Officially "On the Road Again"

This is what Palm Drive looked like as we were driving out on John Wayne this morning at the stop sign by the pool.
These next three pictures are from Mona B. that I downloaded from Facebook. They did a LOT of work today. The road is all torn up! I don't know if you can click on this little picture to make it bigger or not.
I'm going to dedicate this post to my friends LaVonne & Don. No, I don't have any pictures of dead trees, but you'll see why when you get farther into the post.

Today we left Superstition Sunrise, TWICE. The first time at 9am (I wanted to leave between 8 & 8:30, but you know how that goes). We were well on our way, 16 miles into the trip on Bush Hwy. & remembered we didn't let any of the water out of our fresh water tank. So we found a place to pull in & pump some of the water out. It was at this time that Bill patted his pocket to check for his wallet & remembered it was in the cupboard back at the Park Model! Thank God it was a place we could turn around at! So, back to Apache Junction we went. Needless to say, conversation was quite strained at this point! I make a list & check it off as I do it or ask him if he has done it. Good thing I have a list or he would have forgotten to do some of the things on the list. Oh well. So with the wallet in his pocket we were back on the road, 1 hr. later, but all in all we made good time. By lunch time we had started being able to carry on a civil conversation with each other. My teeth are a little ground down, but my tongue wasn't bleeding!

We stopped for gas & I got out & walked around, then we found a place to pull off in Heber & we went for lunch at June's Cafe & I walked around some more. When I came back into the cafe to eat, Bill was talking to the couple at the table next to us while waiting for our food. Could not believe this. They were from Butler, PA. They moved to Tuscon, AZ 4 years ago. He had been a State Trooper in PA & took an early retirement. They are full time RVers. They also are workcampers. They were on their way to South Dakota to register their residency there.

This stopping every couple of hours to walk is kind of a pain. But I do move my legs a lot in the truck. Thank goodness for cruise control.

A couple of pictures taken in Arizona but looking toward New Mexico.
Oops! Just about missed the sign. It's hard taking pictures going at 65 mph!
New Mexico seems to always have a wind blowing. Today was not bad. At least we haven't encountered any crosswinds yet. I love these mesas with the caves in them. I wonder if the wind has eroded them there?
As many times as we've traveled Interstate 40 across New Mexico, we've never seen these on the hillside. We aren't sure what they are. I asked my friend, Camilla, & she thought they might be Pueblo dwellings. If any one has any idea, please let me know in a comment. Thanks. You can click on the picture to enlarge.
We arrived at our campground for the night around 6:30 mountain time. Lost that hour leaving Arizona. I had looked at the Woodall's book to check for a campground earlier in the afternoon. I thought we had stayed here before & sure enough, once we hit the exit, I remembered. Easy in, Easy out. While I was in registering, Bill was checking out the rig & the truck. Well, my daughter didn't want any phone calls about the buttttttttt, but, we do have a leak, probably in the power steering. There was fluid all over the inside of the front wheel well on the drivers side. We were told it was beginning when we had it to the Chevy garage, but thought we could make it to Virginia to have Dan look at it & fix it. But looks like we need to have it done tomorrow. The gentleman that runs the campground came out to look at it with Bill & he gave us a card of a guy just over the RR tracks that does all his work. So we'll call him in the morning to see what he can do for us.

We only plan to go as far as Amarillo, TX tomorrow so hopefully it will work out okay. We want to try & visit my great-niece, Delanna, tomorrow night.

Okay, LaVonne & Don - This could be your new Q!! This rig is parked right behind us at Bar S RV Park in Grants, NM. We haven't seen anyone around this evening. The girl in the trailer next to us said the truck that goes with it is quite decorated too. I'll have to check it out in the morning.
Love this one!
Now I'm curious as to who they are & what their mission is. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to find out.

So that's it for the first day of our travels. Never a dull moment with us. Always have to visit some repair shop along the way. I just pray it isn't any more than that & this is the first & the last for the rest of the trip. My daughter says, you are NOT going to take the trailer back with you!! I think we may have already decided that. It takes more than "One & A Half Men" to do this job. I'm the one & I think Bill's the 1/2!!

On a sadder note, we ask for thoughts & prayers to be with Bill's cousins as his last surviving aunt (Aunt Ethel) passed away yesterday afternoon in Florida. She was one sweet lady. We helped her celebrate her 90th birthday a year ago last September. Pat, Barb & Jon, we hold you up in our prayers.

So, until next time...............................The Traveling Cardinal's