That's One Grande Casa!

       The 150 miles from Willcox to Casa Grande were uneventful. That was seven days ago and I'm sitting here trying to remember anything memorable about that drive... and nothing comes to mind. I don't think we even stopped for a break.

     I had tried to make reservations at a couple different RV parks in the Phoenix area, neither of which had a vacancy. The third park I contacted was Casa Grande RV Resort in Casa Grande, Arizona and they had just one space available. I took it! I actually made the reservation online and when I arrived Wednesday afternoon I was told there was no single site available for the eight nights we required. I would have to move to a second site within the park Sunday morning. We did indeed relocate Sunday morning and as I sit here (on Tuesday afternoon) composing this blog entry, site 180, the spot we vacated Sunday morning, remains unoccupied.
     Not sure what the deal is. Perhaps someone cancelled a reservation.
     CGRVP is a very nice place - complete with a very large swimming pool, several pickle ball courts, a well equipped exercise room, laundry room, clubhouse and although the dog park is sub-par there is a very nice, very large dog park just across the street at the county park / rodeo grounds.

Site #24 - our site as of Sunday morning

     The town of Casa Grande is, not coincidentally, the location of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  Saturday afternoon Suzanne and I made the 14 mile drive to the National Monument. 

•  Watched the orientation film
•  Took the tour
•  Bought the magnet

      Pretty interesting stuff! Click the above link and read all about it.

     We'll stay put tonight and tomorrow night and leave Thursday morning. It's just about 300 miles from here to Indian Wells RV Resort in Indio, California so we should arrive sometime mid-afternoon.  

     Let's see... anything else worth mentioning before I log out?

     We replaced three rugs in the coach with some cool new southwest design rugs...

     You've heard the story of The Princess & The Pea?

    

     Thanks for checking out the blog!

     Until next time... 

 

Serendipitousness!

     At 9:15 yesterday morning Van Horn, Texas was rapidly disappearing in our rear-view mirrors as we continued our westward journey along Interstate 10.  Before leaving town, however, we made a brief stop along side the curb in front of the Clark Hotel Historical Museum. We visited the museum the last time we were here and there was a dusty, old, framed print that Suzanne liked, and that the docent suggested might be for sale.  No price was discussed... and I'm sure it wouldn't have been much. But I guess I kinda poo-pooed the idea - pointing out the valuable storage space it would take up in the coach.
     The serendipitousness (it's a word) of our current situation along with my latent guilt about having put the kibosh to the art acquisition seemed to dictate that it would be prudent (and kind of a nice gesture on my part) to drop in - and if perchance the print was still in the "collection" and available for purchase, to buy it and somehow find an inconspicuous nook or cranny (perhaps in one of the cargo bays) in which it could be stowed for the remainder of our journey.
     Unfortunately, the Clark Hotel Historical Museum is one of those small town enterprises that opens and closes at the whim of the proprietor - and at 9am on this particular Monday, the door was locked.
     Oh well.
     My heart was in the right place.

     Despite her disappointment, several miles down the road Suzanne made her way back to the galley, fired up the convection oven and baked up a batch of cinnamon rolls!

She's a trooper!

     We would travel 355 miles, pass into another time zone and traverse the entire state of New Mexico before arriving in Willcox, Arizona at approximately 3:30pm. 

     Along the way we passed through El Paso (ugh!)...

     Stopped for a brief stretch at a rest area just beyond the New Mexico state line...

First time I've seen anything like this at a rest area!

     And passed through a Border Patrol Inspection Station...

No undocumented passengers on this bus

     Willcox is another place we stayed last year on our return trip to Virginia. Though quite far down the list of Arizona vacation destinations, Willcox is home to the Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum and Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Friends of Marty Robbins Museum. 

     There's also Isabel's South of The Border, a restaurant in the heart of old town serving very tasty Mexican cuisine (we ate there tonight) and Big Tex Bar-B-Que ... just across the street from Isabel's!

