[A/S] My recent trip to get my first A/S

[AirstrmCamper@xxxxxxx]

Hi Fellow Listess

Well, as some of you know we did indeed make it back safe and sound. What a 
Trip  my friend Craig and I had!! In 5 days we traveled almost 4000 miles, 
went thru weather changes ranging from a low of 35 to a high of 105 and had 
Sun, Rain, Thunder and Lighting Storm, Snow and Hail.

We traveled in 9 States on our odyssey. We left Tuesday mid day and went as 
far as Mesquite, NV and stayed the night there. The next am we headed out 
early up the 15 to the I-70 east. Once on the I-70 we went into Colorado. Let 
me tell you that was a beautiful drive over the Rockies. Vale, Aspen, and of 
course the Eisenhower Tunnel were just incredible. CO is really one of the 
most magnificent States I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. We then made 
it to Denver and connected with the I-76. This highway took us to the I-80 
and into Nebraska. Craig got us more than halfway across Nebraska. What a 
long day that was! We spent the night in a rest stop.
The next am we continued on the I-80 thru Lincoln and then Omaha to connect 
with the I-29 north. For those that have never been in NE it is basically 
nothing but Cows and Corn.   We continued on the I-29 into Iowa and then into 
South Dakota. Again, all there really was Cows and Corn. There were some nice 
hills, but all in all it was as flat as a 90 year old persons butt. Finally 
on that afternoon we made it into Canton and got the Trailer! Jon and Mary 
were as sweet as can be. The were selling their house and 88 acres, a home 
that had been in Jon's family for over 125 years, to move to AZ. The wood 
work in the house was exquisite and the land was luscious and green. The 
trailer was pretty much as they described it. It will need some attention to 
the outside as would be expected for one that is 21 years old, but it will be 
a fun project for me.  After getting hooked up and back on the I-29 we headed 
south only to have the Temp gauge head to hot. We took the first exit and 
found a wonderful Campground called Snyder Bend. We had a great spot next to 
a lake surrounded by trees and Grass! And best of all they had showers. We 
both needed that and a nights sleep. We had only sleep for about 3 1/2 hours 
the night before in the highway rest stop. And what a sleep it was. During 
the night a Thunderstorm rolled in and were treated to the sound of Rain 
falling on a Tin roof...ahhhh was it nice:-)
The next am, Friday, we headed down to find a place I could change out the 
Thermostat. Craig spotted "Golden Arches" and we both said "Coffee!!!" I said 
to Craig" wouldn't it be a hoot to find a repair shop there?" And sure enough 
there was. God sure works in great ways. They were able to do the thermostat 
and get us back on the road in a few hours. The shop had two cute Cats and 
the owners are fellow campers and Cat lovers. Very nice people. We were able 
to get back on the road early afternoon and made it all the way back into CO. 
Along the way on the I-80 we encountered rain and Hail and COLD! The rest 
stop we stayed in that night was really COLD.
 The next am, Saturday, we headed toward Denver and connected with the I-25 
south, It was raining so hard at times we could not see and then I saw the 
SIGN...Snow ahead. Well, I am here to tell you all, Pulling a 31 foot trailer 
in traffic and Snow ain't too much fun at all.  We finally descended enough 
to get out of the snow and were on our way to New Mexico. For me, NM is a 
beautiful state to see. The bridges are all done in a Mexican/Spanish flair. 
Overpasses, Freeway exits all of them done this way. Very Stylish. We made it 
that night all the way to Gallup and stayed in a wonderful KOA. We got there 
late and the owner was kind enough to keep the store open for us and even 
fill the propane so we would have heat that night. And the showers were nice, 
warm, and clean. Except for us walking in and seeing some big, hairy and 
totally naked man standing at the sinks there were perfect.
The next day on Sunday we headed toward Flagstaff and connected with the I-17 
toward Phoenix. Flagstaff has got to be just one of the most peaceful, 
calming, serene and beautiful Mountain areas I have traveled in. The drive 
down to Phoenix had a couple of problems with the van and when we got to the 
I-10 we pulled into a Wal mart parking lot where I could tinker with Blue. 
Turned out to be a coil wire had rubbed and burned thru. Again, despite a bit 
of a problem, we were given a perfect place to rest, get what we needed, and 
find just fantastic folks there to help us. Thank You God. After this break 
we continued on our way to the 85 south and then to the familiar I-8 to head 
toward San Diego. The drive was pleasant enough, barren and hot but went 
without incident. Once we made it to Ocotillo we were really getting eager to 
get home. Seeing all the exits we knew was a great feeling. At longlast, at 
about 12:00 midnight, we rolled back into San Diego and to Craigs house. Our 
long 5 day adventure was done and we both have an experience to look back on 
and enjoy. I want to take this time to Thank Craig for all his help in 
driving and the wonderful company he provided, We got to know each other much 
better, share some laughs and some tears as we discussed our lives, loves and 
hates. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip with him. Thank You Craigers.
I also want to thank God for getting us home safe and sound and seeing that 
whenever there was a problem a perfect solution was made available.
Jon
31' 1979 Airstream International Soverign