Travels with Twinkles: Bisbee week 3

February 9, 2013:

The holding tank sensors have been progressively getting worse, so I decided to take a look. I opened up the lower cover of the RV (flimsy cardboard sheet) to see how they were installed in the tank and how accessible they are to replace. I am tired of putting various chemicals into the tanks trying to keep the sensors clean and working. It's not working ! I found a company, Horst, that manufacturers a replacement sensor that is designed to keep working without all the fuss. It looks like the Horst sensors are an exact easy replacement and they are easy to access, so I will be trying them shortly.

It's not much fun on your back on rough gravel working under the Sewer Tank and it was really ugly looking in there. Quality workmanship seems to exist only in areas of the RV that are visible, everything else is a mess. I worked as a railroad QA inspector and we would never let a contractor get away with such poor wiring, piping and mechanical assembly. I couldn't deal with it at the time, so I just put the cover back up for now. I'll go back in latter when I change the sensors and try to improve the mess.

Tuesday was a hiking day, to Chiricahua National Monument where the notorious Chiricahua Apache used to roam. We did an overly ambitious hike for us, 7 + miles with a goal of doing the Heart of Rocks Loop Trail. It is an incredible hike, every rock formations seemed more spectacular than the previous one, photos do not do it justice, and around every corner is something awe inspiring. It was a warm, sunny day, but the trail took us into a few northern exposure canyon areas where there were pockets of snow. Also there was a large fire a few years ago and some areas of forest are burnt. Twinkles ran out of steam about a mile from the Loop trail and sat it out while I continued on to the Heart of Rocks area, did a portion of the Loop trail, then returned. Twinkles had a magical play time with a mexican bluejay who came right next to her begging for cracker crumbs. It was then another 2 1/2 miles back to the parking lot, we were dragging ass on the way back, but it was worth it.

Wednesday for lunch we went to a little Taco shop down the road, Tacho's Taco, the place is great, everything is fresh homemade. I then went to the Bisbee post office to mail a couple of packages, I was there about 10 minutes and could hardly believe the strange cast of characters who came through. I then took another short but steep, rocky 1 mile hike up Youngblood Hill that overlooks Bisbee. At the top of the hill there is a large cross, several interesting shrines and great views of Bisbee and the surrounding hills.

I dragged Twinkles to the acoustic jam at the St. Elmo bar in the evening, her first time there. We met Bruce there, who had won $200 on the lottery and started a $100 bar tab, buying drinks for everyone. He was a real fun guy ! They have an old gentleman there every week who plays a bass saxaphone (rather poorly, but who cares) that makes a dreadful deep bass sound. Bruce was really grooving to the music and told us that we had to put our feet on the floor so we could feel the vibrations. Sorry to say we didn't feel it, but Bruce did ! These are the kinds of things that make the St. Elmo special.

Boondocking requires considerable planning and preparation; towards that end, Thursday was a trip to Sierra Vista to stock up on supplies. I also had an appointment for an oil change, then we made the rounds to fill a propane tank, then to Target, then lunch, then the library used book store, then Walmart, then back to the GMC dealer for an air filter which didn't show up. It was a long, tiring, expensive day, Twinkles (ever the optimist) said it still beats working, doesn't it ?

Friends that we had met while at "Desert Trail RV Park" visited us on Friday. We did a little shopping and had lunch in downtown Bisbee, it was great to see them again.

This winter keeps coming back, it's now Saturday morning, the wind is blowing 20-30 MPH and we have a snow squall at the moment. The snow didn't amount to anything so I was able to stick to my original plan and went to Sierra Vista, got the air filter for the truck, then to the local high school for the Cochise County Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

We are planning to get out of here at 9 AM tomorrow as it is about 350 miles to Quartsite, Arizona. I'll miss Bisbee, but new adventures call !