MADE IT TO QUARTZSITE….YEA!!

Sunday, January 10 – We started our drive today at 8 am with a temperature of 22 degrees. By the time we reached our destination of Benson, AZ the temperature was in the mid 60's. YES!
Our elevation moved from a little over 2000 feet above sea level to almost 5000 feet during the day as we drove through the mountains of Texas. I never really new such large and beautiful mountains existed in Texas. For some reason, I just love mountains!









We quickly passed through El Paso. You can see that it is the center of export and imports between Mexico and the USA. Trucks and freight trains everywhere. A great deal of poverty is evident in the housing and some run down stores. The houses are practically stacked on top of each other. We could see the “WALL” running between Mexico and the US right by I-10. Also, we could see it was off in the distance for miles and miles. Eventually, we got a close up look in the city of El Paso.

The poor housing


Border wall


While driving through New Mexico, we saw many homes with dozens of solar panels on there roofs. Harnessing the sun!

There was snow on some of the higher peaks of the West Portello Mountains just inside New Mexico.

Soon after passing into Arizona, we drove through a truck weigh station type of building. We slowed way down and passed many cameras and some type of sensors. Finally a border patrol officer waved us on. Guess it was a drug scan or illegal alien search. No indication was given.





The bridges in NM and AZ are very colorful. They either paint designs on them or add a tile design. Makes the drive very pleasant.





About mid-afternoon, we reached our intended destination of Benson, AZ. We are about 45 miles east of Tuscon, AZ We are staying at a very nice park called I-10 Benson RV Park. The campground was clean and the manager was very friendly. We had to go to Wal Mart to get stocked up on groceries for Quartzsite. Much cheaper here than in the desert community of Quartzsite.

Monday, January 11 - We are heading out early again today intending to reach Quartzsite, AZ by mid-afternoon.

Temperature here in Benson, AZ is 32*....Jacksonville, FL ...22* and Miami ...32*. They said it would never happen….but, we are as warm as Miami for this time of the year. WOW!

The landscape out here can’t be captured by a camera. Marsha would say over and over, “This picture just doesn’t do this place justice. It is just too beautiful!”





We had a nice drive west, arriving in Quartzite about 1:30. We met up with our Escapee group, The Class of 2009. We met around the campfire for a covered dish dinner and grilled hamburgers. We talked until about 9:30 and then returned to the motor home and hit the sack.





We have a tremendous amount to learn about boondocking – that living without hookups for an extended period of time. My biggest concern is the use of battery power. I need to check the condition of our batteries. Of course, Marsha’s biggest concern is…”What do I turn on or off when I want to dry my hair?”  Geesh….women!

Thanks for visiting. Hope to see you soon.

NOT THE WAY YOU WANT TO START A NEW YEAR

Wednesday, January 6 – I can't believe it!! As we completed are preparation to leave Columbus, TX, we started the engine and went to pull out of our campsite and NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. Jeesh Louise! After trying everything including swearing up a storm, I gave up and called our towing service. A HUGE tow truck from Gene’s El Campo came to haul us away.









We were towed 115 miles to San Antonio Freightliner Service.





Here we sit waiting until Thursday to find out about the problem. To make matters worse, it's suppose to get really COLD the next couple of days. Good Golly!

More towing pictures here.

Thursday, January 7 – I just checked in with the service department. It is going to be a couple hours till they get to us. Very windy here. Temperature has dropped from 49 degrees this morning when I got up, to 37 degrees. Going to be a cold one in San Antonio. Temperature dropped to 19 degrees over night! We have company several times each day. Their feeding area is right behind our MH.





Friday, January 8 – Still waiting. At least the hookups are free! Around three o'clock in the afternoon the service technician finally arrived. Hooked up his computer to the MH diagnostic plug and discovered the problem immediately. A faulty accelerator sender. He also recommended changing fuel filters. While in the shop we decided to have an oil, lube, and all filters changed. The technician thought that was a good idea. So we loaded Bella in her carrying cage and went to the drivers waiting room to wait. They had to re-connect the drive train which was disconnected for towing and into the shop it went. Within three hours be were back in the MH, repairs complete. Amazing...wait two days for a three hour repair. While in the truckers waiting room, we were pleasantly entertained by several over-the-road truckers. Boy, they have stories to tell! The two times we've had to wait in truck service facilities have been very entertaining. These truckers are all right guys!

Due to the repairs not being completed until 5:30, we decided to spend the night here. The FULL hook-ups are free. We are in a locked facility with a security guard, and it's quiet.

Saturday, January 9 – We FINALLY headed west toward Quartzsite. Interstate 10 through Texas is posted at 80 mph speed limit. Trucks at 70 mph. Luckily, traffic was very light....we only travel at about 60-63 mph.





