Lousy month, from beginning to end.

Well, it’s been a month since I last updated the blog – and for good reason.  Since the last day of November, I have been stuck essentially in one spot, and only able to get away from the rig for a couple hours at a time.

It’s a long, long, and ugly story, and if you don’t want to hear all the details of a very sick kitty, you might want to just skip this blog post and wait for the next (hopefully better) one.

We had just pulled out of Six Mile Cove on Lake Mohave (Colorado River), and come down to Laughlin/Bullhead City when it became obvious that Ms Hailey was just not herself and was in some distress.  It’s late Friday afternoon, of course.  Finally found a vet nearby, but they refused to see her that afternoon, suggesting I go perhaps to Vegas!  They were open on Saturday, but said they were totally booked up.  On Saturday morning I was waiting outside their clinic, and only got her in eventually by playing videos of her on my phone in obvious distress at full volume, over and over again for the staff and other people there.  No one else can touch her unless sedated (that’s normal for her!), so she was sedated and coughed up stomach contents including a large hairball.  Blood tests were done and an ultrasound of her gallbladder which was negative.

She was given an antibiotic injection and we were sent on our way with some medications to give her.  Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work with her and we were literally back at the vet with issues every two or three days for the entire month. 

During this time, there were at least two more blood tests, an xray, a biopsy, a serious tick infestation and two treatments that had no effect on them, some sort of injury to her tongue, zero interest in food or water, multiple drugs administered around the clock, a feeding tube inserted in her neck, an IV, a couple of nights in hospital, not able to keep down any food or medications.  By necessity, the rig was covered in towels, newspapers, tarps, puppy training pads, and she had to be locked in the shower for a couple of the worst nights.

Well, a full month later, we are still dealing with a feeding tube as she has no interest in food, but she is guardedly doing a bit better, and at least using the litter box. Unfortunately she has not learned yet to vomit in the litter box!  I was holding off on a blog post, thinking that the nightmare would soon end and we would just have a story to tell. Unfortunately, the story is ongoing and we are pretty much stuck here till things improve.

Happy to escape the vet – sporting her new feeding tube.

Most of the month was spent here, along Rt 66 near Oatman, Az.  Very scenic and quiet spot, but totally exposed to the wind, and about 20 miles from the vet clinic.

A couple of night-time visitors came by …

And I did manage to get the Mavic airborne a couple of times – looking back towards camp.

I have a problem with signs – that clearly don’t mean what they say.  Here’s a ‘NO Trespassing’ sign on the side of the Visitor Center in Laughlin.  I trespassed and went inside for some information!

If you like Fords, you might consider this a real truck?

To add to the fun we were having this month, my power inverter just decided to give it up – for no particular reason. With limited options, I found an overpriced one at the Tractor Supply store.  But when I connected it, the fan would run almost continuously, wavering it’s pitch to match the minimal draw from my laptop.  Annoying as all get out.  This won’t do.  It went back. While Hailey was in cat hospital, I ran down to the truck stops on I-40 north of Lake Havasu to see what they had.  Through a pricing error, I almost got a pure sine wave model for the same price as a ‘modified’, but eventually ended up with a nice 1000w model.  In the past my inverters have allowed a wired remote on-off switch, so I had one switch in the bedroom, and another in the living area.  This one, however has a removable, wired display panel that you can mount anywhere, extended with standard phone wire.  But it also operates on bluetooth and has a free app that controls all it’s functions, alarms, voltages, and on-off switch as well.  I’m finding that pretty handy, and I guess it has a fan, but I’ve yet to hear it!

Since we were camped only a couple of miles from Oatman, I was able to run up there a couple of times during the month.  People have decorated many of the bushes along the road, some even with presents!

As always, the burros are a center of attention in Oatman.  You can even adopt one, by contacting the BLM!

Some of the washes here have what I assume are flash flood warning sensors?

Sign near the vet clinic; and my new 6x8’ bedspread .

On a relatively better day back in camp, Hailey hops in the truck and suggests we hit the road!

Big laundromat in Fort Mohave!

Some historic stone buildings and some mine operations near Oatman, Az.

And a nearby solar field.

Hoping that Hailey’s sore tongue continues healing and she finds her appetite again so we can get rid of the feeding tube and get back on the the road again soon!