Carlsbad to San Antonio.

The Carlsbad RV Park is a  very nice park,which we have stayed in before, with a nice little dog park which, according to Trekker, we were fortunate enough to park beside.

The free wireless internet was slow, but we got a little bit done. We also wrote and posted a couple of Christmas cards for people that aren't on the internet. We needed to mail them before we get into Mexico or they might arrive for Valentine's Day or even Easter! Mexico's Correo makes Canada Post look good!

Before departing Carlsbad Art carefully inspected the electric bike and the new Yakima Spare Time bike rack purchased just be for we left Victoria and was pleased to see that everything was secure. This is the best and most solid bike rack we have had. (We have at least three more various types at home!) It has so far shown no sign of loosening or vibrating.

We left late next morning, about 11:30 Mountain Time, then stopped a mile down the highway for reasonably priced fuel ($3.999), and were rolling at noon. Shortly after that we lost another hour as we entered Texas and changed to Central Time.

Lunch too was late; 3:00 PM Central Time at a roadside picnic area (Rest area without services.) Here we turned the ceiling vent fans on and found the galley fan not working! Now we are heading into warmer even hotter weather, this is not what we wanted. With a bit of fiddling it started to spin then stopped, then started- Art quickly realised that is has a defecting micro-switch that is controlled by the vent cover as it opens and closes. It may just need cleaning. Replacing it could be difficult but it is easily bypassed.

Also somewhere along  the way Art noticed that the front air pressure gauge was against the stop at Zero! We obviously had air pressure since the front air tank also supplies air to the air suspension which was fully inflated and there was no "Low Air" alarm screeching. This had happened twice before years ago. The first time it was a loose connection to the gauge behind the dash, which Art fixed himself, the second time it was a faulty gauge which we went without through much of Mexico. Art will check when we get to San Antonio. Hope it is something simple!

At 4:30 we were both feeling a bit sleepy so we pulled of at the next rest area for a half hour nap and a 10 minute dog walk. With a wake-up bottle of caffeinated Coca beside him (The only time Art drinks coke--before and after lunch freeway drive!) we were prepared for an hour or so more of driving before parking for the night.

About 6:30 we pulled into the town of Ozona following a sign for an RV park. It didn't look too appealing but that was beside the point as there was a NO VACANCY sign on the office door. 7 miles further down the road was another, right along the freeway--it won't be quiet!

As we pulled up in front of the office of the Circle Bar RV Park and Motel, a man walked over and asked if we had been here before. Apparently the set up is a bit different: Find a space if there is one (he thought there was) and in the morning there maybe a white pickup parked by the office who we could pay. Failing that, we pay in the motel office also as we leave! But the free wireless works! We wouldn't want to stay here in the rain--there were many deep ruts in the dried mud and a couple of good sizes holes in the road. There was a windowed building labeled Auto Museum containing fast boats and classic cars which we didn't investigate. The link above shows the connection.

We were set up quickly, not even disconnecting the jeep and CHEK news was on by 7:15. We were also able to connect to a slow but free wireless signal to check in with the outside world. There was an e-mail from Lulu, hopefully we will see her and her daughter tomorrow or Thursday.


October 31, Hallowe'en.

We woke to bright sunshine and no need for the furnace this morning! Slept in again!

Tia was having difficulty with her pee again this morning, as had first noted a couple of days ago. When Art got up she was standing on her bed giving a few demanding yelps and bouncing about a bit--unusual for her so Art took her out right away. Although she squatted frequently, nothing seemed to be happening. When Gillian knelt on the dog bed (still made up on the collapsed dinette) it was wet! Quite a lot had soaked the top blanket and onto the second but not through. Tia has never peed in the house since we first got her 7 years ago. We are not sure if this happened before or after Art took her out. The blankets were rinsed then dropped on the shower floor to be dealt with later. At least her lack of urination was no longer an urgent concern but we still needed to find a vet, sooner rather than later. Just before we left Tia managed another tiny pee. She may have passed a stone.

The RV Park office was actually open as we drove past looking for someone, somewhere, to pay. The price was quite reasonable at $27.00 with our FMCA discount.

We left at 10:30, stopping at at rest area a couple of hours later for 15 minutes to give Tia another chance to pee if she needed it.

 The terrain along our route was very flat and dry.  As we drove through several cuts made to accommodate the highway we could see why the vegetation was so sparse.

 Closer to San Antonio vegetation become more tree than shrub though there seemed to be precious little soil or water to support it.

An hour and a half later were were entering the outskirts of San Antonio and by 2:40 we were in Braunig Lake RV Resort, parked and leveled.

We then went into town to see the Vet recommended by the receptionist.

The vet examined Tia, saying that he couldn't palpate any stones and that her bladder was empty or nearly so. Since the pickup for the lab hadn't been made yet he had a tech take Tia outside to see if she would be able to provide a urine sample. Fortunately she was successful. This would save us a day in the diagnosis.

