Williams to Bullhead City, AZ

Yesterday, we traveled from Williams to Bullhead City. As we were setting up to travel, we discovered problems with our motor in our landing gear. A RV tech advised us that it sounded like a gear was stripped. We had the assistance of a tow truck using jacks to lift the Montana onto the truck. Soon after leaving Williams, I-40 had about a five mile 6% downgrade and then the travel was relatively flat until nearing Bullhead City. Outside Bullhead was a sign saying "6% grade next 12 miles with traffic signal at the end." Sure enough, at the bottom of the 12 mile 6% grade was a traffic signal and it was located as we came out of a curve. We did not see it until we were relatively close. We descended from 7,000 feet in Williams to 540 feet in Bullhead City. In the last 12 miles, we descended 3,000 feet. Our ears took a beating and Sunshine whined whenever we descended. We believe that this whining was her way to clear her head of the pressure. As soon as we got set up at the park in Bullhead City, an RV tech came by and assisted us in getting the rig off of the truck. If he had not done that, we would have had no transportation without hauling our "home" with us. The tech discovered a gear box that was damaged. He returned today with a replacement gear box and, after installing, the rig still could not be raised. We were advised that he could not get the parts needed until Tuesday morning so we will stay here until then. That is one nice thing about having our "house" with us - wherever it is, we can be! All things happen for a reason and this may have been done so that all three of us can "chill" for a few days. Sunshine is really taking advantage of this "off" day - she has been snoozing most of the day. Tomorrow we may go to Oatman and see the old mining town that has the western gunfights in the streets and roaming wild burros. Today, we will go further than the grocery store.

Sunshine takes The Grand Canyon

Today, we finally got to see The Grand Canyon. For those who have not seen it yet, let me tell you - it is really huge! Really! Because it is a canyon, one can not see it as it is being approached and, when you arrive, BAM, there it is. It is so vast that it is only seen in sections. On our way there, we saw our old friends the snowcapped mountains in Flagstaff and they still bring on the awe! Upon arrival, we went to the visitors center and then to see our first glimpse of the Canyon from the South Rim. We could not move very quickly because, once again, Sunshine became one of the stars of the day for kids, young and old. So many wanted to pet her and ask questions that Carol and I took turns - one held Sunshine and answered questions about Greyhounds and the other took photographs of the Canyon. The Canyon is so vast, and deep that we traveled far before we were even able to glimpse the muddy Colorado River, deep down in the bottom. There was snow below us along the South Rim, sometimes a couple of feet deep. We have run out of descriptive words to describe what we have seen on this trip and this, to date, is the capper. We are so privileged to be able to see so much of Gods work. Seeing The Grand Canyon is a reminder, to us, of how small we really are. Tomorrow we move to Bullhead City, AZ.

Sedona and Jerome, AZ

This morning, it was cold and windy so we decided to delay the trip to The Grand Canyon until tomorrow and go to Sedona and Jerome today. Since we were not prepared for this jaunt as we usually are, we decided that this would be another "reckon" trip to set up what we would spend some time with next time. Heading south from Flagstaff to Sedona, we went through Oak Creek Canyon. This is a short, very deep canyon that turns to red rock as Sedona is approached. There was a clear, rapid stream running alongside 89A as we traveled through the canyon. The rock formations, as we approached Sedona, began looking like red statues, a red castle, a creeping, crawling monster, a coffee pot and other objects. We took so much time just cruising the canyon and interpreting the rock formations that we noticed that the time was flying by. There was so much more to see and we would not come close to seeing even most of it. We even saw a tree that we thought was a weeping willow but, as we got near, saw that it was not. Now we wonder what it really is! We decided to go to Jerome, a nearby former mining town in the mountains. It is called America's Most Vertical City because it sits on a 30 degree slope and many of the buildings have slid into the valley below. Jerome was once the fourth largest town in the Arizona Republic because it sits on top of what was once the largest copper mine in Arizona. Most of this info and more was discovered by us AFTER leaving Jerome so we will definitely have to return. The town peaked in the 1920s at 15,000 people and mined 3 million pounds of copper a month up to and during WWII. After the war, the demand for copper waned, the mine closed down and this once bustling town became the "Largest Ghost Town in America," housing abut 300 people now, mostly artists and people making a living from the tourists. This trip just keeps on getting better!

