We decided to delay our trip for one day. We have a lot left to do to get the house ready for our departure and to get us and Roadie ready too. EJ pulled a muscle in her back and has been going to the chiropractor. Her last appointment was this morning.
Rather than get a late start now that the days are so short, we opted to get away Thurdsay morning instead of rushing this afternoon. That's what retirement is all about, you make the schedule instead of someone making it for you.Roadie, our 2004 Roadtrek Class B motorhome, got new tires in anticipation of this trip. The rear tires were pretty much square because of a bad alignment done in Las Vegas. The back tires were originally on the front, but it got to the point when you hit a significant bump, the steering would begin jerking back and forth uncontrollably. It was pretty scary. We put on 5 new tires (spare included) of the same brand that came on Roadie when he was brand new. Bridgestone V-Steel radials. We also replaced the blackwater and greywater drain valves. We had a slow leak through the greywater valve so I hope this cures it.
The destination is Cave Creek, Arizona. That's north northeast of Phoenix. Frank's brother Terry has a week in a timeshare there and invited us to join them. We expect to do some hiking, some sight seeing and see some friends. On the way there we will stop and see Frank's parents for a few days in San Angelo, Texas, and if the timing is right we will try stop by Tuscon, Arizona to see EJ's niece and nephew.The trip should take about 3 weeks. The reason for the short time frame is that we have to get back so Frank can make a doctors appointment on December 21.
The Machine: We travel in a 2004 Roadtrek on Chevy Express Van 3500 chassis. It's a fully self-contained Class B motorhome. It has all the conveniences such as a shower, toilet, refrigerator, stove, microwave, flat screen TV, king size bed and more. It is tall enough for Frank to stand up straight and he's 5'11". It also has enough storage for us to take our favorite outdoor chairs, a barbeque, a table, and supplies for taking care of the outside of Roadie. Oh yeah, we've nicknamed it Roadie.The Route: We don't like to travel on Interstates unless we are pressed for time and need to make some miles. We prefer the lesser traveled US highways such US 84 which will be our main route to San Angelo. Out of Jacksonville we will take I-10 to 41, then 129 and 92 to US 84. We stay on US 84 to Goldthwaite, Texas where we get on TX16, US 190, then US 87 which takes us on into San Angelo.We won't bore you with all the different roads we'll be on, but after we leave San Angelo the plan is to go through Big Spring, Texas, then Roswell, New Mexico, and then Show Low, Arizona on our way to Cave Creek. Those all sound like interesting places. However, we want to see Fort Davis, Texas again and Carlsbad Caverns but it's a little out of the way so who knows. Plans change. The reason we have plans is so we'll have something to change.Coming back we'll probably mostly stay on I-10 since we'll be pressed for time to make Frank's appointment back in Jacksonville. We could delay it until next year but that's another story involving changing medical insurance and a major difference in out of pocket expenses.
Our intention is to update "RoadNotes" as frequently as we can while we're on this trip. It all depends on how successful we are at finding Internet connections. So it may get updated daily or weekly. Check back often and see.
