And the verdict is....

We were up early to have everything in go position when the workers arrived.  They showed up right and time and things began to move--mostly Airstream trailers.  One, then two, then three were moved from the lot at the back to the front of the building.  Then it was our turn.  A forklift driver stopped and attached to the hitch and soon our 34 foot beauty was headed down the road, then made a dramatic back-up into a very small slot.  


We waited  patiently as the work was begun.  By ten a.m., we were thinking that the wheels were being aligned and soon we would be on our way.  Not.  About that time the news was delivered.  The wheel could not be aligned.  The axle was too badly bent.  Not only that, but the comment was made that the other wheels were not aligning either and the recommendation was presented that all three axles should be replaced.  OUCH--but not   completely unexpected.


Jim quickly made a call the the shop over in Corona that last week assured him that axles were available.  He was told that the inventory would be checked and he would be called.  We waited.   And waited.  Jim called the man back.  He was checking.  We waited some more.  How long does it take to check inventory???  Finally, almost an hour later, Jim's phone rang.  Yes, he had four axles in stock.  


We quickly unpacked the back of the truck into a holding area and headed south.  After a quick lunch, we arrived at the shop and within a half hour were back on the freeway the proud owners of three new Airstream axles.


We were back at C & G by 1 p.m.  The workers got right onto the job.  By quitting time, 4 p.m., all three axles were installed.  Two axles have wheels.  The unit was rolled back to the front of the building where we could stay the night and everyone went home.  


Sooooo such is our luck--not so good and very, very good.  It is not good that we had to replace an axle.  It is not good that we needed to replace three.  It was very good that there were three axles available within easy driving distance.  Had that not been the case, we were told it would have take up to six weeks to get axles here.  If that had been true, we would have had to go back home and given up on our summer plans.  Because of what appeared to be very bad luck, we actually ended up very lucky.  We were able to get to C & G Trailer Service where there are experienced technicians who know Airstream trailers and what to do for them.  We were able to get the axles that we need in order to continue our summer travels in a safe manner.  So tonight we are grateful and we are hoping to be headed north toward Oregon by noon tomorrow.  We won't make it there by June 1 as planned, but we should make it in time to fulfill most of our volunteer duties at Cape Blanco State Park.


Lighthouse, here we come!

Hollywood Calls

Little to do but wait so we decided to visit Hollywood.  I insisted on taking Hobbes with us so we spent a lot of time driving around and around and around.......


We drove down streets we have heard about for years....

We worked to find familiar though previously unseen landmarks.

and had some white knuckle moments driving a Ford F 350 up a road constructed for a mini-cooper sized vehicle.    These streets made San Francisco's  Lombard Street look simple by comparison.  


We finished our day with a visit to the neighborhood 99 cent store which once again provided dinner.  Last night we had fresh corn and tomatoes, tonight beautiful asparagus and summer squash.  Not bad for roughin' it.  


Tomorrow we will know:  can the wheel be aligned or must we go elsewhere to obtain an axle or axles in order to get on our way.  Fingers crossed, toes crossed, legs crossed, eyes crossed..........waiting..............

Beautiful Bell Flower

Well, two days down and one to go before we discover whether or not C & G Trailer can do the job.  It hasn't been too bad.  After surviving Friday night, I discovered that while the mobiles in the neighborhood are "vintage +", they are well maintained and show some pride of ownership with floral landscaping, etc.  The residents tend to stay closely indoors --no one to chat with in sight.

It feels much less threatening after a day on the ground.

How long has it been since you have seen a mobile that looks like the one on the left?  I recall one from my early childhood--none since.


On the other hand, you vintage Airstream lovers would be in mecca at this place.  There must be twenty or more old Airstreams on this lot.  I am anxious to hear all about why they are here.

That's just a sample.  There are some cute very little trailers and some really old units on the grounds.  I will be interested in learning whether the proprietor  is restoring and reselling or just collecting!

Meanwhile, we spent the day repairing the closet.  Jim is confident I had way overloaded it and with the rough roads, it was sagging badly.  After a couple of trips to hardware stores and to Lowe's, we now have everything back in place.  Not necessarily the same place, but someplace.  Packing for six months and three seasons is a skill I need to acquire; I'm definitely not where I need to be at this point!

