The last night in Lake Havasu was one night stay too long. The weather turned to cold with winds sustaining in the upper 20 mph. The wind was so strong that it created a blackout dust storm that started on the California side of the lake and moved east to the Arizona side where we were parked. I sat on the patio side of Land Wanderer watching the bright sky turn dark with sand and dust. I quickly put everything away and got inside. When the storm hit, the RV rocked and rolled. It lasted all night. It was so strong, that during the night, I had to bring in the slide-outs to keep from damaging the vinyl roll-out cover. The noise of the wind that tormented us all night sounded like a train locomotive on our door step. It was a sleepless night. After all said and done, I wish I had taken time-elapse photo’s of the storm coming towards me. Words can’t describe what I saw. It was the first time I have witnessed a sand storm. Our son Daniel, who was a Marine in Iraq, often told of these storms. Now we understand!
The Land Wanderer has been pulling slightly to the left when driving. I wanted to get the front tires rotated and get an alignment done. I was concerned that the front tires were wearing the inside treads so I set up an appointment with Ed Whitehead Tire in Yuma. We arrived to Yuma earlier than planned so we boondocked in the desert foothills north of Yuma. The tire shop rotated the tires but they were not able to do an alignment. They said the pull to the left was not an alignment problem. They recommend that I get it checked when I get back home. It was nothing immediate that I need to be concerned about. Anyhow, they said since they were not able to correct the problem, they would not charge me for any of the work. I offered and offered but they would not accept payment. I am just very impressed with the local people.
On this same trip from Lake Havasu to Yuma, our GPS died. The GPS is a Rand McNally, the map people and made just for RV’ers. I love this thing. It’s perfect for our RV travels. Well, it’s been acting up since we left Virginia. We have had it for about 3 years and we paid about $400 for it. I really don’t want to lose it nor do I want to spend more money on getting another RV GPS. Denise suggested that I should call them. I explained to them what was happening. It appears this is a common problem with the power cable….Power Cable, hum, ??? I improved the power cable connection before we left so the cable would not be strung across the front console. Did I cause this problem? Yep. I tested the connection and it was not applying the power to the GPS. So my improvement needed to be improved some more. They are sending me new cables at no charge and I will now use their cables.
This is our first experience to boondocking. The people at this boondocking location are very friendly and we got to know our neighbors. Denise and I both enjoyed learning about other people’s RV’s life. It’s such an interesting life. Most people we have met are retiree’s from a career long job, wanting to explore and have an adventure. They still have a place they call home.
Our boondocking location is adjacent to the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds. We got security clearance to visit the post. Once inside, we visited the Heritage Museum. The proving grounds is exactly what it implies. The Army tests all there stuff at this site before they are released to the battle field. We were not able to witness any testing. We did see a tank high-speeding down a desert road. The visit is free and there are a lot of historical hardware to see. I was hoping to see some cool new armament but not today.
