Milepost 810: Entering New Mexico

     Today we traveled mostly on Old Highway 80. It makes another long loop to the Arizona/Mexico border. It was an entirely pleasant drive without very much traffic and no border patrol stops! I had hoped for a visit to Presidio Santa Cruz, off the junction of the 80 and 90, however, once we got to the turn-off, we discovered a dirt road. So, maybe if we ever return in the Jeep...
     Next came the historic copper mining town of Bisbee. Unfortunately, we weren't sure we could navigate the streets of the town, so we missed a stop in downtown. Their strip mine is closed, but left available for tourist inspection. It's a pretty big hole in the ground! Then, we went as far south as the border town of Douglas before heading north to the I-10.
     The weather in Arizona has been great with blue skies and those little puffy photogenic clouds. Once we got to New Mexico, however, it was windy and cloudy. I checked the weather ahead, and the forecasts look good, however.

A train full of engines only! Over a mile long...

Bisbee from the road

Bisbee Copper Mine

Clear skies in Arizona

Milepost 583: We're in Tucson, AZ

     Yes, Tucson is really closer to home than 583 miles. We are taking our time and really, really meandering to Florida!
     This morning we started out on the 8 in El Centro, then took the 85/86 south in Arizona to visit Ajo and Why.  Ajo is a lovely little city. I walked around the square and took a few photos. Why is an almost non-existent town northeast of Ajo - But we HAD to go, just because of the name! ..And our route went that way anyway.
     Highway 85/86 was a very scenic detour from the 8 and we're glad we explored it.

The sand dunes on Hwy 8 in California

The town square in Ajo, Arizona

Hwy 85 in Arizona

Milepost 213: The Third Time's the Charm!

     The plumber came early this morning as promised, and as usual with an older house, the problem was a bit bigger than expected.  After going to get parts that fit, it took him another couple of hours to fix our leaky pipes. Yes, there was more than one...
     Rather than eating lunch, then leaving, we opted for lunch on the road and left Anaheim at noon. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but the route we chose had a lot of traffic. I thought we'd miss most of it by leaving at noon, but, on occasion I've known to guess wrong.
     Basically, we took the 5 to the 805, skirting around San Diego to Historic Route 94, then to Historic Route 80 and spent the night in El Centro, California. Historic 94 was a very pretty, if not a bit treacherous in the motorhome.  We missed Desert View Tower because Someone forgot to tell the driver to turn and we ended up on Highway 8. It's ok. John's knee has been giving him some trouble, and as such, he wouldn't have enjoyed the climb to the top. Maybe next time!
     Here is a picture of a big hole in the fence between California and Mexico near Jacumba and a road shot of hwy 94. By the way, the fence starts up again on the other side of the mountain!

       Ok... A question for you. If an armored vehicle breaks down on the road, do they transfer everyone and the money to a new truck wherever it happens to be broken down, or do the guard and the money have to stay in the truck????  Just wondering!

A Second Try

     John called the motorhome repair center the first thing in the morning and got an 11:30 appointment. While waiting, we grabbed a few forgotten things from the house and topped off the house water. We'd forgotten to do that before leaving, too. We could have lasted a long time with the half-tank, but I don't like to worry about getting "nice" water when we stop. Some campgrounds have some really nasty stuff they call water...
     We had lunch when we got to the repair facility and they got to work. The head mechanic was really embarrassed to tell us that whoever worked on it hadn't fully tightened the bearing assemblies after working on them, but no damage was done to the motorhome or the new bearings. From there, we stopped at another trailer supply place to fill up on propane and buy a couple of replacement lights for the inside of the motor home, and my phone rang. It was Vickie...
     She said we have a leaky pipe at home, and it had been leaking at least since last night... She heard it before bed and thought it was the sprinklers outside running, but got sprayed when she went out front. So, at 1:45, we headed home to Anaheim to check it out. I called the plumber after John determined he couldn't fix it himself and we waited, and waited, and waited, and... I called a third time after dinner, and the plumber finally called us around 7. Most of the plumbers are out with the flu, but, scheduling will call me tomorrow morning at 8:30 with an arrival time. Looks like we're spending the night here!

.....Another 44 miles, and we haven't left yet!

GO! ...or not.

