February 27 -- Replacing Tundra's Oxygen Sensor, and An Approaching Storm

The day began with wind. When you're living in a travel trailer (especially one that is "only" 20 feet long) you can feel, and hear, the wind rocking the trailer. And you wonder all the while if something outside will fly off...After a quick trip to Lin's, the local supermarket, for food supplies, I had a quick breakfast then went to the local Napa auto parts store to see if the oxygen sensor I'd ordered for the Tundra had arrived. It had, so I took it across to the Valley Service Center and gave it to Eric, the mechanic there, so he could install it. I'd also bought 7 quarts of synthetic oil and a filter and asked if he could change my oil and replace the filter; he could, but only on a cash basis (I was about due for an oil change, so I figured I might as well give him more business rather than driving over to a bigger town such as Henderson).  When I came back to his shop after buying the oil and filter back at the Napa store, Eric told me that the old oxygen sensor was proving difficult to remove and that he might have to drill to get it out. Few things seem to be an easy fix...I then went back to Discovery to wait for his call telling me the truck was ready for pickup, or at least give me the status of the sensor removal.  Meanwhile, the sky to the west was looking ominous, and the wind was still blowing. I took a photo at the RV park showing the clouds coming in, and that's Discovery on the right --

Eric called about 2 hours later, saying that the oxygen sensor was easier to remove than he thought, and that Tundra was ready for pickup. "Your truck is in excellent condition, and should run for a long time to come!" he said, adding that the "check engine light" was now off as he had cleared all the diagnostic codes. Hallelujah! That danged light had dogged me for nearly a year, and now it's finally taken care of. At least I hope so...I'd recommend Eric and the Valley Service Center if you ever need minor auto work done while in Overton. I had lunch, then did some laundry where I met a snow birder from McCall, Idaho by the name of Sher (I asked "is that spelled with a C?" but it's not). She and her Finnish (as in from Finland) husband have a ranch there; it's amazing how many folks staying  here at Robbins Nest RV Park for the winter own ranches. The wind had died down while I was doing laundry, so I went over to the Overton Wildlife Management Area with the cameras to check things out. What birds there were still flew away, seemingly if you even THOUGHT about looking at them --- and this is nearly a month after hunting season ended. But I got some scenics of the wildlife area; here's the spot in a dirt road leading to Honeybee Pond where you cross the dam on the Muddy River --

In this photo the truck is actually down that road and IN the river --

Here is Honeybee Pond, looking north to the Mormon Mountains (the highest point there is Mormon Peak at 7414 feet) --

This is at a point further south from Honeybee, again looking north --

As things were kind of quiet at the wildlife area, I drove to a hill to get a sunset view overlooking Honeybee Pond. The setting sun first lit up Lime Ridge to the southeast --

Then cast a golden glow to the west --

And finally, maximum sunset colors reflecting off Honeybee Pond ---

Just another day of things accomplished, and spectacles seen, in SE Nevada's Moapa Valley...