First motor home trip

Trip with Judy and friends Karen and Bill to central Oregon. I took my new motor home and Bill and Karen had their fifth wheel trailer. Judy and I then went to Chelan to watch limited hydroplane races.
Sept 20, 2009 36040 Sunday
Judy and I left Shelton at about 8:30 am and headed to I 5 and south into Oregon. Then took hwy 22 through the mountains to hwy 20. Turned off on the Camp Sherman road. Stayed at Cold Springs RV resort space 1. First big trip with motor home. Bill and Karen met us there. Getting used to driving the rig. Had to go slow around some corners but in general did ok. Karen made dinner for all of us. After dinner went to the local fish hatchery Then had some desert. Judy and I then went to bed after a tiring day.
Drove 274 miles today
Sept 21, 2009 Monday36326
Karen, Judy and I went to Prineville after a brief stop in Sisters. We stopped at the visitors center but they were closed for lunch. Had lunch at Ochoco Reservoir about 5 miles east of Prineville. Went back to Prineville and got some maps at the visitors center. Then we headed off to Smith Rock state park which is near Terrebonne off US 97. Beautiful place. Judy and I cooked a salmon dinner for all and Karen had brownies and ice cream for desert. We sat around the campfire until it got too cool out.
Sept 22, 2009 Tuesday
All four of us made a driving loop tour. We drove to Sisters, then to Mackenzie Pass where there was a huge recent, few thousand years ago, lava flow Just before the pass we stopped at a small campground with a beautiful small lake. We then continued on to hwy 126 were we stopped at Sahalie Falls on the Mackenzie River. Spectacular with lots of water. Stopped at Clear lake park to look at the lake and then back home. Nice day. Karen made dinner for us.
Sept 23.2009 Wednesday
Judy and I went for a walk along the Metolius River after breakfast. Beautful stroll. After a late lunch we readjusted the Cumfortaire air bed to better suit us. We made dinner for the four of us which consisted of hamburger patties, macaroni and cheese, veggies and salad. Tried out the convection microwave oven and made plum kuchen for desert. So far I like the oven. We drained the gray water tank after dinner and it was not even close to being full.
Sept 24,2009 Thursday
All four of us went to Eagle Rock area where we went rock hounding. This is about 15 miles south east of Prineville. We found some interesting agates imbedded in the rhyolite. After lunch we played around a little more then quit as the temperature was 90. Whew. Had a nice evening back at the motor home.
Sept 25, 2009 Friday 36326
Left Camp Sherman at about 10 and headed to Sisters, taking 126 to Redmond. At Redmond took 97 north to I 82 to I 90. At George, took 281 to Quincy and then 28 to Wenatchee. Had to take 97Alt to Chelan. Made it after a long day to Lakeshore City of Chelan RV park space 18 greeted by family. Bob helped me back in to my spot.
Sept 26, 2009 Saturday
Watched the races. Unfortunately Leslie did not get the boat on plane. Rats. They cancelled much of the race in the afternoon because of the wind. We went to the big barbeque and ate too much but had a very nice evening.
Sept 27, 2009 Sunday
We went to the group site and had biscuits and gravy. Then off to the races. Leslie finally got up on the last race and did very well. Great ending for the day and the weekend. Went to the group site for another potluck with leftovers from yesterday.
Sept 28, 2009 Monday
Broke camp and headed back home. Took Alt 97 south to Wenatchee and then 28 to Quincy and on to I 90. Took hwy 18 south to 167, then 512 on to I 5 and home. Drove 950 miles and got about 9 miles to the gallon. Fun trip and the motor home worked very well and was a joy to be in.

Spring Trip Part 6 Final

Day 63 Monday June 15 124185
Said good-byes and headed off.

