Friday, March 10…Boy Gets A Truck (Jimmie Allen)

   I went to bed last night completely wore out…getting up early and then spending the bulk of the day walking in the warm sunshine made it hard to stay the course in the evening.  But I finished my journal writing then called the day done. Kim had another hour or so before he was done at the telescope; I was off to bed. 

   My first thought this morning upon seeing the living area of the camper was, “What the hell happened here?!” The table was slightly askew and littered with several water bottles from the night before (mine), a coffee cup (Kim’s), computers, camera, notebooks, painted rocks, and other assorted items.  A empty water bottle was laying on the floor over by the garbage where I had tossed it, Kim’s clothes were in a heap at the end of the couch instead of in the basket under the couch and footwear was scattered about the floor.  Looked like a strange party had taken place.

   We’ve each laid claim to our own space in the living area of the camper. I have one couch, Kim has the other and we share the table.  But the camper is a small space and can get cluttered easily, especially the tabletop. I am not a neat freak by any means, but I usually try to keep things in order, especially before going to bed.  But apparently neither of us cared about that last night…hence the weird party vibe I was experiencing.  Took about twenty minutes to get it straightened around and life carried on.  I wish I had taken a picture though. 😏

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   On the drive out here, the truck went through a lot of anti-freeze. The radiator was replaced a couple of years ago, there hasn’t been any obvious leak but still it was using too much anti-freeze. Kim had an idea of what problem might be developing and if he was correct, it would be a costly repair. So, we agreed that looking for a newer used truck out here would be the smart thing to do. To that end, he’s been combing the internet to see what’s available in the area.  Then, as if to reinforce our decision and remove all doubt about proceeding, there was a distinct new sound heard on our drive to Gilbert yesterday…it was the sound of wheel bearing issues.

   He found one at a dealership in Tucson that really interested him, contacted a salesman (Daniel) and got the ball rolling. Daniel kept in touch as we waited for the title of our truck to arrive in the mail, going so far as sending a video of the truck, pointing out all the selling points and even starting it so Kim could hear the engine. All that was left to do was to see it in person and take a test drive.

   Kim left for Tucson about 9:30 this morning, all necessary paperwork and phone numbers in hand. At
about 4 p.m., he drove the new truck into the campground. Long day at the dealership, that’s for sure.
  I don’t remember it ever taking that long to sign my life away for a vehicle but he was dealing with the credit union and insurance company back home which meant a 2-hour time difference. Plus he traded in our truck so there was that extra hassle. Anyway, we came out here in a green 2008 F-250 King Ranch and we’ll be going home in a silver 2021 F-250 XLT.  We took a step down on the fancy ladder but that’s okay.  Its main purpose will be hauling the camper to and from Arizona and we don’t need fancy for that; we need dependable.   

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   I didn’t go with Kim on his truck errand.  I was willing to if he wanted some moral support, but it wasn’t necessary, so I did my own thing. Went for a walk down to Nutt Rd. and back, ate lunch, then rode the Tom Mix Loop which is maybe 95 miles and took a couple of hours…and I still got home before Kim. 😎

   Stopped at the Tom Mix Memorial because I usually do.  I watched the ground squirrels run around doing important squirrel things for about 15 minutes then continued on my way.  It was an absolutely great day for a ride…warm but not hot and mostly sunny. 

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   We took a short drive when Kim got home so I could experience the new truck.  Stopped at the IGA to buy items we could put out as enticements to lure animals to our cell cam.  The tally stands at jack rabbits, a coyote, a crow, a dog, a fox and a raccoon…but no javelinas yet.  We put out apples, potatoes, carrots and a meat bone at Nutt Rd.  Hoping the apples and potatoes will bring in the javelinas; the meat and carrots are a thank you gift for those animals who’ve already made an appearance. Plan on baiting the desert cam tomorrow.

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    There’s two more geocaches down the frontage road so we set out to find one of them.  Well, we didn’t find it and all we got for our efforts was scratched up…my legs and Kim’s arm.  Whoever set up this cache seems to have done it in a thorny tree and it was impossible to search for the cache without getting up close and personal with the thorns.  So we called it a DNF (Did Not Find) and went home.  If you report that you found a cache it marks it with a smiley face…reporting a DNF marks the cache with a frowny face so you can try again…I think not on this one. 😧

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   Tonight’s musical distraction consisted of listening to as many covers of the song Shallow as I could find.  While it’s the breakout song for Lady Gaga’s character in A Star Is Born and her duet with Bradley Cooper is amazing, there are many equally amazing covers.  I have the song memorized now…I couldn’t sing it but I could do a mean lip sync. 

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40 Days of Lent challenge: Write down 3 things that you’re grateful for and share them with someone.  I was ready to do a standard rundown of gratitude because all of these are true: Grateful for my family, my job, my friends, health, etc.  But on my walk this morning I felt a nudge to go deeper.  So here goes, 3 things I’m grateful for, in no particular order:

1.       I’m grateful for the community of people I have surrounding me that encourage and challenge me to be the best me I can be.  That includes family and friends.

2.       I’m grateful for the journey I’ve been on the past 5 years that has opened my eyes to the privilege I enjoy in life simply because of the color of my skin. I have become more deeply aware that we are all God’s children, regardless of our differences and need to treat each other with the love and grace that God gives us.        

3.       I’m grateful for the years of hard work and dedication that women I don’t know put in so I could have the right to vote. 


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