February 2025: Solar School, Lake Havasu, and the Claims

February 2025 • Quartzsite and Roadrunner, Arizona

Gout Recovery

February 1 - The Gout Continues:

The gout continues to give me issues in trying to get around. So I am spending most of my days with my feet propped up in the chair watching TV and not getting much of anything accomplished.

February 2 - Ambulatory Again:

The gout in my foot and ankle continues to get better. I'm actually able to get around without a crutch. I am truly looking forward to being able to be ambulatory again without the use of a crutch. Maybe I ought to get my head back on straight and begin eating the way I know I should so that I no longer get gout flareups.

Moving Day and the New Spot

February 3 - Tomorrow Is Moving Day:

Well, tomorrow is moving day. So with that being the challenge of the day, I started packing up the outside of the trailer today. Started getting pretty warm in the afternoon, so I just listened to a couple of chapters out of books as well as a few podcasts. Walked up to the end of the row at around 4 PM and visited with John, Dianne and Ed. Once the sun went down and it began to cool off, I finished getting the outside of the trailer prepared for tomorrow's move. I spent the evening watching a few YouTube videos.

February 4 - A New Spot in the Park:

Today was an auspicious day, in that we were able to move to a new spot here in the park, which allows us to get sunshine on the trailer earlier in the morning. This will also allow us to get better solar output throughout the day. With Cindy still being at the kids' house, I packed up yesterday afternoon on the outside, and put the inside together this morning. John and Les helped me to get out of the old space and over to the new space. Got myself backed in and the trailer leveled and set up. Put together the inside of the trailer, as well as the majority of the exterior of the trailer. I was able to run the Chill Cube throughout the afternoon and help keep the interior of the trailer cooler with it on Eco mode - I was getting enough output from the solar panels so that it did not require use of the batteries. In the afternoon I went over to the VFW for the Queen of Hearts drawing. Elizabeth was over there, as well as Dawnielle and Rick. We did not win anything amongst our group, and nobody that was in attendance won the big drawing. However, a few folks won some money off the cards that they picked, as well as some bottles of alcohol. When I got back to the house, I ran over to Outback Pizza and bought a pizza for supper, ate that and listened to a few podcasts before heading off to bed.

February 5 - Learning the Solar Curve:

I spent the first part of this morning getting panels lined up to get sunshine as soon as I could. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any on the ground array before around 9:30 AM. Will take a bit of a learning curve to get it down, so that we are able to make use of the solar as much as possible, without having to run up a power bill. With the weather as warm as it was today and yesterday as well, the refrigerators and AC were burning through the batteries quite rapidly. So I switched over to shore power in the early afternoon so that everything could run without burying the batteries towards zero. I also took the time today to go over and wash laundry. After it was finished, I came back and hung it all out on the rack on the back of the trailer as well as the extra breeze shade framework. After which I ran up and filled a propane tank and got myself some of the nicotine patches. This evening, I listened to books before going to bed.

Solar School and the Battery Mystery

February 6 - Boomer Ville Goes Live:

I started this morning off by getting the webpage for the 2023 Boomer Ville video as well as logbook put up on our website. I also got started on another Udemy training course on filming with an iPhone. Also did a lesson in my course for how to be a filmmaker. Bryan called and chatted for a bit with questions regarding what might've happened to his battery going down to 16% last night. After chatting with him I also spoke with somebody that indicated they might be interested in purchasing our property in Chino Valley. Those unfortunately typically turn out to be scam artists so we will wait to see if they actually call back with a reasonable offer. True to form, the people who reached out about our property were just that - scammers. So I will be ignoring future offers as well from these types of contacts just because of what they are.

February 7 - Friday School Day:

Well, today is Friday. So what does that mean for my day? I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon watching training videos in Udemy, as well as in my how-to-be-a-filmmaker series. The young man that is doing the iPhone photography/videography course that I am taking in Udemy is doing a very thorough and decent job in my opinion. He is taking a deep dive into how to use DaVinci Resolve for editing videos as well. The more I am watching his tutorials, the more impressed I am becoming with the DaVinci Resolve editing program. I also walked over to the water machine close to the VFW and got a couple of gallons of water this afternoon, even though my knee was slightly swollen and made walking challenging. I was able to get it accomplished. I watched a movie on the computer via my Amazon Prime account. Cindy sounds like she is doing pretty good and I am looking forward to her getting back home, which looks like that will happen on Wednesday. I also went over to Bryan and Elizabeth's place. Bryan needed help with his solar system, as he was ending up with a large discharge. After much investigation, I was able to determine that the people that he had do his final install for him had tied his refrigerators into his battery bank. They took him for a real ride with extremely poor work. I also listened to some audiobooks throughout the day. Overall, it was a good day. Steps since last entry: 32,299.

