Our week in Albuquerque, NM, was quieter than the last. Temperatures dropped below freezing every night, though by noon the following day, the sun thawed everything. Each evening, we filled three gallons with water, disconnected and purged the lines, and emptied the water-heater. The gallons gave us water to wash our hands, fill the Berky and flush our toilet. We checked the weather for several days leading up to this trip. When I booked the accommodations, I requested a site near the bathrooms. We avoided lengthy, frigid walks while the spigot remained frozen. This was just a beginning to our coast to coast journey.
Dom and I worked Monday through Friday but found rest from the stress-filled week prior. Wednesday, the weather warmed. Once we signed out from work, we moved outside to secure the fresh-water tank. First, we loosened the lug nuts on the back left wheel, then used the heavy-duty stabilizer jacks Dom installed to lift that same side of the RV. We took the wheel off, which allowed us to see the support beam and trailer frame and plan our attack. Dom started pulling stored items out of the eight-foot truck bed to reach the tools. I assisted by moving it all to the concrete. Once we lifted the large toolbox out, we accessed what we thought we’d need for the job.
I lay a foam pad between the wheels along with gym mats for Dom’s comfort while working. He shimmied under the brake drum, safe from the frigid ground, and made his plan. He drilled the frame, placed a screw through the beam and onto the trailer platform. The wheel got re-secured back onto the disk brake housing. We lowered and re-leveled just as the sun set behind the desert hills. We prepared for another night of below freezing temperatures.
Old Route 66 RV Park is in El Reno, OK. We drove there on Saturday to visit a couple who we met during our last stay in Blowing Springs RV Park. We love being able to meet up with friends as we journey. They helped us into our site in the dark, embraced us, and went back home so we could set up camp. Once we settled in, we headed to their site to catch up and eat cheesy shrimp enchiladas for dinner.
Sunday morning we ate savory steak and eggs cooked by our friends, said our goodbyes, and started our drive. They left to ride their bikes for the first time in ages. The upcoming day’s travel comprised a few hundred miles, though we remained excited at the prospect of riding mountain bikes ourselves in the following week. The drive from El Reno, OK to Bentonville, AR proved uneventful. Our solution for the fresh-water tank support worked, despite the Oklahoma roads’ best efforts!
The weather was rainy the entire week! We didn’t ride one time while there. Our storage unit is located here. This trip allowed us to sort through our camper and truck bed to pull out items we don’t need or are not using. The items that are not useful right now but, we wanted to keep; we stored, which amounted to four bags. A few things got thrown out as well. We’ve lived on the road for three years, and made progress with not keeping unessential items. There is always room for improvement, though. Things find their way into the RV.
By the week’s end, it disappointed us, not having a single sunny day to ride. We maintained our excitement to continue our adventure of driving to pick up our new home on wheels. The last part of the trip was a drive to Attalla, AL. Saturday, we left Bentonville and drove to Forrest City, AR for the night. The next day we continued on to Attalla, AL.
