Odometer 54683
Trip meter 78 miles
Prescott Valley, AZ
Joan and I were really feeling at home mooch-docking at our friends house in New River, north of Phoenix, AZ. Ralph and Ann had really gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. Regular blog readers will already know that we had been, not only invited on, but invited to drive a Model T on, several local tours including Sunday brunch runs. They provided us with an RV space that is complete with power, water and a dump station. We were also regulars on their patio for happy hour, and even some shared meals.
We toured the Cave Creek, Carefree, and Anthem townships in their "new" Ford Falcon Futura convertible. Generally treated like royalty.
Ann's sister Darlene and her husband Gary were visiting in their RV also, they come here to escape the Minnesota winter "back home". We became fast friends and were equally sad to say goodbye to them. But it was time to start heading on our slow meandering way back to our northern perch in Port Orford, Oregon.
Our first port-of-call on the way home was to be Prescott and the neighboring town of Prescott Valley.
The route we selected would take us up I-17 as far as Cortes, where we could exit onto Arizona 69 north and west through Dewey-Humboldt and up to the Fairgrounds RV Park in Prescott Valley.
We had not planned on an early start, which is good because I wanted to finish buffing out the brass radiator on the 1910 Ford Model T and to collect my coveralls and tools from the shop and get them back into the basement of the motorhome.
I have had the time of my life, learning how to fix and maintain many of the systems on Model Ts. I have elected to take the motor out of Ralph's 1919 Model T in Port Orford and fix a problem with the magneto- I'll need all the knowledge and practice I can get.
As we said our good-byes and ran through our final departure checklist, we soon discovered that the turn signals were not operating through the umbilical cord to the motorhome. The car's own turn signals worked, but the wires/ diodes that should work them from the motorhome electrical system were not working. I took a tiny spiral brush and some dielectric "grease" and thoroughly cleaned each plug and socket on each end of the power cord from the bus to the car. It worked! We were ready to go at 1:30 PM.
A grueling hour and fifteen minutes later we were pulling into our home for the night at Fairgrounds RV Park at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds, just outside of the town of Prescott Valley. This used to be the RV park for the County Fair, but... several years ago the county sold off he RV facilities and they are now under private ownership.
The next morning Joan and I did a walking/ driving tour of the city of Prescott. They have an awesome old downtown, and the main attraction for us was Whiskey Row. Joan has sprained her ankle so it was a very short walk- mostly around the plaza and into the Palace across the way.
The Palace is a Saloon that traces it's history back to 1877. It underwent a full restoration in 1996 and they did a fantastic job of preserving the look and feel of the place. Now days it's open lunch and dinner.
Whiskey Row was plagued with fires the most devastating for the Palace was in 1900 when it burned to the ground. Luckily helpful patrons helped carry the Brunswick bar across the street to the plaza and saved it from the fire.
Joan and I marveled at the intricate wood works and the beautiful pressed metal ceiling, the wood plank floors.
Hey!, the food was good too!
The Palace is also a mini-museum. We strolled around the interior of the dining room looking at many displays that showed period items, much like you'd expect to see in a classy museum.
Okay, you get the point, we were impressed!
Prescott's Yavapai County Courthouse is hard to photograph for all the greenery. It has seen many iterations over the years but the current look, a neo-classic revival, dates back to 1916. It sits on 4.1 acres of grass and is surrounded by more than 170 trees.
The next day, as we prepared to leave for Alamo Lake State Park we traveled separately, Joan in the Honda, me in the bus to the nearest Fry's fuel station in Prescott Valley. Fry's gives fuel points for our grocery shopping and today we can save 36 cents per gallon on our diesel fill-up by coming here. The main problem is getting into the smallish fuel islands with the car hooked up, so we drive separately and hook-up after fueling when we can.
When we rendezvoused to hook up the car in an empty parking lot, the turn signals on the car were not working- Again!
I tried the socket cleaning that worked last time- to no avail. I probed the umbilical cord with a test light and the cord and plugs tested OK.
I got ready to take off the turn signal lens on the Honda and check to see if we had a bad diode- and the lights started working. Grrr..
I checked the lights several times during our trip, and as we arrived at our destination- and they worked just fine. Huh!
Our destination, Alamo Lake State Park, is a little off the beaten path, and we like that.
We'll tell you more about our trip south in tomorrow's blog. Suffice to say, we are safely ensconced in out spot for the night and it's time for happy hour!
