This will be my last update from our Fall Trip. We are thinking about doing some touring to Sedona and maybe the Mongolian Ridge. Depends how our time is but probably won’t be until January.
I have not done an update in a while. We stopped at Santa Fe for a few days to have a break and see the area.
Santa Fe: We decided to visit Santa Fe on Sunday morning, at 9AM we couldn’t even find a parking place. We had planned to visit the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Lorelei Chapel and the Old Town Square, just have a leisurely wander. All that went out the window when we couldn’t find a parking place and all the lots were full. As a back up I had an Audubon Conservation Area to visit and tour. Another bust. We had the address, went to the address and nothing was there. No sign, nothing, just some houses. Very disappointed. We just gave up and went back to town for a very good lunch at a restaurant suggested by a friend.
Our next major stop was Albuquerque, we had been here several times before so we just planned to restock on wine, eat at Rudy’s, our favorite BBQ place, tour Petroglyph National Monument, Sandia Peak and maybe the Lava Beds. We did get to Petroglyph NM and saw several Petroglyph, It was a cloudy day so we skipped Sandia and the Lava Beds. Decided to do laundry and called a mobile oil change service to change the motor home oil.
After Albuquerque we headed for Phoenix, we were ready to settle down for a while and see the grandkids. We settled into our site and put together our to do list while in Phoenix. MH’s are just like homes, always a to do list. We review the list each week to see what we have added and what we have completed.
First thing to do when in camp is to food shop, get hair cuts and whatever else we have been deferring. My car needed a front end alignment(new tires) and a servicing. Finding a place to do this presented a minor challenge. The first 2 I contacted wouldn’t give a ride home. I finally found a service that provided rides back and forth. I will use them in the future.
Where we stay is north of Phoenix up in the foothills. We have a great view over the valley, love seeing the hot air balloons float past each day. We have counted as many a 8 at one time. This year there seems to be less in the air but a balloon crashed a few months ago so that may be the cause of the drop off in flights. Weather is generally very good so no complaints there. In the foothills we almost always have a nice breeze during the day.
Weekends+ are consumed by family. Somehow time always gets away from us and the week goes flying by. Procrastination doesn’t help either. And then come the little things: water leaks, can’t work on the to do list until we get some parts etc. etc.
Until we do some local traveling this will be our final travel update for a while. I hope you all enjoy the blog, it is my way of documenting what we have done and where we have been.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Santa Fe #2
As we wandered down I25 today we were very surprised, and cautious, as we saw 20-30 Antelope on the Interstate between the roadways. This happened twice as we drove. Other than that this was an uneventful drive, good road, little traffic.
Our altitude went from 4000’ to 8000’ and back down to 7000’. This was the first relatively high pass we have gone through with the MH and we are pleased with its performance both up and down the hills.
See what tomorrow brings in the way of altitude changes but we are approaching them with more confidence. Tomorrow we will be in Santa Fe for a couple days. Looking forward to this stop very much.
Our altitude went from 4000’ to 8000’ and back down to 7000’. This was the first relatively high pass we have gone through with the MH and we are pleased with its performance both up and down the hills.
See what tomorrow brings in the way of altitude changes but we are approaching them with more confidence. Tomorrow we will be in Santa Fe for a couple days. Looking forward to this stop very much.
Santa Fe #1
We left Pender heading for Santa Fe. Stopped at the truck wash and were taken right away, shocking. This is a single thread operation and once you are in line you just sit and wait.
That finished we started on I80, another very good road. We stopped that night and everything was fine.
Woke up in the AM to one of our tires being 10 lbs. low. Stopped at a Flying J and got some air into it but not as much as possible, thought it was their air supply since MH tires need 90-100 lbs. Did fill up with propane though so not all was lost.
Driving down the road I monitored the tire. We have a TPMS system (Tire Pressure Monitor System) so it is easy to keep checking the tire. The pressure kept dropping so I called a tire place at the next exit(we were planning to stop at this exit anyway). They said bring it in. The tech took the tire off (RR of a dual axle), reseated the valve stem, put on the valve extender and gave it a water bath all fine. Cost was a bargain $18. Could not believe it.