February 8 - Flags and Sunrise:

Today dawned with some clouds to the east so I was able to get some colorful pictures of the sunrise. I switched back over to running off of the batteries at around 8:30 AM, and will allow them to recharge throughout the day in an attempt to not use too much grid power. As we all know, grid power is quite expensive at 20.5 cents per kilowatt hour. However, with the money that we have invested into our batteries and solar, we might as well try and take as big of an advantage of that type of power throughout the day. I got Cindy's flag pole and flags put up out in front of the trailer this morning as well as the feather. It actually looks pretty darn good out there. Continuing work on my Udemy course about iPhone videography. With any kind of luck, I can finish that up today. Got an opportunity to chat with Cindy for a few minutes this morning. Also called Joe and checked in with him. He said that they are all doing just fine, and he was just coming back with a new car that he had just bought for Austin. He didn't feel Austin's current car was in good enough mechanical shape to drive all the way back to Kentucky to drop off for Austin, thus the reason that they bought a new one. He said that they are leaving on Thursday to take the car back to Austin and check in and see how he is doing. I guess they are flying back from Kentucky to get home. Talked with Cindy this evening and she is busy keeping Ava out of trouble plus attempting to get Emma asleep. Called Larry after getting off the phone with Cindy and all sounds well with them. Today's steps: 962. Way below where they need to be landing.

February 9 - No Entry: (No entry - a quiet Sunday.)

February 10 - Selfie Journals and a New Controller:

So today, I began recording a few videos as my day went along, sort of selfie videos that would journal what I had been doing during the day. I did walk up to Roadrunner Market and grabbed a few items for the refrigerator. I continued working on my video training on BeAVideographer. I am down to just completing his course on YouTube channels and how to make money doing videos. Got a chance to chat with Cindy a little during the evening. Sounds like all is good there, and I will be going in on Wednesday to pick her up and bring her back home. Sounds like she is excited to get home. I know I am excited for her to get home, as I have missed having her around. I know that she has probably thoroughly enjoyed getting to hang with the grandbabies, but I'm also sure that she is ready for a break. I also installed the new charge controller on the ground array solar panels and renamed it so that we can now see what we are getting from both of our setups.

February 11 - The Battery Mystery:

When I got up this morning, I continued watching some more training videos. I happened to notice that the batteries had been run down to 59% overnight, which was concerning - trying to figure out where all the load is that took them that low. Turns out, as I investigated this, that the driver-side battery has decided to quit. So I contacted LiFeBlue batteries and went through some troubleshooting with them. Looks like we will need to take that battery down to them in Yuma and have them bench test it and determine if they can fix the BMS or if they will need to replace the battery.

I took the truck over to the Loves truck stop and fueled it up for tomorrow and also cleaned all the windows. Also, this morning, I got myself a shower and while I still had hot water, went ahead and got all the dishes washed. I also took time and straightened out the back of the pickup, so that it is now ready to go pick up Cindy and has room for any of the things that she has purchased while she has been at the kids' house. With the new charge controller hooked up for the ground display solar panels, it appears that the 300W of solar panels that we have on the ground are actually putting out fairly close to what we are getting off of the roof panels. I believe this is happening because of the direction that we are parked, which is causing the roof panels to only be putting out around 350W at any given time due to the poor angle to the sun.

Lose Visceral Fat - My Advice

1. Eliminate Ultra Processed Foods: Remove processed foods from your diet.
2. Stop drinking any sugar (sodas, fruit juice, fruit smoothies).
3. Stop drinking alcohol!
4. Reduce Carbohydrates: Cut down on carbohydrates, especially those that are inflammatory.
5. Avoid Veg Seed Oils: Stay away from seed oils.
6. Eat mostly Fatty Red Meat/Yolks/Seafood: Incorporate lots of fatty red meat into your diet.
7. Engage in Vigorous Exercise: Participate in vigorous exercises, such as sprinting/lifting weights.
8. Spend Time in the Sun: 5 minutes of morning sun.
9. Track Progress: Buy a tailor's tape and measure at navel weekly.
10. Be Patient, it will take weeks/months depending...

Fetching Cindy

February 12 - Fetching Cindy:

Steps since last entry: 16,694. So today was the day. I finally get to go and pick up Cindy from the kids' house. She has indicated that she has enjoyed the granddaughters but is ready to come home. I spent part of yesterday getting the trailer cleaned up, dishes done, trash taken out and such. I also spent time on the truck reorganizing it and getting the stuff in the back strapped down so that it won't slide around.