We are grateful to have our soldier granddaughter home safely from Afghanistan after a one year tour of duty.  Thanks Gwen and all our military personnel for the difficult jobs you do.

Happy Memorial Day!

Finally -- Leaving Las Vegas

Friday am we were up early early to insure that we were on time for our alignment appointment.  Sure enough, we arrived about 20 minutes early.  We had just parked when a van pulled beside us.  The driver rolled down his window and commented, "I don't have a three axle trailer on my list for this morning."  Imagine our shock--we had even made a back up call, just to be sure the job could be done here and the individual knew we were just sitting around waiting for this appointment.  The driver told us to follow him into the compound.  We did, and soon we were on our way back out because he could not do the work.  Damm--with no dam in sight!!!  Oh well, we did have a back up plan.  We headed to a tire store and got a new tire, tires rotated appropriately and off we headed to California, wishing all the way we had done this on Tueday.  

The desert scenery was interesting.  As we got closer to Los Angeles, there were forests of Joshua Trees.

We called the Airstream dealer in Bell Flower.  He told us not to be in any hurry as he was closing at noon, not to reopen until Tuesday morning.  Great, more sitting and waiting.......

The traffic attempting to leave Los Angeles was amazing to these country mice.  Fortunately for most of the trip into the city our lanes continued to move.

Never have I wanted to visit Los Angeles.  Never did I imagine I would be here--right in the heart of it all.  Never did I imagine the neighborhood a highly recommended Airstream dealer would be located inside.  Yet, here we are.  Across the road are 1950's vintage mobile homes.  The business itself looks like a similar vintage.  

So, Happy Memorial Day weekend from Bell Flower, CA, our weekend destination!  

What a Beach!!!

Las Vegas--extended

After receiving the axle news, we have spent two days trying to decipher conflicting decrees.  One place tells us the axle must be replaced.  Another says it is not good to replace only one axle, all three should be replaced simultaneously.   A veteran Airstream dealer says that is not at all the case, one only needs a competent person with the equipment to do the ailgnment.  Back and forth, forward and back.  Whom to believe?  Whom to trust?  What to do?  We do have a plan.  We have another alignment appointment on Friday.  If this appears to work--wonderful, we are on the road.  If not, we will change out some tires then head on slowly toward California where there are axles to be had and a dealer who is confident he can install them.  Meanwhile, we have at least one more day to chill here in Las Vegas.  It could be worse!  The food to be had in a short distance is extraordinary.  Tonight I had a steak and two petite lobster tails for $9.99.  It is difficult to complain about that!  We have really had to cut back on the amount we are eating.  The food is just too available, and there is generally enough for two on each plate.  At least that makes for a reasonable solution to the problem.  


We have gotten a lot of rest.  I have practiced all three musical instruments and Hobbes has enjoyed the time we have spent with him.  Sometimes just stopping and resting is a good thing.  Just wish the reason were not quite so compelling.




Even though we are pulling the Thor Bailee and not driving the Tortoise, this sign feels appropriate to our current situation.  We are really moving ahead 
 s  l  o  w  l    y   .........

Las Vegas Forever....or seems that way!

Waiting in Las Vegas for the alignment appointment did not seem too difficult to take.  We have a lovely rv site with one of the few shaded areas in Las Vegas.  It even has a little grass!  We passed the time cleaning, practicing, reading, eating good food at the resort and on the strip.  Not so bad.

We enjoyed doing the south end of The Strip on Sunday afternoon and evening. I was most impressed with the Luxor, day and night.

While walking down the street in the afternoon, we took advantage of the pin-hole approach to view the eclipse.

We strode past the designer shops and enjoyed the walk.

The floral displays in the Bellagio lobby were outstanding.

Aren't those ladybugs cute?

After a nice dinner, we retraced our steps, enjoying the lights of The Strip.

The art is wonderful.

The lights are spectacular.  I found I enjoyed Las Vegas much more than I dreamed--particularly after the first night. 

We took our last look at the Luxor, and headed back to the RV park.

