We picked up the rest of Maxx's pills at Wal-Mart and did grocery shopping while there.

Since we're going to be leaving here on Sunday, we're getting refills on all the prescriptions Maxx is taking. One of the pills we got is from the Apothecary Shop in north Tucson, near the veterinary office.

After picking up the pills, we decided to have lunch at the Tucson Takamatsu, a Japanese and Koren restaurant. We've eaten at their Phoenix restaurant a lot, but had never been to the one in Tucson. We were surprised to see that it is a MUCH larger restaurant than the one in Phoenix! But it still has the same great food!

We've spent the past month working with Gary Hubbard, Sales Manager at Eagle Cap Campers, designing a slide-in truck camper to our specifications.

We finally got all the details squared away and Gary sent us a Retail MSRP sheet which we then proceeded to send to several Oregon dealers for a quote. Two of the dealers came in with quotes within a few hundred dollars of each other, but we finally decided to purchase the camper from Thunder RV in La Grande, OR (which is where Eagle Cap is located, too). Thunder RV is mainly a Northwood dealer (Arctic Fox/Nash/Desert Fox), but they also carry Eagle Cap. We decided on them, not because they had the lowest price (which they did), but mainly because we've heard many good things about them from the people on the Northwood Owner's Forum. The other dealer, who shall remain nameless, had several "poor" reviews on the RV Service Review website.

We are not selling our fifth wheel...when we make the trip to Alaska this summer (with a side trip to Yellowknife, NWT), we will put it in storage. When we come back in the fall, we will winterize the camper, put it in storage, then take the fifth wheel south for the winter. We were going to wait to get a camper once we get our lot at the Escapees' park in Sutherlin, Oregon, but when we decided to make the trip to Alaska this summer, we decided to get it early.

The camper we've ordered is the 950. We've ordered the following options:

• Swing out jacks
• Fantastic power fan
• Entertainment package
• Satellite dish w/TV antenna & Digital Magic
• 11,000 BTU air conditioner
• Water filter
• 2.5 KW Onan generator
• Full length wardrobe
• Diamond plate riser
• Exterior grab handle
• Counter top extension
• Hickory cabinets
• Slate interior color

In addition, Eagle Cap will install a 110-volt outlet in the slideout, install a Wilson antenna on the roof, and move the 110-volt microwave outlet into the microwave cabinet (we did not order the microwave; instead, our router and amplifier will be housed in that cabinet). They are also going to shorten and raise the wardrobe doors in the full length wardrobe so that we can add a memory foam pad on the bed.

We had a visit from Tina and Bill Pratt who are Lazy Daze owners. Through the Lazy Daze Yahoo Group, we found out that they were staying at the RV park next door to ours, so they came over for a visit. We enjoyed meeting them...it's always nice to put faces to the names I see often on the various groups I read.

Earl took the truck in for it's 30,000-mile service (which is expensive). I stayed back at the rig since we didn't want to leave Maxx alone for very long...since he's been taking the diuretic, he drinks copious amounts of water, so has to pee frequently.

We went back to Wal-Mart to pick up the pills for Maxx and then went by Foot Locker to buy me new shoes...ones with good arch support. Since I've started walking every morning, I quickly found that I cannot wear my Crocs to walk in. I've been wearing my hiking boots, but wanted some nicer-looking shoes to wear when we go someplace.

Maxx went back for his second appointment with the vet at Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson (we drove him, of course). They did a second blood test to make sure his liver was doing well with the new pills...it is. The vet wrote out prescriptions for the various pills we're giving him, so on our way back home, we stopped by Wal-Mart to drop them off.

We had a visit from long-time friend, Lloyd Treichel. We met Lloyd several years ago at a New Horizons rally (back when we used to own our New Horizons). It's always great to visit with friends, particularly those we haven't seen for awhile!

Elemonate

I mentioned earlier that we bought a new product to try out on our gray water tank when we were at Camping World last Saturday.

