[encantotom]

howdy my friends,

well, we finally headed out today for a couple of month adventure. we had hoped to get out yesterday but had to take care of some things at home first. we drove about 360 miles and stopped at Lavaland RV park in grants, nm. a passport america park so a whopping 16 dollars. small park but clean and close to the freeway. the fellow at the desk said something about that being a big rig. i had called to make sure we would fit. after i paid he said that he had 65 foot rigs in our spot. no way we could fit without unhooking the car. but still i nice spot to just relax and rest.

we went the longggg grade way from mesa to winslow to hit i40. 160 miles of steep up and down grades. never got above 208 and most of the time in the low 200's for engine temps.

tomorrow we will head to clovis new mexico to see family. we will get there today.

to not make clarke feel bad we stopped after 90 miles and darlene went shopping at walmart. missy got a walk and i got to rest.

it is nice to get away from the heat. supposed to be 106 at home saturday and we are sitting here with the windows open and a nice breeze blowing through.

coach ran like a champ. i always find a few little things i need to improve or fix.

our daughter heather saw us off and it will be the last time we see her till the fall of 2014 as she is headed off to work in indonesia.

also a big shout out and thanks to her and our son scott who was home from the air force and helped me a ton getting ready and heather did as well.

tom

[cdat]

Enjoy the traveling, feeling a little jealous.

John

[whatsnewell]

Thanks for the call last night......you already sound more relaxed! Have a great trip.....and don't feel bad about stopping after 90 miles!

See you in Sioux Falls in a couple of weeks!

[folivier]

Watching the weather channel this morning. Don't go through Oklahoma! But if you do have Darlene keep the video camera ready
Safe travels and try and cut down the daily mileage a bit. You're retired now and don't have to keep such a tight schedule.

[Chester Stone]

Tom, congratulations on both retiring and hitting the road. Now that you are on the road, you may experience the same issue as I am, and it relates to fixing those little things that go wrong. The issue is not being at home where you have all of the tools and "stuff" that makes repairing those little things easy. Example, I needed to adjust the mixing valve to increase the Aqua-Hot faucet temperature. When I reached under the burner to adjust it, the knob fell off. Several trips to Ace to get specific tools that I left at home to remove the burner. Good luck and have fun.

[folivier]

You're so right Chester. That is one of the hardest things knowing that I have the same tool at home but need it now. And trying to coordinate having items shipped where I am or will be. But so far it has been working out ok.
Thanks to Newell friends like Tom, Steve Magown, Steve Bare, Jeff Shoop and others offering their hospitality, tools, and a place to work on the coach makes it much easier.

[Ozarkguy]

I left OKC @ 4 Friday outrun the storms arrived AR by 9 missed it all. Called the RV park this am they had a bit of rain no damage. Just have to pay attention. I watched it go from sunny to 50k ft storm in 20 min. Was time to leave. Tom next week should be ok. Hope to see ya.

[encantotom]

I had to fix the fridge lock and noticed I had brought every tool in thd world except ghe right pliers. Darlene is driving it for the c first time right now. She is doing fine bug I am not a good passenger. We will leave it at that we have 300 miles to do today.

JImmy we will be there next week.

Tom

[folivier]

Tom use that opportunity to work on stuff while Darlene's driving.
Cindy wants to see a picture.

[encantotom]

here is proof. darlene driving on I40 between grants and santarosa nm.

the only hard part for me was the first five minutes and the last five minutes....

we arrived in clovis new mexico and got backed into our friends driveway. had to use the leveling system over ride and lift it way up to have the trailer hitch clear the hump in the driveway.

things are good.

tom