Trip to Arizona

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 1, Monday 8-22-16:

I was planning on leaving the house at 2PM today, so as per usual we left at 3PM. Which is better than the 4PM it would normally have been. When DW finally realized that US 412 is mostly a 2 lane highway she got noticeably upset. Being the well trained husband that I am I answered "Yup, it sure is." maybe not one of my better responses but it got the point across and dagger stares for the next 50 miles.

For those of you who have not traveled US 412 across Arkansas it is really pretty. Lush, rolling hills, some are even kind of steep, relatively speaking when compared to the Rockies, which we usually cross over at least one trip a year.

We are spending the night in Cotter, AR. We made a whole 195 miles today but I am not complaining, we have done less on the first day out. Tomorrow we search out a place to get propane, the tank ran dry today. 

Be safe all and travel wisely.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 7, 8-28-16:

Little slow on getting this posted as today is really 9-4-16. The trip to day was very uneventful, thank goodness. We arrived safely by 3PM.

I do have a question for all out there, Why is it that RVers never wave to other RVers? in my unofficial survey, about 50% of truckers wave back, about 15% of cars and sissified pickups, about 60% of old pickups, and not even one RVer. This more of a rhetorical question, but would sure like anyone's insight. RVers are the most friendly people when in parks, so why not on the road?

God bless all of you and have safe travels.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 6, 8-27-16:

Hang on everyone this is going to surprise all of you that know us and how we travel. We were on the road by 8AM! Yep it was a record day, We covered 280 miles and was in the park and settled by 6:30.

The day was the usual boring thing of driving interstate, however, the last 40 miles was interesting. That ole NM wind could not make up its mind which way it was going to blow. We were hit several times by mini twisters, I call them dust devils, that threw us around but fortunately never hard enough to be changing lanes. They were just strong enough to cause the pucker factor to go up a scoch. Tomorrow we should be in Chino Valley, AZ.

Tried to take pictures with my phone, but I guess I am not smart enough to make it work. Will try for a picture when I can get my granddaughter Desiree to teach me how to do it, LOL. Be safe all, and hope to see you down the road.

Addendum: granddaughter helped me with the phone so I now have pictures of the back end of the MH.

[Rich Thomas]

Hey Russ, If you have many more boring days like that,  you'll need to take a vacation from your vacation. I'm glad the ole MMP stood up to the challenge and once again it's proof of just how well these old tanks are built. Here's to a real uneventful rest of your time on the road.

[Russell E Johnson]

Forgot to take pictures, will  post what it looks like now tomorrow, sorry about that all. Did I mention that today was totally boring???

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 5, 8-26-16:

Interesting day today. It started out BORING, then we had some excitement, and then back to boring. I40 has not changed one bit in the 18 months since we last drove it. Did I mention that today was totally boring??? We were going to take US60 to US89, but DW reminded me this morning that we are running short on time if we are to be in Chino Valley, AZ by Monday. 275 miles a day is probably not much to most of you, but for us it is a 7-9 hour day.

Now for the exciting part of our day. We were cruising along just fine, hit a little bump, hardly noticed it, and the exhaust noise changed dramatically. We were close to an exit so Berniece made the dive and we got out to check it. The tail pipe had fallen off and bent the muffler. OK, not a real problem, we can tough out the louder noise and get it repaired in Arizona. We walked to the back of Betsy and there was the tail pipe. It had gone through the fiberglass just above the bumper tearing out the tail light and doing some extensive damage to the fiberglass. Now while I am a little upset that the tail pipe could not have just fallen off and laid on the road, I am very glad it did what it did. I would hate to think of what could have happened to the people in the vehicle that was directly behind us. It could have penetrated the windshield and severely injured if not killed someone. So I pulled out all my tools (the ones that DW still gives me grief about buying LOL) and commenced to remove the tail pipe and put the tail light back into position drilling new holes for the screws to go in, needless to say, all the old holes were slightly torn up and greatly enlarged.

OK, we are back on I40 once again and the balance of the trip went uneventful,oh, by the way, did I mention that today was totally boring???

Well that was our day. nothing to write home about that's for sure. As always, keep smiling and getting down the road safely.

[Rich Thomas]

 Sorry Russ if you already thought of this but here's an idea; if you knew where you could get to the water line that feeds the leaking line- say, under a cabinet  or  access hole  you could put a shut off in the line at that point or use one of my favorite tools a pair of vice grips to clamp it off temporarily so you don't have to be totally inconvenienced. Some of the Shark Bite fittings fit the pex type lines used in some RV's It would only be a matter of cutting the line and pushing both ends in the valve. Sorry your having to deal with these problems so I just thought I would throw that out there.

[Russell E Johnson]

LOL, that is a good idea, blow that cabinet right out of the MMP, we rarely use that sink so it would be no problem to wash up at the kitchen sink instead. Could put in a cabinet that is all shelves, more storage LOL.

[Lakota Wolf]

I can understand the frustration,,, The drawers only slide out when you DON"T want them to.

Thats a good idea to have your son figure it out,, hes younger and can probably get into a better gumby position then us older folks..

I have had situations where about 15 lbs of C-4 was in the idea range and thought best not to go that drastic,, due to the fact it would probably upset the neighbors a little bit,,, you know,, blown out windows and such and a few howling dogs, not to mention the mess that would result in such drastic measures..(had to give you a laugh).. Hope the rest of the travel goes uneventful unless ya stop to grab a quick bite and drop a quarter in a slot machine and hit the jack pot.

[Russell E Johnson]

Hey Rich & Lakota, I wish my water leak was as easy as just using the fresh water tank, but it does not matter. Water is leaking from under the cabinet with both city and tank water. We are using the pump because we can turn it off right away and then let the pressure drop by leaving a faucet open.

As for the drawer, it is a regular drawer that slides out, but only so far and is then stopped from going out any further. I have this same problem with a drawer under our closet that the center brace broke away from its hold on the back wall. The drawers just will not come out, which is good when one is traveling but a real pain when I am trying to repair something. I am about upset enough that taking the sawzall all to the cabinet may just prove to be a therapeutic move LOL. What I think we will do is live with it till we get to AZ and our son, who is a whiz at carpentry, can figure out how to take it apart so as to cause the least amount of frustration when closing the cabinet back up again. 

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it very much. Take care my friends.

[Russell E Johnson]

Day 4, 8-25-16:

We were on the road by 11 AM today, had brunch before we hit the freeway. Berniece did a good job of driving. This big outfit does give her some challenge but she does well. 

The good ole OK state troopers were out in force on I40 today, saw 2 stopped checking speeds, 2 with cars pulled over and 4 cruising. 

I tried to run with the big boys today but none were doing 65, they were 70 or better so we kept getting passed by everyone just like we do when I drive 60 LOL. 

Today was pretty boring as we drove interstates all day, nothing to keep one awake or even interested. Just keep on getting down the road. 

The only good point to the day was see the exit sign at Elk City, OK. That meant this tedious day of driving was over, which was good because it started raining just after we got parked and hooked up.

Now if I was as sage and witty as Lakota Wolf todays post would have you all laughing, but unfortunately for you I am not so this is just dry as paste left open on a school desk overnight. Safe travels all.