ROCK SOLID

Wednesday, February 18 – Paul finally got the opportunity to install the 5^th wheel stabilizers today. He's been watching for these at a good price for over a year. He saw a set he liked while we were in Quartzsite at the RV Show and purchased them.

This is the first RV Park we've been at that allows Paul to work on his RV and has a nice work area (concrete) to make installation easier.

Installation required us to hook-up to the truck. Paul then installed the top brackets for the stabilizers to the front jack legs.

He then had to remove the landing shoes from the front jacks to install the bottom brackets. This caused a little trouble because these shoes take quite a beating from the hook-up process and were a little bent-up. He had to use his hammer to try to flatten them out so he could get the bolts to line-up properly.

Once the lower brackets were installed, it was a quick and easy process to install the stabilizer bars to the jack brackets.

These bars remain in place while towing. We simple remove a pin and loosen the tension on the bars and they raise up with the jacks.

The pins have red safety flags attached to remind us they must be removed before raising the jacks.

We notice a firmer less wobbly 5er immediately. There is virtually no movement when walking up and down the steps that someone sitting on the sofa or at the table can feel.  The stabilizers effectively eliminated all the wobble.

These are the finished stabilizers on the front landing jacks.  Since these do such a great job stabilizing the 5th wheel, no stabilizers are needed on the rear jacks.

One last safety flag is installed next to the switch that is used to raise and lower the landing jacks.  It acts as a warning and a reminder so we don’t forget to remove the locking pins from the stabilizer bars before raising  the jacks.

This installation makes it nice when we are sitting at the same campground for an extended period of time. That's what we try to do these days, so this is an improvement we should enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

MESA, AZ…HOME FOR THE NEXT MONTH

Monday, February 16 – We pulled out of the Indio, CA, Elks Lodge bright and early this Monday morning. We had to make a quick stop at their dump station to empty our holding tanks so we weren't hauling unnecessary weight over the mountains east of Indio on our way to Phoenix, AZ.

That completed, we hopped on I-10 East bound for the next 225 miles. Passing through Quartzsite, AZ, we were surprised at how many RVers were still camping out in the desert. We pulled off the interstate on the east side of Quartzsite to fill up on diesel fuel. It was 75¢ cheaper in Arizona than in California. If we could have waited to fill up in Phoenix, diesel was selling for $2.45 a gallon. That's about a $1.00 cheaper than in California.

The drive through Phoenix was uneventful, even though traffic was a little heavy. We arrived at our destination, Holiday Village RV Park, by early afternoon. We have moved from Pacific time to the Mountain Time Zone, so we lost an hour along the way.

Holiday Village RV is predominately a mobile home park. Most of the residents are here for the winter. We drove around the park and there are only about a dozen RVers in the park. That's fine with us. The price is right! It really is a much nicer park than our first impression led us to believe.

We have a cement pad to park on. Good news for Paul! He's permitted to
wash the RV and truck. Yeah!

And a cement pad to sit on.

Looking right.

Looking left.

They have a very nice pool, Jacuzzi, club house, library, laundry, game room, etc. The streets are paved and the sites are gravel with concrete patios. 

So it's not a luxury RV Resort by any means, but we’re happy with our choice and will be here for the next month. We've been to the area previously, most recently three years ago, and have visited many of the popular stops. We are anxious for Spring Training baseball to begin in the next couple of weeks so we can cheer on our Cleveland Indians.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

ROMANCE AND SEX LIFE OF A DATE…REALLY!

Sunday, February 15 - We hiked in Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area today in La Quinta, CA. This is part of the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District.

The trail is predominately a route within the wash between the foot of the Coral and Santa Rosa mountains and to the North, The Quarry at La Quinta Golf Course.

We really don't like this type of hike because the sandy conditions make walking in the area very difficult. Pretty much like walking on a coarse sandy beach. The trail is an out and back trail covering the same area in both directions. With that in mind we knew we could turn back if the sandy conditions became troublesome. We stuck with it for about three miles and called it a day.

The trail on the mountain was very rocky and close to the edge.

We did see an something interesting and weirdly out of  place. Up on the ridge, overlooking the nearby golf course was a bronze horse mounted on a sturdy concrete base. Now how did that get there and what was the reasoning behind its location? That was a question we were unable to answer.

Lake Cahuilla is very nice.

If are looking for a good workout but not at the strenuous level, this is the hike for you.

We stopped at the famous Shields Date Garden on the way home. Man was it packed!

Founded in 1924, this is a famous landmark in the Indio, CA, area. We started by viewing a movie telling us all about the farm, everything you would want to know about raising dates and of course the founder, Floyd Shields. It is a very interesting movie.

They of course sell and ship dates all over the world. They do have a tasting area for all the various kinds of dates they raise. We didn't know there were so many kinds.

Marsha had to try these at least once….and we mean once.

They also have a very beautiful outdoor/indoor restaurant that we heard has a delicious menu. There is a tour among the date trees available for a fee.

Oh yeah, they sell hundred of date shakes too! We enjoyed one a couple weeks ago, so decided to skip that delicious delicacy this time.

If you are in the Indio, CA, area, be sure to stop in, see the movie and taste all the treats they have on display.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!