Thursday morning,
26FEB, we departed Livingston, TX, westward on I-10 to our annual RV
maintenance in Phoenix, AZ. But first
Dan had to lay on the ground & whack the solenoid to get the RV
started. But magically the air gauge problem
noted in our last BLOG entry had fixed itself?
Once again we are making our long, boring, drive on I-10W; this time
just as another cold front comes from the west moving east thru TX. The first night of the drive we set up camp
at the KOA in Van Horn, TX, in very windy, cold weather. Luckily the KOA had a café serving dinner,
because we didn’t want to go out in the weather! We had wanted to eat at the excellent
restaurant in the renovated Hotel El Capitan like we did back in 2010 (see
below BLOG link); maybe next time?
Friday morning we woke
up to brutal cold (for us); now Dan needed a bigger hammer to start the
RV! During the day we stopped for diesel
at Xpress Fuel in Clint, TX – apparently this is new station, because Dan
witnessed some sort of religious ceremony he thinks was a “blessing”. Due to the cold, the ceremony was very short
& Dan may have been only witness? Since
we needed to recover from the last two days of cold & wind, we decided not
to take a walkabout of the town of Lordsburg, NM, after parking the RV for the
night. Even though we have not been here
before; we just tried to stay warm in the RV.
Saturday morning
after starting the RV w/the “emergency” hammer, we finished our drive into
Phoenix (Mesa actually) & set up camp at Good Life RV where we have stayed
many times in the past (see below BLOG link for our last visit). As usual our visit to Phoenix is to get our
annual RV maintenance/service at Freightliner of Arizona in Tolleson, AZ. Mesa is on the other side of Phoenix from
Tolleson, but we like the RV park & Mesa has more amenities than Tolleson.
Sunday, 01MAR, Dan
finally attacks the starter repair & is done successfully in less than an
hour. No more emergency hammer to start
the RVJ! That afternoon we sit
outside reading & enjoying the sunny weather (supposedly another wet, cold,
front will arrive late tonight?). Monday
morning the cold & rain (snow in the mountains) they have been talking
about non-stop for two days finally arrives! We check-out the community craft
show in the afternoon. There are many
talented craftsmen in the RV park!
However, there are too many wood workers making wooden pens.
Late Tuesday
morning, 03MAR, we headed west to the Freightliner of Arizona facility for our
annual preventative maintenance. In
addition, we had two items noted last year that the Service Manager recommended
waiting until this year’s service – (1) leaky oil pan gasket & (2) all four
suspension air bags showing “age”. Wednesday
morning the technician took the RV inside for two days of maintenance &
service. Corrie eventually left the
customer lounge for errands, leaving Dan & Gumbo to patiently wait. At the end of their work day we learned two
new problems had been uncovered by the technician – 1) wheel bearing oil leak
on right front wheel, 2) small fuel leak from unknown source on engine?
Thursday morning
(late) the RV went back into the service bay.
Now we feared that with the additional work we would be here for more
work on Friday; but at the end of the work day we learned they had used two technicians
& the RV was ready. We paid our bill
& decided not to hit the road until tomorrow AM. Dinner that night was at La Piazza Al Forno (certified
Pizza Napolenta). We eat here every time
we are in Tolleson. Their pizza is
prepared in a true wood fired oven from Italy & is excellent; & they
have many other excellent dishes on the menu!
This time we went with – Insalata Piazza (great salad, a meal in-itself),
Mussels & Calamari Fra Diavalo, & a special pizza called Pizze
Racchetta (the “pie” was shaped like a tennis racquet, w/the handle stuffed
w/ricotta cheese). Tomorrow back on the
road to the Pacific NW!
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