Since the bus had a bulkhead wall installed in the middle and cots in the back, I decided that we would sleep in the bus on the way back from Tennessee to Southern California. In addition to clothes and a shaving kit, I packed a box with sleeping bags, two blankets, a 50 foot extension cord, an electric heater, and a pillow.
I wanted to take the most direct route, which was I-40. I spent the two weeks after New Year's watching the weather. My fear was that we would run into bad weather and end up having to take the longer I-10 route. Looking at the weather sites on the Internet seemed to indicate that a warming trend was forming along my route.
Friday, January 15, 1999
My father arrived at my house Friday morning around 4:45 AM. We finished packing just as my friend Price, arrived. We left my house around 5:00 AM, headed for LAX. Our flight left promptly at 7:20 AM.
We landed in Nashville, TN at 1:22 PM. The temperature on the ground was 36 degrees! A bit of a difference from the 70 degree weather we left behind in Southern California. The broker's wife met us outside the baggage claim area, as planned. It took a little doing, but we managed to fit all our luggage in her Camary.
It was a short ride to the broker's lot. The bus was parked out front. A quick walkaround, revealed that the bus was is pretty good shape. The taillight on the right side was broken. John said that someone had just backed into it, while his driver was fueling it up. He assured me that he would get a replacement and ship it to my home.
We took it for a test drive. I was surprise how tight the steering was, in spite of the fact that the coach had bias ply tires. I had read several articles that described coaches wandering all over the freeway. All things considered, I was about to buy a coach.
It didn't take long to finish the paperwork. We were on the road to Memphis by 3:30 PM. I was about two miles into our trip, when I asked my father for my sunglasses. I told him that they were in my small black bag, that said "Ultimate" on it, with my wallet. It turns out that he missed that bag, while I was getting checked out on the coach. Oh well, we were only two miles away. I'm just glad that we found out when we did.
The broker's directions to I-65 were good and we found it with no problems. We stopped at the first truck stop we came to and topped off the fuel tank. It was half full, AND diesel was only .86 cents!
When we stopped for dinner at around 6:30 PM, I called a campground that I found in a guide. It was on the west end of Memphis, near the Mississippi River and it sounded very nice. I gave the woman on the phone my credit card number, and made a reservation for that night. We pulled into the campground at 9:30 PM, and it was definitely NOT what we expected. We decided that it wasn't a big deal, since we were leaving at 6:00 in the morning. We went to plug in the 50' extension cord and discovered that they only had 30 AMP connections. That meant no heater. It never occurred to me that barges would be sounding their horns all night.
Mental note: Don't stay next to major rivers every again!
Saturday, January 16, 1999
It took me forever to fall asleep. It didn't register when I saw light leaking from the front of the coach that it was probably later than 5:00 AM. I guess I changed the time from PM to AM the night before, so my clock now read 7:20 PM. That's probably why the alarm never went off. I had planned on driving twelve hour days. That meant we were getting a two and a half hour late start. A quick shower and we were on our way.
We drove all day. We were only twelve miles from the Arkansas border, when we stopped the night before. It was a very pleasant drive through Arkansas. We stopped at an RV supply store in North Little Rock, AR to get a 30/15 AMP adapter. We went to a Kroger to get some drinks, an ice chest and ice. Then, a quick stop at Pep Boys for a case of oil. Those three excursions cost us another hour.
We passed into Oklahoma and were amazed at how cheap diesel was. We actually saw a couple stations selling diesel for .81 cents. Shortly after dinner, we stopped at a gas station in Hydro, OK to make campground reservations for the night. Our intended destination was Amarillo, TX. It was going to be late but we figured that we could make it. We secured as spot and continued on. We entered Texas at night, so we didn't see much.
We arrived at the campground around 9:30 PM. We plugged in the heater and went looking for the bathrooms and showers. It took a little time to find the only building. Imagine my horror to discover a combination lock on the door. The woman that took my reservation never said anything about a combination. Oh well, I was tired and didn't feel like making a scene. It was off to bed.
Sunday, January 17, 1999
I guess I got the time right on my clock, because the alarm went off at 5:30 AM as planned. Another check of the bathroom revealeds that it was still locked. We decided to pack up and head out.
We stopped for breakfast and added oil. We had run all day Saturday without fueling. I knew that we needed to stop soon. It was still dark when we crossed the New Mexico border. I realized that because it was dark, we never saw anything but highway in Texas.
We finally stopped for fuel at a truck stop in the New Mexico. It had to be the busiest truck stop in the US. Trucks were everywhere and the drivers weren't very polite. I stopped on an incline behind a big rig. I left the engine running and set the parking break. I walked into the station to ask the attendant something. When I returned to the bus, the engine wasn't running and it couldn't get it started. OH NO! I released the break and coasted to the pump. I confirmed my greatest fear when it took 132 gallons to fill the tank. I'd run out of diesel waiting in line for the pump.
A very helpful truck driver took a look at it for me. It didn't take long to realize that he didn't know much more about my 8v71 then I did. He did however, recommend the mechanic at the shop next door. The repair shop owner drove his truck over to my bus. The truck driver awaiting in line behind my bus was surprisingly nice about having to move his rig. The mechanic removed both fuel filters. One was full of fuel and the other was empty. He filled the empty one with fuel, that he had in a jug, and re-installed them both. Next, he located the return fuel line to the tank and blew compressed air into it. When we saw fuel coming out of the fuel line fitting, he told me to hit the starter. She fired up on the first try! Total cost was $50.00 and another hour. The good news is, I learned how to prime my fuel system.
