One of our key items was getting several Cummins engine service items taken care of on the motorhome. Over the past several months we've gotten several "service bulletins" of adjustments and/or parts replacements that are needed (under warranty, of course) on the rig's diesel engine. I checked directly with Cummins and found that our engine needed three different things done, and that fortunately there was a local service facility that could take care of it. We took the coach in about a week and a half ago to get everything done -- however, one part was needed which they didn't have in stock. Now its just days before we need to hit the road, and they still don't have it. We will be checking tomorrow (when they've assured me it will arrive) and they will get us in ASAP for the one hour job to install it. I hate to have this type of thing go to the last minute, but I guess I'll just have to go with the flow.
On the more positive side of things, we've been getting in some good cycling, as the weather has been very good -- a bit windy at times, but very good cycling weather nonetheless. Most of the time we've not had one of our cameras with us, so we just snapped a couple of pictures with the camera in our phone -- and they come out pretty good, all things considered.
Lisa, Mandy, Cheryl, and Judy as we explored an abandoned estate along old US 80 -- pretty interesting . . . .
I've been meaning to mention an additional item which we recently got which should be a help this summer -- a cell phone signal amplifier. Now that we are depending on cellular phone signals for both our voice communications and our Internet connectivity, we thought it would be wise to make sure that we are doing all we can to assure that we're getting the "most bars" possible. We got a 1.7 watt Wilson cellular amplifier, which is very small, and uses our external cell antenna -- but does not have to hook directly to our cell phones or our broadband card. Basically it has an "internal antenna" -- a small flat rectangular item about the size of a stick of gum, which is attached by a 6 foot cord to the amp. The internal antenna just needs to be near (2-3 feet) to the cell phones or the broadband card to boost its signal. So far it has worked really well -- we've used it in the motorhome for the last 5 weeks, and we also used it on our trip up to Washington in March. We're anticipating that it will be a big help during our summer at Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota -- it looks like we may be a ways away from either an ATT tower (for our phones) or a Verizon tower (for our broadband access) -- and as everyone knows, you've still got to pay the bill, whether or not you're able to get a good signal. Stay tuned for an update on our situation after we get set up in South Dakota. We're also pretty sure that it will help out as we go through west Texas -- and for our time at our son's place north of Austin. Once again, ATT and Verizon are somewhat inconsistent north and west of Austin -- its Alltel and Sprint country.
So, we're busy deciding what things to take for a summer at 5600 feet, as well as making sure that all the systems on the rig are in their best shape. I've had a pretty good list of items that need to be checked, verified, cleaned, lubricated, or replaced -- and I've gotten through most of them. The big things that remain are packing the 4 bikes in the van (we've decided to leave the tandem here for the summer), getting all the motorhome tires aired up properly and making sure that the the Pressure Pro TPMS is monitoring all of them, and just a general cleaning of the rig, inside and out.
The cleaning thing was also prompted by our potluck dinner here Sunday night -- we wanted to host a get-together for our friends who were still here, as we won't be seeing them until fall. We had a great time with BBQ chicken, and all the appropriate potluck items which go along with it. We really have a great group of folks here in Yuma, and we're very lucky and fortunate to be able to spend a wonderful season with all of them. Here are some shots of us all together for a last get-together before we take off -- (I guess that's a bit incorrect, as we're heading to another potluck on Monday night, which will probably be our final one -- we've got to get our packing work completed sometime!!).
PRE-POSTING UPDATE (several days after the above was drafted) --
The day before we left Yuma, we were notified that Greg's uncle, Father Tom Fenlon, had passed away in Butte, MT. He had served as a priest in Western Montana for well over 50 years (he was ordained in 1942), and had been a pastor at over 10 towns and cities during that time. Uncle Tom married us over 40 years ago (as he did my parents, and our son Brian), and has been a big part of our life. We immediately modified our travel plans to be able to attend his funeral this coming Monday in Butte.
We're now in Mesa, AZ, arriving here on Wednesday after a short drive from Yuma. We drove the Honda up to Flagstaff and back yesterday to get Mandy's annual checkup completed (she passed with flying colors!) -- and now we'll be leaving the motorhome here for the next several days and flying to Montana early Sunday morning for Uncle Tom's funeral on Monday. All of Greg's brothers and his sister, as well as his mother, will be traveling there too, as well as a number of cousins and other family friends, so our celebration of Father Tom's life will also be a bit of a family reunion. We'll fly back to Phoenix on Tuesday, and will head out to Texas with the motorhome on Wednesday morning. We'll be cutting it a bit short for arrival before Gillian's birth (currently scheduled for May 4) but our son Brian and his wife Christy agreed that it was much more important for us to take the time to go to Butte to say farewell to Uncle Tom.
We're planning on posting some entries to the blog as we travel (assuming connectivity), so until then . . . . . . .
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