THUNK, THUNK, BANG

Certainly not the kind of sound one likes to hear while driving down the road - right?!

And just so you don't think that all this traveling around is all sunshine and flowers, I'll tell you about our thunk, thunk, bang issue.

Since Prescott this what we kept hearing.

THUNK, THUNK, BANG 

or

BANG, BANG, BANG

The thunk wasn't near as bad as the bang which got really bad after a bump in the road.

We were completely perplexed.

From Prescott to Wickenburg we stopped a few times, Derek was convinced it was something in our sides doors. I even went to listen while we were driving to try to pin point where the sound was coming from. To no avail.

As we were headed to the Horspitality RV Park I drove a portion just so Derek could give it a try.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS! says Derek.

Well, turns out it was our propane pipe.

A few taps with the hammer should do the trick.

IT DIDN'T.

So by the time we arrived to the Lowe's in Buckeye we knew we had to deal with the problem. Our first thought was to take it too a mechanic. I called around on our iPad to a local place but then realized that the Camping World over in Avondale would be the place we had to go. I put a call in but ended up leaving a message.

Then Derek had a really bright idea.

How about I fix it he says......

Hmmmmmm .......... what an interesting thought.

And so - following a purchase of a $100 drill from Lowe's and some brackets - and a few hours of going back and forth and trying things this way and that - our propane pipe was FIXED!

The problem was that our propane pipe was falling onto and getting stuck on our leaf springs!

Derek checking the situation.

A good a reason as any to purchase a fancy new drill.

The sad brackets holding up our propane line.

Not necessarily propane pipe brackets but they do the trick.

Eventually we'll have to get the propane line rerouted but this should fix the problem for this year.

And an extra piece of pipe in case the pipe slips down again. This will hopefully stop the lip from getting caught on the spring.

We were happy that we had parked at the Lowe's - nothing like being able to walk back and forth to get the parts you need. And - we felt good giving back a little for the pleasure of parking overnight in their lot and enjoying the wifi.

We would have been fine paying a mechanic to fix this for us if it had come to that, but in the end it was a job we (well, Derek) could do himself and we were REALLY thrilled with that.

$$$ saved = priceless.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Of course we can consider ourselves lucky that it was just a pipe that was our problem. When you travel around all sorts of things happen and they usually do - we've heard a lot of stories about things going wrong. If you haven't yet been over to visit Flip Flop Vector - you should! I highly recommend David's site - he is VERY FUNNY. But not so funny was their recent travel day gone wrong. Just glad that he and Teri were ok.

VULTURE PEAK TRAIL

One of the bits of information we gathered at the Wickenburg Chamber was the trial up to the summit of Vulture Peak.

Now, don't get me wrong - we weren't ACTUALLY going to climb to the top. Nope those days are gone - for awhile at least. Yes, Cassia is a good little hiker but not that good - yet. Oh sure - it would all go well for awhile - we'd all walk and have a great time but somewhere along the way Cassia would need a lift - trust me.

And the way things are going, by the time Cassia is ready for such a climb Derek and I seriously have our doubts that we would be up for the challenge.

Today, I THOUGHT that since we were going right by it might be nice to get out on a trail to stretch our legs.

Good idea - right?!

WRONG!

All was going well - we found the trail head parking lot - well actually it was 1 mile in so we stopped and parked in the parking lot just off the highway. We were now about 6 miles south of Wickenburg on Vulture Mine Road.

Derek had Roofous and I was with Cassia.

Once we got to the trailhead with no one in site Derek thought to let Roofous off the leash to let him run a bit.

Ok - so we are bit rusty from a few winters before - we completely forgot about....

CHOLLA!

Nice to look at - just don't go close!

So - here is the scoop! Cholla and dogs don't mix. The cholla are sharp and drop their needles around themselves. It took all of 10 seconds for Roofous to step in them, and another 10 for him to try to get them out with his teeth, only to get them stuck in the roof of his mouth.

A trail walk gone wrong.

