AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHome

Tucson
Ah, it feels so good to be home.  It always is fun (?) to travel but it is always good to get home.  And our cats let us know that we were gone a total of 40 days!  I cannot get out of their sight.  And I can't get my pillow back at night either...but that's another story for another day!

We left Odessa planning on heading home; however, we got to the main road where I was to turn right and head to Tucson I looked at Al and said "Montana?" to which he said YES!  So I turned left and off we went!  We spent two days in Noxon, got some minor repairs done on the trailer and visited with Gordon and Denise and Charles; Lou and Chris and Mike and Louise.  The weather was perfect with the exception of the 40, 000 mosquito's that thought I was a buffet!

We left Noxon on July 7 and this time we really were heading home.  We decided to go to Butte, MT and catch I-15 south home.  First of all, what a beautiful drive from Noxon to Butte.  We followed the Clark Fork river for 3 days...just as soon as I would say, well, we haven't seen the Clark Fork, we would be crossing it!  We spent one night in Deer Lodge, MT right on the banks of a very high Clark Fork River, and the rest of the mosquito's that hadn't had dinner!!! 

The next day (July 8)we went through Dillon, MT and it was lunch time and of course our stomachs were sounding off.  We were about ready to settle for a McDonalds (not my favorite) when we stumbled across "Sparky's Diner"...we had the best BBQ Brisket sandwich we have ever had.  Spent that night in Pocatello, ID...lovely little town.

July 9 (Happy Birthday SIS) Next big hurdle was to get through Salt Lake City and all the construction around it.  I-15 is a mess!!!  Construction everywhere.  But it was the worse right south of Salt Lake City.  I found my self driving this huge beast in very narrow lanes, up against a concrete barrier.  Didn't matter which of the two lanes I was in, there was a concrete barrier next to me.  UGH!  Nerve racking to say the least but at least we were better off than the traffic going north, we measured a 37 mile back up!  No thanks!  That night found us in one of our favorite KOA's, Fillmore UT.  We have stayed there several times and enjoyed it each time and this time it was no different.  The camp owner guided me into a nice spot; then the gentleman parked behind us came over and hooked up our water, electric and sewer while I was getting Al settled.  That was so nice of him.  And by that time I needed some relief.

Next morning (July 10) we are off again, planning on heading down Hwy 89 to Kanab, UT and Page, AZ.  I was dreading going down the grade in Page, but figured the truck and I could do it.  But then, the camp owner had said they were expecting heavy rain all along Hwy 89 that day.  I decided that I would make the decision when I got to the turn off for 89.  Well, let's just say, we continued on down I-15 into Las Vegas.  The weather looked really mean to the east when we were to turn off.  We did have a huge monsoon storm hit us near Mesquite, NV...not fun to drive in.   Spent the night in a warm Las Vegas, at Sam's Town RV Park, which is basically just a large parking lot.  Doesn't even have a shuttle to the casino!!  But that was okay with us because we weren't interested in going.

By now, we can see the end of the trip....July 11, and we are getting closer to home.  Over the new bridge over Hoover Dam, which, you don't even know you are going over, and down the road we went.  Woo Hoo, we are in Arizona. Truck running great; dogs and Al sleeping off and on (mostly on) and me driving with my music on.  We encountered quite a monsoon rain just out of Flagstaff, high winds and all.  But I persisted and we finally stopped at another of our favorite RV parks (when you travel this route as much as we have, you tend to have favorites) Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde, AZ.  They offer a shuttle to the casino, so that night I dug my heels in and said I wasn't cooking!  Over to the casino we went for a good dinner.

July 12 and home around 3:00 p.m.  Hot drive today and I had to slow down a bit at times, but we made it.  Glad to be home safe and sound.  I am very tired, but there is still a lot of work to do.  Truck and trailer are parked in front of the house and I am unloading it little by little (more like when I need something!) and it may not be parked in its place for a while.  It is hooked up to electric and the a/c is running so the trailer will be fine.  I am going to take my kids and friends advice and unload it slowly.  I am too tired to do any different.

Al's back has been bothering him and we went to see the doc the day after we got home...arthritis has set in and there really isn't much to do for him but give him a pain pill when needed.  He can't sleep at night in bed, so he has found his recliner to be his new bed for now.  So I get the bed, 2 dogs and 2 cats all to myself.  Me thinks I should go sleep in my recliner!!!!

So for now we are home and happy to be here.  More later...