Time At Low Hi

My time at Low Hi Ranch is coming to an end after three days that went by at the speed of light. For the first time since I have been on the road I feel like I am at home. The way I was welcomed inn almost like family was the way it should have been when I first joined Escapees two years ago. In three short days I have made at least two new friends.

Time was spent walking Spencer, playing cards, taken photos of a road runner, and the new moon.

Last day was a Monday so it was potluck night. Talk about food.... We could have feed twice as many people..

Sort of wish I could stay for the rally starting Wednesday, but all slots are already taken..

Next stop on my list will be Lockhart Texas in hopes of visiting two BBQ places that were on food wars.

Back in Deming

Drove from Wilcox Az to Deming NM today. Stopped several times to walk the dog and just look around. One place I found cool was Exit 42 on I-10 in NM, it has a place to get tourist to stop and buy things. Best part of it was I know a place I can stop and boon dock it needed in that part of the country. The parking lot is large and mostly dirt so nobody will say anything. The other part I found interesting was the selling of Route 66 items, it is not anywhere close to the 66.. But it did have a cool Buick parked in fount. LOL...

Now back at the HiLow Ranch rv Park. When I left a little over a week ago temperature was below 30, today it is 102 outside. ( in the sun ) .. Going to stay for three nights so I can talk to some of the folks and try to socialize ( not my strongest point ) . Going to the 4pm Happy hour to see what is what.

Happy Hour was interesting, mostly it was about upcoming events and things to do starting next week. Thing is I will be leaving before any of it starts. I do hope to attend one event Monday at 10am a group is going to something called "the Boothill Movie Set" I will tag along and see what happens, it is a way to mix in and get to know some people.

Went and played cards for just over an hour, would have gone on longer but folks wanted to see the moon come up. It is as close to the earth as it gets.

So that is about it for today..

St. Patrick Day RV Style

Lazy day today just hung around camp talking to fellow Rv'ers. Then had dinner at the Chuck Wagon. That's about it for the day..

Family day

Okay, RV has been poked and searched, now I hope things work right for a long time. Checked out everything I could think of ( frig runs on LP, water heater now works, city water to rv works, ) it has been tuned up, oil changed, all fluids checked and toped off, all filters changed, ( fuel filters was badddddd ) all new tires, all lights work ( signal, park, 4 way, headlight, etc )

..List given to the shop for work on RV...

1.- Complete Tune up

a.- check all wires and replace if needed.

2.- Oil Change

3.- Check and change all filters as needed.

4.- Electric system ..

a.- Flashers not working ( 4 way )

b.- Signal ( right left ) only work sometimes

c.- Lights do not always come on in rear. ( turn on headlights )

d.- Cruse control only works when 4 way is in.

e.- Not sure about break lights

5.- All cables and hoses need to be check and replaced if needed.

6.- Undercarriage checked for damage. ( had two blowouts in last week )

a.- Also insure everything is secure.

7.- Rear tires passenger side needs correct air stems.

8.- Check all fluid levels, change or add as needed.

So today I drove to Eloy Az and had lunch with my three sisters. Mostly the talk was about why I do not get my hear done, or how to get my teeth fixed, or why I do not visit more. Truth is I was not surprised so it was okay. Maybe I will win the lotto and have a makeover before I visit again. LOL... sure like that will happen.

Spent the afternoon at rv park doing my laundry.. So ends a fun filled day.. TOmorrow is St. Patrick day so I will stay here and have corned beef and cabbage with the rv folks here.. Let you all know how that goes..

Tucson Fairgrounds

So after all that fun and adventure I made it to Tucson. I am staying at the Fairgrounds until Monday the 14th when I bring the rv in for a complete tuneup, oil-change, ect before I go anywhere else.

Fairgrounds is not a bad place to stay, it is cheaper then any-other place in or near Tucson. Also has the added benefit of having horse shows, and this weekend was the gun show. I can also get hot food if I do not want to cook along with a beer.

I spent the better part of the late morning and early afternoon watching the horse competition. First time I have really watched, found it interesting how the horses are handled.

Also got to see a great sunrise..

Made it to Deming NM

Okay, today was a long drive just under 400 miles. That is more then I like to do in a day but with all the lost time I just had to try. For the most part the day went very well, I had breakfast at the hotel, checked out and hit the road. Just about when I was thinking about stopping for lunch and fueling up I lost another tire, this time on driver side. However I got lucky this time in that it did not go flat and the inner wheel was still good so decided to gamble and limp into the next exit that had a service station so that I would be off the road. When I pulled off the exit and into the station I was all smiles, first thing I noticed was a tire shop... How lucky could I get... So I made arrangements to have both tires on that side replaced ( why not ) and went into the restaurant and had something to eat. When I came out the RV was ready to go as soon as I payed the bill, also had too fuel up.

Now in the rv park for the night and it is nice to be in my own space..

Odessa Texas to Notrees Texas

RV still in the shop....

Took a trip out to Notrees Texas

just because I could not stand hanging out in Odessa all day again. Lets just say the name fits to a T..

Stopped at the Garage and talked to the owner and the man working on the RV, both are hoping to have it ready for me to drive away late today or early tomorrow.. We will just have to wait and see.

