Got back to Vegas! This includes trip to see Jack Mayer, Trip to Utah and last week as a Diesel Mechanic.

[Vegas Teacher]

Well Hello All!!!

First of all, I want to say thanks for those who took time to read my posting about the first trip across country. As you could all tell we had a great trip making it to Kansas. I typed up the posting I did right when I got into Pittsburg Kansas. My time at home was great, I got to see family and friends. I also got to eat at Chicken Mary's and the Mall Deli, I know all of you out there are saying who cares LOL!!! While I was at home I gave rides to all of my family and friends in the semi around Pittsburg and up to Arma Ks and back. 

So the reason for the trip home was to take my Semi to Jack Mayer at RVH Lifestyles in Dennis Kansas. Dennis it about 8 miles west of Parson's Kansas. For those of you who to the rally in October you are only about 2 hours from there, you are just west of that area. So I loaded up my nephew, my wife and mother followed behind for a 45 minute ride over to Dennis. Any I have to say above all else Jack Mayer is one of the nicest people I have ever worked with! I took my semi onto his property and he showed me where to park. We got parked and all of us unloaded. Jack took everybody on a tour of his facility, he showed us trucks in different stages of repair. I was really worried about taking my truck over. In pictures, from 20 to 50 feet my truck doesn't look bad however, when you get between 15 to inches from the truck she starts to show her age and 961,598 miles of battle scars. So Jack jumps in it looks around and tells me what he can fix and what he can do for me. He told me my truck was in great shape for what I paid and that I got the truck right. By the time he was done telling me about trucks he had fixed up, I felt really good. Jack's facility is awesome. If you are thinking about doing a bed, singling or anything on the inside of your truck you should talk to him or if you have time go see his facility. One of the things I found very impressive was he is extremely patient. I went to see Jack in the summer of 2020 for the first time and visit with him, I went back again last year in the summer of 2021 to visit and introduce him to my mom and dad. I also wanted them to see what I wanted done with my truck, they were impressed when they spoke with him last summer. This year I dropped my truck off. For him to stick with me for 3 years I think is impressive. All I know is I felt like a million dollars when I left. I will pick my truck up next summer and if you are a member of HDT - Heavy duty trucks for RVing on face book you will see his posts. I will also post on the forum, but face book is so much easier to put pictures on, yes I have posted on here but face book is a breeze compared to this.

Trip to Utah - Zion National Park - Kolob Reservoir 

We went up to the Saint George area, Zion National Park and Kolob Reservoir, that is 8500 feet above Zion. Once again this is after we got back to Vegas and our Semi is in Kansas. We had to take our Toyota Tundra, this is a full size 4 door truck, 4 wheel drive and power for days to run the highway but guzzles gas like no tomorrow. It was over 200.00 in gas alone for a day trip. We ate breakfast at the Black Bear Cafe in Washington, a suburb of Saint George. I had the most awesome Blackberry Bear Claw French toast. I think I still have sugar left over from it in my body. The day trip was great and it was fun to see Kolob again. I had not been up there for 10 years. The big thing I wanted to tell all of you about this is when we got home we got out of the truck (FULL SIZE 4 Door 8 FOOT BED) and my wife says that truck it to small and I feel worn out & cramped. She missed the semi. I couldn't agree more. After traveling also 1400 miles in the semi over the course of several days, weigh stations and truck stops the vote was unanimous, nothing beats that semi. When I first pulled in from Florida with Vegas Flyer, at 11:00 p.m. on a Monday night her comment was DAMN THAT IS !@#$ing HUGE. Then back in April of that same year it stranded us on the side of the road on the other side of Hoover Dam, she was not happy, then it cost us money to fix, tires were not cheap and I thought at one point the wife was going to tell me to sell it. However when we got out of the TUNDRA after having been bounced up and down all day and cramped into a front seat, even with her being able to recline, her words were we are never getting rid of that semi, ever it is ours to keep. I can't tell you how happy that made me.

