N.H.R.A. Las Vegas

It's been about 10 days since I last posted on blog, and there's a couple of reasons for the inactivity. First, when home, I'm not going to post every day, as I did on the the summer trip around the U.S. Second, our Sprint data/air card only works marginally at Lake Havasu, so it has been almost impossible to do much of anything on the computer. During our travels this summer, the Sprint card worked virtually everywhere, except 2 places. Our former home in Jamestown, CA, and our current home, Lake Havasu City, AZ. Like most people, Patty and I have become very dependent on internet access, for a variety of tasks. In order to have that, we signed up for DSL through our phone company, so now, we have high speed service on the desktop computer at home. I'm writing this from the laptop in Vegas, where there is broadband coverage. On the drive up to Vegas, I took the Kingman, Hoover Dam route so I could check out the progress on the new bridge being built just downstream from the dam. The second picture shows that the arch is now completed, and they are starting to build the bridge deck on top of the arch. It's quite a huge engineering project, and when completed, will take all vehicular traffic off the dam. The purpose of this short trip is twofold. When we work the National Finals Rodeo here in Las Vegas, in about a month, we host about 15 RV's at the Thousand Trails under our membership. This is the weekend that most of those folks are here working the drag race, and I'll be collecting their checks and making payment to Thousand Trails. While at the track, I'm sure that I'll force myself to catch some of the Top Fuel and Funny Car action.

HOME SWEET HOME

The summer of 2009, travels and adventures of Dan & Patty Chance officially ended yesterday, at about 4pm. We are now home, and starting to do all of the things necessary, after being gone for almost 5 1/2 months. 12,614 miles is the distance we traveled in the motor home. Add another approx. 5,000 miles we drove the jeep, exploring different areas, and you have a whole bunch of miles. Our journey took us to the four corners of the U.S., and into the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Fortunately, I never got tired of driving, but am glad we're home. Except for a few small issues, our house withstood another hot, Havasu summer, and we only lost a few plants. The 4 trees I planted last winter, made it with flying colors. We have a few weeds and dead plants to dispose of, but the yard looks pretty good. While we were gone, our street was torn up, a new sewer system was put in, and surprisingly, our front yard looks almost exactly as it did when we left.
Over the past 5-6 months, I have gotten into the habit of posting on the blog every morning. Now that we are home, I may, or may not continue that practice. I really don't see the point of writing about going to the grocery store, or pulling weeds, or other routine activities. During the winter, Patty and I continue to travel in the motor home, only on much shorter trips. We will be going to CA in mid November, back to Phoenix when Mike and Amy fly out from GA, up to Vegas in Dec for the National Finals Rodeo, out to Quartzsite in Jan for our annual get together with friends, and who knows where else. I will write about any travels that we do, and perhaps something else that requires me to get up on my soapbox. Patty and I agree, that this was the best travel adventure ever, and will be hard to top in the future, but I can assure everyone, we sure as heck will try again next summer!

THE PARTY

When we arrived at Marc & Chandra's around noon, we watched Laila jumping on her new trampoline. Even though the temperature crept up near 100 yesterday, there was still a lot of bouncing on the new toy. When the party started a little later, because of the heat, most of the kids were in the pool before trying out the trampoline. It was a typical birthday party, with the kids swinging at the Pinata until it broke, spilling all the candy. Of course, the trampoline got a workout, then Laila opened her birthday gifts. After that, it was birthday cake and ice cream. The one gift that Laila was fascinated with was her very own children's digital camera, sent by Uncle Mike and Aunt Amy. When Dad showed her how to use it, she was taking pictures of everybody, and everything. Maybe we have a photographer in the making? It was a fun party, and it was nice seeing and visiting with everybody. Somewhere in the middle of all the activity, Grandpa managed to beat Troy & Randy once, and Marc twice, at 8 ball, on the new pool table.

