Midnight Monsoons

Summertime in Havasu is also Monsoon time. We have a number of Monsoons roll through this time of year. Usually we can see them coming and prepare for them by putting away all the awnings, rolling up the windows in the car and battening down anything that will blow away. The problem comes when they come through in the middle of the night. Last night was one of those nights. I woke to the sound of the palm frowns rustling from the wind. I laid there for a while to see if it would calm down but it only got worse. Finally I had to get up and go outside to secure everything. Just all part of living in the desert.

No more feeding the Burros

This summer we took our grandson to Oatman here in Arizona. Anyone that has been to Oatman, or is familiar with Oatman knows that they are famous for the Burros that come to town everyday looking for a handout from the tourists.

Even the merchants sell carrots for feeding the small donkeys. Well no more. I guess someone did a study and found the burros that are hand fed carrots all day are not as healthy as they would be if they were to venture out and rummage the desert for food on their own. The merchants have been asked to no longer sell carrots for feeding the burros and signs have been erected around town to not feed the animals. I will expect this may be a big blow on the tourist trade in Oatman since the burros will soon no longer come to town in hopes for an easy meal.

Monsoon

Friday we had a sever weather warning for unseasonably high temperatures. Saturday we had a nice rainstorm come through. Tonight we had a sever thunderstorm pass over. Usually storms go around Havasu. In fact most of the storms today did just that as seen in these photo.


Note the frowns on the palms. The wind was blowing mighty hard.

Then one hit just about dinnertime. We sat at our dinette and watched out the window as it came over. For a while there I thought we were going to loose a window to the nickel sized hail. The wind was slamming the hail against the window pretty hard. We watched as our patio furniture slid across the patio into the motorhome and Susan’s favorite pot blew over and cracked even though I had a pretty good size rock in the bottom. After the mayhem we were treated to a lightning show that rivals a good fireworks show. I went out and snapped a bunch of pictures in hopes to get some shots.





I missed the million dollar shot of a big lightning bolt going right through a rainbow. That was cool.

It’s Still Hot

Yeah, we are back in Havasu. We took off last Wednesday morning about 8:00a and arrived in Havasu around 1:30P. Not much has changed here in Havasu. It’s still hot, about 110° today, and there is still no one here at the resort. Our plants are struggling from the heat so it’s a good thing we came back. I will have to soak them real good to see if I can bring them back. I think they will survive. We will be here for a few weeks then it’s back to the coast.

As you may know from our previous posts, it seems every time we come to Havasu we pick a mouse or two. I have always taken the reactive approach, this time I am taking the proactive approach. I have set traps at the most likely entrances and one under the kitchen counter. We will see if they are brave enough to invade us again.

Getting ready

I like my MiFi. So far it has worked flawlessly. It will be interesting to see how well it will work in Lake Havasu since the Verizon Broadband signal comes from across the lake and it can be hard to lock on to at times. The good thing is I can put the MiFi just about anywhere since I connect to it wireless. This means I will be able to place it where it gets the best signal.

We are about ready to head back to Lake Havasu. We have sat here long enough and are anxious to get back. It has cooled down to below 110° out there so it might be a little more tolerable. The manager at the resort called to tell us our plants are struggling so he will turn up the water a bit. It’s nice to have someone keeping an eye on things. So far it looks like Wednesday is travel day but you know how things change. Why Wednesday you say? Well because since there are no sewer connections here we have to put things away, pull in the slides, pull up the jacks, and driver over to the dump station once a week. Wednesday is a good day because we can get it done before all the weekenders get here.

Isn’t Technology great

It can also give you a big headache. Since my computer has been spending more time down than up and I am tired of having to fix it often, I went out and bought a new laptop. I am no longer the power user I used to be so I elected to get a computer just to keep records, cruise the Internet, and email. I found a nice Toshiba for $300. The problem is, PCICMA or PC Card as they also call it is no longer popular so they do not include a PC Card slot in these computers. Since my Verizon aircard is a PC Card it is useless with my new computer. It turns out I am due for a free upgrade with a new 2 year contract with Verizon so I started looking at the best fit for the new computer. What I found is this new MiFi card.