Took I275 west to I 74. Amazing, in less than an hour went from Ohio to Kentucky to Indiana, back into Ohio, and then into Indiana again. Continued on I-74 into Illinois. Spent the night at Moraine View St. Park. Very nice and cheap. Space P12.
Drove 303 miles today.
Day 64 Tuesday June 16 124488
Woke up to rain and rain more than half the day. Intercepted I-80 at the Iowa/Illinois border and headed east. Spent the night at Rolling Hills RV space 16 off exit 168. I stayed here last time I was coming home from visiting Daniel.
Drove 295 miles today.
Day 65 Wednesday June 17 124783
Continuted on I-80 to I-35 which goes north to Minnesota. Then took I-90 west into South Dakota. Went to Camp America at exit 364 space 60. Very foggy this morning with temp of 63 degrees. Only one sprinkle from a thunderstorm, saw hail along side the freeway. Glad I missed that. Possibility of severe thunderstoms tonight and possible tornado.
Drove 387 miles today.
Day 66 Thursday June 18 125170
Woke up to severe thunder and lightening storms. Lots of wind and rain too. Waited for a while before leaving. Continued on I-90. Stopped at Wall Drugs, famous tourist trap at exit 110 for a brief walk. Continued on I-90 into Wyoming. Took exit 189 to Sundance. This is the place that the "Sundance Kid" got his name. Spent the night at Mountain View RV park space 20. The scenery was great. Everything was green. Not brown like in summer. Saw my first antelope since heading west.
Drove 386 miles today.


Day 67 Friday June 19 125556
Got up early and drove to exit 205, Sand Creek Rd. Followed the directions in my book and they were not quite accurate. The bridge where the agate collection was to be had been changed. Did not find much. Too close to Rapid City and easily accessible. On way back to Sundance, stopped at Vore Buffalo Jump. It was used by the Indians from about 1500 to about 1850. Probably when they got horses and guns to get the buffalo. It was accually a sink hole and they planned to put the freeway (I-90) over it and discovered all the buffalo bones. Got my trailer and went to Devil's Tower. Very crowded but fun to get close up to. Went back to I-90 and drove to Buffalo and spent the night at Deer Park, space 24 off exit 58. Saw lots and lots of antelope today and a few babies, lots of deer in Sand Creek canyon, and turkeys and an otter. Good day.
Drove 239 miles today and 75 were non trailer miles.


Day 68 Saturday June 20 125 795
Sunny in the morning and rain most of the afternoon. Saw lots of antelope in WY with babies and a fair number of deer in the middle of the day. Saw quite a few sandhill cranes. Spent the night in Deer Lodge at the Indian Creek RV Park space 16. The owner said she has lived here all her life and her dad worked as an electricain for the Milwaukee Road. I assume her dad and my dad knew each other.
Drove 419 miles.
Day 68 Sunday June 21 126224 Happy Fathers Day
Continued West on I-90. Some rain during the day. Saw lots of deer and a herd of bison. Spent the night at Moses Lake, exit 176, Suncrest Resort space 33. Most expensive place to stay on the whole trip.
Drove 383 miles today.
Day 69 Monday June 22 126607
Left Moses Lake and continuted east on I-90. Rain and low clouds over Snoqualmie Pass wth a temp of 43 deg. Heavy traffic almost all the way home.
Drove 248 miles today.

