steved44

I feel your pain Joe. I read this morning that Payton was going to have hip replacement surgery. I don't know if they are going to do it before the game or after. Hmmmmm

We didn't get too much wind here in Laughlin and it rained but seems to be all clear now. I remember you guys talking about the big wind that year, but we were in Florida then so we missed it. 47 degrees and sunny here today, so we'll take it. Glad everyone is still right side up!

Lee, you weren't in on the big bust at the border were you? Lukeville made the news with a drug bust and arrest of quite a few cartel members. Keep low and duck often!!

Lee, just don't forget which side you're on in the dark and smash your hat bill!

Boy, it's a good thing you were able to track that 18 wheeler down. What a mess. Does it look like there is a body shop there that can handle it? I sure feel for you guys. Steve

So sorry you were involved in that accident. At least you were able to track her down and get the police to agree you were not at fault. We were in a few construction zones this last year that really had us worried too, but we just lucked out. Hope you can get your rig fixed to your satisfaction and then cruise on to the grandbaby!! We were all thinking of you guys around the campfire, so know that our good wishes are headed your way. Keep on truckin!

Yeah, Jeri, I remember you wanting to plug into the "current bush"!! You do need to work out your solar panels though!! We will miss you guys this year, darn it all!!

Thanks Diane, we will beam ourselves in! Got a little late start today as we were still in the Redlands Rv shop. We had the bus weighed and found out two things. One, we had a mismatched tire on the front. One was a 275/80R 22.5 H rated and the other was a G rated tire. The H rated tire matched all the other tires and they were made in 2014. The G rated tire was a 2011 tire, so at some time it must have been changed. The other problem was we were overweight in the front, even with the H rated tires! I wound up getting two 295/80R 22.5 H rated tires and now we are within the carrying capacity on the front. Even with the FMCA tire program it bit my wallet pretty hard, but now I know everything is within specs. All and all we did well at Redlands. They found the leak in the roof, which two other places missed, replaced the rest of the shocks (I can tell the difference), and replaced a tie rod end and aligned the front end (drives much better now). They gave us full hook-ups for a week too, so that was nice. A quality company to deal with. They were loading a trailer to head to Quartzsite, so they will have a booth in the big tent. We pulled into Blythe just about sundown and had to stop to watch a OKC Thunder basketball game. We also need fuel and have mail to get in Blythe, so we decided to park it and dry camp for a night. Oh yeah, we are dry camping for a couple of weeks at Q, so we'll call this a "practice night" Steve

We are supposed to get out of the shop on Monday evening, so we will probably get to Q on Tuesday afternoon, if we have no delays.

Still here in Redlands at Redlands RV. They finished fixing the roof leak just in time for the test. It rained a couple of inches here yesterday, and so far no leaks. I may have triggered the rain by trying to get the roof fixed in the first place. They say it's El Nino, but what do those weather procrastinators know anyway. They finished replacing the shocks yesterday, but they had a lot of trouble with the left (DS) rear shock. I knew when they got out the blue tip wrench (torch) that they were in trouble. At least they got it done and just in time too. This morning we had a shock test! Actually they called it an earthquake (4.5), but I know that it was a shock test! Now back to the shop for a tie rod end replacement and alignment. Once they finish, we'll be heading for Q. I know Dave is there already strafing the neighborhood with his (red baron), so we should have a landing strip cleared out and ready. Lee, double up on the chicken soup and drive out the evil spirits, ya hear!!

Well, we Okies lost to Clemson, but had a pretty good year anyway. At least now I can cry in my cranberry juice! Now the Okc Thunder Basketball team is doing pretty good, so maybe we can win at something. Pulled into the Redding Elks this evening and there were two spots open so we gots a home for the week. Having the steering gearbox worked on by Redding RV/Truck shop so we'll see if they can finally get this thing steering right. We ran into a 15 mile stretch of road construction today that was a real pain to drive on. They had the road torn up and concrete barriers on the passenger side for way longer than I wanted to drive near them. It was really rough and hilly, so just keeping the bus off the concrete and not trading mirrors with the oncoming 18 wheelers was plenty to deal with. Thank goodness they make Jameson to buffer the experience. Now to order our mail (overdue bills and things) and sit still for a week before we head for Q. Whew!!

Timing is everything Lee, and you are the master of it!! Glad you got the cable going.

I hope you guys are not in the middle of that blizzard sweeping through NM. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope all are well and in a good place. We are waiting for santa in the Elks club in Tracy, California. Hope he brings our mail!!

We were getting ready to head out this morning and then looked at the weather report. It was rain again but not till this afternoon so seeing the sun was out we decided to visit the redwoods again. We drove that road in Jedediah State Park that is one of the best driving tours of these giant trees. We were about halfway through the road and we came up on part of a tree that had fallen across the road during the last big rainstorms. I was able to put it in 4 wheel drive and ease over the end of it, but a full sized pickup would have had real trouble getting past it. We are always in awe of those big trees and it's so great that they are preserved for all to see. I was having a little trouble with the battery in the truck, so we decided to wait another day to leave. I found out that my electric battery disconnect switch was getting bad so I replaced that and I think we are go to go for tomorrow. Aside from driving in the rain. I actually prefer to drive in the rain because the sun angle this time of year is pretty intense. Rain is pitter pattering on the roof right now so I guess the weather procrastinators are right this time. I thought I was hearing a large "busy signal", but it turns out it's the fog horn across the street. Oh well, I've been sung to sleep with worse music than that.

