Casa Grande, Arizona: When the sun rose over the Santa Rita Mountains to wake up Tubac the morning, the temperature was 13°.
Thirteen.
Miserable.
Did I mention the wind? Up to 30mph winds over night. When the temperatures drop this low, our poor little heated floor tiles can't keep us warm. We had to use the furnace.
Time to hit the highway.
Feed Horn
We headed north to Tucson as we had plans to meet-up with Pat from Desert Satellite Systems. Again. We still cannot get our roof-top internet dish to lock-on the the satellite in the sky. A few weeks ago, Pat swapped out the LNB on the dish. This did not fix the problem. Next, it was determined we needed a new feed horn (I have no idea what this is, but it only cost $65, so I felt it was worth a shot). We had arranged to meet Pat in the parking lot of a massive big-box-store mall.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) there was also an In-N-Out Burger in the mall, so while we were waiting for Pat, DT ran over to the In-N-Out and brought back this sandwich. It was a single burger, animal-style, with cheese. Is he trying to kill me?Dang is was delicious.
Number Four in a series of photos of men on the roof of the Magna Peregrinus.
Poor Pat. It was only 36 degrees at noon in Tucson. Pat swapped-out the feed horn. It did not help. Thing is, today, we would really never know if the satellite is working or not. Today is the single-worst day for sun spot activity in the history of the universe.Or something like that.
Pat and I spent some time on the phone with the techs and gurus at MotoSat. They are out of ideas. Pat has now swapped-out two parts that did not need swapping. Pat thinks I should open a shop on eBay for spare MotoSat parts.
We continued west on I-10. When we stopped for diesel east of Casa Grande, the bucket holding the squeegee and water to wash windscreens was frozen solid. It was just that kind of day. We were running on fumes and spent $400 on diesel.
Ouch.
At Casa Grande, we stopped for the night at the Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort. We have stayed here many times and like it quite a bit - even though they have a lot of park models (mini-trailer houses) - as it is a very nice resort, well-maintained and has the nicest executive golf course we have ever played. This is a 55+ park and we turned 55 only last year, so how have we stayed here many times before? Interesting, isn't it? Seems if you are not quite 55 (we were 44 the first time we stayed here!) and have a decent-looking rig and no kiddies with you... and you are only going to stay a few days... they will let that rule slide. An empty campsite makes no money - they would be crazy to turn us away. So they never have.
It took over 30 minutes to check-in!!! Unbelievable. At Palm Creek, volunteer hosts greet your rig and write down basic information (names, RV make/model, license numbers, etc.). The host then escorts guests into the office to register. I was the only person in line. The clerk took my information sheet and stared at her computer screen. Then she moved the computer mouse around a bit and then she stared at the computer screen for five minutes without speaking to me.
Five minutes.
I was not in the best of moods already. I was freezing. I had an extremely expensive internet system that was not working with no explanation whatsoever. I had consumed a very fattening hamburger and did not exercise today. Why was this woman staring at the computer screen for five minutes in a trance? I was about ready to ask "Hello - is your computer even ON?" when she suddenly asked for my credit card. She charged us for two nights ($110!) and asked me to sign the receipt. Then she stared at her computer screen for a few more minutes. Then she asked for my credit card again. Then she started using the mouse again and focused onto the computer screen for five more minutes (enough time to buy a few things at amazon.com?) before returning my credit card. She gave me a car pass and assigned us a very nice pull-through campsite in the over-night area of the RV resort. Holy Shizz. How could this take 30 minutes??? I have checked into about a zillion campsites and it has never taken more than five minutes. Not even once did this woman make eye contact with me. If we hadn't camped here many times before, we would probably never come back. I can only hope this was her first day on the (volunteer) job?
Wow. Was that my longest rant EVER?
Sorry.
As Jimmy would say: (Terry,) Breathe in. Breathe out. Move on.
Thank goodness, Sister Gina gave us a wholebuncha her organically-grown citrus from their farm. A little vodka mixed with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice helped to make me forget about today. THINGS ARE JUST FINE! I can use my iPhone as a modem. We are in a nice pull-through campsite with plenty of 50 amp power to keep us warm. Pac-10 basketball is on the HD television. I prepared an Italian vegetarian dinner - orecchiette(little ears) pasta with broccolini and garlic, Caesar Salad and a lovely RV-friendly focaccia (I will post this recipe as soon as it is perfected) We are together.
Relax, Terry.
Palm Creek RV Resort has gorgeous flowers everywhere! Pretty baskets of flowers hang from nearly every palm tree. It is so cold in the desert this week, every basket is covered in some-sort of black tarp to keep them from freezing.
This is our pull-through campsite in their "over-night" section. All the hook-ups we need, but we will have to unhook from the water system tonight as the temperatures will dip into the 20's while we sleep.Until my next update, I remain, your relaxing correspondent.
FROM OUR CAMPING JOURNAL RV LOG BOOK: Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort - Very nice, fancy 55+ RV community. Restrictions include age of RVer, age/condition of RV. Many park models, but RV sites too. Golf, pool, tennis, bocce ball, pickleball, softball field and shuffleboard. Fitness center. Great recycling. We have a 50 amp pull-through paved site in the "overnighter" area. We paid $55.