The vet said that there was blood in the urine so may well have, or had, stones and agreed with Art that she may well have passed one this morning. We should have the lab report back by Thursday or Friday at the latest. In the meantime she received a shot of an anti inflammatory  and we were given a supply or oral antibiotics to start her on in the morning. Now we wait.

It was now 5:00 PM and we hadn't had lunch yet so we followed the GPS to Ruben's Cafe, only to find that it closed at 2:00PM. We tried again--there was an Applee's nearby. That would do us just fine.

We opted for their 2 for $20 deal: Two entrees from a choice of eight plus an appie to share. We shared the artichoke and spinnich dip, Gillian had a chicken salad while Art ordered the steak. The food arrived promptly and was very good. Art pronounced his steak excellent and perfectly cooked to his requested medium rare. Gillian took half of her dinner home for dinner.

We had a quiet evening, except for the three or four loud diesel pickup trucks coming and going from several trailers parked near us. The receptionist at the office had told us when we checked in that the neighbour would be starting his diesel early and would be back late. That wouldn't have been a problem if it had been just that: One of the pickups parked in the road very close to us, engine running, while a neighbour was chatting with the driver. The exhaust was being sucked into our rig so we had to close all the widows on that side.

Eventually things quieted down. The dogs got their diner, Art wasn't interested, but Gillian eventually nibbled her way through the remains of her lunch.

We tried again to contact Lulu without any luck. We'll try again tomorrow.

Hallowe'en passed quietly (other than the trucks). not a ghost, ghoul or hob-goblin in sight.

Albuquerque and to Carlsbad, via Roswell.

We left Canyon de Chelly at 3:50 heading for a town on the Arizona/New Mexico border with the intriguing name of Window Rock. It sounded like a geological formation; we thought we would take a look.

As we drove through the centre of town (in the right lane! we spotted a small sign Window Rock indicating a left turn. Signals on Art managed to move over one lane but no one would let him into either of the TWO left turn lanes! There was no easy return, so we missed the window rock this round. Maybe another time.

A few miles later we stopped for fuel in Gallop New Mexico, almost on the I-40. We spotted the price, 4.14 so swung in and took on 54 gallons or so. Ou.r mileage this trip so far is 9.1 miles per US gallon (almost 11 Imperial measure).

We had thought to stop at a rest area at Mile 22 on the I-40 but could not see it. It may have been at a commercial truck stop but that's not what we were looking for so we carried on to a Walmart at MM 84 in the town of Grants, some 70 miles west of Albuquerque. Thanks to the new batteries, the Xantrex inverter and ShawDirect we watched a little TV during dinner and went to bed fairly early.

We don't normally shop at Walmart but we needed a few things so in the morning we popped in. Art was delighted to find Johnny Walker Scotch at $18.00! Go well with his oarmeal? :) We were back on the road for Albuquerque.

We hoped to find friends that lived here but so far there was no answer on their phones. We remembered seeing signs for an RV park on the east side of town on previous trips so went to check it out. No space at this time! Just as well, it looked rather grotty! There was, according to the Next Exit, another one 5 miles further east. Some 5 miles past the exit we had seem no sign of it so turned around and at that time spotted their sign. However we were already well into our U turn and realised that it was much farther out of town than we wanted.

Back into town we stopped at an RV shop to pick up a few things. We asked about a good restaurant and and RV park nearby and were sent to the Olive Garden. Great food and went away with enough for another meal. (Which we have just eaten tonight, a day later as I write this!)

 The nearest RV Park was a KOA which we usually ignore as over priced. You can buy an annual membership which brings their price down to match the rest. To be fair they are usually very clean, full service and up scale. However it was convenient, had wireless and a good dog play area. Over $100.00 for two nights though!

As soon as we were parked, Gillian took the dogs out while Art set the motorhome up. When she returned we left the dogs in the rig and set off to take care of a few things: Photo copies of documents for the crossing into Mexico, good bread and grain free dog food. We knew from previous visits that next to Pet Vet was a bakery, and across the road, a Staples.

Back at the motorhome, we watched a bit of TV and Art tried to get on the free wireless internet without success. He finally gave up in disgust, sampled his new bottle of Red Label and went to bed.

Next morning, we were taken by reports on the Global TV News of the 7.7 earthquake in Haida Gwaii, on the coast of British Columbia. Thankfully there were no injuries and no damage. After a cup of tea, his oatmeal still in the microwave, Art and the laptop setoff for the office.

The lady there had a few suggestions, offered the use of the office computer to check e-mails, and suggested he find Jeff in the Rec Room who could probably help him.

Jeff said that for some reason Canadians computers always have trouble with their system. He cleared cache and cookies and tried a few other things and presto! We were connected. He also explained that up link was slow but down links we 10 times faster. When we finally got on we found it slower than our Shaw at home.


Now that we were online we sent an email to our friends Cathy and Ken to which they replied promptly--they were RVing in Spain and Portugal! No wonder they weren't answering or returning calls!