Spring Trip Part 5

Day 50 Tuesday June 2
I took the day off, sort of. Fixed the vibrated loose range top in the trailer. Put some grease in the wheel bearing. Went for a walk to the library. Read some on my book.
Day 51 Wednesday June 3
Helped Daniel so some work on this driveway. He is removing some broken pieces and resealing the joints.
Day 52 Thursday June 4
I stayed home and finished getting the drive and garage floor ready to patch with driveway patch.
Spent some time reading my book.
Day 53 Friday June 5
Daniel and I got all the concrete repair work done. Looks pretty good. Went to a concrete place and got the stuff to seal the long cracks and to seal the whole drive to prevent future freeze/thaw damage. Weather very nice. Not too hot but sunny.
Day 54 Saturday June 6
Daniel made some special waffles for breakfast. Yum. Then we went to the farmer's market. Thanh Tu got to go sit in a fire truck and in an ambulance. He was nervous but enjoyed seeing his pictures afterwards. After lunch Daniel and I went to ACE hardware to buy the rest of the stuff to finish the driveway and garage floor.
Day 55 Sunday June 7
We wanted to go to an Amish furnature store but it was closed so we went to a park along the Little Miami River. After a short want Daniel, Thanh Tu and I went down to the river dodging stinging nettles and poison oak. We spend quite a while throwing rocks in the water. Great fun watching Thanh Tu. Daniel and I later did some seam sealing of the concrete in the garage. He used the self-leveling caulk and it worked well. We had a little scare when Thanh Nha rolled off the couch onto the floor. All is well.
Day 56 Monday June 8
Worked on the driveway preparing it for caulking the seams.
Day 57 Tuesday June 9
I caulked the rest of the seams of the driveway. Had to go to the store and buy a few more tubes of caulk. The big cracks took al lot more than we thought even with the foam backing put in. Did the very small cracks in the garage too.
Day 58 Wednesday June 10
Raining in the morning. I went with Daniel, MT and the kids into work. I played around campus. Got some cash, traded a Cincinnati shirt I bought for a larger size. At lunch at the student union building. Later I went back to Daniel's lab and we met Minh Thanh and went to the movie theater to see the new Star Trek. We thought the movie was good being Trekkie fans.
Day 59 Thursday June 11
After breakfast, worked to clean the heavy oil and grease stains off the garage floor. Came out pretty good but some remained in the pores and was not easy to get out. Went and got a haircut. Ahhhh. Feels good. After lunch, washed out part of the garage floor and did a quick wash of the trailer and truck.. Saw a baby deer and it's mom in the back yard. They were spooky so did not get a good picture. Also the fireflies were out last night. They were fun to watch as I had not seen any for a while.
Day 60 Friday June 12
Daniel stayed home today. We, he, sealed the garage floor. We fixed a crack under the front door where the concrete porch has settled. The end result looks very good. We dug out an obnoxious bush. While we were working the fawn, same one I saw yesterday, I think, came into the front yard not more than twenty feet away. Cute little bugger. First one Daniel has seen at his house. Daniel and Minh Thanh and baby Thanh Nha went to a taping of "Prairie Home Companion" at the place on the Ohio River. I baby sat Thanh Tu who was a very good boy. No trouble.
Day 61 Saturday June 13
Minh Thanh, Thanh Tu, Thanh Nha and I went to the farmers market. Daniel went back to bed as he has a cold and sore throat. We just hung out the rest of the day. Thanh Tu went in the hot tub which Daniel was draining for a repair. He really enjoyed himself and was not afraid and looks like he would be ready for swim lessons. We saw the baby dear again. So cute.
Day 62 Sunday June 4 Happy Flag Day
After oatmeal waffles Daniel, Thanh Tu and I went to the local park to play. Loaded the trailer for leaving in the morning. After lunch, Daniel and I put stuff back in the garage. Saw the baby deer again. Minh Thanh made superb "spring rolls" for dinner. Yummmm. Took some group pictures.

Spring Trip Part 4

Day 41 Saturday May 23
Got most of the stuff into the trailer and truck. Went to the River Springs Ranch Property Owners Association. Not a quorum again so not sure what will happen in the future to the road maintanence. Drove 1721 miles while here with Helen.

Day 42 Sunday May 24 121921
Left Helen's and headed to Show Low and then Globe. I took hwy 77 from Globe to Tucson. Still a pretty drive.. Had a 15 minute wait due to construction just north of Winkleman. Put the trailer at Prince of Tucson RV park and then went over to Craig and Wanda's. Really great to see them again.
Drove 10 nontrailer miles and 225 trailer miles today.

Day 42 Monday May 25
Craig, Wanda and I went to Sabino canyon for a hike about 8:30.

Went about 3 miles. Getting hot for me. Saw birds and lizards. And lots of people. We left there and drove up Mt. Lemmon which was about 25 mile to the nearly 10,000 foot summit. We had a picnic lunch at the top. The temp was in the mid-60's and felt very good. Went out to dinner to a good Mexican resturaunt.
Drove 10 non-trailer miles today.

