Wednesday, December 11
I got the satellite radio! The crew and I go into Yuma on Interstate-8 and take the 4th Street exit. We shoot over to the post office and pick up the package from Laura, the dear reader who mailed me an XM satellite radio set-up. In the package I find the WiFi radio, dock, speakers, power cord, and antenna for both the BLT and the PTV!
Merry Christmas to me!
From the post office the crew and I make a stop at a nearby Goodwill where I purchase two paperbacks ($1.50 each). Not far away I discover the Humane Society Thrift Store and several more paperbacks ($.50 each).
Comparison shopping the prices between thrift stores . . .
What a penny-pincher!
Bridget and Spike get their walk-around and then we’re off to Starlight Solar on the far side (east) of town. I explain the difficulties I’ve had with the connector for the cable leading from the PTV’s batteries to the BLT’s battery.
To make a long story short, I obtain an appointment for this Friday.
I’m going to have them move the plug-in to a location above the bumper and discuss with them ways to prevent damage to the connector from ever occurring again in my entire lifetime. I’m sick of dealing with it!
On the way back to Ogilby Road west of Yuma, I stop at Pilot Knob.
Pilot Knob is a Long Term Visitors Area. Right at the exit there is a gas station where you can dump and get water. I pull up to the vending machine and drop some quarters in the slot to fill up one-gallon jugs (4 gal. for $1.00).
Back at camp, the crew and I have an early supper, since we skipped lunch. Well, I skipped lunch. Bridget and Spike don’t get lunch. Anyway . . .
I dive into the package and pull out the components for the satellite radio.
I’m reading the brochure and identifying each piece and cable, when I hear a voice. I run outside. It’s Pen!
Penny is a reader of this blog. She tells me she was on her way to Yuma and read in my blog about the Sidewinder Road free camping off Ogilby Road. It was after dark — 8 p.m. or so — when she exited the interstate and found a place to park not far from our camp.
I’ve never attempted a new camp after dark!
“I try to get in my camps by 11 a.m. That way if I have any trouble, I have hours of daylight to deal with it,” I tell Pen with a laugh.
Pen is camping in a Class B van. She would like to find a used rig that gives her more interior room and at the same time will haul her motorboat. I tell here there are plenty of places in Yuma to look. We stand by Pen’s rig until almost dark, talking non-stop!
Back in the BLT, I decide to wait until tomorrow to begin putting the radio components together.
I pull out one of the paperbacks and settle in bed with the crew for a long read.
Thursday, December 12
First thing after coffee, I go online and sign up for a year of satellite radio with XM Sirius. I choose the Select Plan which costs me about $159 a year. It takes me a while to activate my account.
I mean, what do I put for my service area?
Um . . . I’m 12 feet from an ocotillo bush and a few miles southwest of the Cargo Muchacho Mountains in the desert north of interstate 8. I don’t even know what town I’m in! I put down Felicity, California, and hope for the best.
Almost everything works fine . . .
The antenna gives me the maximum signal of three bars and I can scroll through a gazillion channels. However, the speakers only put out static. I try several radio frequencies with no improvement. Laura, in an email, says she checked the speakers before putting them in the mail and they work fine. I’ll contact XM radio online to see about the frequency issue.
While taking a break from fiddling with the radio, I have more visitors!
Bob aka Fortuna Bob comes by with his friendly Golden Retriever, Geordie. Isn’t he beautiful?
I’m talking about Geordie. No offense, Bob!
Bob and I sit outside the BLT by the ocotillo and hummingbirds. Spike and Geordie seem to hit it off well. Bridget is, quite frankly, rude. The girl does not like big dogs. Bob and I talk for quite some time.
Then more visitors arrive!
It’s Tom and Caroline whom I met here last winter. They’re from northern Idaho and are friends with Les, the cowboy lyricist. They don’t stay long as they aren’t camping here right now, but may move this way soon.
I haven’t resolved the radio situation yet. Thank you, Laura, for the gift and for all the emails with helpful hints. I’ll get it to work!
Now my focus is back on the repair of the connector at Starlight Solar and other errands to complete tomorrow on our return trip to Yuma.
Goodby, Bob and Geordie! Safe travels!
rvsue
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