NO GLAMOUR TODAY

There was an email that made the rounds a few years ago about a woman who starts out to change the water in a flower vase and gets waylaid when she sees a pop can on a table and as she picks it up she realizes that the mail has arrived and she needs to find her check book to pay bills…………… The punch line is that by the end of the day she has accomplished nothing. That is a bit like my day today.

I decided that since I am leaving on Sunday for Wyoming I decided to put the lounge chairs into the truck. They needed to be wiped down so out came the bucket and clothes and cleaner. After I got them cleaned, I also wash the small table and the bin that holds the BBQ. With those clean I pulled out the ladder to get into the back of the truck. The ladder was dirty so I cleaned it and then flipped back the tonneau cover on the truck and climbed up. I pulled up the loungers but had to make room in the back so back down they went and I reorganized the bins. I got the lounge chairs and table into the area I had cleared. I then realized that the extra sewer hoses needed a good cleaning. I pulled put the garden hose and detached the drinking water hose and attached the garden hose. The knob on the water connection fell off so I had to get out my tool kit and find the nut to hold the knob on. I attached the washer wand to the other end of the garden hose and turned on the water.

I started to wash out the 20’ sewer hose but I did not have the wand in far enough so I got wet. Turned off the wand and got paper towels from the trailer and cleaned my glasses so I could see again. Back to cleaning the 20’ hose by dumping a bunch of baking soda in the hose and then pouring in the white vinegar. Great little science experiment except that I didn’t have enough of the hose in the bin so the foam backed up onto me. More paper towels from the trailer and I was ready for round 2. I got that hose cleaned and smelling so much better after I rinsed it with the wand (this time with the wand well into the hose) and then laid the hose out on the grass to dry out. I have a back up 10’ hose which I had not used so after draining the black and gray water holding tanks, I disconnected the used 10’ and was about the attach the backup hose when I noticed that that thingy that holds the connector to the hose was loose so I got out my tool kit again (this time I am leaving it out until I am done) and proceeded to tighten the thingy. I had the use the screw driver to loosen the thingy but I had the wrong bit in the screw driver so around the trailer and got the right size bit and proceeded to get the thing attached. I then hooked up the new 10’ hose and took the other one to wash it out with the wand and mixture of baking soda and vinegar. It was much smoother this time as I learned my lesson from the first attempt. Once both sewer hoses were dry, I disconnected the garden hose and reconnected the water hose.

Next project was to wash the foam interlocking pads that I use to put the lounge chairs on. Got them wiped clean (would have been easier if I had the garden hose still connected but I spent 10 minutes getting it untangled and into the storage bin so I was not pulling it out again). I laid the 6 squares out on the truck cover to dry and looked around for the next project (and secretly hoping that I couldn’t find one).

I decided that the windows on the truck needed to be cleaned both inside and out. Lots of paper towels and the window cleaner (by Martha Stewart if you please) and got the windows done. My God, the front window of the truck is huge!!!!! I then pulled out the Amoral and cleaned the dash and doors. I took the lint roller to the seats and the truck as looking great.

I am now on a roll but it was time for a union break so I emailed Lauren with the list of projects I was working on. She replied that I was probably soaking wet and my hair was scary sticking up and I had my MP3 on my arm but the earphones kept getting in my way. She has seen the manic side of her mother often.

Union break over, it was time to clean the floors in the trailer. Took the rugs outside to clean later and "swiffered" the trailer and then started to clean the rugs again with the lint roller. Time for lunch but first I had to fill the salt and pepper mills. The extra S&P was in the storage under the bed. Lifted the platform, got the S&P and then noticed that the trim was lose on one side and the side had pulled away. Good thing I left out the tool box. Got my hammer and nails and was ready to use brute force to fix the problem but I did not have the right size of nails. Plan B is this glue that I had ordered from The Shopping Channel before I left so it was time to see if their promise of the glum to fix anything was true. I put the glue on the base and then held the trim on. Yeah, that didn’t work so well so I read the instructions. It stated that I needed to remove any old glue and then clean the area with nail polish remover. I removed the old glue and cleaned the area and then tried again. Worked great and decided that since I didn’t have the right size nail, I would use the same glue to fix the side. WORKED GREAT expect I had made a mess and needed the clean the floor and rug again but I did fix the problem.

I then went back to make lunch (got waylaid with the glue repair) but before I made my sandwich I wiped the area where the dish soap container is and there was soap that had leaked from the bottom of the dispenser. I emptied the dispenser and then cleaned the bottom really well and let it dry and then, wait for it, used the glue to seal up the 2 holes and let that dry. I then refilled the dispenser and gave myself a pat on the back for being so creative. Just checked the dispenser and the glue thing didn’t quite fix the problem. I will tackle it again later. DAMN!!!!

So the truck was sparking, the trailer was clean and I decided that it was time for a cold drink and opened the freezer and – now it needs defrosting. CRAP! Threw everything out (a couple of frozen dinners and 2 popsicles) and get out the electric kettle to boil water. While the water was boiling I put a pot in the empty freezer and it stuck the freezer. Got the pot unstuck and after 6 kettles of boiling water into the pot the freezer is beautiful and frost free!

I just took a break from writing to get a glass of Crystal Light. Filled the glass with water, added ice and the RED Crystal Light and was stirring it and watching The Office and the glass broke and there was RED everywhere. I am now officially out of paper towels, my tea towels are RED and it is hard to see what is ice and what is broken glass. I have it cleaned up now and STICK A FORK IN ME I AM DONE!!!!!

