I had to pack up and move today, and I think it might qualify as the shortest move I've ever made because I had to go about 100 feet to another camp site. But that record won't last for long because on Sunday the 24th I have to move again, this time to the campsite right next to me.

This is what happens when you don't make reservations and you arrive during the busiest month of the year. But actually I don't mind, I'd rather move twice than have to worry about keeping to a reservation schedule. And after all even though I didn't make reservations at Ben Avery's and I'm here during the busiest month of the entire year, I've still got a place to stay.

And speaking of full, when I was at the escapees club in Casa Grande, they were full. I called the Lost Dutchman state Park in the Superstition Mountains just outside of Phoenix to see if I could spend some time there in March, and they said they were full. I went to a local county Park here called Cave Creek Regional Park and asked them about a few days in March, and they said they were full. I'm not sure what all that means, and I don't like the sound of it but it makes me really glad I'm set up for boondocking

And speaking of boondocking I don't know where I'm going from here I just know I'm supposed to leave Ben Avery on the 27th. But I think I may either go to Ajo Arizona or find out where the flowers are blooming and go there. I'm not sure yet but what I am sure of is I can't depend on RV parks having room for me so I better be prepared to be self-sufficient.

                    theboondork

Yet another day of chilly, cloudy, rainy weather. I keep looking at my map just to make sure I'm not in Oregon.

The Cowboys are in town now and started shooting their first contests which will continue until next Sunday. I spent a little time at the range they were shooting at this morning but everyone was so bundled up from the cold you couldn't get the full effect of their cowboy costumes.

Of course the shooting aspects of this sport is only part of why people join. I think the nostalgia of dressing up like a cowboy or cowgirl and the camaraderie of being around people with a similar hobby has more to do with it than the actual shooting.

Some of these folks will be shooting from horseback so the sport attracts horse lovers, they will also go over to the trap range where they will be shooting at clay pigeons with old-fashioned shotguns, and they will be shooting long-range events with lever action rifles. And even though the competition is great to win these events its not the reason most of them are here.

In general they tend to be on the downhill side of life, and like me they probably grew up watching cowboy movies and cowboy TV shows where John Wayne, Lash Leroux, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Hopalong Cassidy, the Lone Ranger and a whole bunch of others were always riding to the rescue, with six shooter in hand, on a horse that was almost as famous as they were, teaching us kids through word and deed what it meant to be a "good guy". Unfortunately the lines are not so clearly drawn for today's kids.

                       theboondork

I crawled around under the truck today running wires for the rearview cameras. I knew this wasn't going to be any fun so I've been putting it off for as long as possible.

Working under a vehicle isn't as easy as it was 20 years ago when I was a bit more flexible. And crawling under a truck in a gravel campsite is a lot more difficult than doing it on a concrete floor of a garage while laying on a creeper.

To make matters worse we had some pretty heavy rain a few days ago that made some puddles on the campgrounds dirt roads that were large enough that they couldn't be avoided. This splashed mud all up under the truck which has now dried and falls in my face as I lay on my back under the truck running wires.

But like the song says "There ain't no happy time without no pain" so I just keep thinking about how happy I'll be when I can finally see what's going on behind me as I drive down the road like I could when I used to have a working camera system.

                     theboondork