White Lion Delivery Day! :))

Location:  Saddle Mountain BLM South of Tonopah, Arizona

Here I am at 2 o'clock Wednesday morning giving you and update of how my day went yesterday.  Yuma woke me with a sneeze so I thought I would just get'r done.  Don't worry, I've got plenty of time to get a good night's sleep.

As you might suspect I didn't sleep well again last night in anticipation of the big day.  Got up at 7:30 and made coffee and took Yuma for his walk.  Bright sun shiny day but very cold at 33 degrees.  Luckily, there was little wind so it was bearable.

Drank one cup of coffee and 10 Ritz crackers with the works.  That was it.  Figured I would finish breakfast later.  Took Yuma over to Deb's place for Riley to watch and then Deb and I jumped in the Jeep and headed back to Quartzsite at 9 o'clock.  Appointment is scheduled for 11 o'clock and didn't want to be late.

Miss Adventure and me.

Headed out of the Saddle Mountain area on Courthouse Road heading due West towards the Big Horn Mountain range and made a right at Salome Road to I-10.

Big Horn Peak dead ahead.

We made it to Quartzsite with barely a minute to spare.  Parked the Jeep next to White Lion so I could hook it up when ready to leave.  Walked in RV LifeStyles and Kenny was sitting there.  First thing he said was the overview appointment had been changed to 1 o'clock and he was sorry he didn't call. :((  

So, since we had two hours to kill, Kenny decided he would ask Stewart to take us to the Notary Public in Blythe, California to get the legal sales papers signed and notarized.  Stewart takes us out to the company Cadillac and start our trip when he noticed the rear passenger side tire was flat.  Back we go and he asks the boss, James for the keys to his truck, a nice 2500 Ram Ranch Edition.  

We had an interesting drive while Stewart told of his life prior to being a part-time salesman at RV LifeStyles.  He was a California attorney and represented the motorcycle clubs like the Outlaws, Hells Angels, etc.  I'm sure he was busy defending those nice citizens, but hey, everyone deserves their day in court, right!

The main reason he works at RV LifeStyles is to make sure Kenny is all right.  Evidently, Kenny is not well.  He was an undercover police detective when he was shot and almost killed.  He didn't say it, but I think they were very good friends and associates in their working days with the motorcycle gangs in California.

Stopped in Blyth, and went in to a beautiful little office building and met Angel, the Notary and his secretary, Florence.

Stewart, Angel and Florence at the reception desk.

After a little jawing and paper signing, we headed back to Quartzsite.  Still had an hour to go, so Deb and I sat in their lounge, ate popcorn, drank coffee and watched a little TV.

Finally, 1 o'clock came and we walked out to the White Lion and met Suzie.  Unfortunately, they had a mishap I believe and pulled the electric cord plug off the cord when moving it.  They didn't tell me that's what happened of course, but by the feverish pace the mechanic was working with Suzie standing over him, that is what Deb and I surmised.  Suzie said it would be a few minutes and to wait inside.

After about an hour of hearing nothing, Deb and I went back outside and found Suzie and she said it was ready now.  

We started our walk-through inspection at about 3 o'clock going through the outside bays.  It was cold and windy, so we kinda hurried through them.  I could tell right away, Suzie had not done much homework and really didn't know the details of the equipment in those bays.

Then, we went through the inside starting with the back bedroom working towards the front and again, Suzie knew the basics of motorhomes, but knew nothing about the particulars of a Safari Serengeti.  Oh well, it is what it is.  I was cordial  and she was a nice lady.  Because the discussions of the mechanics was so vague and disorganized, we took only a few notes unfortunately.  Unbeknownst to them I have all the manuals they said were not with the motorhome, so I'm going to rely on those.

We did find a few gauges were not working and one soft spot in the floor right behind the driver's seat, but I decided I just wanted to get poor White Lion out of there before they killed him.  

So, I got possession of the keys, had the mechanic, who was the only one that really knew any specifics refresh me on how to get the thing started and release the Jake air brake.  Deb and I quickly hooked the Jeep and we were Rolling East shortly after 5 o'clock.

White Lion and me.

Ready to roll!

 Deb and I were both very physically and mentally exhausted by this time , we were just happy to be out of there.  Hopefully, never to bring it back.

I am so thankful, Deb was with me for this unpleasant ordeal and for Riley being at home taking care of Yuma.  Otherwise, the day could have been worse without their patience and support.

It got dark before we made it back to camp, and I never drive in the dark.  It was intimidating, plus for some reason the headlights are very dim so, once I got off the interstate onto the blacktop for the five or so miles through unfamiliar back roads with turns and cattle guards every few miles I was really getting tired.

Did manage to scare Deb when I oozed through a stop sign and made the right turn so wide, I almost went into the ditch on the far side of the road, but I made it without hitting anything.

Finally at 6:30 or so, made it home.  Since we were running so late, after a little prodding, I got Deb to agree to let me treat them to dinner at the ritziest place in Tonopah, Arizona.  The Tonopah Family Restaurant.

Other than bad food and flies everywhere, we had a relaxing hour and did feel much better with food in us.  Deb and I hadn't had anything but popcorn all day, so we would eat anything.  Again, I so appreciate having friends like Deb and Riley who spent their whole day helping me.

My phone battery had died hours before, so Deb let me use her phone so I could text Dolly that I was still alive and at 9 o'clock, I was finally home and called Dolly to tell her about my first day with the White Lion.  Not my best day, but it ended well.  Plus, Yuma almost killed me with joy upon opening the door.  I love this life!

Now four in the morning and I'm ready to go back to sleep till noon.  See you later.