Found the Starbucks and had a "good" cup of coffee :)

Then went to Red Lobster for lunch, now back at hotel in wait mode.. Will take a drive to the garage again later this afternoon and check on progress..

Will post results later..

Rv repair competed, and rental car returned. Will stay in hotel one more night and then hit the road early in the morning. Does not matter what direction I to find out if all is good or not so might just as well go to Tucson..

Din make one friend in Odessa :)

Now I wait and see

Well folks, I have found a place in Odessa that will look at the RV, but not until after the weekend. I parked it ( towed ) outside the garage that will service it and can not do anything else at this time.

Have rented a car and found a hotel room for the time it will take until I can drive the RV back to Dallas.. Think this is the end of this trip..

Nothing to do in Odessa except sleep, read, watch tele, and check up on the RV from time to time..

Been checking out jobs for the heck of it, and looking around at what is here.. Jobs are all in oilfield ( on rigs ) or driving for them. Also looking around for something to do "anything " to kill time here.. This is the wrong place to break down let me tell you..

Will use this same post for the time I am here will just add to it....

Friday March 3ed 2011....

Up early, not a clue why.... Surfed the internet, play a game, did some reading.. Then drove to the garage where the RV is to pick up paper work to do my taxes ( oh joy!!!! ).

When I arrived I had a surprise, the hood was up and a tester was hooked up. I went into the office and found the owner Ray on the phone tracking down a new fuel pump. When tested cold it looked okay, but when tested warm ( running ) it failed big time. So I guess I will be getting a new pump put in. Question is when, this being friday I do not expect anything else to get down until Monday or Tuesday.. Have to stay until Monday at least anyway because of the rental car can not be returned on a weekend.

Have got to take my camera to the garage next time, I am making friends with a small dog and it keeps reminding me I miss my little guy..

Found my way to a Wells Fargo Bank to replace my cash, one never knows when it is cash only when on the road.. Picked up some info on "anything" to do around here to kill time this weekend. Back to the hotel and spent time doing taxes. Will have to wait until I get to a printer before I finish. Need to print it all out for my records before the final product is sent out..

Now to look at the info on what to do this week end..

Sunday Night March 6th...

Been a long boring weekend, hoping when I check in at the Garage on Monday I will get good news. Did not do much of anything yesterday or today, could not even find the Starbucks that according to the internet is in Odessa. I drove around in the area of the address that was on the internet for at least 30 min.. If a Starbucks is in the area it was hiding from me.. So had to get coffee from Seven Eleven again. :(

Spent most of the weekend reading playing on the computer and watching television. Sure hope I can get out of here soon....

At least it is not a tire

Headed down the road today and first had to take a 45 min detour at mile marker 188 to 186 due to and accident. Second RV engine died no warning at mile marker 56, called it in and waiting for a tow. It will not get worked on until tomorrow sometime.. Guess I will not get to Tucson tomorrow after all. Will ad to this post as things change..

Okay now for part two.... Things started going downhill when the tow truck showed up, it was a large truck for use on 18wheelers and large motor homes not something for my class c. The driver did get things hooked up after 45 min or so of scratching his head and looking at things. Down the road back to Odessa we went, he told me that it was being taken to a Cummings shop??? It not being a diesel I did not understand this and called the road service back asking for someplace else. Told that it had to go to Cummins because that is what the contract said... Okay, once in Odessa we go to the Cummings place and get told "no way we can work on that " the service manager calls the road service place and tells them the same thing. We are then send to a "small" garage that see's us coming and again we are turned away, this time it is too big. So now the tow truck driver has a couple of places we try only to be turned away 1.- do not work on RV anymore, 2.- way to backed up to take on anything at this time. ( two week backup ).. So I am taken to the tow truck yard and camping here for the night. Will start making phone calls in the morning and hope to find someone willing to work on my unit. Good night..

Again with the flat

This is only the second trip I make with the RV and I am sitting on the side on the road waiting for a repair truck to come along... Once again I had a tire blowout as I was driving down the road, looked good to me 50 miles back when I stopped for fuel and did a walk around. Does not look so good now and it did some damage to the underside of the RV when it happened. Will have some repairs to make when time allows and I find someone that knows how to do it..

After 45 min the repair truck showed up.. :) (14:15)

He could not fix the problem, seems I have a flat and a blown tire, need two new tires not just put on the spare.. :(...

Good news he gave me the number of a tire shop and when I called and told them the problem, he will be out in 25 min or so with the tires.. ;)

Now waiting again for rescue... (14:30 )

The man with the tires has arrived :) ( 14:50 )

At first he did not think we had to replace both tires, but something told me to have him do it anyway. Would feel safer with two new tires and not take a gamble. The outer tire was a no brainer it was a total loss, at first the inner looked good. but once it was removed from the rim it showed its true colors. It was falling apart from the inside. Also when mounting the new tire on found that the stem was cracked and may have been the reason for all the problems. Tire was not holding air and once it went the second tire went because it could not hold the weight.

Once the new tires were on and I paid in cash ( all that I had ,....almost ) I was back on the road. ( 15:30 )

Was hoping to make it to exit 136 for the night, but around 17:00 I started to fade fast.. Found a flying J at exit 277 fueled up, and went to a small RV park close by for the night.

It is now 17:45 and I am parked and thinking about food. Been a full day today, will start again tomorrow..