BELLEMONT TO VALLE AZ, RESTING UP AT FRED’S PLACE & LOT’S OF OLD AIRPLANES

Overnight at the Bellemont Truck Repair Center still had us close to the Santa Fe’s main rail lines & with a rail crossing a short distance away we had train whistles in the night but I didn’t think there were as many trains.  I did hear a big tractor trailer pull in right beside us & shut things down though.  We were both up at 4 & waved bye bye to our memories of Bellemont Arizona by 7:10 a.m.

HARD TO IMAGINE THIS FLAT TERRAIN JUST 40 MILES AHEAD HOLD’S ONE OF THE 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Over coffee about 4:30 this morning we discussed our route & decided to backtrack a short distance to Williams & head straight north up 64 towards Arizona’s Grand Canyon as originally planned.  Needed to replenish our fresh water tank & have ourselves a slow relaxing day so headed for Bedrock City in Valle Arizona.  Nice soothing early morning drive with the rig running perfectly.  Less than an hour out of Bellemont we were at Fred Flintstones RV Park in Valle.  We were here once before back in late 08 so knew what to expect.  This is a theme RV Park long past it’s hay-day but they have a neat little restaurant (Fred’s Diner) here & we weren’t long in getting ourselves settin down for some breakfast with coffee being 5 cents a cup.  Mexican lady doing the cooking so Kelly’s big Burrito breakfast was excellent as well as my standard eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns & 5 cent coffee.  This is a uniquely rustic & tired old gift shop with a cozy little restaurant at the north end.  I liked this place right from the first time we walked in there six & half years ago & I liked the little cave like dimly lit hole in the wall eatery.  No fancy schmanzy stuff here……..My kinda place:)) 

 

THAT’S KELLY WAY BACK THERE IN THE CORNER LEAVING A TIP AT OUR TABLE (RIGHT PHOTO)

 

I THINK MOST OF THIS STUFF HAS BEEN HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME

 

MAIN DOOR ON THE RIGHT

Tim Horton checked us in at the office/grocery store.  Yes that’s his name so I took his photo.  Any coffee loving Canadian would have done the same.  

CHECKING IN WITH MR. TIM HORTON WHO HAPPENS TO BE ORIGINALLY FROM FLINT MICHIGAN

BEHIND THIS WALL LIES WHAT IS LEFT OF THE WILMA & FRED FLINTSTONE ERA

Found us a spot where both water & electric worked, un-hooked the Jeep & settled us down a spell.  Nobody close just a dozen old abandoned RV trailers close by.  Counted 15 rigs in the Park & 12 of them were long ago empty.  Yes we’re quite comfortable with absent non existent neighbors like that.  I remembered they had an air museum nearby so after having a shower I headed myself just down the road half a mile or so to have me a look at all the airplanes there.

 

NOBODY LIVING IN ANY OF THOSE OLD TRASHED TRAILERS BEHIND US SO WE HAVE US A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD EXCEPT FOR TRAFFIC ON 64 IN FRONT OF US BUT IT’S NOT A PROBLEM

 

PHEEBS HOLDING HER PAW UP BECAUSE SHE STEPPED ON A GOATSHEAD STICKER

This is a first rate aircraft museum located right on highway 64 at Valle’s south end.  Just $6.95 to get in & I spent a couple very enjoyable hours walking around looking at everything.  Only a handful of people there & of course that was a major bonus for me.  Nobody getting in the way of photos & no hollering kids racing around.  Now how nice is that. 

  

GERMAN MESSERSCHMITT ME-109 ON THE LEFT

THIS ‘SPIRIT OF GRAND CANYON’ AIRCRAFT ONCE FLEW PASSENGERS OVER THE CANYON (OF COURSE IT HAD FABRIC ON IT’S WINGS THEN)

After all these years I finally got to see what the cockpit of a P-38 Lightning & an F-86 Sabre Jet looked like.  Just about all of the aircraft displayed looked perfectly flyable & I’m sure some of the were.  So great that so many people have come together to form groups with the goal of preserving aircraft.

COCKPIT OF A P-38 LIGHTNING

 

ENGINE & BUSINESS END OF A P-38

INSTRUMENT PANEL OF A B-17 FLYING FORTRESS

 

P-51 MUSTANG ON LEFT & AN F4F CORSAIR ON THE RIGHT

Out back of the large hanger were parked another half dozen old planes plus a lot of airplane parts with some of them being huge.  Can’t imagine how aircraft aficionados can restore aircraft from bit & pieces but they do.  There were sections of what I am assuming was once a large 4 engine bomber of some kind laying in sections out back.  