NHRA CONTRACTING

A reader of the blog asked a question about merchandise contracting at N.H.R.A. Drag Races. Since I can't replay directly to the inquiry, if that person would like more information, please email me at dchance4@gmail.com, and I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

LAILA TURNS 4

October 16, 2009 has come and gone, but it marked the day that our grand daughter Laila was born here in Tucson, 4 years ago. Grandpa fixed the birthday girl some pancakes at her request, then we packed her stuff, and drove back over to Marc & Chandra's. It was a fun couple of days, camping in the motor home, and as the picture shows, these two kids were almost inseparable. Marc & I went to pick up the trampoline, then it was assembly time in the back yard. Fortunately, the area where we put it, is out of sight from most of the house windows. After the job was completed, Marc climbed on and did a couple of front flips, saying "yep, it works". We had a nice dinner at Buddy's Grill, then called it a night. This morning, Marc & Chandra will tell Laila to go check out the backyard, and she'll learn she has a new toy. The birthday party starts at 1:30, so we'll get over there around noon.

4TH BIRTHDAY TODAY!

Four years ago today, this little pumpkin was brought into the world as a tiny baby, several weeks premature, and weighing only a few pounds. As soon as we could hold her, I remember her entire body fitting in my hand and forearm. Today is her 4th birthday, and she's a healthy, happy child, who brings a lot of joy to this set of grand parents. Yesterday, we decided to take Laila to the Tucson Children's Museum. We spent about 3 hours wandering from one theme room to another. We knew that Uncle Marty & Aunt Claudia had taken Laila to the Children's Museum in Phoenix, but we had never been to one ourselves. We were impressed with the different interactive exhibits, where the kids get to touch & play with just about everything, rather than just look at stuff. The word museum is a bit deceptive, because even though most of the areas are educational, just about all of the building is focused on the kids having fun. It was fun for us to watch Laila experience so many new things, and in some cases, join in with the new activities. After several hours, like most kids, she had done it all, and was ready for some lunch. We had a snack, then headed back to the motor home, where Laila drew a face on the pumpkin we purchased yesterday, and Grandpa cut it out. After dinner, we watched a DVD movie entitled "Rusty to the Rescue", about a dog (a beagle of course) who saves the day. Today, we're going to pick up the trampoline, and later, Dad and Grandpa will have to figure out a way to assemble the contraption, without a pair of little eyes seeing what's happening.

BEST FRIENDS

This photo was taken a few minutes ago, as the two girls were waking up. We picked up Laila yesterday evening, and drove the 8 miles or so, back to the motor home at the Pima County Fairgrounds. We stopped at Safeway and let Laila pick out a pumpkin, which we'll carve sometime today. Having not seen Laila for about 5 months, it is truly amazing how fast she has grown up. Now, don't get me wrong, she's not quite ready for her first prom dress yet, but her mental progress is just a little short of incredible. Her vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds, and in just about every conversation she surprises us with something. During our journey this summer, we mailed lots of postcards to Laila. We gave her an album yesterday, and
inserted the postcards, along with some other pictures of our travels. She and Grandma turned it into a project last night. Today, we have a couple of possible destinations, but not sure where we'll end up.

BIRTHDAY GIRL

It was around noon when we wrapped everything up at Beaudry RV, and drove out to the Pima County Fairgrounds to park the motor home. Out of all the choices we have regarding RV parks here in Tucson, the fairgrounds have become our favorite place to stay. We usually have the place to ourselves, it's a 50 amp full hookup, it's very quiet, and it's relatively inexpensive at $100 a week. When Marc, Chandra and Laila returned home in the afternoon, we spent the evening at their house, catching up on the last 5 months while we've been running around the country. It's amazing to see the change and growth of our grand daughter Laila while we've been gone. She will be 4 on the 16th, and we've decided to hang out here in Tucson for the next week, rather than attempt a road trip in the motor home. Her birthday party is this Saturday, and after consulting with Marc & Chandra, we've decided to get her a trampoline. So, this morning, that will be our quest. This afternoon, we'll be picking Laila up to spend a few nights with Grandma & Grandpa & Sami in the motor home.

