2013 Annual Letter

There are all sorts of little adventures to relate in the course of those few miles.

This year's migration followed much the same route as that of last year. North from Tonopah over Vulture Pass, through Congress for one night at the SKP park and then on to Prescott for two nights at my reserved slip in Wally's Caravansary. Lunch and shopping and playing in the Granite Dells. Visiting friends and lunch and shopping. Next stopping and shopping spot was in Chino Valley—more of the same.

From there one of the side trips that made this migration different to last year. In Kingman was scheduled a meeting of several Old Antarctic Explorer friends to discuss the condition and fate of the Research Vessel Hero.

The R.V. Hero plied the waters of the Drake Passage between Punta Arenas and Palmer Station for many years following her launching on 28 March 1968. The Hero was built by Harvey F. Gamage Shipbuilder, Inc., of South Bristol, Maine. This meeting was to peruse the ship's logs, look at photos, and generally brainstorm ideas to get the ship out of the mud and perhaps restored to Museum Status.

Back on track to Flagstaff. Pizza and movie with Laura. Sunset Camp to meet Owen and pick up the trash and then Winslow to stand on the corner. In Show Low another side trip adventure. A Ham Fest Flea Market Yard Sale attracted my attention. In the car park adjacent to the town hall. A nice overnight among other radio people and a chance for more shopping.

Thence to Trish's Juniper Hill for a fortnight of moving rocks to build stone edges as landscape devices to separate the driveway from the juniper islands. Other parts of my days have been devoted to upgrading PhotoVoltaic Array on the bus's roof. Squeezing out a few more watts is one of those simple tasks that grows more complex at an exponential rate as one gets closer to completion. Complicated by the fine print which says "These Instructions are for Normal Installations; your results may vary". They certainly will.

"Seratu". That is as pronounced with an /e/ as in 'bet', an /a/ as in 'baa', and a /u/ as in, or rhymes with, 'boo'. With syllabetic emphasis on the /ra/. Se-'ra-tu. Made up the word my Self initially. Out of the air and the letters floating around. Then searching found a few supporting ideas. The phrase sera tu in French means "you will" in English and also means "it will be you" in Italian.

We are, even as I write this all of ei8ht months later, still getting acquainted. Seratu does not like to be picked up, she does not know that cats are supposed to bury their excrement, she wags her tail as a dog might.

Sara(h) La Gata conMigo Booger Mesquite La Rubia Frankencat Sinte Ikusheya Cat o' Mine Tales 11-11 TacoCat will be missed and Seratu will never take her place. In a few weeks I will be out to Quartzsite to park in the same place and look for her ghost.

One point two inches of rain in 45 minutes of the afternoon 27 July. That counts as Heavy Rain. R+! Worthy of note.

On Monday, shopping, a 400$ day. From Pie Town to Socorro is one hundred sixty miles round trip. This idea of mine to only shop once a fortnight, instead of every week as I did last year, results in less driving and some fuel saving but when I do go I spend more and while the fuel costs may be less per month they seem to be more per fillup.

Tuesday out to check email at the nearby Internet Laundromat. During the return trip there developed a strange whirring-buzzing in the back of the cab. Sounded like a great hornet. Or something caught in the door and flapping and dragging. Finally I stopped to look. There was a small hummingbird trying to fly through the rear window. S/he flopped and fluttered and crashed and disappeared behind the PAX seat. Rummage and remove and found the bird stunned and grasping the seatbelt. Easy enough to pick up, I placed him/her upside down on the roof and a few moments later s/he flipped over and flew away into the trees.

Writing of hummingbirds..."hummingbird," "sphinx," or "hawk" moths are seen in Nita's back yard and

Butterflies and Moths of North America indicates that another common name for the larval stage of this group is "hornworms." The name comes from a hook or hornlike appendage protruding upward near the posterior end of the caterpillar (larval stage) of most species. So... The tomato hornworm who plagues Nita's tomato bush is the larval stage of the hummingbird moth! That's a bummer, eh?

This year I baked my Pickle UpsideDown Pie for friends rather than the contest. Much better reception.

What is it about food eating contests? Gurgitators come in all shapes and sizes.

My big project this Summer was the construction of a 1,500 watt steerable photovoltaic array in Datil. Sort of like a Tinker Toy/Erector Set combination. Part of an off the grid household including a wind charger and a backup generator.

With that out of the way it was time to pack for travelling. Next on my agenda was the month of November at Faywood Hot Springs. Work there included cleaning up the wiring at the new Visitor Center. The first snow in Pie Town hastened my departure, already a week late waiting on “Overnight Delivery” of parts for a last minute repair.

The artesian source produces water at about 130F which is gravity fed to soaking pools and tubs. I managed to get the lights on in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Seratu is getting used to travelling and has taken to wearing the pants in this family. Just as well, I have little use for them.

Faywood was the furthest point east. Snow is in the air. Time to bend the road westward and beat a hasty retreat to the Winter Warm Desert of AridZona.

Overnight in Tucson, more friends to break bread with. Last night out between Maricopa and Gila Bend there is Train Spotter Hill where one can sit and watch the freights grind up over the pass and the Amtrak Sunset Limited sail along.

Last day to Gila Bend for Annual Dump Fill & Scale. This year the bus and truck combination was 400 pounds heavier than about the same time last year. Must be all those books. Prob'ly the three new PV panels on the roof add to some to the total as well. And there must be at least a hundred pounds of tinned foods under the bed... Time to join Weight Watchers?

The photo was taken late Spring 2013, just after I'd painted the roof and installed aft port PV panel. Since then two more panels have been added along with a second charge controller.

The green upside down tree is just that. The only one of its kind remaining in the neighborhood.

My Solstice present traded computer, new to me. Several years old but prob'ly ten years newer than what I am trading up from. A real hassle all this upgrade foolishness.

Here we are, all together again. The sun has turned the corner and headed north again. Thanks to everyone I ate with and visited in 2013. I hope you will all still be around when I migrate through in 2014.