A new camper wasn’t the only change we made last fall. We sold our big touring bikes and downsized to smaller bikes. Last summer, due to various commitments, we didn’t have the time to get out and ride much. And when we did ride, it was just short, but enjoyable, rides around our part of the Mitten. We discussed it and decided that our major touring days are behind us. We've met our goal of riding in all 50 states and while riding is still a priority, sleeping on the ground in a tent isn't. Because we don't ride like we used to, going smaller seemed the prudent thing to do. And because I didn’t want to spend the rest of our days paying off Harley bike loans, we bought two Honda 750s. Kim’s is a Shadow and mine is a Shadow RS, which looks suspiciously like a Harley Sportster. Not as many bells and whistles on the 750s, which will take some getting used to, but the biggest thing is the difference in gas tank size. My Road Glide had a 6-gallon tank…the Honda has maybe a 2 ½ to 3-gallon tank. More fuel stops in my future, for sure.
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Last fall, we also bought e-bikes. Had some fun on them before cold
weather shut us down, brought them with us to Arizona. Those are the bikes we
rode to Dairy Queen Sunday night.
My mom is coming out to Arizona at the end of March, so Kim wanted to
buy her an e-bike also. Figured the three of us would have fun riding around on
e-bikes. Okay, but how are we going to get 2 motorcycles and 3 3-bikes out
to Arizona?? I didn’t get involved
in figuring out how to strap and tie-down 5 bikes, but what I know is that we’re
here and so are the bikes. Bakker ingenuity to the rescue again.
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It was windy last night when we went to bed. Don’t know when it started
raining, but it woke me up at about 5 a.m. with the thought, “Shit, the e-bikes
aren’t supposed to be out in the rain!”
I woke Kim up in a panic, but he didn’t seem too concerned. He rolled over and went back to sleep. I, on
the other hand, got out of bed to stew about the situation and ran through my options:
1. I could roust Kim out of bed to help me do something with the bikes but had
no idea what, 2. I could run outside to throw a garbage bag over the
handlebars/battery but the bikes had already been rained on for who knows how
long. A garbage bag at this point wasn’t
going to change anything; however, I would get drenched, 3. I could read since
I was awake, but I’d need to turn a light on to do that, or 4. I could be like
Kim…go back to sleep and deal with it in a couple of hours. I opted for #4, even though it took a while
to fall back asleep. Woke to sunshine and chirping birds.
Emptied the water out of the lawn chairs and set them in the sun to dry
out…emptied the water out of the outside garbage can and the garbage bag that
was in it…emptied the water out of the tote containing the suet cakes (the lid
had blown off). But we waited with the bikes…seemed best to let the sun and
breeze dry them off. The bikes appeared to be none the worse for the rain
experience, but we came up with a plan: put garbage bags over the handlebars
every night, because sometimes it rains when it’s not forecasted. Learning from our mistakes will help me sleep
better. Kim doesn’t think it’s necessary
to remove the batteries because of their location on the bikes.
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Still no sign of the hummingbirds yet. The office has nectar out also
but haven’t seen any hummers up there either. I know that some of the
hummingbird species are here year ‘round and that some stop in on their
migration journey. Makes me wonder Where have all the hummers gone?
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I’ve taken over the garage. With the table set up between the two
couches, it’s like my own little office.
Wrestled the magnetic screen into place and opened the ramp. Letting
some natural light in sure opens up the space.
Only one outlet high on a wall so there’s an extension cord running down
the wall and across the floor for my computer. I just need to be aware of where
it is when I stand up and all should be good.
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Kim’s new toy, a SkyRover drone, arrived today. He’s watched a lot of tutorials up to this
point, but it still took a bit to figure it out. Practiced around our corner of the campground
and then it was time to take it on the road, so to speak. Went down Picacho Hwy to find something to
view from above. We found an overachieving cactus (one with oodles of arms) that
was easy for us to see so we could track the drone’s journey out and back as
well as watching the video on the phone. What we couldn’t see from the road is
that the cactus is a bird condo…they came flying out like crazy when the drone
got close. Didn’t see that coming but maybe we should have. Will have to be careful of where we use it.
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A couple of years ago, we saw a pair of crested caracaras in and around
the pecan groves. I tracked them to a cactus nest and saw them several times
while we were out here. Last year, we
didn’t see any. Today on an e-bike ride
down Picacho Hwy, I saw another pair. I saw a large bird on the ground up ahead
of us in a field and one nearby in the air…I stopped to get a picture of the
one on the ground. That’s when I realized it was a caracara. So cool! Before I
could get my camera out, it flew off, with an animal about the size of a ground
squirrel dangling from its beak. Double cool!!...yet icky at the same time. And
it’s exciting to know that they’re still in the area and I’m sure going to keep
a lookout for them whenever we’re on Picacho Hwy.
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We brought the Nintendo Switch out with us so we could play UNO. It’s more
interactive than watching TV together and besides, we both take great
satisfaction at beating the AI guys, whether it’s Dusty, Pudding or Luna. Never
know which two will show up. And believe me, AI isn’t always the sharpest tool in
the shed when it comes to playing games on the Switch. 🥸
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