GMC Motor Home, Travel with Teri and Dan: December 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

GMC Motorhome Brake Update

I mentioned that we developed a problem with the brakes on the motorhome. Somewhere in south Arkansas they just kinda faded away. Friday night, when we pulled into the truckstop for the evening, I could barely stop the coach at a stop sign. Next morning it was no better. We drove through Dallas and I thought little about it. When we got to Sweetwater and Roscoe I knew I had a problem. While parked there I tinkered around a bit but did not fix it. Was a bit concerned coming through El Paso so I stayed way back from vehicles in front of me. The brakes were so bad that the brake in the car would not come on. So, I am trying to stop two vehicles with barely any brakes.
Wednesday I got on the GMC motorhome net with my problem. I am sure that we have at least 40 guys trying to diagnose our problem. This morning I did order a new booster, knowing that it probably won't fix our problem. It is leaking down so it must be replaced anyway. I can do that anytime, no big deal.
Now the good part. Today Teri and I get two calls. One is from our good friend Bob de Kruyff over in the Phoenix area, 200 miles away. He is a retired GM guy and knows all about the GMC motorhome. I have received good information from Bob on many problems over the years. I ask him lots of stuff and he is always good to help me out. He is bringing tools and I know he will diagnose our problem and hopefully we can fix it while he is here. Second call is from Jeff Willard. Jeff lives 50 miles or so away over toward Silver City, NM. Jeff says he has a big shop with lots of tools, come on over. When I tell him Bob is coming Saturday Jeff says he will drive over also to give us a hand. Life is good.
So, I am feeling a lot better. There is no way we can get over the mountain at Globe/Superior with brakes like we have. That would prevent us from making Quartzsite. I know I can get it back to Mo. like this as there are no mountains but we have planned for Quartzsite for a long time and would hate to miss it.
In addition to Bob and Jeff, our good friend Ken Burton has been on the phone with us every evening helping me figure things out. Ken is always ready to help us.
What friends. There is no other motorhome owners group like our's. We have the largest group in the FMCA and these coaches have not been built since 1978.
So, now you know pretty much what I know. Will update yall Saturday after we get it all figured out. Hope everyone enjoys the New Year coming in tonight. Teri and I are going to friends' for a little while, then will return to the coach to celebrate the approaching hour.
Catch yall next year,
Dan

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A Ride Over The Mountain

I got a few pictures of Mt. Graham today. Teri and I ran over to Safford for a few supplies. Look at that thing.

Here is another one that I shot from the Walmart parking lot. It is a real pretty sight in person. Teri took me up there when we were dating. It is about 11,000 feet.

Look at that little box. I am sure glad I dont have to drive a motorhome like that. I bet it is a rough rider.

Had to wash the Vibe today. It was nasty from being towed all the way from Mo. Folks ask why I did not tow the Vdub. We have not found anything to cover the hood on it yet. Do not want rock pecks in the new paint. We have a bra on front of the Vibe to stop the rocks from knocking the paint. We will come up with something for the vdub soon.

the poor GMC is still dirty. I will get it cleaned up soon. Can't stand it being dirty. We have a brake problem on it and I have worked all day trying to make the propper diagnosis. Many guys on GMCnet have been helping me. that is the good thing about owning one of these coaches. We have the most active motorhome group around. There are some great mechanics always waiting to help someone when a problem arises. I have worn themout today.

It sure was good to see our friends at church tonight. We are having supper together tomorrow night. It will be New Year's Eve but it is also the birthdate of one of our dear friends and that is why we are really gathering. Teri and I will return home before midnite.

Hope everyone is having a great week. It is almost over for you workers out there. I'll do my best to stay off the roads until Monday.

Dan

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Pictures Along Our Way

Here is where we were parked in Roscoe. Just can not say enough good about the folks who attend services here.

Our dear friends, Russ and Glynna. they really helped us get through Texas with no snow related problems. Russ is also a ham radio operator and likes tinkering so I let him keep his eye on the internet weather for us and he saved us a lot of headaches along the way. Teri and I can't wait to hook back up with them. We have a lot in common so they are very easy to visit with.

We left Roscoe before daylight. Teri took this picture of the blinking lights.

Just a couple of minutes later you can see what the lights are. These wind turbines are everywhere along I-20 from just east of Sweetwater to a ways west of Roscoe. I love seeing that they continue to put up more. Just a few years back there were some on the south side of I-20
around Sweetwater. Now, like I said, they are everywhere. I hope they make lots of electricity.

Oh yea, here is proof. The speed limit in West Texas is 80 mph. I was doing 55 and hugging the right shoulder as folks blew by us. Now, if I was in the car, we would be doing at least 80. I love this. We saw troopers out here and they were stopping folks. I could not believe it. Maybe they were doing 90. I had to laugh. Give us 10 mph and we want 20.

When we see this sign we know that we are almost here. You can see the mountains in the background, just barely as they are covered with clouds. The snow was coming and we could see it.

As I have stated Teri and I had perfect weather to travel in. Most of that was because Russ kept us advised. He even called us in Dexter a couple of times making sure that we knew the interstate was closed and the weather was bad. He found us that window and we shoved on through. Thanks again Russ.

Hope everyone is enjoyiing their last week of the year. Wehn my kids were small I always took this week off to be home with them. I wonder if they remember those days. Thanks for riding with us. You can see us run around out here, in the car, by hitting the tracker and looking for WD0AFQ-1

Dan

Duncan, Az.in a GMC Motorhome

We made it out here last evening about 6 pm Moutain Time. Teri took some pictures of our trip but I can't find the camera and she is not in here with me. Will get them uploaded later.
Sunday was a great day for us. the church in Roscoe treated us like long lost friends. We had a great morning service, potluck, then evening service just after we ate. Great group of folks and we hope to be with them again. Sunday evening we had the opportunity to visit with our friends Glynna and Russ again. We sure hated leaving their place. Just could not get enough visiting in during 2 days. Hoping that we can meet up on the road and camp together for a few days.
Teri and I got up at 6 am Monday, yes, I did. We quickly put things into traveling mode as we readied ourselves. Then we hooked up the Vibe to the GMC and off we went. We were gone before daylight, a few minutes before 7 am. Russ had looked at the weather all along our route for us. Everything was to be sunny all day Monday but as evening fell it was snow. so, Teri and I knew we needed to be off of I-10 at Lordsburg before that happened. We scuttled right along, 55-60 mph. We were the slowest ones on the interstate but that was ok. Not really, it killed me to let everyone pass us up but I knew it was good on the GMC to not be in a hurry. I did have to show a few folks up coming up the grade west of Las Cruces. I just can't stand for folks not to realize that this is a pulling machine.
El Paso was not bad. We got there about 1 pm. The traffic started picking up about 10 am and was heavy all day. So, El Paso was full of traffic. I just stayed in my lane and kept plenty of distance between us and whoever was in front. We made it fine. there was where I finally got the tracking system to start reporting our where abouts. That has been a frustrating thing for me. My friend Wally may have what I need and is sending it to me. That is a good serial or ps 2 gps hockey puck. I am tired of the cheap stuff I have . Got one good setup and it is in the Vibe. I tested it today and it is still working fine. WD0AFQ-1. That will let you see what we are up to while we travel around the Southwest in the car.
Pulled in and backed the GMC into the hole here and was set. got some good visiting in then off to a long awaited rest. 600 miles and 12 hours had taken its toll. I slept really well last night. Did not even think about getting up before daylight today.
Thanks for wondering about us. Sorry to be late with this information. The pictures will show up later.
Dan

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Riding Along in a GMC Motorhome

Oh yea, this is what Dexter looked like when we left Friday morning. Snowing like crazy. I was watching the weather and knew we would drive right out of this, and we did.

Ever seen a closed Walmart? We saw a lot of them as we traveled on Christmas day.

Just a few pictures of flooded Arkansas.

The farther south we got the worse it looked, all the way to, and including, Little Rock. Lots of real damage from the water.

Teri and I even had a closed road due to water. We had a tight turn and made a 4 miles square to get back onto the right road.

Ok, you heard me complaining about the detour in Little Rock, well look at this. What you see here is north and southbound interstate traffic routed through regular neighborhood streets. It was a real mess. Stop light, stop signs, and no signs. People shaking fists at each other. One bridge had water hitting the bottom of it. If they closed it after we got through I don't know what the traffic did. Stop I guess. Someone needs to be fired over this mess. If I was a local I would be at the state capitol every day until something gets done.

Sun set just north of Texarkana.

Busting Dallas wide open this morning. We went straight through on 30.

Here is Ripley's place.

Six Flags in Arlington.

Not me, I am not riding this stuff.

Out near Abilene we ran into what was left of the snow.

There was about 40 miles of real snow. Lots of cars still in the ditches.

More snow. We timed this trip perfect because we have friends here that lived through the storm and kept us advised.

We were taken to supper tonight by Glynna and Russ. they got us parked here at the church building. We went over to their 5th wheel after supper for a visit. they just got this new 5th wheel and we had not seen it. Really nice. It is just like home in there. We really liked it but enjoyed our visit more. We hope to visit more Sunday after church services. There is a potluck. Did we time this right, or what?

The tracker is working but wont show up until we hit the interstate Monday morning. We have 600 more miles to go so you can ride with us if you wish. We are enjoying some much needed down time tonight. Can't wait for services in the morning. Will get to meet a lot of nice folks and eat lots of grub.

Thanks for keeping us company.

Dan

Roscoe, Texas

It is such a beautiful day here. We saw signs of the snow but it was off the roads. I am thankful for modern weather stations. By waiting one day Teri and I have missed it all. The wind was rough in Arkansas but that has been our only weather related issue.
We stopped in Sweetwater and took on fuel. We should be ready to roll when the mood hits us. Have a very nice over night spot here at the Church of Christ in Roscoe. Our fulltime friends, Glynna and Russ are here visiting their daughter and arranged this place for us. We were all set up by 2 pm or so. Sun is feeling really good. Teri and I poured 10 gallons of water in our tank so we can take a shower in a bit. We are going out for supper with Glynna and Russ. WE have had a few visitors sop in to see if they could help us, members of this congregation. When we tell them what we are here for they get a big smile. I can't wait for services in the morning so we can meet everyone.
The battery died on the car this morning so we had no braking power from behind the last 10 miles. That is not good. I put the charger on it long enough to crank the engine then let it run for an hour. Will throw the charger back on when we get ready for bed. We are plugged into a 15 amp outlet and I dont want to throw the breaker. I guess it is time for a new car battery.
I am too tired to post the pictures but will get them up later. Lots of interstate traffic today. We hustled right on through the middle of Dallas/Ft. Worth about 9 am. Not a problem but was a good bit of traffic already at that time. Won't go through there during the day as it it always stop/go and that is 70 miles straight through all of that mess.
Don't give up on the tracking system. I am still working on it. Maybe I will have it running when we pull out of here.
Have a great weekend.
Dan

Friday, December 25, 2009

Hello From Dallas

Just pulled in here on east side of Dallas for the night. Traffic has been heavy all afternoon. Little Rock was a nightmare. The governor should resign. 67 closed, both ways, just north of 440. Poorly marked detour through the neighborhood. Lots of very uspet people. At least an hour to get back on 440. All had to find a way around the mess. I can not believe they have just shut down a major hiway and nothing telling you where to go.
67 is opened for another new stretch, north and east of Tuckerman. We tried it and the road was closed for high water. Had to make a square to get back to 67. You can not back a motorhome with a car on back.
Arkansas is flooded big time. Many home totally wasted. We could not believe it.
The glass engine cover saved us again. Teri saw a fire or something. I stopped, got out, nothing. Took off again and it came back. Stopped, it quit. Finally found it. A strand of wires had fallen and when I revved the engine the fan was hitting them and shorting out. Whew, glad Teri saw that. That is twice. First time was an oil blown line back in 07 climbing a mountain out west. We are glad we can see our engine compartment.
I am too tired to proof this. Hope it makes sense. Also too tired to post pictures. Lots of deer were out in the flooded areas looking for higher ground. I am sure Arkansas has made the national news with all the flooding.
Well, we will hit it again in the morning. I think we will stop over near Sweetwater for Saturday night. That will be a short day, I hope, 300 miles.
Sorry about no tracking system. Got tow systems in here and both kwit.
Dan

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Need I Say More?

We had a great time with these kids this morning. We will certainly miss them while we are gone.

Here we sit. Rain is still falling. Should the temps fall, as predicted, this could really get slick.
You can see we have insulation in the windows.

We are watching the weather. It did not move through as predicted. We have had 3 inches of rain here today. It is finally moving out of Little Rock but there is a snow storm that dropped out of Oklahoma. Right now that snow is hitting the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Temps are set to drop from 50 to 30. That is from here through West Texas. Oh well, we do have heat. It is just when we stop for fuel it can really get chilly.

Hope all are enjoying family and friends.

Will see you on the road.

Dan

The GMC Motorhome Sits

Yep, right now I am waiting for the rain to slow a bit so we can hook the Vibe to it. Have to move the Vdub around also to get it up against the garage door. It will reside there, watching guard over the place until we get home. It will be "musical vehicles" trying to get everything rearranged in our driveway. No big deal except it is raining hard. I checked the radar and looks like the end of this is about Little Rock. May or may not get gone tonight. Our good friend, Russ, called early to let us know they had 4 inches of snow in Sweetwater. That was not good news. The snow was not supposed to get that far south. Waiting is no big deal except the temps are predicted to be dropping. 50 plus degrees here now. 30 is not going to feel good. So, we shall see. When you see the blue vehicle heading southwest on hiway 67 you will know we shoved off. Don't forget the link at the top of the page.
We had a really nice visit with our daughter's family this morning. Swapped gifts with them and had a very nice lunch. We will really miss those kids this time. They have really grown, ages 3-6. All of them are spending a lot of nights with us and I know they will miss that. We have lots of fun over here, especially while Teri is out. I try to get the kids to clean things up and get everything in order when I know its time for grana to get home. So far, has worked really good.
So, merry xmas eve to everyone. Hoping we are the only folks on the road, through Dallas/Ft. Worth, on Christmas day.
Dan

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The GMC Motorhome is Ready

It is a real crapshoot on the weather. Rain and wind with cold temps. Hmmm. Will have to make the best educated guess we can and get gone. Eastern Tx. and all of Ar. is a mess tonight. That should blow through tomorrow as the winds are going to be really high speed. Temps will drop Thursday night and be down all across Texas, the whole 800 miles.
The GMC is packed. Will turn it around and hook the car to it tomorrow after lunch. Will wait and see what is happening. Might take a nap and think it over. It looks like it is either go or wait til about Monday. I guess there is no rush. With the temps being cold we will not have water in our tank. Will carry water in our water jugs, that Teri found, inside the coach living area.
We ran into this same thing last winter but we were traveling in the car, not the GMC. Waited until 230 pm on a Saturday and made a mad dash. I drove straight through, by myself as Teri was sick. 1400 miles in 21 hours. It was a real storm but we got through it just east of Little Rock. Maybe we will be as lucky this time. The wind is a killer when it is blowing against you in a coach and it will be. Oh well, think I will head to bed and see what things look like in the morning. If you see the little tracker moving you will know we hit the road.
Dan

Packing Up

First, let me say to John, I have replied three times to your email address. Have not heard back from you.
Looks like the tracker link is working great. Now folks can look to see where we are anytime they want. This is a gps system that uses some land based reporting stations to get us up on the internet. There are some spots that are a little sparse on reporting stations but for the most part they pretty well cover the USA. These are ham radio operators. I have a setup here at home to help those passing through get their tracking on the internet. We use 2 meter radios with an interface to a gps puck to report our whereabouts. Pretty slick. Hope yall will ride along with us this week as we travel to the Southwest for the winter.
Teri is scurrying around doing last minute things in the house. I am loading things into the GMC. Just turned the refer on. Once it is cold and packed it will stay cold all day. We have dc, lp, and ac unit but I rarely run it while we are traveling. I may hit the dc later if we stay on the road more than 8-10 hours. Otherwise I just turn the lp on when we stop for the evening.
We seem to have misplaced our collapsable water jugs. I will be looking this afternoon for them. Will need them in Quartzsite. We have the weather channel running on the tv. I think we can get out of here Thursday afternoon if the wind is not too bad. We are eating lunch with our daughter and family here tomorrow. After that, we are good to roll. We can wait if weather is not good as we have no deadline. Should have lots of pictures to post as we travel so ride along when you can.
Back to loading up and searching for those water jugs.
Hope everyone has safe travels and good family visits over the holiday period. We will tell all of our friends good bye tonight at Wednesday evening bible study. We will miss yall.
Dan

Monday, December 21, 2009

GMC Motorhome Tracking

Here is the link to the tracking system we will be using for our trip. You can watch us as we travel. We will also be using this as we run around out in the desert. Teri loves geocaching and we will be doing a lot of it. You can find us anytime you wish.
The GMC motorhome will be tracking as WD0AFQ.
We will have the Vibe tracking as WD0AFQ-1. You can change it in the little window or just click the call in the right hand side of the window. That is a zero in my ham fall sign.
Here is the link:
The link wont cut and paste so here is what you do.
Type in aprs.fi
Type my call sign in the "call sign" box. WD0AFQ
I will see if there is a way to post the link on the page of the blog.
Hope everyone is having a great week. I sure love Mondays.
Dan

Edit, edit,
I got the link posted. Take a look around when you get time.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Weather

Teri and I are pretty much sitting on go. We have everything just about ready to hit the road. Our daughter here wants us to come over xmas eve so we will hang around until then. We have our 6 year old grandsone spending the night tonight. What a time we are having. Two others were here Thursday night for a sleepover. Trying to get in all the quality time we can with the kids before we leave for the winter. There are 3 grandkids in Az. that we can't wait to see. Had the opportunity last week to visit the three in Indiana. We have 3 in Tn. but we rarely see them. Maybe things will change there and we can see them more as their parents learn not to work so much.
We will leave when the weather channel says there will be good weather across Tx. for at least two days in a row. If we get three then we plan to stop and visit our good friends Glynna and Russ in Sweetwater.
I will have WD0AFQ as the identifier on the tracker in the motorhome so be looking for us out on the road.
Hope everyone has a good week and gets some good family visiting in over the holidays.
We don't celebrate Jesus' birth, as many do. We do celebrate his death and resurrection every Sunday as we have learned to do from Acts chapter 20, verse 7. He instituted His supper of rememberance with the apostles before he left and we keep it, as He instructed, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Romans 14:6 lets us know to respect others who esteem one day above another. Should you celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus, Merry Christmas. If you just enjoy the spirit of giving during this time of year, Merry Christmas.
Dan

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Moving Right Along

Oh yea, we are getting closer to launch. Teri worked in the motorhome today. She got all clean bedding on the bed and we put the insulation up in the windows. We will finish straightening up the living area and be all ready to hit the road. Maybe tomorrow afternoon will be a good time for that.
We have started watching the weather, looking for a good departure date. Today may have been the best we will see for a while. Looks like it is going to be cold here all next week. I hate driving in the cold but we are heading south and west so hopefully it will warm up by the time we hit Little Rock. Sunny days through Texas is what I am looking for. We cross into Texas at Texarkana and get out of it just west of El Paso. That is about 800 miles. I like it. All good roads and driving conditions are great. The only hicup in the whole trip is the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. If we take off over the Christmas weekend maybe there will be very little traffic there. We want to take longer traveling this time, if the weather permits. Normally we drive 1400 miles in 2 days when in the coach, one day in the car. It is hard for me to stop when we are in the GMC. It rides and drives so good. We will just see how things go when we hit the road. Our good friends Glynna and Russ are fulltiming in the Sweetwater area. We may stop and spend a day with them if it works out.
So, keep checking on us. We will be on the road soon. I have the tracker in the GMC set up and working. Will take plenty of spare parts just in case it stops. We can always run the one in the car if we need to. I will let you know what call sign we will use before we take off so you can ride along with us.
Have a great Sunday.
Dan

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

GMC Motorhome, Closer To Rolling

Oh yes!!! I passed my cholestrol test this morning. Had been studying for 2 months. Teri rewarded me with a half gallon of ice cream and home made cookie dough. I shoveled it in.
I was switched to the 6 dollar Walmart program. The knock off of Zocor. I was afraid it would not work for me but it did. I am hard to keep the cholestrol in check for some reason. Can't be my diet.
We are getting closer. One day next week we may hit the road. I aired up all of the GMC tires today and re installed my tire air sensor monitor. We sent the system in for an "allignment". Id been having a few problems and I wanted them fixed. Will re install the sendors on all ten tires tomorrow to make sure all is working. Found a gas leak today and replaced a 6 inch piece of fuel line. Will check it tomorrow to make sure that stopped the leak. We need to get a few things out and stock up the coach. Think we will work on that tomorrow also. I want to be ready to roll when the time comes. Will be watching the weather next week and try to catch 2 good weather days so we can get across Arkansas and Texas. Once we get to the Midland area we pretty much can forget about bad weather. Getting the oil changed in the Vibe, Wednesday, and need to rotate the tires. I think we will tow it to Az. as we normally do a lot of driving while we are there. Should we decide to head to Tucson or Phoenix I will feel much better in the Vibe.
I guess thats it for tonight. I have the heat on in the coach. They are forecasting teens again tonight. Hope everyone is having a great week. Hang with us, we will be on the road very soon now.
Dan

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A Toad Towing A Toad

These two folks, Larry and Karen, are the ones responsible for making sure our bug was painted. They own Topeka Graphics, an rv painting shop. They paint new trailers and 5th wheels and motor homes for owners that want a new look. They have painted over 200 GMC coaches and know how to do it. I have seen many of the coaches. That was why I had confidence in their work. Two great folks. We will see them again. Larry wants pictures of the Mustang so he can give me a quote. Who knows, maybe we will take it up for paint. Not in winter though. Learned our lesson on this time of year. Thanks Larry and Karen.

Lots of these in Topeka and all around the area.

We left Topeka Graphics yesterday and almost got to our daughter's before the sleet started. Really messed up the new looking VW. Below, a shot of the wind turbines we passed while were trying to get out of the blinding snow. Headed south before we made the Illinois line.

This picture does not do justice to what we were in. For a while I could not see 50 yards in front of us. The wind was 50 mph. I could barely make 50 mph towing the bug with the Vibe.

We stayed south until Terre Haute. I was prepared to keep south til Evansville but we looked to be out of the worst stuff so jumped on I-70. Wind kept us running about 50 mph all the way to Effingham. It was rough. At Effingham we headed south on I-57 and I could drive whatever speed I wanted.

We were really nasty but I did not care what the cars looked like, I just wanted to get home. There is "something" about being on the west side of the Old Mighty Mississippi. I was doing my best to get there. This stop was near Marion. One fella nearly broke his neck trying to decide whether or not we were hooked together. I had to laugh. We had no cb radio but I could hear those truckers in my head as we pulled past them at 70 mph plus. "Did you see that? What was it? Were they tied together?" I laughed in my mind. This Vibe GT has plenty of power to tow the vdub. As long as the wind is not 50 mph blowing right into its grille, anyway. We did tow it from Az. to Mo. last year, 1400 miles.

Home at last. Whew, it sure felt good to get home and wash all the road grime off the cars. I think the newly painted VW will look great behind the GMC. We may put some striping on the doors of the VW to kinda break it up a little.

The colors on the bug are the same as the GMC and the Vibe. Teri and I are very happy with the way this paint job turned out. Makes the bug look a little more classy. As soon as the weather warms up a little I will get the new headlight rings and headers on. Too cold today. Nearly got frost bite washing and then drying these cars. We pulled in a little before 3 pm. We left our daughter's around 730 am. Not bad timing for 400 miles, considering what we traveled through. I am glad we had the internet so Teri could keep an eye on the weather. We could see that the storm was blowing south to Terre Haute and then sweeping north. It worked for us.

The tracker was running the whole trip, WD0AFQ-1. We are glad that some of you rode along. If you want to see our path, go to the website and click on "2 days".

Thanks for those who said prayers, they worked.

Let me know what you think. I got several emails last night and a couple of "comments".

Time for church, see you in a day or two.

Dan

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Bug

What do you think?

I like it.

Only my opinion counts.

It does look good. Will get more pics up when we get home. Verizon internet is slow here. We are staying the nite at our daughter's in Logansport, In. Towing it home with the Vibe gt. We have driven over 600 miles today. The last 100 we were towing the bug. 400 more miles and it will be home again. I have some stuff to do to it. Got new chrome headers and new headlite rims. One is missing and the other one is well worn. Wow, don't it look great? Will really look nice behind our GMC motorcoach.

Pray that this sleet stops and the temperature rises. We want to get home before dark Wednesday.

The tracker worked pretty good today but we are in the boonies now. No reporting stations. Will pick us back up tomorrow when we get a few miles west of here, over toward I-57.

Thanks for riding along. About time for a nap. I got up at 215 am after 2 hours sleep. I am pretty much worn out.

Dan

Monday, December 7, 2009

Loading Up

Trying to load the Vibe with everything we might need, even extra clothes. Pulling out of Dexter at 3 am. Trying to get up there and grab the bug before weather gets too bad. They are calling for snow. We want to at least get the car and get to our daughter's before we get snowed in. She lives in Logansport. Ride along or check in when you have time. The tracker will be on in the Vibe.
Say an extra prayer for our safety tonight.
Will take pictures and hope to be able to put some up on the blog Tuesday evening.
See yall later,
Dan

Friday, December 4, 2009

Tuesday Now

We got emails with pictures of the car. Teri wanted a little more black thrown in there. So, a little more black it will be. Moved our pick up date to Tuesday. That is fine. No more yellow bug. I hope the kids like it. I kinda feel like we have gone from a t shirt and blue jean car to a coat and tie ride. Oh well, will enjoy it and it will be looking good behind the coach. Plus, I can touch up all three of our main rides with the same two paint sticks. How cool is that?
Ride with us Tuesday if you can. We will have the tracker running in the Vibe. WD0AFQ-1. Have one in the bug too and it is WD0AFQ, no other identifier. I have mapped a route over and up from Indy. Never been through Kokomo so this is my chance. Topeka, In. is just south of the Michigan state line. The only part of the trip I am not looking forward to is getting up and leaving here at 3 am. I want to make sure we get through Indy mid morning. That is a bear during lunch or quitting time.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. Our departure date for Quartzsite, Az. is getting closer.
Dan

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Got The Call

The painter called me yesterday. Said the vdub should be ready to pick up on Monday. Friday I will place a call just to make sure. Whew, ready to get it home. It should look good. Will tow it home with Teri's Vibe GT. It rides back there very good. We towed it from Az. to Dexter, some 1400 miles. We will leave here around 3-4 am so we get through Indy before the noon traffic. Ride along with us if you can. We will be WD0AFQ-1 on the tracking system. Don't forget that is a zero in my ham radio call sign. Will leave Topeka, In. and head down to Logansport for the night, staying with our daughter and grandsons. I am hopin for good weather but one never knows on a trip there this late in the year.
I hope everyone had a great holiday last week. We were very fortunate to have my younger brother and his 4 tiwns stay 4 nights with us here. Always good to see them pulling in from Monroe, La. We will stop by and see them in March on our way home from The GMC gathering in Montgomery, Tx. There were about 50 of the Gregg family present Saturday for our noon meal. Was great to see everyone.
That's about it. Just wanted yall to know we have not fallen off the face of the earth. the GMC is ready to travel so when I get the word from Teri we are heading west.
Dan

After 3 years of working on a 1974 GMC, 26 foot coach, Dan and Teri Gregg, along with Sam, travel from the midwest to the Pacific Coast and back. Come on along on our 4 month journey. As you can see, our journey has now lasted for 4 years and, we are still going. We seem to also still be working on the coach as we travel. You know if you have followed along. Also, Sam is a pleasant memory now. She was with me for 14 years. What a dog.

Name: Dan & Teri Gregg

Location: Dexter, Mo., United States

We love the Lord first and each other second. Enjoy travels in our GMC Coach. Members of GMCMI and Dixielanders along with FMCA. We love our children and 13 grandchildren. We enjoy our GMC friends. These posts are of our 4 month journey, beginning May 25th and ending sometime in October, 2007. Well, we had so much fun that we left home Dec. 14, 2007 for another 4 month journey. Come ride along with us. If you have followed us for very long, you know our two 4 month journies have now lasted 2 years. We continue to travel so please ride with us. About to begin our 5th year on the road, 03-11. Wonder just how long our money will hold out?

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GMC Motor Home, Travel with Teri and Dan