Cracks and Chutes

In my last post I wrote, about Parker Dam, that it's the next lower dam on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam. That isn't the case. Rex and Mary over at Happy Camper caught the error and "reminded" me that the next dam below Hoover is the Davis Dam at Laughlin/Bullhead City which forms Lake Mojave. Parker Dam is the one below Davis. Thanks, you guys, for stopping by the journal... and for keeping me on my toes.

The last couple days we are clearly in R&R mode. Dar's been working on her online photo albums and doing more genealogy research. I've done a few small projects around the bus-house and have been reading "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson (yes, on the Kindle and a very enjoyable read if you like science and history). Yesterday we ran into town for lunch at the Mudshark Brewing Company restaurant in Lake Havasu City (which was excellent... both the meal and the craft beer) and then took an interesting hike (known as "Crack in the Mountain") through some rocky terrain between AZ-95 and the river, just south of Lake Havasu City.

One of my projects that's gotten a lot of kudos from Dar has to do with our kitchen waste basket. I don't know about other RV's, but the bus-house had no built-in place for a trash can. At first we had an attractive covered thing with a step-on pedal that raised the lid so wastes could be deposited without the use of any hands whatsoever. Nice, but it used valuable floor space next to the cabinets in the kitchen, and was always getting in the way -- not a good thing when living in 300 sq. ft.. And when we traveled, we had to find a place to stow it lest it become a missle during quick stops.

The flip-out cabinet panel

What did come from the Newmar factory was a flip-out cabinet panel immediately below the kitchen sink, which provides access to a small storage space for kitchen sponges and brushes... anything small and wet... in a plastic tray attached to the inside of that panel. A flash of brilliance (her words, not mine) occurred one day when I realized that if I relocated that plastic tray a few inches to one side, and installed a home-made plastic chute-like affair next to it on the inside of that panel, most trash could be quickly, well, "trashed" by simply opening the panel and dropping it down the chute, and into the trash can securely situated inside the cabinet below and immediately under the chute.

The Chute with trash can below

Well, that worked well for the past few months, with one exception. Not wanting to drop large or sloppy or greasy trash down that chute, it was still necessary to open the lower cabinet where the trash can resides, and maneuver the object of your defection down and through the narrow space on top the receptacle.

A second flash of trash can brilliance occurred when I realized I could hang the trash can on the cabinet door with a couple simple hooks. The chute would still work fine... maybe even better since the trash can is now closer to the chute. And for those larger and sloppier hunks of trash, opening the trash can door now provides simple and easy "drop-in" disposal, without any contortions or maneuvering at all. And, best of all, it works whether we're moving or parked.

Detailed plans can be yours (remember, Christmas is just around the corner!) by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to Merkel Press, along with a $24 contribution to defray expenses. Oh OK, just kidding... you really don't need plans anyway.

Can you tell I don't have much to write about?
T