We spent the rest of the day doing laundry, washing the Jeep (after Bluff!) and on the internet -- doing the banking, e-mails and catching up on the blog. Oh, and Art decided to put the first aid kit to good use to repair a broken latch on the screen door:

Dinner was the remains of yesterdays lunch: Pasta! Always as good the next day.

One of the e-mails was from our dear friend Lulu from Morelia, Mexico, who said that she was arriving in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday. Today! Her daughter is due to deliver in a few days, Lulu will be with her for a month. This will likely cause a change in direction--to San Antonio to have at least a short visit with Lulu. We met Lulu and her husband Jorge in Zihuatanejo several years ago and see them every year. We have visited them in their home in Morelia. We hope to hear soon but in any case will head that way. At worst, it will add a day to our time in the states!

After dinner Art went back to do some more things on line and while trying to upload to the blog found the internet connection gone! A short time later he could see it but could not connect--it wanted a username and password. We had logged on with a "coupon" which could only be used once but was valid for three days of free internet.

In the morning, still no internet. We packed up, drove to the office to replenish all the propane the furnace has used and hit the road. Destination probably Carlsbad for the night.

We have done this route a few times in the past so didn't bother with a lot of new photos. Not that the scenery changed much over the miles. One interesting thing we spotted was an antelope, all alone in the vast landscape.  We went by too quickly for a picture unfortunately.

Somewhere along the road we picked up a small rock chip in the driver's side windshield. Having just replaced the passenger side window because of a rock chip that grew into two large cracks, we decided that we would try to get it fixed sooner rather than later.





Approaching the town of Roswell we missed the bypass and ended in city traffic through the middle. Suddenly we spotted a mechanic garage sign, and at the bottom of the sign were the words Windshield Repair! There was no room at the curb without blocking the garage entrance and the right turn lane so we turned right and parked around the corner.

Gillian walked back and soon returned with someone from the garage. He had a look, said the person who did that wasn't in at the moment but  he would phone him. The news was good--we would be here in 15 minutes or so.

Art stretched out on the couch to wait, he arrived in about half an hour. He said to drive around and park in front of the shop which we did, blocking the entrance and part of the right turn lane! Jessy introduced himself--he was the owner of the garage, baby sitting three young kids as his wife was sick! The kids happily watched the procedure from the windows of daddy's truck.

Jessy said that it was a difficult one, particularly on the vertical surface, he wasn't completely happy with the job but he was sure that the resin had penetrated completely and that it would hold. The $30.00 cost seemed reasonable, and an hour later we were back on the road.


We arrived at the RV Park in Carlbad, one we have stayed in before, and were set up and watching the 5:00 CHEK news by 6:04 (Mountain Time).

Next was to convert the dinette from doggie bed to table and plug the laptop in. The internet connected right away so the blog is getting caught up!

A few pictures to come--Tia is sleeping on the floor in front of the drawer that contains the download cable for the camera. We'll have to wait until she wakes up!

Obviously she did eventually wake up and the photos have been posted but we couldn't resist posting Tia's photo!

Canyon de Chelly

Friday morning as soon as we had washed, breakfasted, watched the news from home, fed the dogs, walked the dogs we were almost ready to go. Art had already connected the Jeep and put the hoses away, all that remained was to bring in the slides, retract the jacks, stow the electric cord and we were on our way.

Not too far though. We had half a tank of fuel and our route was one of open spaces and very small towns. The cost of running a diesel engine out of fuel was the deciding factor here though we were horrified at the price of diesel but bit the bullet and put in $100.00 worth at 4.499 per US gallon ($1.18 per litre). Guess we've been spoiled. The cheapest we have filled at was 4.049 (1.066/litre). We are looking forward to Mexico where it will likely be somewhere between 80 and 90 cents per litre.

We were on the road again before 9:30 for Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northern Arizona. Chelly is a Spanish corruption of the Native American name Tseyi. (In Spanish the ll is pronounced y.) De Chelly is pronounced De Shay.

The scenery along the way was interesting in itself.  You couldn't tell from the terrain where Utah ended and Arizona began.

We arrived at the Visitor Center at 12:20 after passing several service stations with diesel significantly cheaper than that which we had on board! Ah well, better safe than sorry!

After a quick lunch parked at the Visitor Center (and checking with them) we set off on our tour of the South Road in the motorhome, Jeep in tow. There are 7 view points on the south rim; we decided to visit them choosing the order by the terrain: We would stop in the viewpoint if we could leave on  a downhill run, rather than grinding up the steep grades from a standing start. This meant that the first two were actually the last two to view but the order was really irrelevant. Here are some pics in no particular order:

 

In the last photo you can just make out a fenced area on the left and a house at the lower right. This area is in the Navajo Nation and is populated and actively farmed. Seems a little too dry for our liking!

Bluff and off roading!

