New Roof in Phoenix

APR RV has great decor and antiques.

new decking applied

The shadow by his thumb shows the thickness.

       It turns out that much of the decking needed to be replaced (the wood under the rubber roof) and the leak that we had noticed in the last several months was not the only one to leave its mark. It turns out the the 'oops' I had done, going under low power lines and breaking the booster antennae had an up side. The small hole, that we had a hard time finding, did some damage and took awhile to find and patch. When I talked to APR RV and told them about the roof, they suggested I check to see if insurance would cover it. They did, and we are SO thankful! It was covered under the Collision clause, so we only had to pay for the extras that we had them do while they were at it. The Flex-All roofing material they put on is thicker than anyone else and guaranteed for life, even if you sell the rig. We got a new bathroom fan installed (included) with 2 MaxxAir vent covers, a new TV antennae, and all the solar panels replaced in a more orderly arrangement. And no more caulking ever! I love that. Now to figure out how to fix the stains inside....

Repairs are an expected part of life on the road and we seem to be having a season of 'catch up'.
    We have known for months that our roof would need replacing, and before leaving Washington, we did some research and found a place in Mesa, AZ, knowing that we'd be down here for a few months. They had good reviews and could do the work we needed. (APR RV) A bonus was getting to stay with Ruth and her new husband Tim in Phoenix while our rig was in the shop.
    We did get an estimate from RV Armour while at the Escapee RV Club Escapade in Tucson, but decided to go with our original plan since they work on it indoors. That appealed to us over having the other guys come to us in Washington
and be exposed to the elements (and bugs, birds, leaves, etc!).
   We rely on reviews quite a bit when trying to find someone to fix something. Our various forums and groups are helpful, and I also found another great resource:   RVServiceReviews.com. It always helps to see what others experienced.

New roof, all solar panels reinstalled.

Back on the road

Good mobile RV Repair guy

Thursday the part came in and John did a great job not only replacing the controller for the slide, but I asked if he would swap out the bathroom faucet while he was there. I was not able to get it to budge and hoped he had better tools and experience, which he did. It was worth every penny to have him do that, especially after seeing how it had gotten rusty and fought him every step of the way. He's pretty reasonable, much less than calling in a plumber. If you're ever in the Redding area and need mobile RV repair, call John! He's a good guy. We were in Corning, but he came down there anyway. He was helping out his friend Chris who runs Campfire RV Repair in Corning who we had called. Chris has been having some health issues and John stepped up to help him keep his business afloat.

By noon, we were on our way, headed for Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA. Even though we got a late start, we decided to push on and not try to find a closer stopping point. Of course we hit Sacramento and Modesto when traffic was getting pretty thick, then with an accident earlier, it was stop and go for several miles. We finally pulled in at 8pm.

Almond trees in bloom

Along the way we saw an amazing amount of water. Places where where previously had been dry washes, sometimes with bridges baffling high, now rushed with muddy water. Reservoirs who were so sadly lacking in water now filled to the brim and then some. Evidence everywhere of the abundance of water, even an excess of water, caused us to be thankful for our enforced delay. Of course all that water helped to make things lovely and green, and blooming as are these almond trees.

And even more repairs....and some fun

When John from Cronic Mobile Service came Sunday, he found that the controller box for the slide needed replacing, and of course it needed to be ordered. Monday being President's Day, we knew we'd have a few days to wait. At least he was able to get the slide back in by powering the motor from his truck.

On Monday, we visited a delightful store, S&S Produce in Chico, where we got organic veggies, some tinctures and supplements, and some chicken wings and feet to make broth! I love restocking from the delightful variety of health food stores I find on our travels. Each one is unique and it's fun to find what's familiar as well as new things. Hey, it's my thing! Some women visit quilt shops, or yarn shops. I visit health food stores!

Now that the slide was in and we could move the rig, we took the motorhome in to Corning Ford on Tuesday to see what was going on. As we suspected, an engine coil needed replacing. We have already had 2 replaced, and it looks like the other seven will need to be replaced at some point, but not today.

While they had our rig, we took off in the truck to see what there was to see in Corning. They are very big on olives around here. "Olive City" is incorporated into the names of many of their businesses. There are miles of olive groves and several olive companies in town.

After visiting the library, we happened upon the Chamber of Commerce where we got some info about where to find the olive oil. They have a small museum in the same building which was fun to look at. Then we did a little walk around town, which isn't very big, and then went to Lucero's to check out their olive oil. It was a fun experience for me, but Jerry wasn't going to taste any, thank you very much. :I bought a couple of bottles of great olive oil which I'm sure won't last me very long!

