Where's Hazel? Pet Hazel. Hazel needs her dreadlocks
trimmed.
 On 31st March with a thin
Cirrus Ovcst there was a solar halo with the Sun Dog.
Sundogs, Virga, and Green Flash are fairly rare. Unless you
have an all-sky camera running 24/7 you have to be awake,
aware, and have a clear view to the horizon. Not to mention
eyes in the back of your head. Sundogs at least are fairly
stable and usually last more than just a few minutes. Green
Flash OTOH last only a second and you have to be looking
right at the sun. Generally not a good idea but quite
spectacular under the right conditions.
47,888,000,000 miles give or take a few eccentricities.
Around and around and around. If stretched from Quito
to Quito would amount to 1,923,100 commutes. Aside from a
few eccentricities a fairly stable circularity.
April 12th - Happy Big Wind Day
Things are mostly well. I survived my annual physical
examination and four parties to celebrate the 82. Round trip
to Tucson & Deming went well except for the outrageous
cost of fuel and the atrocious condition of the roads. The
gravel washboard out to Allan's Tonopah Garage is in better
shape than parts of i10 to Tucson.
Sneezy-sniffly-runny-nose-watery-eye season is upon us now.
Hurricane Hazel-Rah sneezes in sympathy.
 Oxymoron Museum
Oxymoron or Oxylesson?
ox-y-mo-ron (auk si môr'on) n.
1. a figure of speech that uses seeming
contradictions, as " cruel kindness " or
" to make haste slowly. "
 Mother Nature Abhors a Vacuum...
...as does shelf space. There is no going back. Expanding
into the New Shed. Parkinson’s Law and Snoopy’s
First Law are both observed to be at work here.
Placing something on the floor, in a well defined morally
acceptable manner, is exempt from the dynamics of Snoopy’s
First Law. A clean box, well placed, showing evidence of
ownership for instance. However a pair of sneakers,
otherwise serviceable but dusty, broken laces, one laying
over and showing evidence of habitation, are up for grabs,
or occupancy. Tools and spare parts are especially
vulnerable when scattered about.
 During
the War of 1812, the United States Navy defeated the British
Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie. Kelly’s parody of this
famous battle report perfectly summarizes mankind’s tendency
to create our own problems. In this case, we have only
ourselves to blame for the pollution and destruction of our
environment.
A Tad Bit late Earth Day Reminder
“We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us” --Pogo via Walt Kelly
Fifty-three years ago and what have we learnt? This morning
my walk in the desert netted only one small sack of trash.
But then I didn't go all that far and chose an area I'd
previously policed.
 AridZona's latest invasive species?
Stinknet
(Globe chamomile) Oncosiphon piluliferum is taking
over the back yard, the front yard, and all the rest of the
southwest desert. Any in your yard yet? The round bright
yellow flowers can be judged attractive by those who like
color in the garden but it carries juices that can cause
allergic reactions to those with sensitive skin and asthma
in others. Because it burns hot once it is dried out, and
because it tends to grow in dense clumps that crowd out
desirable plants in the garden, it really is a plant out of
place in our yards. Health and fire hazards have recently
led the Arizona Department of Agriculture to declare it a
noxious weed under Arizona laws. The plant can be removed
physically or killed with triclopyr; it is resistant to
glyphosate-based herbicides. Other problems are its
density which displaces native vegetation, high flammability
of dried-out patches, and caustic smoke when burned.
Carry In Carry Out!
Feast Day of St George
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| @___oo
/\ /\
/ (__,,,,| * * * * Gardyloo
/\ ) /^\) ^\/ _)
< > ) /^\/ _)
|| ) _ / / _)
| \ )/\/ || |
)_)
Celebrate Saint George's Day
\_____ |(,,)
)__)
23rd April
/
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Take a Dragon to Lunch!
___( )___) )___
_(_______;;; __;;;
 El Dorado Hot Springs
Excellent
recent review of Eldo by Nanci Dixon April 21, 2023.
