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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Let the Adventure Begin!

We have finally left California!

Craig did the following calculation as I drove. We arrived in the Golden State on Jan 3, 1984. We lived there for 11095 days, or 30 years, 4 months, and 17 days.

It is a wonderful state, and I know we will return from time to time. But after a long wait to get our house on the market, sell it, and wait our turn at the RV service center for some upgrades we wanted, we are finally heading east.

Our next destination is the Petrified Forest National Park in northern Arizona. We hope that because it is at a higher elevation it won't be extremely hot yet. The weather forecast is for cold nights with temperatures in the low 80s during the day. It shouldn't be too bad. We stopped there for a few hours on our drive from Dallas to our new home in California 30 years ago. We hope to be able to see a lot more of it and the surrounding terrain this time around.

Craig sold most of his high-end audio system to a guy that lives in the Dallas area, and we have been invited to stop for a visit. That should be interesting.

Our Monday drive was very enjoyable. Although we now notice a few small squeaks from the back of the coach that we did not hear before, the obnoxious rattles from around the old TV are no more. 

The new tires seemed to make our ride smoother, and our gas mileage a bit better.

[From Craig] For those of you who asked about the Michelin Advantage program through FMCA, four 255/70R22.5 XZE* LRH tires were 469.55 each. Plus county and California taxes and Federal Excise Tax, the Michelin invoice total was $2117.49. Also we had to pay the dealer for his services, which in our case was $327 for dismounting, mounting, disposal, and balancing with traditional weights (not bags). Grand total was then $2444.49. Your cost will differ unless you buy at the same dealer this week. :-)

Someone else mentioned finding a dealer who participates in the program. I have no direct knowledge, but since many people seem to buy tires this way, I think it's not uncommon for Michelin dealers to participate.



A PREVOST Rally
As we pulled into our spot at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park in Williams Arizona, I commented that there sure were a lot of big class A's there. On second look, we realized they were all Prevosts! 

They are amazing. Not quite our style, or price range, but amazing. I understand the base price is well over a million and goes much much higher. Each one has a unique full body paint and a name. 

We have not been inside one, but here are a couple of images from the web:
Image from Web 
This one looks like it could belong to a drug lord or a Rap Star.



Also from the Web
A little less party bus, but still very elegant.


At Sunset, we went for a walk around the park and admired them.



This was Craig's favorite paint job. He said he hasn't see so much chrome in one place since the 60's.


But as I said. They just are not our style, I don't think we will be trading up soon. 

9 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to hear you have finally started your trek east. That looks like a pretty nice park.

    Good info on the tires. We should be good for a few more years, but I'll keep that in mind.

    I hope you'll blog more often now that you're moving because I'm anxious to see that part of the country from your eyes.

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  2. No way I could afford one of those rigs. Not my style, either.

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  3. well if I could afford a prevost I think I would also have a driver... and maybe a chef... and of course a housekeeper, sigh I guess I would need two of them

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  4. We have fond memories of that park. We spent a couple of nights there on our rookie RV rental trip. (The one that started it all!) We didn't have a clue what we were doing. But, we loved it! Hope you're planning to take the train from Williams to Grand Canyon. It's fun! Enjoy your visit!

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  5. Good to be on the road. Those prevosts are interesting but not our style.

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  6. Yeah, a Prevost is a little rich for our blood too. Looks like it was a lovely sunset, though!

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  7. the Prevosts are lovely but the $$$ is a bit too much!
    enjoy your visit!

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  8. If I had a million dollars I think there are a few things I might buy before a Prevost. Nice looking rigs though.

    My new blog:
    Rick’s Bits ‘n Bytes, Pics and News

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  9. Wow--those huge trailers are *amazing*. Bet I could actually fit all my yarn and fabric stash in there with room to spare! So, have you met any of the people who have these? If I spent a million on a home, not sure it would have wheels.

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