     Who says there's nothing special about Willcox, Arizona?

     We'll leave Willcox sometime late tomorrow morning and head for Casa Grande RV Resort in (you guessed it) Casa Grande, Arizona where we will remain for seven nights before heading for our final destination of Indian Wells RV Resort in Indio, California.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Until next time...

"You've Stayed Here Before!"

     It seems like we've been in Texas for a month! It's a big state, and we're crossing it at it's widest point - from Texarkana to El Paso. 

     We've really only been in Texas for a week. Actually, today makes it a week and a day. 

     But it seems longer.

     

     Our fuel level was getting pretty low (1/4 tank) so before leaving Big Spring I opened my fuel card app and found a Love's truck stop about 80 miles west of our location on Interstate 20 in Odessa, TX. That would be our first and possibly only stop for the day. I took on just over $300 worth of diesel fuel (ouch!). But with my EFS fuel card I saved 52 bucks!! 

     We've been on the road for a little over a week and, having driven in the rain and parking in gravel lots, the coach had gotten pretty dirty. I hate a dirty coach. Before reaching the Odessa truck stop I had mentioned to Suzanne that if I spotted a Blue Beacon Truck Wash anywhere along our route I just might stop and have the coach washed. I've never visited a Blue Beacon but have read good things about them. 

     Well, lo and behold, there was a Blue Beacon right across the road from Love's! So, after fueling up we chugged across the street and took our place in the Blue Beacon queue. There were five trucks ahead of us and it was about ninety minutes before we entered the building... but they did a great job! The coach is spotless! Well, not exactly spotless. I spent a couple hours today with my spray wax removing water spots and making the gel coat glisten.

     The tab was just $51... and they even washed my car for free despite my asking them not to. 

     My fuel card savings paid for the wash job!

     We arrived in Van Horn, TX at 3:30 in the afternoon checking into an RV park that, as I mentioned in my previous blog, we stayed at before heading for Big Bend National Park last April. You can read about last year's Van Horn visit HERE.

     Van Horn is one of those towns that withers and dies when the Interstate goes through. Broadway, the main thoroughfare, was once the only way through these parts. The crumbling remains of mid-century architecture motels and restaurants along it's two mile length are ghostly reminders of the bustling oasis that once was Van Horn, Texas. 

     It is, however, conveniently located about 50 miles west of the convergence of Interstates 20 & 10 and, judging from the number of RV parks and gas stations in the area, a good spot for west-bound travelers to tank up and overnight before continuing on to/through El Paso.

     After setting up we hopped in the car and headed for Porter's, the local grocery store to stock up on a few items. 

     Later on I pan seared a couple salmon filets and roasted some fingerling potatoes and vegies - then we settled in to watch part three of the Aaron Hernandez Netflix documentary. Sad story.  Here's a little piece of advice: If you're ever offered like $40M to play tight end for the New England Patriots don't kill a bunch of people. It'll kinda f!#&s things up.

     So here we are, watching the Kansas City/Tennessee game. It's a little chilly outside but the sky is bright and sunny with no rain in the forecast. The lower temps are due, in part, to the higher elevation (4040 ft. according to my altimeter). We'll stay another night and head for Deming, New Mexico tomorrow morning. Earlier today I selected an RV park in Deming from the Passport America app and called to make a reservation. After giving the woman my information she said, "You've stayed here before!". I said, "I have?". She responded, "Yes. In April of 2017." I have no recollection. I'll probably recognize the place when I pull in tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Until next time...

     

Rolling 'Cross Texas!

   We left the RV park in Texarkana at around 11:00am Tuesday morning just after Suzanne finished her one and only conference call for the day. While she was on the phone I busied myself getting the coach ready for departure - so as soon as she hung up... we were off!
    Our destination for the day was Aledo, Texas, about 230 miles west on Interstate 30. The skies were clear, the temperature warm and we made very good time. We are listening to the audio book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", a fascinating account of the ill-fated 1914 expedition to sail to and then cross the continent of Antarctica. It's a really interesting story and makes our time on the road go by quickly.
 

