Enjoying Ajo, Arizona

As we drove into the town of Ajo, Arizona (pop 3,500) on the left hand side, Ruth spotted a Napa Auto Parts store that was also advertising "RV Supplies and Repair".

I had bought a new burner for our fridge, but when I went to replace it the other day I found that they had changed the design a little and I needed a different fitting on the flared gas line that attaches to the burner.

So I stopped in to see if they could adapt the line for me.

I could have done the whole job myself, but I didn't want to spend $40 or so on a flaring tool that I would likely never use again.

I explained the problem to them, and said that I would remove the line myself if they would replace the fitting and flare the tube. They said "sure, no problem"!

So I set to work in the parking lot. Minor detail, but the fitting on the other end was seized to the line and so I had to break the line to get that fitting off. Now, we needed a new line as well as another fitting!

No problem, they had a piece of 1/4" copper tubing in stock. But, they didn't have the fittings I needed. They sent me to the well stocked hardware store a half a block away, and sure enough they had the two fittings I needed in stock.

Back to the Napa store with the fittings, and ten minutes later the guy handed me my new piece of flared gas line, with the fittings attached. I installed it, and turned on the fridge. The flame burned perfectly, and a lot quieter than it had been. I tested the system for leaks, and put everything back together. We've replaced just about everything replaceable on this almost 20 year old Norcold fridge, so hopefully we get a few more years out of it yet!

I went in to pay the bill. It was $10, about what I was hoping for.

Definitely have to recommend Kord's Auto Care Center on the northern outskirts of Ajo. Good guys.

Kord's Auto Repair in Ajo, Arizona.

From there, we headed to the central plaza where we parked up on the unused railway tracks behind the old train station, now the Visitor Center.

Inside the Visitor Center, we spoke with both Linda and Brooke who gave us some great ideas on how to spend an afternoon wandering around Ajo. It's an interesting little town because it only exists due to the huge copper mine that operated here from 1916 to 1984.

We were thinking of staying the night if we could find somewhere to drycamp, and we looked at Sherman and thought he was pretty happy right where he was on the old railway tracks. We asked if we would be okay there, and were told "I don't see why not...", so unless we found somewhere better then that was an option.

We headed out on a self guided walking tour.

Ajo central plaza has undergone a major restoration. Would have been nice if they could have integrated some shade for the benches. I bet they don't get used much in the hot desert sun.

The old train station, now the Visitors Center.

The main parking lot had just been paved and they had painted the lines on it so it was closed to vehicles.

Ruth, in one of the little parks.

Some of the houses are in really nice shape, and some are quite rundown. Property is cheap here. You can buy a building lot for $8,000, and we saw homes listed for sale between $29,000 and $75,000 dollars. 

The Immaculate Conception Catholic church opposite the plaza.

Inside the church

The smaller Federated church. I caught the sun just as it was behind the ornament.

Cool entrance doors! But they were locked.

The old Curley School is now apartments.

The bell tower on the old school.

A typical Ajo house. Lots of cactus, and no grass to cut!

We walked up to the mine overlook. We had thought it might be a good spot to park Sherman for the night, but the mine owners have signs up forbidding overnight parking. Interesting talking to the volunteer at the overlook who actually worked at the mine for 32 years.

Looking down on Ajo.

A very cool building mural!

Back near the plaza.

So we stayed parked up behind the Visitors Center. Nobody bothered us, and it was a quiet night. This morning, we're headed to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where we'll stay in their campground for a couple of nights. It's supposed to be a nice park, and they charge a reasonable $12 USD ($15 CDN) per night. No hookups, but they have showers, a dump station, and a water refill, and we're pretty much due for all three!

The Amazon deal of the day is kind of interesting today. Looks like something a fulltime RV'er could do inside their rig!

Miracle-Gro LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit