Woke to a
cloudy sky but it’s still warm enough for this Michigander to wear shorts. 😎Already in the mid-50s with a high of 80o
predicted. Yay!
-----
Waiting
until about noon to get on the bikes.
Kim is taking the time to do a minor repair project that required epoxy
glue. Waiting to see that it all sets up
then we’ll walk to what’s left of the flea market this side of I-10.
-----
Janice
(the lady neighbor with the ATV) was outside as I was walking back to camp so
it was a perfect opportunity to ask about the where and how of ATV riding.
She showed
me the map they use...the trails are numbered on the map but not necessarily
with signs on the ground. If you get to
where you’re unsure of where you are, go high and look for landmarks (distinct
mountain peaks, communities, etc.). She
claims that way it’s about impossible to get lost. Also her RZR is an upgrade from a 4-wheeler. Several years ago she was caught out in a rain/hail/lightning
storm on a hill and decided that if she was going to be the tallest thing
around in that situation she wanted a little more protection than the 4-wheeler
provided.
Both said that the buggies were built for
ruggedness, not necessarily speed. While
they’re capable of maybe 55 mph at top speed, Ed said doing that speed around here
off road would probably land you in the hospital. He doesn’t go any more than
40. After he shared about their
different styles of driving yesterday and listening to Janice talk today, I
think she’s more tentative than him. She’s
intimidated by driving out here on the road even though it’s legal...doesn’t
like being in car/truck traffic even though their buggies are the size of a
small car. So for comparison
purposes...yesterday our ride was about 2 hrs. 15 minutes and we went 123
miles; they were out for about 4 hours and by their estimation they rode about
30 miles.
--------------------
Evening edition:
 |
| On our way to the flea market |
Oddly
enough, though, I did find a much needed rolling pin but that was because it
was right there at the front of a table as we walked by one of the vendors. Kim also found a clock for the trailer.
-----
Quartzsite
is also a great place for rock hounds. Wouldn’t say that either of us would be
classified as a rock hound but we do both enjoy finding and tumbling rocks so
we were drawn in. I know...tables full
of gadgets make me want to run but bins full of rocks draw me in...just doesn’t
make sense. 😏 I
can’t identify the various types of rocks (except for Petoskey stones) so I
just go with whatever catches my eye. I
found one today that piqued my interest...going to take it home, slice it in
maybe 4 sections and tumble it. The rock
shop dude told me it was a type of Jasper but that’s not why I bought it. I
just thought it was pretty. 😊 And we found Petoskey stones....out in a rock
shop in Arizona...who'd of guessed?
--------------------
After lunch we rode to Yuma to find a
Walgreen’s so I could print some pictures.
I put a postcard backing on them so the grandkiddos get a personalized
postcard. Left about 1:30 and got back
at 7, just as it was getting dark. High
temp was 82o today so we both rode sleeveless. On the way back we stopped at the Border
checkpoint to put on our jackets. It was
still in the low 70s but the sun dropping behind the mountains put a chill on the
arms after the warm sunshine all day.
-----
Stopped at
a Chuck E. Cheese in Yuma simply because it had the closest bathroom. Since both of us believe in ‘paying for our
flush’ we bought drinks and a ‘cookie’.
It cost more than a Subway cookie so I figured it’d be bigger but was
very surprised when a 12” cookie pizza was delivered to our table. We each ate two pieces then offered the rest to a
family with 3 children. There’s no way it was being stashed in the bike.
-----
On the way
to Yuma I kept checking the sky to see if the Tethered Aerostat Radar System
(TARS) balloon was aloft. We’d seen it
two years ago when we went to Yuma and I did some research them to determine
what the blimp looking thing floating in the sky was. It’s the Border Patrol’s eyes in the sky surveillance. Since there’s still a border to be surveilled
and it wasn’t windy I figured it would be skyward. Didn’t see anything up in the sky except
clouds and the sun on our way to Yuma but on the way back I glanced up and
bingo! there it was in the distance. The
sun was on its downward path in the west and really lit it up. 😎
--------------------
It’s unanimous...we both agree that buying the
camper was a good idea! It was Kim’s
idea so I was more or less the one who had to come around. I wasn’t really sure we needed to move on
from the bike trailer. We’d made the
best of the small space but this so much better even though it’s nothing
luxurious. Two selling points...being able to cook inside and having the space
to sit around in the evening. We have a
TV but no antenna and the internet provided by our phones isn’t strong enough
to stream anything. We know because we tried. No big deal...in the evening we’ve been
sitting at the table listening to music while each of us does our own thing on
our computers. Allows us to talk also. Yes, upgrading our trailer situation was a
good thing. 😀
--------------------
Yesterday
we saw a train out near Parker; the sum total of the ‘train’ was 4 engines...the
front 3 engines were facing forward and the last engine was facing
backward. I asked Kim about it...he
didn’t have a clue. Well, if Kim doesn’t
know then it’s time to ask Google.
From the
website kutv.com/news:
According to Union Pacific spokesperson
Justin Jacobs, Union Pacific diesel locomotives are bi-directional, meaning
they create just as much power traveling in reverse as they do traveling
forward. Thus, the direction of the locomotive makes no difference to
efficiency or safety.
"You wouldn't drive your vehicle in
reverse because it would be very hard to steer," Jacobs said. "Well, with
the trains, there is no steering wheel. They're on those rails so the rail is
the only direction of travel they can go in."
Jacobs says it's actually more efficient to
leave locomotives facing whatever direction they are facing because it takes a
lot of energy to pick a train up and turn it around so that it would face the
other way.
"Typically the
front, most forward locomotive is positioned in the direction of travel;
however every other locomotive on there can be facing either direction,"
Jacobs said.
So now I know...
----------
Bike miles today: 183
Total miles:
305
 |
| Friday's ride...double it |
No comments:
Post a Comment