Since it wasn't all that much fun watching Derek try to wrestle Roofous to the ground to pull the needles out I quickly turned Cassia around to head back to the van. Sure wish I had gotten at least one picture of that though.

We were back at the van and back on the road in mere minutes.

Note to selves: No more walking anywhere near cholla!

I quite like this area south of Wickenburg and it even offers some boondocking spots. However, it is far  from ideal for Derek. You just get that sometimes - a difference in where we like to spend some time.

This was a pretty quick trip for us from Wickenburg to Buckeye - retracing our drive from last spring. Since it was our first time through this way then I took more pictures which you can see here. This time I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. 

By early afternoon we were pulling into one of our favourite urban boondocking spots - the Lowe's at exit 117 along the I10 at Buckeye. 

Ahhhh - it feels a bit like home.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: As we traveled south on Vulture Mine Road we passed the Vulture Gold Mine. I've yet to take pictures of it because from the road it is hard to get a good shot. However, if you ever this way and are interested in mines, tours are offered.

WICKENBURG

Our trip from Prescott was actually quite eventful but I have nothing to show for it! Me - I was too busy with my fingers crossed to take any pictures. We left Prescott without filling our gas tank - I know, I know - tell it to the driver! I must have also been holding my breath - I don't recall much of the trip - or is that because of all the twisting and turning on this route as well - I guess I have blocked it all out.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE HILL THAT WE HAD TO COME DOWN BETWEEN YARNELL AND CONGRESS! MY OH MY!

Anyway, we left Prescott quite late but we figured we weren't going far. We pulled into Congress on what felt like fumes - but we made it - so let's not dwell - right Derek?!

We were headed to a BLM boondocking spot just south of Congress but it was not to be - the roads were there alright but so were the gates across them.

What to do now? Just as the sun is setting. Not HUGE fans of having to find overnight parking in the dark.

It worked out just fine thanks - we found a stealth camping spot in town. All was ok but with the way the semis parked I don't think they were huge fans of us sharing their spot. 

The next morning we headed into downtown Wickenburg to look around. If you've been with us a while you may recall that we stopped into Wickenburg last spring on our way north. Unfortunately we only stayed a few hours because Cassia was not feeling well. 

Funny - we had longed for years to make it through Wickenburg and now we've been there TWICE! Isn't traveling fun!

FIRST STOP - THE WICKENBURG CHAMBER

I'm a big fan of stopping in at Visitor Centers or Chamber of Commerce offices for info. Shiny, colourful maps and brochures do the trick for me. Nothing better then walking out totally armed with all you need to know about a place.

Thanks to the Wickenburg ladies!

Somehow we totally missed the talking people last year - well not this year! Although strangely enough this lady had a very masculine voice. Not sure why they had a man talking about ladies in the old west.

Look familiar? Yup - I took a similar picture last spring - just couldn't resist a retake.

Hmmm - I didn't notice until later that this was actually a family photo. Nope - we didn't tell Cassia what the writing said ....

Wickenburg is home to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum which I'm sure would be a great place to visit but we haven't - yet. Our third visit might do the trick.

GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL!

And so we did - the Jail Tree that is. While reading our visitor info stuff we realized that last year we had completely missed the Jail/Hanging Tree.

THIS had to be rectified!

Hmmm - Derek missed his calling but maybe Cassia has a future in the dramatic arts?!

The old schoolhouse deserved a picture just for being so darn cute. Pretty neat the 1905 Garcia Schoolhouse is now the location of the Wickenburg Children's Cultural Org. Makes sense.

24 HOURS OF LUXURY!

For us! Yup - even the frugal living van dwelling Wood Clan needs to hitch up to the post now and again. With our Good Sam's Club Membership and Voucher in hand we saddled up and rode into the Horspitality RV Park for a night of full hook up bliss, showers, laundry and wifi.

I mean LUXURY because that is exactly the type of price tag is attached to a place like this.

$32.50 per night. 

Now, I don't mean to offend but is that price crazy or is it crazy?! WHO spends that kind of money on a place to park. With our $25 voucher it cost us a whole $7.50 - stomachable. But $32.50! Yikes!

