Finally, we get the truck back. This particular ford dealership (in Bishop, CA on highway 395) has the worse customer service of all of the Ford dealers we have worked with over the past 2+ years. Really, the truck was ready last night but because no one wanted to stay late, they left the paper work until this morning. If Boots hadn’t called, the truck and paper work would still be sitting on their site. As it was when she showed up, they still hadn’t processed the paper. She couldn’t just get the truck and leave. Boots had to go to the brand manager. He was quick (and loudly vocal) to remedy the situation.
We hooked up and zipped up to Acton, CA for the week-end. This is a much older park which has challenges in providing steady electrical power. They are working on improvements but the park is large and our preferred locations on the back hill is still challenged. Lucky for us we have a surge protector and another RV’er indicated a site that had not had any problems lately.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Bishop, Ca
We are still in Bishop, CA but the part has arrived and they are busy working on the fix and test. We were supposed to be at the Camping World in Valencia / Newhall / Santa Clarita / Stevenson Ranch for some annual maintenance work; which had previously been scheduled in the Portland, OR area. So, we had to call them and reschedule for Monday/Tuesday next week; hopefully that will work.
Ruthi’s sore throat continues to bother her so she’ called the local “Call a Ride” to be transported to a local family health clinic to get checked for strep. Good news is that it isn’t strep and she lost 10 pounds on the “Sore Throat” diet. Bad news is she just needs to wait out the virus. Easier said than done – her throat feels like cut glass is at the back and very painful!
After the clinic, Ruthi bought some liquid Sudafed and Iubprofen at the pharmacy next door for easier medicine taking. Then she waited on the clinic front steps for the "Call a Ride" to pick her up and return her to the RV park. While she was waiting, an elderly gentleman pulled into the clinic parking lot and got out of his car. He shuffled ever so slowly up the sidewalk, in what looked like painful inch by painful inch movements. When he finally reached the clinic door it was locked. Ruthi apologized for not letting him know sooner that only the receptionist was in the office as everyone else had gone out to lunch right after her appointment.
The receptionist came to the door and let the gentlemen in find out what he needed. When he came out he asked Ruthi if she was waiting for a ride and offered to take her to the RV park. Ruthi had seen multiple "Call a Ride" vans go by without stopping, so she took him up on his offer. Then she joined him in the slow slow walk back to his car. If any of you have ever walked with Ruthi, you know she has more of a run gait instead of a walk as her normal pace.
Finally they got to the car and were putting on their seat belts, when the gentleman let her know that he was a serial killer but this was his day off. ruthi looked at him and said in as much seriousness as possible: "I may not run as fast as I used to but I can surely out run you!"
Ruthi’s sore throat continues to bother her so she’ called the local “Call a Ride” to be transported to a local family health clinic to get checked for strep. Good news is that it isn’t strep and she lost 10 pounds on the “Sore Throat” diet. Bad news is she just needs to wait out the virus. Easier said than done – her throat feels like cut glass is at the back and very painful!
After the clinic, Ruthi bought some liquid Sudafed and Iubprofen at the pharmacy next door for easier medicine taking. Then she waited on the clinic front steps for the "Call a Ride" to pick her up and return her to the RV park. While she was waiting, an elderly gentleman pulled into the clinic parking lot and got out of his car. He shuffled ever so slowly up the sidewalk, in what looked like painful inch by painful inch movements. When he finally reached the clinic door it was locked. Ruthi apologized for not letting him know sooner that only the receptionist was in the office as everyone else had gone out to lunch right after her appointment.
The receptionist came to the door and let the gentlemen in find out what he needed. When he came out he asked Ruthi if she was waiting for a ride and offered to take her to the RV park. Ruthi had seen multiple "Call a Ride" vans go by without stopping, so she took him up on his offer. Then she joined him in the slow slow walk back to his car. If any of you have ever walked with Ruthi, you know she has more of a run gait instead of a walk as her normal pace.
Finally they got to the car and were putting on their seat belts, when the gentleman let her know that he was a serial killer but this was his day off. ruthi looked at him and said in as much seriousness as possible: "I may not run as fast as I used to but I can surely out run you!"
