For the drive to South America we are changing our transportation - to our Alfa SeeYa
Several things have happened since we got home that have caused us to make some drastic changes in our plans.
The main change being - we are going to sell the Mirada. It is a wonderful coach but we are spoiled with the Alfa. So we have unpacked it and cleaned it up! Didn't we just pack it? Now we are having to find places in the Alfa for everything. The things we took out of the Alfa are causing no problems, its the things we bought for the Mirada - pots, pans, utensils etc. Some will have to come into the house or just go to Goodwill.
The house is up for sale too - so eventually everything in it will have to be packed too - think I'll run away for a while. This is in anticipation of the trip and then moving back East when we return.
Already the middle of September - how time flies. Willie the Jeep has had his problems fixed and is running like a charm. And yesterday we sold the Mirada. After doing so much work in it it was kind of hard to see it go.
So now we are commited to traveling in the big one. When we get it put back together - right now there is stuff scattered all over in it.
We've spent the last few days working in the Alfa. The old couch is gone and has been replaced with a rocker/recliner. The new carpet is in and everything has been put back where it belongs. Looks pretty nice (see pictures.) Now Bill wants to change the ceiling lights, he can't stand the ones that are there now. And he is building a "bookcase" to hold our DVDs and CDs.
Everytime we go to the motorhome I want to take off for somewhere. Maybe this month we will be able to go somewhere for a few days.
The main change being - we are going to sell the Mirada. It is a wonderful coach but we are spoiled with the Alfa. So we have unpacked it and cleaned it up! Didn't we just pack it? Now we are having to find places in the Alfa for everything. The things we took out of the Alfa are causing no problems, its the things we bought for the Mirada - pots, pans, utensils etc. Some will have to come into the house or just go to Goodwill.
The house is up for sale too - so eventually everything in it will have to be packed too - think I'll run away for a while. This is in anticipation of the trip and then moving back East when we return.
Already the middle of September - how time flies. Willie the Jeep has had his problems fixed and is running like a charm. And yesterday we sold the Mirada. After doing so much work in it it was kind of hard to see it go.
So now we are commited to traveling in the big one. When we get it put back together - right now there is stuff scattered all over in it.
We've spent the last few days working in the Alfa. The old couch is gone and has been replaced with a rocker/recliner. The new carpet is in and everything has been put back where it belongs. Looks pretty nice (see pictures.) Now Bill wants to change the ceiling lights, he can't stand the ones that are there now. And he is building a "bookcase" to hold our DVDs and CDs.
Everytime we go to the motorhome I want to take off for somewhere. Maybe this month we will be able to go somewhere for a few days.
At Last...Away to Arizona
We managed to get some time between my doc. appts. to get on the road again. Brought the Alfa home and loaded it up in one day. Took off on 10/25 and got home 11/2. Short but sweet. And talk about perfect timing. The weather for the whole trip was perfect (except it got a little cold at night.)
The first day we only drove as far as Lake Havasu City. Our middle son John lives there with his family. After getting settled in on a camp site right on the lake we drove around town a little waiting for them to get off work. Boy has the town grown, they even have a Home Depot AND a Lowes. But the English Village by London Bridge has pretty much dried up. That's too bad it was a pretty spot to spend time walking. Went by the house later to spend some time with the family. Didn't recognize our 12 year old granddaughter. She has really grown up. Had a nice visit then headed home (to the Alfa) for the rest of the evening.
We left Havasu early to drive down Highway 95 through Parker and on into Quartzsite where I missed the turn onto the freeway. This little mishap cost us more time then it should have as we were held up at the on ramp by the biggest piece of equipment I’ve ever seen. It had pulled over at the bottom of the ramp to let all the traffic behind it pass. At least we got to go in front of it. Quartzsite is a little town in the middle of no where but during the winter it is full of snowbirds in their RVs. I counted 25 campgrounds before I stopped counting.
Now we were on Interstate 10 heading towards Phoenix. An unremarkable piece of road. Its one redeeming quality was all the Saguaros and Chollas (nasty cactus) growing in the desert - neat to look at. At Buckeye we turned south on Highway 85 towards Gila Bend. Around this area there is a lot of agriculture, especially cotton fields.
Stayed at a nice RV park in Gila Bend, 50 amp electric and Wi-Fi. Drove into town for dinner - excellent pizza at Little Italy. It is sad to drive through the town, about 1/3rd of the buildings are empty and in some stage of disintegration.
The next day we headed south again for Tombstone. And guess who we found on the road - THE BIG MACHINE. This time we got stuck behind him for about 10 miles. When I started calling for a camp site and couldn’t find one we found out it was the 125th anniversary of the Gunfight at the O K Corral. All the campgrounds in Tombstone were packed. We found a really nice one about eight miles out of town. When we got to Tombstone it was like stepping back 125 years! All the “gun fighter” clubs were in town in period dress. Some men in black frock coats and others in cowboy dress, women in gingham and dance hall girl clothes. It was amazing. I think we were the only two people t-shirts and shorts. Strolled around checking everything and everyone out and then went to a reenactment of the gunfight. It was over pretty quick. Went to the Bird Cage Theater and saw the bullet holes in the walls and paintings.
