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Saturday, January 31, 2015

More dental work, and then back to Quartzsite

We kind of changed our plans a little and came back to Quartzsite a couple of days earlier than we had originally planned. This way, we can hopefully go for our jeep tour with friends on Sunday, and then do our awning fabric installation Monday morning.

And after that, we have no plans for the next several weeks, so we'll be able to take our time visiting and exploring as we please without feeling to need to be somewhere!

First on the agenda yesterday was a return to Dr. Elena Rodriguez's dental office across the border in Los Algodones, Mexico in order to have the permanent crown installed on Ruth's tooth.

We drove Sherman over to the crowded RV parking lot at the Quechan Casino. I can't believe so many people spend the night at that lot. What a terrible spot to overnight. I can just imagine the generator noise in the evening. Yuck.

But, we were just there for the time it took to walk across the border and get the dental work done. It was about a half hour brisk walk. Again, you walk right into Mexico and nobody stops you or checks for anything.

So we were about a half an hour early for her 11:00am appointment. We decided to go across the street to Best Optical where we got eye exams done. They said the price was $20 USD each but we asked for the peso price at 275 pesos each. Worked out to $23.65 CDN each which was better than the $25.60 CDN it would have been had we paid in USD.

We both need new glasses, but decided not to get them in Los Algodones. We were both happy with the glasses we got online last time, so we're going to explore our options that way.

Back at the dentist, it was a quick 20 minutes or so to get the job done. I complained about the temporary crown not being done properly (because it had fallen off three hours after it was done!), and asked for a discount, but they weren't budging. I didn't push the issue, however I still feel that we paid for something we didn't receive.

The permanent crown is done, and all we can do is hope that it will be fine. Only time will tell.

It says on the receipt that they give a 6 month guarantee, but no refunds.

Given the whole experience, we can't recommend Dr. Elena Rodriguez's office in Los Algodones. Shame that it wasn't her who actually did the work, because it reflects badly on her. The work was done by Dr. Angel Rodriguez. Maybe a cousin or relative of some kind. I think my opinion would be different if they admitted to their mistake and offered a refund...even if it was only a $20 discount.

Anyhow, the entire ordeal, including the actual root canal that was done in Mazatlan, cost a total of 5,470 pesos ($465 CDN, or $370 USD).

With that done, we didn't waste any time getting back across the border. Only a few people in line so it went quickly. We'll probably never do a border town again, unless it's for a dental emergency of some kind. But if we do, we now know that you get there as early as possible, and you leave as early as possible. The later you stay, the longer you will stand waiting in line.

Next on the agenda was to get some gas. Found an Arco station selling at $1.779 per gallon (60.2 cents per litre CDN), but they didn't take credit cards and I only had $30 cash so didn't fill it up at that price.

And then it was back on the highway to Quartzsite.

Another cloudy day.

with a 20% chance of rain, but we only saw a few drops in the early morning.

It's not supposed to clear up until Sunday.

But the temperature is a pleasant 68F (20C).

Arizona desert highway.

Not much traffic.

And so we're back at La Posa West, the same area we were at a few days ago. It's cleared out a little, but there are still lots of RVs here. We'll ride our bikes into town today and try and find some special teflon tape for propane lines so that I can install the adapter for our extension hose.

Here is the kit that we bought...


It allows us to hook into Sherman's main propane tank to supply propane to our Weber grill as well as our new Mr. Buddy heater instead of having to buy those expensive and wasteful 1 lb propane bottles.



20 comments:

  1. Hi, Kevin and Ruth -- Would you be willing to share your online resource for eyeglasses that you used? I must have missed that post, and if there is a search box here, I cannot see it. Thank you!

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    1. The glasses we have now are ones that we got from Firmoo just over two years ago. Here is the post about them www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2012/10/free-prescription-eyeglasses.html. We have both been happy with the glasses and will most likely get our new glasses from them again. This is an old post and we don't have the side bar advertising link there but we do have a link in the post itself and again because it is an old post I don't know if they still honor the free pair of glasses anymore but you can always try.

