Day 22 and 23 ~

      Learned that running the furnace all night pretty much drains the battery on the trailer.  Oops!  So,  since it is pretty chilly up here on the Mogollon Plateau at 7200+ fee, this will be a good time to bust out the generator and figure out how that works too!  Not bad at all, but I do need to get a small gas can and some gas.  Since my original plan did not include dry camping, I left just a small amount of gas in the generator before I loaded it up in Montana.  Since most of the trailers in this camp are toy haulers, they come with a fueling station built in.  Thus, I can refuel from here, but will need a gas can eventually anyway, so off to Flagstaff and Walmart I go.  This turned out to be an excellent idea as you will see later on.

     Just hanging out, reading, walking Jake and in general relaxing.  I think I have met everyone now except for one guy that left for a few days to celebrate his wife’s birthday.  Spent some time reviewing photos and catching up my blog.

     Warren helped me figure out the problem with the locking ramp.  One ramp keeps locking up and it maybe is tweaked somehow.  At any rate, he let me know what tools I need and how to go about correcting the problem if it happens again.  In any case, I’ve found that lifting Jake in and out of the truck is easier and faster than dragging the ramps out every time.  I’ll still need the ramps for the generator, but Jake is good to go for now.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7

Day 24 ~

     These guys are really roughing it….  In between hunting forays (so far 3 tags filled) they are listening to the football games.  After the evening hunt today, someone hooked up their big screen TV outside the camper and they’re all gathered around watching the late games.  A bit different from our hunting trips, but to each his own!!  ^_^

Day 25 ~

     This morning as I am sort of reviewing and inspecting this and that, I noticed that the front tire on the off side of the camper is showing signs of cracking in the firewall.  Fairly significant cracking.  I did check the manufacture date on them as I was working to set up the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and found that they were built in 2012.  The general rule for camper tires is 5 years, mostly due to UV damage from being parked where the sun beats on them.  However, Warren and I both inspected them in Montana and pronounced them OK.  However, the weight of the loaded trailer and the miles I have put on them are apparently breaking them down.  I’ll ask Warren to help me change this one for one of the spares I have before I leave.

     This afternoon, the guys were told by the Forest Service that they would have to vacate the area as they have exceeded the 14-day period.  I am the only one allowed to stay.  At which point, I told Warren what I found on the tire and he agrees it needs to be changed, but right now the priority is getting everyone moved to a new location.  I told him I really didn’t want to have to load up and move, and that I would be fine staying here by myself as long as he comes back in the next day or two to help me change the tire.  So, within an hour, I was suddenly dry camping by myself!  Lucky I made that trip into Flagstaff to get more gas for the generator since all the fueling stations up and left!

     It is a little weird being by myself.  But, it isn’t like I haven’t been alone before.  In 3 years of consulting work, there were many times that I found myself alone in situations where it could have been problematic.  Going to a movie by myself was weird the first time I did it.  However, for over a year now, I have been on my own, making all the decisions, and taking care of myself.  I do have sufficient firepower available should it be needed.  I have God and his angels to call on, together we can meet whatever challenge comes along!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6

Day 26 ~

     I didn’t sleep well last night, maybe because it is just sooooo much quieter!!!  After all, the guys seemed to stay up pretty late each night even though they were up before daylight to hunt.  The good news is that I don’t have to be quite so diligent about Jake staying close to me.  There are no other camps near so he can wander a bit further and still be in sight.  Mostly, he just stays by me or in his crate.  I really enjoy having time to read without feeling guilty!!  It isn’t as if I can work right now anyway since the laptop is working only on the battery.

     Warren came over and we got the tire changed.  This morning, I checked the other tires and checked the air in the spare I want to use.  Good thing, it is at 30 psi instead of 50.  So, fire up the generator and get out the air compressor and air it up.  Take the TPMS sensor off the bad tire and put it on the spare so I’m all ready.  Get out the breaker bar and the torque wrench and look up the torque chart in the Jayco book (although I don’t understand it) because I know we’ll need it!  Warren left his awesome hydraulic jack and 4-way star wrench here so we had all we needed.  He walked me through what he was doing so I would understand, which I appreciated.  He said I also needed to get an extension for the torque wrench as it is too short to use the way it comes.  Found that the rear tire on the off side is also beginning to crack so I called several tire places in Tucson to see who could replace all the tires on Thursday.  I’ll go there first and head to the campground once the tires are installed.  Hindsight being 20/20, I probably should have done that before I left Montana.

     Tomorrow I’m planning to drive to Mormon Lodge to see what is needed to dump the holding tanks before I start down off the Plateau heading to Tucson.  I told Warren I would stop by the new deer camp to say goodbye.

” A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”  Proverbs 17:17

Day 27 ~

     Slept better last night, maybe because I stayed up a bit later or maybe because it was a bit warmer last night.    Drove to Mormon Lake Lodge to see where to go tomorrow morning to dump the holding tanks and then stopped by the new deer camp to say goodbye.  Nobody was there when I arrived but it wasn’t long until people started to drift in for lunch.  Stayed a couple of hours and then headed back to Nohana to start getting ready to head to Tucson tomorrow morning.  It will be warmer tonight so I decided to load up the generator and get the truck rearranged for traveling.  Already made arrangements to buy 4 new tires for Nohana in Tucson at Discount Tire.  I want to get there as early as I can to be sure I have time to get to the campground while it is still light as this is my first back-in site….