This is really hard to get used to.  Lots of "excuse mes" being said.
We are still finding things we don't have - like maps, a remote for the TV and some basic food stuffs i.e. sugar, mayonise, salad dressing.....
After about 200 miles Bill starts to really fidget - the seat isn't as comfortable as the Alfa's I guess. My seat is okay but I can wiggle more. One thing I really noticed was when the wind gusts would hit us. There was a real strong WHUMP! and I squeaked and about jumped out of my seat. That really startled Bill - more so than the wind. I'll try to sit still from now on.
We stopped the first night in Ely, a tiny town in Northern Nevada. Their logo is "Ely a 398 mile round trip to the closest Wal*Mart!"
The next day we drove to Twin Falls, Idaho. Another small town on the Snake River. While there we went to the bottom of the river canyon and up river some to visit the Shoshone Falls. They were beautiful. At 215 feet they are higher than Niagara. Also saw the dirt ramp Evil Kneivle used when he tried to jump the canyon on a motorcycle.

Well today we got an unpleasant surprise. A rock from the gravel truck in front of us on the freeway hit and shattered the window right next to me. About scared me to death. So now we sit in an KOA in Pocatello, Idaho waiting for a replacement window.
The glass man showed up bright and early this morning and replaced the window with Plexiglas - tempered glass would take a couple of weeks to get and by law he couldn't replace it with regular glass. Did I mention gas is only $2.869 a gallon here, nice change from over $3.
We spent some time roaming around the town. Many of the buildings downtown were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sure built pretty buildings then. Took lots of pictures. Tomorrow we are heading towards Yellowstone National Park for a few days.
August 17 - On our way to Yellowstone I missed the turn off the Interstate. Was so interested in te growth of Idaho Falls, I wasn't paying any attention. We just had to cut back east on a little state road, no big deal. Except now I think of it not in extra miles but in dollars - Hum 20 miles at 8 per = 2.5 gal x $3 = $7.50 - WOW a $7.50 mistake! Have to watch those maps better!
Stayed just outside of West Yellowstone for a couple of days. Spent one whole day roaming the northern part of the park. We hadn't been there before. Got up to almost 9000 feet a couple of times. Beautiful country. Lots of trees and rivers. And of course the geysers and animals. Saw elk, buffalo, deer and coyote. No bear. Had to buy warmer clothes and use the heater in the motorhome. At least it works good.

August 18 - Today we left West Yellowstone and drove through the southern part of the park and out into the Grand Teton National Park area.
Found something else we have to fix, the bathroom door. I got stuck in there - It needs a new door knob. Have to make a trip to the hardware store and while there we need to buy a little level too - we have to be kind of level for everything to work good.
Well we found a door knob so that is fixed - forgot the level.
We stayed in a campground in Thayne, Wyoming. It is such a pretty area. All ranches and farms surrounded by high mountains. While there we took a ride up towards the Grand Teton Mountains. Those mountains are magnificent! Then we took a small boat across Jenny Lake and hiked up to see Hidden Falls. It was only a little over 1/2 a mile but being at 6500+ feet made it seem longer. It was well worth it. Saw a bald eagle while waiting for the boat to bring us back.

August 23 - Left Star Valley and Thayne today heading south towards home. Drove through a couple of national forests and along lakes and rivers. Very pretty drive. The motorhome is performing beautifully. Again today we climbed to over 7500 feet, no problem.
As we approached Salt Lake City on the I-15 freeway we could see a storm in front of us. WELL - it caught us. Suddenly we could hardly see the road in front of us. The rain hit, the wind was blowing dirt and debris all over the highway. The cars and trucks in front of us were slowing and swerving all over the lanes. We rocked from side to side. Bill was slowing down and trying to get over to the slowest lane when the wind caught the rolled awning and pulled it lose from its braces. It started to unfurl. He managed to get us pulled over next to a bridge pillar and got out to fix it. Between us we managed to get it rolled back up and the braces locked. It was a scarey couple of  minutes I tell you. He is going to not only lock the brackets from now on but tie them too.
We are spending the night in Provo, Utah. Tomorrow who knows?
We ended up in Moab, Utah by Arches National Park. Beautiful country. Still getting 8.5 mpg pretty good. No problems with driving today. Went through some mountains and desolate countryside too.
Explored Arches and a little bit of Canyonlands National Parks. Did some off-roading in Willie. Everything is working good and we are finally kind of adjusting to the smaller living space. All the main things work good in the Mirada. The engine, air conditioning, heater and all the water systems. We found out we have a 200 gallon water tank! Thats great for living, but gets a little heavy if its full and we are going up hill.

Enjoyed the Moab area for a couple of days then headed towards home. Went through Capitol Reef National Park but didn't stop. Couldn't find a big enough are to pull over in. Did get some pictures of the Dome the park is named after. Stopped in Torrey, Utah. The next day we traveled less then 30 miles. When we stopped to get gas Bill found a flat on Willie. Because it was Sunday nothing was open and we spent the rest of the day and the night behind a gas station waiting for the repair shop to open on Monday morning. Had a horse shoe nail in the tire - it was patched and we were off again.
Got on the I-15 and the pull of home set in. It was a long day, 350 miles but we slept in out own bed that night.
More problems with Willie. Something happened to his transmission. Won't go forward or backward. Had to be loaded on a flatbed and taken to the dealer. Still waiting to hear.
The Mirada was everything we could have wanted. Except for more space, it is very easy to adjust to something bigger and better but hard to go back down. How did we ever manage in a 24 foot motorhome with seven people?
Bill says we get less respect from the truckers and even other cars in this smaller vehicle. The Alfa is the size of a bus and kind of demands to be noticed.
We miss the back up camera and the automatic jacks on the Alfa, but it isn't fesible to add them to the Mirada. To level it he has to drive up on blocks.
We drove the motorhome 2305 miles. Drove across the desert and climbed the mountains. A couple of the passes were over 9000 feet.  Went from over 100 degrees to under 40 degrees. Air conditioners and heater and water heater all work very good.  And averaged 8.15 MPG quite good for a motorhome.
So this trip is over. We had a wonderful time and all was well. Not sure when we will take off again, but I hope it will be soon.

A 20 Day Trip in the Mirada
Pictures from Trip
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Our Next Trip South 2007
Our 2002 Alfa SeeYa and the Jeep
Map of the Americas
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Route of our trip in the Mirada
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Arches National Park Utah