“I love quirky RV spots and had never actually been in a hot
spring before, so after reading a number of reviews for El
Dorado Hot Springs that ranged from “kitschy” to “rustic,”
we decided to try it.”
You Got Me, Internet.
But it wasn’t really my phone that was the tool, not beyond
the light and the camera. The rest was the internet—even, if
I understand modern telecom correctly, probably the actual
phone call. Barely more than a decade later, the internet is
not the tool.
I am the tool. (“Men have become the tools of
their tools.” —Thoreau) Somehow, I have been
instrumentalized by the internet, which operates me through
my phone. It often feels like the internet is reading my
mind.
29th April Third Day Max > 100f
Letter from Annie Gonzalez, Parish Minister of UU
Bedford Mass wrote:
 Beloved prankster, historian, and
teller of tales Dennis Ahern died yesterday
afternoon at CareOne after a steady decline. His wife Lyrl
was with him.
"Dennis the Menace," as he often signed his emails, was
early on one of my best friends, a special friend even, for
all the Scouting adventures and genealogy research we did
together. Beloved, smart, eccentric, the best sort of Human,
true to himself! I loved him. I've updated my list of
people within my First
Degree of Separation who have died over the years
since I became aware.
Happy May Day
Route planning for the Summer in Pie Town. From Tonopah to
Prescott, via Congress and the Yarnell Hill is pretty much
the only way, and the scenic way, north without going up
i17. I was looking for some slow roads.
1, From Prescott north to i40, east to Mormon Lake is 126
miles;
2, From Prescott via 260, up the big hill to 87, Happy Jack,
to Mormon Lake is 118 miles.
Additionally, extending from Mormon Lake (no matter by which
route I get there) to Pie Town, via Happy Jack > Payson
> Show Low &c, the total is the same 536 miles.
Weird. I checked the numbers thrice. So I believe I am
obliged to avoid that Strawberry Shortcut and go by the
northern route. Less steep hills and fewer wriggles. Either
way I will take my time and climb hills slowly.
Once upon an earlier iteration of
engine/transmission lessons: One Summer I was working in
ABQ and of a weekend I was visiting a friend in Camp
Verde and Verde Hot Spring. The return leg to ABQ was to
head east > Show Low > Pie Town > Socorro, to
the job site on i25 just south of ABQ. First leg was on
260, up That Hill, 6% grade for 9 miles up, to
Strawberry and Payson. Long slow climb. At the top of
the hill the transmission would not up-shift out of
first. The bus limped along in 1st to the junction at
87. Eventually a low-boy carried the bus to the Allison
shop in PHX and we installed a new tranny. Expensive to
say the least. There is a longer Chapter 2 but I'll save
that for another time. Thank you for reminding me of the
Curse of the Strawberry Shortcut.
 This
morning on my way to the Office of The Postal Service
TinyTruck’s odo turned 400,000 miles old. Granted prob’ly a
third of those are accumulated whilst on the towd bar behind
The Cat Drag’d Inn, and granted that the Isuzu's
motor has been rebuilt twice, and I’ve replaced the
windscreen once, that’s still a lot of miles for a 1986 P'up.
As if on cue the throwout bearing started to cry.
May The Fourth Be With You
Followed Closely by Cinque
de Mayo And another monkey wrench in the
works. TinyTruck’s throwout bearing has been making little
squeaky noises on and off for a while. Now the noise is more
constant and louder and buzzier whenever I declutch to
shift. Allan at the Tonopah Garage says “four hours next
week”.
Monday May 8
After a busy overbearing frustrating weekend here. Sunday
was at least not too hot for supper on the patio. I'm afraid
I am increasingly suffering from what Alvin
Toffler called Future Shock. "...a personal perception
of "too much change in too short a period of time". Is
there any 12 Step Programme for Anti-Futurists?
Four hours at 80$per...
