Thursday, January 4

Every morning Reggie, Roger and I set out in the direction of the mountains.

We walk up our desert boulevard to Midland Road.

“Oh, look at that beautiful, blue sky!”

Then we follow the paved road to the entrance of the main part of the Long Term Visitor Area. A dirt road takes us in a loop back to Midland Road and we return to camp.

That’s our “power walk.”

Between four o’clock and sunset we hop into the Perfect Tow Vehicle and find a road of dirt and rocks.

When the road deteriorates, I park and we disembark.

Reg and Rog can hardly wait for me to latch their leashes and place them on the ground. As we go along I note the condition of the road.

The next time we come here, I can drive further and our walk will take us closer to the mountains.

No one is anywhere around, although there is evidence that people come out here to dump trash and to practice shooting.

We walk until the setting of the sun tells us it’s time to turn around.  By the time we return to camp it’s dark.

~ ~ ~

The crew and I stop at an auto shop in town.

Del recommended the place, saying “The guy is Mexican. He does good work and he’s quick about it.”

Immediately Juan notices my arrival, stops working, and comes out of one of the bays to greet me.  I like that.

I explain the situation, that my van is thirteen years old, does a lot of towing, and I’ve never had the transmission serviced.

“Are you having any problems?” Juan asks.

“No . . . I’m thinking preventative maintenance.”

We walk over to the PTV and Juan tells me to turn on the engine.

I do so and pop the hood. Juan pulls the dip stick, examines the transmission fluid, sniffs and tastes.

“You haven’t lost any oil (transmission oil) and it looks clean, no scorch smell.”

Juan asks me what size engine this is.

“5.3 liter,” I reply.

Quietly he remarks, “Nice engine.”

“Yeah, I think so.”  I pat the engine affectionately and Juan grins.

I’m thinking he’d want to drop the pan to inspect, but he seems satisfied that we’re good to go. I’m agreeable to that. He suggests I could take it to the dealer, if I’m still concerned, to see what they think.

I’m going with Juan’s assessment for now.

While on the subject, a related question . . .

I’m about to place an order with Amazon for the Blackstone griddle bag and cover. I also want to order a quality set of jumper cables. Let me know what you think of this choice:

TOPDC 100% Copper Battery Jumper Cables 4 Gauge 20 Feet

I chose this one because the cables are copper, not copper-plated. I wish the handles had rubber sleeves, but these still look like the best.

With your okay, I’ll go ahead and place the order.

Thanks, blogorinos!

And in griddle news . . . .

Avocados are 59 cents each these days. I like to layer a flour tortilla with a mashed avocado, a chopped tomato, strips of iceberg lettuce, a couple spoonfuls of salsa, and topped with a mix of cheddar and jack cheese that I grate myself.

(Blogorinos objected to me using shredded cheese out of a package. I’ll never do that again!)

Sometimes I add green chilis.

Or a hot sauce or I fry chopped onions and peppers . . . .

I rotate the avocado with no-salt-added, low fat, refried beans or turkey sausage called “habenero with green chilis.”  I bought a stack of small, corn tortillas ($2.99) to try. I don’t like the corn as well as the flour. I use the corn for small quesadillas when I’m not hungry for a full meal

The reason for purchasing the Blackstone griddle was for turkey burgers. I’m loving my tortilla creations so much that I haven’t cooked one burger so far!

How about a sunrise to wrap up this post?

This one from yesterday morning was a stunner.

Like I said in the previous post, I love desert surprises!

rvsue

NOTE:  Some blogorinos suggest a battery pack is a better option.  What do you recommend — jumper cables or battery pack? — Sue

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