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Independence, CA
Ruthi awoke to no power and hence no heat. The sun was charging the batteries (or so she thought) and heating up the rig. It turns out that after batteries die, they need to be turned off and then turned on again to begin the charging process. Once Ruthi figured that out, the solar panels did their work. It was going to take a while before the microwave would nuke the broth for her throat.
Boots had been informed that the part was not in, so there was another delay in the final fix to the radiator(s). So, we re-grouped and decided to have the rig towed back to a Bishop RV park so Boots, Ruthi and Karma could be rejoined with electricity (no sewer at this particular park – so we used our reserve tank of water and their showers/bathrooms).
The same guy who had towed the truck came back to get us with his boss’s 2004 Ford F350 pickup. While the boss is very into horses, she’s not that into dogs; so, Karma had to ride in her kennel in the RV. Karma was not pleased and having never ridden there she was a little freaked. Ruthi had forgotten to place one of the wheeled office chairs on the bed. That was rolling back and forth in the living room area making all kinds of noise we are sure. When we finally got to the park and were able to get Karma out she was in major stress mode. Lots of water drinking and wanting to stay outside unless we were all going in together - poor baby!
Boots had been informed that the part was not in, so there was another delay in the final fix to the radiator(s). So, we re-grouped and decided to have the rig towed back to a Bishop RV park so Boots, Ruthi and Karma could be rejoined with electricity (no sewer at this particular park – so we used our reserve tank of water and their showers/bathrooms).
The same guy who had towed the truck came back to get us with his boss’s 2004 Ford F350 pickup. While the boss is very into horses, she’s not that into dogs; so, Karma had to ride in her kennel in the RV. Karma was not pleased and having never ridden there she was a little freaked. Ruthi had forgotten to place one of the wheeled office chairs on the bed. That was rolling back and forth in the living room area making all kinds of noise we are sure. When we finally got to the park and were able to get Karma out she was in major stress mode. Lots of water drinking and wanting to stay outside unless we were all going in together - poor baby!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Bishop, Ca
Pulling out in the morning we went through Bishop proper and were really surprised by the thriving business along route 395 in the middle of town. There is a strong tourism business for the area – skiing and hunting. On our way South, the truck’s cooling system light came on. We were just North of Independence, CA (small small town). We called our road-side assistance number and eventually talked with a service representative (back at Ford in Bishop, of course). He was pretty insistent about getting us towed back to their facility. After the engine had cooled and the light was off we proceeded to Independence (it turned out to be less than a mile down the road), we checked at both (that’s right only 2) gas stations and they only had what we thought was an off-brand of anti-freeze already mixed with water at 50-50.
After more discussions with the Ford representative and Sheriff and California Highway Patrol, we decided that the best course of action was to have Boots go with the towed truck. Ruthi and Karma would stay with the rig on a side street. Our thinking being – how long could it take to check the radiators (yes, this truck as multiple radiators and 2 batteries) and flush/re-fill the tanks? Then Boots could return and we would again be off South. You know snow is coming to Northern and Central California and that is not in our agenda ever again!!!
Well, the radiator problem is not simple – surprise surprise – but it is covered by the warranty – some good news in all of this. It seems there was an internal leak and something was broken and needed to be replaced. They needed to order the part (from Detroit, we guessed). So, Boots got a cheap hotel room and Ruthi/Karma settled in for the night. Because the rig was left on a side street, the slides were not deployed. What that means was that there is no access to the TV, pots/pans, and bedding (blankets especially). Ruthi was only eating liquids because of her sore throat anyway so the batteries would heat the broth in the microwave and charge her laptop. What more did she need.
Boots was provided a tooth brush/paste, comb, etc. by the hotel staff and ate at a neighboring restaurant. Ruthi, on the other hand, bundled up in long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and socks with a pareo wrapped around her head and went to bed with Karma close by. It was a one-dog night for Ruthi. With solar power charging the batteries during the day and propane for the furnace, she thought she was in great shape.
