1,273 miles and smiles......

 6:00 am - Monday - February 15th - Wittmann, AZ - 43° F, 45% -humidity, wind - zero mph out of  the north......mostly sunny today with a forecast high of 64° F!  On this date in 2013 we were taking a walk on a stormy Marathon Key, FL day (Florida Keys)........↴

..... the view this morning........↴

This 1200+ mile trip we have embarked upon is a much faster trip than we are used to.....normally it would take us a closer to a week to cover that distance, but we are doing it in less than 5 days.  Our only day under 200 miles was the first one.  Since then we have driven one 400+ mile day, and three successive 220+ mile days.  Our last leg of our journey south began around 9:30 am Sunday.  The skies were clear, and blue and there was a stiff wind out of the north.  Normally we avoid driving on windy days, but this wind was out of the north, and we were headed south....nothing like a good following wind to push us southward on our last day of travel for a few weeks......

.....within minutes of departing the Boulder City Elks Lodge we came within site of Lake Mead.....

.....of course, when you enter Arizona you lose an hour as you are now in Mountain Time Zone, so we really left Boulder City at 10:30 am, not 9:30 am.  The drive south was uneventful, if not a bit more congested than our past few days of travel......

.....eventually we reentered the land of saguaros......

......we took a couple of restroom breaks over the course of the 4+ hour drive, arriving in Wittmann around 2:50 pm to balmy breezes, and 70° F temps......it has been a long time since we saw temps in the 60's, let along 70's.  The humidity level was in the 30 percentile range.  And there you have it......after some 1,290 miles we have arrived at one of our happy places.

Tom and Darlene, long time Newell friends, who have also become very, very good friends, were there to greet us as I shut down the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 for the last time on this trip south.  Monday morning I begin to check off things on my 'TO DO' list, the first of which will be to remove the big Leece-Neville alternator and run it over to Turbo & Electric in Phoenix, and then pick up my new Flexsteel driver chair at the shipper, also located in Phoenix.  Here is my 'TO DO' list.....

1) Remove, repair, and reinstall the alternator

2) Pickcup up new driver chair

3) Remove my old Flexsteel driver chair

4) Install new tachometer

5) Replace my transmission filter as the old one is leaking

6) Buy and have installed two new steer tires for the Newell

7) Have new shocks installed all the way around

8) Recondition the leather TLE's new Ekhornes recliner

9) Install new Flexsteel driver chair

10) Install new Progressive Dynamics charger/converter

....I'm sure other things will arise, but that is the list for now....I'm getting tired already!

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The big view.....

 7:28 am - Sunday - February 14th - Boulder City, NV - 45° F, 31% humidity, wind 16 mph out of the northwest.....clear, blue skies today with a forecast high here in Boulder City of 58° F.....the highest high by far which we have had in months.  On this date in 2017 we awoke to snow at our Desert View, Grand Canyon RV site.....↴ 

As the sun began to rise Saturday morning in Tonopah we could see storm clouds swirling around the mountain tops, and the weather forecast was promising snow by 7 am. Our plan was to be rolling our wheels no later than 8 am in order to get off the mountain and to lower elevations as soon as possible.  Just as I was preparing to turn over the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 the around 7:40 am the snow began to fall lightly.  Within minutes it began to increase in intensity.  I quickly fired her up, unhooked our electrical cord, and we were merging onto US-95 once again.  Within 5 minutes we had descended 1,000' in elevation to under 5,000' and the snow stopped.  In another 10 minutes we had sun on our windshield......whew!

......you can see a few remnant snow flakes on our windshield, in the first picture, but they were gone in seconds.  As had been the case Friday, US-95 just stretches out all the way to the way to the horizon......really, really love that big view........

.......we took a break in Beatty, NV for about 10 minutes and then continued on ever southward toward Las Vegas.  About 40 minutes out of Las Vegas we passed a place simply called 'The Dune'......

......and that is pretty much it......one, random, large sand dune.  Within 40 minutes we entered the usually congested traffic zone of Las Vegas, to find very light traffic on a Saturday.  In another 20 minutes we had arrived at the Elks Lodge in Boulder City, NV just shy of 12 pm.  We had called ahead to be sure we got a site, and were assigned site #2......

.....the site was easy to get into, and it's a good thing we didn't have the trailer.....none of the sites are long enough.....we would have had to drop the trailer.  Within 20 minutes of arriving, and connecting the electrical, sewer and water I was outside a bucket and mop washing off 4 days! of road grime.  It took me about an hour to wash her down. It is a good thing I got right to it, because just as I was putting away my tools the wind began to gust into the 30's, and minutes later we had horizontal rain.....doh!  Well, at least the rain was falling on a clean RV.  The rain lasted about 30 minutes, but the winds continued, so within 30 minutes the Newell was completely dry once again.....lol.

