Happy Halloween!

 Yuma and I slept in this morning.  Felt good to have things under control even though it really isn’t.  As much as a Halloween morning can though!   HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE! 

 First thing I did after breakfast this morning was to call Bill Darlington at Empire Southwest Diesel.   It was his shop that got the White Lion running earlier this year. 

Don’t know if everyone knows this, but there is smoke coming from the engine compartment when it should be coming from the exhaust.  This could mean bad engine troubles ahead if I don’t have it checked out and hopefully repaired.  It could mean big engine repairs and I would have to make some decisions.  The main thing is the uncertainty will be gone.  I don’t want to worry all winter long.  Piece of mind is worth a lot of money.  I have an appointment to take it by his shop Wednesday at 10 o’clock.  Glad to get it in so quickly. 

Kay has a lot of insurance things to take care of today, so we won’t be taking the White Lion out for a joy ride today.  Tomorrow morning is now the designated day.  Maybe the engine smoke will just blow away. J 

Yuma and I have been unpacking the inside and putting things away where they belong and just enjoying the leisure.  Certainly hope I’m not packing again anytime soon. 

My son, Jim gave me a 100ah lithium battery and I hooked it to my 600 watt inverter and use that during the night to maintain my residential refrigerator.  It works perfectly.  No more electrical problems at night or on cloudy days. 

No much going right now.  And it feels so good to have a down day.  I’m feeling much better and stronger today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Day 4 - Unpacking Day

 Slept pretty good but I think I was too tired to get a good night's sleep.  Woke up around 7 o'clock this morning and had a little cereal and a tangerine.  Didn't have dinner last night so I'm a little hungry for meat, beans and potatoes.

Still felt very tired most of the day.  Had to have the trailer unpacked and back to them by 4:30.  Worked a little bit and rested a little bit.  Finally around noon I had everything out of the trailer and took the trailer to the drop-off place.  Glad to be done with that.  They give you six days to load, travel across the country and unload.  Not a whole lot of time to dally.

When I got back to the White Lion, I thought I better start it.  If it doesn't start I'm in a pickle.  Took several tries, but finally kicked over and started to idle.  Sounds okay, but there is a little smoke coming from the engine bay.  Since it started, I went ahead and put most everything where it belongs in the underside bays, but still have mess on the inside.

By the time I found my camera battery charger and charged the the battery, most everything was done.

Towards 3 o'clock, I was dead tired and the 80 degree heat was wearing me down.  Decided to call it a day and start resting hard.  Yuma and I laid on the bed with the fan running until we cooled down and started feeling better.

It was 5 o'clock and Yuma and I decided to head into town and find a place with good food.  First place I found was Kentucky Fried Chicken and that sounded just great.  I got a 3 piece Big Box and we brought it home.  My was it delicious and very filling.  Saved the leg for tomorrow.  Just too much.  Yuma got lots of chicken pieces and he's happy too.

I'm hoping I feel well enough tomorrow to take the White Lion somewhere to dump tanks, take on water and buy some diesel.  Not looking forward to that bill.

It is almost 8 o'clock all ready, so Yuma and I are calling it a day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Day 3 - Made it to Mesa, Arizona

 Another long day, but this time it was only 9 hours.  I left Santa Rosa, NM at 7 o'clock this morning and the only stops I made were for gas.  It was 5 1/2 hours on I-40 to Holbrook, AZ.  Mostly rolling red hills and flat prairie.  

I turned south finally on Highway 377 and headed towards Mesa, AZ.  I was at 7,000 feet when I started and ended at 1,000 feet.  There were mountains everywhere and I was surprised at the number of uphill climbs along with the 6% downgrades.  Very pretty. That was a 3 1/2 hour trip.  Dolly and I made the trek up the mountains many years ago, but this was the first time going down.

The trailer needs to be emptied and back to the U-Haul facility by 4:30 tomorrow, so no rest for the weary yet.  This evening, I took just what I needed and after a good night's rest I'll finish in the morning.  Plus it was 82 degrees when I arrived and that's too hot to work in.

Sometime tomorrow, I'll try to start the White Lion and see what happens.  Thanks for stopping by.

Day 2 - Very Long Travel Day

 No pictures today.  My camera battery is dead and I can't remember where I put the charger.  

It rained quite a bit last night.  Glad it was after we were stopped for the night.  Tried sleeping in the driver's seat and Yuma had his bed in back.  He slept well; I didn't.  Not going to do that again.  Tonight, a motel.  I did manage to get some sleep because I was so tired.  When I woke up, it had stopped raining and I felt wide awake, so I started the Jeep and we were out of there at 4:30.

I've never gone this route before and won't ever do it again.  Lots of highway work and much of it was two-lanes going through many small towns.  It was over 11 hours and 640 miles of driving.  I'm too old for this.  Luckily, the day was nice.

We never stopped for breakfast or lunch, so I'm sure that didn't help my long day of driving either.  Yuma was a good boy and slept most of the day in the passenger seat.

We arrived at a motel in Santa Rosa a little after 3 in the afternoon, Mountain Time.  Went through much of the middle of Kansas and cut across the panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas and into New Mexico.  Four states today.

Going to bed early tonight and hopefully get a good night's sleep.  Luckily, I was able to watch Gold Rush this evening.  Tomorrow is another long day with a goal of making it to Apache Junction late tomorrow afternoon.  Another 9 hour day with 520 miles.

Thanks for stopping by.

Day 1 - Tough Start

 Dolly and I were up and moving around about 7:15.  We packed the rest of my stuff and I had a little breakfast and took Yuma for a walk.  I was ready to head out around 8:30.  Said my goodbyes and a picture and I was gone.

I got about 3 miles down the road and Dolly called to let me know I forgot my coffee mug.  No big deal.  Went back and picked it up and off again.

Then about 30 miles down the road I had a bad feeling I left my bathroom stuff and all my medicines.  Stopped and called Dolly and sure enough, I did.  This time I lost over an hour,  but I kept my cool and moved on.  Wonder if the gods are telling me something.

With only a couple of breaks to get gas, we moved through the day and into the evening.  Stopped for dinner near Lawrence, Kansas on the I-70 Turnpike around 6 o'clock and moved on to Emporia, Kansas and we're now in for the night at I-335 South rest area.  It's 9 o'clock now and time for some shut eye.

See you later.

Packing Day

Up and out of the house before 8 o'clock this morning to pick up the U-Haul trailer.  I ordered a 4X8, the smallest size and they had a brand new one for me.

Didn't take long.  $300 and I have it for six days so I will have to move fast across the country.  No sight-seeing on this trip.  Home a little before 9 o'clock and after a cup of coffee I started loading the trailer.  It's going to be a beautiful sunny day and I'm glad for that.  Yesterday was rainy, windy and very cold.  Much, much better today.

I have been packing and placing stuff into the garage this past week, so I was ready to start loading.  By 11:30, to my surprise, I had most everything loaded and it appears that I will be able to cram everything in that small guy.

I stopped to eat a couple of boiled eggs, half a grapefruit and a tangerine along with a second cup of coffee.  For the remainder of the day, I grabbed what was left to pack and this evening I believe I have everything accounted for.  If not, I guess I won't need it.

Hopefully, I won't have too many jitters and get a decent night's sleep.  I have a route planned, but the weather will determine my travel plans.  I'm hoping to make good time and travel about 450 miles a day, but I will ultimately go at a rate my body can handle.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully, I will be coming to you tomorrow night from somewhere in Kansas.  See you later.