Hmmmm - do you think we fit in? Actually - we had to laugh - other than the friendly office ladies you would have thought we were lepers. 

Ahhh - they can have it! Really.

SO MUCH TIME SO FEW PLAYGROUNDS

The next day we decided to spend some time at the park. After all a little girl needs her time to run and play - and maybe even find a friend.

I don't know what I was thinking but I forgot to take pictures of Cassia and her five year old girlfriend Miley. They played for quite awhile which I'm sure Miley's mom appreciated as she tended to her one month old son Luke. Later, Cassia was pretty curious about this little Navajo boy. 

WE STOP FOR - OR STAY IN TOWN FOR - DOWNTOWN OPEN MARKETS

Have we mentioned that we are HUGE fans of MARKETS! Having read the day before that there was to be one Thursday night we decided to stick around for it. 

A little smaller than expected and threatened with rain but we enjoyed our few stops nonetheless.

First up - Decio Pasta. Now - I'm not the biggest pasta fan in the world but if I had this pasta close at hand I think I would be pretty quick. 

You had us with - Spinach Basil Garlic Linguine!

Seriously, one taste of this stuff and we were all convinced. Even Cassia! If Cassia likes it WE like it!

So we happily walked off with the Spinach Basil Garlic and Szechuan Orange Spice Linguine and Autumn Orzo.

And now on to the honey - Eagle Eye Honey. We stop for honey also. I had already sampled the mesquite and light and dark wildflower honey. It was Derek's turn. 

Of course we couldn't leave with out a jar of the dark wildflower for ourselves. And 4 honey sticks for Cassia!

Shortly after this it started to rain.

And thus ended our three days in Wickenburg. We returned once again to our truck stop parking lot for the night - we parked in the far corner as to not bother the truckers. Sheesh.

On the road again the next day - Buckeye was calling our names!

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Since I've been spending such little time cruising around the internet this link thing is giving me trouble these days. Link, link, link - think, think, think - with only Winnie the Pooh on the brain. I've so missed my favourite blogs since we've been on the road! In the interest of time I'm just going to pass along one of my most favourites - Frugally Sustainable - I've linked this site before but not in along time. Andrea has TONS of good stuff to read up on.

LYNX LAKE RECREATION AREA

During our second day in Prescott we had a list of things to do. We hit Trader Joe's first and then went off in search of a sani dump - a FREE sani dump. We'll pay if we have too but we read that Many RV in Prescott Valley offered dump and water. We'd also be passing by a thrift store - perfect - Derek is looking for some lighter pants. 

That was a BUSY morning and a lot of driving around. But still - we found our way around easy enough with no problem negotiating the roadways and traffic. 

With our Sedona to Prescott ordeal the day before, and with all the shopping and running around in the morning, we definitely needed some DOWN time. 

From our map we saw that very close by was Lynx Lake - so that's where we headed for the rest of the day.

More beautiful fall foliage!

By the time we arrived, about a 15 minute drive, Cassia was asleep. I wandered around a bit taking these pictures, picked up a map and paid the $5 day use fee. 

When she woke up we all went for a walk. There is a trail that goes around the lake - too much for us today.

Imagine! A turtle sunning himself - herself - itself!

Cassia, Derek and Roofous looking at the turtle.

It was a day - and $5 - well spent. The park closed at 6:00 pm and we rolled out at about 5:55 pm after having a nice dinner made by our weber. 

We could have headed back to the Home Depot for the night but opted for the Lowe's. Thankfully we did because the next morning Derek found the container we were looking for to complete our back storage deck. It had to be an exact size so we were thrilled to have found it fairly easily. Derek spent the morning installing it.

Our storage deck and the large container on the right came with the van. We had an empty space to the left that seemed like such a waste of space. 

Cassia with our TWO storage boxes - and now a place for our Canadian stickers.

Soon after we headed to Hastings and then out of Prescott. We didn't get out until later in the afternoon but that was okay we weren't headed far - a little south to Wickenburg.