Next morning the tire was low again. Concluded it must be the valve extender. Took off the extender, put on the TPMS module and I went through another day of tire watching on the TPMS. All is well. I guess we will buy a new tire extender. At least that was all that was wrong.
Today we went from 3000’ up to 8000’ and back down to 4000’. We crossed the plains and saw the snow topped Rockies in the distance. Just beautiful.
Our campground tonight is way out in the high desert. This is a star watchers campground. If you have never seen the stars in the dark of the high desert it is a very emotional experience. The campground is so dark they do not recommend anyone coming in after sun down.
We can’t see any stars, there is a forest fire on the NF which is just burning away and the smoke is making everything hazy. At least we don’t smell it.
Wonder what is going to happen tomorrow???
That finished we started on I80, another very good road. We stopped that night and everything was fine.
Woke up in the AM to one of our tires being 10 lbs. low. Stopped at a Flying J and got some air into it but not as much as possible, thought it was their air supply since MH tires need 90-100 lbs. Did fill up with propane though so not all was lost.
Driving down the road I monitored the tire. We have a TPMS system (Tire Pressure Monitor System) so it is easy to keep checking the tire. The pressure kept dropping so I called a tire place at the next exit(we were planning to stop at this exit anyway). They said bring it in. The tech took the tire off (RR of a dual axle), reseated the valve stem, put on the valve extender and gave it a water bath all fine. Cost was a bargain $18. Could not believe it.
Next morning the tire was low again. Concluded it must be the valve extender. Took off the extender, put on the TPMS module and I went through another day of tire watching on the TPMS. All is well. I guess we will buy a new tire extender. At least that was all that was wrong.
Today we went from 3000’ up to 8000’ and back down to 4000’. We crossed the plains and saw the snow topped Rockies in the distance. Just beautiful.
Our campground tonight is way out in the high desert. This is a star watchers campground. If you have never seen the stars in the dark of the high desert it is a very emotional experience. The campground is so dark they do not recommend anyone coming in after sun down.
We can’t see any stars, there is a forest fire on the NF which is just burning away and the smoke is making everything hazy. At least we don’t smell it.
Wonder what is going to happen tomorrow???
Pender, NE
Sunday
We have moved down to Pender, NE from Sioux City. 40 miles. Pender is a town of 1000, 2 bars and 4 restaurants (kind of): Mexican, Pizza, local fast food and Subway. We took a drive around town and found the 4 restaurants and the laundry.
Monday
Went to the reception center to say we were here and the tech took the MH away around 9. Off we went for breakfast and to do laundry. Came back 3 hours later and the MH was back in its spot, went to get gas for it and noticed a difference right away.
Paid our bill, took a factory tour and went out to dinner. Tomorrow we begin our 4-5 days to Santa Fe but plan to go through a truck wash as soon as we find one. Everything is filthy and we have not seen any truck washes. They tend to be on Interstates and we have not traveled many Interstates in the 2 months. I checked and we should find one tomorrow. This has become a priority, especially the CRV.
Our neighbors at Blue Ox have a sweetheart deal. They have a mini-Cooper(?), some special edition that Blue Ox has not made the base plate for (needed to towing car). They have free camping for a week (all Blue Ox customers have free camping), a rental car, by allowing the engineers to use their car as a prototype they are getting a base plate and the towing/brake assembly free. All they need to buy is a drop hitch and some locks for everything. Can’t beat that.
We have moved down to Pender, NE from Sioux City. 40 miles. Pender is a town of 1000, 2 bars and 4 restaurants (kind of): Mexican, Pizza, local fast food and Subway. We took a drive around town and found the 4 restaurants and the laundry.
Monday
Went to the reception center to say we were here and the tech took the MH away around 9. Off we went for breakfast and to do laundry. Came back 3 hours later and the MH was back in its spot, went to get gas for it and noticed a difference right away.
