Tomorrow I'll head out on 86 through Why and Ajo and lay up in Gila Bend for a night. It's been a while since I've taken that route, and I always want to avoid the freeways. The downside is I miss a visit with friends in Casa Grande but I'm betting I'll see them soon anyway. The weather has been favorable, but I need to get to Yuma before some winds kick up this weekend.

I moved up from Amado today, picked up a new cat heater, and parked at the BLM spot on San Joaquin Road. There are a few things I want to do in Tucson, but I'm mainly interested in getting to Yuma someday. So, just a few days here....

At a truck stop restaurant today for lunch, 4 fellows met next to me concerning a business deal. Two of them (jeans and long hair, beards) had a greenhouse for sale. The other two (slacks, immaculate hair cuts, clean-shaven) were looking for a greenhouse. One of the most important lessons learned from legalization is that the first challenge is finding grow space. In Colorado and Washington, the scarcity of space was and is critical for the...

I made it to Benson today without any wheel or axle problems, but I was doing an inspection every 30 minutes along the way. And I'm keeping a record of every inspection so I can hopefully see trouble develop early. Well, I can wish. It's cold here, 19 expected tonight. That means I might have frozen pipes tomorrow morning. I'm not using the park's water supply because my hose will freeze for sure. My beloved cat heater failed about a month ago...

It's a mystery to me why I like Deming so much. One might be that I'm 45 miles from Hatch and Sparky's restaurant and their green chile cheeseburger. I cut my trips in half to Hatch in deference to heart-healthy living but today I satisfied my soul-healthy requirements and had my last Sparky's burger for a year or so. On to Benson, AZ on Tuesday. Cold here now. Will be cold for a while, maybe for months.

I was getting tired of the view and quiet at the LOWs Ranch, so I moved today to the Escapees park which is near the train tracks. I like the train noise. I'll be here for Thanksgiving. I got my work done for now, so I can kick back all week.

When I left Farmington I had a new tire and a newly fabricated axle, but lacked a spare wheel and tire. No problem, I'll get a pair of new wheels and a tire in Deming. Now I'm sure that anyone that has followed this knows that me trying to get the distance of a typical western state without a spare is just asking for it. I'm being careful as I move down the road and do a tire check whenever I stop. This involves a quick walk-around while I touch...

I did well today. All the work got done plus more that I thought up at the last minute. Best deal was they let me hang around and watch. This was an opportunity to start with completely wheeless axles and watch as the workers built up all four wheels from the bearings on up. I learned a lot, but mainly I think it helped with my confidence that everything was OK and done right. Anyone remember any of my lug nut stories? Basically the lug nuts on...

I go in tomorrow for two new tires, some wheel and tire swapping, and greasing all four wheel bearings. The latter because the guy that did the job on the wheel that failed did all of them a year ago. . Meanwhile I flattened out the sheet metal a bit; it's ugly but it will function until I can find a replacement sheet. Hopefully Tucson or Yuma. I'm going to move up a grade in tires, a move strongly recommended by the good tire store here. I...

After a little data-handling glitch, Washington is now reporting that some 1000 outfits have applied for the special license that allows the state to hoover up the unlicensed medical marijuana establishments. The guess is that half of these applications are bogus, and half of the remainder will be disqualified on the rules. The original goal was about 335 licensed retail establishments. There are now 260 in the state, but the additional places...

Prime Minister Trudeau issued orders on Friday to legalize marijuana in Canada. Vancouver and Vancouver Island have, for the last 50 years at least, been developing the strains, the technologies, and the culture of cannabis that can be argued to set the pace in the US. Back in the 70's, "BC Bud" was the gold standard followed by the Northern California growers. Official and legal transfer of product across international lines won't happen for a...

Alaska is currently developing regulations and will get approvals very soon. They will look very much like Washington. Critics don't like the residency requirement for investment or ownership, though it's the same as Washington and Colorado and Oregon. They also want public smoking lounges, but the other states don't have that. Colorado seems to have pecked out the role of dramatic issues publicized all over the country. They're still working on...