At least I had a good time pulling weeds, playing fetch and
horse shoes with Greyson (read "shop dog" dog there), and
picking up a pickup load of trash. The clutch is quiet but
the cruise control is disabled and now that the tranny is
all spiffy clean I can see that there is an oil leak that
demands attention. Fixing the cruise control was a matter of
realigning the pickup coil closer to the drive shaft. The
oil leak still leaks a little.
Mother’s Day Eve
What a Mother this has been. To go or not to go; that is the
question. More to the point is how to quantify, justify,
what I want to do. I want to go
to Pie Town and to some degree if I do not go, if I do not
get out of my own way and move then I have a deep down
feeling that may be the time has come to Hang Up The Keys.
OTOH all the signs omens karmic overtones point to not
going. What does that mean? Am I suddenly for the
first time in ages, once again, living beyond my
means. Aren’t we all? 505 miles in The Cat Drag’d Inn
at 7 miles/gallon the 3208 burns 72 gallons of Diesel which
at five dollars per gallon comes to 360$. Donations anyone?
 Mother’s Day
Found this 55 gallon barrel on my morning trash walk about
3,000 feet SSW hard by that track to the west of here that
runs through the desert on a road with no name. Barrel is
leaking black yuckyness. Too heavy for me to lift upright.
Call Hazmat Remediation.
16 May: On The Road Again?
I am still, somehow, having a twinge of doubt; we will see
how that sugars off as this day wears on. My Uncle Newton
said that the first day is always the hardest, to overcome
the inertia of several months sitting still. I had every
intention of pulling out by mid morning. Most all the
packing and loading was done the afternoon before. This
morning only needed to have shore power, network, and
various antennas disconnected. The Cat Drag’d Inn
actually rolled out the gate at 0900. After few
stops-by-the-side-of-the-road for one
forget-me-not-or-another we were over the top of Vulture
Pass and on towards Congress and the foot of the Yarnell
Hill. Already the ambient temperature was up to 95f and the
the 3208 was up to 220f. Too hot for that climb so we put in
at the Escapees North Ranch for an afternoon of air
conditioned reading and writing. Tomorrow in the
cool-cool-cool of the morning Yarnell will be a lot easier.
19 May Off The Road Again!
AAA has been good to me for 27 years since Antarctica and
prob'ly another 20 or so years before that with my old
yellow Chevy G-10 van. They have towed this bus three times
in the past 20 years but now they have changed their rules
and no longer will tow bus-conversions.
After a fine couple of days with Paul at Mormon Lake, hiking
in the woods, visiting stone circles, cold water springs,
wiring a couple of ceiling fans, and of course picking up
trash. Then south on Lake Mary Road, Hwy 209, very smooth
pavement, through Happy Jack, to Hwy 87 where the smooth
becomes rough, then really rough, and finally there is a
sign that proclaims "ROUGH ROAD". Lots of ups and downs.
Prob'ly a nice scenic drive if I weren't so busy staggering
between potholes. Finally at Payson Hwy 260 turns east
towards Show Low, my sort of target for last chance
shopping. At about 0900 I stopped at MM277 to have a cup of
tea and walk about a bit. And that was the end of that days
drive. So far at least. After tea the bus would not start
but this time is not the same problem as a few days ago. I
spent a few hours troubleshooting—thank you Allan—and
commiserating—thank you Paul—and finally putting away my
tools and calling AAA for a tow. Tuesday, no longer
eastbound at mile marker 277, Hwy 269, between Payson and
Heber, across the street from the Colcord
ADOT Yard. N 34 17.636 -110 58.639 W
For the rest of the gory storey see Page Two here.
Precisely what failed is still a matter of conjecture. The
big picture is no fuel to the motor. Runs ok as long as I
spray ether into the air cleaner but I canna stand out back
to spray ether and drive at the same time so my only
recourse is to call for a tow. AAA is my service provider.
I've been a member for 27 years and in that time they have
towed this bus once in Washington and twice in AridZona.
However now AAA has changed their rules. They no longer tow
old buses. Interestingly, some big truck towing rigs will
not tow upscale Class A motor homes.