LAS VEGAS, BRYCE CANYON, LAS VEGAS

I left Williams, Arizona on Tuesday July 6th and headed to Las Vegas. I really hated to leave the area and the KOA RV Park but I was off to pick up my favourite daughter for a 10 day visit. It was a great day to haul the trailer and I was really enjoying the drive when I had to stop at a check point just south of the Hoover Dam. The officer had me open the tonneau cover on the truck and one of the doors on the trailer. He was with Homeland Security and they check all vehicles prior to driving over the dam. It was an interesting experience.

I arrived in Vegas and just left the trailer hooked to the truck and took a cab to the airport to get Lauren. I had really missed her and it was so good to get her hugs. We just hung around the trailer that night and left early in the morning for Bryce Canyon, Utah. It took a few wrong turns on my part before we got out of Vegas but once we were on the road it was so much fun. We stopped to get gas at a place just outside Vegas. Not only could we get gas, we could also get coffee, alcohol, baked goods, sandwiches, crappy Indian jewellery and, wait for it, FIREWORKS. The space allotted to the fireworks is about the size of an entire 7-11 and we had a great time reading all the names of the fireworks. We also found out where old slot machines go to die. They had about 70 slots. And this entire business venture is owned by the local Indians.

We got to the KOA in Cannonville and just spent the rest of the day getting everything organized. We hung out doing nothing for some of the days; we went on a few day trips and spent a day at Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon’s original inhabitants, the Paiutes, believed that the rock figures here were people turned to stone by angry gods. Delicately coloured spires, fins and mazes haunt our imagination and beckon us to explore them more closely. The towering rock formations are called “hoodoos”. (Yes I copied this from the brochure – why re-invent the wheel).

We left this wonderful area and headed back to Las Vegas a day early; just in time for the GATES OF HELL TO OPEN UP AND DISGORGE FIERY AIR AT US!!!!! It was 120 degrees every day and all day. Even the locals were complaining. The trailer only has one air conditioner and it was working overtime. We went to the CSI exhibit one day and a Cirque show another day. Poor Lauren, by the time I sent her back to the airport she was pretty worn out and so was I. I left Vegas three days earlier than I had planned and headed to Ely, Nevada. It is north of Vegas but more importantly it is at a higher elevation so even though it is warm (maybe 90 degrees in the day) there is a wonderful breeze and it cools off at night.

It will be a cold day in HELL before I go back to Las Vegas and not just because of the heat but it holds no charm. I prefer natural attractions to man-made attractions. National Parks here I come!!!!!

MORE PICTURES FROM PRESCOTT

PARADE, POLITICIANS AND PATRIOTISM

If there is one thing that the Americans do better than any other nations, it is their patriotism. I drove to Prescott on July 3rd to see their Pioneer Day Parade. I got lost (I thought that I was too smart to need OnStar) so by the time I arrive in Prescott, the parade had started and there was no parking nearby. I parked in a church lot and got to a spot where I could see the parade and still be in the crowd to really enjoy the experience. There were school bands and local business floats and horses and cowboys and pretty girls and POLITICIANS. Since it is an election year, the local politicians will attend everything. Red, white and blue everywhere and kids and adults having a great time. When anyone passed in an Armed Forces uniform they received thundering applause.

The parade lasted about 90 minutes then everyone dispersed into the City Centre Square where there were booths with jewellery, hand-made goods, pictures, local crafts, cowboy hats, produce and pasta. It was so much fun to wonder through the area for another hour then off to the rodeo with my new cowboy hat!

The Prescott Rodeo is the oldest in the world and my first rodeo. The rodeo takes place over 5 days and each part is only 2 hours but great fun. After watching some of the riders, I realize that 8 seconds can be a long, long time to stay on the bull. To summarize the rodeo – beer, sunshine, action, hot dogs, beer, cowboys, beer……. A PERFECT DAY!!!!!!

PETRIFIED FOREST AND PAINTED DESERT

On Friday, July 2nd I made the trip to the Petrified Forest and Painted Deseret. I had tried to get there earlier but the fires around Flagstaff caused a problem. I wasn’t sure what to expect and, in fact, had decided that I would probably be slightly disappointed after seeing the Grand Canyon. How wrong I was.

It took 90 minutes to get to the start of the Petrified Forest and the drive through the National Park and then on through the Painted Desert took a couple of hours. It would have been quicker but I stopped at every vantage point and take more pictures. The ones I have attached to this blog are just a sample of the amazing area. It is a must see if you are in Northern Arizona.

The Petrified Forest was once a vast floodplain crossed by many streams. Conifer trees grew along the banks of the streams. Reptiles, amphibians and small dinosaurs lived here. The trees fell and swollen streams washed them into adjacent floodplains. A mix of silt, mud and volcanic ash buried the logs. This sediment cut off oxygen and slowed the logs’ decay. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the originals wood tissues with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz and the logs were preserved as petrified wood. (I am not really this smart – the National Forest Bureau gives out brochures at each National Park).

It is against the law to remove ANYTHING from the park and when they give you the brochures about the area it includes a form to fill out if you see anyone removing any objects. You can buy items at the various shops but their items have been collected from private lands outside the park.

I crossed over the state highway and into the Painted Desert. People had told me that the best time to see this area was at sunrise or sunset – neither viable since it was a little too far – but I was amazed none the less. The pictures I took do not do it justice as it is quite an amazing site. The Tepees area is layered with blues, purples and grays created by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals standing in cone-shaped formations. In other parts you can see hundreds of petroglyphs etched into stone.

A wonderful area and well worth the drive.