      Before arriving in Aledo we made a brief stop in Rockwall, Texas to visit Legacy Coach, a dealer in high-end used motor coaches. We're not planning to make a change anytime soon, but the dealership was just off the highway... and we were there... so why not kick some tires. We looked at three coaches of the type we would be interested in. Here's one of them ...

Maybe Someday

    Actually, the stop wasn't as brief as we thought it would be and by the time we rolled out of their parking lot and back out onto the interstate it was 3:30 - with Dallas and Fort Worth commuter traffic looming not too much further west. Wonderful.

    Traffic was indeed heavy through both cities but, as it turned out, not as bad as I had expected.  We arrived at Cowtown RV Park in Aledo at around 6pm.

     We had only planned to spend two nights in Aledo but the weather forecast for Thursday called for rain all day long so Wednesday evening I walked up to the office and extended our stay one more night. We're really in no hurry, so why spend a miserable day driving in the rain? 

     

     And it did rain Thursday.

     But it was a light, off & on kind of thing, not enough to keep us from venturing outside to do a little exploring. One of the more interesting area attractions is the Fort Worth Stockyards. Formerly a busy hub for buying, selling and slaughtering livestock, The Fort Worth Stockyards is today a wonderfully preserved National Historic Sight complete with hotels, restaurants, clothing and leather goods stores, Dickies Arena (home of the Forth Worth Rodeo) and The Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum.

     We had a delicious brisket lunch at Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que then spent the next couple hours walking up and down the old brick streets browsing the area shops. 

Probably Not

    So this morning we left Aledo at 10am and drove another 250 miles west on Interstate 20 to Hat Creek RV Park in Big Spring, TX.  Nothing to write home about but a fine place to park for the night AND it's a Passport America affiliate. $17.50 with my PA 50% discount! Sweet!

    Tomorrow we'll roll on another 230 miles to Van Horn, Texas where we stayed last year on our way home just before visiting Big Bend National Park. We've put approximately 1600 miles behind us since leaving Herndon, VA and have a hair over 1000 to go to reach our destination of Indio, California. 

Until next time...

Repairs & Recreation

     One of the realities of traveling in a motorhome is that there are always things to be repaired or maintained. Since today was a workday for Suzanne I busied myself checking a few things off my to-do list. One of those things was to figure out why one of my tire pressure sensors hasn't been working since we left home. I've had issues with these sensors in the past. There is a button-cell battery in each sensor with an O-ring beneath its cover to prevent water intrusion. I'm not sure if it's a design flaw but several of these O-rings have failed since I purchased my EeZTire TPMS system about six years ago. When the O-ring fails and water gets into the battery compartment the sensor stops transmitting pressure and temperature readings to the receiver unit and the battery and contacts begin to corrode. I've disassembled, scrapped out corrosion and rust and replaced O-rings and batteries in several of these sensors. It's supposed to be a top-of-the-line product but it would appear that someone needs to go back to the drawing board. Maybe they've made improvements since I bought mine.

   Anyway, I removed the non-functioning sensor, scraped it out, replaced the O-ring and battery and it's now working the way it should. I also replaced another sensor on the car I tow behind the coach with a new sensor. It too had taken on water last year but I was unable to resuscitate the patient and had to order a new one.
    It's a good thing - being able to monitor the air pressure and temperature of both the coach and car tires. Particularly the car tires. If I were to get a flat on the car I probably wouldn't know it until somebody pulled up beside me waving their arms and blowing their horn!
                                                               
                                                                             *****       

   Located above the coach's stairs and beneath the door is a body piece that mounts to a steel substructure. That substructure had been rusting badly and needed to be replaced. I'd been keeping an eye it for a year or so and last fall I tore into it, removing all the heavily rusted steel and fabricating a replacement piece out of plated steel angle. It worked great but there's something not quite right aerodynamically. There's a vibration that occurs at highway speeds. I've tried a couple of things I thought might solve the problem and although it's better than it was, it still makes a noise. It's not terrible... but it bugs me. I took another whack at it today - filling an area that I think is catching the wind with expanding foam. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

    I also spent time attempting to repair a light in the steering wheel entertainment system control module. Nope.

