TRIP TRIVIA

The purpose of this trip was to take care of some business and visit friends and family in Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, take our motor home to the factory where it was built in Alabama for some warranty work that, (in my opinion, could only be done correctly there), and while we're at it, escape the oppressive summertime high desert heat.  We accomplished all of the above.

• From the time we left Las Vegas until we returned we were gone four months
• We touched on 19 States: Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona
• We crossed five major rivers: Colorado Once, Columbia twice, Snake Twice, Mississippi twice, Missouri at least twice.
• We crossed the Continental Divide in Montana and New Mexico.
• We drove the motorhome 6,388 miles and the Jeep at least another 500 miles on side trips and errands and ended the lives of millions of bugs while at it.
• We used 872 gallons of diesel fuel for an average .36 cents per mile dragging our house with us.
• We visited the Corn Belt and the Bible Belt.
• We had the opportunity to dine on Catfish and passed.
• We learned more about the heat and humidity in the south than we really cared to.
• We rode out some impressive Thunder and Lightening storms but no Tornados.
• We laid my Dad's ashes to rest at a cemetery in Bellingham, WA and mourned the loss of an fellow sailor and friend.
• We visited the only cemetery in the world dedicated to coon dogs and celebrated our 46th anniversary in Tupelo, Mississippi before visiting the birthplace of Elvis Presley in a part of the country where it is not unusual to see a Confederate Flag proudly hanging on the front porch.
• We suffered only one mechanical break down but because of fortunate timing and great service from Cummins Northwest we were only delayed about one hour from our planned schedule.
• We visited Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the South Dakota Badlands for the first time, Capitol Reef National Park for the second time and the Grand Canyon for the fourth time.

We had a great time and we are still speaking to each other.  The coach performed wonderfully but it was a very long drive and we are happy to be back in the "dry heat" of Las Vegas where it is still in the triple digits.  We are looking forward to a fall and winter where we don't need to "raise the jacks and bring in the slides" for a while.

THE GRAND CANYON

Yesterday we took the Grand Canyon Railroad and let someone else do the driving.  We have been to the canyon three other times over the years so the fact that we only had three hours to hike was OK, especially since it was in the high 80's with a high predicted of 90.  It is still pretty crowded there this time of year.  We hiked a section of the Rim Trail we had not done before so some of the views were slightly different.  Enjoyed the train experience and although it is a bit on the pricey side we felt like it was well worth it for us.  We were entertained by a gunfight before we boarded and when we were almost back to Williams bandits robbed the train.  Along the way there were cowboy singers with who entertain some as well.  This is not your typical tourist train ride.  This is a real train.  The car we were in was purchased from Amtrak a few years ago and recently completed a $ 1 million overhaul.  They have a second car like this in the same process.  They have lots of equipment and maintenance facilities and I can see why the tickets are expensive.  The ride is a little over two hours each way with the three hour layover so it departs a 9:30 am and gets back about 5:30 pm.

Today they ran a steam engine up to the canyon which raced a bunch of cyclists back to Williams.  It came back this afternoon a little after 3 and I guess it won because I saw no bikes.  I was there to greet it and take a few shots.  My favorite is the last one in this post.  We are in the campground right next to the depot so it was a short walk.  We are also next to the BNSF main line so it can be a little noisy around here....all night.

Tomorrow is the last leg of of this road trip.  A little over 200 miles back to Las Vegas.

Before the Gunfight with the Marshall.

Our car inside.  Regular seats on the left.

Outside of our refurbished Amtrak Dome Car

Engine on display at the Canyon.  Not a working engine.

Words not necessary...

"Robbers" chasing down the train.  They are not paid enough to board a moving train so it stops and picks them up.

The Holdup

..and the winner was...
Too bad I did not record the sounds of the whistle and the belching steam.
It is like a living, breathing monster...

