I want some coffee!

We both have been layed low by a bug of some sort which gets in the way of getting back on the road. In the interim I applied some aluminum wheel polish to try to protect the new wheels (it’s my impression aluminum wheels have a more fragile finish than chromed steel) plus applied some ‘dressing’ onto the sidewalls of our new Michelin tires. Buoyed by having gone 6 hours without an urgent trip to the bathroom and sorta-protected tires we opted for a Sunday drive on Saturday afternoon. I’m still totally lost why the new tires seem to have done everything I had expected only from a properly done wheel alignment. I can only assume there was an internal issue with the right front or with the right rear duals. All those old tires were properly inflated and had seemed to have near-new tread depth. So it would have to be internal to those Firestone Transforce HT casings. Whatever the issue, it wasn’t visible while the tires were on the RV. So off we went at about 2pm to the town of Safford, A...

True to his word, Shannon got the wheels & tires (early I should add!). The Vegas is now whole again: The ALCOA wheels look fine as do the 'hub caps' that cover the hubs. Oddly the hub caps are held in place by the chamfered rim of the lug bolts. I'd been quoted 'about $4,500' for everything which was a little vague. I suspected the final price might grow a little. Instead of growing it was almost $400 less. And the wheels look great with all valves accessible using a 'truckers tire gauge'... the one with an additional valve that's angled at 45° to the rear. Oddly my complaint about the steering pulling strongly to the right has disappeared. Not sure how that's possible but I'll take it. The Admiral would probably say it's because I was an altar boy for a couple years but I have a hunch that ship already sailed!

Just heard from Shannon Auto Parts here in Benson. They tell me our wheels and the tires have arrived (early!!) and we have been invited to show up 20 Sep (Monday) at 0830 to 0900 to have everything installed. Well done Shannon Auto Parts!

Tim-the-fixer seems to have done a good job resolving the leak- looks like I didn't get the strainer cover seated properly. The pump was on a few nights with no apparent water anywhere and no sound of the pump while one of us was there during the day.  And the leaky drain pipe on the bathroom basin was apparently resolved with the new tightening-nut. The old one had been over-tightened which cracked the nut. Tim repaired the damage to the base cabinet caused when I nearly ripped the counter extension from its mount. Easy-peasey if you know what you're doing. He got some liquid 2-part epoxy and squirted it into each hole to repair the damage. After it set 24 hours it was ready to have the screws run back in. The Admiral went on a buying mission to Walmart to find a different shower head. The one installed on the Vegas uses a plastic hose that lacks the flexible wound-metal covering. Plastic hose by itself defies gravity and insists on mimicking a coil spring. But text messages s...

We really liked Rose Valley RV Ranch. Silver City in New Mexico had been having steady monsoon rains (it's the season) and we were surrounded by green grass. We were in a somewhat isolated spot as I mentioned in an earlier post. Everywhere I looked I saw another great photo opportunity. Loved it. Rose Valley RV Ranch The Google satellite image above was taken during the dry season and lacks the intense green colors we saw everywhere. The metal roofed building at bottom-center is The Barn ; the closest RV site, right at the corner of the road, is site #32 which we had for our stay. The red marker in the center of the park happens to be very close to the showers/laundry room making our site very convenient. And that residential development to the left with all the teeny, tiny houses is Memory Lane Cemetery. Quietest neighbors you could hope for. We did hear gunshots one morning after we arrived. Single weapon, fired randomly. Guessing someone was after some poor critter- not a happy ...

... the floor is wet!   I had a losing battle with the park water supply. I couldn't believe it was low- ultimately I discovered it was set to 10 psi instead of something higher than about 40 psi. After all doesn't Camping World and (at half the price!) Walmart make a lot of money selling regulators so we don't put more than 40 psi city water pressure inside the coach? The water pump and a lot of plumbing parts seem to live under the jack knife sofa along with the 50 gal fresh water tank. I saw a couple valves attached to the tank and discovered there was a supply shutoff valve and a low point drain valve. For whatever stupid reason I left the drain open (it's for emptying the tank) then went outside and checked something. I saw water pouring out thru sloppily bonded fiberglass covering forward of the black tank. Sort of pouring out but it's not a clear path and seems to get deflected on the way toward the ground. Back inside and close the &^%$ drain! I spotted ...

... haven't heard a sound out of them since we arrived! Some of that famous dark Irish humor my Walsh heritage suggests!