IT’S BEEN A GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS KINDA DAY

FILLING OUR WATER JUGS UP AT THE GAS STATION IN ELFRIDA TODAY

The good news of course is how the weather has miraculously turned itself around.  I think we had one of the best weather days since arriving in Arizona back in November.  We hit 65F today & there was warmth in the air.  Amazing how we can go from bone crushing cold just a couple nights ago to a sunny warm breezy T-Shirt kind of day today.  And, even warmer tomorrow:))

 

NO MORE COLD WEATHER PLEASE………

OK, here’s the bad news.  Still no showers.  Ray slipped over this afternoon & was able to remove the broken water pipe in the pump house but realized a second end piece fitting would be needed & he didn’t have that piece.  Ray & neighbor Charles headed off to a nearby store that sold plumbing supplies but there isn’t a piece of PVC pipe or related couplings to be had in the whole Valley.  These past two nights of record breaking cold have broke water lines for miles & miles around & all the stores are totally sold out of pipes & fittings.  Bottom line…..we still have no water.  We are on a backlogged list for a plumber now but it could be sometime next week before he can ever get around this way.  Even his answering service was maxed out.  So, what to do.

Boon docking is our natural & preferred way of traveling so we always have a bunch of water jugs handy for refilling & it’s old hat for us to scare up a water source somewhere.  This afternoon it was a water hose behind a small gas station in Elfrida.  Kelly slipped into the station & asked if we could get some water & the owner said, “sure go ahead.”  

FILLING OUR WATER JUGS TODAY

With 8 full jugs of fresh water we slipped back out to the rig & dumped them into our main water tank.  Do we have a water pump to transfer water from those jugs to the main tank?  Yes we do but sometimes it’s easier to just use a little elbow grease.  We have enough water on board now for showers in the morning & how do we decide who get’s the first shower?  Easy, we used our tried & true method for making decisions like that.  We arm wrestled.  Kelly will be having her shower first in the morning!!

HEYYYYY……..JUST FILL THE JUGS WILL YA!!

Because of this recent broken water pipe development we may change our travel plans slightly by moving our departure day up a bit so Sunday we will begin organizing & packing things for travel.  Not exactly sure of a destination yet but we may roll up around the Marana area northwest of Tucson & Maricopa just southwest of Phoenix. 

GETTING THE SMALL JUGS OF WATER INTO THE BIG TANK

In our travels these past number of years we always keep an eye on real estate prices in different areas.  Sometimes we drive out to look at different locations & properties.  It has always been in the back of our minds to someday find a secondary winter property somewhere in the Southwest.  We noticed Fellow Bloggers JOHN & BRENDA from Alberta Canada recently settled on a place near Maricopa Arizona.  A quick check on the internet this morning showed us it was an area we have been through before.  It is centrally located to all areas of the Southwest we like so much & the prices for 3 & 4 acre lots with homes on them are unbelievably low.  In fact, we were totally shocked at how much prices have dropped since we last looked at properties southwest of Tucson a short two months ago.  It is definitely a buyer’s market out there.  Anyway, we just might drive ourselves over that way & have us a look around before heading further west.  We’ll see how it goes.

 

Joe & Nancy, over at RVING BEACH BUMS have just switched over to the Blogger format & Live Writer.  We met them in Sunizona Arizona a week ago on their way to Pebble Beach, California.  They are volunteering at the upcoming big Pebble Beach golf tournament shortly.  Joe & Nancy are new to Blog Land but not RVing.  These folks have done a lot of traveling & volunteering across the country.  Their home base is Virginia Beach.  Might want to drop in & say, Howdy:))

  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  

What game do elephants like to play most?

Squash.

Why do elephants wear red toenail polish?

Oops, sorry, no polish jokes allowed.

Why do elephants paint their toenails red?

So they can hide in a strawberry patch.

Why do elephants hide in strawberry patches?

So they can jump out and stomp on people.

Why do elephants stomp on people?

That is how they play squash.

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The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
 
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

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A BURST PIPE SPRAYS WATER EVERYWHERE

A PYRRULOXIA HEADS FOR THE BIRD FEEDER (700mm at 1/4000th of a second)

Another one of those up at 2 a.m. capers, so another very long day.  Thursday night did indeed turn out to be even colder than Wednesday night & despite heaters & furnace going, the icy cold just radiated through the thin fiberglass Motor Home walls & kept me awake waiting for the sunrise.  Thermometer said 2 degrees as I sat huddled in a big blanket with the computer on my lap.  Didn’t take me long to get a good grumbling rant going but I mellowed out during the day & ditched the rant.

 

THE SILVER CARDINAL IN THE CENTER OF THIS PHOTO IS THE SAME ONE AS PREVIOUS PHOTO SECONDS BEFORE FLIGHT

We were frozen solid again this morning with nothing coming out any of the taps.  A quick check of the sticks & brick house told me it was still frozen as well.  Nothing we could do but sit & wait & stew about our situation.  Well, Kelly did the sitting & waiting part while I did the stewing part!!  I’m good at stewing:))  I was totally convinced our water lines were shattered.  How could they not be.