Day 43 Tuesday May 26 122167
Left Prince of Tucson RV and headed east on I-10 to Las Cruces, NM were I took US hwy 70 to Alamogordo. Stopped at White Sands National Monument for a short visit. Emense acreage of gypsum dunes next to White Sands missle testing facility.

If you look closely you can see the blobs are picnic shelters and one outhouse.
Drove 367 trailer miles today.

Day 44 Wednesday May 27 122530
Left Alamogordo and continued on hwy 70 to Roswell. Nice trip through the mountains. Saw deer and antelope today. Just past the Pecos River, stopped at a gorge which was suppose to have double ended quartz crystals. Could not get there because of fences. Drove further to a county road. Did some walking around and found a way to the gorge. The dark red crystal bearing layer, containing lots of gypsum crystals, was covered by about a three foot layer of crystaline gypsum. Sifting through one area found several clusters of what I think are quartz. Would need to screen some of the stuff to find more. Continued through Clovis on hwy 60 to Canyon, Texas just south of Amarillo. Passed through Portales where the big welcome sign to the city said, "Home of 12 thousand friendly people and 3-4 old grouches." Too funny. Took the 385 bypass around Amarillo to exit 75 on I 40. Spent the night at Overnight RV space 37 just off the freeway.
Drove 328 trailer miles today.

Day 45 Thursday May 28 122858
Continued on I-40 into Oklahoma and past Oklahoma City to Exit 237 where I spent the night at Henryetta RV park, space 30. Saw a billboard for a winery which said, "Not California, less fruity." Hee hee, can't believe it is still there.
Drove 342 trailer miles today.

Day 46 Friday May 29 123199
Continued on I 40 to exit 307 where I took federal highway 59 north. When I got to hwy 412 near the OK/ AR border the sign says to go west to continue on 59 north. Well wrong. I now really wanted to go state hwy 59 north in Arkansas. Crazy people. Stayed on AR highway 59 to US 71 which goes just east of Joplin, MO Lots of construction, traffic lights, etc on both 59's Spent the night about 100 miles east of Joplin, MO at RVExpress space 2. Pool was cold. Rats. Would have been nice after a trying day.
Drove 292 miles today.

Day 47 Saturday May 30 123491
Stayed on I-44 to St. Louis, MO where it took the bypass, 270 S, then 255 W, to I-64. into Illinois aka Illinausea (name from my friend Craig in Tuscon). Continuted into Indiana where I took exit 39 north to hwy 68 and then west 1.5 miles to Lynnville county park. Nice place on a lake with all the services and cheap. A few showers fell in the early evening. No thunder or lightening.
Drove 359 miles.

Day 48 Sunday May31 123850
Left the campground and went back to I-64 eastbound. Drove to Louisville, KY were I took I-71 north to I-75 and then I-275 to exit 69. Made it to Daniel's house a little before noon. Great seeing everyone. Thanh Tu is beginning to talk a lot and Thanh Nha is a sweetie.

Drove 207 miles today

Day 49 Monday June 124057
We went to the zoo with Thanh Tu's school. Thanh Nha stayed in day care. Had a lot of fun watching the kids see the animals. Then Daniel and I went to U of C campus. We had lunch and he went to the lab and I walked around campus for a while taking in the sights. I had a nice day. Love being with the kids. I get to hold Thanh Nha a lot.

Spring Trip Part 3

Day 25 Thursday May 7
Worked on the catiary for a while. Got hot fast. Close to 90 again today. Whew.

Day 26 Friday May 8
Catiary all ready for the metal roof. Finally.. Hope it is not windy tomorrow. Paul came over for brats with sauerkraut and beer. Yumm. Found out the gopher snake at least spend part of its time under Helen's house. Helen thinks it is great. Cuts down on the vermin for sure.

Day 27 Saturday May 9
Got about half the metal roofing on. Then got hot and windy so I quit. Helen and I went for a swim in her pool. Ahhhh.Zipper flying.

Day 28 Sunday May 10 Happy Mothers Day
Ran out of screws for roofing. Being a Mormon town the hardware store was closed. We went swimming in the pool. At 830 pm watched Skylab go over the house. Really neat. Took four minutes from horizon to horizon.

