Travel to Quartzsite -- 2012

Our first trip (post retirement!!) is to the deserts of Quartzsite, AZ.  We have been doing this for the past 9 years, with the exception of one year when we tried Florida.  We have established many friendships in the RV life, and meet many of them here annually.

We left Victoria on Thursday, January 12, and drove to Fort Stockton, Texas.  We did see some nice sunset views………….

The next day, Friday the 13th really lived up to its name!!  While traveling on Thursday night, I got a “check engine” light on the Bus.  I pulled over and checked the oil and water, and did a general inspection.  I got back in and started the engine, and all was well for the next 150 miles to Fort Stockton.s  The next morning, after driving about 60 miles, the light appeared again!   I did the same routine, and it only lasted about 4 miles.  Did it again and it lasted a few yards!!

I pulled over and got on the internet, and found a Cummins repair shop in Odessa, Texas.   The only problem was that we were west bound on I-10, and while we were at the I-10 & I-12 intersection, Odessa was about 120 miles east!!  With no shops until Phoenix, AZ, we took the detour.  As soon as I made the U-turn, the remote tire monitor system started yelling about a tire problem on the Honda that we were towing.  The pressure reading went from 35 to 9 pounds really fast. 

We pulled over and sure enough, the passenger-side front tire was flat!  In putting the spare on, we found that the bottle jack that I prefer to use, was low on oil, and I had to play “find the Honda jack” in the car.  I ended up looking in the manual, and found it hidden under the rear compartment storage area….. under the container housing.  I would have never found it without the manual!

Next, in taking the tire off, one of the lug nuts would not budge.  We ended up with me pulling up on one side of the “cross-wrench” that I was using while Patsy stood on the other arm.   We finally managed to break the lug off, and get the tire off the car. 

In Odessa, after leaving the coach at the Cummins shop, we took the Honda and found a Discount Tire shop.  Good news, they condemned the tire (big gash), and I had purchased the replacement guarantee, so we got a new tire.  Bad news, first they said they did not have the same Michelin tire that I had on the car, but in checking, they found one in Midland, TX…… about 25miles further east!!   However, we drove to Midland, got the correct tire, and then got back to the Cummins shop just in time to see them finish up the Bus right at closing time.  Something finally worked out!

Patsy has a cousin that lives in Odessa, so we called them and had dinner at the local ‘Chili’s’ with them.  We also got to meet their new daughter-in-law at the dinner.  Here is a picture of her and Brent…..

and here is Mom and Dad (Carol and Ron)….

 

After dinner, we left (about 8:00PM, and drove within 140 miles of El Paso, and spent the night in a Texas Rest Area.  On Saturday morning, we got up early and arrived in El Paso before the locals got on the freeways.  After fueling up at a Wal-Mart Murphy’s, we settled in at the Anthony, TX Texas State Welcome station.  We had planned to stay here until Sunday afternoon when our friends Mark & Sue and Roger & Donna arrived from Boerne, TX.   I also planned to watch the NFL playoff games with TV from the El Paso area.  We had good reception.

Mark called on Sunday morning, and said that the plan had changed, and we were going to attempt to drive to an area close to Tucson, AZ on Sunday.  

They arrived at about 1:00PM, but we had more problems with the Bus………. one of the levelers did not retract when I raised them to allow us to get on the road.  After spending about an hour pulling wires and called the roadside service, Mark helped me get the air bags to stay up, and we drove to Benson, AZ.  We got there about 7:00PM local time.

More later.   For more pictures, and updates, see Mark’s blog.