 

UNDAUNTED, KELLY SITS IN THE MORNING SUN, BOOK IN HAND, COMPLETE WITH WINTER MITTENS & A HAT…DAUNTED, I REMAINED IN THE RIG WITH AN ELECTRIC HEATER STUFFED INSIDE MY SHIRT

The outside thermometer garnered all our attention as it began it’s slow rise towards the freezing point.  I was sitting outside by the campfire soaking up some warming rays when Kelly stuck her head out  the Motor Home about 10 & hollered, ‘the taps are all working.”  Figured this was it, time to put the Scuba suit on & go looking for all the leaks & broken pipes.  Flashlight in hand I went through the under sink cupboards, the water pump compartment, fresh water tank bin, hot water tank & even under the rig looking for the expected drips.  Nothing!!  What, how could that be….but it was.  No leaks that I could see.  How nice to have the water working again.   Hot water especially.

THIS LITTLE FELLOW DISGUISED HIMSELF AS A CHRISTMAS DECORATION  >>>

However, the house water lines were still froze so we just waited it out & about 2:45 this afternoon Kelly pointed out the windshield to a tap about 50 feet away gushing water.  Yaaaaay, water line to the house is finally unthawed so two hot showers coming right up:)))  Oh Oh……..not so fast!!

While I was turning the water off at the tap I could hear a noise over in the pump house where the water pump was located.  Figured it was just the pump catching up & filling the lines.  And then I saw water all over the ground surrounding the pump house.  It was looking like a Louisiana swamp over there.  I clumped through the gathering gumbo mud & approached the big noise going on inside the small building.  Slowly opened the door as water came ricocheting off the tin walls.  I could see  where the main waterline from the well heading for the house had burst in several places.  There was a blue main shut of valve but I was leery of trying to close that with so much water pressure in the fractured line just inches away.  I knew there was a pump shut off switch on a pole nearby so ran over to that & shut down the pump.  Returned & closed the blue main shut off valve.  So much for those long awaited showers I thought:((

THIS IS THE BROKEN WATER PIPE IN THE PUMP HOUSE

Kelly phoned Ray over at the ranch & he said it sounded like something he could fix & would slip over.  Yaaaay, the showers are on again.  An hour later Ray phoned saying all the PVC pipe in Elfrida was sold out because of bursting pipes all over the area.  He is going to try & get some pipe  Saturday morning .  There went the showers again!!  We can’t go anywhere until we’ve had showers because we would be arrested for environmental pollution!!

JUST HANGING OUT WITH MY CLOTHESPIN PALS

Apparently Cochise County has been hit hard by this cold spell & many people are still without water & heat due to broken pipes & some kind of problem with folks running out of natural gas.  Despite my grumbling over the past couple of days we sure have got off lucky compared to other people here in the valley.  We have enough water on board to last us until the pump house line is repaired & we have two thirds of a tank of propane.  We have hot water & the weatherman is promising much warmer temperatures starting tomorrow.  Cold tonight again with predictions of 16F but not as bad as the 2F we had this morning.  I’m cautiously optimistic when I say, the worst is over & we are on our way to much warmer temps.

And, here’s the icing on the cake for the day.  Kelly has finally mentioned the ‘TRAVEL’ word.  Nothing planned yet but it’s the first ‘winds of travel’ I have heard from the Boss since we arrived here two & half months ago.  I can already feel the excitement of travel stirring & I can already feel the sadness of leaving.

HOPPING DOWN OFF THE WATER BOWL

Noticed ERIK'S RV BLOG has just joined the Bayfield Bunch on their travels.  Welcome aboard Erik & that’s one mighty fine profile picture you got yourself there:))  We have also been joined by THE OLD GEEZER as well on our list of blog supporters.  After a long slow growth period it is nice to see the blog followers list growing again .  Welcome aboard guys:))

 

TROOP CARRYING HELICOPTERS & AN A-10 THUNDERBOLT (WARTHOG) OVER THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS (EXTREME TELEPHOTO)

Here’s a bit of blog coincidence… Pidge from THE FRUGAL TRAVELERS had the same ‘Bean’ joke in her blog as I did last night in Groaner’s Corner.  Now, how often does that happen.  To find the face in the beans just look to bottom left or left of center near the bottom:))

Note to Gerrit up there in that Wingham town of Ontario, Canada  Yes, we are happily using our new Mifi & it’s working flawlessly.  The real test will be if & when we ever get out of this area.  With Mifi we can’t use our Wilson antennae so reception will be the big question but I suspect we will be fine, just as before with our Cradlepoint setup.  Actually, our Mifi is working through our Cradlepoint. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  To get away from their high-stress jobs, a couple decided to spend weekends relaxing in their motor home. But after finding their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy. Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: "Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."

