| I get up earlier every day but the sun makes a long morning walk with Molly impossible. In fact, I was walking with Molly around 7am but the heat was already too much. Bugs and no-seem-ums are most plentiful and I just don’t tolerate them in my ear.   Our package with the parts for our roof rack was supposed to arrive today. About time, I’d say, after all I paid the company on Monday by way of Paypal. I always thought Paypal was fast – maybe not so in the U.S.   Since we had to hit the highway anyway we decided to combine the trip with a visit to the Laundromat in El Centro. While Bea was handling the laundry, I made a beeline to Wally-Mart for a few necessities. Along the way I saw a gas station offering regular gas for 3.99gal. In California this is dirt cheap. Other stations are asking up to 4.35/gal. Returning via Holtville it was now time to check the mailbox. Sure enough a yellow form was announcing the arrival of said package.   The stuff turned out to be real heavy and when i opened the package it was all super heavy duty. The risers are made by DIAMONDRAX and must be the ultimate in quality.  After a quick lunch I threw off my shirt, borrowed a ladder from my Massachusetts neighbor and were soon busy with drilling and tightening screws. After 2 hrs. Bea came around demanding I put in a break. She was concerned about me suffering a heat stroke. She brought a wet shirt, then a wet towel to have around my neck and finally even my caps was wetted. And I got cold drinks served. Did it help? You bet. I might have been ending up somewhere in the E.R without it. When I finally took a break I had to have an ice cream. I love ice cream! After assembling all basic parts we lifted the solar panels on top of the roof. It’s not a one-man-job! Besides of being too big to handle alone, they are also quite heavy, weighing in at 42pounds each. The panels are secured with screws and the wiring, which is not finished yet, will be routed through a channel to the rear. Stepping back and looking at what I did today it looks like a mini helipad. I can already hear questions from people asking me whether the van runs on electricity. No, it doesn’t but it will never have an empty battery. With this work completed it looks like we’ll be leaving the Hot Springs on Sunday. Stay tuned for the next adventure east of Phoenix. |