A lazy start today, just a short trip into Bluff, a little over three hours. We arrived at the Cadillac Ranch RV Park where we have stayed several times before. There were two rigs ahead of us checking in, both towing Jeeps. The photo here was taken when we stopped, hence no dust.

Once we were settled in and just starting lunch one of the newly arrived people came over and said he had notice that we too have a jeep, they were going out shortly on an easy trail to a very picturesque area nearby with some interesting ruins, rock painting, pottery shards etc. and we would be welcome to come along.

We scoffed down our sandwiches and trailed along. (Actually were in the middle.) Harry and Nancy took the lead, and their Jeep was certainly a little better set up for this kind of driving than ours. Joe and Judy took the rear, their Jeep too is well equipped.

Nancy suggested that we ask Harry why the body and paint looked so good on their 5 year old off-roading jeep. Harry admitted that he had rolled it last year! It was a lot of fun and also Gillian's first off road, or to be more precise, unimproved dirt road/trail. There was lots of deep sand and a few rocky places, in and out and even along a few washes. We needed 4WD low range in a few spots.




Sometimes we could see where we were going:

 Sometime not so much:

Sometimes Gillian didn't know which to worry about most, the paint; 

 

Or the whole Jeep!

We finally got to the end of the trail. It was worth the drive:

Then we had to do the whole route back the other way. The photo of the Jeep going down the switch back was taken on the return.

Surprisingly, the trail we were on had a name, Comb Wash Road, and was even on the GPS! The river is the San Juan. While looking at some ruins along the way we saw some people rafting.

Back at the RV park Art hooked up the Jeep so we would be ready to go in the morning while Gillian took the dogs for their walk. He also gave the interior a bit of a dusting!

The weather had been sunny all day but the wind was cold and the overnight temperatures were below freezing. The forecast was for 27F tonight so after we had both showered Art emptied the holding tanks, disconnected everything except the electrical cord and put the hoses away.

Salt Lake City to Moab, OR Our WInter Vacation

Art woke up this morning at about 7:30 and immediately turned the TV on for an up to date weather forecast. There was snow to the north of and rain and snow likely later in the day and Thursday. Southern Utah seemed quite a bit better. We thought the risk of snow on our southbound route to probably Moab was light so we decided to leave today.

Art climbed out of bed first, Gillian managed to make it 15 minutes later, and eventually everything got done. Because of the cold, the water hose refused to coil nicely so that it would fit properly in it's space, so it ended  up tossed in a tangle into the back of the Jeep. The 50 Amp electrical cord wasn't much easier to coil but it is attached to the motorhome at one end so it had to be dealt with. Art finally got everything back into the compartment and eventually we were ready to go.

We left the park at 9:20, Gillian stopping off at the laundry by the office to look for a sock that Art had left behind yesterday. (She found it.) Just across the highway we stopped at a Flying J for fuel. We still had half a tank but this was the cheapest diesel we have seen: $4.099 per gallon. We also get a three cent per gallon discount by using our "Flying J Loyalty Card". We saved a whopping $1.26!

At 9:45 we were on the I-215 the greater Salt Lake bypass to the I-15 South. The motorhomes thermometer was reading 3C, we were driving in light rain, though the surrounding hills had snow all the way down.

According to the log, at 11:20 we were down to 2C and the rain had turned to sleet. We were at an elevation of about 1600 meters. At noon we pulled off into a rest area to make our decision as the sleet was now getting thinker. Calling 511 on the cell phone for road and weather conditions, we heard that highway 50 ( we had about 30 miles to the 70 using the 50) was wet with snow flurries mixed with rain. Further south, the 70 had 2 areas with snow, but we could miss that by using the 50.

So off we went through Scipio and watched the temperature drop to 1C as the elevation rose to 6250 feet at the summit, (1900 meters according to the GPS) and the show was getting a little heaver, it was sticking to the trees and grass alongside the road.

As we descended from the summit the snow changed to rain and we joined the I-70 eastbound at MM 56 without incident. Even the rain was down to a drizzle.





At MM 83 we reached a pass summit signed as having an elevation of 7886 feet. Here we were in light sleet, and a few minutes later at 1:15 stopped at a rest area for lunch. Still cold, but the sun came out! The hot soup and sandwich were very welcome. The dogs too appreciated their stroll in spite of the temperature. Then a heavy snow squall hit.






We had several hours to go but the skies ahead were clear, the snow was coming from the rear. Back on the road at 1:55, we left the snow behind.

Unfortunately we eventually left the sun behind too as the cloud and rain returned. Temperatures however had increased nicely, it even touched on 12C at one point.






We were parked in our assigned space at Portal RV Park in Moab at 4:30 and while Gillian took the dog out for some exercise, (there is a fenced off leash dog park here as well as a pond so they were quite happy!) Art got the rig level, slides out, power and cable TV connected. At 5:00 he checked local TV weather and it looks like we have escaped the snow at least for now. Then he had a short nap while waiting for 6 O'clock to arrive to watch the 5 O'clock news from home.  Oh yes, he also turned on the furnace. We'll need propane before we head into Mexico.