I got myself up and ready and I was on the road by 8 AM. Having fueled the truck yesterday, I was able to take off without having to make a fuel stop, which was nice. I ran in on Hwy 60 through Wickenburg, and the road didn't disappoint me as it was pretty calm till I got close to the 303. I pulled up to Alicia and Brandon's house at around 10:15 AM. The garage door was open when I arrived so I backed up on the driveway to the garage, and loaded up all the stuff that Cindy had laid out on the ground there in the garage. When I went in, Ava was her usual fun, loving self and I got to give Cindy a great big hug upon arrival. I explained to her that I didn't know if the one white bag was supposed to go with us. She didn't realize that I had already loaded everything and so she went out and checked, and low and behold I found out that I had grabbed stuff that I wasn't supposed to. So much for being efficient.

I got the chance to play with Ava and enjoy her youthful exuberance till it was time for her nap. After she went down for a nap, Cindy, Alicia and I visited while attempting to stay calm and quiet so that Emma could get some sleep. After Ava got up from her nap we were able to play a bit more with her before it was time to say our goodbyes and get headed home. We only got down the road a few miles when Cindy realized that she had forgotten the taco meals in the fridge at Alicia's, so we ran back and grabbed them and finally were on the road towards home. We were both a bit hungry by the time we got to Wickenburg so we pulled in and grabbed some choke and puke at the Taco Bell before continuing on our way home. We arrived home around 5:45 PM and got things unloaded from the truck and arranged inside of the trailer. Cindy was worn out so we had a quiet evening of TV and then we were off to bed.

February 13 - Rest Day:

With Cindy being a bit tired, we spent the day at the trailer letting Cindy relax a bit and catch up on some rest.

February 14 - Valentine's at the VFW:

For Valentine's Day we ended up at the VFW for some afternoon socializing with family - Bryan, Elizabeth, Dawnielle and Rick. After leaving the VFW we as a group ended up at Rick and Dawnielle's place for a chili supper and a bit more visiting around their fire pit before calling it an evening.

February 15 - Border Hookups Concert:

Today being Saturday we had the privilege of going out to Plamosa Rd and enjoying a Border Hookups pop-up concert, which made for a very relaxing afternoon. We returned from the concert and had dinner, a bit of TV, and then off to bed.

February 16 - Tacos at Rick and Dawnielle's:

We enjoyed another afternoon and evening over at Rick and Dawnielle's place with a taco lunch that Cindy had purchased from Costco.

VFW Days and Lake Havasu

February 17 - 400 Watts on the Ground:

Well, today is Monday and my knee is still giving me a bit of fits. I did get our fourth solar panel tied in to the new charge controller, so we now have 400W of solar on the ground. We got a hold of Discount Solar here in Quartzsite, and found out that they could do the troubleshooting and warranty on our LiFeBlue battery. So, I will run the battery over to them in the morning to have them see what the heck is going on with it.

February 18 - Queen of Hearts and a Battery Fix:

With today being Tuesday we ended up over at the VFW for the Queen of Hearts draw. Cindy went over around 2 PM, and I went over around 3:45 PM just for the draw. Bryan was not able to attend as he was up in Prescott Valley having dropped off the white truck for service. Rick and Dawnielle and Elizabeth, plus Cindy, were hanging out there drinking when I showed up. Not for sure how Cindy considers spending the kind of money a good idea when she is actually ending up putting things which we need, like food, on the credit card. Hopefully one of these days she will take to heart what she has to say about how Micheal spends money and start getting wiser and quit putting us in the poor house. My knee is getting a little bit better as time goes on, and it appears having put some of the roll-on muscle reliever on has helped it tremendously today. We are still working our way through the TV show Yellowstone for a second time with binge watching. It is kind of funny how much of the early episodes I had forgotten - the actual occurrences of the series. I took our battery over to Discount Solar this morning and dropped it off, and they will call me when they get the troubleshooting of the battery completed. They called around 2 PM and had the battery done. Turned out that the BMS on the battery had, for whatever reason, shut down, and so they had to reset it, and it is working just fine now.

February 19 - Meat Draw Wednesday:

Steps since last entry: 11,290. So today being Wednesday, we went over to the VFW for the meat draw this afternoon. Elizabeth ended up meeting us over there, so we got to see her, and Bryan showed up after the meat draw was completed. No one in our group won anything. There was one gentleman there that had won the "Shake a Shift" game that morning and pulled in just shy of $700, as well as having won over $150 on pull tabs. He ended up actually winning one piece of meat off of each one of the four trays today as well. Definitely his lucky day, so hopefully he went out and purchased himself a lottery ticket while the luck was running his way.

