15-FEB-2011
Dry Dock
If we stay at the "Dry Dock" for more than a day we'll need to do some re-arranging of the Mechs so that I can use the trailer for fuel gathering. The "She Beast" is in the gateway.
The turbo seemed to have taken well and she no longer whines, there IS a bit of exhaust leakage around the clamp that I'll see to later.
15-FEB-2011
Pushing under the tree limbs
Moving the rigs, so that we can put the Live-In part of our caravan into the back corner of the yard, we once again appreciate the branch lifting abilities of the cab-over rack that we worked up. It has already kept limbs, at several different times, from meeting the almost 3' of box front that's above the cab.
18-FEB-2011
Tightening Up
We decided that the best option was to borrow a little "personal transport", from the Dry Dock, and run Tuff back to the Oasis. There she could do some study courses that she had been planning on, and take care of some other things. It would just be an over night there for me and then I would be running it back here.
So I needed to redeuce our encampment. First I squeezed the trailer in between the "She Beast" and the sapling (you can see it on my driver's side, about halfway back the bed).
18-FEB-2011
Close enough
I've still got loads of room!
18-FEB-2011
Courtyard
Not only does this add to the courtyard feel of the Dry Dock, it also gives us our own private courtyard behind the "She Beast".
I then take the Draggin' over to the Babylon Compound. It will stay there while we're doing this weekend run.
19-FEB-2011
Sand Storm
We start out today by heading into a line of storms between here and the Mojave. Major winds and some rain. We do pass an over-the-road tractor/trailer combo that went off the "I" into the ditch.
As we leave the wind break of a small mountain we see this sand storm ahead.
This is ag-land and that is what's known as top-soil, . . . somewhere a bit more east will get it.
20-FEB-2011
more MechDoc'ing
There is something about borrowing your buddy's transport, the same one that had his van/yard art at the Oasis for a year . . . not working, that concerns me.
We did know that it had a noisy idler pulley (we even took some spray lube with us),it had the "basic" tool kit (I didn't even look). . . which meant that we would NOT have the needed tool for whatever happened, and it was far too close to the ground for either of us to feel comfortable.
Sure enough, . . . 50 miles east of the colorado the pulley seized up. That smell of a slipping belt was added to the smell of the desert after the rain.
We stopped and checked under the hood, which was a bit of a team event. One had to grab the hood release cable with some locking jawed pliers, while the other one attempted to lift the hood . . . that had been injured in some previous incident, leaving it somewhat bent up in the middle. This also caused it to flex a lot during full running speed causing us to be concerned about whether it was going to fold back on us and smash the windshielding.
Anyway, after getting access to the drive unit it was quickly determined that 1) it was indeed the pulley, 2) the "basic" tool kit was a few sockets, a driver that fit them, and a multi-tipped screw driver, and 3) I was NOT going to make it spin for another 50 miles.
~~
That night we spent in one of the traveler's inns after getting flat-bedded into town. The next morning I'm modifying up a pulley that will work with some back spacing . . . and using borrowed tools.
21-FEB-2011
Welcome to Open Range
On the way back from the Oasis I come upon the scene of a "bad night". This one managed to take out two of the walking beef (notice that they are black, the hardest ones to see at night) . . . it did cost them a new rig, and they'll prob have to pay for the beef.
This happened either after we got flat-bedded in, or last night. It's not 50 miles behind our breakdown site.
21-FEB-2011
This is the reason that I take this route . . .
21-FEB-2011
. . . you can drive at 50 - 55mph, see great sites (of all kinds), and relax.
Not "space out", just taking it all in. Being hyper-aware of where you are, and not "trying" to be at your destination.
That scene back there, that rarely happens at 55mph, and I would guess almost never at 35. Some roads are just not suited for 75.