became so popular |
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| this was an exciting day for my advventures |
With the Covid 19
stuff going on, it’s like visiting a ghost town, almost anyway as
there are some of the approved shops, gas stations and fast food
restaurant’s that are all open. Though on a good day, many of
these small towns were all but eliminated when the Interstate
Highways bypassed all the small towns along the Route 66 road. This
is Indian country and so many of the reservations have been hit hard
with the Covid pandemic.
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| petrified logs |
RV Tips:
I’ve been
gradually adding small touches to make the Class C camper my home.
Here are two hacks, as my friend Christine call them.
To make a more
comfortable seating arrangement/lounge for watching Tv, I put a
pillow with arms upside down. One, the pillow doesn’t slide down
when leaning against it and the arms are at the proper height to rest
my arms on them…. How cool is that?
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| it may not look pretty, but it is very comfortable |
Second, I’ve never
had a problem with clothes jumping off the hangers in my 5th
wheel campers, but this Class C is different. I find a couple
shirts, jackets and jeans on the floor every-time I stop. So,
having a couple of those tension rods, I placed one next to the coat
hangers and now everything stays in place. Problem solved.
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| white rod hold the hangers from jumping track |
So, although touring
is pretty much out for the summer, even though a number of National
Parks are going to start opening up on a limited trial basis, and so
many towns and stores will remain a challenge to visit and use. It
looks like I’ll still be able to visit on the periphery of many of
theses destination places and still enjoy the country side, scenery
and continue to take as many pictures to share with you.
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| back in Payson, opposite the Home Depot Store |
And of course I’ll
be documenting this strange new world we live in, hoping and waiting
for the day things will get back to some kind of normalcy.
Except for the
occasional feeling of being overwhelmed by everything, Trying to keep
safe, clean, and healthy and hoping I haven’t made any mistakes.
Did I wash my hands right away after touching something. Did I get
too close to someone or did they get too close to me without my
knowing it…...
Overall I’m in a
pretty good place both mentally, physically and spiritually.
Fortunately I was born with an overall positive outlook on life.
Along with a big dose of reality thrown in. So on that note, lets
keep our distance, wash our hands constantly, and avoid going into to
many stores. We can do this.
More photos:
Holbrook Arizona now this was a fun day for picture taking!
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