RUSSIAN MIG

 

5 BIG ENGINES OF WHICH 4 COULD BE OFF A LARGE WW2 BOMBER

 

TAIL SECTION & A HUGE SECTION OF WING

 

2 ENGINE COWLINGS ON ONE WING PLUS ENGINES

 

INSIDE A WING & LOOK AT ALL THAT COMPLEXITY AMIDSHIPS BETWEEN THE WINGS

Would have stayed longer at the air museum but my legs gave out & were bothering me so knew I had to get back to the rig & sit down.  The overhead cloud cover was breaking up so Kelly & the Pheebs were out soaking up a few warming rays.  Oh so nice to see the sun & feel it’s healing rays.  By the end of the day we were under clear skies.  We both agreed it was the right decision to come here to Valle’s Bedrock RV Park & just veg out for the day totally relaxing & putting the last couple days behind us.  Kelly’s been handling the stress levels better than I have.  All day I felt the way I usually feel after a long & grueling journey & here it is only the 3rd day of our trek home.  I’m hoping today’s rest & relaxation with a good night’s sleep & no nearby train whistles will catch up with me tomorrow.

LOCKHEED CONSTELLATION OFTEN CALLED THE ‘CONNIE’

  

BIRD’S NEST IN A WHEEL WELL

 

 

Plan to head off to the Grand Canyon’s south rim first thing in the morning.  We’re going to start off by riding the Canyons buses.  They are free & take folks all around the Park pointing out all the highlights.  Figured that’s a good way to orient ourselves with the surroundings.  Last time there in late 08 we did a lot of walking along the Canyon’s rim & around Canyon Village.  Might do a little more Jeeping this time because like I said I’m having some problems with my legs.  We are also going to scout out a couple boondocking spots south of the Park & if we find one we like we’ll maybe move the rig up there Saturday morning for a day or two.  Our journey carries us through the Park & out the east entrance anyway when we depart the area so everything is right on the way.

 

REASON I HAVEN’T CAPTIONED ALL THE AIRCRAFT IS BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ALL ARE

Pheebs & I went for a short walk after supper & scared us up a few sunset pics along the way.  C’yall tomorrow night:))

 

LOOKING AT THE WEST SIDE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS FROM FRED’S PLACE

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( You Know the computer belongs to a Redneck if....
1.The mouse is referred to as a "critter."
2.The keyboard is camouflaged.
3.There is a Skoal can in the CD-ROM drive.
4.There is a gunrack mounted on the CPU.
5.The password is, "bubba."
6.The numeric keypad only goes up to six.
7.Outgoing faxes have beer stains on them.
8.The printer goes really slow since Bubba don't read too fast.
9.The extra RAM slots have Dodge truck parts installed in them.
10.The menus all have Budweiser, Black Label, and Old Milwaukee options.
11.Jeff Foxworthy *.wavs.
12.The monitor is up on blocks.
13.Seven blue tick hounds under the desk.
14.Deer jerky in the desk drawer.
15.The screen saver consists of pictures of Ned Beatty with dueling banjos playing in the background.
16.The six front keys have rotted out.
17.John Deer Pocket Protectors.

 

DAY 2………MORE STRESS:((

THE ONLY SCENIC PHOTOS I COULD MANAGE TODAY WAS OUR VIEW OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS JUST NORTH OF FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA

Now I think this Bellemont Camper World is a place Sam from somewhere over there near St. Louis would really like.  Just a few hundred yards south of our location is a double main line set of railroad tracks running east/west & I’m guessing there is close to a dozen heavy duty long freight trains going by every hour.  Five & six big engines pulling a ka-zillion freight cars & boy oh boy are they ever noisy.  Despite that we both slept well.  We were just too frazzled to sleep any other way.  Besides I took a sleeping pill & knocked myself out like totally silly.  Oh & our fridge is still working perfectly ‘of course’.

CAN SEE HERE HOW CLOSE CAMPING WORLD IS TO THE DOUBLE MAIN RAIL LINE

Pheebs & I were up early & out the door by 4:30 a.m.  No stars so knew we were under a heavy cloud cover.  A bit cold with a few small patches of dirty plowed snow in the corner of the parking lot.  No wind.  Over coffee later we discussed what to do with the loss of power in the coach when climbing hills.  We never had the problem on the way down this winter & the Chevy 8.1 always powered us up & over the mountains with little problem.  Except west of Kingman on our way to the Mojave National Preserve.  A sudden loss of power climbing a grade but then it was fine again.  We figure something somewhere is definitely amiss.

