Thursday Morning and I have been woken to the furnace alarm, if the voltage drops below 12 volts the burner on the furnace gets a little finicky, and as much as the battery bank was full yesterday, after a few hours of television and recharging equipment, and the well below freezing night the old batteries just can’t do their job anymore. So I had to fire up the Generator early this morning to recharge the batteries and supply a little warmth to the coach, it is 29 or -2 here this morning the disadvantage to elevation as it is 59 or 15 degrees in the valley, we are going to descend over 6000 feet today to a spot along the Colorado river that is below 1000 feet of elevation. It has been a busy first few days in Arizona but the warm temperatures of the valley are calling and I’m ready to sit in a chair in the sun and take a few days off, and after that we may even get the kayaks in the water.

Lake Havasu is our destination today, should be about a four hour drive, we will top off the fuel and find a little piece of desert for a week or so, just dry camping on BLM land. Craggy wash just north of Lake Havasu City limits is our desired spot, only a few miles from supplies, it is a 14 day stay location, the Bureau of Land Management allow us to settle into a spot for 14 days at no charge, there are no services, what ever you pack in you must pack out. After your 14 day stay you must move on at least 25 miles away, where you could stay another 14 days and then you could come back to Craggy wash. Now because there are no services it means you have to have enough tank capacity for both fresh and waste water, generators are allowed to provide power but not between 10 pm and 6 am (quiet time), there is normally a camp host with some sort of sign by their rig that you register with, there are numerous spots in Arizona that this is done and we will be staying at a few over the winter.

There is also BLM land that is designated LTVA (Long Term Visitor Area) these areas offer limited services, they have a dump station, potable water fill up spigots. and garbage dumpsters on site. Now the fee for this is $40 for 14 days or $180 for 6 months, in the LTVA you can stay in the same spot for the duration, breaking camp to dump and reload with water. There are groups of people that gather every year as a community and will have a method of trucking water and waste water so as a group then never have to move. The Arizona desert is a labyrinth of ATV trails, running in all directions through the desert and large groups can be seen daily heading into the desert, the ATV becomes your main source of transportation as they are accepted on most roads and in most towns in the Arizona desert.

So we are settled into Craggy Wash in the Lake Havasu area, solar panels are tilted to get the best bang for the buck, temperature is 82 or 25 degrees and nothing but sunshine. The battery bank is full and with the evening temperature only going down into the high 50’s the furnace should not be required at all, today is the first time we have been able sit out since we were at LHR (Lake Huron Resort), it’s great to sit in the sun and absorb some vitamin D after a month of cold weather and being chased across the continent, but this weekend is going to be mid 80’s with just a little cloud tomorrow should be nothing but solar…will keep you informed.

Wednesday morning same location but our adventure today is to Sedona, the village is a large collection of restaurants and souvenir shops, it is a beautiful little town but way to touristy for our liking. No this is all about the drive into and out of Sedona US-89A is the route and there is an elevation change of 2500 feet, maximum length of vehicle 50 feet, multiple switch backs, lots of sharp curves, narrow and busy, and one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take.

The changing of the leaves, made this the perfect time of year to take this drive, a Wednesday so not too busy, temperatures in the 70 or 20 degrees and did I mention nothing but sunshine. Made this one of those days that will stay with you forever, this is the kind of drive that all you people who haul your bikes around with you are looking for (Bob). I have to admit this was not an adventure that was high on my list of things to do, but I was pleasantly surprised by the natural ruggedness of the landscape.

Solar topped off the battery bank to day bringing in 168 amp/hours, it has been sunny and warm during the day 18 or 68 degrees but the evening temps are still falling below the freezing mark so the furnace has been on a lot. Tomorrow we are heading to the valley where the temperature Thursday is forecast for 81 or 27 and the overnight low is forecast for 59 or 15 degrees. And that my friends is why we come to the desert during the winter…just saying