"Back in the US...Back in the US...Back in the USSA"

Bye Bye Mexico, 23 March

Some 30 kilometers and 30 minutes later we crossed the US border point without incident at Lukeville Arizona, and began looking for a place for the night. This highway takes us north through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, lots of cacti! At 7:00PM we found the Ajo Heights RV Park in Ajo Az, just before dark. We were able to stay hooked up and were within range of the wireless internet.

You can track us via again via APRS at: http://map.findu.com/va7rv-12

It was here though that we discovered that the inverter/charger wasn't working. The house batteries were not too bad, considering their generally poor condition, as the solar panels would keep them up somewhat as long as we didn't draw then down too much. The problem was the inverter wouldn't let any power through, even from the generator. Art decided to ignore it for now as it was too dark and cold for mess around with it (patience might be neeeded here!) so he simply, once again, hooked up our spare charger to keep the batteries up through the night so we could keep the fridge and furnace running.

By 9:30 we were on our way again, carrying on through the Sonora Desert on AZ85 until we connected with the I-10 when we turned east for a bit, the north past Phoenix to US93 which would take us north east through Wickenhurg towards Kingman.

At 1:00PM it was time for a lunch break it so happened that there was a well placed rest area actually at the top of a hill instead of at the bottom, where they frequently seem to be located. While Gillian got the dogs out, Art decided to check out the inverter. He poured through the manual and found nothing of help. As a last resort, he took the front panel off and bypassed the AC input wiring completely. This would now allow the shore power and generator to supply AC to the coach, but we still had no battery charging other than solar while the sun was out, or from the vehicle alternator while driving. If the batteries were to require more than this, the spare charger would be dragged out.

In spite of all this activity we were under way again and soon closed on I-40, where we turned west for Kingman, AZ., arriving at the Circle S Campground at 4:30