One of the positive aspects of writing a blog & being honest enough to post about problems with various things is the positive feedback in the form of advice, suggestions,  & know-how tips from readers.  Reader feed back gave us a good heads up about our fridge as well as the coaches power problem.  Taking the advice of readers & especially an email from John & Pat Matoon saying, “there is a metal gasket that connects the right exhaust manifold  to the tailpipe.  That gasket went bad and was leaking.  When you are putting a strain on the engine, like climbing a mountain, it leaks more.  There is a Oxygen Sensor close to this gasket and the leaking exhaust caused the sensor to tell the Computer that the engine was running too lean”……..We decided to go back to the truck place & see if they would have time to check that.  Also many readers mentioned having the fuel filter changed so we decided on that as well plus an oil change if they could fit us in.

After breakfast at McDonalds about a mile from our location we were at Camping World’s service desk for our 9:45 appointment but rig didn’t get taken in for another couple hours.  A scheduling conflict.  Because the fridge is working right now we opted for a $79.95 full service whereupon the fridge is completely checked over & cleaned etc.  Blockages are also looked for.  We found the folks at the service counter very friendly & straight forward with regards to servicing the fridge.  Waiting room has internet, TV, & coffee.  Our rig was done just before noon & they said the flu needed blowing out & the igniter cap was off.  That was corrected & they think we may be alright now.  Writing this tonight our fridge is working perfect.  We have our fingers crossed.  No shenanigans, no tom foolery, & no trying to upsell us on anything by the store’s staff.  They did advise periodic servicing to avoid costly repairs.  I agree.  Two thumbs up for the Bellemont Arizona Camping World store at exit 185 on Interstate 40.  They even thanked us for being ‘nice customers’.

 

HANGING OUT IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LOUNGE FOR A COUPLE HOURS

 

AN ANTENNAE POD TOWER DISGUISED TO LOOK LIKE A TREE & OUTSIDE A HARLEY-DAVIDSON SHOP A TREE MADE OF HARLEY MUFFLERS I’M THINKING…BETWEEN CAMPING WORLD & THE BELLEMONT TRUCK CENTER

From Camping World we drove a short mile down the service road beside I-40 to the BELLEMONT TRUCK REPAIR CENTER again to see about getting the aforementioned things done.  This garage does service work for trucks in the area as well as towing.  We dug through the previous owner’s (Don) files & found the parts number for the correct Napa fuel filter & Bellemont had those filters in stock.  While waiting to get into the garage for service things really went south on us all of a sudden & it had to do with the rig again:((

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While waiting an 18 wheeler ‘cab’ came down the road, slowed, & pulled in behind us.  I figured right away he was here to pick up one of the 2 trailers parked on either side & to the back of us.  And he was.  I jumped out of the rig & went back to ask him if he needed us to move the rig.  Said he did because he was after the trailer on our passenger side. (see photo below)  So no problem I jumped into the Big EEE’s driver seat, turned the key……………….nothing!!!!!!  Battery was stone dead.  Not even using the house batteries ‘power boost’ worked.  Stone dead.  Kept trying & trying.  Nothing & nothing.  Scurried back to tell the truck driver of my dilemma which of course now caused a dilemma for him.  Young fella & didn’t seem mad.  So far so good, well sorta.  I raced around & fired up the Jeep pulling it up in front of the rig.  Out with my jumper cables, hooked them up……..nothing.  Tried & tried & again nothing & nothing.  Truck driver was a little concerned but turned out to be a really nice guy about it all.  Next I went into the truck garage & explained my predicament to the lady at the desk.  She right away rounded up a mechanic guy & he came over with a truck & hooked his booster cables on.  Problem solved?? Nope!! Nothing…………That mechanic tried everything he knew but he could not even get the starter to turn over.   Truck driver was now at the point where he had to somehow get that trailer hooked up, out of there, & off to Flagstaff.  There was a narrow space between the trailer & some boulders at the edge of the gravel parking lot & he had no choice but to try to squeeze his cab through there to get in front of the trailer to back up & hook onto it.  I stood on the largest boulder & guided the passenger side of the truck past it but sure was a tight fit.  Couple minutes later he was in position, backed up & hooked onto his trailer.  From there I spotted for him as he backed the 53’ trailer of refrigerated goods out & onto the road.  A big smile, a hearty wave, & hi-ho Silver the big blue truck pulled out & headed east for I-40 & Flagstaff.  What a nice young fella that driver was & despite the problems we were having he & I had some hearty laughs kibitzing back & forth.  Although living in Phoenix now he was originally from Chicago.  For some reason I know I will always remember this brief encounter with that fellow.  Okay, back to our problem……………..