February 20 - Cindy's Big Cleaning Day:

After our morning coffee was completed, Cindy decided it was time to go and do laundry. She got all that loaded up and took off, and I stayed here at the trailer and listened to a few books while she was gone. When Cindy got back to the trailer, I helped her to get all of the laundry hung out. Then she decided it was time to become a whirlwind, cleaning the trailer, which drove me outside to stay the heck out of her way. For lunch today, we made a vegetable pocket on the grill plus the pork chops that we had purchased from Coyote Fresh yesterday, here in town. I grilled them with our mustard rub and SPG for spices, and they came out very flavorful. It was amazing how juicy they actually were. After lunch, Cindy did up the dishes and took herself a shower. We both sat around, watched some TV, relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon. We both went to bed around 10 PM. Daily steps: 2,473.

February 21 - More Fun at the Trailer:

So today is Friday, February 21, and with Cindy having the inside of the trailer cleaned up, we are free to enjoy the day. I was able to listen to some podcasts as well as some books, plus work on some of my Udemy video training.

February 22 - Fun in Lake Havasu:

So Cindy and I rode up to Lake Havasu with Bryan and Elizabeth and went to the outdoor expo they were having for off-roading. It was a good show with a lot of different vendors and items to look at. There were a huge number of well-built side-by-sides that people had put a lot of money into. Bryan was able to find the helmet that he needed for the Peace Trail ride that he and his friends are going on. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant there in Lake Havasu and the food was overpriced and not real tasty. When we arrived back in Quartzsite from Lake Havasu, we all went to the VFW and had a few drinks and some laughs before calling it a day. This evening we watched a few more episodes of the TV show Reacher before going to bed.

February 23 - Fun in Quartzsite:

Daily steps: 2,679. Quiet morning, listening to books and podcasts. Met up with everyone at Beer Bellies at around 1 PM and listened to the Cassandra Long band. Went over to the Horny Toad and had a drink there with Elizabeth and Bryan. Had dinner at Outback Pizza. Came back to the trailer and watched a few more episodes of the Reacher TV show.

Boondocking at Roadrunner and the Claims

February 24 - Putting the RV Park in Our Rearview Mirror:

Steps: 6,167. Moved the trailer out to Roadrunner. Went back into town and fueled the pickup, as well as grabbed a few groceries. After supper, enjoyed sitting outside in the cool air and watching the evening progress to darkness. Did a short evening walk. Got a photo of the sunset. Ran AC on battery for about 3 hours.

February 25 - 1st Day of Peace, Quiet and Tranquility:

Steps: 6,238. It's awesome and wonderful being able to get up and enjoy peace and quiet. Did a short walk this morning to get my day started off. Being Tuesday, Cindy went into the VFW for the Queen of Hearts drawing, which no one won again. I stayed at the trailer and read and enjoyed the quiet. Cindy purchased some snack food before coming back to the house. Watched some more Reacher episodes.

February 26 - Kurt and Nancy Arrive in Quartzsite:

Enjoyed the morning by getting a shower and then starting work on my next video project from 2023. Kurt and Nancy arrived around 1 PM and got set up, and then we all chatted and got caught up. Watched the latest episode of Oak Island as well as another episode of Reacher before going to bed.

February 27 - Wind and Dirt:

Our day started off with very breezy conditions. Steps: 2,790.

February 28 - Some Fun at the Claims:

Sunny day today with a bit of haze over all the mountains surrounding us here. Possibly dust still hanging in the air from yesterday's wind. Kurt and myself went out to the club claims and collected some dirt and brought it back to camp and sluiced it. We still have to do the final cleanup to see if we actually caught any gold. I am not hopeful that we actually got anything. The girls went to town and did girl things, and Cindy stayed in town at the bar with Elizabeth and the rest of them, so she didn't get back to the house till after 5:30 PM. Cheryl and Laurie stopped out to see where we are parked at and visited for a few minutes before heading back to town, as Laurie is a bit under the weather. Cindy and I had a bit of a go regarding excessive spending that both of us are known for doing, which didn't go well. I'm sure not going to say anything in the future, as Cindy doesn't seem to want to see that we both have an issue with spending money that we shouldn't be spending - and bringing it up just makes her upset. Forecast for tomorrow is for high winds in the afternoon, so don't expect we will get much activity at the claim tomorrow.