LIFE AS A DIESEL MECHANIC

Well last week I worked as a diesel mechanic, shadowing the people who have done all of the work on my truck at True Blue here in Las Vegas. I was able to learn how to lube all of the joints or zerts and then add grease to the hubs. I also learned how to do an oil change and adjust a clutch on a dump truck. Most of all it taught me little things to look for and how to deal with things should I be on the side of the road. I made a huge list of things to remember and items to add to my truck, plus things to look for each time I went out to drive the truck. They also explained things that would make it easier for them to diagnose problems should I have to take it back in. Steve was really good to me and made sure to explain every detail of what they did to me. 

Well that is about it!

Have a great 4th of July!

Later,

Cory Ossana - Vegas Teacher - 4 Weeks of Summer Vacation left!

[dblr]

Cory, great post I enjoy how enthusiastic you always sound, I can just imagine what you will be like when you get your truck back from Jack. You will be like a little boy on Christmas Morning, thanks again for sharing.

[Vegas Teacher]

6 hours ago, dblr said:

Cory, great post I enjoy how enthusiastic you always sound, I can just imagine what you will be like when you get your truck back from Jack. You will be like a little boy on Christmas Morning, thanks again for sharing.

Thanks, I try to keep a positive tone. In this world we have plenty of people who are negative. 

Happy 4th of July weekend! Don't miss the good prices at Harbor Freight. That was the other thing I learned from the mechanics, buy expensive tools you need to do the heavy lifting, buy cheap when the tools made for that application are going to break anyway.

Later,

Cory O

[Sculptor]

31 minutes ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Thanks, I try to keep a positive tone. In this world we have plenty of people who are negative. 

Happy 4th of July weekend! Don't miss the good prices at Harbor Freight. That was the other thing I learned from the mechanics, buy expensive tools you need to do the heavy lifting, buy cheap when the tools made for that application are going to break anyway.

Later,

Cory O

I agree with dblr and want to say I have enjoyed reading about your trips.  Also I’m happy you got back home safely.  We want to visit Zion and Bryce, any suggestions for campsites would be appreciated.  

[Vegas Teacher]

53 minutes ago, Sculptor said:

I agree with dblr and want to say I have enjoyed reading about your trips.  Also I’m happy you got back home safely.  We want to visit Zion and Bryce, any suggestions for campsites would be 

Just outside of Zion is Zion River RV resort, I stayed there and loved it. This was 10 years ago, and I saw my first HDT pulling a 5th wheel and started wondering even back then what it would be like to pull with a semi. Watchman campground is to crowded and you won't be able to get your rig in there without jumping through hoops. As you come off of 15 onto 9 there is a nice travel plaza. I think it is a pilot, but don't quote me on that as I could be wrong on the franchise. 

I can't remember the name but, just outside of Bryce is a nice RV park. Bryce is beautiful but you have to go to tropical and look up at Bryce instead of down, the view from tropical Utah is pretty neat. Bryce the original farmer when asked about what he thought of the beauty of the canyon said only, "Damn fine place to lose a cow!"

While at Zion, if you have the time, go up to Kolob reservoir and take a drive around the 150 acre lake. If you have a jeep with you even better, I don't think our HDT's would make one of the hair pin turns, I am talking a complete U Turn going up grade or down grade on your way back. Those of you who have been there and are reading this know the one of which I speak. However I am not an expert but just saying I would not attempt it in mine and going down hill it is even more daunting. On the other hand the drive up to 8500 feet is beautiful. The drive up kind of, on a small scale, reminds me of my trip in Yellowstone. Around each turn and as you climb in altitude you encounter changes in the ecosystem, as a biology teacher I love it. If you have a lot of time, go see the lake, then dri e over the top of the mountain from Kolob to Cedar city, nice little town that does different plays for the Shakespeare festival. I went to my first C-A-L Ranch store there.

That is about it. 

Have a great trip!

Later,

Cory O 

[Zulu]

2 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Watchman campground is to crowded and you won't be able to get your rig in there without jumping through hoops.

A few years ago we got our 41 foot Class A into a Watchman site. We reserved well in advance though. Well worth it.

We could walk to the Virgin River and take a dip. Plus, we could use the Zion shuttle bus service to get around the park. Far better than trying to drive in from an outside campground.