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The mechanic (another really nice guy) spent a good 40 minutes trying this & trying that.  He was on his back under the engine 3 or 4 times.  I stood by the windshield & every time the mechanic would say “try it again” I would signal to Kelly in the drivers seat to hit the switch but nothing worked, just a couple clicks from the relay or starter or something.  Did I mention the cold wind with rain in the air at times.  Every wire he checked with his volt meter was fine.  Battery checked out to fine as well.  After crawling out from under the motorhome for about the 4th time he said he was going back into the garage to talk to another mechanic about the problem.  It was a good opportunity for me to hit the washroom & while in the washroom………the motorhome started up.  What!!!!  Kelly had tried the ignition switch again & sure enough the rig started right up like nobody’s business.  I made fast tracks for the garage to tell the mechanic & you can imagine how relieved he was.  Said while he was under the rig the last time he noticed one of the wires coming from the starter was touching the frame so he pulled that wire over away from the frame.  Could this be the source of our dead battery problem.  Remember this very same thing happened in Williston North Dakota early last October on our way south.  Despite it now being after 5 in the afternoon he said drive the rig around to the shop & he would do the oil change, fuel filter, & tape up that loose starter wire.  While he did this Kelly, Pheebs, & I headed the short distance to the Pilot truck stop & McDonalds/Subway complex.  Got us  big honking 12” sub & headed back to Bellemont Truck Service & waited in the Jeep eating the sub while the skies above rained on us.  Half an hour later our rig was ready to go.  Said there was some dirt in the old fuel filter but he’s seen worse.  Said they couldn’t do the Manifold gasket check because they do not have those gasket parts & said we would be better off to take the rig to a GM dealer for that.  At least this way if we have that loss of power again on the hills we’ll know it’s not the fuel filter.  Anyway I had better get out of here.  This post is already waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long & I am waaaaaaaay too tired.  We’re going to head out in the morning for warmer sunnier weather.  That is if the rig will start & we are able to get over a few more mountains.  Thanks for all your positive support & helpful advice & ideas folks.   Certainly makes things a little less stressful………………….Over & out for tonight.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  Oh ya, we’re overnighting here at the truck garage in the same spot we were parked earlier today.  And 2 big thumbs up for the Bellemont Truck Repair place at exit 185 on I-40 between Williams & Flagstaff Arizona:))

 

PARKED AT THE BELLEMONT TRUCK CENTER WAITING TO GET IN

 

KELLY CHECKS THROUGH PREVIOUS OWNERS FILES WHILE THE NICE MECHANIC GUY CHECKS OUT A FEW THINGS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  It had been snowing for hours when an announcement came over the intercom: "Will the students who are parked on University Drive please move their cars so that we may begin plowing."  Twenty minutes later there was another announcement: "Will the twelve hundred students who went to move 26 cars please return to class."

CONGRESS TO BELLEMONT AZ. (CAMPING WORLD) & A PROBLEM WITH THE RIG:((

ENGINES RUNNING & WE ARE READY TO GO

In my PJ’s with coffee in hand I stood quietly in our front yard’s early morning sunrise listening to a cacophony of beautiful bird songs all round me.  Prevalent was a male Cardinal in a nearby Mesquite tree.  Oh the sounds of happiness from our so many feathered little friends.

KELLY THROWS THE MAIN SWITCH, CLOSES THE FUSE PANEL DOOR & WE ARE GONE

We had left the fridge on electric all night just in case it might work….and it did.  Imagine our surprise to open up the fridge door to cool temps this morning.  Kelly switched it over to gas & wouldn’t you know it the fridge worked totally fine all the way to Camping World & is still working fine tonight as I write this. 

NEXT IS UP YONDER YARNELL HILL TO THE TOP OF THOSE WEAVER MOUNTAINS & BEYOND

We were in no hurry so there was no rushing around & we just took our time loading up & taking care of last minute things.  Did a walk around of the property taking photos of all the flowerbeds etc.  Need to have a visual record of things.  Photos inside of all the rooms as well.  I generally do this every year mainly as a record of what we have & where things are.  Checked & re-checked everything, said good-bye to the birds, my new shovel, the shed, the house & just about every other little thing in between.     It was exactly 11 a.m. Arizona time when rolled through our south gate.  Pheebs & I in the rig & Kelly following in the Jeep.  What a gorgeously beautiful 84F Arizona morning it was.

