No More Drama

The inverter drama is finished and I spent a wonderful, drama-free visit with Tuna, Laura, Theresa and Christopher in Edgewood NM.  Tuna declared, more than once, that among the many things he appreciates about living in NM is "lack of drama"!  Life there is pretty mellow!

The weather was "chamber of commerce" beautiful so we went to garage sales where I found the waterproof carrier for my hitchhauler I was looking for.  We had ice cream at the DQ.  We went to a beautiful garden center referred to as the Oasis, due to its lush landscaping in the middle of the desert.  We watched the solar eclipse while doggies played in the backyard.   This is Tuna hugging his best doggie, Charlie.

We ate homemade guacamole (what a yummer!), pork chops and ribs--all a treat for me as my diet on the road is even more disastrous than at home!

During naptime, I got a chance to repair my TV antenna which was hanging on by a thread and thumping on its roof mount from the minute I entered east Texas!

But ALAS!   The weather forecast has brought drama:  The southwest is getting crazy bad wind starting Weds for 3 days and I will have to drive in it.  I already had Awning Angst before I heard the weather forecast; now I have Awning Paranoia.

I left Tuna's on Monday and settled in at the Dancing Eagle Casino in Casa Blanco, a favorite stop on my route.  Casino is generous with freebies and gives out gas vouchers and a quality keychain shaped like a red hot chili pepper.  I won $1.05 on Video Poker (I always walk away when I am ahead.)  The RV Park is adjacent for $10 which includes wifi.

While there, I used the wifi to research how RV awnings transform into Killer RV Awning Sails in high winds.  What happens is that the awning fabric is wound around a roller that has a clutch mechanism that is tightened "just so" to allow operation but, in a microburst of highway wind, the clutch resistance is overcome and the awning suddenly unfurls-becoming a safety hazard.  There are afterproducts costing around $50 but they are only available on the internet.   Albuquerque Camping World  had nothing--unbelievable!  In this part of the world where "Severe Crosswind Signs" pop up every 10 miles!

So, I thought and thought...  Finally, I came up with a workable solution.  Here it is and cost about $5 and a couple trips up the ladder to the rooftop.  It consists of a hitchpin on the cap end secured with a hose clamp.   The hitchpin goes into the roller hole and prevents the clutch from disengaging and the hose clamp keeps the hitchpin from tearing or vibrating loose during travel.  No more drama!

Another item off my Bucket List--I wanted to go on the SkyWalk at the Grand Canyon.  I looked it up and it is operated by an Indian concessionaire and you have to buy a "package" of tours to get on the SkyWalk; it is not available as a single item purchase!  Price tag of least expensive ScamPak is $80 and they add in an impact fee and a couple other scam fees so you are looking at about $100 just to walk on a plexiglass surface at the Grand Canyon and, OH!  By the Way NO CAMERAS ALLOWED but you can buy pictures that the concessionaire will take of your experience.   Also, there is a Mega Lawsuit over this structure and the empty building adjacent to the SkyWalk Indians Seize Developers Assets!  Too Much Native Drama!

I got several emails in response to my last blog where I described this creature I spotted in an East Texas rest area--a half hairless dog thing with a wild pig face.   Incredibly, I might have seen El Chupacabra-- a hairless, snarly-looking four-legged creature said to suck blood from goats.
This is a photo of a dead one that is similar to the horrible creature I saw.  The one I saw had a fuller chest.

I am now in Arizona and here are a few road trip pics; a Welcome to Arizona rest area...

...and one of a never-ending series of tourist Indian Gift Shoppes.

Staying with my theme of No More Drama for this Blog, I thought I would post Joshua Ledet's FanTastic studio performance of No More Drama at the AI Final Three.  It begins with the tunes of the theme song from One Life to Live and it is a perfect cover of Mary J. Blige's original!  Joshua's "No More Drama"  Here is an exerpt of the lyrics:

Uh, it feel so good
When you let go
Of all the drama in your life
Now you're free from all the pain
Free from all the game
Free from all the stress
So find your happiness
I don't know
Only God knows where the story ends for me
But I know where the story begins
It's up to us to choose
Whether we win or loose
And I choose to win