Odyssey I - Alaska

Home Again! Home Again! --QED

I arrived at home at 3:30 P.M. Saturday, Aug 7.

Approximate miles traveled: 10,000

On Monday, Aug 10 I visited my department at work, and currently plan on resuming work on Monday, Aug 16.

The time between now and then will be used to catch up on Barth repairs, house cleaning and repairs, a little yard cleaning, mail, dental appointments.
Go To Top of Page

South of Alpine, AZ

Where is South of Alpine, AZ?
I am parked in a "winter pullout" North of Hannigan Meadows, AZ. I will stay here unless cops roust me out.

This is probably the last night of this trip, as I believe that I will make it to Hereford tomorrow, barring any more blowouts!

US191 is closed at Hannigan Meadows and I will have to backtrack to Alpine and take US180 into NM to get around the closure. I have never been through this part of the Eastern edge of Arizona. I was looking forward to seeing it. So I will drive to Hannigan Meadows tomorrow just to see before I head toward NM and home.
Go To Top of Page

Monticello, UT - Awaiting 4 New Tires

Where is Monticello, UT?
Here I sit awaiting 4 new tires to be delivered tomorrow for the rear. I cannot afford another blowout, and as I sit I still have 3 old Goodyear tires on the rear.
Go To Top of Page

Somewhere on US 163 [BLOWOUT #2]

Where is "somewhere on route US163"?
Well, I took a hard look at the tires after the last blowout. The mechanic thought they should be good to go. So I went.

In Moab, the mechanic that put my new front hubs on thought the tires were good to go. So I went.

I shouldn't have "went".

I currently sit beside the road, dripping antifreeze, thankfully off the roadway, with blowout #2. I wasn't so lucky this time, as it took out some coolant hoses and some "protective" baffles that were to protect the hoses. It also took out a little wiring that is non-critical, except that I cannot dump tanks until I fix it. Also took out a piece of leveling jack, that appears to be repairable. And finally, it took out the drain to the shower, which also was behind a "protective panel".

I was picking up pieces off the highway for 5 minutes after I found a place to get off the road. First priority is always try to get to, or a safe zone, or make one with reflectors, cones, etc. Second is to always quickly remove the debris field from the roadway. I had left leveler springs the size of shock absorbers on the roadway.

Road service out of Monticello, UT is supposed to be here early tomorrow. First said this eve, but called back and said he had to wait for the tire. I suspect that something like his wife wanting him home tonight.

My current location:

The debris I let behind (not including rubber, and stuff I could not locate):

And to top it all off, I made a side trip to Monument Valley, just to discover that I had been here before, and forgot!

I am developing a theory on this. Both blowouts inside rear dual. Both blowouts while climbing a long steep grade at full throttle, in 4th, perhaps 3rd gear. The inside tires are the ones that get hottest. When going up a steep grade at full throttle, the tires are transfereing the maximum torque that the drive train can deliver. These two conditions mean max stress on the tires.

Sigh...
Go To Top of Page

Moab, UT (Arches National Park)

Where is the KOA Campground, Moab, UT?
Moab, and the area around it, has breathtaking red-rock scenery. The red's here are more impressive than Sedona, AZ. The landscape challenges Canyon de Chelly, AZ. The shear impact approaches that of the stark mountains in the Banff, Canada vacinity. In short, beautiful, with a photo op every direction that one looks! Even the town is surrounded by shear walls of red. One takes a few photos and then puts away the camera and says "Ahhhhhh...". Same as I did in Banff/Jasper,

A couple of unworthy examples:

I found a great mechanic in Moab that came to the RV park and replaced the outside seals on my front wheel bearings. They had to be fixed, or I would have had a wheel siezure before I got home, and trust me, you do not want that!

I have not been able to locate the tires I want in Moab, so I will pray these get to Tucson. I don't really want another blowout.

Plans are to pull out of Moab tomorrow, and on the way out of town I will have the mechanic check/adjust my rear brakes. He could not do that today because I was out sightseeing when he came to fix the bearings, and the brakes cannot be adjusted without air pressure.
Go To Top of Page