Wroamin' North

May 9,2006 10:30 a.m. Kanab, Utah

You say, “Where in the heck is Kanab, Utah?” Well, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but this is where we are. We left Tucson about 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, heading north on our annual trek to Washington. We stopped in Camp Verde, AZ at the “Distant Drums” RV Park for the night. This was a very nice park and had a large area for the dogs to run….which they loved and so did we!

We took off from there yesterday and made it to Flagstaff. We stopped there because, once again, the camper is rocking from side to side when we drive. We had hoped that putting the new shocks on would end this nightmare, and they do help, but it still rocks and Jo gets motion sick! Now, Jo has NEVER had motion sickness….she can usually ride the wildest rollercoaster, rocky seas, worst roads, etc. and be fine. But this movement from side to side makes her sick in an instant. And this is no damn fun! We put more pressure in the tires in Flagstaff and talked to several different mechanic’s and they all scratched their heads and said “I don’t know!” Finally we found a RV place, and they recommended air bag susupension, but of course, they had none in stock and it would be 4 days before they could get to it. So, finally, off we went, and when the rocking starts, we just slow down until it quits and then off we go again. This is kinda’ like going forward, then slow down, and then go again. And it is the strangest thing, sometimes we can go for miles and miles with no problems, then we will hit a patch of road (not necessarily a rough road either) and it will start to rock. We figured we MAY be home for Mothers Day, then again, maybe not!

We made it to Kanab last night….we have a little RV park here we have stayed before and it is really nice. We thought we would stay at Lake Powell at Wahweap, however, they have raised their camping prices to $40 per night…..I DON’T THINK SO! So, we decided to just push on to here. Now, you ask, why aren’t you on the road now? Well, one minor problem. When we stopped yesterday at Wahweap, I noticed the right rear tire had a big crack in the sidewall. So, this morning we found a tire shop, un-hitched the trailer, unloaded the camper, and Al is now getting the spare put on. Nothing is easy anymore! Maybe we will leave Kanab today, and then again, maybe not! It is raining as well, so doing anything outside (like hitching/unhitching, loading/unloading) is miserable. Oh well, so is our life!

We had a nice few days in Tucson before we left. It was getting pretty warm and Al was definitely ready to head north. A friend of ours, Bob Grabow took us to dinner one night at a restaurant called Lil Abners. Now, I have to tell you, we had the best steak we have ever had in a restaurant! Why we haven’t been to this place before is beyond me! We also had dinner one more time at Café Poca Cosa with Jack and Sue Waddick and it was good, but not as great as before. However, the restaurant has just moved into it’s new location and hopefully working out the problems with the new location/moving, etc or, we just hit it on a bad night. It has always been one of our favorites.

The plumbing in the Odessa house is finished, so we can have water when we get home. Thanks to Gordon and Denise at Sun Country RV. I tell you, if you ever need any RV work done, and you are anywhere near Moses Lake, they are the ones. They are also very good friends of ours and we really appreciate their efforts.

A few observations we have made in the last few days. Some rives actually have water in them! Now I know this isn't a revelation to most of you, however,if you live in Arizona, where the rivers usually are dry, it is nice to see rivers with actual water in them! While we were in Missouri we were actually surprised to see water in rivers! We have been in Arizona too long!

Utah is beautiful. Especially around Kanab and the southeast part of the state. Of course, Zion and Bryce Canyon are here, as well as that other big canyon is close by...you know, the Grand Canyon. Lake Powell still needs more water...still really low.

As I finish this blog,(10:00 p.m., mdt) we have managed to get the tire fixed, camper reloaded, trailer hooked up and made a whopping 200 miles today. We are currently in Fillmore Utah in a very, very nice KOA. If you ever are traveling I-15 and need a place to stay in this area, this place is very nice. It has been really windy, and slow going for us today. We did get the shocks turned up (apparently the new shocks have adjustments on them) as high as they would go....and it has helped some with the rocking. But it will be air bag suspension for us before we go to Alaska!!!

The dogs, cats and Al are all in bed, so guess I will close this and join them. We hope this finds you all happy and healthy....until next time, we are,

THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
Al, Jo, Beau, Schuster, Juanito and Jose (yes, Jose is with us....)