BEAUDRY RV

We dropped the motor home off with the service department at 7:30 am, and picked it up at 5 pm. First the good. As I suspected, the problem with our dash ventilation system was the vacuum pump, and that got changed. Now the cold air blows out the dash vents, instead of just onto your feet, or through the defroster vents. The other thing on the list that got fixed was the front, street slide out had a piece of metal hanging up, and it was easily corrected. Now the bad. The other things on the list were.....1. water heater electric switch light was out. 2. new refer freezer door needs adjusting & wood panel needs to be refitted. 3. Front A/C circuit breaker needs replacing.
These 3 things did not get fixed, and I was told that I would have to come back in the morning. When told this, my instinct was to become confrontational, and question why 9 1/2 hrs was not long enough to take care of these 5 items. Fortunately, I've learned that this tactic rarely gains you much of anything, except a bigger push back from the other side. So, here we are, waiting to drop off our house on wheels for the second time, hoping once again that these last 3 issues are taken care of quickly, as promised yesterday. The already good news for the day, is that Marc, Chandra & Laila will be back in Tucson today, and it will be good to see them.

TUCSON

We arrived in Tucson, AZ, yesterday afternoon, and checked in at Beaudry RV Resort. We have a service appointment this morning at Beaudry RV for a couple of issues, then we'll be parking out at the Pima County Fairgrounds, where they offer nice quiet, full hookups for $20 a night, or $100 a week. Tucson is a city we have become familiar with over the last few years, since Marc & Chandra moved here from CA. This Friday marks the 4th birthday of our grand daughter Laila, who was born here in Tucson, and a party is planned for this coming Saturday. There has been some discussion about a birthday trampoline, but we'll decide what to purchase tomorrow, when Marc, Chandra & Laila return from a trip to Sedona. It was almost 3 years ago that we purchased our motor home from Beaudry RV, and like much of the RV industry, Beaudry has gone through a period of adjustment, recently emerging from a chapter 11 filing. When we drove in yesterday, we immediately noticed that there were mostly trailers on their sales lot, and very few motor homes. In the transition area of the RV park, (approx. 30 RV sites for new sales), it was completely empty. The RV Resort with about 400 spaces, is about 10% occupied. When I write the blog tomorrow, I hope I don't have any bad things to report about their service department.

DEMING, N.M.

About 9 years ago, we drove our Discovery motor home to New Orleans, for the winter Harley-
Davidson, dealer meeting. We stopped in Deming, and pulled into one of several RV parks, just off the freeway. I made the mistake of hooking up the water hose, and the next morning, the hose and faucet were frozen solid. We stopped here last night, but it's not quite as chilly as it was the last time we were in Deming. However, the temperature fell into the 50's, for the second night in a row, and I'm a happy camper. During our travels, I have discovered a valuable website that allows travelers to critique RV parks. The website www.rvparkreviews.com provides valuable information about RV parks, and has been useful to us on several occasions. Rather than pull into one of about 5 RV parks, just off the freeway in Deming, I found a Passport America Park about 4 miles south of town, call Low-Hi RV park. I'm always suspect of Passport Parks, because we have found a few to be in bad shape. That's where this website really comes in handy, because you can read feedback from folks who have actually stayed at the park you're interested in. The reviews on Low-Hi were all good, and for $15.59, it was worth the 4 mile drive out of town. Today, we have about a 5 hour drive to Tucson, where we have a service appointment tomorrow at Beaudry RV. Our kids are out of town for a couple of days, but will be back Tuesday, and we're looking forward to seeing Marc, Chandra, and Laila.

