Never a slow time.....

I knew from reading the weather forecast that we were to have significant wind this afternoon, and from earlier forecasts it was to come around dawn this morning.  Last night, I went out and removed the canvas from the dinning canopy so it wouldn't become a wing.

The day dawned with sun and no wind at all....   But, the weather now forecasted about noon for the pickup of the blast.  So I went outside and began removing the dinning canopy frame.  I had staked it to the ground with aluminum tent stakes and they refused to budge..

Using a vise grip to grab the end of the pegs  and water pump pliers and a hammer, I still couldn't get the pegs out of the ground.  Then a bucket of water to soak the ground and a long screwdriver........  Somehow it came out.

Eventually the the awning was sacked in its storage bag and stowed in the under side bins.  That's when the neighbor pointed out that we had a flat on the Honda.   Eww, I broke out the air compressor under the back end of the RV.  It didn't take very long and I had re aired the tire, but also noticed that somewhere yesterday I had picked up a rather large carriage bolt in the face of the tire......

I could hear the hissing of the air as it was venting the tire.....  I blew it up about twice the pressure that it regularly carried.  I wouldn't have long to find a tire place..  I reasoned that main street Apache Junction would be the quickest ticket.  Of course everyone drove as slow as they could and waited out every yellow light.

On Apache Trail, I could feel the tire becoming spongy, when luckily I found a tire store..........that was completely outside..... under a canopy in between stacks and stacks of tires.  There was a small office building with some waiting chairs and a desk but the work took place out front in the driveway.

By now the tire was almost flat again, so I had no alternative.  I explained that I had a bolt in the right rear, and the fellow was at it instantly.  The wheels are fastened by locking studs so they won't be stolen, and there is a key socket somewhere on this car.  But not in the glove compartment as I exhausted that alternative  first.

It dawned on me that it was under the rear deck with the spare tire, but.......... my wife uses the car as storage and everything needed to be unloaded right there on the deck of the repair drive.

Now in the middle of this stuff is a big doll house...... must have come from a garage sale, but I never ask these questions.   And suddenly the Mexican fellow that runs this tire store become quite interested in the doll toy.  He quickly plugs the tire on his machine and returns to try and bargain me out of the toy house.

I explain that I would be killed if I let the toy go, but suddenly he begins in Spanish that I only half understand.  I return in Spanish me muerte de esposa!!  He laughs heartily and charges me $5.  I gave him $8 and was on my way, tire repaired..

Back home, my wife explained that she would have indeed murdered me if I had traded off the doll house!!   And about then that's when the wind began........

It kicked up a nasty amount of dust.  The horizon was lost in an orange cloud.  Loyce left on one of her famous shopping trips suggesting that I could ride the bike over for lunch........and eventually I gave up and did just that.  Chewing gravel in my teeth all the way, I noticed that the famous sign on the Usery Mountain North of the East valley that says "Phoenix" with an arrow pointing to Sky Harbor Airport was completely obscured.  I had to look quite a while to discern where it was.

The wind is flapping the slide awnings as I type this blog post, but that is to die out after midnight.  It will give way to the mud sprinkles again with temperatures falling.  Highs for tomorrow are in the low 60s.

It is to warm back into the 70s later in the week but the wind is to come back.  I think that will be the day we have to move........  I still have a bunch of things to pack up, but at least during the tire pump fiasco, I did manage to check all the tire pressure on the motorhome.

Will the wind ever quit???

Retired Rod