Sunny and warm. < sigh > But not a great day !
This morning we departed the RV parking lot of the Avi Casino and crossed over the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada to Bullhead City, Arizona. We did a bit of Wal-Martin' then headed through Bullhead City and out to the northeast on Hwy. 68. We stopped at a Chevron station on the edge of town and spent half an hour refilling our freshwater tank ... to the halfway point ! Low water pressure !
Twelve miles of uphill on Hwy. 68 out of Bullhead City ! Tough climb ! Four miles of downhill and we were at the town of Golden Valley where we were headed to see truck camper for sale number nine of twelve.
We viewed it, then asked the owner if we may top up our freshwater tank using his garden hose. He allowed us to, but seemed a tad miffed. Hey, pal ... I just drove about 5000 km. / 3000 miles to see your camper, the least you could do is provide twenty gallons of fresh water, don't ya think ?
On the way back down into Bullhead City I noticed in the rear view mirror that the trailer seemed to be leaning towards the passenger side. As soon as we were at the bottom of the twelve mile hill I pulled over and took a look underneath the trailer. DAMN ! A broken leaf spring shackle ! I drove slowly to the nearby Home Depot, hoping to be able to buy the sockets I would need to replace the broken shackle. I have the spare parts, but ... I left all my tools back home in Keremeos, B.C. in anticipation of not having room for them when we have a truck camper. Catch 22 !
I bought the sockets I needed, and even was able to borrow a bottle jack from the tool rental department, anticipating needing a extra jack in addition to the one in the truck in order to change the broken shackle. I worked on it in the Home Depot parking lot for awhile, but was not able to loosen the large nuts and bolts on the broken shackle. < sigh > I gave up and returned the unused, borrowed bottle jack to Home Depot's tool rental department.
We drove slowly through Bullhead City looking for an auto repair shop, or tire repair shop, or RV repair shop that might be open. I had the necessary spare parts, just needed somebody with big enough tools to loosen the broken shackle's nuts and bolts. We made it all the way through Bullhead City and into adjoining Fort Mohave before settling on Mohave RV & Marine Parts & Service, which appeared open. Their front door was open, but they weren't open for business. Two women were inside doing some administrative work. The women directed me to a nearby empty lot where we could boondock overnight. I will return to their service department first thing in the morning !
In early 2008, just before our first RV trip into Mexico, I bought a "spare" of every component of the trailer's suspension, knowing that Mexico's roads could easily destroy trailer suspension components, and while Mexican labour was easy to find, RV parts were simply not available. So ... after three winters in Mexico without ever breaking a suspension component on the trailer,
I break a shackle on a smooth Arizona road ... about four days before Harvey the trailer's "retirement". < sigh >
Monday ; Fort Mohave, Arizona to San Diego, California
Sunny and very warm. A very long, very tiring, upsetting day !
We were up at 6 AM so that I could be at the service desk of Mohave RV & Marine Parts & Service at 7 AM. They were working on the trailer by 7:30 AM and were finished by 8:30 AM. Well done ! Not cheap ... but quick and efficient and competent.
We drove to Wal-Mart so that I could buy a tool that I needed. Wal-Mart didn't have it. Drove to Auto Zone and found it. Pulled into Maverik to buy the cheapest diesel of this trip so far. Refilled with diesel, then got permission to refill our freshwater tank at a difficult to access water spigot on the side of their building. While backing the trailer away from the fuel island and towards the water spigot, I crunched the front bumper of the truck against a concrete barrier, gouging a big tear in the truck's plastic front bumper. !+@_#)$(%*^& ! ! ! ! !
That fouled me for the rest of the day. I have extreme difficulty forgiving myself for such transgressions. And what the hell ... might as well take it out on the little wifey, n’est-ce pas !
We drove south out of Fort Mohave, Arizona on Hwy. 95 to Needles, California, onto I-10, crossed the Colorado River back into Arizona again, refilled with diesel at Flying J, then back over the river into California ... again. From there we drove south on a variety of "country back roads" all the way to Holtville, between Yuma, Arizona and San Diego, California. It was Joanne's idea to head to Holtville to buy burritos "to go" for supper, at Holtville Taco Shop. GAWD, their burritos are good !
We got onto I-8 heading west to San Diego. We stopped at Golden Acorn Casino to refill with diesel for the third time today. We continued west on I-8 ... in the dark, and fog, to Viejas Casino just east of San Diego. We are going to boondock here tonight and tomorrow night, while we spend tomorrow viewing our final three truck campers for sale.
GAWD, those burritos were good !
Tuesday ; San Diego, California
Today was cloudy and mild.
WHEW ! I'm all truck camper shopped out ! And freeway driving burnt out !
This morning we unhitched the truck from the trailer then headed out to view truck campers for sale numbers ten, eleven, and twelve. Of a total of twelve ! Here's the summary ; one excellent, one good, two fair, six poor, one rotten piece of junk, and one that can't even be considered because the seller is such a certifiable nut job ! Joanne thinks he's mentally ill. I think he's just a drunk. He's likely both !
And before today we thought it would likely come to a decision between two ; the excellent one and the good one. But now ... it comes down to a decision of ... none of the twelve ! Joanne has decided that there is a particular model / layout she wants, and the ones that we saw of that model were not acceptable to us for one reason or another. So ... < sigh > ... the truck camper shopping will continue !