DRIVING ACROSS TEXAS

Night before last, it rained pretty hard on us, while we were parked at the Thousand Trails, next to Medina Lake Texas. About the time I went outside to unhook our utilities, the rain slowed, and we quickly drove out of it, as we headed west on I10. If you've never driven across Texas on I10, let me tell you that it's a long drive. From Orange, TX on the east to Anthony, TX at the west end of I10, is 877 miles. It always takes at least 2 days to cross Texas on I10, although I almost did it in one day last year on the Harley. On my return trip from a visit to Mike and Amy's in Georgia, I rode about 750 miles from Houston to El Paso. That was a long day in the saddle! Yesterday, we drove completely out of the cloud cover into sunshine, but the temperatures were almost perfect, in the upper 60's to low 70's. Last night the temperature plummeted to a bone chilling 58 degrees, and I'm in weather heaven. Have I mentioned that I'm not a big fan of hot, humid weather? We stopped at.........you got it, the only Wal-Mart for hundreds of miles, in Fort Stockton. Back in Feb, 2003, after the Phoenix Drag Race, we were headed to the next race in Florida, along with 2 other couples, and when we got to Fort Stockton, we were stopped because I10 was completely closed, all the way to San Antonio, due to an ice storm. We debated whether to stay here at the Wal-Mart, or go south on Hwy 285, and into San Antonio on Hwy 90, and we picked the later. Even though there was still lots of ice, those highways were open, and we made to San Antonio late in the day. On this trip, it's nice to not have to make the drive across Texas in a couple of days. In fact, with our stops, this trip across the Lone Star State will take us about a week.

MEDINA LAKE, TEXAS

Yesterday evening, we fed the deer a 2nd 50 lb bag of corn, as we prepared to leave Medina Lake this morning. We had heard from other thousand trails members, that there were deer at this campground, but, we had no idea of the numbers. This was indeed a treat, kind of like our own private, deer petting zoo. As I write this, the rain is falling, and that can only be good for all of these hungry deer. It might even help fill the half full lake.
We got some good news from California, via email yesterday. Linda Mitchell gave one of her kidneys to A.J. and they are both recovering well. At the beginning of this trip, we visited with the Mitchell clan, and at that time, back in May, A.J. was on dialysis. One of the amazing things about A.J. is that no matter what obstacles have been placed in front of him, he always has a smile, and an incredibly positive attitude. Every time I hear about someone donating a kidney, so that another person may live a more normal life, I'm always emotionally touched. When it's someone we know and love, it really brings those emotions home. Most moms would probably do the same thing for their child, but that doesn't in any way diminish the enormity of the entire process, and extreme sacrifice. We look forward to our next visit to CA, probably in mid November when we can visit with Art, Linda, and A.J. Linda also informed us that John and Mary just had a baby girl named Morgan. Congratulations to John and Mary, to Grandpa Art, and Grandma Linda. Is that now 7, or 8 grand kids? Thanks Linda for the news. Patty and I sincerely hope that you and A.J. make a speedy, and complete recovery.

HUNGRY WHITE TAILS

Searching through the refrigerator for a few items to feed the deer, just wasn't cutting it! These small white tails are showing the effects of very little rain, with their rib cages visible, and an appetite that has a higher priority than their fear of humans. So, off we went to the local feed store, purchasing a 50 lb bag of deer corn. Thinking that would last for the remaining 2 days of our stay here at Medina Lake, we returned to the motor home and literally had them eating out of our hands. I initially dumped a few lbs on the ground for about 10 deer, and they devoured that in no time at all. I guess that was all it took to get the "deer internet" hooked up, because when I went out a little later to feed them again, there were almost 50 sets of big ears, anxiously waiting for a hand out. It didn't take long for our 50 lb bag to diminish rather quickly, so today, we'll make another trip to the feed store. Deer weren't the only hungry animals we discovered at this Thousand Trails. Patty came across a mother cat and kittens near the lodge, so, while we were out, cat food was also on the list. She went to feed them just before dark, and reported that they were also quite hungry. We both love animals, and if it were possible, we would probably rescue every hungry animal that we come across. All we can do is to feed them while we're here, and hope that as other people come and go, they'll do the same.
Today is Patty's son's birthday. Happy birthday Dave!