I had to get a picture of the water tower because it reminds me of the song "Water Tower Towns" sung by Scotty McCreary, my favorite Country Western song and singer. And, no, I'm not really a CW fan, but there are some that I like. We also saw Bartel's Giant Burgers and had to take a picture for my sister whose last name is Bartel.

After picking up our fixed up rig, which drove beautifully, we settled back in at Rolling Hills Casino parking lot for another night to wait for the next fix on the list. Hopefully it will come tomorrow. I appreciate being able to park overnight at a Casino, but more than 2 nights gets a bit tedious, especially busy ones like this. Lots of trucks coming and going, lots of generators. But, still, a safe place and no flooding!

More repairs....

After stopping in Roseburg to get new tires for the truck, we stopped at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR, where they have free dry camp RV Parking. We filled up on gas and propane and settled in for the night. The next morning as my careful husband was doing a check on everything, he noticed one of the motorhome tires low--again! So he pumped it up, but was concerned since he had just pumped it up in Turner. Off to Les Schwab tires 5 minutes away. Turns out it had a faulty valve where it would hold air sometimes and not others. It was nice to get it replaced with a longer valve stem and have all tires checked. We were thankful we could get it fixed without a repeat of the truck tire adventure. We had hoped to be on the road earlier since we'd be going over the Siskiyous and knew it would be a fairly long day of driving before we arrived at the Rolling Hills Casino dry camp area.

Southern Oregon looking green and beautiful, although soggy!

In previous years, when getting south of Redding, the weather warmed up, tank tops came out, and we saw sunshine! Not this year. Rain, more rain, flooding and about the same temperature as at home. The great irony is that Olympia was warmer and with sunshine, while we were getting inundated with rain. And another storm is expected, even worse than previously. You just never know!

When passing Corning, we saw a "FORD, RV Repairs" sign. Since we have a Ford Chassis, we tucked this useful bit of info away for future reference. When getting near to the Casino and parking, the occasion missing that engine had been doing (especially uphill) had increased. Well, clearly we needed to visit the Ford RV Repair place the next day! We called and got an appointment for in the morning, made preparations, and went to bed early. The next morning, we went to pull in the slide....it wouldn't budge. Really?! So we called them and told them we wouldn't be there when expected, and they said that was fine because there are so many road closures due to flooding that some people (both workers and clients weren't going to make it there today). Oh, and by the way, there is a manual override systems on the slides.

Huh. Well clearly today's lesson is on how the slide mechanism works and how to do the manual override. Out came the Owner's Manual. Uh huh. Who wrote this? Lacking in crucial details, at the very least. After hours of research and trying various things, it was time to call a mobile RV repair guy. He comes tomorrow.

Free day! Time do a pedicure, take a nap, and generally rest. I welcome the down time.

Southward, Ho!

After a mere two weeks, we took off for parts south on Valentine's Day. First overnight stop, Turner, OR where my Dad lives. We had reserved a spot at the Oregon Christian Convention grounds where they have about 100 RV sites. We had planned to get there around 3 or 4pm, but plans have a way of getting changed.

Just north of Kelso, we were happily going along when a trucker tooted his horn at us, catching up to us he frantically was pointing. I looked over at Jerry who was driving and a lady in a van on the other side was also pointing! Clearly, something was amiss, so we found a wide enough spot to pull over. Since we had felt nothing, could see nothing, we had no idea until we got out and saw the poor tire on the truck. What a shock! Having never had to change a flat tire on the truck, it involved getting the Owner's Manual out, but turned out to be pretty straight forward. About an hour later, we were off again with our spare.

The tearing apart tire didn't do good things to the fender or mud flap!

Who knew they would come apart like this?

The spare is on and pictures must be taken of this unbelievable sight.

Even though this spare hasn't seen the light of day for years, it was road-worthy enough to get us to Roseburg (a couple of days later) where we got it replaced at Big O Tires.

After difficulties getting gas, we finally arrived in Turner about 7:45. My brother had been waiting for our arrival but went over to visit with Dad until we got there. He joined us and helped us get parked and I had just finished cooking dinner (finally!) when I got a call from Dad saying "Where are you? I've been waiting for you." Well, Dave and I grabbed our grub and dashes the 3 blocks over there to see him and we had a lovely visit. I expected him to have gone to bed already, but apparently a visit from me rates a late night. 

The next morning after his Medical Review with the staff at Turner Retirement Homes, my sisters and I had a sing-a-long with Dad. Great fun, good memories. It's always fun to sing with my family. We ate lunch with him and then helped him get settled for a nap. He is so much weaker than before, and it saddens me to know that he won't be with us for much longer.

Uplifting music, great harmonies. Sue at the piano, Judy standing behind Dad looking on at the words.