We'll be there if the rest of this West coast adventure goes good. Can't wait to see you guys.

Well we pulled up the pin today and headed farther south. It was raining when we left, but it was going to rain every day in the foreseeable future so we just sucked it up and got on the road. We actually drove out of the rain for a while, but it was always lurking around the edges. The ocean was really pretty today with the partial sun, and fair sized waves so all and all it was a fine drive. We stopped at Gold Beach in a parking lot for the night as we need diesel and didn't want to fill up in the rain. It's supposed to be better tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. IYQ, I kept the ice cream machine dry but when I started it up it made a new flavor called MOSS, so maybe I've kept it in the NW too long! One thing about this late run down the West coast is there is no traffic. It's 39 degrees right now and no wind, so I guess it's time to take a Steve Nite all ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

Good to hear Jeff. We just set a record here, it hasn't rained in 15 minutes!!

Thunder and lightning in Coos Bay right now! This has been a real stretch of rain and storms. Linda, we did go and watch the waves a couple of times and they were pretty big. They just don't look as impressive when you take a picture of them. Now if you were on a surfboard......hmmmm. Yaay! I fixed the jacks! Well I had help from tech support at HWH. They suggested I may have a ground bad, not a controller problem. I managed (between rainstorms) to do some tests and it turned out the ground was bad on the motor for the hydraulic pump. I used my jumper cables to test it out and it worked. We're now on the level!! I cleaned the contacts of all the wires going to the grounding stud on the pump motor, but that didn't do any good, so there is no telling where it is bad. I had a new 2 GA cable made up at O'Rileys' and now if it stops raining I'll install it. Ducked another bullet I guess! I'm looking for cranberry juice now. Arrrrrr Arrrrr!

Lee, we'll be glad to give you the remains of the PNW storms and I don't think they'll be completely "dry" by the time you get them. Temps here are 54 right now and about 61 high at high noon today. Now to take a "Steve" as I've done all I can do today. What was that? Hmmmm Stevezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

OMG! It's been raining for the last couple of weeks and the wind has been really strong too, all the way down the coast. I finally got sick of driving in it so we stopped here in Coos Bay. The sun actually came out this morning for a few minutes, but the forecast is more rain and high wind. That city hall picture is really scary! I hope your kids come through this ok. Looks like this rain we're having is heading North. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Having problems with the jacks (won't go down). We may have to backtrack to Eugene to get them worked on. I think I know what the problem is (bad circuit board), and I have a spare one, but I can't change it myself. On our old bus, I could get to the darn thing, but on this one it is quite a battle to get to. I'm getting too old and fat to wiggle around under this thing. That and windows 10!! Sigh!

Hey, Jeri, we stayed at the Elks in El Cajon last year and it's a good location to explore San Diego from. They have 7 or 8 sites and a dump on premises. Just on the East side of SD. Yes rain is on the coast! West coast that is. We managed to drive all day today with no rain, but it's raining in Coos Bay right now. We made it to the Mill Casino for a few days to catch our mail and get some full hook ups. The Oregon coast was awesome today with wind and the surf was really pounding. I forgot how pretty this drive was (and that was in 2011) hmmm. Not too much traffic this time of year and except for the wind, we had no fog so it was a nice drive. Steve

I managed to find a used window master switch at a salvage yard and they will deliver it Thursday. The dodge place here didn't have one in stock so it was going to be Thursday for them too. They wanted $125 for the new one and the salvage wanted $55 for theirs, so I guess I'll take a chance on the used one. I did take the one all apart today and after I messed with it for a couple of hours it started working!! I got the window up, so I didn't try it again because we have a big rainstorm coming and I don't want to have to tape the trash bags over the window again. We couldn't go to the movies or anything as we couldn't lock the vehicle. At least that's closed and I know the motor works. Whew! Jeri, is that the stuff that is made with old Studebaker radiators, Watch out! You could spontaneously combust!! Lee, it looks like now it may be a disgruntled employee, but it is a terrible thing to happen. So many lives affected.

Dodge problem! Carol went to the post office yesterday and when she put the window down to mail the letter, it wouldn't come back up! All of the other windows still work, so I think the master switch is the culprit. All of the power is ok, the switch has power to it but not out. Now I finally got a salvage yard in Astoria to find one in Portland and they are having it sent here on Thursday. The dodge dealer here said they could get one in a couple of days, but theirs was $125 and the salvage one was $55. I think I'll try the salvage one first. Problem is the window is down and it's raining. Ok, trash bag and duct tape, but I don't have any clear trash bags. Just hard to drive the car until it stops raining! Aaarrrrgghhh!