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  2. Hi, Kevin and Ruth. I tried also to get a refund for at least part of the price I paid, but they really don't budge. My mistake was , the group clinic I was referred to by a friend, was that I didnt see the actual dr they recommended, I saw one of his associates. I think it might have made a difference if I had see the one I asked for. originally. Jan

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    1. We had the same problem. We were referred to Dr. Elena Rodriguez but we didn't realize that she had at least one other dentist working there and that is who I got. Having said that his work was good and I am happy with the permanent crown (it seems to be staying put :-)) but we are disappointed that they couldn't have at least given us a small discount for the temporary crown which fell out by the time we returned home after only 3-4 hours. Had they taken $20 or 250 peso we would have been happy campers, instead we feel we paid money for something that we really didn't get.

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  3. We love our adapter and sure saves a lot of cash in the long run, especially using the Mr Buddy heater and now you can do more Weber Q grilling. Our adapter is similar but also has an extend a stay fitting and hose to hook up and extra propane tank if necessary.

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    1. I am pretty sure that we are going to love ours too! It is going to be so nice not to have to buy those small canisters anymore, especially in Mexico where they are so expensive, plus the fact that they create more garbage.

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  4. Kevin, the hardware store in Quartzsite has a good supply of propane parts. They are toward Parker just before the main intersection.

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    1. Thank you Ray and Cindy, we were able to find what we needed at the hardware store.

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  5. Glad you told people about the dentist office. You may have prevented others from having a bad experience.

    Enjoy your ride tomorrow.

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    1. I am not sure that they would have a bad experience as the work was done well, he just didn't fix the temporary crown on so that it would stay in place longer than a few hours and refused to give us any kind of discount because of it. I am happy with the permanent crown and it does seem to be on there securely at least so far.

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  6. Hi Kevin: Have over the years installed two of the extend the stay adapters for my BBQ and add a tank on my two RV's. Never used the yellow teflon tape . Do the instructions require it? In the Q, the RV pit stop on 95 south to Parker, has all kinds of propane parts and they make hoses. Might you enquire with them.

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    1. Strangely, nowhere in the instructions does it say to use teflon tape on the brass propane fittings. I guess if you don't use tape, and you leak check it afterwards and there aren't any leaks, then you're good to go. But I would use the special yellow teflon tape which is designed especially for propane fittings just to be on the safe side. Pretty cheap, and I would have thought it would be the proper way to do the job. But again, I'm surprised the instructions don't mention it.

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  7. Hope all goes well for Ruth's crown. What a bummer she had trouble with the temp cap.

    I've always heard not to use tape on brass fittings, but I keep a spray bottle of soapy water to periodically check all the propane brass fittings on my MH, part of my maintenance routine. I'll be interested to see how you make out with your set up.

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    1. It does seem that there are two schools of thought. You're right, you shouldn't need to use teflon tape on brass fittings, however if done properly it can't hurt. And they do make this yellow teflon tape product specifically for brass propane fittings.

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  8. I'd be pretty disappointed in a dentist whose temporary crown didn't last 3 hours with our without a refund. Couldn't recommend them for sure. Hope Ruth's permanent one works out OK. I've always been worried about buying glasses on line because of the fit. If they sit too heavy on my nose or the arms are too tight on my head, they give me headaches. Guess neither of you had those problems.

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    1. My permanent crown is doing well and is very comfortable and seems to be on there securely. I tooth feels great again! :-)

      We never had any problems with the last set of glasses that we got from the internet and they both fix us fine. Our daughter also bought two pairs of the internet last year and she has also been happy with them. They all seem to be adjustable at the nose and if I remember correctly they gave you instructions on how to gently adjust the arms to fix properly as well.

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  9. Thanks for the head's up re: the dentist. We are in LaPosa South. Maybe we can get together????

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    1. Sorry Nan, we were busy today going on a jeep ride and tomorrow morning Kevin is working with our friend to put on Sherman's new awning and then I think we are headed out in the afternoon to the Imperial Dam LTVA. If we don't head out in the afternoon, we can always try to get together then, I will email you and let you know if we have time, if not maybe our paths will cross again sometime in February somewhere in Arizona. :-)

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  10. Gas is cheaper in AZ than MO... I'm shocked! We paid $1.89 after we went to the RV show in St Louis. MO normally has the cheapest gas prices in the States.

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    1. Yep, that is incredible because we know Missouri has cheap gas prices.

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