Another three miles and a ruined fort

I walked another three miles yesterday. I hadn’t planned on it, but when I hit the end of the road, there was a path going in the opposite direction than I went the day before, so I just kept walking. I discovered the Fort Selden Ruins and wandered around there for a while taking pictures. It was a nice find and I got in a little culture at the same time. Picked up some literature and took lots of pictures. It is always nice when a walk produces a surprise like that.

I am developing blisters on both feet from all the walking tho. So I am not going to walk much today. I may finally take the bike down and ride instead. I would like to go back to the dollar store and get a couple more pair of shorts, next size down. For the price, it would certainly be worth it. I wore the smaller new pair all day yesterday along with one of the new T-shirts. Tighter than what I am used to, but definitely not too tight. 

Barbara tells me that Denise, another blog I have been following for a while, is coming in in the next couple of days, so I have decided to wait until Sunday to head for Yuma. I want to meet Denise, and I am not on a fixed schedule.  Problem is, I hadn’t planned on staying that long and now need to deal with laundry and I am definitely low on food and water. I have enough food in the freezer and in canned goods to get thru, but the water was another story. Ran into Al and Sylvia while I was out walking, and they have a toad, so I asked them if they would pick up a couple gallons of drinking water for me if they went out. When I got back from walking, there was a case of bottled water sitting by the door I went over later to reimburse them and visited for a little while. Very nice people. I like them. I hope I will be able to find them in Q. Would like to visit with them some more.

I used up the last of my turnip greens and precooked frozen shrimp last night. I still have the raw shrimp I bought in Rockport, some of Anthony’s greens in the freezer, some cheese and eggs, mushrooms and peppers. I won’t starve. But the garlic shrimp with turnip greens stir fry is really good and easy to do. Top it with some feta (which I am now out of), and it is very good. The dollar store has some grocery items, but no fresh veggies. Maybe a frittata tonight. I will have to run the generator to run an oven. Either the convection oven or my little toaster oven. Both will require some rearranging.

I should probably look at a map and see how far away town is, and which direction. It might be close enough to bike to.

Laundry is going to be a bit more of a challenge here. Since I am in the primitive (free) area, there are no picnic enclosures and no place to hang a clothes line. So once I get them washed, not sure where I will hang them to dry. No trees big enough to hold a line. There is a water spigot over here so I can fill my wash buckets. I will figure out something. I guess I should invest in a clothes rack of some sort. I do have an indoor line I put up, but am not hanging dripping wet clothes indoors. I could crank out the awning for an afternoon and use that to hang the clothes on. I haven’t been using the awning because when the wind comes up, it is pretty heavy, and replacing a ten dollar umbrella is a lot less expensive than replacing an awning. I have been using the umbrella that I bought in Falmouth every day along with the LLB sail cloth thing I have as a sun block. Just clip it to the umbrella. Works pretty good.

I have built up my endurance for walking and can do about a mile and a half radius now. Maybe I can do the same thing for my bike. That will allow me to go further afield and see more and do more. 

Howard says it is still in the 90’s in Yuma, which means it is still quite warm in Q. So another few days here will be nice. Nights are in the lower 50’s, days have been in the upper 70’s. Although each day is getting a little warmer. Almost perfect weather. Cool for sleeping and warm for being outside. I am outside as much as I possibly can be. After years of being stuck indoors, it is really nice having sunshine and warm temps when it would normally be cold and nasty. 

I have spent a lot of money on gas, but my other expenses are definitely lower. And once I hit Q, the gas expense will be minimal since I will only be using it for the generator. My propane is holding up quite well, but will have to top it off before Q. I only use it for the fridge. Have been using my butane cooktop for cooking and heating coffee water. Although, I had to use the propane yesterday morning because the butane ran out just as I fired it up, and the full cans were in the outside compartment. This time I grabbed an extra to keep under the sink so I will have a replacement if that happens again. Not going out digging around in the dark at 4 AM.

Running the generator about once a day. Mainly to charge up the solar gen so I can watch TV and charge my phone. Have been using the solar panel during the day and topping it off with the big generator around dinner time. I ordered an extension cable for the solar panel because the cable is way too short. It doesn’t allow me to move the panel as the sun moves, but then again, I could move the whole thing…might try that today. See if I can get it to top off with sunshine only. That would be really nice.

I used my cast iron dutch oven on the cook top the other day to “bake” a piece of chicken. I didn’t get sick, so I guess it worked. :) It wasn’t crispy like I like it, but was edible. Maybe chicken isn’t the best thing to do that with. Will have to experiment. I also switched back to my cast iron frying pan for my stir frys. Was using the stainless camp set I got back in Augusta, but I can’t seem to cook without everything sticking. But this creates a logistics issue. To keep the cast iron pan handy and not a pain in the ass to get to every day, I will have to do a little rearranging. I do have to say, I am feeling a little cramped in here. I will work it out eventually tho.

Howard and Barbara have offered the use of a little car while I am there, so I will get some running around done. I should find a clinic and get my A1C, weight, and blood pressure checked, and I can buy my BLM pass at the office in Yuma too. They are going to show me around, which will be nice too. Will be nice to actually do something. The BLM pass is good in both Arizona and California, so I may head in that direction at some point. Thinking Wisconsin next summer, maybe. It is closer than Maine or VT. And will be much cooler than the southwest unless I go north into the mountains. Time will tell. Would be nice to spend some time with Mike and Judy.

The little mexican/american restaurant at the end of the road opens today. They are open Thursday thru Sunday. Sylvia says they have a great green chili burger. Maybe I will ride up there later for an early dinner. Would be a nice treat. I have been really good with my exercising and eating, and if I get there under my own steam, so much the better. I guess they have good breakfasts too. Maybe I will find out before I leave.

I do miss having the bank, restaurants and grocery stores within walking distance. Plus I miss all the familiar faces and pleasantries. But I don’t miss the nasty weather and the sense of being all alone. Just getting thru the days. Always something interesting here. Or wherever I am.

Another day with the door to the back open and no kitty accidents. Just about done with the antibiotics. I think we have that UTI licked. Hopefully. She is back to her old self, albeit a skinnier version. She has started nagging me for her dinner again. :) And breakfast now that she no longer has dry food down all the time. I did remove the block I created to keep her from going under the door and just close the door at night now. It is nice to be able to walk to the back without having to open the door and step over whatever is on the floor. 

Once I hit Quartzsite, I will need to do some rearranging and thinning out. I really want my dinette, and a bunk that is useable. That would open things up quite a bit. This means that I will have to repack some areas, and get rid of some more stuff. Maybe I will have another yard sale. :) I did keep one yard sale flag. I need to start refilling the coffers anyway. Plus, I need to start pushing my jewelry and crafts.

When I went to the visitors center to upload my photos yesterday I checked out the showers. Nice and clean. I will use them later today. Much easier washing my hair in the shower.

Well, I guess that is about it for today. It is just starting to get light out. Looks like I might get an early start today. It is going to be a full day.