To Williams, AZ and Standing on the corner...

Today the wind was "only" about 30 MPH so we moved our home to Williams, AZ, the Gateway to The Grand Canyon. We climbed from about 3,000 feet to 7,000 feet during this trip. The canyons and mountains were spectacular. We started seeing snowcapped mountains to the north and soon discovered that we were seeing them from over 40 miles away. There are twin peaks towering 12,560 feet over Flagstaff. As we closed in on them, we were able to appreciate just how huge that they are. Soon after setting up in Williams, we headed east on I-40, which took the place of historic Route 66, and ended up "Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona..." When we were planning our southwest venture, I saw in Steve and Vicki's Postcards and then more recently, Robbie posted on Facebook that he was "Standing on the corner..." and I have not been able to get that old Eagles tune out of my head. Today we did it. It was cold and windy but we were "Standing on the corner..." and loving it! We are truly "...get your kicks on Route 66!" We are so blessed to be able to see and do all of these things that we have dreamed about for years. Tomorrow we will see The Grand Canyon!

The saga ended beautifully!

We couldn't be happier with the way our problem with our truck was taken care of. We received a call from the repair facility this morning telling us that it was good to go. What had happened was that a clamp holding the intake hose to the turbo broke, popping the hose off. That killed the vacuum which made the loud "BAM" that we heard. No other damages and $130 later we now have our truck back, instead of our thoughts of serious transmission damage costing who knows how much. The wind is blowing over 30 MPH now with gusts over 50 MPH and is supposed to get stronger this afternoon. Not wishing to tow in these conditions, we will stay in this nice campground for another night. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to tone down so should be a great day to continue our journey. Another nice thing about having our home with us!

Happy Easter! What a day!

The day was beautiful as we started from Casa Grande toward our destination of Williams, AZ. We drove through Phoenix and I-17 took us under the flight path for the airport. Buncha planes flying today. As we were driving through Phoenix, we were called and wished a Happy Easter by our kids and grandkids. As we left the Phoenix valley area, we went directly into the mountains. They are so beautiful! The mountains are showing so much green that we have not seen up to this point. As we were climbing a mountain that signs warned vehicles to turn off ACs so as not to overheat, we heard a bang and felt something bang on the floor. We found a wide spot on the shoulder and pulled over. The tires were fine and there was no leakage of liquids that we could see. The transmission and engine temperature gauges were not showing hot so we started out again. This was a trick in itself because this is a long, steep mountain and traffic was getting heavier. As we pulled out into the travel lane, we discovered that it was staying in a super low gear and the turbo was not kicking in. We limped at 10-15 MPH along on the right shoulder and reached a rest area at the top in few miles. We called Good Sam and they sent out a tow truck. The tow truck towed our truck and Montana to a nearby campground and a State Trooper took Carol, Sunshine and me to the park. The trooper recommended a repair shop about 8 miles from the campground and we had them take the truck there. Our kids were together for Easter so, as soon as we set up in the campground, we tried to Skype with them and could not make a connection. Even with this, we are blessed because no one was hurt, Good Sam got the tow to us within an hour and they found us a really nice campground not for from the rest area. We did talk with some of our children and grandchildren and, with the Montana, we are home. We had hoped to make Williams today because starting this afternoon, winds are supposed to be 30-40 MPH with gusts to 60 and this is through Monday. We may stay another day even if the truck is fixed tomorrow because of the wind. Happy Easter, everyone! That is how we spent our day, how did you spend yours?

Day at the Dog Park

We have gotten into the habit of taking Sunshine to the Casa Grande Dog Park. It is located across the road from the campground and is an idea that we are just beginning to appreciate. We have been going daily and she really gets excited as we approach the park and she recognizes where we are going. She still does not know how to play but, through her interactions with the other dogs, she is slowly learning. In the last pic, she is showing the pack that she will only be caught if she wants it to be. She will run from and after the others but still does not chase a ball, frisbee or tossed objects. The first pic shows what she does best, love being loved by children. Gotta love her!