The product is Elemonate from Walex Products Company. The statement on the package that said "dissolves grease and organic sludge" caught my eye because we've been having problems with the gray water sensors...they always show full even after the tank has been emptied, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Well, we tried it and it works! The sensors now say empty when the tank is empty! I want to go back to Camping World and pick up another package before we leave Tucson. I don't know how often I'll need to use a tablet, but certainly not each time.

We did grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. This is a really nice grocery store...prices seem to be the same as at the Supercenters, but on a smaller scale since it's more like a regular grocery store and doesn't handle all the other items (clothing, sports equipment, etc.) that the Supercenters do.

The pills that Maxx was prescribed at the veterinary's office on Wednesday seem to be doing the trick as far as getting rid of his cough...he hasn't coughed at all today and only a couple of times, briefly, yesterday.

We had thought that, because of the diuretic that Maxx is taking, he'd have to get up in the middle of the night to go potty, but...fortunately...he's been making it all through the night!

Today was our appointment with the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson to have Maxx checked out.

They took X-Rays, did an echocardiogram, and drew blood for tests, including another VF titer test. Turns out that Maxx has heart problems, probably caused by the Valley Fever. We were given a bunch of pills...a diuretic to get rid of the fluid in his body that's collected around his heart and some of his other organs, an ACE inhibitor for his heart, and an anti-arrhythmic to help with his irregular heart beat. We were also told to increase his Valley Fever medication from 50 mg per day up to 200 mg per day.

The vet talked to us about doing open heart surgery to remove the sac that's grown around Maxx's heart and about some type of infusion that would be done 3 times a week for a total of 15 times (at $400 a pop, or $6,000 for the entire treatment). Since the average life expectancy of Basenjis is 13 (although many live to be 16 or 17), and Maxx is already 13-1/2, we declined both of these options. We'll keep him as healthy and pain-free as possible with medication.

This little trip to the vet cost us a small fortune, too!

Earl has had a sore throat for a few weeks now, so he finally broke down and saw a doctor today. The doctor gave him a bunch of prescriptions which we took to a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market (a very nice grocery store, but not a Supercenter) to have filled.

The Tetracycline pills that we've been giving Maxx haven't done one bit of good, so I called an made an appointment at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson, a veterinary center that has a lot of specialty services, but also includes a center for Valley Fever. Our appointment is on Wednesday.

While we were at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market getting Earl's prescriptions filled, we noticed a Mexican restaurant next door, Little Mexico Steakhouse, so later this afternoon, we went there to celebrate my birthday.

We did shopping at Costco and filled up with diesel ($2.199 per gallon).

We went to Camping World to buy a replacement screen door latch because our other one had broken.

Of course, we can never get out of there with out buying a bunch of other stuff, too. We ended up also buying replacement rugs for our 3 outdoor steps (which have begun to fray) and a product called "Elemonate" for the gray water tank. Our gray water tank sensors have been reading "full" even right after dumping, and this products says that it "dissolves grease and organic sludge" so I'll give it a try.

Maxx's cough has come back, so we took him to Mission Pet Clinic this morning. The vet there prescribed more Tetracycline. We also found out that the other pill that Dr. Hadlock had prescribed, Vetmedin, is for heart conditions, not another antibiotic as we had assumed.

The vet didn't have Tetracycline in the dosage we needed, so she gave us a prescription which we took to Fry's to fill. While we were waiting for the prescription, we did grocery shopping.

Tucson, AZ

When we left Why, we drove through the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation on AZ-86. This road travel through a very pretty area of the Sonoran Desert thick with saguaros. Along this road, we noticed two rare crested saguaros. One source says that one in 200,000 saguaros are crested, so seeing two along the same road is quite a find! If we go back that way, we'll try to stop and take a picture if we can find a place to pull off the road.

We arrived at Justin's Diamond J RV Park shortly after noon. We're in Desert View #12, backed up to a great view of the desert out out back window: