Home At Last!

As we left Sedonna, Arizona, and drove eastward, the weather seemed to get cooler and cooler. We started out to take our time and enjoy, but plans are made to be broken. When we got to Albuquerque, New Mexico, RV parking was limited because of the Balloon Festival and the State Fair. So instead of spending a few days as planned, we continued on. We went through 4 states in one day – New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

As we drove through New Mexico, we saw a large area of lava. I’m not sure where the volcano was, but it sure was weird to see this lava everywhere. Since there was some greenery also around, that lava must have been there for a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY long time.

I don’t remember what state this rest stop was in, but I thought it was pretty unique.

As we drove east, we noticed the days getting shorter….. What a beautiful sunset.

I managed to see one sunrise while on our trip. It was in Arkansas. We wanted to make it to our friend’s before dark, so we got an early start.

We made it to our friends, Bob and Ann, in Rickman, Tennessee in three days!!!! THAT was some driving! I think Bill was determined to make it to their party, which we did.

Our original plan was to come back East through Indiana so that we could have the axel company check our trailer. Instead we found a dealer in Tennessee, close to our friend’s house, who changed out the brake system and what a difference! NO MORE SQUEALING! The self-adjusters on the old system kept hanging up, so the entire trip, poor Bill was constantly adjusting the “self-adjusters.”

We had a great visit with Bob and Ann as we rested up. Ann and Robby took a little time to ride. Ann rode her horse, Ollie, and Robby rode her “newer” horse, Honey.

It was great to have time to get ourselves together before we headed the rest of the way home. We would have liked to take more time getting home to stop and visit with more friends, but we wanted to be home for my son and daughter-in-law’s baby shower and Robby is scheduled for his CDL test.

PLAN B: Not far over the Tennessee border, in Wythesville, Virginia, we noticed the truck lacking power and a lot of black smoke. Luckily we were able to make it to the Ford Dealership, and we are really lucky that there was room for our RV. So here we are on a Friday afternoon, in a small town…… They “believe” one of the fuel injectors needs to be replaced. The only rental car in town, Enterprise, had one car, which was reserved…. Lucky for us, the dealership knew of a small company 25 miles away – in the opposite direction…. They picked us up, we backtracked 25 miles to fill out the paperwork and were back on the road again with 300 miles to home, arriving at midnight.

Bill was able to return to pick up the RV on Monday. It turned out, it was the 4th fuel injector and it was covered under warranty. Wonder if that has been our problem this whole trip…..

What a way to end a trip.

Rickman, Tennessee

We left Ann and Bob this morning. We had such a fun time, it was difficult to leave. We know why they retired to Tennessee. It is a very beautiful state and everyone is so friendly.

We are in our last day here with Bob and Ann. We are now making Ann's mother's Pound Cake and as it is baking, I'm getting hungry. I took a picture of her beautiful house and the beautiful Tennessee Sunset.

We are now in Rickman, Tennessee, visiting with Ann and Bob Derfler, our friends from Maryland who have retired here in Tennessee. Ann is in her front yard tending to her garden. Her horses are in the field next door.










Ann has a side saddle that is 120 years old. She had a stand made for it so that she can display it. Isn't it beautiful?

We went to Dale Hollow Lake, which is where Ann and Bob go to ride their jetskis. The Lake is more like a river snaking thru the area. If you look to the right, you can also see Dale Hollow Dam.