Day 29 Monday May 11
Went to town to get screws. They did not have any. Rats. Had to go to Springerville to get some so we went to Safeway to do some grocery shopping too. Goofed off the rest of the day. Although a neighbor had a solar hot water pumping system I got and tried to make it work to heat Helen's pool. No luck making it pump water. Will try again tomorrow after I finish the catiary. Saw Skylab go over again.

Day 30 Tuesday May12
Finished the catiary roof. Yeah. Looks good too. Went over to Paul's and had a few beers.Catiary roof without gutters and touch up painting.

Dy 31 Wednesday May 13
Took a day off. Drove south on hwy 191 to about 15 miles south of Apline. Took forest service road 26. After turning onto FS 24 we saw a coyote. A nice big one. A few miles further Helen saw an elk running away. I did not, rats. At Buffalo Crossing on the Black River we ate lunch. Then took FS 25. We saw 5 mountain sheep who were kind enough to let us take their picture. They seemed to be at a natural salt lick or something like that. Stopped to take a side road to Reno fire outlook. Nice views of the mountains. Back on hwy 191 we saw another coyote. Saw lots of birds, mostly flickers, and no mountain blue birds. It was a nice trip. No cars on the forest service roads. Wild iris.
Saw some campers and parked forest service trucks. Temperature in the mountanins was mostly in the low seventies. A fun day.

Day 32 Thursday May 14
Put up the gutters on the catiary. Went to the neighbors to get a pump so I can make a solar pool heater for Helen. Cut down the rest of the limbs off the dead tree getting ready to put up weather station. Recieved the new solar panel controller from the company I bought it from and got it installed. Also, put in new lavatory faucet in the trailer which leaked when turned on.

Day 33 Friday May 15
Got Helen's weather station put up on the dead tree. It works great. Fun thing to have especially when the wind is blowing. I built a stand for one of the pumps to make a swimming pool heater. I now need to get some fittings and black pipe. I called my friend Lenny's friends in Payson and made arrangements to meet with them on Sunday. We will go together to get some brainstones nearby. Made a nice spicy chicken salad for dinner. Yummmm.

Day 34 Saturday May 16
Went out to my property early in the morning to do some road maintenance work. The road is holding up pretty well. Got hot today, above 90. Too hot.

Day 35 Sunday May 17
Helen and I headed off to Payson at about 7:30 stopping in Show Low for a Burger King ham omlett sandwich for a snack and getting gas. We had a nice time with Lenny's friends Joann and Jack. We went into the hills and got some Payson brainstones. Had a picnic lunch in the mountains. These cute little white flowers were about an eighth inch across.

We then headed home taking the dirt back road to hwy 260 which goes to Show Low. We stopped there to get some groceries. Fun day. Helen's thermoter registered a high of 98 at the house. Whew.

Day 36 Monday May 18
Helped Helen with a few jobs around the house. Mostly relaxed. Went for a swim before the thunderstorms arrived.

Day 37 Tuesday May 19
Went to my property and worked on the road. Should be in good enough shape for a while. After lunch, played around with my rock stuff. Then Helen and I sat outside and watched the weather and read.

Day 38 Wednesday May 20
Helen and I went to Springerville to take back some things we did not need on the catiary. Also bought some pipe and fittings to finish making the solar pool heater. Finished putting the solar pool heater together. Now it is cloudy and sprinkles for the next few days. Hopefully I will be able to see how well it works before I leave.

Day 39 Thursday May 21
Went to my property and worked on the road again. I am making a bypass around an area that was difficult to keep up. After lunch took a bunch of pictures of Zipper the dog chasing a ball that Helen was throwing.

Day 40 Friday May 22
Cool and rainy this morning. According to Helen's rain gauge we got 0.3 inches of rain. One thunderstorm too. Started packing up some stuff for leaving here on Sunday morning.

Spring Trip Part 2

Day 13 Saturday April 25
Worked on the catiary for part of the day. Put the new facia boards up on the house. Helen painted all the new wood. Got really windy, storm warnings for this afternoon.

