Have Battery .... Will Die .....

And leave you totally disconnected from the world!!  It's funny how much we depend on these devices.  My phone was working great yesterday morning as I closed up the rig and got ready to roll.  It's a good thing I'm fanatic about checking things, because in looking at the map, I discovered the exit to Highway 8 ... the West route around Phoenix ... was closed.  YIKES!!

Upon MUCH closer inspection, I found an alternate route and marked it on my phone.  Trouble was, before I was out the gate, the phone died.  It said it had a fully charged battery, but wouldn't turn on.  There IS a nice picture of a dead battery on the front.

I tried plugging it in with every cord I had available, to no avail.  I knew I wanted to hit the road early to beat the afternoon winds, so off I went into the wild blue yonder with a total lack of communication and information, you know, like in the days of the Old West.

Since I like to take pictures on the road, I grabbed my small Canon from the dash and turned it on.  A bright red light flashed at me again and again ..... battery dead!!  Well for heavens sake!!!  There will be no pictures today I guess.

I was able to remember the new route by the time I got to Casa Grande.  It was pretty simple, just drive through Casa Grande and then try to find Highway 8 again.  Luckily, I turned on the right road and hit the freeway, just in time to enter the construction zone with fresh oil everywhere except my very narrow lane.  Remember I have newly polished wheels??

All that time, my lovely GPS lady tried to get me to make a U turn at every single road.  Eventually I convinced her I wasn't lost ... least I didn't THINK I was.

Twenty miles later, the fresh oil FINALLY ended and I was able to relax, my GPS finally catching up with me.  When turning on Hwy 85 north towards Highway 10, she told me to make a couple of wrong turns, but having also checked this route on my phone the night before, I nervously followed the big trucks right into another 20 miles of fresh oil.  UGH!!!

Eventually, I hit Highway 10 West to Quartzsite.  Except for the 25 mph winds (feels like 35) over the mountains, it was an uneventful trip.

I pulled in to the Park Place RV Park, took two seconds to check in (all the paperwork had been completed already) and parked in a pull-through spot next to a much older rig.  Trying to relax, and terribly irritated that my phone still wasn't working, I played with the puppies for about 30 minutes.

Suddenly at 3:00 there was a knock on the door.  A strange older lady was standing there with her cane, angry as all get out, as she began to berate my dogs for barking ALL DAY LONG while I was gone.  "I'm sorry, but I just got here an hour ago and I haven't gone anywhere ... you can see my car is still hooked up."  How dare I prove her wrong ... a few more choice words from her and I closed the door in her face.  Yes the puppies barked a few times because I was playing with them ... I'll try to keep them quiet.

Apparently that didn't suit, because she immediately got in her car and drove four sites down to the office where I'm sure she lodged a complaint, but no one contacted me.  Not long after, the nice neighbor behind her washed the back of his rig, causing lots of stink eye and standing with arms folded on their steps.  Sheeeeeesh!!!

Today I'm driving all of two hours to Indio where I've found an Apple store to check out my phone.  Worst case, I'll have them check the weather again for me before I head over Tehachapi Pass ... you know, just to be sure there's no SNOW predicted!!

EUREKA!!!  IT'S MAGIC!!!  I just checked my phone for the 20th time and it's WORKING!!  I seem to remember the Westerfields telling me I needed a new battery, so I think I'll hit the Apple Store to see if they have one available.  I'm so happy to be reconnected with the world again!!