Needless to say I am somewhat pissed off to say the least.
I've been two hours on the phone, bouncing from one
rejection to another whilst The...Inn rocks from
side to side in the slip stream of fast moving vehicles
speeding up the hill I should have been over hours ago. So
far I have a towing appointment for maybe Monday. If anyone
wants to come visit over the weekend there is plenty of
parking in this turn-out and plenty of trash to pick up.
Fortunately I have plenty of wine and toilet paper.
20 May Oh Dark-30
That last leg from Hwy280 MM 277 was an exciting ride. And
an expensive one. AZ HD Towing as much as said we'll be
right up. Their fancy year-old truck hauler showed up at
2330 and by 0300 The Cat was Drag'd Inn to
Allan's Garage in Tonopah. $2800.00 for haulage. Too early
to say if that is the end of my Summer Savings. We yet have
to learn what went wrong and effect repair. And there is a
matter of seeking reimbursement of the towing fee from AAA.
21 May
 In
Tonopah now, on the Handicap Parking apron at the front of
Allan's garage. More or less level, a bit of a list to port,
tied down, awnings out shore power connected, in for the
long stay. Consultation with various knowledgeable sorts
point at a failure in the injector pump area so we have a
lot of dirty greasy heavy work to do. I'm thinking about
cashing in my life insurance or starting a GoFundMe page.
 23 May
For the most part I've been doing all the work on the bus my
Self. In order to get the injector pump out to the shop
(about 40 miles east on the wending whiles of i10) we had to
first remove the 200a alternator, drain four gallons of
coolant and remove some plumbing, then the air cleaner,
intake manifold, and injector plumbing. Next Allan attended
to several steps of alignment to assure the timing
relationship of the crank, cam, and injector shafts. Then
the 40# of injector pump can be lifted clear. All these
steps must needs be accomplished within a narrow 2-3 hour
window of opportunity each morning before the tools become
too hot to handle. Across the open doors of the engine room
I have placed an eight foot sheet of roofing tin to provide
some relief from the blazing solar orb. May be here another
week yet depending upon how long the injector shop takes and
then there will be the matter of remembering how all the
parts and pieces go back together in the right order.
Could be another week and another Master Card overload
before the pump returns. I'm working on that slant.
Application outstanding to AAA for refund. The whole issue
is complicated by changes in their rules and similar tho
perhaps opposing changes in the towing industry's rules. AAA
has towed this bus a few times in her years on the road
since 1997. By low-boy and by truck-hauler. But now? AAA,
some clubs at least, AridZona in particular, now refuse to
rescue bus conversions--too big-too heavy-too expensive.
Conversely some tow companies refuse to tow high-end Class A
Motor Homes due to risk of risk of damage to their mostly
flimsy plastic exteriors and slide-out misalignment.
On A Lighter Note: Towel
Day
A towel, according to The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is about the
most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can
have. Partly it has great practical value -- you can wrap it
around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of
Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble
sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea
vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which
shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to
sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for
use in hand-tohand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward
off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous
Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it
assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you -- daft
as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in
emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself
off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. You can
also use your towel to wipe all that greasy grease from your
hands after pulling out an injector pump.
What betides the Inn?
According to the advice and counsel of several Human gurus
and not a few pages of 3208 parts and service manuals the
failure is focused on the injector pump. Great opportunity
sitting here on the handicap pad in front of A&J Tonopah
Garage to work on all sorts of little projects whilst
waiting on the injector pump.
31 May FoodBank Wenzday
Last night at 23:50 I was awakened by bright orange flashes
bouncing around in my bunkroom on The Cat Drag’d Inn.
Looking out the window I was jolted awake when swords of
stabbing yellow pierced my befogged eyes. First sight
outside was to see that the gate was still closed. Behind
the bus the hazard flashers of a Ford pickup were pulsing
under an open bonnet. I approached warily, waving a
flashlight. As I got close to the Ford's right side I could
hear a crashing and banging. As I went round to the Ford's
left side I saw only the shadow of something large fly out
the open driver's window and retreat westward. Inside the
Ford I eventually found the hazard light button under the
loose cowling of the steering column and turned off the
flashing lights. Lacking the key I could not close the
window. Must have been one of Mikey's stray cats. Back to
bed.
