The Villa has left California for the first time!  While we have camped in The Villa 61 times over the past 3 years of ownership, before today it has never left California.  I am traveling solo this trip, because, well, I can. Lynda is still working, I am not, so I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to take part in the Escapee Escapade.  More on Escapees and Escapade later…

I left Irvine just before 4:00 am, with the goal of being at the Pima County Fairgrounds, about 10 miles south of Tucson, well before the check-in deadline of 2:00 pm.  It is about 500 miles, and since I travel at 55-60 mph, or sometimes slightly higher, I knew I needed 8-9 hours of travel time, plus a generous allowance for stops for gas and rest…

It’t always fun to leave in the dark, early in the morning, before the rest of the world wakes up.  Traffic is light, and adventure awaits!  My first stop was at the Golden Acorn Casino, in Campo, CA, in far east San Diego County.  I didn’t need anything except to stretch my legs, grab a protein bar and some water from the refrigerator, and use the restroom, so I was on my way in a few minutes.  My next milestone was the Arizona border!

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A few minutes later I was able to pull into a rest stop and add the obligatory sticker to the map of the states we have visited in The Villa…

 

Before long I had reached the eastern outskirts of Yuma, AZ, where I was able to buy fuel…

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I know! These are exciting photos!!!

Back on the road, I proceeded to make good time across the Arizona desert.  At about 1:15 pm I pulled into the Fairgrounds; I was shown where to park by one of the volunteers in a yellow shirt, and I made camp.  Not much to do, except leveling and stabilizing, since this is “boondocking”.  No hook-ups of any kind.  No amenities of any kind.  We are all parked in a giant field of gravel, weeds, and dead grass…

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It’s about 94 degrees in the shade, and there isn’t any shade… I needed to get registered, so I headed out to the main building where most of the activities occur. It’s about a 1/2 mile walk!  At least the building was air conditioned!  After checking in, I received all my information on activities for the week.  I headed back to settle in, read a few things and plan my week.

Why am I here?  “Escapees” (abbreviated SKPs) is a club for most- and full-time RVers. Escapade is their annual “convention”.  What attracted me first was the list of seminars on everything you need to know about being on the road for extended periods of time. Mail, internet, trip planning, places to spend the night… Also, there is a marketplace of vendors pitching their wares, from solar panels, tow hitches, insurance, and satellite TV.  And plenty of fun RV gadgets to see…

After perusing the schedule of events, I set out tinkering with my own gadgets. First came my portable solar panels. I have had them since Christmas, but, since it has been raining constantly in SoCal since Christmas, this was the first chance I had to try them.  And they work great!  They keep my batteries charged throughout the day, and, as long as I don’t waste battery power at night, I can get along just fine with no electrical hook-ups. Everything in the Airstream runs on 12 volt battery power, except the TV, microwave oven, satellite receiver, TV, and air conditioning.

Next, I pulled out my generators.  I have two Honda 2,000 watt generators, that, when linked together, produce 30 amps of power. At least that is the story.  I had tried them once before, and they appeared to work. But this time, in the desert heat, when I really needed air conditioning, nothing worked.  After running a few minutes the systems shut down; warning lights on the generators said, “overload.”  I tried running just one generator to see about the TV and Microwave oven, and that didn’t work either.  I seem to recall that this has happened before, so I am confident with a little trouble shooting I can be fully functional again.  So for now, I use the solar panels, run the fans during the heat of the day, and watch CNBC in the morning using Sling Box on my iPad… After all, we are camping…!

Luckily the weather cools down quickly by 9:00 pm or so, and mornings are in the low 60s, so sleeping is not a problem.  By Thursday, the high temps are expected to be in the mid-60s – I may need by furnace!

Tomorrow I’ll report on my first full day of seminars!