But for tomorrow, we'll just head down to Bluff in the south east corner of the state.

Utah and Salt Lake City

During the night we were awakened by the drumming of rain pounding on the roof. Reminded us of home! We finally got up at 7:45, the weather seemed to be clearing

Before we left the rest area Art phoned a Jeep dealer in Salt Lake City and were told to bring the Jeep in. We were  on the road at 9:20 the day now looking quite pleasant. No idea why it takes us so long to get moving.

We were driving along and over the Bonnyville Salt Flats, miles and miles of dead straight road on quite a pleasant day now. As we got a little closer the dry flats became very shallow lakes, we're guessing due to the recent rain. The reflections made for some nice scenery.





11:30 we arrived at the Jeep Dealer in Bountiful. and received excellent attention. A service rep looked at Jeep, discussed likely cause of problem, showing Art that the door seal had in fact been replace in the past following a service bulletin concerning a problem with the originals! The problem did seem to be in the top seal which was not placed exactly right and had therefore been deformed and was probably diverting water inside. He ordered the part and we are scheduled for an appointment of 2:00 PM tomorrow assuming the seal arrives from Denver! The weather between here and Denver however is not the greatest. Tomorrow will tell.

Just before lunch time (remember we eat late!) we were settled in at the Pony Express RV Park a few miles away. While disconnecting the towing arrangement Art noted splashes of oil on the Tow Shield on the front of the Jeep. On further checking he could see a small leak of red transmission fluid under the rig. Seems to be coming from a hydraulic line from either the slides or the stabilizer jacks. We are hoping that it is in fact the hydraulics and not from the transmission. The hydraulic system uses transmission fluid so it is hard to be sure.

On the bright side, the park is very nice, very clean with spacious concrete pads for the rig and the jeep and grass and shrubs between each site, laundry open 24 hours, and the entire park surrounded with a walking trail.  (The photo was taken next day)


The weather could be better though! Rain, cold wind, in fact the wind gusts were so strong we were loath to deploy the satellite dish. The weather forecast not good.  Even using the 4 letter S word!  AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!

The park has cable TV with all the major US Networks so Art had connected that along with the power, water and sewer lines. One problem: the Toshiba TV in the front won't respond to the remote. We bought a new remote last year but it doesn't work either! We can adjust on/off, sound and inputs using the buttons on top of the set but we cannot change channels without the remote! However the small bedroom TV works fine so we were able to catch local news and weather there.

The rest of the afternoon was spent first of all by Art taking a long nap while Gillian took the dogs along the walking trail. Later some more internet time and then the wind dropped enough for the satellite dish so we watched the news from home, steak for dinner with wine, a Scotch or two to follow, a little more TV and so to bed.

Tuesday

More driving rain over night but it cleared for the most part by mid morning. The Hydraulic tech was supposed to call about 10:00 and hadn't so at 10:30 Art called him. Recording answered so he left a message and was called back within half an our our so. The tech was running late and would be here in an hour or so.

Gillian took the washing down to the laundry and got it started, the tech showed up about 1:15 and soon diagnosed a leaking fitting on one of the hoses to the bedroom slide. Unable to repair the end, the hose needs to be replaced. All 25 feet of it!

As Art is typing this, the tech is under the rig removing the old hose which he will take to the shop to duplicate (Length DOES matter in this system). Gillian has headed off to the Jeep dealer for the top seal  repair and will lunch somewhere in town while waiting and do some grocery shopping on her way back.




We have pretty much written off Nebraska this trip. When we leave here we will likely cross to the south east corner of Utah, perhaps to Bluff, a small old historical town we have visited several times before. When we leave will depend on the weather and the hydraulic line repair. The forecast for later in the week in the south of Utah is very good; sunny and temperatures in the 70s.

Well the hydraulic leak was fixed, replaced 25 feet of hose at almost $10.00 per foot plus time. The hydraulic hose was deteriorating and leaking at the fitting. There was also a crack in the outer cover about halfway along. The Jeep repair was covered on warranty. Hopefully the rain leak has been fixed. Unfortunately according to the weather forecast we might be able to test it soon--if it doesn't snow!

The evening news here advises that the snow level will likely reach the valley bottoms as early as tomorrow morning and if not then, by Thursday. The high today was about 7C according to the thermometer in the Jeep when Gillian took it in for the service. The clouds have been moving lower all day, there is s little more snow on the nearby hills than there was when we arrived. The good news is that it is forecast to improve for the weekend. We will decide in the morning if we are moving south or not. We will be heading for the southeast corner of Utah, through Moab and on to Bluff. Meanwhile we have just come in from grocery shopping, dinner is under way and rain is falling on the roof. Time for a drink.

Susanville to Utah

9:10 AM we set off once again, our route today to be through Reno Nevada and follow the I-80 as far as we could manage in the day. Not sure how far we would get.

