It was a pretty boring year here in Arizona. No major travels so not many pictures. Some changes this year but all in all boring. Changes will take affect next year.

We spent some time soul searching after the fiasco of traveling with reservations last summer. Just not the way we fly. Our first thought was to spend more time in Prescott Valley which will likely be so. Well duh, if we're not traveling as much where would we be? However the thought of not traveling doesn't seem compatible with us. We declined the opportunity to spend the next four years on a world cruise due to the exorbitant cost. Our thinking converged on the concept of traveling more off the beaten track to avoid reservations. The two options we came up with were a pickup camper or an off road capable camper van.

We did spend winter 2023-24 in Brenda, AZ, outside Quartzsite, as we have for quite a few years. The weather seemed colder than usual so we didn't get out four wheeling as much. Walks in the desert and Hugh's playing pool. This Argentine cactus, right out our back door, bloomed just as we were leaving in April. The flowers are some 6" across.

Jumped back to Prescott Valley in April. Since we planned to spend more time here we did some upgrades we'd planned since we bought the house, including a hot tub. Found this little guy on a Mingus Mt. walk, cute. Maybe an inch long.

We lost Cooper in May. He'd been declining for a year or two. He started having grandma seizures so, rather than dragging him though a bunch of tests and trials, we decided to let him go. All three of us miss him greatly. But he was a wonderful companion for 13 years and had a great life. If only we be so lucky.

OK, we decided to get a camper van, or Class B RV, and make it more capable for boon-docking. A pickup camper would be top heavy, lots of climbing in & out, and likely need a new truck. Did our due diligence (as our realator says) and decided to look for an older PleasureWay van. New camper vans are $150-200K, crazy numbers, and the build quality is crap. PleasureWays are built in Canada, as our Escape and Bigfoot trailers were, with decent quality. Initially looked at one locally in Prescott. Very nice and clean but we'd just started looking. Figured it would sell fast at their asking. A month or two later we saw an ad for the same one at a reduced price, it hadn't sold. So we ended up getting it. A lot of little repairs, loose screws etc. early summer and ready for travel. Kinda. It's a 2010 Pleasureway Excel TS but named Ziggy.

We have a three phase process to make Ziggy ready for off road, or at least off pavement, travel. First put a lift kit on. Camper vans have very little ground clearance with a lot of expensive RV stuff underneath. Adding ground clearance is necessary. Phase II involves converting the rear of Ziggy from an electric couch to twin beds. The couch is less comfortable as a sofa bed. And Phase III, a 12v compressor 'fridge. We've fought with evaporative 'fridges for too many years. Besides the 'fridge this involves a solar system, larger coach batteries and an associated electrical upgrade.

Denise was sick with Covid for July. Hugh was sick with a mystery illness (likely Covid) for all of August and into September. That was a lot of fun for us all. Not boring but not at all pleasant.

Hugh spent October rebuilding the Ziggy's "bedroom" into a twin bed set-up. Based on beach lounges. Pics of original and re-built. From the minimal trials we've done it will work well.

We jumped to Brenda early November. Haven't been 4 wheeling yet but quite a few walks in the desert. We're still boring.

As I write Ziggy is at WeldTec Designs in El Cajon getting a 5" lift. That includes better springs and new shocks. Reports are this will improve handling greatly. That is needed as before he's been a pig to drive. Also getting a limited slip differential and larger off road tires. A Nova Kool 'fridge is on order. We've also ordered the bulk of the electronics and wiring to upgrade the electrical system, taking advantage of Black Friday and before any tariffs take effect. Coming along nicely but eating up a lot of time. We pick him up in El Cajon next week.

I hope your 2023 has seen more excitement than ours. But all in all ours could be a whole lot worse. We've made some changes, and if they work out they will likely bring good times and more change. Excitement ahead and we're looking forward to the new year.

Till we see you, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.