We passed quietly into Arizona, and were in Flagstaff before we knew it. It was about 6:30 PM, so we decided to stop for dinner. A quick meal at the Denny's on Route 66, and we were back on the road.
I don't particularly like the east entrance route into the Grand Canyon, so we decided to try highway 180. Highway 180 runs into the 64, which takes you through the south entrance of the park. I had two cars following me when we left Flagstaff. The incline was fair and they never got close enough to attempt to pass me. Both cars turned off after about 10 miles and I never saw a car behind me again. I only had to downshift into third (good practice) a couple of times. I maneuvered through the gentle banking turns and moderate grades mostly in forth gear. It was great fun.
It wasn't too long before we with the 64. We entered Grand Canyon National Park around 8:30 PM. We headed straight to Camper Services for a hot shower, but it closes at 6:00 PM. Over at Trailer Village we found a note on the registration shack. It said, "BOUTHILLIER B8 - PLEASE STOP BY AND REGISTER IN THE MORNING". Sounded simple enough to me. We found B8 and had no trouble negotiating the 35 foot beast into the space. We promptly threw the extension cord out the ticket window, connected it to the 30 AMP power, and fired up the electric heater. Satisfied with our day, we walked down to the Cafeteria for a cup of coffee. Half way across the parking lot we saw the manager lock the front door. Finally, we decided it was time to turn in for the night.
Monday, January 18, 1999
God may have rested on the seventh day, but we are only human. I planned the trip to give us an extra day to relax in the Grand Canyon. The fourth day was our day to rest. If you ever get the chance to visit Grand Canyon in the winter, do it! There was almost nobody in the park. There seemed to be hundreds of deer. The only problem was the free shuttles don't run in the winter. We ended up doing a lot of walking.
We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the Bright Angle Lodge. We decided to take the bus, rather than walk the mile and a half. I parked it at the bottom of the hill, next to the train tracks. We each had a nice steak. After dinner, we walked down the metal stairs to the parking lot. Next to the train tracks there were about a dozen deer were grazing. We approached them slowly and they didn't even seem to notice us. I saw a large doe grazing next to a three foot high wooden fence. A walked up to the fence slowly and quietly. She finally noticed me and looked up kind of startled. She looked at me intently for about thirty seconds before deciding that I posed no threat and returned to her grazing. I'm certain that if I had leaned over the fence slowly enough I could have petted her. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
We slipped the coach back into our campground spot and reconnected the heater. I read for a little while, before going to bed. It was a long peaceful day, and just what the doctor ordered after 1600 miles.
Tuesday, January 19, 1999
Laying in bed, I thought that 5:30 AM would never arrive. It finally did, and we both sprang out of bed. The little heater couldn't quite keep the whole coach warm, but it did knock the chill out of the air. We went to the heated bathroom and washed up. If everything went well, we should be home before 4:00 PM.
It was pretty cold. I was concerned about starting her. The night before a class C motorhome had pulled in right behind us. I hit the starter and waited to see the smoke in the mirror. I waited five seconds, and hit the starter again. When I saw smoke, I waited another five seconds and hit the starter for the third time. My father asked if I wanted him to give the engine a shot of ether. I told him if she didn't start on the next try to grab the can and head for the back. I press the start button one more time and the engine roared to life. Smoke was everywhere and the Detroit was making quite a racket. I decided to coaster her down the little access road, to the market parking lot, so my neighbors could go back to sleep.
On the way down the access road a huge buck walked right in front of the slowly moving bus. I wanted to hit him with my high beams, but I was so awestruck that I couldn't remember where the switch was. INCREDIBLE! We rolled into the parking lot of the general store, and let the Detroit warm up.
We had a quick breakfast at the Mc Donald's in Williams, and aimed the bus in the general direction of California. As we headed to the CA border, I noticed that the turn signals were acting funny. When we stopped at a truck stop in Barstow, CA., I removed the access panel next to the driver's seat and located the turn signal flasher relay. I found an exact match in the truck stop and swapped it out while we were fueling. I tried the turn signals. I could hear the relay blinking, but the dash light was not working. I replace the orignal relay, and the signals never worked again. No matter what combination I tried, I just couldn't get the turn signals to work. Since it was noon, we decided to get some lunch and continue on without turn signals.
Fortunately, the coach already had some large Ramco mirrors installed on it. I figured that if I gave myself plenty of room lane for lane changes, I could probably make it the rest of the way home without signals. I planned the trip just right. We pulled into town at 2:30 PM, and completely missed the rush hour traffic. I quickly made arrangements with the management at my mobilehome park, and got my assigned RV parking space. I put her in the spot, unpacked most of my belongings into my car and headed straight for the shower at home.
All in all, it was a great trip. We drove about 2,300 miles. With the exception of using a lot of oil, running out of diesel and the turn signals everything went surprisingly smooth. Taking a moment as I pulled my car out of the storage area, I glanced back at my newest toy and smiled.