Day 14 Sunday April 26
Helen painted some more stuff while I got the pier blocks lined up and some other things done. We decided to go for a drive into the mountains. We made the loop from Springerville to Big Lake and back. Saw two deer which drove Zipper wild and a turkey, but no elk. Zipper had a great time barking at the fishermen at the lake until Helen convinced him it was ok.

Day 15 Monday April 27
I went to my property to play around. Got some juniper wood to make some stands for my blinking and LED light rock project. Back at Helen's I cut the juniper limbs into useable lenghts. Did a little works on the rock polisher.

Day 16 Tuesday April 28
Helen and I did a few small projects around the house in the morning. Played one game of Joker which I was lucky enough to win. After lunch took Zipper the dog to the vet in Holbrook for his rabies shot.

Day 17 Wednesday April 29
We cut the 2x6 rafters down to 2x4s. This turned out to be not as bad as we thought it would be. We had to buy 8 2x4's since the 2x6's were too badly damaaged to use. Helen did lots more painting. I got a lot of the frame up for the catiary. Busy day. Helen won at Joker.

Day 18 Thursday April 30
Spent a good part of the day working on the catiary. Should be done tomorrow except for the roofing. I won at Joker. Nice day, not a lot of wind and temp topping out at 80. I got my slab saw running with the new blade. The mineral oil seems to be evaporating here.

Day 19 Friday May 1
Worked some on the catiary. Did some shopping. Played around with my rocks. Good day.

Day 20 Saturday May 2
Very windy, that is, very windy all day. No way to safely work outside. Helen and I did a few inside jobs today. Went out to lunch. Watched the Kentucky Derby. I am glad a longshot won.

Day 21 Sunday May 3
Worked a little on the catiary. Went over to neighbor Paul's for a few beers. Temps still in the 70's.

Day 22 Monday May 4
Just about got the catiary ready for the metal roofing. Main thing left is to make the concrete piers much more sturdy.

Day 23 Tuesday May 5 Cinco de Mayo
Built two new piers for the catiary and prepared forms for two more. Need to get piers done before adding roofing. This should now withstand over 100 mph winds. Aspen and Zipper cornered a big gopher snake which we estimated to be about 5 feet. This one was not agressive so Zipper did not feel the need to kill it. Helen likes the snakes around the house.

Day 24 Wednesday May 6
Helen and I decided to take a day off and go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum which is just south of Superior on US 60. We left about 5:30 since it was suppose to get hot today. Saw several groups of antelope just outside of St. Johns. We enjoyed our about 3 hour walk among the cacti and trees and flowers. A lot of the cacti were blooming as well as other plants. It was about 90 degrees when we left. I saw several rocks with copper ores which reminded me that at Superior they are planning a huge underground copper mine said to be a very big reserve. We had a fun day.

Spring Trip Part 1

Day 1 Monday April 13. 118125
Left home at 8 am and drove to Eunice's house to pick up black bread she made for Helen and me. Then headed north to Bellingham to pick up Laura. Left there a bout 11:45 and headed south. Drove through many rain and hail squalls on the way. Spend the night near Centralia at Midway RV park space 51.
346 miles

Day 2 Tuesday April 14 118471
Headed south on I-5 then took I-205 around Portland. Some sprinkles and some hail. Stopped at rest area south of Roseburg and who was there? Laura's granddaughter Holly's grandparents.. Amazing. Let my gas gauge go to "low on gas" light and drove about 25 miles. Still had 3 gallons left. No worries. Spent the night at Rogue River Campground space A 15. Cold and windy.
339 miles

Day 3 Wednesday April 15 118810
Left the campground and headed south on I-5. Took hwy 89 east towards Reno. Had to turn onto hwy 44 and then 395 through Reno. Lots of thunder/hail storms along the way. No snow. No critters except a squirels. Got to Laura's sister's about 3:45. We would have had to go through some snow if we had left a day earlier.
355 milesRight to left. Laura, her sister Lois, and Lois' daughter Vickie.

