#65 Coveys Great Adventure – Feb 2020 – Benson AZ

February 2020 – Benson AZ

Evening on the patio

We were planning to jump right into upgrade projects like (finally) wallpapering the casita, but the Co-op Architectural Committee noted a couple of “issues” with the siding during their annual inspection that they felt needed prompt “attention”.

After stripping off and replacing all the dry rotted siding on the north wall and some of the west wall siding, the problem has been fixed. I am underwhelmed with the supposed professional inspection that was done before we took possession. There is no way that much dry rot took place in the 15 months or so that we have owned it. I feel strongly that it should have been flagged by the inspector and fixed by the former leaseholders before they were allowed to relinquish the lease. Unfortunately, there is no recourse after we signed the lease, so I decided to just get it done.  

I couldn’t have done that work without Ray’s help. In fact, I was actually assisting him because the injury I mentioned last month reduced my left arm strength by at least 75%. Ray is an experienced carpenter who frowns on shortcuts, which kept me in line. I tend to be “good enough” on jobs like this, especially when I feel pressured into doing it (grumble). I am really grateful for his cheerful and capable help.

Becky and moi commiserating

What finally sent me to the orthopedic surgeon was trying to load the siding debris into a trailer to take to the dump. I moved wrong and the pain (third time, I’m a slow learner) finally convinced me that there was more to it than a sprain. Two minutes after Dr. Butler started poking around, he scheduled surgery. Kayeanne and I knew on the spot that our plans for the spring just went out the window. As I said last month, we immediately cancelled plans to paint the coach and rent the beach house in Rocky Point. That was especially disappointing to Kayeanne.

On February 27th the surgical team riveted (literally) the tendon back onto the bone. Once the nerve block wore off it was …. uncomfortable for several days. My goal was to get healthy enough to hit the road about the first of April to keep our date in Chattanooga with Charlie and Mollie.

Being injured really put a crimp in my usual Co-op activities. For five years I have volunteered on the Landscaping and Facilities committees. That keeps me physically active and socially engaged three days a week. I also looked forward to finally get qualified to drive the tractors. Maybe next year.

On the coach maintenance front, I have been trying to figure out a water leak that began around Christmas. I was beginning to suspect the worst case scenario, that the AquaHot system had developed internal issues. The AH supplies heat and hot water for the coach, and it also preheats the main engine to ease starting on cold mornings. It uses a diesel fired burner like a home heating furnace and/or electricity to heat a large tank of boiler fluid that circulates to registers in the coach for heat. The boiler fluid reservoir also surrounds two separate coils of copper tubing to heat water and engine coolant. It appears to have developed simultaneous leaks in both the hot water and the engine preheat circuits. The consensus of two service guys and the internet Monaco owners group is that the AH needs to be replaced. More about that next time.

Queen of lasagna

Between dealing with doctors, the AquaHot issues and casita dry rot we managed to squeeze in a little fun. Every year the Co-op has a food auction to raise money for all the clubhouse activities and weekly entertainment that we all enjoy. For about five months we have dance bands, musicians, folk and bluegrass groups every week, often twice a week. The money to pay for that comes from fund raisers, the biggest of which is the annual food auction, where the amount bid usually has no relationship to the actual value of the item. Many of the Co-op’s best cooks and bakers brought over 200 items to be sold to the highest bidders.

This year Kayeanne and I decided to contribute. She baked two large spinach lasagnas, and I made three batches of lemon blueberry sugar cookies. One of Kayeanne’s lasagnas sold for $100, tying for highest bid of the day! A batch of my cookies went for $40! Her lasagna is really delicious and the cookies are pretty good, but as I said, there is a large charity factor in the bidding. All told, the auction raised over $7,000.

Like many other unlikely places, Arizona is developing a wine industry. One of the growing regions is located in Elgin and Sonoita along highway 82, about 40 miles west of Benson. On the way back from the crafts festival in Tubac we stopped at the Gathering Grounds (outstanding) for lunch in a small town called Patagonia. As we ate I noticed an article in the local paper about a winery that had recently won a number of awards in well-regarded California wine competitions. Callaghan Vineyards was a short detour off our route so we decide to taste some AZ wine on the way home.

The countryside along 82 is some of the prettiest we have seen in AZ. Much of it is still range land, but the Callaghan’s were among the first of several winemakers to discover the area’s wine growing potential beginning in the '90's. It turns out that the terroir is very similar to the foothills of the Alps and Andes mountains, making it suitable for several varietals that aren’t popularly grown in other US regions. We came away with a respect for local wine, especially a big, dry-ish red called Tennant that we had never heard of. I think we’ll check out a couple of other vineyards before we leave for the season.

I’ve been rereading old friends this month, so I have no new books to recommend.

I am not a fan of South African wines, but a guy at Trader Joe’s suggested Unsung Hero, an inexpensive Shiraz, and I enjoyed it.

More soon,

Bob