January 7, 2003 - Acton, CA

Happy New Year to you all!!  And let's pray that it's truly a happy and healthy one for you, OK?

We left Warm Beach (HA!  What a name!) Thursday the 2nd a tad later than planned, about 11AM.  Got an incredibly pleasant surprise as we were driving through Federal Way.  Friend and ex-neighbor Bill drove up alongside and waved.  He indicated a turn off, and we pulled into Camping World in Fife where we had a super chat.  It was so good to see him!  He and his wife Liz and their son Kenny were among the few we didn't see while in the area, and it had been bugging me.  So much so that I had their name and new Kent address on a Post-It right by the phone.  We were so glad he spotted us!

Spent that night in Turner, OR, after driving 279 miles, and got up bright and early and left about 9 which is our "normal" get away time when we're on the road.  As the rain had increased going through Portland the day before, so did our resolve to get south.  We both felt good, took plenty of breaks, and after 522 miles, we pulled into Lake Minden (a TTN preserve) about 40 miles north of Sacramento.  Son Rick and his wife Lynn were busy until Sunday at 4, so having all sorts of ambition and a filthy rig (which is comprised of the truck, the trailer, and, of course, the Jeep), I started by washing the truck.  And when I went to move it out of the way and pull the Jeep in to wash it our plans took a drastic change.  The truck wouldn't start.  After fooling around and fussing a bit, we decided the batteries were done, and we were glad they'd picked a nice park to die in.  Pulled them out and went to Wal-Mart for new ones.....except they tested OK.  Did that mean we get to buy a starter?  Something else?  No International dealer in the area was open for the weekend so that option was out, and it looked like Monday before we could get towed to a shop for a checkout.  But as a "last ditch" effort, we stopped by Les Schwab and had the batteries tested there.  Aha!--a battery tester and a load tester!  Sure enough, they both showed they had a full charge, but couldn't stand up under a load.  Bought two new ones for $150, felt lucky, and headed home to install them.  Except things sounded the same.  Hit the starter and get a grunt and all the lights go dim.  By now it's cold again and I'm sick of the whole project, so we bag it for the day.  Sunday I get full of ideas, and go to shaking wires, cables, and just generally getting dirty.  Aha again!  A loose cable at one of the fusible links.  One of those pesky rascals that caught fire and nearly burned the whole rig up in July of 2000. Pulled it off and discovered that the star washer (that is supposed to keep the nut from backing off) had not been placed under the nut in the first place, it had vibrated loose causing a heat build up which melted the plastic, causing a bigger gap and preventing the batteries from giving their full power to the starter.  Jerked both fusible links off (they both had the same problem) and off to Home Depot and 4 or 5 auto supply houses with no luck at finding a replacement.  Are we having fun yet?  Yeah, actually we are.  Lots of options, lots of time.  Next plan was to call Stalick International first thing Monday morning and see what Brooke (the excellent service advisor there) had to say about the problem.

Enjoyed an all-to-brief visit with Rick and Lynn.  They're expecting "Peanut" to be born July 3rd of this year so much of our conversation was about that exciting event.  It's their first, and they're justifiably excited, as are we.  Played Mexican Train...with their dominos!  I guess they really did enjoy playing it with us last time we came through town, as Rick got them from Lynn for a Christmas present.  And they'll make great parents, as we brought our laundry and they were happy to do it for us, we got dinner, and we left with a big bag of "Belly Flops" (not-quite-perfect Jelly Bellies), a bag of almonds, and a Jimmy Buffet CD.  What more could traveling kids--no, parents--want.

Monday morning, Brooke said that others had had trouble with these fusible links, and International did not require them.  His guess was that the body builder put them there to provide easy connections for the batteries.  That sure saved us money and time!  I went out and cleaned up the connections, bolted everything directly together on one end of the link, and the engine jumped to life!  We left about 11 (yeah, late again) and, 412 miles later, we're here in the Soledad Canyon TTN park in southern CA.  We don't suggest you seriously consider driving that many miles and getting into a strange park after dark.  But for us, it worked.  Barb was happy in the Jeep, and the traffic was light, even over the grapevine;  actually, it's Tejon Pass, but everybody I know calls it the "grapevine."  Perhaps because the town of Grapevine is near the summit.