No I spelled it right…It’s MiFi. This is a battery powered aircard with a built in WiFi router capable of connecting 5 wireless devices to the Internet at one time. Since the old computer is still running (some what) Susan can connect to the Internet at the same time I am connected using WiFi. As you can see it is no bigger than a ½ deck of cards. You can slip it in your shirt pocket and have a WiFi router everywhere you go. Now comes the problem. I pulled it out of its box, hooked it to my new computer and set it up. Then I unplugged it and connected wireless. Everything worked great…until I tried to connect with my old computer. Seems the security measures they are now using are way too sophisticated for my old computer’s WiFi card. I consulted the Internet for a solution. Seem a lot of others are having this problem and a lot of them had solutions but none worked for me. After hours of thinking I knew everything I finally gave in and called Verizon Tech Support. Well it turns out I do know everything, at least more than Verizon Tech Support does. After over an hour on the phone with 3 guys from Verizon I said goodbye. Back to the Internet for help I went. Still no help so I dove in to the setup of the MiFi. After a while of trial and error I found a happy medium where now both computers are happy and connected to the MiFi.

Pretty Cool!

It’s getting’ better

I mentioned in my last post how I feel about Windows Vista operating system. Well It’s getting better. I am starting to get use to the difference and have searched the Internet for ideas on how to tweak the things I don’t like. I have changed every setting I can find to the “classic” setting and that helped a lot. I even found ways to load most of my old software even though it is not supposed to be compatible and it all seems to be working so far. If I was one that is satisfied with the “right out of the box” look and feel, it would probably be fine, but I have always liked to tweak things to my liking.

It’s been a while

Well, I guess it’s been a while since I last updated our site. We have been busy. We took our grandson to Knott’s Berry Farm the other day and he wore me out.

At 8 years old, that guy is not afraid of anything. He went on all the roller coasters except the ones that were down for maintenance. There were some that I only went on because of him (didn’t want to look like a chicken in front of the Grandson).

This is a photo of a few coasters entwined with each other.

He got burned out by the end of the day even though he didn’t want to admit it. We just got out of the parking lot when he was out for the night. What a great day.

Well after tearing into the old computer again, I decided it’s time.

So the hunt was on. For what I do I don’t need a super computer so I scouted out a couple of good $300 computers. I ended up with a Toshiba. It’s pretty nice computer although I am having a hard time getting used to the mouse, there is always something. The real pain it the ass is the operating system. Windows Vista is a real piece of crap. I keep loosing icons on my desktop, the scroll feature in iexplore just keeps scrolling and can’t be stopped until it reaches the end of the page, and half the folders are gone or renamed. I haven’t even tried to load my software yet. I am sure I will run into compatibility issues and am not about to buy all new software. If I could I would format the hard drive and put XP on it but I know that will surely give me fits. I let my Grandson loose on the new computer for testing.

I figured if there was a problem he would surely find it. He did find some comparability issues where iexploer had to shut down.

Well I will let you know how it goes.

Back in Vista, CA

It was just too hot and humid. Yes humid. This is monsoon season in Havasu and the afternoon thunderstorms were rolling through. 122° and 35% humidity is not good. Landen was missing his mom and dad so it was time to bring him back. We will hang out here until he goes back to school then…Well, I don’t know.

I am having major computer problems. As you probably know I have pulled apart my computer several times to repair the power connector. Well now sometimes it won’t boot. It’s time for a new one. I am going out tomorrow to start looking. In the mean time, I am backing up immediately after doing anything important.

Trust

I always hate it when I need to trust someone else with my vehicles. That is why I try to do everything I can myself. If I don’t do it right, at least I know what to do to correct it since I have been in there. Tomorrow we take the motorhome in for some brake work. The shop is an authorized Workhorse shop and has good reviews. I check these things out, but there is still that doubt. We are having the work done tomorrow and the next day we will be heading for the coast of California. I would sure hate for them to miss something and have it show up on the road. I am sure they will do a great job.

Dodged another

Not only are we experiencing 100++ temperatures here in Havasu, but there has been thunderstorms all around us. None had hit us yet but we get the humidity and winds from them and an occasional sprinkle. The other day I got all the awnings in and things secured just before the 35+ mph winds hit. I watched as some poor sole was trying to land his small plane at the nearby airport. He made about 7 or 8 passes before getting up the nerve to put it down. It was strange watching a plane fly over sideways as the wind blew him across the sky. Today we dodged another one.