Paid our bill, took a factory tour and went out to dinner. Tomorrow we begin our 4-5 days to Santa Fe but plan to go through a truck wash as soon as we find one. Everything is filthy and we have not seen any truck washes. They tend to be on Interstates and we have not traveled many Interstates in the 2 months. I checked and we should find one tomorrow. This has become a priority, especially the CRV.
Our neighbors at Blue Ox have a sweetheart deal. They have a mini-Cooper(?), some special edition that Blue Ox has not made the base plate for (needed to towing car). They have free camping for a week (all Blue Ox customers have free camping), a rental car, by allowing the engineers to use their car as a prototype they are getting a base plate and the towing/brake assembly free. All they need to buy is a drop hitch and some locks for everything. Can’t beat that.
Sioux City, IA
We have spent a few days in Sioux City, IA, killing time until our appt. with Blue Ox to get a part installed.
We needed new tires on the CRV so we made a trip to Sam's Club for that. We need a front end alignment but will wait until Phoenix for that since we need an oil change and brake adjustment also.
We have enjoyed our time in Sioux City. Restocked food, visited the Sioux City Railroad Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (great little museum) and did a Scenic Road Drive that wasn’t too scenic.
Just a nice break from the driving for a few days.
We needed new tires on the CRV so we made a trip to Sam's Club for that. We need a front end alignment but will wait until Phoenix for that since we need an oil change and brake adjustment also.
We have enjoyed our time in Sioux City. Restocked food, visited the Sioux City Railroad Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (great little museum) and did a Scenic Road Drive that wasn’t too scenic.
Just a nice break from the driving for a few days.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Forest City, IA
The last few days have been in driving mode. We have traveled from Oshkosh, WI to Forest City, IA. Fall color is fair, doesn’t seem to be a good year for color at least up here. At a rest stop we finally found some good fall color.
We are in Forest City to visit the Winnebago plant. Surprising there is no wifi in the Winnebago cg. We need to go to the visitor center to pick up wifi. There is also no cell phone service but we seem to be in a pocket. We went to dinner and had cell phone service about 2-3 miles away.
Our leveler jacks decided to act up and one would not go all the ways down, luckily we are by Winnebago. I went to Customer Service and explained our problem, told us to come back at 2:30 to see when they could fit us in. Went back to the MH and finished setting up. Knock on the door, they can fit us in at 1:30 today. It is now 1:20. We quickly packed up and drove over. 2 hours later all fixed. I found out the MH leveler system, which is automatic but can be manually overridden(which I did-site was not very level), got itself out of calibration by my forcing it to be almost level. Winnebago re-calibrated the system and all is well. No charge. Nice!
On our drive to Sioux City we had some of the best roads we have ever encountered in all our years of driving the country. The roads did not look new but were in pristine shape.
We are seeing a lot of windmills in driving through IA. We have never seen a windmill being built but today we did.
Some observations of the last few days:
Hardees and A&W are very popular fast food stops in WI and IA. Very few McDonald's.
Forest City, population of 4000: 2 restaurants_a Hardee; 8 gas stations all able to gas a MH; home of Winnebago(hires half the town)
Brett,IA: has a Hobo Museum and a Hobo Convention each year!!
IA: just like IN, barns have pictures of quilts on them, have no idea where or why this trend started
We are traveling a lot of back roads and find it a very interesting experience.
We are now in Sioux City at a city cg on the river, great location.
Discovered the car needed tires. We had hoped to make it back to Wmbg before needing tires, wasn't to be. Called Sams Club, they have tires and I could even make an appt. That will be this mornings project. Once completed food shopping will be in order as I want to have enough basics to make it to Phoenix.
Tomorrow we will visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, tour the Jolly Time Popcorn Museum and take the Palmer Candy Factory Tour.
After this on to Pender, NE to get a part installed on the MH and pick up mail and packages. Then we need to make a decision of how to get to Santa Fe. This will be forecast weather dependent. Do we go west then south or south then west?
Santa Fe will be our last touring stop. From there we will go straight to Phoenix and settle in for the winter.