Guess who drove the MH for the first time today...MARSHA! She drove for about 30 minutes for her first time and did pretty good. She does admit to being nervous. She'll get better!

Marsha speaking….NERVOUS? After being in snow….get on the plane only to disembark due to Detroit airport closed so they can plow the runway…get back on the plane only to wait another hour on runway….get to Detroit, run like the wind to get my connecting flight which is  hours late leaving…get back to campground at 2:30 a.m……being towed for 2 hrs…..spending 3 nights in a Freightliner parking lot….now I am suppose to relax and drive the MH for the first time? I wish I could think of a better word than nervous….just about in tears is more like it.



Traveling in the open lands of middle Texas we saw 100's of wind mills. We also saw many more on trucks head for installation.





We drove through some beautiful scenery.





Enjoy more of the scenery pictures here.

Another surprise is Bella. She usually hides under the couch as soon as she hears the diesel engine start. Well today, she spent quite a bit of the time riding on the back rest of the passenger seat. Maybe it was too cold under that couch. It was 22 degrees when we pulled out this morning.

We stopped for the day at Saddleback RV Park in Balmorehea, TX. WOW, what a nice park. With our Passport America membership it is only $10 per night, with full hook-ups, and all the sites are pull through with tons of room. They have free TV but a snowstorm came through and knocked it out. They haven’t got it back up and running yet. The restaurant/saloon was closed also. They had to replace the heater. The Davis Mountains are on one side of the campground. The McDonald Observatory is located in these mountains. From our side windows, we saw a gorgeous sunset. Pictures just can’t do it justice. They have a nature trail that Bella just loved! If we weren't in some what of a hurry, we would stay here a couple days. Marsha had a great time taking pictures of her beloved cacti.

Our campsite


Along the trail.



Restaurant and Saloon


Gorgeous sunset


Enjoy more pictures of our campground here.

Y’all come back again real soon.

MARSHA IS OFF TO OHIO……HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Wednesday, December 30 – Took Marsha to the Houston Airport today for her trip to Ohio. With all the new security, due to the recent terrorist event in Detroit, she will be arriving at the airport pretty early. Long travel day for Marsha. We left for the airport at 10 a.m., and Marsha doesn't arrive in Canton, OH until after 10 p.m. That's a L – O – N – G day! After hugs & kisses and a wish for a safe trip, I'm off to run some errands before returning to the small town of Columbus, TX. Took a picture of our campground at the Columbus RV Campground.

Thursday, December 31 – NEW YEAR'S EVE ! I made a run to EL Campo, TX to check out a Caterpillar engine service center. Looks like it is going to work out. It's more of a heavy equipment service center, but that's what Caterpillar is all about.

Gayle, our neighbor here in Columbus RV Park, is a long haul trucker. He parks his semi in the field behind the park. Well, today he is pulling out for a run, and I ask him where he's headed.....Stow, OH. That's about 20 miles from our former home. Small world.

Just hung out at the MH and watched football tonight. See if I can stay awake until midnight. Does the NYC ball drop at 11:00 in the Central Time Zone....hmmmm?

Friday, January 1 – HAPPY NEW YEAR! Re-carpeted the steps today. The rough part was getting the old carpet off. I guess I used real good double faced tape the first time. It's one of those cases of when you want it to stick, it doesn't, and when you want it to come off, it sticks like crazy.....humph! Looks really nice! (I’ll put a picture up after I get the film developed. Marsha took the digital camera to Ohio.) I learned how to do the bottom steps using grommets.....thanks Gary!



















Rest of the day was FOOTBALL WATCHING! Good games too! YEA OHIO STATE!
Now it is Marsha’s turn…..I had a great visit with my dad. After Rick, my brother, and Chris picked me up at the airport, 11:30 p.m., we all sat at dad’s talking until 12:30 a.m., but that wasn’t enough for my dad and I. We stayed up, drank some until 3:00 a.m. Of course each day of my visit it snowed. Canton is really getting hit by lots of snow and cold days.

Looking out my dads front door. You can see it snowing…AGAIN!


The next day was NYE. Paul and I have had the celebration party at our house for the last umpteen years. Since we are on the road now, Rick and Chris hosted the celebration. We had an awesome time. Tons of food, of course the traditional pork and sauerkraut at midnight, plenty of jello shots (We do them every half hour.), gag gift exchange, and wonderful laughter. The group was smaller, than past years but that didn’t put a damper on the fun. My dad looked like Papa Smurf, but on Sunday, January 3, he said “Enough is Enough!” and he shaved it all off. 

