In the last days in Benson, AZ, another RVer stopped by when Kevin was playing with his new toy, a Quadcopter. He introduced himself as Ron and handed Kevin his 'card'. (Kevin & Theresa need to make some cards so that they can share this blog and their contact info as they meet folks). Ron shared several RV 'secrets' with Kevin.
Use Armourall on the awnings to make them hold up better, this was from his experiences from surviving a tornado in Savannah, GA. His wife was hunkered down in the bedroom with her rosary and he and Freddy (the dog) where up front to witness the spectacle. His truck had $7K damage and his RV was all fine. Even the plastic sunroof on the shower was fine. He did have to shovel off the 4-6 inches of hail on his slide-out covers.
Magnets can be used to attach the external sunshades to the front and side windows vs snaps . Ron elaborated on how rare earth magnets are very powerful and can be used thru the double pain windows to hold the shades. Also it makes putting the shades up and bringing them down a non-snap (he-he). (As Kevin unsnapped ours 3 of the snap grommets busted... magnets will be on our improvement list.)
As we left Butterfield RV Resort there were safe travel wishes to Ron, Loree and Freddy.
Before the couple were able to exit the park Kevin noticed that the Break Away cable indicator was not illuminated on the Break Buddy System. This suggested to him that the break buddy had not been fully configured. The RV was parked just inside the gate of the park to resolve the issue. Kevin and Theresa worked together to once again initiate the Break Buddy (Tows remote breaking system) set up. The results of this second attempt resolved the issue and the Simitanic was ready to truly shove off to ports west.
Kevin had heard from one of the other RVers that Quartzsite was a mecca to RVs. Mostly for boone-docking or dry camping. Boone-docking is where your RV is self-sustained...no hook up! Any power is via generator, water is via a pump from the onboard tank and any waste goes in the holding tanks. For the one night stand and upcoming weather this would not be suitable tonight so any of the other RV Park accommodations would be the preference.
As the route headed West, Kevin prompted Theresa to consider Quartzsite as the nights destination. The weather was hovering over LA and heading East. The winds were picking up and Kevin was feeling its push and pull in between semis and any bridge or mountain range.
Time to pack it in! Theresa called a 'resort' in Quartzsite to see if they had open spaces. No Problem! Just come on in! Was the reply. As the town was approached several RVs were spotted randomly in the desert looking like a Breaking Bad episode!
Once checked into the Holiday Palms Resort, the winds were gusting even stronger. As the set up process unfolded Kevin noticed the patio awning was pulling away from the side of the RV. As part of the days departure efforts he had noticed the same issue and had nudged the awning into its completely stowed position. Apparently the awning had defied his attempts to stay in place and with the bouncing of the roads and strong winds the awning had again started to deploy rather than stay in the closed position. Theresa fetched the ladder, Kevin found several small bungee cords, climbed the latter and once again forced the Patio Awning back into its properly closed position. He then wrapped a couple of the bungee cords around the arms of the awning in hopes that this will keep the awning from deploying while headed down the roads on the last full day of travel. This is one more item to add to the RV list (RV = Repair Vortex). This was completed and Kevin finally rested after his 6 hours of practically non-stop driving!
No cooking tonight, is was time to find some local color! After some investigation Theresa found just the right spot.... the Quartzsite Yacht Club! It had a interesting history and even offered happy hour!
This was a classic local color type place as the server Samantha, offered to get ice for Theresa's wine! All the old salts filled the place and left no table empty. Kevin and Theresa decided it was their duty to join the Yacht club! The membership gave them a T-shirt, hat, and certificate as well as entry into any other Yacht Club... What a deal!
Tomorrow will be the last day of driving in to Hemet, CA. Before leaving there will sure to be a stop at a local 'rock' shop to get a sample of the areas gems!
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