Casa Grande, Arizona: We have left the Phoenix area! Finally. But not until mid-afternoon. We were waiting for a satellite tech to take a look at the dish on our roof. While we were waiting, I made a loaf of Oat Soda Bread from 101 Cookbooks, which actually entaled whirling whole oats in my food processor to create oat flour. The recipe was simple - and I sprinkled white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds and poppy seeds over the top - but the final product wasn't very tasty. Still, now I know I can make oat flour from whole oats. In a motorhome.
If anyone needs a doorstop, let me know
Late morning, the tech showed up. Dale Morris, of DMS RV Satellite (702-604-6757) climbed up on the roof and checked (and re-checked) each cable and connection. He checked the modem. He checked the satellite controller. Everything was fine.
Dale was stumped. He has no idea why we cannot get a decent signal. Our only hope was that we were in some sort of Bermuda Triangle of satellite service (it can happen), so we decided to drive down to Casa Grande and try our luck there.It was about 2:30p when we finally left the RV park. Check-out time is 11a. No one from the campground came by to ask if we were leaving. Know why? Because there is no one minding the store. I told DT, we could probably stay here for another week and no one would ever come to check if we were here or not. Wonder why I never mentioned where we were staying while in Glendale? Well, maybe it is because we weren't even in Glendale. We have been in Peoria, at the Valley of the Sun RV Park, for the past week or more, staying at one of the worst RV parks in America. We stayed here in March for Spring Training and it was bad, but since that time no one has even raked a campsite.
Pretty snazzy, eh? There is a bathhouse/laundry, but you can bet your life I did not go inside. There are about 80 sites, and about 15 have 50 amp service. There are complete rows of campsites that are unusable because there is no power available to the entire row. Do they have this problem repaired? No. The park is full (except for the many unusable sites) during Spring Training and the park was pretty full during the BCS Championship Game.
The RV park is situated behind a Ramada Inn (where campers register) that has seen better days.
I booked a room at the Ramada for The Lovely Lisa & Lenny. I checked-in before they arrived (last Saturday) to make sure the kids would get a room because the hotel was full due to the football game. I inspected the room. It was fine. Just a motel room. It was clean. Late Saturday night, when Lisa got into the bed at the Ramada Inn she called my cell phone to report she had cigarette burns in her sheets. At least she was laughing. I think.The RV Goddess does not recommend The Valley of the Sun RV Park.
The Lovely Lisa does not recommend the Ramada Inn in Peoria.
When we arrived in Casa Grande - only a 75 mile drive - and settled in to an over-night spot at positively perfect Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort, our internet satellite dish still would not work. It went up. It found the satellite, but could not achieve a high enough signal to lock-on and send/receive information. Another hour on the phone with a tech from Motosat. Now they think I am on the edge of the satellite's "footprint", or the area the satellite covers. Tomorrow they will move me to another satellite. Hopefully, this will take about one hour. I am fine tethering my iPhone to access the internet, but this will only work if we have cell service - and we often camp where there is no cell service. Not only do I like to update this website daily, I have Camping Journal orders to process/ship and the internet is required for this process. This diesel tank doesn't fill itself, Dear Reader.
I was just frazzled by all this non-functioning technology. Enough! Time to call it a day. We opened a bottle of wine and I prepared DT's favorite pasta and a fresh salad. Then we watched the first game ever from Matt Knight Arena - the fantabulous new home of Oregon Duck basketball and volleyball.
Ducks won!
Here are a few fun photos from the BCS Game. Remember when I said we saw Sir Charles at the game? A few friends had their photo taken with Charles Barkley and emailed the photos to me today.
Remember Reader Peter? Peter and his son found Charles Barkley in the stadium parking lot and he posed for a photo with them!
My girlfriend, Jules, found Chuck just outside the arena.But Charles Barkley wasn't the only Super Hero attending the BCS Championship game.
Chris ran into Batman.Until my next update, I remain, your mental-flossing correspondent.
RV Park: 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. We have a 50 amp pull-through paved site in the "overnighter" area. We paid $48.