In line with our plans to head through southern Wyoming enroute to Nebraska, Art set the GPS to direct us to Cheyenne. He wanted to see what route it would suggest through the Salt Lake City area. As we left highway 395 onto the I-80, Gillian began to laugh at the GPS instructions for out next turn: Turn Left in 800 kilometres! We wouldn't be doing that today!

No matter where we stopped it was likely a long tiring day. The road is good but it gets high as it nears Utah and Art didn't want to spend the night high in the mountains with a risk of morning frost.We joined the I-80 at mile 15, at the Utah border the mile marker is 410.


The weather was good, sunny with some high cloud but the solar panels were re-charging the batteries nicely.

At mile 175 we stopped for fuel and a lunch break. After filling the tank--51.5 gallons, $223.50--Art move the rig to a parking space as the signs directed then went in to pay for the fuel and fill his coffee mug. Gillian stayed in the rig (She had already walked the dog while Art was fueling) making sandwiches for lunch.


When Art got back Gillian said "Well that was weird!" :

She had heard the door open and said "That was quick!" and turned to the door. Trekker meanwhile had jumped off the bed and was standing facing the door. A stranger stepped up one step, and then turned and left the rig without saying a word, closing the door behind himself. Trekker seemed surprised but was not upset. Gillian thinks he too thought it was going to be me.We're not sure if he had seen me leave and not lock the door or if he had entered the wrong rig by mistake. There was a bus parked next to us. Still it was a bit unnerving!



We left Flying J, Gillian driving and Art navigating (napping) until the next exit an hour and a half or so later where we switched back again. Meanwhile Art noted the GPS was still telling us that we would arrive in Chyenne at 5:16 AM and that we had done almost half of the 800 kilometres it noted earlier in the day!





We also were making good mileage. The Silverleaf reporting  our recent mileage at 10.8 while our mileage from home this trip was 9.0 US MPG -- almost 11 MPG using Imperial measure. Better than my nephew's old pickup truck!

The rest area we thought we might stop in for the night was closed! Well the sign said there was another one is 36 miles so we carried on. We must have miscalculated because we adding 35 to the milemarkers we figured that the stop should be at the Utah border. There was no sign of it!  According to the road atlas the next one was an hour away!


A few miles later we saw flashing red and blue emergency lights a long way ahead. As we got closer we noted that they seemed to be off the highway a little. Then we saw the sign Rest Area 1 Mile! At Mile Marker 10, there was the rest area and yup, the flashing lights were in the rest area!  We pulled in anyway and as we began to enter the Truck and Trailer parking area we realised that most of the spaces were taken up by a helicopter and and ambulance!

We managed to change our turn into the car parking area. We parked at the far end. Gillian took the dogs out for a break while Art wandered over towards the helicopter and ambulance. As he approached he was met by the helicopter pilot. Art said with a grin "I'm not one of your usual Looky Lous, I did this for a living for more than 30 years and almost miss it". He and the pilot had an interesting chat for several minutes exchanging a few stories then Art left as they began to load the patient into the helicopter for a flight to Salt Lake City.  Art remembers his work fondly but he is enjoying his retirement even more!

A few semis pulled into the car area, most of them getting out their cameras for a picture! Anything to offset the boredom!

Other than the trains rolling past regularly we passed a reasonable peaceful night after a long day. We had arrived at 6:50PM.

Albany to Susanville

Saturday morning we woke to more drizzle, but at least we didn't have to break camp in the rain. The most difficult chore was coiling the 30A extension cord in the cold.

On the road at 9:15, the decision made to head south, the drive was quite pleasant. The rain had almost disappeared, just the occasional drizzle. We pulled off at Grant's Pass to fuel up at Fred Meyer's shortly after noon and an hour later stopped for lunch at the last Oregon rest area.


Soon were grinding up the hills toward California. We were delighted to see all the road condition warming sign unactivated and soon we were rolling down the far side of the Syskiou pass. Weather was much better, we could even see the very top of Mount Shasta without it's usual cloud cover. We noted though that there was very little snow on the peak, it seem to be much less that in previous years.

At the city of Shasta we turned left onto highway 89. This was where we had had a mechanical issue some years ago with a faulty oil sensor. Gillian thought that we should plan to overnight at the RV park we had stayed at that time but Art hoped to get as far as Susanville tonight; we were in the mountains and it would be cold at night. We were trying to remember the place we had broken down and the RV Park just a few kilometres further on but somehow we sailed right on past! Looked like Art was going to get his way this time! He still felt fresh for the extra two hours or so of driving it would entail and at 6:20 we pulled into the Walmart lot in Susanville. Like many Walmarts they welcome RV Overnighters and this one even had marked RV parking places.

