Sunday, January 10, 2010

NOT THE WAY YOU WANT TO START A NEW YEAR

Wednesday, January 6 – I can't believe it!! As we completed are preparation to leave Columbus, TX, we started the engine and went to pull out of our campsite and NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. Jeesh Louise! After trying everything including swearing up a storm, I gave up and called our towing service. A HUGE tow truck from Gene’s El Campo came to haul us away.

tow-truck-2

getting-ready-to-be-towed-1

under-wheel

front-of-tow

We were towed 115 miles to San Antonio Freightliner Service.

building

parked

Here we sit waiting until Thursday to find out about the problem. To make matters worse, it's suppose to get really COLD the next couple of days. Good Golly!

More towing pictures here.

Thursday, January 7 – I just checked in with the service department. It is going to be a couple hours till they get to us. Very windy here. Temperature has dropped from 49 degrees this morning when I got up, to 37 degrees. Going to be a cold one in San Antonio. Temperature dropped to 19 degrees over night! We have company several times each day. Their feeding area is right behind our MH.

cows

cows-2

Friday, January 8 – Still waiting. At least the hookups are free! Around three o'clock in the afternoon the service technician finally arrived. Hooked up his computer to the MH diagnostic plug and discovered the problem immediately. A faulty accelerator sender. He also recommended changing fuel filters. While in the shop we decided to have an oil, lube, and all filters changed. The technician thought that was a good idea. So we loaded Bella in her carrying cage and went to the drivers waiting room to wait. They had to re-connect the drive train which was disconnected for towing and into the shop it went. Within three hours be were back in the MH, repairs complete. Amazing...wait two days for a three hour repair. While in the truckers waiting room, we were pleasantly entertained by several over-the-road truckers. Boy, they have stories to tell! The two times we've had to wait in truck service facilities have been very entertaining. These truckers are all right guys!

Due to the repairs not being completed until 5:30, we decided to spend the night here. The FULL hook-ups are free. We are in a locked facility with a security guard, and it's quiet.

Saturday, January 9 – We FINALLY headed west toward Quartzsite. Interstate 10 through Texas is posted at 80 mph speed limit. Trucks at 70 mph. Luckily, traffic was very light....we only travel at about 60-63 mph.

80-mph

70

Guess who drove the MH for the first time today...MARSHA! She drove for about 30 minutes for her first time and did pretty good. She does admit to being nervous. She'll get better!

Marsha speaking….NERVOUS? After being in snow….get on the plane only to disembark due to Detroit airport closed so they can plow the runway…get back on the plane only to wait another hour on runway….get to Detroit, run like the wind to get my connecting flight which is  hours late leaving…get back to campground at 2:30 a.m……being towed for 2 hrs…..spending 3 nights in a Freightliner parking lot….now I am suppose to relax and drive the MH for the first time? I wish I could think of a better word than nervous….just about in tears is more like it.

me-driving

Traveling in the open lands of middle Texas we saw 100's of wind mills. We also saw many more on trucks head for installation.

windmills_use-this-1-in-blo

windmills_use-this-2-in-blo

We drove through some beautiful scenery.

hill-country-9

hill-country-8

Enjoy more of the scenery pictures here.

Another surprise is Bella. She usually hides under the couch as soon as she hears the diesel engine start. Well today, she spent quite a bit of the time riding on the back rest of the passenger seat. Maybe it was too cold under that couch. It was 22 degrees when we pulled out this morning.

We stopped for the day at Saddleback RV Park in Balmorehea, TX. WOW, what a nice park. With our Passport America membership it is only $10 per night, with full hook-ups, and all the sites are pull through with tons of room. They have free TV but a snowstorm came through and knocked it out. They haven’t got it back up and running yet. The restaurant/saloon was closed also. They had to replace the heater. The Davis Mountains are on one side of the campground. The McDonald Observatory is located in these mountains. From our side windows, we saw a gorgeous sunset. Pictures just can’t do it justice. They have a nature trail that Bella just loved! If we weren't in some what of a hurry, we would stay here a couple days. Marsha had a great time taking pictures of her beloved cacti.

Our campsite
mh

Along the trail.
catcus-4


Restaurant and Saloon
restaurant-saloon

Gorgeous sunset
sunset

Enjoy more pictures of our campground here.

Y’all come back again real soon.