BAMBI PARADISE

First, a quick apology to Texas. Even though I still think many of their on/off ramps are antiquated, and in some cases, downright hazardous, Texas has made a lot of improvements to I10. After posting the blog yesterday morning, I checked weather conditions in the Corpus Christi area, and discovered that we would be facing 90 degree weather, with the same or higher humidity. Have I mentioned that I don't like hot & humid weather? So, we changed plans, which we often do on the spur of the moment, and decided to head for the Medina Lake Thousand Trails, just west of San Antonio. The weather in this area is supposed to cool down in the next few days, so we'll be parked here until the 10th. An unexpected surprise was the presence of lots of deer in this park. Just before sunset, I snapped a few pictures of Patty feeding the little critters, just outside our motor home. Not sure if these are white tailed deer, but they are very small, and are about the same size as the deer that are indigenous to the Florida Keys. Sami thinks she has died and gone to heaven! Not only are there deer everywhere, but also, lots of squirrels. Lets just say that our potty walks have become something else entirely. Most of Texas has been under severe draught conditions for quite some time. This park is adjacent to Medina Lake, and has its' own boat ramp, but the lake is quite low due to the lack of rain. After driving for a couple of days in the rain, this will be a nice break, before heading west.

ROAD CONDITIONS

As we near the end of our loop around the United States, and part of Canada, it's difficult to not compare the condition of the highways, as we travel from state to state. While traveling through many states, on both freeways and state highways, the roads don't even make an impression, because they aren't extraordinarily good, or bad. But there are a few states that do make an impression, and it's usually bad. But first, the good, then we'll get to the bad and ugly. When you drive into North Carolina on I95, you not only experience an extremely smooth road surface, but many of the interchanges are landscaped with acres of flowers. You can't judge an entire state by one interstate highway, but, I95 in North Carolina is #1 in my book. Now for the bad. I know it's not the U.S., but the roads in the Maritime Provinces of Canada are not very good. Sure, they're paved, but whenever we ventured off the main highways, we found ourselves on narrow, bumpy, pothole filled roads. Even though I tried several times, it was very difficult to do any sightseeing, while driving the motor home. While in New Bruneswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, we learned to take the jeep on our trips of exploration. Now the ugly. We just drove into Texas yesterday afternoon, and I was quickly reminded of how bad I10 is. Not only is it bumpy, due to decades old concrete pouring methods, but Texas has an archaic way of designing on/off ramps, which are usually part of the frontage roads. Once we left Louisiana and entered Texas, I was instantly thankful, that I went through the hassle of replacing the shocks on the motor home. The new Bilsteins make a huge difference, especially when it comes to limiting the front end from bouncing. We spent last night at an RV park next to the freeway, east of Beaumont, and will be driving to the Corpus Christi area today.

RAIN AND A BEAR

Based on the weather forecast, I knew we were going to be driving into a lot of rain. Around Panama City, it started, and it kept raining most of the day. Coincidentally, it was just past Panama City, that a black bear came across the road in front of us. This type of animal sighting was almost a daily thing in Alaska, but Florida? I tried to get a picture, but didn't have quite enough time. We drove west to Pensacola on Hwy 98, then west on I10 to Pascagula, MS, where we stopped for the night at a Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, all of this moisture in the air, has once again raised the humidity to very uncomfortable levels. We tried to leave a window open last night, but at times, the rain was coming down so hard, I had to get up and close it. It's about 6:30 am, and the rain continues to fall. The latest forecast is for lots more, all the way west across most of Texas. Our latest plan is to check out an area along the Texas gulf coast, near Corpus Christi. We probably won't make it there today, but should be there sometime tomorrow.

WESTBOUND

Today, we hit the road west, toward Panama City, Pensacola, and Alabama. Yesterday was a clean the bugs off the front of the motor home for me, and Patty drove into Carrabelle (about 4 miles) to do some shopping. While we've been parked here on the Gulf of Mexico, the weather has been much more pleasant than what we experienced earlier in south Florida. The temps have been in the low 80's, with a few clouds, and not nearly the high humidity. I was watching the weather channel last night, and it looks like we'll be headed into some stormy weather that's coming at us from Texas. I should have known, clean one of the vehicles, and it's going to rain! The scene above, is looking west from the little fishing pier, here at Ho Hum RV Park.