The next day we went to Bisbee. The whole town is built up the hills. There is even one set of stairs 1000steps long! It was originally built in the 1880s and many of the old buildings are still in use today. It is amazing to look up and see the electric and telephone wires strung from building to building in any haphazard way. Looks like so much black spaghetti. Saw a couple of strange things - a guy was walking his dog, cat, and mice down the street. The cat rode on the dog and the mice rode on the cat. Also saw two men with their guns strapped on the hips. Like on lady told us “It is a crazy town.” No kidding.
From there we went to Verde Valley, about 20 miles south of Sedona for 4 days. The whole trip the weather was beautiful - just perfect for driving and walking in the desert.
And driving and walking we did. Visited Montezuma’s Castle and the Palatki and Honanki Ruins. Fascinating. And we also went off-roading - that should be OFF-ROADING! At least we know everything on Willie works good. We wouldn’t have been able to go where we went without the lift, big tires and skid plates. All were put to good use. Our most interesting experience was the Broken Arrow Trail. WOW. My mind knew that if the tour jeeps went here we could make it - my eyes were telling me different. Lots of fun though. (check out the blog for more about our off-roading adventures.)
Soon it was time to head back to Vegas and appointments. All in all a great week on the road
We managed to get some time between my doc. appts. to get on the road again. Brought the Alfa home and loaded it up in one day. Took off on 10/25 and got home 11/2. Short but sweet. And talk about perfect timing. The weather for the whole trip was perfect (except it got a little cold at night.)
The first day we only drove as far as Lake Havasu City. Our middle son John lives there with his family. After getting settled in on a camp site right on the lake we drove around town a little waiting for them to get off work. Boy has the town grown, they even have a Home Depot AND a Lowes. But the English Village by London Bridge has pretty much dried up. That's too bad it was a pretty spot to spend time walking. Went by the house later to spend some time with the family. Didn't recognize our 12 year old granddaughter. She has really grown up. Had a nice visit then headed home (to the Alfa) for the rest of the evening.
We left Havasu early to drive down Highway 95 through Parker and on into Quartzsite where I missed the turn onto the freeway. This little mishap cost us more time then it should have as we were held up at the on ramp by the biggest piece of equipment I’ve ever seen. It had pulled over at the bottom of the ramp to let all the traffic behind it pass. At least we got to go in front of it. Quartzsite is a little town in the middle of no where but during the winter it is full of snowbirds in their RVs. I counted 25 campgrounds before I stopped counting.
Now we were on Interstate 10 heading towards Phoenix. An unremarkable piece of road. Its one redeeming quality was all the Saguaros and Chollas (nasty cactus) growing in the desert - neat to look at. At Buckeye we turned south on Highway 85 towards Gila Bend. Around this area there is a lot of agriculture, especially cotton fields.
Stayed at a nice RV park in Gila Bend, 50 amp electric and Wi-Fi. Drove into town for dinner - excellent pizza at Little Italy. It is sad to drive through the town, about 1/3rd of the buildings are empty and in some stage of disintegration.
The next day we headed south again for Tombstone. And guess who we found on the road - THE BIG MACHINE. This time we got stuck behind him for about 10 miles. When I started calling for a camp site and couldn’t find one we found out it was the 125th anniversary of the Gunfight at the O K Corral. All the campgrounds in Tombstone were packed. We found a really nice one about eight miles out of town. When we got to Tombstone it was like stepping back 125 years! All the “gun fighter” clubs were in town in period dress. Some men in black frock coats and others in cowboy dress, women in gingham and dance hall girl clothes. It was amazing. I think we were the only two people t-shirts and shorts. Strolled around checking everything and everyone out and then went to a reenactment of the gunfight. It was over pretty quick. Went to the Bird Cage Theater and saw the bullet holes in the walls and paintings.
The next day we went to Bisbee. The whole town is built up the hills. There is even one set of stairs 1000steps long! It was originally built in the 1880s and many of the old buildings are still in use today. It is amazing to look up and see the electric and telephone wires strung from building to building in any haphazard way. Looks like so much black spaghetti. Saw a couple of strange things - a guy was walking his dog, cat, and mice down the street. The cat rode on the dog and the mice rode on the cat. Also saw two men with their guns strapped on the hips. Like on lady told us “It is a crazy town.” No kidding.
From there we went to Verde Valley, about 20 miles south of Sedona for 4 days. The whole trip the weather was beautiful - just perfect for driving and walking in the desert.
And driving and walking we did. Visited Montezuma’s Castle and the Palatki and Honanki Ruins. Fascinating. And we also went off-roading - that should be OFF-ROADING! At least we know everything on Willie works good. We wouldn’t have been able to go where we went without the lift, big tires and skid plates. All were put to good use. Our most interesting experience was the Broken Arrow Trail. WOW. My mind knew that if the tour jeeps went here we could make it - my eyes were telling me different. Lots of fun though. (check out the blog for more about our off-roading adventures.)
Soon it was time to head back to Vegas and appointments. All in all a great week on the road
Our Next Trip South 2007