Sunday we will cover the last leg of our 5 day journey to Wittmann, AZ, and the property of our very good friends Tom and Darlene, where numerous Newell projects will begin in earnest!  We were treated to a lovely sunset......

.......thanks for stopping by!

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Exactly.....

 6:37 am - Saturday - February 13th - Tonopah, NV - 35° F, 100% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the west by northwest.....heavy cloud cover, a little rain overnight, and a forecast high today of 41° F.  On this date in 2011 TLE and I had just finished our first two weeks of full time living in the Newell at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park.....↴

.....the view this morning...↴

It has been a while (5 months) since we have awakened in a different place two consecutive days in a row.  Friday we awoke in at Sparks Marina RV Park to very cold skies.  Unlike Seal Rock the sun began to hit the windows of the Newell a little after 8 am.  Since we only had a measly 223 miles to drive Friday we didn't get up until 7 am, and didn't depart the park until about 9:15 am.  Our first task was to fill our propane tank, and Sparks Marine RV Park has a propane station.....very handy.  It's been 5 months since we last filled our propane tank, and prior to the installation of our tankless water heater we might have needed to take on 45-50 gallons, but the machine shut off after 30 gallons....exactly what I had guessed we would need!

Next up was to head over the the local Petro Truck Stop where I used my EFS fuel card to take on 90 gallons of diesel.  The pump price was $2.79/gallon, but with the EFS discount we only paid $2.55/gallon.  We took on exactly 90 gallons, which is exactly what I had estimated we would need.....time to buy a lotto ticket.....lol!

We merged onto the east bound I-80 around 10:45 am, and after around 27 miles we exited at exit 48 in Fernley, NV merging onto US-95, which would be our road for the rest of the day.  The drive south was beautiful, smooth, and windless......

Approaching Walker Lake...beautiful snow capped mountains in the distance

US-95 is smooth and straight as an arrow.....loving the big views again

.....our destination for the day was Tonopah, NV, and old mining town whose current claim to fame is a large casino called Tonopah Station Casino.  Tonopah sits at 5,900' elevation, and is literally built on the top of a mountain.  The casino also has a 20 site RV park in the back, which is first come, first served.  We called ahead to be sure it was open, and if sites were available, and were advised it was open, and there were several sites available.  They have full hookups including 50 amp electric.

This was one of the nicest driving days we have encountered in quite a long time.  I just set the cruise control at 60 mph, and hung onto the steering wheel.  The road was straight as an arrow for 10-20 miles at a stretch, and had very little traffic.....the vehicles in the picture above were very rare on this day.

We arrived at Tonopah Station just after 3 pm, found an unoccupied site (#8), pulled in, leveled, plugged in, and then changed clothes to go into the casino to eat an early dinner.....neither of us had eaten lunch.

The restaurant was virtually empty at 3:30 pm, so we were quickly seated, and had our orders on the table within 10 minutes.  TLE had her usual Rueben sandwich with fries, and I a bacon cheeseburger with fries chased with a Corona.....perfect.  After our meal we walked next door to the local Raley's grocery store to pick up a few items, and were back at the coach before 5 pm.  We both treated ourselves to hot showers, and then settled in for the night.  As we always do, we closed the curtains, and were 'home'.

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DOH!! #4

 7:50 am - Friday - February 12th - Sparks, NV - 31° F, 100% humidity, wind - zero mph out of the north.....clear skies today with a forecast high of 52° F.  On this date in 2013 we were courtesy parking in front of the home of our dear friends the Garlands in Palmetto Bay, FL......↴

The day was cold and wet, and we had 415 miles to cover before dusk.....about 8 hours of driving.....a long, long, long day for us, but we needed to stay ahead of the winter storm which was going to descend upon central Oregon.  We were out of our RV site near Oakridge, OR at 8 am, and on our way over Willamette Pass with an elevation of near 5,000'......

.....as we gained elevation we began to see snow on the ground, and it began to rain....not hard, just a slow, steady drizzle.....

.....as we neared the pass the rain turned to snow, but again, not thick, or hard, but there.....

.....we were over the pass before 9 am, and descended to around 4,200' where we pretty much remained the rest of the day.  It stopped raining for most of the Oregon part of our drive. As we exited the Cascade mountains we began to see bigger views, and flatter land.......

....when the rain did return, it was coming down pretty hard at times, but our air operated windshield wipers worked faithfully to clear the water from our windshield.....

....eventually we entered California again for the first time since March of 2012.  The terrain was covered in snow, but the roads were clear, and free of ice.....