                                                                             *****

   The people staying next to us told me about a nice park here in Texarkana where they've been taking their dog for long walks so after finishing my chores, Travis and I hopped in the car and headed out to have some fun.

   We walked the 2 mile paved path around the park perimeter then played ball at the very large dog park.
   There was a cool vintage military jet in the park as well!

    Tomorrow Suzanne has only one call at 10:00am. We'll hit the road as soon as she's done, making our way along Interstate 30 west through Dallas and spending the night in Aledo, TX about fifteen miles west of Fort Worth.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Texas!

   Our plan was to travel only 150 miles or so today but we both woke up early, the weather forecast was good and the Kansas City / Houston game wouldn't be starting until 2:00pm Central Time. Why not hit the road and put a few miles behind us? We did exactly that, arriving in Texarkana, Texas at 1:00pm.

 

 
    Before departing Memphis I found a Passport America affiliated RV park in Texarkana that I thought would be a good place to park for a couple days. The pictures looked good and the price was right - $15 a night with the PA discount. However, upon arrival it became obvious that in this particular case you get what you pay for. Passport America has been a good deal for us and we've stayed at some very nice parks and saved a significant amount of money! This is only the second unacceptable PA participating "RV park" we've encountered. Several rusty cars up on blocks, an old moldy mattress leaning against the side of a trailer... I could go on, but you get the idea.
   Suzanne got her phone out and with a quick google search found a very nice alternative just 3 miles down the road.

    By the time we finished setting up and walking the dogs it was game time!
 
    But I get ahead of myself.
 
    Guess who ate a cheese danish then sneaked by me as I exited the coach during setup and went exploring the RV park...

                                                                      Bad Girl!

      A couple months ago I heard about a very cool program. It's a fuel card offered by a trucking company to owners of diesel powered motorhomes such as ours. I guess trucking companies receive fuel discounts based upon the number of trucks in their fleet. By offering fuel cards to RVers, they are effectively increasing the number of units in their fleet and hence, the discount percentage their drivers receive at the pump. All I had to do was supply them with my checking account info and a few other details. I received my card in the mail a week before our departure.

     I've fueled up twice since leaving home saving $46.08 and $44.72. Not too shabby!


     Suzanne has to stay put Monday in order to participate in a couple important conference calls. She has two less important calls Tuesday morning so we'll head a little further down the road Tuesday afternoon as soon as she finishes up. Wednesday she has a full day of work so wherever we end up Tuesday afternoon will be where we remain until Thursday morning. I'm guessing somewhere in the Dallas area.

 I'll end this blog with a picture I just got from my daughter of her almost four month old baby, Henry...

    Until next time...

   

The Beginning Of Another Journey!

    Because of the birth of our grandson, Henry last September, Suzanne and I had decided to forgo this year's road trip to Southern California. To say we've enjoyed spending time with the little fella over the past 4 months would be an understatement. We've rarely let a week go by without making the 45 minute drive to Frederick, MD to visit with him and his mom and dad. Life goes on however, and there's never gonna be a good time to spend time away from our kids and grand kids so... upon further consideration and with the knowledge (surprise!) that our daughter & her family will be renting a house in the Scottsdale, Arizona area for a week in April (with a driveway large enough to accommodate a 43' motorcoach) and that my son and his wife will be flying out to Palm Springs in February to spend a week with us, we decided to go for it. The snow storm that arrived in Northern Virginia two days before our departure served as additional motivation.