June Is Bustin’ Out All Over...
That is the storey so far, and sometimes I am repeating my
Self.. The injector pump is out for repair. Could well be
another week or three before I'm on the road again. Fat
black spiders marked by a red hourglass have tied the bus to
the handicap pad.
Beware The Ides of June
We have the rebuilt injector pump mounted and most of the
plumbing attached. There remains to tighten all the fittings
and reinstall air cleaner, alternator, coolant plumbing, and
whatever leftovers are found under the table. Then of course
the big moment: does she start and run? I'm beginning to get
excited. To relieve the nuts and bolts monotony and dirty
hands of motor machinations I spent a few hours of
haranguement with Verizon's MVNO Visible over the purchase
of a new "FREE" oblong. Long storey. I could send you a
transcript
of the chat if you want all the gory details. A
combination of inept ignorant help(less) help and poor
website shopping cart order form design driven more by
marketing than anything else. Oh, yes, and a liberal dose of
plain and simple stupidity. It is my cross to bear that I am
such a nit-picker for detail.
20 June—Tomorrow is Naked Hiking Day
Bare in Mind: Naked Hiking Day which, this year, falls
on Wednesday, June 21. Do you suppose we could have a Naked
Work Day--a take your Bare to Work Day to go along with
that?
Yesterday I moved The Cat Drag'd Inn from dry dock
on the handicap pad at Allan's Garage to her home port slip
and tied her down for at least a week and maybe two. First
order of business is laundry and catch up on all sorts of
snailmail, treemail, and other non -e- communications. There
were a couple of last minute oil leaks easily fixed and a
temperature instrument error not so easily fixed. Still
waiting on reimbursement or refusal of the towing fee from
AAA. And for all the creditcard bills to come due. And now
of course this Summer Solstice Letter is due to be printed
and posted.
de gustibus non est disputandum
Of a discussion about brewing coffee Mikey wrote:
> If your coffee is bitter you could be using too much
coffee or your water may be too hot.
>
> Are you using a "coffee scoop" or a tablespoon to
measure? You'll want to use
> about one "scoop" or two tablespoons per 5oz of
water. Ratio can be adjusted to
> taste.
>
> Measuring coffee by volume will vary depending on grind
and roast. The ideal
> coffee to water ratio, per the SCA, is 1:18 by weight.
>
> Don't use water fresh off the boil. Allow it to cool a
bit, ideally to somewhere
> between 195 and 205°F if you're measuring.
Or/and another variable: the grind v.s contact time with
water could be wrong. The coffee in those 7Eleven packets
from the food bank is coarser than the coffee I grind from
Major Dickason's beans. I use a noggin/burl, heaping not
level, more or less by sight, not ounced.
 See
images. First shows the empty noggin. (Thank you Betty!)
Second shows the noggin filled with my usual about 2.5
+/-0.25 tbsp fine ground. Mug holds 10 oz water +/- 1 ml.
Fresh off the boil? Or about the time I take to off the
burner, unplug the whistler, pick up the kettle, and pour.
And remember we are about one barometric inch below sea
level pressure so the boiling point is about 210f to begin
with. Measured pour-over time: 1minute 57seconds.
Peet’s Coffeelosophy: “...all coffee should be roasted dark
and made with exactly two tablespoons fresh grounds per six
ounces of water.” From James Norris in “Readers Write” on
the subject of Coffee, The SUN July 2023. No word on
whether those are level, rounded, or heaping tablespoons. As
an aside: At Pie Town I can squeeze a tea bag right out of
my cup sans burning pain, not here. 198f there v.s 210f
here. de gustibus non est disputandum.
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2023 Summer — Greetings Virtual
Travellers and Pen Friends: 