You can see the rain falling out from the bottom of this cloud. We have been wanting to head on over to Las Vegas but that’s where all the storms are.

The air conditioners have run so much that they are getting pretty dusty inside. I need to shut them down and cleaned them so they will not have to work so hard and probably cool better. I am a little reluctant to shut down the front one since it has been running for over a month straight now. I’m kind of afraid it might not want to come back on and we really need it right now.

It’s done and I’m back

Our computer got struck with a virus. Not only that but the power connector broke again on the computer too. That meant that I first had to disassemble the computer and re-solder the power connector again. After that I spent a lot of time trying to get rid of the virus. All I did was get deeper and deeper into trouble. Finally after I got rid off the virus, the damage was done. I ended up reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling everything back on the computer. Now I got a clean, lean machine. Hopefully it will hold up for a while now.

It sure has been hot around here. Yesterday it was 102° at 8:00am and again at 9:30pm, and even hotter in between. It’s running about 117° outside right now. It does drop to around 88° at night though. We are managing to keep it reasonable inside the motorhome. Boy are our air conditioners getting a workout. We haven’t turned one of them off in…well I don’t know how long. The other we are able to turn off at night. We are heading for Las Vegas in a couple of days. Yes it will be hot there too but at least we will have things to do that can be done inside where it’s cool.

2 in one night

Seems every time we come here we pick up a mouse. This time was no different. You would think I would learn by now and set traps as soon as we arrive. But Noooo. The other night we were awaken to munching in the walls. I got up and thumped on the walls but he just went to another location and started munching again. I got up again and thumped some more and finally he left for the night. But not before snacking on our bread. So I set some traps in hopes to get the little bugger the next night. We didn’t hear any munching last night so I figured I must have got him in the trap at where I thought he was getting in. This morning I checked the trap where the bread was and there he was. Huh, I thought. Somehow he got past the entrance trap. Just for the heck of it I checked the trap I placed in route from the entrance to the bread. Wow, another one! Then I went outside to check the entrance trap expecting to see another explaining why

these 2 guys didn’t get stopped at the entrance point. Trap still set and baited. They must have come in another way. Anyway I re-baited the traps and we will see if we got all the intruders for now.
Also the rabbits have found our Hibiscus plants. At first I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

I though maybe they had some kind of disease since I would find leaves and pieces of the branches lying on the ground each morning. Otherwise the plant seemed to be healthy. They would sprout new leaves with no problem but soon they were lying on the ground again. Then one morning the manager said while she was doing her walk in the early morning she spotted a rabbit sitting in one of the pots munching on my plant.
I guess these critters were here before us. At least I haven’t found any scorpions or rattle snakes, Yet.

Dry heat?

I thought the desert was supposed to be a dry heat. The humidity was around 55% this morning. With 100+° That can get a bit uncomfortable. Good thing Landen has discovered the computer in the clubhouse because that gives us an excuse to escape from the heat for a while. He spends about an hour on the computer while I grab a book out of the library in the clubhouse. Shortly after lunch the humidity dropped to about 10% and the temp climbed to around 110°. But it’s a dry heat. An oven at 110° is a dry heat too but it’s still HOT. It’s amazing though how much more tolerable 10% humidity is over 55%, no matter what the temperature is. If I can sit outside without dripping and with a nice breeze I can handle 110°. Our weather radio has been going crazy today with

Sever Thunderstorm warnings and Flash Flood warnings. I even had to get up sometime in the middle of the night to shut the radio off after I was awakened to a warning. Fortunately it has been all around us and we got nothing today other than the humidity. For some reason everything seems to go around Lake Havasu City instead of through it. Fine with me. You sure can smell the ozone in the air around here though. That’s not too good for my new tires. Both air conditioners are getting quite a workout. One runs 24 hours and the other about 10-14 hours a day. They do a pretty good job keeping it comfortable inside the motorhome.

Another boat ride

We got invited to go on another boat ride yesterday. We found a spot along the shore of the lake to setup for the day, grill a few hamburgers, and play.