New Mexico

We left Amarillo, Texas about 9 a.m. heading west with a stiff side wind and clouds.  It was not long before we were in rain and thunder and lightening.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that it did not last too many miles and it helped wash the bug guts off the front of the coach.  Arlyene drove for about two hours in the middle part of the trip.  We arrive at our campground at 2 pm local time.  The trip was actually about six and a half hours with a 30 minute rest stop.  We also went through a time zone change so it was really 3 pm to us.

We drove through some more of the flattest country we have ever seen in North Texas.  Once we got into New Mexico we started seeing some changes and here in North Albuquerque we actually have something close to mountains.  The weather is nice this afternoon and we hope that will continue.  Tomorrow we will be driving 371 miles to Williams, AZ where on Friday we will be riding the Grand Canyon Railway to the national park.  It is an all day excursion.  Saturday we will do a few things in Williams and then on Sunday we will head back to Las Vegas.  From here it is about 588 miles.  We are looking forward to staying put for a while once we get there.

Flat and straight.

New Mexico

HUMP DAY

Today feels like "Hump Day" on our journey back to Las Vegas.  All downhill from here.

We left East Oklahoma City this morning and with only one wrong turn we (eventually) made it through the city and were on our way west towards Amarillo, Texas where we arrived about 2 pm local time - 271 miles.  I regret I did not get a picture of the impressive underground bunker at our Oklahoma City campground that was their storm shelter.  Norman, Ok, site of a terrible tornado a few years ago, was not very south of our location.

For the most part I found the road surface on I-40 pretty good.  There were sections with construction but that was not too bad either.  We we got into Texas the speed limit went to 75 mph.  We got nowhere near that..... and surprisingly not too many other people were going that fast. What we found different both here and on I-90 when we were headed east, is the way they handle areas where you can stop for a break.  I think most of us call them Rest Areas and we are used to places with bathrooms and picnic tables and places for big rigs and cars to park.  What we have found is that frequently, in the place of a rest area that meets that description we find areas that are sometimes called "Truck Parking" or "Check Stations" where you can pull off, parallel park, and get out but there are no facilities.  They are just places to safely pull off and stop and they are mostly meant for trucks.  That works well for us as we have all the facilities we need onboard.  The most disappointing surprise for me was how few of these places there were and  how many of them were closed.  My west coast idea of a rest area has been challenged.  I will also say that north Texas is the flattest place I have ever been.

We have been mostly dodging some weather coming up from the south.  We have dealt with a little rain and a little wind but all quite manageable and it seems like the worst of the weather has either gone north or south of us so we are grateful for that break.  Tomorrow's forecast promises more rain and wind but we will take that on as it comes.  As of right now here in Amarillo it is breezey but dry.

The KOA campground where we are tonight is located between a busy highway, an airport and a rail line.  It should be an interesting night for Arlyene.  I will just take out my hearing aides....  We are in a pretty industrial area here but the campground itself is fine and will suit our need tonight.  We will get out of here by 9:00 am tomorrow and start the trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico.   The famous balloon festival there starts October 3rd so maybe we will see one or two balloons warming up (pun intended).  That would be cool.  

Making our own rest stop on an offramp.

More from our improvised stop,

Our Greeting In Amarillo with our friend Red center front.

Journey Back to Las Vegas, Day 2

After a good nights sleep in the quiet Casino park (where we were the only coach) we crossed the Mississippi about 9:15 this morning on the old, narrow bridge.  Because it was Sunday morning the traffic was not too bad, at least not until we were almost off the bridge and we met a semi coming the other way who had to swerve a bit into our lane to avoid the (stupid) pedestrian who was actually walking across the bridge which has no provision for pedestrians.  We all seemed to converge at the same place at the same time.  I saw what was coming so I slowed down and we all managed to squeeze by each other but it was way too close for us.  The walker must have had a death wish.  After that things were a bit less eventful.  We worked our way up to I-40 and started the serious trek west.

We are currently in a KOA park in the town of Sallisaw, Oklahoma about 15 miles west of Fort Smith, AR.    Storms approaching so we are grateful to be set up and hunkered down for the night.  In addition we only have 160 miles to go tomorrow so it is a short travel day and we don't need to get an early start.  We will be near Oklahoma City tomorrow night.