   Our plan was to leave Thursday morning but Suzanne was finished with her work around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon and we were all packed, so why not get an early start? We had taken our clothes and a bunch of other stuff down to the coach (we store it in Manassas, about 35 minutes from our home in Herndon, VA) the previous week so there was just food and a few other sundry items to be loaded into the car, along with the dogs. One last look at my to-do list... adjust thermostat... turn off water and water heater... take out the trash... ask Jim next door if he'll put the cans back in the garage...

...and we were off!

   Suzanne wanted to clean the refrigerator in the coach before loading it up. It was quite cold out and we only had about 85 miles to go to get to our destination for the night so we decided to leave everything in the car until our arrival at Shenandoah Valley Campground in Mt. Jackson, VA. The coach's plumbing has to be winterized before cold weather storage so our first day out on these trips is usually a short one. I need to get to a park with a water hookup so I can flush the system and fill the fresh water tank in preparation for travel. Everything went according to plan.

   We made the decision to roll on some miles the next couple days. With this weekends NFL playoffs and Suzanne needing to be stationary Monday-Wednesday for work, it seemed a good idea to get a ways down the road.
    Our second night was spent at the Soaring Eagle Campground in Lenoir City, Tennessee about thirty minutes west of Knoxville on Interstate 40 and approximately 420 miles from where we began our day. Nothing special, just a place to park for the night and drive into town to do some much needed grocery shopping. I recognized the campground immediately as I had stayed here about six years ago on a cross country trip in our previous coach. It was just me and the dogs then as Suzanne was still working full-time. She flew out and joined us in Indio, Ca. for a couple weeks and the two week return trip.

   Friday we continued along I40 passing through Nashville. If you've never driven a 43' motorhome through Nashville on I40 on a Friday morning my advice to you would be... Don't! I had to exchange air horn blasts with a guy driving a ramp truck. I was kinda the one who sorta F#$%ed up... but my horn was way louder than his.... so I win!
   We ended our day 376 miles later in Memphis at the Agricenter International RV Park. Kind of a neat place.

The weather forecast was calling for severe thunderstorms overnight with wind gusts up to 40mph. Last year in Matagorda, TX we lost one of our vinyl slide-toppers in high winds so in an abundance of caution I decided to retract the two big slides. In order for our bed to be in the down (usable) position the small bedroom slide has to be out - so I left that one deployed.

Well, I was awoken around 3:00am by high winds (I later learned some were in excess of 60mph), heavy rain and thunder. Good thing I pulled the slides in! I got out of bed, crammed a 150mg Trazodone pill down Travis' throat (he's petrified of thunderstorms... or any loud banging noises for that matter) and turned on the local news.

One big, happy family!

It was a serious storm. Complete with tornado warnings. You may have heard something about it on the national news. A tornado warning alarm began howling at around 5:30 so I hopped in the car and drove the couple hundred yards to the shelter building to see what was going on. There were a couple cars parked outside and I could see three of four people inside milling around. I drove around the RV park and saw inside lights and TVs on and cars parked outside. It didn't seem like anyone was overly concerned, or really paying much attention at all to the alarm. Some of these people were in little teardrop trailers and the like. Many of the residents here are seasonal (here much of the year) and presumably familiar with local weather patterns, what constitutes an emergency situation and what doesn't - I figured if they were cool with staying put in their travel trailers and fifth wheels I'd probably be okay in my 46,000 lb. bus. It wasn't too long before the wind abated to a less intimidating velocity and the doppler radar on the local news channel showed the most intense part of the storm had passed over us. All's well that ends well.

Today we did a bit more grocery shopping and picked up a few things at Walmart... and just finished watching the 49ers beat the Vikings. Yay.

We'll leave here early tomorrow morning and travel just a couple hundred miles or so. Gotta land in time to watch some more football. :)


Thanks for checking out my blog!