Time to Repair

 

It has been quite a week.  As I noted last week, we are once again having some issues with our motorhome.  This week started with a quest to find someone, or some company who could put this beast back where it belongs.  As most folks know, getting someone to work on something that is always tough to work on is not very easy.  First thing Tuesday morning, off go Gerry and Gary to see if they have any luck.  The tailpipe and muffler does not have to be removed as here it is, lying on the driveway.

As they went downtown, they saw someone working on a steel fence and thought, a welder – just what we need.  They stopped and talked to the fellow, give him a ride over, he looks at it and says “I can’t do it but my boss, Brenda, sure can”.  Later on in the day, Brenda comes over and says “no problem, we can do that”.  Lucky stroke number 1!!

Between Brenda, and a truck parts store, we gathered all the necessary parts and Saturday morning, Brenda and her crew arrive.  Now, she is one interesting lady.  Brenda is a master welder and owns the company. 

She brought three fellows over and they built a new exhaust system and installed it. 

She and her crew will do whatever needs to be done.  Her crew today are all on parole.  She has an agreement with the parole board to give these fellows a job, teach them a trade, and give them a chance to be able to have a decent life.  It was obvious that they all have the utmost respect for her.  I was very impressed with this lady.  We are back in business.

Most mornings, just after 3 a.m., we can often hear a rooster.  Yesterday, as we were out walking, Gerry says “look, isn’t that a rooster”?  Sure enough, there were 3 roosters and a hen which seem to be living in a wash just down the street.  It sure was tempting not to have a fresh chicken for supper, but there really was no good place to butcher and clean one of these chickens.  And then, who knows how old they are so we decided to just let them carry on.

The folks next door have some family visiting from New York state.  With some nice, cool evenings we had a wiener roast – the first one for 2024.

The temperatures are cool but we have been fortunate in that we have had mostly sun and little or no wind which means very pleasant weather.

Until next week, may everyone have a pleasant week.

Better Late, than Never

Happy New Year and may 2024 bring everyone good health, and  be a year of peace.

Usually we start our trek south in late October, but due to us deciding to move, and a few medical tests, our departure was delayed.  And what a year to have this happen – the weather co-operated and stayed unseasonally warm and we spent Christmas at home with the kids.

Of course, no trip is without the odd hitch.  It started when we went to pick up the motorhome – it wouldn’t start.  The strange thing is that it had been running just 10 days prior so after much coaxing, and threatening, and two new batteries – away it went.  We parked it on the street in front of.   our place, woke the neighbourhood at 6:30 a.m. with the rumble of the motor, packed (poorly I must add) and we were off.  Driving conditions were ideal – sunny skies, clear roads and little to no wind.

We found a fairgrounds which was off the highway, and not right next door to a train track and called it a night.  Travel on day two was much the same although in the mountains, there had been a bit of snow so there was some moisture on the highways so enough to make a huge mess of everything.  But when we stopped for fuel we realized that our step did not retract when we left so, another repair.  With some spray and a bit of shoving, it is now working again.  I guess in time, a lot of crap gets into the moving parts.   We found a large, flat parking lot and called it a night.

As with any big city, Las Vegas traffic was rather slow at times.  Due to constant construction, here is a sample of the slow moving traffic with extends for miles.

There are some huge solar installations in Nevada.  What you see is not a lake or body of water - this is all solar.

As we were coming out of Las Vegas on day three,  oops, hot engine.  So we limped into Searchlight, NV, stopped at a service station where a nice gentleman let us clean the road crap off our radiator, and as we had hoped, we were good to go.  It was great to be able to call it a day before nightfall,

and not have to leave before dawn.  We made it down to Yuma on day four and it was time to relax – well almost.  At home we will often see large bales of hay.  Here in Yuma, it is large bales of cotton.

 We found that the tailpipe broke off from the muffler so once the repair shops are up and running after the holidays, we will be looking for a repair shop.  In the meantime, we are going to enjoy the sun, enjoy our visits, and bring in 2024 quietly.

Despite the little challenges, it was marvelous to have three plus days of great driving, good roads, decent temperatures.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and the new year will be filled with health and happiness.