After seeing the last three truck campers we had a late lunch at El Pollo Loco, then crossed the street to shop at Petco ... they didn't have what we were looking for ... and buy a few groceries at Albertsons. We drove back to Viejas Casino and hitched the truck to the trailer.
The last time we were here at Viejas Casino, a few years ago, I spent three days in bed, sicker than a dog, with food poisoning from tainted peanut butter that was subsequently recalled. Joanne spent those three days wandering around the casino and the adjacent "outlet stores" shopping mall. So tonight she was my tour guide. We caught the casino shuttle bus and rode from the RV parking lot to the shopping mall. It's too far to walk. We wandered around, admiring the dancing water fountain display choreographed with lights and music. Pretty nice ! Not the Bellagio ! We shopped for Birkenstock sandals in a shoe store. HMPH ... not much selection of Birkenstocks at this time of the year. We wandered over to the outdoor skating rink.
HA HA HA HA HA ! Southern Californians, of all ages, mostly Hispanics, trying to ice skate.
HA HA HA HA HA ! Not easy, if you didn't learn how at about five years of age, like most of us Canadians did. But they certainly were enjoying themselves. An elderly Hispanic woman slowly passed by us, mostly holding herself up and pulling herself along the boards with her hands, and exclaimed "Es no easy". HA HA HA HA HA ... no, ma'am, it certainly isn't. But ... I’ll bet that she can probably ride a surf board a hell of a lot better than I can. HA HA HA HA HA !
We wandered around inside the casino for awhile. Nice casino, more spacious and a bit quieter than most. We caught the shuttle bus back to the RV parking lot, had dinner and a quiet evening.
We're eager to arrive "home" in Yuma tomorrow.
Wednesday ; San Diego, California to Yuma, Arizona
Harvey's final journey
At 6 AM Joanne abruptly woke me up. She had come to a sudden realization. The truck camper model that she wants ... has no logical place to locate a cat litter box. My response to that was ... ZZZZZZZZ ! We had a brief discussion. We made a decision. We went back to sleep. Looks like we'll be buying my first choice.
Today was cloudy and mild in San Diego, sunny and very warm in Yuma. We're very glad to be "home".
This morning we prepared for departure and left the RV parking lot of Viejas Casino, heading east on Interstate 8. Harvey the fifth wheel trailer's final journal. Upon arrival at our lot 52 in Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park this afternoon, Harvey is retired. His travelling days are over. He served us very well over ten years and about 280,000 km. / 175,000 miles. Enjoy your retirement in the desert sun, Harvey !
Shortly after leaving San Diego the coastal gloomy sky cleared, and we were back underneath clear skies with brilliant desert sunshine. We had lunch at a rest area. We arrived "home" about 4 PM. We spent the rest of the daylight ( about two hours ) getting set up in our site and getting the Arizona room opened up, aired out, furniture uncovered, etc.
Thursday ; Cloudy and warm all day, thunderstorm in the evening, with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, very unusual here in the desert.
Bought a truck camper today ! The eighth one we saw, a 1997 Lance Legend 990, near San Jose, California. I think I paid too much. The seller thinks he sold for too little. < shrug > Probably means it was the right price !
We spent most of the day on "arrival" chores, mostly cleaning ... and visiting. We went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store to buy some clothes. Today was "all clothing items for $1", a good time to buy "work" clothes, especially t-shirts for me. Did I mention ... I got droplets of battery acid on yet another shirt the other day when checking the truck battery fluid levels. We took Bo for a walk around the perimeter of the dog park. Must have been a moist summer, the desert / dog park is filled with ... "grass". I'm not sure if grass is the right word to describe what's growing out there, but ... ? ? ?
Friday ; Well ... how unusual ! Cloudy with intermittent rain all day long.
And I was feeling ill, so did very little today. Joanne did a lot of laundry, and went grocery shopping to Fry's. WOO-HOO ... Donald Duck orange juice, my favourite ! HA HA HA !
Saturday ; Today was cloudy, windy, and cold. Really ? ! ?
This morning we headed out to run some errands. I dropped Joanne off at Albertsons to buy some advertised specials, then I drove to Wells Fargo Bank to deposit a cheque to the account of our truck camper seller.
This afternoon we had the truck and trailer washed by a mobile washing service that many people in our RV park use on a regular basis. We've seen the crew in the RV park many times, and decided to give them a try. WOW ! Now we know why they're so popular. Wash the fifth wheel trailer, top to bottom, including the roof, wash the truck ... six Mexican guys, fifty minutes, forty bucks ! Six guys, fifty minutes, that's five man hours of labour. For forty bucks. Plus they supply the vehicle wash detergent, and tire conditioner, and even use non-spotting "soft" water from a large tank on the back of their truck. And high pressure spray hoses. GEEEEEZZZZZ ... washing the roof of the trailer that well, alone is worth the forty bucks ! The work that they did in less than an hour would have taken Joanne and I a couple of days of hard work. Both the truck and the trailer were very grimy from 6000 km. of travel, some of it in terrible weather.
This evening we went to Desert Sun Stadium to see the annual Balloon Glow, an event of the annual Yuma Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival. Tethered balloons, simultaneously lighting their burners, to "glow" in the dark. As we arrived, cars were streaming out of the parking lots. HUH ? OH ... cancelled due to too much wind. HMPH !
DSK
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