One Week In Camp

Gosh, it is Saturday and one week has gone since our arrival here in the desert. And I have to admit, a certain laziness has taken possession of me. 

Sure, we had to tend to a few things, like f.e.x the repair of a cupboard door, which fell victim to the slide-out. And ultimately, it had been my own mistake that I hadn't looked before running out the big kitchen/couch slide-out. The problem, which I was well aware of, is that the doors can jump open under driving. When the slide moves outward, the door gets caught behind the front board of the slide, and in this case it simply broke. But this is nothing I cannot fix. I borrowed a clamp from the host station and glued it back together. We are now looking for better hatches. It is pitiful that RV-designers make such stupid mistakes by choosing the cheapest equipment, even though RV prices are through the roof.

Dumping waste water and getting groceries are also tasks for the camper. 

Yesterday, I took a trip to Calexico, which is about 20 miles from camp. The city has a public dump station right beside the "BIG WALL". It is not very well run, quite dirty around, but it is free. 

Combining the trip with a visit to the ALDI store and Walmart, which are literally side-by-side, I was lucky and found a decent lunch bread at ALDI. Being from Europe, we have a hard time finding decent bread with a certain density. Every German I know complains about the soft spongy bread style in North America. Back at home Bea is always baking her own bread. In an RV it is a bit inconvenient, though not impossible. Btw. Walmart has a special type of rolls, which come in a bag of 24 for around $4. These are great if baked up in the oven to make them crusty.

Even in California prices
are coming down

Watching gas prices, I have been delighted to see that the average national price of gas has come down to 3.42/gal (as of today). That will be a real relief if this trend will hold until our return home in March. It will also help with boosting tourism over the summer, but who knows, it might go up again.

Dixie is enjoying the change of scenery from TX to CA. She is one happy dog, loves to run and go for walks. Also she has taken the job of guarding our spot against intruders. The other evening she started barking loudly just outside the trailer, It was pitch dark already, so I was worried about her making too much of a racket for our neighbours. So I went outside to call her to the door. Immediately I heard the very loud howling of a bunch of coyotes, and they were very near our trailer, most likely right up in the dunes. I estimated at least 4 or 5 animals. I was glad that Dixie had warned us, as she could fall a victim to the coyotes. When a dog is on a leash it will limit his movement so coyotes can attack more easily. The fact that coyotes can be very dangerous is often ignored. However, just today the following news had a story about it: Coyote attacks 2-year old