Your Traveling Friends,
Jeff and Joan
Trip meter 78 miles
Prescott Valley, AZ
Joan and I were really feeling at home mooch-docking at our friends house in New River, north of Phoenix, AZ. Ralph and Ann had really gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. Regular blog readers will already know that we had been, not only invited on, but invited to drive a Model T on, several local tours including Sunday brunch runs. They provided us with an RV space that is complete with power, water and a dump station. We were also regulars on their patio for happy hour, and even some shared meals.
 |
| 1965 Ford Falcon with a Corvette V-8 engine and trans |
We toured the Cave Creek, Carefree, and Anthem townships in their "new" Ford Falcon Futura convertible. Generally treated like royalty.
Ann's sister Darlene and her husband Gary were visiting in their RV also, they come here to escape the Minnesota winter "back home". We became fast friends and were equally sad to say goodbye to them. But it was time to start heading on our slow meandering way back to our northern perch in Port Orford, Oregon.
The route we selected would take us up I-17 as far as Cortes, where we could exit onto Arizona 69 north and west through Dewey-Humboldt and up to the Fairgrounds RV Park in Prescott Valley.
We had not planned on an early start, which is good because I wanted to finish buffing out the brass radiator on the 1910 Ford Model T and to collect my coveralls and tools from the shop and get them back into the basement of the motorhome.
I have had the time of my life, learning how to fix and maintain many of the systems on Model Ts. I have elected to take the motor out of Ralph's 1919 Model T in Port Orford and fix a problem with the magneto- I'll need all the knowledge and practice I can get.
As we said our good-byes and ran through our final departure checklist, we soon discovered that the turn signals were not operating through the umbilical cord to the motorhome. The car's own turn signals worked, but the wires/ diodes that should work them from the motorhome electrical system were not working. I took a tiny spiral brush and some dielectric "grease" and thoroughly cleaned each plug and socket on each end of the power cord from the bus to the car. It worked! We were ready to go at 1:30 PM.
A grueling hour and fifteen minutes later we were pulling into our home for the night at Fairgrounds RV Park at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds, just outside of the town of Prescott Valley. This used to be the RV park for the County Fair, but... several years ago the county sold off he RV facilities and they are now under private ownership.
 |
| Prescott's Whiskey Row |
 |
| Joan at the door to the Palace Saloon |
The next morning Joan and I did a walking/ driving tour of the city of Prescott. They have an awesome old downtown, and the main attraction for us was Whiskey Row. Joan has sprained her ankle so it was a very short walk- mostly around the plaza and into the Palace across the way.
The Palace is a Saloon that traces it's history back to 1877. It underwent a full restoration in 1996 and they did a fantastic job of preserving the look and feel of the place. Now days it's open lunch and dinner.
Whiskey Row was plagued with fires the most devastating for the Palace was in 1900 when it burned to the ground. Luckily helpful patrons helped carry the Brunswick bar across the street to the plaza and saved it from the fire.
 |
| Rebuilt Palace Saloon with its original Brunswick Bar |
 |
| The metal ceiling is just awesome
The host that greets each new diner and gets them to a table
is a very authentic looking westerner from the period.
Complete with gun on the hip and a knife in his boot.
The rest of the wait staff are also dressed in period garb and
sport the hair styles of the period.
|
Hey!, the food was good too!
 |
| The host looks Authentic! |
 |
| Cavalry rifle, mess kit, canteen, and dress saber |
The Palace is also a mini-museum. We strolled around the interior of the dining room looking at many displays that showed period items, much like you'd expect to see in a classy museum.
Okay, you get the point, we were impressed!
 |
| Prescott's court house square, the jewel of downtown |
The next day, as we prepared to leave for Alamo Lake State Park we traveled separately, Joan in the Honda, me in the bus to the nearest Fry's fuel station in Prescott Valley. Fry's gives fuel points for our grocery shopping and today we can save 36 cents per gallon on our diesel fill-up by coming here. The main problem is getting into the smallish fuel islands with the car hooked up, so we drive separately and hook-up after fueling when we can.
 |
| Fixing a problem with the lights on our Honda towed car |
When we rendezvoused to hook up the car in an empty parking lot, the turn signals on the car were not working- Again!
I tried the socket cleaning that worked last time- to no avail. I probed the umbilical cord with a test light and the cord and plugs tested OK.
I got ready to take off the turn signal lens on the Honda and check to see if we had a bad diode- and the lights started working. Grrr..
I checked the lights several times during our trip, and as we arrived at our destination- and they worked just fine. Huh!
 |
| Tucked in for the night at Alamo Lake State Park, AZ |
We'll tell you more about our trip south in tomorrow's blog. Suffice to say, we are safely ensconced in out spot for the night and it's time for happy hour!
Your Traveling Friends,
Jeff and Joan
Howdy Jeff! We just got our first camper, a 26-ft trailer with a push-out that suits us just fine. Now waiting for the missus to finish nesting in the thing, and off to the coast for a weekend try-out. we're looking at weekend after next. who knows, we may end up doing a similar thing one day.
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