We are in Forest City to visit the Winnebago plant. Surprising there is no wifi in the Winnebago cg. We need to go to the visitor center to pick up wifi. There is also no cell phone service but we seem to be in a pocket. We went to dinner and had cell phone service about 2-3 miles away.
Our leveler jacks decided to act up and one would not go all the ways down, luckily we are by Winnebago. I went to Customer Service and explained our problem, told us to come back at 2:30 to see when they could fit us in. Went back to the MH and finished setting up. Knock on the door, they can fit us in at 1:30 today. It is now 1:20. We quickly packed up and drove over. 2 hours later all fixed. I found out the MH leveler system, which is automatic but can be manually overridden(which I did-site was not very level), got itself out of calibration by my forcing it to be almost level. Winnebago re-calibrated the system and all is well. No charge. Nice!
On our drive to Sioux City we had some of the best roads we have ever encountered in all our years of driving the country. The roads did not look new but were in pristine shape.
We are seeing a lot of windmills in driving through IA. We have never seen a windmill being built but today we did.
Some observations of the last few days:
Hardees and A&W are very popular fast food stops in WI and IA. Very few McDonald's.
Forest City, population of 4000: 2 restaurants_a Hardee; 8 gas stations all able to gas a MH; home of Winnebago(hires half the town)
Brett,IA: has a Hobo Museum and a Hobo Convention each year!!
IA: just like IN, barns have pictures of quilts on them, have no idea where or why this trend started
We are traveling a lot of back roads and find it a very interesting experience.
We are now in Sioux City at a city cg on the river, great location.
Discovered the car needed tires. We had hoped to make it back to Wmbg before needing tires, wasn't to be. Called Sams Club, they have tires and I could even make an appt. That will be this mornings project. Once completed food shopping will be in order as I want to have enough basics to make it to Phoenix.
Tomorrow we will visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, tour the Jolly Time Popcorn Museum and take the Palmer Candy Factory Tour.
After this on to Pender, NE to get a part installed on the MH and pick up mail and packages. Then we need to make a decision of how to get to Santa Fe. This will be forecast weather dependent. Do we go west then south or south then west?
Santa Fe will be our last touring stop. From there we will go straight to Phoenix and settle in for the winter.
Around Lake Michigan #4
We are now in the UP, colors are getting much better, not great yet. We are starting to find cgs have closed down, seems Oct 15th is the magic day, some are still open so we are forced to wherever they are for overnights.
We are mostly in driving mode right now, just enjoying what colors there are. We spent the night in Nahma, a very small town. CG only had backing spots but since we were the only ones in the cg we parked parallel and took 4 spots. Very quiet but the wind is really blowing. Had dinner at the local inn, apparently the locals think it is haunted based on the conversations we overheard. Maybe they have Halloweenitis.
We are now heading to Green Bay, plan to take a tour of the Green Bay Packers foootball stadium and visit the National Railroad Museum.
I called up our next cg and found out that there was a football game on Sunday and the cg has raised their rates from $20(our discount) to $76. We ended up driving another hour south until we found a reasonably priced cg.
This also threw all our plans off since we couldn’t tour the field and it is looking like rain so we will skip the Railroad museum as it is outdoors.
We are mostly in driving mode right now, just enjoying what colors there are. We spent the night in Nahma, a very small town. CG only had backing spots but since we were the only ones in the cg we parked parallel and took 4 spots. Very quiet but the wind is really blowing. Had dinner at the local inn, apparently the locals think it is haunted based on the conversations we overheard. Maybe they have Halloweenitis.
We are now heading to Green Bay, plan to take a tour of the Green Bay Packers foootball stadium and visit the National Railroad Museum.
I called up our next cg and found out that there was a football game on Sunday and the cg has raised their rates from $20(our discount) to $76. We ended up driving another hour south until we found a reasonably priced cg.
This also threw all our plans off since we couldn’t tour the field and it is looking like rain so we will skip the Railroad museum as it is outdoors.
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