Art was keen to try the new batteries so the inverter was energised and the controller set searching for the ShawDirect satellite. The idiot box was soon entertaining us. We left it on for several hours, until after the  10:00 PM news on CHEK TV, our home TV station. The batteries lived up to expectations; voltage dropped a little of course but not much. We could never have done this with the previous ones. The big draws are the TV (We'll pay attention to current draw when we get a new one) and the furnace fan motor.

Still in Albany

At least the weather is good! The last few days have been bright and sunny, only a little morning fog that burns off quickly. There is a nice park near by actually within walking distance for Gillian and the dogs, complete with ducks and geese much to Trekker's delight. We have booked into the RV Park for another night, taking the opportunity to do a load of laundry and we each took long leisurely showers while we had lots of water and a dump station at hand. Then of course Art had to empty the black and gray tanks and replenish the fresh water.

We have an unusual motorhome beside us, quite striking. We had no idea what is was, it looked a lot like a bus but there is no manufacturer's name anywhere. Yesterday Art met the owner and we learned the details. It was a Los Angeles city bus in the 70's and the owner has stripped it and completely rebuilt it himself into this beautiful motorhome. It is powered by the original Cummins engine to which he has added a Jake brake and an Allison transmission. The owner has lived in it for 20 years.

Friday morning we woke up to rain! Art spent part of the morning fighting with the computer. It won't run YouTube videos. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing! After consulting Mr Google he decided that it was a conflict between Firefox and Adobe. He removed Adobe 11.4 and downloaded 10.3 Or at least he tried to! The download would proceed so far then stop. After several tries he chanced to look in the Download folder to find Adobe 10.3 from the original download! The installation took seconds and was successful! YouTube videos now work!


 At 1:00 PM we received a call from the Service Manager at McKay Truck and RV that the awning had arrive, bring in the rig! We had the option of spending the night at McKay's but booked into the RV Park for yet another night at the RV park for comfort and the internet.

We dropped the motorhome off, went to lunch,a used book store (see next paragarph), grocery store, liquor store and at 4:30 we picked up the rig, happy with it's new awning!

Gillian had forgotten to bring the cook book for the bread maker and Art of course loves used book stores. This one was huge, with a terrific stock. Gillian found a couple of suitable books and Art found one he had been looking for quite a while. Plus another of course. It's been a long time (if ever) that Art walked out of book store with only one book!


This is what the awing looked like when we dropped the rig off:

I'll add a pic of the new one when I remember to take one! Too dark at the moment!


Back in the RV park we put the slow cooker back on--dinner will be a bit late tonight! On the internet we began looking at road and weather reports. We planned to head east on State Route 20 towards Bend and across Oregon to Idaho. This is what we found for the route between here and Bend, which includes a pass at 4678 feet:

"Saturday, rain and snow showers likely. Breezy. Snow level 4000 feet. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Pass winds west 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch." 

We'll check again in the morning but it looks like we'll be heading south for a bit longer. We were thinking of heading quite a bit east this trip to add a couple of the midwest states; Nebraska and south from there. Now we'll have to have a good look at the road atlas.

Back on the road south!

We had taken advantage of the delightful summer that finally arrived after a particularly poor cold damp spring and the motorhome was now pretty much ready to go. The outside bins had been reorganised and repacked, the rig washed and waxed (thanks to a couple of energetic young neighbours); all that remained was the clothes, food, computers and other electronics, etc, etc etc.  Art had also purchased 4 new deep cycle 6V batteries to be installed when the new battery trays are done. For the moment they will travel on the floor of the Jeep in front of the rear seats.





On Friday, the day the rain started, Art moved the motorhome parallel to the house, 90 degrees to the driveway, in order to be able to get it level enough for the fridge. (RV fridges are an absorption device that use a circulating liquid/gas system rather than a compressor and need to be level to work properly and to avoid costly repairs.) Once the fridge had cooled down ( at least a day) we could start loading the perishables. Not that there would be a lot, what with the risk of loosing food at the border.

Of our last 5 nights at home we only had to cook twice! One night we were invited to our next door neighbours for dinner (Always a treat!) Saturday Art's niece and husband came to town and took us to an excellent dinner at Il Traviata, and on Sunday we went out with neighbours just back from the UK and our house sitter Jan and her friend.

After returning home Sunday evening we still had some laundry to do so it was still a couple of hours before we could go to bed.

Monday 15 October

We were up at 6:30, hoping to be on the road by 7:00. Of course it was 7:15. Good news was there was no sign of rain!

Gillian set off in the Jeep, Art right behind in the motorhome. Within a few hundred feet after leaving the driveway Art heard a loud BANG!  It seemed that he had forgotten to retract the door awning! The fabric looked a little worse for wear and the metal trim was a bit bent, but when the switch was pushed it retracted just fine. We'll get the guys at McKay Truck in Albany to have a look. We have to go there for the battery trays anyway! When Art told Gillian, her comment was "Well, more blog fodder"!

We had a rushed breakfast at the Days Inn Restaurant across the street from the ferry, taking most of it back to the rig in a carton. We have to be and remain in the terminal area at 9:00 AM for US immigration and inspection.

