April 2 Escapees North Ranch, Congress AZ
April 3 - 6 Lake Pleasant Regional Park, AZ
Yeah! We're finally in new territory again - places we haven't seen yet! After spending a few weeks in LA and Palm Springs and Joshua Tree which we'd seen last time we were through the area, we headed for our northern loop - generally heading home and equally important we hope to get to cooler weather! So far we're not into the mid-80's weather. We prefer under 80 (at least that's up from around 70 which is still preferred!).
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| Pictures never seem to capture the grandeur! That teeny tiny cactus and monolith way in the distance were very striking! Ramsey Mine Road BLM |
Our first stop was more BLM land on Ramsey Mine Road which is near Brenda, AZ (you recognize that right?)! We planned to stay two nights here and it was very beautiful, peaceful and for the first time fairly isolated of other overnighters. We had a little bit of odd traffic on the road (things that make you uncomfortable but probably just in our heads). Added to that we had an overwhelming electrical burn smell that was reminiscent of our Trimetric monitor burning up so of course that raised the anxiety level a bit! We came to the conclusion that it was coming from somewhere outside but we sure couldn't pinpoint it or be sure. So we decided moving on would help us determine if it's us or the air outside (after moving on, so far so good - no smell!).
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| Pulling onto the scales at Escapees North Ranch to get weighed! |
We were excited to head to our first Escapees park at North Ranch (near Congress, AZ) so we could do a 4 corner weigh on the coach (our first one!). We wanted to make sure we weren't overweight on any one corner (we knew we weren't over all) and get a benchmark for future remodels (more solar, replace booth with a buffet and table/chairs, replace couch with recliner etc.). We were pleased with the results for the most part but we were pretty much right on top of the max on the driver front side. So we moved a 40 lb footstool (that has paperwork, maps, brochure type stuff in it) to the passenger side so as we drive and that should balance us a bit more. We basically learned that our solar did not put us over the top in the front and might have helped balance our weight to the passenger side a bit more. Unfortunately propane was filled to half and it's on the driver front so we really have no room to add more weight there. Not sure what we'll do but now we know!
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| Our spot at Lake Pleasant right by the water. After seeing the neighbors hammock, we decided to get one too! |
We scouted out a place to go next and we consulted the folks on the forums about heading to Cottonwood from Congress and we were told we wouldn't like it if we went the more direct route on 89A (and after seeing parts of that route - we are in total agreement!). So we went south a little to get to I17 and saw there was a lake on the way and we really like water! So we stayed 3 nights at Lake Pleasant Regional park (no hookups $20/night). We were greeted by a rattle snake (we think that's what it was but it didn't rattle(?)). We were facing an inlet portion of the lake with lots of bushes and trees and cacti which is totally weird to us (by a lake!).
Enjoyed bike rides, hikes, and the usual side trips there at the lake. One thing we were disappointed in is we wanted to have lunch at the local BBQ and brews at the lake but it annoyed us to pay $6 to park to even check it out to see if we wanted to have lunch there. So we went to Peoria instead!
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| Another selfie capturing cacti on our hike! |
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| Isn't this so peaceful? Sunrise on the water at Lake Pleasant. |
Battery update: We can't believe how much power the fridge wants to use between sundown and ? (not sure when it finally calms down). We use about 10 amps per hour in the evening (most due to the fridge) and over 75 AH (amp hours) overnight! We did leave the dish on so it could record but didn't use the TV other than to verify DISH and guide set up. We think we only have around 100 AH available before it reaches 50% (the safe level) because these batteries have been ruined (don't have the capacity they are rated at). But we decided to keep using these batteries as we continue to learn how to manage them better and to continue to understand our power needs through all the seasons and places (like shady NW!). If you've been following this blog, you know we've gone back and forth on that!
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| Finally a brewery!! That's an amber and coffee stout. mmm... |
Highlights: 4 corner weigh, Lake Pleasant
Lowlights: Electrical burn scare
Things we've learned: We want an anemometer (measures wind speed). We have had so much wind and we're always curious how hard its blowing so we can get a sense of what 10 mph feels like vs. 20, 30 etc.
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