Where am I ? September 24

The past nine months have been a wonderful and  great adventure traveling and exploring the Mid-South, a the Natchez Trace, along with New England, with Joel,  but that chapter has comes to an end as I arrived in Phoenix to temperatures of over a 100 degrees on the 13th.   Will summer ever end? I retrieved my neglected Born Free  and Jeep from the Verde Camp Thousand Trails  (at least it was a little cooler there.) Much to my pleasure my home on wheels survived O.K. during the winter, spring,  and summer storage, except I had to jump start the engine. The engine battery was deader than a door nail.  I  had made an appointment with D and  R family RV  in Glendale to replace the coach batteries which had been removed and put in Joel's rig during storage .When I got to D and R the engine battery died  again so I also had to replace it.  It was over 5 years old so I guess it was time and expected.

I also needed to have the brakes worked on. The last RV repair vendor said I really needed new brake pads....(explains the squeak in the wheels and mountain driving is really hard on brakes), so I went to the local Ford truck service place. They don't make appointment but do have electric hookups and water  if you have stay over night and while you  wait...thank goodness because it definitely was a day to have the AC on and I did end up spending the night there.  Anyway, all went pretty smoothly including retrieving my "stuff" I had shipped from Joel's rig to Glendale via Greyhound...except my bike which Joel insisted be shipped to me.  After talking with Greyhound, it would be a few more days before the bike would arrive.

 Hmmm.  do I hang out in 100 degree plus temperature or head north to Flagstaff.  A call to my son Conlan in Tierra Amarillo in northern New Mexico  settled the matter. I hadn't seen him since last spring when we caught up with him on our way to Texas.  He had several days off so I headed to TA where there was cooler weather (a no brainer). I left the Born Free at the Elks  Lodge in Sedona and was off to meet up with Conlan and see my other 4 legged grandchild, Boone, a huge 6 year old black lab, and meet  Conlan's new girlfriend. It was a long drive, but spectacular as I skirted the fringes of Monument Valley on Highway 160.

Nothing like a lab and water. 

It was a wonderful decision to go and see Conlan.  Tierra Amarillo is a small little spot in the road, just a few miles south of the charming little town of Chama.  The focal point is the Raven coffee shop where the locals gather.  On weekends, Paul (the owner) provides live music and plays on the box drums. It happened that the weekend I was there was the last weekend of live music until next year.  That's Paul on his Garbage Can Base drum and one of his box drums is beside him.

TA is a little step back in time and reminds me of many little mountain towns before they "were discovered". My few days visit were not enough and I can't wait to return to visit in the Spring or Fall and explore more of the area.

So, the bike arrived at the Greyhound in Glendale and I packed it up; hitched up the Born Free on Thursday; and headed towards Reno, Nevada.  I'd forgotten how mountainous the drive was, which translates to really poor gas mileage and long uphill stretches at 40 MPH. I arrived in Reno on Friday and it was really hot...summer is suppose to be over...right?  Anyway, I continued to my son Jeremy's house in Portola, California, (just a few miles north of Reno) where the temperature was a nice 83 degrees with no humidity, (AHHH) along with cool nights for good sleeping.

I'll be in Northern Nevada for the next three months taking care of lose ends and doing a little work camping as an "Elf" at the Amazon.Com Fernley facility, and visiting with family when I can on the California coast. It feels really good to be back in my own house on wheels and back in the mountains.