We'll finish cleaning the rig here, and leave tomorrow early to go visit the Foretravel store in Escondido, some 153 miles to the south of us.  With any luck, we'll leave the rig there and drive a motorhome to Quartzsite, AZ.  But in any event, we're planning on meeting Henk & Thea, Frank & Susie, and Ray & Kay in the BLM land across Hwy 95 from the red & white tent on Friday the 10th.  See you there?

January 9, 2003 - Indio, CA

Well, dang, for the third time we've been told Moby Dick isn't worth as much to other people as it is to us.  But that's just one person's opinion and the truth will surface at the point of sale, and we're still hopeful that that will happen. The Road Abode is about where I'd guessed it would be for a trade-in, so no shock there.  Bottom line:  Barb will continue to follow me and we'll continue to fuel two vehicles as we run around from place to place.  Not what we want, but it sure beats staying one place.  We'll leave the ads where they are, and put signs in the windows and be very flexible when someone offers to buy.  Fortunately, we like the rig and it's not falling apart around our ears, so we're doing just fine.  Just not enjoying the road together.

Left Acton, CA, drove through several pretty good rain squalls on the way to Escondido, taking Hwy 14 to 138 to I-15 to SR 78 to get there.  Then it was SR78 to I-15 to I-215 to I-10 to Indio and here we are at the TTN preserve for a couple of nights.  285 miles for the day, including the nice long visit with Roger and Steven at Foretravel.  Roger is the kind of salesman we like to work with.  He'd called earlier in the day to let me know it was raining in Escondido and for us not to feel pushed about being there "on time" as he'd be there all day.  Steven, the manager, was very careful about how he told us the results of his findings regarding the value of the truck.  He'd called people in TX and MI, as well as people in CA, trying to find a value for the truck.  Roger had been very good about pointing out things about the Foretravel that we were interested in, and didn't bore us with features that meant nothing to us.  I particularly enjoyed crawling on my hands and knees in the storage compartments underneath.  Something I've not been able to do in any other motorhome we've looked at.  We liked the 1998 U320 they had on the lot, and after some things like installing Barb's washer/dryer and new batteries and some other small things like that, we'd be happy to own it.  Now, if only a buyer for our rig would appear!

When we got settled in last night about 7:30, I called Frank & Susie who are staying at a campground not far from here to let them know we were here.  They were watching a rental movie and after they returned it, they stopped by for a quick visit.  After enjoying some "catch-up" conversation, it was 11 p.m. already!  What fun.  Today we're going to gather them up and head to the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) rally for the day.  Planning on doing some looking, tire kicking, and checking out the goodies at the vendor booths.  I have a tire valve extender that started to leak, and perhaps I can find a new one before we get to Quartzsite tomorrow.

January 11, 2003

We're here!  And so are lots of others already, and the "Main Event" doesn't start until the 18th!  What fun to see friends we made a year ago and haven't seen since.  They went to Alaska and had good stories to tell, and we built a fire ring and sat around it until my nose got too cold.  We didn't have a fire because while Frank & Susie had brought a lot of kindling, we had no "real" wood to burn.  Allan and Judy are the ones who usually bring wood, but we're not sure of their status because of Judy's back operation.

The night before we left Palm Springs (Indio), I heard an owl hooting its heart out when I went to get my e-mail.  And when I was walking back, I thought I'd spotted it up in a palm tree.  I scurried home, grabbed a flashlight and Barb, and we went back to see.  Yup, there it was.  And with the light shining on it, it just looked down at us and continued to hoot.  I've never seen a wild owl hoot before.  Is this a great lifestyle or what!