Dad and I


My brother Rick is always goofing around. He didn’t think I caught him embracing…I think that is what this is….his wife, Chris.



My brother Rod doesn’t like having his pictures taken. So, when he was showing his better side, I snapped, then all of sudden he turned around and posed with his wife, Katie. Good thing he did, I got quiet a glare from his bald spot when the flash went off…..LOL…sorry Rod I couldn’t resist.





It is a tradition that each year, we four Divas take a group pictures. Chris, Sharon, Sally and I have taken a New Year’s Eve picture together for so many years. I can’t remember when we weren’t together. When I use the word divas, I use it very loosely. I get together with different groups of divas…Jackson High School, Stark State College, my Greek divas, Italian divas, etc.

Chris, my sister-in-law, Sharon, Sally and me



I hope you will enjoy some more pictures here. Hope you all had as great a time as we did. I understand Paul could only make it until 10:30….now that’s no way to ring in the New Year!

The rest of the visit went too fast. After church on Sunday I went to visit my dear friend, Sharon Patterson, who made a delicious brunch on Sunday. Thanks for all the calories, Sharon!

On Monday, the St. Stephen Martyr Lutheran Church divas got together for lunch. Our lunch lasted for over two hours. We had a ton to catch up on and so much laughter! Thanks gals for another wonderful afternoon.

Below is a picture from our lunch. From left to right….Patti, our church Administrator….and a great one she is!!! Thanks for all your hard work, Patti.
Me….what more needs to be said.

Lynne, a dear friend from my high school teaching years at Jackson. We also worked in the church office together. She was our Ministry Connections coordinator. Thanks for all the great times in the office and your dedication, Lynne.
Ann, we taught together at Jackson Middle School. Ann is our all-around guru at church. I think she knows all 6,000+ members by name, and who is related to who…LOL  She takes care of our database and just about anything else that is needed to help Patti and our church run smoothly. Thanks, Ann, for sharing all your time.



Sunday, January 3 – Pack-up and head to El Campo. Arrived with no problems. Set up and chilled out (no pun intended) the rest of the evening. The problem with living off only batteries is HEAT. Got to figure out how to keep warm???

Monday, January 4 – It was pretty cold this morning. I started the generator to run the heat! About 7:30 am a service representative came out to hook the computer to the diagnostic port on the CAT engine. He had trouble finding the connection, but eventually found it in the rear engine compartment. Unfortunately, even with the help of two additional technicians, he was unable to get it to boot up his computer. So discouraged, I packed up and came back to the Columbus RV Park. After discussing the situation on the Tiffin motor home web page, I found out the correct diagnostic port is under the dash board, not in the rear engine compartment......Jeesh!

I washed the clothes and went out and tried to get the Jeep oil changed. Boy, is that expensive here. The cheapest I could find was $49. We'll wait!

Watched some more football....TCU vs Boise. Two undefeated teams. Should be a good game.

Tuesday, January 5 – Lots to do today before picking up Marsha at 9:45 tonight at the Houston Airport.

Last night was the coldest (29*) night since we began full-timing. Bella and I snuggled up under the blankets and kept warm. Left the water running slowly to keep hose from freezing and turned the rear furnace on low to keep the holding tanks from freezing. Warmed up nicely by mid-morning with bright sunny skies!
Did all my house work...place is ready for Marsha's return.

Used my Sears compressor for the first time today.....WOW! Not many small and light weight compressors can fill a motor home tire to 100# pressure as quickly as it did. It will inflate a tire to 150#. It was recommended by fellow full-timer Howard Payne in his blog. I am very happy with it.

Bad weather news! Marsha's 5:30 p.m. flight out of Akron-Canton Airport is still on the ground at 8:30. Heavy snow in Detroit closed down the airport until they could plow the runaways clear. They de-planed once but then re-boarded and waited again on the run way for 40 more minutes. The captain had opened the bar “on him” so at least she won't get thirsty....ha ha! They finally took off. She landed 3 hours after her connection was to leave for Houston. When she got off the plane at 9:47 to her surprise, she found out that her connection flight was boarding and leaving the gate in 3 minutes. She said she ran like the wind…..I think that is an bit of an overstatement but anyway…..and reached the gate just as they were boarding. Her concern was if her luggage would make the flight. After she arrived at IAH at 12:30 a.m., we went to luggage claim and guess what…..the luggage made it. Thanks Delta baggage people, you made our life a lot easier. We didn’t want to have to drive another one and one-half hours (1 way) back tomorrow to pick it up. Marsha said even though it took a lot longer than planned, the Delta people were all very nice and so patience with some of the “not so happy passengers.”

Well, thanks again for keeping up with our travels. Hope y’all come back.