CARRABELLE, FLORIDA

This is our 3rd visit to Carrabelle, FL, located on what the locals call the "forgotten coast" of Florida. If you go south from Tallahassee, and a little bit west, you'll see Carrabelle on the Gulf of Mexico. We first discovered this little park back in 2003, when we were in between the Gainesville, FL and the Houston, TX drag races. We stopped here again, about 2 years ago, after leaving Alaska in the fall. It's not a fancy park, but as you can see in the photo, it's one of a very few places where you can park right next to the water. We'll be here one more night, before heading west. About mid day, we drove into Carrabelle, a small town where I took a picture of the world's smallest police department. It might get just a little crowded in there during a start of shift briefing. We then drove out to St. George Island, about 20 miles from Carrabelle, where there were lots and lots of beautiful beach homes. It reminded me of Ocean Shores, WA, a community of mostly vacation homes, and a few business, catering to mostly tourists and vacationers. The rest of the day was spent with a walk on the beach, and watching the fish jump in front of the motor home. We even watched a small shark cruising within a few feet of the shore!

BLAST FROM THE PAST

We have our mail forwarded to us about every 2 weeks. When we know where we're going to be for a few days, we call Lake Havasu Mail & Package, and they send a priority box to General Delivery, at the post office we designate. We had our mail forwarded to us while we were at Lazy Days RV, and along with the usual stuff, was an early birthday card from my Aunt Martha. Inside the card, she enclosed some photos that she had made from slides. (Anybody remember slides?) This photo shows me at about age 13, with all 4 of Martha's children, my cousins. From left, John, Karen, Paul/Me, and Diane. I'm not sure, but judging from all of the flowers, I think this original picture was taken in Watsonville, CA. Aunt Martha (I've always called her Dee Dee), is my mothers sister, and when my parents were killed, I was raised by my fathers mother, Ana Gay & her husband Dewey. My cousins lived in Stockton, and I remember several trips to Stockton on the train, with my grand mother Alice (Dee Dee's mom), to visit with my cousins. Thanks Dee Dee for the card and pictures, they brought back some wonderful memories.
We left Lazy Days RV yesterday, and drove north on I75, then northwest on Hwy 27 to Hwy 98, and west to Carrabelle, FL. We arrived at Ho Hum RV park late afternoon, and got parked facing the Gulf of Mexico. This is our 3rd time at this park, and once again, we have a great view of the water out the front windshield. We'll be here today and tomorrow, then it'll be kind of a dash west to see Marc & Chandra in Tucson, and pick up our grand daughter Laila, for a motor home trip to San Diego.

DOMETIC STEPS UP

The refrigerator war is now over, and hopefully, a new, happier chapter is about to unfold. I thought I might be able to get a picture of the old unit being taken out, or perhaps, the new one coming in through the removed window, so at about noon, I went out to the service bay where the work was being done. I was somewhat surprised to find Mitch installing the wood to the doors of the new unit. The Lazy Days crew did a nice job, and as of 6am this morning, the new refrigerator is working magnificently! I would like to thank Mark, the warranty service manager at Dometic for doing the right thing, and authorizing our refrigerator replacement. I would also like to thank Rhonda in the tech support area of Dometic, for coordinating with Lazy Days, promptly getting the new refer shipped, and for keeping us informed as the process moved forward. It deserves mentioning, that we were within the 3 year warranty for parts on the old refer, but, were out of the 2 year labor warranty. It would have been easy for Dometic to say that they would replace the refer, but labor would be our responsibility. They didn't do that. Instead, Dometic picked up the tab for everything, including labor. This type of customer service goes a long way in defining the reputation of a company, and if given the opportunity, Dometic is a company that I will do business with in the future.
Today, we're headed for one of our favorite places, a little RV park on the Florida forgotten Gulf Coast, near Carrabelle.