Day 4 Thursday April 16 119165
Leasurely day. Went to Scheels sporting goods store and walked around. Huge with just about anything anyone would need for any sport. For dinner went to the Tammarac Casino for a seafood buffet which was an appreciation dinner for some customers. Yummy. Went with Laura, her sister Lois and Lois' daughter Vickie. Lost a dollar on the keno machines.

Day 5 Friday April 17 119165
After breakfast, Laura and I went to a rock hounding site about 7 miles south of Fernley off of I-80 on hwy 95A south. No wind and warm about 65 degrees. Found some agates that were fairly nice. Saw a herd of wild horses on the way home. Fun to watch. Had a nice time. Lois made taco salad for dinner. Some of Laura's relatives showed up for a nice visit.
105 miles (non-trailer)

Day 6 Saturday April 18 119270
After a breakfast of nummy biskets and sausage gravy, I headed out. Took 395 north towards downtown Reno and then took I-80 to exit 46 which is US 95A south. Then on to US95. Saw three wild donkeys. Drove through Tonopah which was 65 degrees at 6000 feet. At 6.7 miles south of Scotty's Junction searched the side of the rode and found lots of Apache tears (obsidian). They are suppose to be facet grade from this area. Spent the night at Bailey's Hot Springs just on the northern edge of Beatty, Nevada, space 14. Went into the hottest pool, about 107 deg. F. for about 6-7 minutes. Heavenly. These are nice since they are private.
336 miles

Day 7 Sunday April 19 119606
Left the hot springs and continued south on US 95 to hwy 160 which goes to I-15 just south of Las Vegas. The exit off I-15 to Laughlin (hwy 64) was blocked so I had to go out of my way by about 10 miles to get onto 64. . At Laughlin/ Bullhead City the temperature was 93 degrees along the Colorado River. Whew. Drove all the way to I-40 at Klingman, AZ and spent the night at Circle S campground just north of I-40. After setting up the trailer, went about 10 miles north to a site that has grey and white banded onyx. Needed hard rock tools to get it out and it was hot (86 deg) so only picked up chunks others had left behind. Found a few nice pieces.
Drove 20 non-trailer miles.

Day 8 Monday April 20.
Continued on I-40 to Holbruck and then took 180 south to hwy 61 and to Helen's just outside of St. Johns. Helen, and dogs Aspen and Zipper, and of course, Beaner the cat were happy to see me.
Drove 584 trailer miles the last two days.

Day 9 Tuesday April 21. 120211
After breakfast started taking apart the catiary roof which was blown off by 70-90 mile per hour winds this last winter. Looks like most of the wood is salvageable but not the brackets or the roofing. Quit at noon because of the heat. After dinner went out to my property to watch the sun set and go for a walk with Zipper the dog. I was happy to see that most of my water control for the road was successful. I think it is knowledge learned at trail crew. Lots of fresh deer tracks and bunnies too. Pretty sunset.

Day 10 Wednesday April 22.
Finished taking apart the catiary roof. Only need to buy a few rafters and hardware and roofing. Went to Show Low to Lowes and Home Depot to buy the stuff to put the roof back. This time with more hurricane wind protection. Temperature was 82 degrees today and a nice sunset.

Day 11 Thursday April 23.
Unloaded the truck. I built the pier block frames to put the posts into. Went to town to do a few errants. After lunch went to neightbor Paul's to have a beer and chat. Watched Survivor after dinner.

Day 12 Friday April 24.
Poured the concrete into the post blocks. Helen and I had lunch then went to Springerville to go grocery shopping. Of course, Helen stopped by the quilt shop. We stopped by the Little Colorado river for a walk and to let Zipper the dog do his thing. Got really windy this afternoon.

Spring Trip Introduction

Follow this latest addition ot my blog to see what I am doing on my spring trip. I will take a friend Laura to Reno, Nevada to see her family, then to St. Johns, Arizona to visit with Helen and the pet gang, and then on to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit with my son Daniel and family. There I will see my new granddaughter. Of course, I plan on doing some sight seeing and rock hounding along the way before coming home sometime.

Day 171 to Goodbye Australia

Day 171 January 19 Monday
Left Nowra and took the road to Fitzroy Falls in Morton NP. Went through the tourist trap of Kangaroo Valley to get there. The falls would be spectacular if there were a lot of water flowing but still was pretty country.

