Nellie E Saloon (a/k/a Desert Bar)

One of the most unique attractions in the Parker, AZ area is the Nellie E Saloon, an off-the-grid bar out in the middle of the desert...

As fate would have it, we ran into friends that we first met in Moab years ago (what were the odds)...

Lastly, when they say "do not drive through flooded area", they mean it...

Photo courtesy of Sunny

Boondocking

Having lived most of my life east of the Mississippi River where there is not a lot of public land, I was not familiar with the term "boondocking" until I started traveling out west. Basically, it is free camping without water, electric and sewer. Here in the southwest, there are huge parcels of government owned land run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) where you can camp for up to 14 days gratis. 

Plomosa Road BLM Camping Area

After a couple weeks delay due to RV repairs, I was able to rejoin Sunny & Stormy in Quartzsite, AZ (the boondocking capital of the world) and continue our adventure together. 

Proper preparation for watching a sunset 

Due to the remoteness of our campsite and the lack of "light pollution", we were able to gaze at those millions of stars I remember seeing in the night sky as a kid growing up in rural North Carolina. Sunny even pointed out two satellites as they passed rapidly overhead. For me this is a great part of what the RVing lifestyle is all about. 😀

Thor Axis 27.7

I received an email this morning from a blog visitor, who asked if I was still traveling with Stormy & Sunny. The answer is no. We had to reschedule our trip due to numerous problems I have had with a new 2019 Thor Axis 27.7 that I bought back on January 10th. In the 70 days I have owned the vehicle, I have been able to use it only 7 days. The rest of the time it has been in the shop for repairs.

The most serious problem has been with their OneControl System. Instead of having separate switches for the slides, lights, water pump, hvac, etc, they have one control panel for everything. If anything in this daisy-chained system fails, the whole system goes down. In my opinion, this is a bad idea. It is not a question of if it fails but simply when.

Thor's Warranty Support has been useless. All they have done is tell me that they are "sorry for the problems, thanks for your patience, we'll contact the dealer". I have asked for an extension of the factory warranty for at least the two months I have been unable to use the unit but as of this writing, there has been no response from Thor.

Based on my experience to date, I will not buy another Thor product nor will I recommend them to anyone who is interested in purchasing a RV. One more major failure and I am going to look at turning it in as a "lemon" under Nevada state law. Unfortunately, it appears this process can take six months to a year to complete.

The RV industry is the only manufacturer I can think of that produces a product that they know will require repairs when sold. They make used car salesmen look good.

Update (3/22/2019): Click here to see a list of repairs since I purchased the vehicle. This does not include replacement of the rear slide cover which was discovered to be torn yesterday when I went to pickup the RV.

Amazon

I have ordered items from Amazon in the past from a number of locations across the country and they were usually delivered within a week or so by USPS, UPS or FedEx. This past Friday, I placed an order that was shipped the next day, Saturday, and was delivered today, Sunday! Apparently, they have a Fulfillment Center in Las Vegas with their own delivery drivers that was able to handle the entire order in less than three days. Is it any wonder that Amazon is growing so rapidly.

Just in case you are thinking I wasted my hard earned money on something frivolous like food or shelter, you would be wrong - it was for the Jeep...

ARB Digital Tire Inflator 

ARB Twin Air Compressor

Most Jeep owners will "air down" their tires whenever they drive off-road for a more comfortable ride and better traction. The hard core crowd will generally have large compressors with quick connect/disconnect couplings that "air up" the tires in just a few minutes.

My Viair Portable Compressor did the job but was really slow. It could take up to 30 minutes to fill all four tires to ~37 psi. In an attempt not to embarrass myself any more than usual in front of semi-professional rock crawlers, I had an ARB Twin Air Compressor mounted under the hood which is supposed to air up a 35 inch tire in around a minute.

Twin Air Compressor mounted under the hood

On/Off switch mounted on the driver's side pillar

Quick connect/disconnect mounted on front bumper

I have not had the opportunity to try it out yet but if it works as advertised, it should save me a lot of time as well as being much more convenient.

Box Canyon Rattlesnake Roundup

Stormy, Sunny and I rented a four seat RZR and joined friends on a ride to Box Canyon...

The Unusual Suspects

On the way to the canyon, we saw a hawk drop a rattlesnake while in flight. Greg wanted a snake skin and rattlers for a hat band so he had the ladies retrieve it...

Snake Charmers
(who says there are no "real women" left)

Update (3/7/2019): Sunny has an excellent video of our trip at https://dawsongang.com/trail-riding-with-arizona-rattlesnake-hunters/

Photo courtesy of Terry

Apache Trail

A nice day trip from the Arizonian is the Apache Trail up to Route 188, over to Route 60 and then back to the park. It is a lovely drive with lots of things to see and do.

While fueling the Jeep, this highly detailed vehicle pulled in beside us...

Someone call Earl Schieb Paint & Body

Our first stop was the Goldfield Ghost Town, an old mining town that has been reborn as a tourist attraction. Here's Stormy renewing his steam driven tractor's license...

While Sunny tries not to get run over

Continuing up the mountain, we arrived at Tortilla Flat just in time for lunch. The restaurant is known for the paper currency attached to its walls...

And the bar stools which are saddles...

I am pleased to report Sunny stayed on the saddle the full 8 seconds without falling off

However, if you fail to pay your bill, there is a rather extreme penalty...

Next was the Roosevelt Dam...

And finally, the Tonto National Monument Cliff Dwellings...

PS - the best part of the day was Sunny's homemade chicken noodle soup which had been cooking in a crock pot all day!

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Yesterday, Stormy, Sunny and I rendezvoused at the Arizonian RV Resort where I got to spend time with old friends, some of which I had not seen in three years. It was like a family reunion.

Today, we visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, an oasis in the desert where there are thousands of different species of cacti on display...

And in case you are wondering why I like coming back to the Arizonian RV Park...

It's to see the latest in haute couture fashion