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Since our time in the USA is winding down as we get get closer to Mexico I''ve been ramping up my research. Glad to see that Croft's Mexico is on his way - a good resource if you are headed south. He's talking about TOPES today - something we'll of course have to watch out for.

5 REASONS WHY WE LOVE TRADER JOE'S

While in Prescott we took the opportunity to visit Trader Joe's. It wasn't an accident that TJ's is there and that WE were there - I had checked our planned route against TJ's locations. Crazy - right?!

I KNOW that I go on and on about Trader Joe's - so I thought I would let you know exactly why!

Here's our TOP 5 REASONS WHY WE LOVE TRADER JOE'S STORES:

1. ATMOSPHERE
In a world of big box stores, TJ's is the little guy. Their stores are not large and that's the great thing about them. They are small, efficient and compact. They are laid out very well - with easy flow. The only tricky part is that because they are so popular it can be crowded at times but nothing that I'm going to complain about. Because the packaging is so interesting and colourful the interior store comes across that way as well.

2. INTERESTING PRODUCTS
You just gotta LOVE the food from TJ's. I mean SERIOUSLY L.O.V.E........ Right now they are featuring pumpkin products - yes, we've already done Thanksgiving and know it doesn't seem to fit in the hot weather but hey - we can do with more pumpkin stuff - right?! I love the olive oil popcorn - the only one in the family - which is another reason to buy it - right - FINALLY something that is all mine.

3. QUALITY PRODUCTS
A lot of the products have a fairly short ingredient list which we appreciate. We are not total health nuts but we like to eat well and healthy. We aren't big fans of products with a lot of stuff in them - particularly a lot of chemical stuff in them. We did really well this time purchasing some candy for Cassia.

Now - first - Cassia doesn't get much candy. We held off as long as we could and figured that at just over two years we had done well. We went ahead and bought two things for her at TJ's - coated sunflower seeds (hey - why tell her at this point that those are not real candy - don't you be telling her either!) and gummie bears.

Probably the best thing about both is that they use natural rather than artificial colours.

Cassia to the right pretty happy to be showing off her NEW favourite treat.

4. LOW PRICES

The most amazing thing of course is that you would expect with small stores, interesting and quality products you would pay MORE not pay LESS. But somehow that is exactly how it is. Not to get ahead of myself but Gerri from the Precott store was telling us that prices are about 25% less then other food stores. The reason? TJ's pays cash for all of their products. Imagine that! For us TJ's works very well with our frugal living - we can actually get fresh and great tasting products for less! LOVE IT!

We've recently replaced cows milk with coconut and almond milk - we are all thrilled with this decision. Much better for us and travels well in the tetra packs. We stocked up for Mexico.

5. FRIENDLY STAFF

It would be nice if I had some friendly TJ's folks smiling for you but - well - I didn't bring my camera into the store. But take it from us - REALLY nice - the ones we have met anyway. Not talking about every store and everyone working at the stores - I mean we all have our off days in the retail trade - right?! 

We spent some time talking with Gerri which she happily served us samples of cranberry/walnut bread with pumpkin cream cheese - guess it worked since we left with our own. The snack went great with our free coffee sample - hey - maybe #6 should be FREE SAMPLES! 

Strange I know - but before stopping in at the Bellingham TJ's, Derek and I had NEVER tried greek yogurt. We thought we'd give it a go with a few flavoured containers. We are all hooked now!

YUM!

 And so ends our shopping trips to Trader Joe's until the spring. We have all the way home to find a few to stop in at. We are in Buckeye now and seriously contemplated driving up to Surprise - the closest TJ's to here - but a 45 minute drive one way - nope - just can't do it!

And no - TJ's isn't giving us a thing for this - I know it comes off like a commercial - but hey - doesn't matter - we LOVE it and you should GO!

Teresa

TODAY'S INTERESTING LINK: Good to see that we are not the only ones. At least I haven't started a whole new blog about TJ's like Nathan has over at What's Good at Trader Joe's. Nathan and his wife Sonia LOVE TJ's too and offer their product reviews.