After more discussions with the Ford representative and Sheriff and California Highway Patrol, we decided that the best course of action was to have Boots go with the towed truck. Ruthi and Karma would stay with the rig on a side street. Our thinking being – how long could it take to check the radiators (yes, this truck as multiple radiators and 2 batteries) and flush/re-fill the tanks? Then Boots could return and we would again be off South. You know snow is coming to Northern and Central California and that is not in our agenda ever again!!!
Well, the radiator problem is not simple – surprise surprise – but it is covered by the warranty – some good news in all of this. It seems there was an internal leak and something was broken and needed to be replaced. They needed to order the part (from Detroit, we guessed). So, Boots got a cheap hotel room and Ruthi/Karma settled in for the night. Because the rig was left on a side street, the slides were not deployed. What that means was that there is no access to the TV, pots/pans, and bedding (blankets especially). Ruthi was only eating liquids because of her sore throat anyway so the batteries would heat the broth in the microwave and charge her laptop. What more did she need.
Boots was provided a tooth brush/paste, comb, etc. by the hotel staff and ate at a neighboring restaurant. Ruthi, on the other hand, bundled up in long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and socks with a pareo wrapped around her head and went to bed with Karma close by. It was a one-dog night for Ruthi. With solar power charging the batteries during the day and propane for the furnace, she thought she was in great shape.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Minden, NV
We got to Minden, NV from Quincy, CA on Saturday night. The 10 miles North of Minden is a “high winds” stretch of highway. We had luckily passed through with little to no winds. When we checked into the park, the woman at the gate told us we were lucky to get there early as the winds were forecasted to pick up and the road (California 395) would soon be closed to semis and RVs. We pulled the rig into our spot and stayed hooked for the night as we intended to head further South in the morning. Our space had a small tree about 10 feet from our bedroom slide-out.
The winds did pick up during the night banging the tree against our bedroom wall again and again. It was kinda like being in a tornado or hurricane pathway. There were big hard gusts of wind shaking the rig and then nothing for a while before the big gusts and tree banging came again. This went on most of the night. By morning the winds had not really diminished. We checked with both the Nevada and California DOTs (Department of Transportation) web sites to check on the wind / road conditions. CA 395 was closed for RVs between Minden and the San Bernadino. So, we went over to the casino and gave them some of our retirement money.
Sunday night wasn’t much better but we waited out the wind, rain, and banging on the bedroom wall. We thought if we got up and left early (or at least what was early for us – 8am), we could get through the rough spots and get to Bishop, CA before the weather really got going for the day. Well, both DOTs gave tentative oks for the trip. The weather records showed light winds down 395 in our path. So, as we were still hooked up, we took off early and hurried to Bishop.
There was little to no winds on our Monday drive. We were lucky enough to be just out of range of the winds. California’s DOT still warned for the roads further South but we had an easy and relatively quick drive to Bishop. Our one-night stopover was again at a casino (just as you enter Bishop) but much cheaper - $5 – no hook up (i.e., water, electricity, and sewer). But we were fine having planned for this type of stop on our way to Southern California. Ruthi was having some pain from a sore throat so we looked into walking to a local clinic to check that it wasn’t strep. We couldn’t find anything close by so figured we do it at our next stop. So, after again supporting the local economy at the casino, we crashed early.
The winds did pick up during the night banging the tree against our bedroom wall again and again. It was kinda like being in a tornado or hurricane pathway. There were big hard gusts of wind shaking the rig and then nothing for a while before the big gusts and tree banging came again. This went on most of the night. By morning the winds had not really diminished. We checked with both the Nevada and California DOTs (Department of Transportation) web sites to check on the wind / road conditions. CA 395 was closed for RVs between Minden and the San Bernadino. So, we went over to the casino and gave them some of our retirement money.
Sunday night wasn’t much better but we waited out the wind, rain, and banging on the bedroom wall. We thought if we got up and left early (or at least what was early for us – 8am), we could get through the rough spots and get to Bishop, CA before the weather really got going for the day. Well, both DOTs gave tentative oks for the trip. The weather records showed light winds down 395 in our path. So, as we were still hooked up, we took off early and hurried to Bishop.