In spite of the stinky dead fish, we all had a lot of fun and got real burned out. I gave Susan the night off and we headed for the Red Robin Restaurant for dinner. If it weren’t for the thunderstorm that came through this morning we would have slept in. The good thing is it came thought about the same time I get up every morning anyway.

Concentration

pays off.

Taking time out to catch up on a few computer games in the clubhouse.

One Hundred +

We are back into the 100+ temperatures here in Arizona. Looks like the sub 100s are gone for the summer. I get out and do a few things on the motorhome in the morning hours then call it quits until evening. After lunch Landen and I head on over to the pool for an hour or so. It starts to cool down around 6:00p so I can do a few more things before the sun goes down. Good thing is it doesn’t get to dark until around 8:00p so with the time I have in the morning and evening I have plenty of time to get thing done.

I have been wanting to take Landen down to the lake to play but there is a problem with KHV, Koi Herpes Virus. I know it sounds bad but actually it’s harmless to Humans. The problem is it is killing off hundreds of Carp in the lake and they are washing up to shore, hundreds of them, so you can imagine what it smells like. They are doing their best to keep the shores cleaned up but with thousands of Carp in lake it is a monumental task. The good news is they are finding less and less washing up to shore every day. They are hoping to get things pretty much cleaned up for the up coming 4th of July holiday.

Retired

I retired the motorhome yesterday. No, it’s not what you think. I got 6 new tires on the motorhome.

They came right out to the resort and in less than 2 hours the job was done. Mounted and balanced. Even with a $25 service call (that’s right only $25) the price was about the same as if I had taken it somewhere to have the job done. Not a bad deal. I ordered them on Monday and after the tire guy called in the order he said they would be in next week. I was surprised when he called and wanted come by to install them yesterday.

We took off yesterday morning with the grandson to Oatman. Oatman is a small town on Route 66 in Arizona that was at one time a copper mining town and now is basically a tourist attraction.

Probably the biggest attraction of the town is the ancestors of the original minors burrows. They now come into town everyday to get handouts from the tourists.

They have even been knows to walk right into the shops at times.

Landen got a kick out of the gunfight at high noon. He got be a part by helping to block the road for the show. He had a really great time.

Plenty going on

We sure have been busy here in Havasu since we got back.

Landen insists on going in the pool everyday and I can’t blame him. The weather hasn’t been bad at all. It has been in the low 90s and little wind. Today though we skipped the pool because our friends took us out for a boat ride.

We went up river all the way across I-40 and had lunch then headed back down. We stopped once on the way up to play along the shore and once on the way back. What a nice ride.

The other day we headed down to the London bridge to show Landen. Turns out they are filming a movie called Piranha 3D in the channel.

We headed over to check out some of the action and walked right into the scene. One of the workers said we are welcome to stay as long as we react to the action. So it looks like we may be in the movie, if they don’t cut the scene.

I have been trying for the last couple of weeks to get new tires for the motorhome. Seems like Michelin has dropped the ball and their tires that fits the motorhome are on back order for 6 to 8 months. How can a company let one of their most popular RV tires get that far behind? I am sure I am not the only one that needs tires in the next 6 to 8 months and will have to go with a competitor. That’s a lot of lost business.

Well we got friend coming to town tomorrow so we have plenty to do while we are here.

Made it back to Havasu

We traveled 6 hours to Havasu today. It was quite a trip for our Grandson. He is going to spend the summer with us and hopefully we can do some traveling. The weather here in Havasu is a lot better than where we were in California. We left overcast and drizzle in California and are now in sunny 89 to 90s here in Havasu. Landen has already spent some time in the pool

and played some golf this afternoon. It’s nice to be back in Havasu.

Hopefully while here I can finally retire the tires on the motorhome. Or Re-Tire the motorhome, pun intended. No one could come up with the tires I want while we were in California so I got one more trip out of the old ones. They are common Michelins but I guess they laid off to many people and can’t keep up with the demand.

Sunshine

Today there actually was sun. The sun came out in the late morning and stayed out all day. I took the opportunity to suck up a little vitamin D.
We found out we got some bum scoop. Our Grandson doesn’t get out of school until Friday the 12th. We are all set to pull out of here this Sunday the 7th. We will be pulling him out of school a week early and stick to our plan. He is a good student and there is probably not much school work during the last week.