The crossing was calm and pleasant, though the cafeteria was cold--the aft door was open! Once we had finished our Mocha we moved to the midship lounge.

On arrival in Port Angeles Art handed his passport to the agent who asked if there was anyone else in the vehicle. Art replied that his wife was somewhere behind him in the Jeep. He asked were we were going and for how long, Art said that after a week or two crossing the US we were going to Mexico and would be back April 1st. The passport was handed back and Art was on his way.

A short distance down the road Art found a place to park on the side of the street and waited for Gillian to arrive. She soon pulled in behind and within 5 minutes or so the Jeep was ready for towing and we were on our way.

Before long the clouds gathered and a bit of rain began to fall. All in all though it was quite pleasant the temperature about 17C. We arrived at The Tides Restaurant near Hoodsport, our long time habitual lunch stop on this route. Back at the Ferry terminal we had recommended The Tides to several groups of fellow passengers so were not too surprised to see three of them there.

We chatted a bit then ordered our lunch; cup of chowder and an oyster burger for Art and a bowl of chowder for Gillian. And coffee of course. As usual the food was very good and we were on the road in the rain again.

Today's trip seems to be composed of several distinct phases: Home to the ferry and the crossing to Port Angeles, the drive down the 101, both of which are usually quite pleasant. The next bits just have to be done: The I-5 to Portland, the I-205 around Portland, and the I-5 again.

 Olympia was soon behind us, we're now southbound on the I-5 in quite heavy rain for most of it along with strong gusts of wind. The wipers were struggling to stay on the windshield on the driver's side. We maintained about 55 MPH without obstructing the traffic too much. At one of the rest areas we pulled off to change drivers to give Art a short rest. Trekker wasn't too impressed with the trip at this point. An hour later just before the I-205 exit we swapped back.

It was approaching 6:00 by this time and the worst of the rush hour was over. We never actually came to a stop though it was quite slow for a few miles. At 7:00 PM we stopped for half an hour at a rest area to walk and feed the dogs and by 8:30 we had arrived at McKay Truck in Albany, though we had overshot by a couple of exits and had to double back! Fortunately we had been here before this spring as well as last year so once off the freeway we knew exactly where we were and more to the point, where McKay was!

McKay Truck is set up for RVs to stay the night with a few spaces outside the gate and a couple inside the compound. Inside there is power and water available and they have a sanidump.



Tuesday morning, Art was into the Service Managers office at 7:45. He was the second one in line! Serves him right for unlocking the door before the 8:00 AM opening time!

Everything confirmed, we set off for breakfast after which Gillian dropped Art off back at the shop waiting room while she walked the dogs.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with grocery shopping and lunch from the deli at Albertsons. Gillian took the dogs for another walk around a lake in a local park while Art had a snooze in the car.

Rig was ready, so back to the shop. The batteries were a tight fit but went in without having to modify the trays. They were even able to reuse the original cables.  The only thing on the list not completed was the awning--waiting to hear on the availability of parts.

Then to Knox Butte RV park where we booked in for two nights. Tomorrow the Jeep goes to the local shop to see if they sort out the nasty wind whistle from the soft top, not to mention the water leak!

Dinner in the motorhome, breaded cod, spuds and veggies. Perfect for the cold night! The satellite dish found the satellite but the front receiver wasn't working though the one in the bedroom worked fine! Art finally called Shaw Direct (formerly StarChoice) and using the self-serve options was able to have a refresh signal sent and withing a minute we were watching the news from CHEK TV (our home independent TV station). This is what we call Roughing it Smoothly!


Wednesday morning Art was up bright and early (well, at least before 8:00) to take the Jeep into the dealer. He then rode his electric bike back to the RV park. Happily not a long ride as it was still pretty cool. Sunny and not raining which was a bonus. In the afternoon he rode back to get the jeep, much nicer! Beautiful sunny day, warming up a bit and he did not need the multi-layers he had worn in the morning: T shirt, demin shirt, heavy sweat shirt, jacket, and reflective jacket which wouldn't zip up as it was much too tight!

Not happy with the so called service at Mark Thomas Motors. They seem to be part replacers rather than technicians with diagnostic skills. Art had specified and described the problem and explained that the soft top did not fit square on the windshield and he thought that perhaps the top has shifted. The top gasket was compressed more on one side than the other. When he went to pick up the car (they had spoken on the phone first) he was told the the problem was the door seal on the driver's side which is where most of the water entry was, and of course the needed seal was on back order! When he mentioned the wind noise again they said we'll have to replace that gasket as well. They had done that in the spring and the fix didn't stay. They obviously hadn't listened to what Art had told them. When Art mentioned again that he thought the top may have shifted a bit and that may well be causing the noise problem they sounded like they had never heard that before and more or less brushed him off. $50.00 for nothing.We had saved $1000.00 by buying the top in the US but are now regretting that.  End of Rant!