Our day started with clear blue skies and something more than a breeze but less than a wind. The new satellite dish put itself in travel position perfectly but the dual tire that we put air in the day before was down about 10 lbs. Our destination today is Surprise, AZ, about 260 miles away. We are going to go ahead and start in that direction and watch the tire pressure as we go. We should get to our next campground by mid-afternoon.
Our next campground is not really a campground, it is a 55+ seniors RV resort. It has over 1,000 sites and all but about 20 "over-nighter" sights are owned by individuals with park model trailers on them. We picked this RV park because it is in the same area as my (John) cousin Mike and his wife Linda will be arriving on the same day for a five month stay for the winter. Mike and Linda started fulltiming about the same time as Cyndee and I did. We knew that they were serious RV'ers like us but were unaware that they too were making the transition to fulltiming. We only found out during our trip through Borger, TX (all of ours home town) in July. We had tried to contact them to see if we could put our RV in their RV port they had adjacent to their house, but when we went there the house was empty and people we did not know were moving in. Ever since then we have been exchanging text messages and emails updating each other on location and travel plans to see if our paths will cross anywhere. As of today they do. If all goes as planned we'll be having dinner together tonight.
But right now it is time to find our way south through Las Vegas then to Boulder City and the gateway across the Colorado River. It is a Saturday morning and traffic is moderately heavy but moving. We're making good time.
The approach to the river bridge was fairly steep but comfortable compared to many of the roads we have done over the summer. The road is Arizona 93 and it is as good or better than any major interstate that has been freshly re-done.
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| Our first objective of the day was to get across the Colorado River on the new AZ 93 by-pass and bridge. Piece of cake. |
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| A look at Hoover Dam and the old AZ 93 highway as seen from the new bridge. |
When we are hooked up to the trailer and making our way across the country, Pilot and Flying J truck stops are our favorite stopping place. I have a fuel charge card through Good Sam Club that is exclusively for Pilot/Flying J and it gets me six to eight cents a gallon discount on diesel. Plus, they almost always have a Subway sandwich shop which lets us stay on track with our low sodium, no sugar, low fat, low carb eating habits. The turkey breast on whole wheat almost stays within our limits.
Just up the hill was a truck oil change shop and they had high pressure air so we pulled in and the guys they were great to do all the tinkering it took to get the tire pressure monitor (TPM) off and find an air chuck that was made at just the right angle to fit the stem on the inside rear dual. No charge.
Back on the road again and as we came down in elevation and latitude the temperature came up. By the time we got to Surprise, a suburb on the west side of Phoenix, it was in the low 90's, a temperature we have not felt since getting to the North Rim at the end of July. Finding Sunflower RV Resort was pretty easy despite that there was an RV resort about everywhere you looked. This place was pretty amazing, swimming pools, wood working shop, ballroom, pitch & putt, shuffleboard courts, Tiki bar, and bistro. Registering to get into the park was almost as rigorous as applying for a drivers license but once we were done we got a personal escort to our overnight spot, following the golf cart to our destination in one of the farthest corners of the park. Even back here in the corner where they put those of us just passing through it is pretty residential. Our site is level hard-pack with gravel and concrete patios. The sites are arranged in alternating directions so when you look out your front door or sit under the awning you are not looking at the next guys sewer hook-up, just his door, or him if he is outside. But that is not much of issue here as it is hot enough that most are indoors or out and about doing shopping or being a tourist.
We got in contact with my cousin and made arrangements for supper. Mike and Linda had snagged themselves a long term deal at another RV resort for the winter. They were going to stay in Surprise for the next five months. They got their motor coach set up at their park and came over in their toad (the vehicle they tow behind their motor coach). We visited for awhile but all of us having been on the road most of the day were ready for a hot meal so we loaded up and headed down the road to see what was a available. The first thing that came along was a Red Lobster, Mike turned in and we spent the next couple of hours enjoying conversation and a meal.
Our plan was to just overnight in Surprise but this place was pretty interesting and needed a little more looking around. Sunday morning I paid for another day and we started checking out our new surroundings. Another clue that this place was RV-central was that there was advertising for RV services everywhere. One that caught my eye was RV washing/detailing services. We had several thousand miles and months of road grime, bugs and tree sap on our rig. This RV park was the first one we had been in that allowed rig washing plus we could choose from about a dozen different services. With that much competition the rates were more than reasonable. We got a great hand-wash job with a chamois dry and windows done separately for only 125 bucks. But, we had to stay until Monday to get the wash because the park did not allow that service to be done on Sundays.
However I did find a place to wash the truck on a Sunday. So we got that done, did some shopping and started to do a little sightseeing when the tire pressure alarm went off, again. Now the rig wash is not the only reason to stay through Monday. I am going to have to find a tire shop that can handle commercial truck tires.
First thing Monday morning I started making phone calls and luckily there was a tire shop a very short distance away. It is lucky because by the time I got to the tire shop that inside dual was totally flat. I left the rig wash/detailer guys doing their thing and went to the tire shop. After two hours getting the wheel off the truck and into the dunk tank with not even the slightest hint of a leak we all decided that the problem must be the TPM, even though we could not make it lead either. The guys put a 100 psi in the tire, remounted the wheel and I put the TPM in my pocket.
When I finally got home the detailers were about 80% done, Cyndee fixed us some lunch and by the time we were done, they were done. We were ready to start packing up for tomorrows departure. Deming, New Mexico and Dream Catcher RV park is our next layover.
Playing catch up. Let me look at that TPM. Amodel PPA? Sully
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