Bittersweet

  In spite of being so ready to be done with the house, working hard to refurbish and reduce, driving away for the last time was still bittersweet. Yes, adventures lie ahead (and hopefully rest!), but 28-1/2 years of memories live there, and we don't. There were some tears, sadness and some fleeting moments of "What in the world have we done!?" But it was a great comfort to know that the family who bought our house loves it, loves what we did with it and appreciate what a great house it is. They will be making their own memories, and there is comfort in that. I was glad that the sun chose to shine when we pulled out. Somehow that made it easier, not only with the driving, but the feeling of rightness, also. That chapter of our lives is closed. On to the next!

Waking up the next morning on our lot, surrounded by trees, birds chirping and the sun shining was delightful! The next part of our Grand Adventure has begun.

Although theoretically we were 'done' with projects, it now became time to focus on the motorhome and things we had put off because of The House Project. Like fixing the toilet, whose gasket needed replacing. We had the necessary parts, and I thought it would be a fairly quick and easy job. Nope. After exhausting my abilities to get the bolts off  (rusty bolts are not my friend), I threw up my hands and Jerry took over. I did find a guy who works on RVs locally and will come to you, but tenacious guy that he is, Jerry managed to get the other two off and soon we were back in business. I was so thankful to have "Comfort Stations" aka bathrooms located within a very short distance of our lot, so the inconvenience was minimal. Then on to other projects in preparation for leaving. Like fixing the valve to the water tank so that I came actually use it without water spewing out into the compartment. Since we have water at the lot, I was filling a couple of gallon jugs and putting them into my 2 gallon Brita which has a spigot. Voila! Almost running water..... Nothing like roughing it in a motorhome. I informed my dear hubby that I would not be taking off until that water tank was functional! He did a great job of problem solving and fixing.

SOLD!

The silence on my blog is largely due to the huge project we took on of flipping our own house! Starting when we got home in April, we began to wade through years of accumulated stuff and get those delayed projects on the house done. All my mental and physical energy has gone into this, so no blogging has happened. It's only as we have neared the end that I even had brain cells available to consider a post.

  We have replaced windows, garage doors, flooring and countertops. Refaced cabinets in the kitchen, new tile in the bathroom and Paint, Paint, Paint! Spiffing up the yard, clearing out the stuff. Uncounted trips to the transfer station with garbage and recycle. Numerous trips to donations. Garage sales, Craigslist ads, Freecycle....
  Now that they buyers have been found, and the process of closing is well under way, I find I can turn my focus to other things. I'm waiting for them to post the "SOLD" sign on this!
  Once it is final, off we go to our new Home Base near Olympia. Then on to the (hopefully) warmer South for a few months.

Vista del Lago and noisy pipes

Driving through the LA area to our next stop from Morongo Casino, we knew it would be a longer leg than we preferred, so we planned a stop at Vista del Lago Visitors Center. It had a beautiful view of Pyramid Lake.

Vista del Lago Visitor Center view from back deck.

It is run by the California Dept of Water Resources. We enjoyed the many varied displays and seeing how they are managing the water in this drought situation. I learned more about the geography and locations of things in California which had been pretty vague. It made a great stop to eat, rest, and see something interesting. And they had enough parking space for us!

     By the time we arrived at Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA, it was clear that a hole had developed somewhere near the front of our exhaust system. It was quite loud! We made a stop at a handy AutoZone for patching materials and Jerry got out the tool box and went to work. He was visited by a fellow RVer offering help as well as a security guard who wanted to talk about Washington weather and said we could stay and long as we wanted to.

    The patch helped tone down the noise, but by the time we neared Fresno, it clearly was not working any more and the sound was deafening! We had to yell in order to be heard. So we made some calls and ended up at A to Z Muffler who got us fixed up and back on the road in a couple of hours. If our rig had been as much as 5" longer, it would not have fit on the lift. It was a little unnerving to see my rolling home lifted up in the air, but interesting to be able to look underneath. When we left, it sounded SO much better!

   We were relieved to be able to pull into Park Sierra in Coarsegold, CA and stay for a few days. It was so much fun for me to pull in and have a site with a view of trees!

Hwy 41 north of Fresno, CA on the way to Coarsegold

The drive from Fresno was beautiful and it was fun to see the different trees and rolling hills. It reminded me of the South Salem area and the oak trees of the Willamette Valley. I did find out that many of the trees in the area are Blue Oak.

Our boondocking site at Park of the Sierras.

We got the full tour of the park and met several really friendly people. I made good use of their laundry facility and shower as well as visiting the library.

Standing in front of the Coarsegold creek. Because of the drought the water level is very low.