We are preparing to watch Sunday night football between the Seahawks and the Packers.  My Wisconsin cousin treated me to a "Go Packers" message this morning.  This could get intense......

Escape from Red Bay

We successfully made our escape from Red Bay and the Tiffin Factory Service Center this morning one day short of 3 weeks.  We are now parked in the RV section of a Casino parking lot right on the Mississippi river across the state line with Arkansaw, about 180 miles from where we started.  We traveled through some interesting areas, some of which would have been very bad places to have a breakdown and be stuck.  (Not that there are any good places for that)  Saw a lot of cotton and some houses that looked right out of the movie Deliverance and a lot of very nice, very large homes as well.

I suspect gambling is not legal in Bill and Hillary Land so this casino is strategically located just over the state line in Mississippi to meet that need.  Their RV park is cheap, paved, has full hookups, and as of 2:30 this afternoon, on a Saturday, we are the only ones here in the RV section.  One reason I like traveling after Labor Day.

We will have dinner in a Casino restaurant, get a good nights sleep and then take on the old and narrow bridge over the river first thing Sunday morning when I hope the traffic will be the lightest.
Our next stop will be Fort Smith, AR about 160 miles west of Little Rock or about 300 miles from here, mostly on I-40.  Been a while since we were on actual Interstate highway.

We are the only ones here so far.

The bridge off in the distance crosses over the Mississippi.

FREE AT LAST......

We have cleared the paint shop and paid our bill for the work done on the coach that was not warranty.  All that is left is to pay our camping ground fees and check out in the morning and we will be headed across Mississippi to a casino right on the river that has an RV park.  Not excited about the casino part but there is nothing else in the area.  We will be headed back to Las Vegas with a stop over in Williams, Arizona to make a visit to the Grand Canyon and plan to be back in Vegas on Sunday the 27th if all goes well

In All Fairness

In all fairness to Red Bay, Alabama I have to say that today was actually a pretty pleasant day.  It only reached 75, no rain, reasonable humidity and a bit of a breeze.  I believe it will be our first day here without running the air conditioning or the fans once all day.  To make the day more exciting we went out for dinner at a little mexican restaurant in Belmont, Mississippi, the next town up the road.  Tomorrow we are hoping to be able to watch the Seahawks game so that will be the major Sunday event here for us.

On the motorhome repair front we learned yesterday that it will be Tuesday at the soonest before we get the last item taken care of - but more likely Thursday.  It is a full days work and then another half day of painting so we will most likely be here until Saturday the 19th for those who might be keeping track.  If we are lucky maybe a day or two sooner.

Yes, we are bored but at least today we are not miserable on top of that.  We did have a decent Thunder and Lightening storm pass through yesterday with a lot of rain.  It was preceded by some wind that stirred up the dust here so between the two the coach now pretty much looks like it did when we got here two weeks ago.  But we don't stand alone.  Pretty much all of the other 100 or so coaches here look about the same.

The red balloon is us.  This front stretched across about four states.

Big Job 2 of 3 done.

Today we got big job #2 (of 3) done.  Only one to go.  Today they removed the large slide out on the driver's side of the coach and replaced the floor which was delaminating.  While the slide was out we replaced the couch with two recliners and had them replace the carpet in the slide out too.  It feels really different inside now that we are back at our campsite with the coach put back together.

Slide hanging from hoist after removal from coach.

Laying the slide down on its face so the floor is exposed for removal and replacement.

Ready for new floor.  (Note back of old sofa still inside coach.

Old sofa removed and replaced with new recliners

New recliners inside after everything is put back together.

There is a small chance we could get the last job done this week but more likely the first of next week.  That job requires some roof work and some painting and there is a lot of rain in the forecast for the next couple of days so they may want to wait until next week for the weather to be more friendly.  We are ready to start working our way back west anytime.