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The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
 
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL

Pyrrhuloxia, Motor Home, Thermometer,  Grumbling, Rant,  PVC Pipe, Cochise County,  Helicopter, A-10 Thunderbolt, Warthog,  Wingham Ontario, Cradlepoint Router, MiFi, 

SIMULTANEOUS PROBLEMS WITH BOTH OUR HOMES TODAY:((

OH OH, THE WATER DISH IS FROZEN SOLID THIS MORNING

Oh Boy…….here we go with another weather blog but the way things are going right now across the country it’s hard not to talk about what’s going on when the majority of people are dealing with such adverse conditions.  Despite running our furnace in the night we had no water this morning because of frozen pipes somewhere.  Got down to 3F last night & will be about the same tonight again:((   Even the water in the house we are parked beside was froze up despite the furnace running. 

I LITTLE JAVELINA TRYING TO GET A DRINK THROUGH 2 INCHES OF SOLID ICE

I hope everything is OK over at ROADRUNNER'S TRAVELS in Deming, New Mexico.  She was switching over to her last tank of propane Wednesday & I imagine her furnace was running full tilt all night.  WANDERING WILLY had white out snow conditions in Columbus New Mexico & his rig was all froze up.  He was hoping to make a dash for Tucson this morning. (Thursday)   RETIRED ROD rolled up his water hose in Mesa, hung a light bulb in his water bay & contemplated his future RVing days.  MIKE & PAT made a mad dash from Bouse Arizona to their home near Wickenburg to take care of vulnerable water lines & pumps.  Everywhere here in the southwest RV’ers are scrambling to adjust their daily lifestyle during these days of record breaking cold.

<<< AND THIS IS THE DIRTY ROTTEN LITTLE BEGGAR THAT SNAGGED MY BRAND SPANKING NEW J.C. PENNY SHIRT THIS MORNING & RIPPED A BIG HOLE IN THE RIGHT SLEEVE ABOVE THE ELBOW!!

 

OK, now for the problems!!!!  The water line to the sticks & bricks house here never thawed out all day because we never got above freezing, so that meant no showers.  That also means we have no outside water to the rig. 

WELL PETE, D’YA THINK THESE CANADIANS WILL GET THEIR PIPES THAWED OUT TOMORROW

All our lines in the Motor Home froze up as well in the night & the only one we managed to unthaw today was the cold water line to the kitchen sink.  We have no hot tap water!!  Fortunately we always keep 3 big jugs of water handy for washing & can heat water on the propane stove.  Temps are going way down again tonight so things are not looking good & our kitchen tap will probably freeze up again.  We won’t know if we have any broken water lines until outside temps get above freezing & we begin to thaw out.  Hopefully that thaw will happen sometime Friday.

<<< DON’T CRY MARTHA,  WARMER DAYS AHEAD

Then, to make matters even worse, we got a call from the fellow who looks after our house in Bayfield Ontario while we are away during the winter.  The furnace in our house has quit & temperatures have plummeted.  Right now the outside temp in Bayfield is 27F.  Bruce said there was still water coming out of the taps so we may have dodged a bullet in the frozen & broken pipes department.  In the meantime he is hustling some space heaters over to our house.  Kelly was able to contact an electrician guy (Tony Hutchins) in Bayfield who had worked on our furnace two years ago when we had central air installed & as I’m typing this he is on his noble white steed riding quickly to our house to do battle with the great ‘Freeze’ monster.  We have our fingers crossed that he will be able to save our house from some very major damage!!!!  Go Tony Go.  The electric furnace in our unit is 30 years old so who knows:((

HEY CLIVE, WHERE’S THE WATER??

SAY, COULD YA LEND ME A COUPLE BUCKS FOR A HOT BOWL OF SOUP TODAY

{UPDATE}  Phone call from Tony in Bayfield minutes ago said furnace is fine & that it was just the battery in the thermostat that needed replacing.  House temps are again rising but we’re not quite out of the woods yet.  Fireplace pilot lite in the sunroom is on but Bruce can’t get the fireplace flames to come on & heat up the sunroom where all our plants are located.  Batteries in remote fireplace control were replaced today as well so Kelly will have to walk Bruce through a manual restart of the gas fireplace shortly.

I ALWAYS KEEP WATER OUT FOR THE WIGGLY PIGGLY GANG

Apart from dealing with weather related problems we did little else but sit around reading & banging away on our computers all day.  I’ll bet there are a lot of fellow RV’ers in the exact same boat as we are in at this very same moment.  Weatherman is calling for above freezing temps on Friday & even warmer Saturday so hopefully that will unthaw the pipes under the sticks & bricks plus under our Motor Home tomorrow.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Find the face in the beans:))

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!!! And, yes, the man is really there!

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

 
BISBEE PHOTO ALBUM
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/BISBEEARIZONAAFEWFINEPHOTOMEMORIES
 
Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
 
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
 
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Technorati Tags: Bayfield,Wandering Willy,Thermostat,Gas Fireplace,Thaw,Unthaw,Javelina