(NOTE: View a larger picture by clicking on the photos above.)
We left Lake Skinner as planned and headed back to Quartzsite, AZ on December 3rd. The drive was just over 200 miles, about our limit for a day on the road. We found the cheap campground ( $15 per night) that we had “scoped” out on the previous trip. Chosen just for an overnighter on the way to Gila Bend (Just in case you don’t know, Gila is pronounced as HE- la.) The main reason for stopping in Quartzsite again was to have our Dish Network equipment checked out to see if we may have equipment failure.
As soon as we got the RV all set up, which was no easy task, even in a “pull-through,” that was so narrow it took some doing, we headed off to the Satellite dealer where we purchased the service. The Tech checked out the Receiver box and found it working fine. Next our antenna and satellite finder was attached to it for a check of that equipment. The first Tech could not find a signal. The second Tech tried for several minutes and finally found a signal that was good. All equipment checked out fine. The problem….me, I guess, and a very sensitive dish. We carried the equipment back to our campsite and tried again to find the right satellite. Again, no luck. We decided to call it a day and head on to Gila Bend the next morning.
We took our time getting out of the campsite by not getting up early and hitting the road immediately. We had a leisurely breakfast, broke down (the campsite, that is, not us) and pulled out about 10:30 AM. The trip was only about 133 miles, so we arrived around Noon. As we were setting up our campsite, (a picture of which is above, along with the recreation hall and a typical Arizona sunset), we met our new neighbor, Jack. We noticed that he also had Dish Network. We told him of our problems with the system, and he offered to help if we needed it. We needed it! It took a while, but with Jack’s help we finally got hooked to the satellite and had service. Yeh! We learned from Jack to keep switching the transponders (the switches that indicate the different frequencies on the satellite) to zero in on a strong signal. There are some 30 transponders we are told. Anyway, we now have 100 TV channels. Maybe we can find something to watch. The next challenge is to be able to receive different programming on the second TV. Not as easy as it sounds. We’ll let you know how that turns out.
As we indicated in an earlier blog, Gila Bend is just southwest of Phoenix by about 65 miles. As it turns out, I needed to have a monthly blood check at a Quest laboratory, and I needed a medicine refill at Walgreens. To do this, we needed to head toward Phoenix. The nearest Walgreens is 35 miles away in Buckeye (on the way to Phoenix), and the nearest Quest lab is in Goodyear (farther on the way to Phoenix). Since we were to be no more than 10 miles short of Phoenix anyway, we decided to have lunch there. We had lunch, found the lab, went shopping in a couple of new areas before returning home. And of course, we needed a diesel fill up. We shopped for groceries at Fries (in Arizona the same as a Kroger store ), and since they also sell diesel we decided to fill up there. We got fuel before shopping for groceries. Diesel was $3.31 a gallon. So be it! We then parked in the lot and shopped. When we got back to the truck, we noticed the fuel price had dropped by 7 cents per gallon while we were in the store. What is a body to do? Eight hours later we arrived back at the trailer.
On Friday the winds arrived with a cold front before predicted rain. The wind kept pushing over our dish antenna even though it was “nailed” to the ground on three tripod legs. I tried several attempts to keep it upright, and finally laid our heavy bike carrier on the weaker tripod leg to keep it standing. That did the trick. Now, however, it needs a more permanent fix. Then, this morning, Saturday, the water heater quit working. We are still working on that one. Such is life.
Since we are going to be here in Gila Bend for some four months, we decided to rent a P.O. Box in case we need to get “slow mail” (as apposed to e-mail). If you need to contact us by this method, our new address is as follows: P.O. Box 2284, Gila Bend, AZ 85337.
Since it is now the week-end, I need to get this blog posted so you can have all the news, such as it is. Next week will be a different story.
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