There was little to no winds on our Monday drive. We were lucky enough to be just out of range of the winds. California’s DOT still warned for the roads further South but we had an easy and relatively quick drive to Bishop. Our one-night stopover was again at a casino (just as you enter Bishop) but much cheaper - $5 – no hook up (i.e., water, electricity, and sewer). But we were fine having planned for this type of stop on our way to Southern California. Ruthi was having some pain from a sore throat so we looked into walking to a local clinic to check that it wasn’t strep. We couldn’t find anything close by so figured we do it at our next stop. So, after again supporting the local economy at the casino, we crashed early.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Quincy, CA
We had planned going through Monterey, CA and then stopping along the central to southern coast as we returned to Santee, CA for the winter. We had appointments at the Valencia, CA Camping World for our annual maintenance work. This work had been originally scheduled for the Vancouver, WA area but was re-scheduled due to the rush back to Reno for Boots’ surgery. So, instead we headed back to Quincy for another 10 days.
Melody spent the first week with the kids at her parents in Oroville. When she returned to Quincy, Boots had some meals created that they could just heat up and both of us were available for childcare for her first week back home. The pain was still pretty intense so Melody was trying to manage that carefully so as not to be drugged all of the time. Tara was abruptly weaned and seemed ok with it. Both kids talked about how their momma was hurt by the horse and were very helpful as a result. While Melody wanted to be up and doing it was very difficult and she really needed to just stay still and wait for the healing – not easy for an active mother of 2 little ones – even though we were there. Also, a lot of her friends came by to clean and plan how they would do meals after we were gone. Their friends and the community were very helpful.
Between meals, childcare, picking up Bodhi from school and entertaining Tara, we were very busy that second week of Melody’s recovery.
Melody spent the first week with the kids at her parents in Oroville. When she returned to Quincy, Boots had some meals created that they could just heat up and both of us were available for childcare for her first week back home. The pain was still pretty intense so Melody was trying to manage that carefully so as not to be drugged all of the time. Tara was abruptly weaned and seemed ok with it. Both kids talked about how their momma was hurt by the horse and were very helpful as a result. While Melody wanted to be up and doing it was very difficult and she really needed to just stay still and wait for the healing – not easy for an active mother of 2 little ones – even though we were there. Also, a lot of her friends came by to clean and plan how they would do meals after we were gone. Their friends and the community were very helpful.
Between meals, childcare, picking up Bodhi from school and entertaining Tara, we were very busy that second week of Melody’s recovery.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Reno, NV
When we began our American Tour, we knew we would need to establish new doctor relationships somewhere in the lower 48. We picked Reno, NV as Boots’ son (John) and his family live within 90 miles. So, we have been poked, prodded, MRI’d, PET’d, sonogramed, and ‘-scoped’ for both yin and yang. We have a general practioner, optometrist, dermatologist, cardiologist, urologists, internist, etc, etc, etc. Both of us have good bills of health not that we don’t have some issues common with aging but over all we are healthy for women in their 60’s.
We have been very pleased with our doctors and both of the Reno hospitals/labs (St Mary and Renown) we have dealt with. We have experienced an interesting and seemingly usual behavior of these doctors. They are really good at listening / hearing what we have had to say and they call us personally with lab results as late as 6 or 7 pm. They don’t schedule appointments just to tell us everything was fine. They haven’t seemed to be interested in testing for testing sake. Since Boots is on Medicare and Ruthi has personal insurance (which is very minimal), the doctors/billing services have not treated either of us differently.
Well, there it is! For those of you that were hoping for a quick demise or early access to any few pennies we may left – it’s not going to happen very soon!!!
We have been very pleased with our doctors and both of the Reno hospitals/labs (St Mary and Renown) we have dealt with. We have experienced an interesting and seemingly usual behavior of these doctors. They are really good at listening / hearing what we have had to say and they call us personally with lab results as late as 6 or 7 pm. They don’t schedule appointments just to tell us everything was fine. They haven’t seemed to be interested in testing for testing sake. Since Boots is on Medicare and Ruthi has personal insurance (which is very minimal), the doctors/billing services have not treated either of us differently.
Well, there it is! For those of you that were hoping for a quick demise or early access to any few pennies we may left – it’s not going to happen very soon!!!
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