Well, that was the fun stuff.  This morning, we headed out to our scheduled alignment appointment.  Even after battling road construction traffic, we arrived just on time-- only to discover that alignment was not possible; that the axle itself was damaged and would have to be replaced.  Well, that sure blew our day!  Jim has spent most of it on the phone, trying to get a plan for repair.  So, it looks like we will become even more familiar with Las Vegas.  I don't think I will declare myself   "done" with any other city or location.  Just look at the results this time!!!

Viva Las Vegas

Up early yesterday morning for our visit to Hoover Dam.  It truly is an engineering marvel.

That's a longggggggggg way down!

We toured the Nevada turbine room via one of the four original tunnels built to divert the Colorado River so that the dam could be constructed.

It is fascinating that when in the turbine room, one can see the backside of the dam wall.
Our damm dam visit was much more interesting that I would have imagined.
We walked back over the dam and checked the view from the lake side,

 then visited the original 1930's visitor center that now contains a topographical model of the entire Colorado River watershed and demonstrates the controlled water usage.

The difference in the size of that building and the current visitor center is vast.
After we got into the truck, we decided to do the drive over the dam, just to claim bragging rights.  We are such good tourists.  If it is to be done, we do!
I had said earlier to Jim that there was no way I was interested in doing the walk over the new memorial bridge that now diverts unscreened  traffic from the dam roadway.  You guessed it.  He wanted to go see the view from the bridge, so we did the walk!

The wind was fierce, but due to the walkway, it was not nearly as daunting as I anticipated.  It did result in the best comprehensive dam view.  (Sorry, dam puns just come with the visit.)

Having walked the walk,  no the bridge walk, not the dam walk, we headed north to Las Vegas.  We made it here fine and got a nice campsite at Arizona Charlie's Casino and RV park.

We had a bit of rest, then headed for Las Vegas Boulevard--aka, The Strip.  It was neat to see the places that seem they should be familiar because of our movie and tv experience.  After lots more walking, through only a small portion of the street, I decided I had "done" Vegas.  We had a nice dinner in a French bistro, drove the strip to take in the lights, and headed "home".

Some decrees that are self made are just not to be.  Remember that tire incident back in Saguaro NP?  Well this morning my ever observant spouse noticed something strange about that new tire.  Further examination revealed that the axle is out of alignment and the new tire is almost ruined.  Soooooooo, we will be in Vegas through Monday so that we can get the axles realigned.  The good news is that we are in a place that is large enough to have a shop to get this done.  A regular tire shop for automobiles can't do the work.  So we are very happy Jim insisted on a place with shade.  We can enjoy our weekend with Arizona Charlie.  The other good news is that with time on hand, the Airstream got a good deep clean today for the first time since we began this outing, and I will have some practice time.  The bad news is that this threw off our timing schedule and we will miss getting to meet and visit with our friends in Sacramento as planned.  We are learning that on these large trips, some things can be controlled, some not.  Whatever, one just has to go with the flow and accept even the things we do not like.  Life lessons come in strange packages.........

Dead Horse to Lake Mead

Following our FLLW incident, we wanted to find a park quickly.  We found Dead Horse Ranch State Park.  It was a nice location and gave us time to drown  our sorrows. (No internet accessibility). 

We enjoyed our respite and by morning were ready to charge forward.  


We decided to go out through Sedona.  The drive in was fine, the drive through was ok, but the drive out took us through Oak Creek Canyon---mistake.  We white knuckled it a bit after our earlier experience, but we did fine until we were almost at the top.  At that point, the transmission began to heat.  Jim, having had previous experience with such events, quickly turned off the ac and turned on the heater...yep.  Cooling began almost immediately and we easily reached the overlook at the top.  Just Jim's luck, the Native American Indians were vending their wares.  It did however, give the truck a chance to catch it's breath and cool down.

Hobbes wasn't much help with the shopping.  He just wanted to smell that leather.




From the overlook, this is a small portion of the  road we had just pulled up.

The truck cooled and my shopping monster appeased, we made it to Williams, AZ for a late lunch at the 66 Diner.  We both had excellent food and felt much better.


Jim remembered a very nice Forest Service Campground that we visited last year, so we headed out for it.  No services, but up on the plateau, it was quite cool and nice.