Took hwy 48 through Mcquarie Pass NP. The road was twisty and windy and mostly 25 to 35 km curves. When I reached the coast, took the scenic highway north through Wollongong. Spent the night in the small coastal town of Bulli, at Bulli Tourist Park. Nice chat with a man and his son.
Day 172 January 20 Tuesday
Left the camp ground, as I got close to the turn to Royal NP I noticed the engine warming up. Pulled to the side and steam came out of the motor well. Found a hose off, so put it back. Tried to call AAA but the phone did not work. The van started and I went about a 300 meters and the engine quit. Lucky there was a place to pull over and the phone worked. NMRA man came and determined no water circulation through the motor and called a tow. Took me to Heathcote to a repair man. The radiator repair man will take things apart and I am to call in the am. Bugger. Spent the night at Heathcote Motel.

Day 173 January 21 Wednesday.
Called the repair man who took the van to a radiator repair shop. Walked the 2km to the shop. They showed me the radiator which was clogged outside and inside and the hoses were in very bad shape. They replaced the radiator, hoses and fan belt. Whew. I spend the day at McDonalds in air conditioning with free WiFi. Well about 2 hours worth. Went to Com Bank and got copies made of the an sale agreement and learned how to transfer my money back to Shelton. I will leave it in OZ as I can get 45% interest on saving. Hopefully, some day the Australian $ will be buying more than $0.66 US$. Picked up my van in early afternoon. Drove to Adele’s in north Sydney area. Glad I had my GPS. Met her partner and three nice young boys.

Day 174 January 22 Thursday
After breakfast went to go to Kings Cross area, east of downtown Sydney. I tried to get on the Harbor Tunnel but the roads are so confusing I ended up going over the Harbor Bridge which worked out ok. Big problem in that the car market where people went to buy and sell cars was closed. I had to make some flyers to put in all the hostel around. I put ads on two car sale websites. One German couple looked but did not buy. I had planned to leave my car at the car market and take the bus back to Adele’s. Drove back instead, again glad for the GPS.

Day 175 January 23 Friday
Drove back to Kings Cross, this time went with not prepaying the e-pass toll, and found a place to park. Decided to stay in the area instead so got a place at a youth hostel. Made some new flyers with pictures of the van and put them around at hostels and also added pictures to the web site ads. Hot day. Got an email response to one of my ads. Eventually sold it to an older couple from Ireland. Hope they are happy with it. At the hostel had BBQ and beer party for $5. Now I can relax and enjoy Australia Day weekend. Monday is a holiday.

Day 176 January 24 Saturday
Walked from Kings Cross to China town where a Commonwealth bank was open so I could deposit the money from the sale of the van. Walked to the Harbor Bridge/ Opera House area and had lunch and watched people for a while. It was getting hot so I took the bus back to the hostel. The temperature was 40 today (104 deg F). HOT and HUMID too.

Day 177 January 25 Sunday
Took the metro train to Darling Harbour. Huge crowds and suppose to be half a million or so tomorrow for Australia Day. Watched a cute juggling act, aboriginal musician, and watched Chinese groups preparing for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the Chinese New Year of the ox. Had a mocha cappuccino and later a beer. Stated to get warm and I was getting hungry so went back to hostel.

Day 178 January 26 Monday Australia Day
Took train to town and then bus 207 to Cammeray Store stop and walked the two blocks to Adele’s to pick up some stuff I stupidly left there. I too the stuff back to the hostel then walked to Hyde park where there were lots of activities for Australia. Supposedly 1000 old cars on the streets and I believe it. Got a beer and watched some music acts on one of the stages. Saw part of swearing in ceremony for new citizens. Watched some more music acts while talking to Scottish couple who are here on a work permit for four years. Rain showers so went back to hostel.

Day 179 January 27 Tuesday

Rainy this morning. May go to the famous Bondi beach if it stops raining. Otherwise just resting.

Day 180 January 28 Wednesday

GOODBYE AUSTRALIA