Kanab

Once I arrived in Kanab, I was anxious to just stop moving.  I dropped off the Uhaul dolly and pulled into my spot at Anasazi Village.  I have been told several times over the last week that I have the prime spot in the park. Before I could even get out of the RV, one of my neighbors was coming over to say hello.  Her name is Beverly, she is from Louisiana but has been here for ten years and has a dachshund named Shotsy.

The park owners were very nice and arrived shortly after I pulled in to help me hook up.  I wouldn't have power until that Monday but I was able to get everything else set up in anticipation of that.  Ray and Sharon are the park owners.  They lived in the park when they first bought it and seem to be interested in what goes on in the park.  They are sort of picky about each RV/trailer's appearance and stop by often to mow the grass or help with repairs or maintenance.

Rick and Michelle, two doors down, stopped by while we were getting the RV stabilized.  They are from Washington but have lived in Colorado and Arizona over the last two years.  Rick used to be in the Navy for a short period of time.  They have two dogs; Osa - a lab and rottweiler mix and Bella - a pit bull.  Both girls are big babies and very loveable.  Rick has proven to be a HUGE help with the RV.

I went the next morning to get the things needed for my water hookup.  The people at Tru Value are awesome.  I told them what I was needing even though I had no idea what I was saying and one of the women grabbed everything within just a couple of minutes and had it put together within another couple of minutes.  Went back to the RV to hook everything up and found that I had a couple of leaks.  The first was easy, just had to turn off a valve.  The second was the toilet.  I had to go back to Tru Value to get a plug.  By this time, Rick was helping me (thank goodness).  Everything seemed ok by that point.  Even turned on the refrigerator which could run on propane and battery until I had power.

Next day, we found out that my water heater leaks.  It had since stopped leaking on the outside of the RV, but I found this morning that it is leaking under my flooring.  Not sure what I'm going to do about it but I'll figure something out.  Also found out once the power was on that my inverter does not work.  This means that my batteries are not being charged and so they run down in about four days or so.  The fix for this right now is to charge my batteries every four or five days until I can afford a new inverter.  I know all of this sounds bad but I've gotten a better outlook in the last few days and it will all work itself out one way or another.

I found out very quickly from several sources that it is very difficult to get a job at Best Friends.  That's ok though, I knew that was a possibility.  I've talked to several people that moved here just like I did and have had difficulties finding jobs period.  Luckily, Rick and Michelle have been invaluable in sending me in the right directions to find a job.  Several people mentioned that I should apply at Abundant Life Academy; a christian academy for troubled youth.  Since it was mentioned several times, I applied.  I've interviewed there and at a veterinarian's office.  Got the phone call from the vet's office this morning that I didn't get the job but they also suggested that I would be a good fit for Abundant Life.  Seeing a trend?  I'm going back to Abundant Life today to see if I can get an update.

Since arriving in Kanab, I've used my time to get acclimated to the air and elevation, organize my home, and look for a job.  I like my neighbors and the town has more to offer than at first glance.  I've walked each morning from my side of town to the other and took some pictures the other day.  These aren't very good because it was cloudy and I wasn't really in the mood but here you go:

This is the sign at the front of the park.  The whole town uses the southwestern type decor; some going the way of cowboy while others go the way of native american.

This is the cop that sits on the main road going into town.  He's a mannequin but it seems to do the trick with the tourists.  I asked how Kanab could afford to have a car sit there all day and I was told it was an old car that they don't use anymore.  When I was driving into town, I saw a sign at a convenient store that let me know there is a subculture of rednecks here.  It said, "Guns, Lotto, Ammo, Beer".  If that isn't bad enough, they evidently sell t-shirts with that slogan.  Doesn't instill a lot of confidence in the local safety.

This is a southwestern thing.  Each town picks a relatively central cliff or hill or mountain and puts the first letter of the town name on it.  I believe these are done with rocks.  Unfortunately, I haven't found a spot where I can get a picture of this without other crap getting in the way.

This originally housed the library but now is the museum and an art gallery.

This is a view of downtown.  Kanab is pretty much surrounded by cliffs.

This statue is in front of the movie set museum.  Kanab is known as "Little Hollywood" and a good portion of old westerns were filmed here.  For some reason, they decided this horse was going to be male and it cracks me up that they made sure it was anatomically correct.

There are these placards along Center Street.  Anyone that was somewhat famous that shot a movie here got a placard.  There is one for John Wayne and another for Don Knotts.  There are lots of others and I'm sure Daddy would know most of the names.

Just so no one thinks that Kanab is completely desert-like, this is a picture of one of the side yards at the park.  The lane is also lined with trees and my RV is shaded through most of the morning.

That's all for now.  I have a few more pictures than what I've included here.  If you want to see them, feel free to go to http://pcpinkston.shutterfly.com .