     We were up and at Home Depot early this morning, and the new watering system was installed and mulched-over well before noon. We had lunch and I finished packing the motor home's refrigerator and hanging our clothes. The re-strung blinds were hung, John put air in the tires, and we were off at 3:30 in the afternoon - a few hours later than we would have left, but still not a bad start.
     Hmmm. The tires sounded funny, so we stopped at our favorite mechanic in Chino Hills to have him check the tires and pressure again. All was well, so we left. Again.
     The tires still sounded funny, but intermittently. We figured we'd just had the bearings packed, and the tires were inflated more than they had been before, so maybe it was just the road... But, by the time we'd travelled 90 miles to San Marcos (near San Diego), we decided it was the wheel bearings we'd just had maintenance done on! Boy, were we angry! Now the question was whether or not to risk the 90-mile drive home to have the original people repair their mistake or to pay $300-400 to have it fixed by someone else and not take the chance of further damage...
     Food always helps, so we pulled into a Walmart for dinner. The signs read "NO Overnight Parking - Tow Away Zone!!!" in bold red letters... I told John that I think they're really serious so we'll have to find someplace to stay...
     No sooner had I started to prepare dinner and the security guy was pounding on the door!!! I was certain we were going to be told to move on - IMMEDIATELY...
     The guard was nice and just wanted to know how long we would be visiting because he needs full visibility of the parking lot. John said we wouldn't spend the night because we saw it's not allowed, and the guard said, "If you park over there, in those spaces, I can see around you and you can spend the night. If the police ask, tell 'em I said you could." He said that without even knowing we were in mechanical distress! What a nice guy!
     During our dinner, however, our mind was made up as we watched a lot of police-type activity in the parking lot. It just didn't seem like a very safe place to stay. So, we "nursed" the motorhome back to Chino Hills where it lives and spent the night there.

     180 miles traveled, and no progress made!

Set....

     The first two blinds went so well and looked so nice once hung in the motorhome, I decided to do two more. I ran out of string after the first blind, and Camping World had no more, so I substituted white mason cord from Home Depot. We will hang those just before we leave and find out if that blind will stay up! It's tough to get ready and work on the motorhome when it's kept 17 miles away!
     The motorhome is now nearly completely packed and ready. All I need to do for the trip itself is to put our clothes away in the motorhome and load the fresh and frozen food...
     BUT, the actual act of LEAVING is in other hands... Yesterday I discovered why our backyard plants appear to be dying. I thought it was the heat and the drought, but it turns out the sprinklers haven't been sprinkling! They'd been unplugged from the timer! That fixed, I realized I need to get a little more water on the new plantings and the vegetable garden while we're gone. I can't count on Vickie to do the hand-watering and gardening due to lack of interest on her part... It's enough that she will have to care for the cats and take care of the house... So, we put some old soaker hoses on a timer and discovered multiple leaks and holes. This morning there will be a trip to Home Depot for more hoses, then we will arrange those and cover them with mulch. THEN, we can GO!

STILL Getting Ready...

   The motorhome is now packed with household essentials: the linens, dishes, pots & pans, and other kitchen tools. Susan delivered the AAA tourbooks and maps we will need for the trip. Thank you, Susan!

   This weekend, I washed and re-strung 2 of the “day/night blinds,” just to see if I can do it without destroying them. I was successful and may do 1 or 2 more, if time allows. I am also making and installing blackout curtains in the bedroom area, and was thrilled to find a color that matches the motorhome interior at the store. The night part of the day/night blinds has never quite been dark enough for me.

   This week the motorhome passed its pre-trip check at the shop with the wheel bearings packed and a new house water pump. John still plans to work on battery accessibility, fluid checks, and oil change.

   Yes, Henry, this week I will buy 100 cans of cat food and 1 big bag of kibble for you and Bruce. Vickie will babysit while we’re gone...

Getting Ready....

   It is April 13, 2016, and we are getting ready for our next Epic Journey! We cannot be gone as long, but we are going to try to stuff as much fun and adventure in as possible! The planned highlight this time is celebrating Uncle Vic's 90th birthday on May 13 in Florida.
   Our scheduled departure date from California is May 1, however, I am hard at work to move it forward... So stay tuned!