We thoroughly enjoyed this "Patio"  at our campsite.  I practiced my flutes.

Then we had a long walk up to the campsites on the hillside.  Kaibab Lake was low, but it was still a welcome sight for these travelers.


As additional folks pulled in late afternoon, Jim got a chance to practice his French.  It is always a surprise to European visitors when they find an American who can converse with them in their language.  Jim gets two points for International Relationships.


We hated to leave Williams, but felt we need to push westward.  Soon, we were at the Nevada border and Hoover Dam.  On the second try, we found a visitor's center and got excellent assistance.  We are now parked with a lovely view of Lake Mead.  Tomorrow our plans include a visit to Hoover Dam. One just has to see that damm dam.

Did I mention that it is HOT here?  We pulled in to 107 degree temperature.  How do people do this jaunt in the summertime?  Such a contrast to last night when we had no ac and closed the windows after the sun went down.  

Beyond Phoenix

We started out the day on a good note.  Found a tire repair shop less than 5 miles away.

Obviously we needed help!  Within an hour, we were on our way to Phoenix.  We were feelin' good!

We wanted to stop at Taliesin West, to continue our pursuit of Frank Lloyd Wright installations.  That was our big problem for the day.  As some of you know, we purchased a pre-dented Airstream.  Following our encounter with a rock wall at Taliesin W., we now have a super dented unit.  Oh well, ---- happens, and today was our day!  Education is expensive, and we are still learning.

Unfortunately, no pictures as we got there just as a tour was departing and we tagged onto it with no time to go back and retrieve our cameras.  In spite of all, we enjoyed our tour.  Every time I duck under an overhang or move down a very narrow hallway, I have to wonder, "What was he thinking?"  Much of Wright's designs, I relish, but some things.......
Did I tell you that I got to play Mr. Wright's grand piano in the living room?  Tells me I need to spend more time on the piano so that I can at least play one complete piece!  There just doesn't seem to be time to do justice to piano, harp, and flutes.  Anyway, a nice experience.......just no lemonade today!

We came on to Dead Horse Ranch State Park.  We were certainly glad to get here after the day we have had!

Tuscon, AZ

A lovely weekend at Mira Vista Resort.  An oasis in the midst of the Sonoran Desert.  Lots of saguaro cactus and a beautifully designed and executed resort setting, formerly a dude ranch.

A beautiful place, and every bit as lovely as we were led to believe.  Sorry, no resort photos, but we watched the sun set beyond Sombrero peak each evening.

The restaurant was outstanding, and we truly enjoyed our visit.

Left this am and visited the Saguaro National Park on the way to Phoenix.  A perfect time to visit.  The suaguaro are in bloom!

The blooms are lovely, but shortlived.  They begin in the evening, and by the next evening, they are gone.
The blooms sitting on top remind me of the cactus in Easter bonnets.


The national park was lovely.  The building was just right....nestled into the desert in ad beautiful design.

The number of cactus is overwhelming.

Considering that these plants are 75 years old before they begin to add arms, this guy is pretty old.

We also stopped at the Desert Museum, which I was glad to learn was where I had visited in 1998 on my trip with Mother.  We decided it was too hot to leave Hobbes in the Airstream for very long, so we declined a visit here.  We headed on toward I 10 via a narrow, windy road.  Unfortunately, we met a vehicle on one very sharp curve.  We knew we had run off the road a bit, but seemed none the worse for the experience.

Headed on toward Tuscon.  Saw a good eating stop and pulled over, only to discover that we had a flat tire.
We didn't let that little thing interfere with a good meal, but afterward had to determine what to do.  Since it was Sunday, no tire places were open.  Camping World couldn't help, so we decided to just stay over another night in Tuscon and deal with the issue manana......(hey, we have learned something living in the valley!)   It helps to have 6 tires on the ground---we could continue to roll for a short while and at low speeds.
 Soooooo, we came back to Mira Vista, had a lovely afternoon.  Enjoyed the pool and the desert ambience a while longer, had a lovely dinner in the restaurant and are back in the Thor after a lovely stroll with the dog.  Maybe a flat tire isn't so bad after all--certainly not worth ruining a day over!  Tomorrow is another day.