....we were in California for about 3 hours, but eventually entered Nevada somewhere south of Susanville, CA.....

.....as we travelled through towns in California we saw gas and diesel prices over $1 higher than in Oregon, or Nevada.  By 4:15 pm we were pulling into an old haunt of ours.....Sparks Marina RV Park....we stayed here for 7 weeks back in November/December of 2014 while we worked the Peak Season at the Amazon fulfillment center in Fernley, NV.  I had made a reservation in advance, and I'm glad we did....this place is almost full!

It was nice driving without the trailer these past two days......hills are easier to climb, and I don't have to down shift as often.  We actually cruised along at 65 mph for much of the day where speed limits allowed it, and the big Detroit Diesel performed flawlessly all day long

Now, back to Wednesday evening when we arrived at the RV park in Oakridge, OR....I told you there was a story to tell about that, and here goes.  We arrived at Casey's RV Park around 7 pm.....it was pitch dark, as one might surmise, being that we were way out in the boondocks.  As we entered the park TLE told me I needed to turn left at the second street, so I did.  Within 60 seconds we found ourselves at a dead end on a very, very narrow, curvy street.....that would have been the 4th DOH! of the day.  Now, in the pitch dark, I had to back out of that dead end about 100 yards around a sharp bend in the road.  What had happened is we inadvertently entered the mobile home section of the park, which is very cramped...we should have turned right when we turned left.

TLE exited Newell with a walkie talky and a flashlight to help me back up.  There were no street lights, and did I say it was PITCH BLACK?  As I began to back I also began to turn so I could get around the corner, and as I did so my right front bumper struck a parked car on its left rear quarter panel and bumper.  I immediately pulled forward, stopped, and turned off the Newell to go out and introduce myself to the owner of the car I had hit.  Thankfully Bonnie was very gracious, and the damage was quite minor, but it was so embarrassing.  I suggested we finish backing out of their street, and head to our site, and while TLE set up for the night I would walk back to her home with my insurance information, which I did.  We exchanged our information, and I was back at the coach by 7:30 pm.....what a crazy day it was!  This is the first accident I've had since the late 90's.  This is precisely why I hate arriving at an unknown destination after dark!  Anyway, all is well....we had zero damage to our 200 pound bumper....just injured pride.

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8 hours.......

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(CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

7:26 am - Monday - November 6th - Page, AZ - 49º F, humidity 58%, wind 4 mph out of the west......clear skies with just a few clouds on the horizon.......and since it is moving day that means it will be a great driving day weatherwise.

Looking west from the Elks Lodge.....full moon!

We didn't set our clocks 'back' Sunday in accordance with the end of DST (Daylight Savings Time), but left them on Page, AZ time......thank goodness Arizona does not participate in DST!  We got up about 6:20 am SoCal time with the intention of being on the road by 8 am PST knowing it was really going to be 9 am MT.  Since it takes us 8 hours to cover the distance between my son's home in Rancho Cucamonga to Page, AZ that would mean an ETA in Page of around 5 pm including a couple of stops for fuel, and assorted restroom breaks.   All this depends on our drive being completely uneventful......that for which we strive on a daily basis when repositioning our machinery.

True to our plan we were indeed on the road by 8 am PST.....unlike the day before the weather was quite dreary and damp.......it was past damp.....it was drizzling.  And the drizzle became fog and rain as we climbed I-15 to the summit of Cajon Pass.  Eventually, as we crested the summit, the clouds and rain were sent packing by the sun.....

 Just past Cajon Summit

......we took a bathroom break at the Barstow Outlet Stores area at a Union Oil fuel station and topped off our tank with gas.  I continued driving to a Rest Area just passed Baker, CA where TLE took over driving all the way to Mesquite, NV where we stopped at a Subway for a footlong Ruben Sandwich, I took over the wheel for the last leg of our trip.....we stopped just up the road in St. George, UT at a COSTCO to fill our tank for the last time.....we took on 9 gallons averaging 30 mpg.  The rest of the drive back to Page was beautiful, and uneventful.......

About 30 miles southwest of Kanab, UT

 

 Kanab, UT

Almost to the turnoff for Lone Rock Beach, UT

......from Rancho Cucamonga to St. George, UT we averaged just under 75 mph and made wonderful time.  The VW Beetle performed wonderfully.  We arrived back in downtown Page, AZ at exactly 5 pm MT.......we love it when a plan comes together!

We had a lovely 3+ days in SoCal with our kids and friends, and now it is back to our nomadic workaday life, if you can call it workaday.....when you work in such beautiful places it hardly resembles work as I have known it.

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