 

The Big EEE climbed the Yarnell Hill like it wasn’t even there & we would probably have been alright with the Jeep on but sometimes it’s just better to err on the safe side.  Pulled into Yarnell’s Ranch House Restaurant parking lot & hooked on the Jeep.  Luckily the restaurant was closed today so we had lots of room.  Smooth ride all the way to west of Prescott & then……..a problem!!!

JEEP HOOKED ON IN YARNELL AT THE RANCH HOUSE RESTAURANT

We seemed to be losing too much power getting over the summit just south of Granite Mountain.  Pedal to the floor at 10 mph.  Pulled over, shut it down for a few minutes, started it up & we were good to go again & the rig ran fine all the way up through the Chino Valley to I-40.  East of Williams is a tough series of very long grades which are known to be notoriously hard on vehicles.  And today we were no exception.  Seems to me Gaelyn from Geogypsy ran into some serious problems here a few years back.  The 6% grades stretch for about 6 miles.   It was in these grades loosing power that we had a ‘check engine’ light come on.  It was not a blinking red light so we didn’t panic.  Other than going up the steep grades the rig ran fine but we had to get onto the shoulder at a few points & shut it down for a few minutes.  Pulled into Williams & spotted a CarQuest place.  A fella came out & plugged into our rig’s computer to see what the red light ‘check engine’ codes were.  We had 5 faults with one of them being a throttle sensor.  The fellow at Carquest said that 6 mile stretch west of Williams is one of the worst spots in Arizona & it’s not uncommon for that section of I-40 to disable vehicles including 18 wheeler trucks.  I did notice some trucks plus one other Class A struggling.  We’ve done these grades with our Class A Damon, our Class C Sunseeker, & our Class C Winnebago but today was the first time we’ve had trouble.  It puts our trip from Moab to Denver Colorado in question now.  Lotta big mountains & grades going over the Rockies there.  Did it in our Damon heading west back in late 07 so we know how rugged those mountains are.

ROLLING THROUGH SKULL VALLEY

Earlier Kelly had phoned Camping World to see about the availability of staying in there lot overnight & they said sure no problem.  That saves us a pile of money from not staying at the KOA like I had previously figured on.  We knew Camping World was only another half hours drive east of Williams where we were so headed out.  The rig ran fine & didn’t cause any more problems.  Rolled into Camping World around 2 & checked in with service.  The people here could not have been friendlier & the young fella at the counter went one step further when he heard of our ‘loss of power’ problems.  He right away got on the phone to a truck garage about a mile west of where we were & the folks there said to bring the rig on down…….so that’s what we did.

EASTBOUND ON I-40 WITH SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS NORTH OF FLAGSTAFF AZ.

Nice people here again at the BELLEMONT TRUCK REPAIR & the fella pulled our Motorhome into one of the two bays.  He checked everything out but did not get a ‘throttle sensor error’ but did pick up a couple 02 sensor errors same as Carquest.  He said everything checked out fine but if it occurs again we should have those 02 sensors replaced.  He cleared our ‘check engine’ light as well.  He also said about that bad 6 mile stretch of I-40 & how hard it is on vehicles.  We have our fingers crossed the problem won’t re-occur but I’m not so sure.  We could also be dealing with a partially clogged fuel filter after checking out the problem on the internet.

FELLOW AT CAMPING WORLD RECOMMENDED THIS PLACE & I WOULD TOO

PHEEBS MEETS A COUPLE NEW FRIENDS

Anyway we are tucked cozily & securely away in front of a big bay door here at Camping World for the night & they also gave us electricity.  Only stipulation is that we be out of the way by the time workers show up in the morning.  So far so good at Camping World, pets are welcome inside & the staff here loved the Pheebs.  The service manager wanted to take her home.

 

TUCKED AWAY FOR THE NIGHT

YEP THAT’S OUR HOUSE WAY DOWN THERE PHEEBS

Stressful day for us & we sure hope the rest of our trip is problem free & easy going.  Weather is looking bad for this whole area with a rain front coming in for the next 3 days.  I think when we leave here we’ll head straight for Goosenecks State Park where the weather is looking much better.  We’ll do the Grand Canyon another time when the weather is better.

KELLY CHECKS OUT OUR RIG’S ‘ERROR CODES’ ON HER COMPUTER TONIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:)) Feeling Stressed Out?

Picture yourself near a stream.  Birds are softly chirping in the crisp cool mountain air.  Nothing can bother you here. No one knows this secret place.  You are in total seclusion from that place called "the world."  The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.  The water is clear.  You can easily make out the face of the person whose head you're holding under water.  Why lookie there... what a pleasant surprise... It's the person who caused you all this stress in the first place.  You let them up... just for a quick breath... then ploop!...back under they go...  You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want.  There now... feeling better?