Tupelo and Elvis' Birthplace

Took a break from Red Bay and went to Tupelo, Mississippi for labor day weekend which coincidently happened to be our 46th anniversary.  We drove down on a highway called the Natchez Parkway.  Here is a little trivia on the highway:

The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historic forest trail that extends roughly 440 miles (710 km) from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers. It was created and used for centuries by Native Americans, and was later used by early European and American explorers, traders, and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today, the path is commemorated by the 444-mile (715 km) Natchez Trace Parkway and Bridge, which follow the approximate path of the Trace,[1] as well as the related Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail. Parts of the original trail are still accessible and some segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Limited access and two lane all the way.  Lush just like these pictures.

Sign at one viewpoint.

 After spending the night in Tupelo we stopped and the birth place of Elvis Presley.  Just seemed like something we should do since it was only about a mile out of our way out of town.  (Thank you, thank you very much.)

That is our little friend and companion "Red" on the porch posing for his picture.

This morning (Tuesday) we received a call about 7:30 to be in a service bay as soon as possible.  We scrambled and made it there where they spent about 5 hours fixing an issue with our rear suspension that I had put off until we could get the coach here and have it fixed under warranty.  That leaves us with just two more big items to get resolved so we are now waiting for the next call which we hope will come soon.  It would be nice to get at least one more of the big ones done this week so we can be reasonable sure of getting on our way next week.

Almost as bad as having our boat out of the water on stilts for bottom painting.

Muscle Shoals and Coon Dog Cemetery

Today we drove to Muscle Shoals, AL to visit the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.  I was expecting exhibits of all the famous rockers who recorded here in the 1960's and 70's.  They were barely mentioned.  It was mostly (duh) about musicians from ALABAMA - thus the name I guess.  It was nicely done and interesting but not being a country music fan I did not know much of the names.  I was surprised to know that some of the ones I did recognize were natives of Alabama.

There were half a dozen artists I recognized.

Only had my cell phone camera so lighting was an issue.

Who's of thought Alabama was from Alabama?

Also was surprised there was not more about Elvis.

Jimmy Buffett - really?

I don't know whose car this was but....

...it was a little Over The Top

On our way back to Red Bay we drove a route that allowed us to visit the world famous Coon Dog Cemetery.  This is a place that takes their Coon Dogs very seriously.  I want to be able to go home so I am being respectful and I even capitalized Coon Dog just to demonstrate my respect.  I have no doubt that, as the sign says, it is the only one in the world.  Don't know if it looks like this all year but Labor day is their big annual celebration so I think things have been prettied up a bit.  We were sorry we missed the festivities but we will be in Tupelo, MS.

Father and Son

Progress

We are making some progress, although slow.  Last evening we got notification to be in front of service bay #35 at 7 am this morning.  We were there on time and two technicians began working on some of the more minor issues on our list.  We were out by 10 with all of those items completed and we even lucked out and found the area where we can wash our RV's vacant so before we went back to our assigned camp site we washed our very dirty coach.  Now we have three more serious items left to be resolved.  Each of those will take at least a day.  With the holiday on Monday I am expecting we might get one or two of them fixed next week if we are lucky.

This picture shows less than half the service bays in the complex.

Speaking of the three day weekend it so happens that our 46th anniversary is on Sunday so we are taking a break from the motor home and Camp Red Bay and driving 50 miles to Tupelo, MS the birthplace of Elvis Presley.  That is the towns claim to fame but for us the attraction (other than just a break) is better and more restaurants and some movie theaters.  We will spend the night there and maybe we will go see Minions.  I doubt we will seek out anything Elvis but it might be hard to avoid.

Red Bay Day Three

Hard to see here but the green line is Humidity as noted by the arrow above.

As we enjoy/endure the tropical feel of nearly 100% humidity during the day, along with temps in the 90's, we received some encouraging news today about the service backlogs here.  Although there is no guarantee it seems possible that we could be done and on our way in as little as two weeks.  That would be good news compared to the 4-5 weeks we were prepared for.  We have no control over this so all we can do is think positive at this point.

Tomorrow we are hoping to do the factory tour in the morning.