I picked up the rental truck – biggest available at 26’ – on Wednesday the
12th, only to lose over an hour as the bumper dug into our steep driveway
when backing in! I tried stuffing 2x4s under the tires only to find it had
a standard live axle (no posi-track/limited slip) and ended up calling a
tow truck to pull it loose; what a way to start a move, eh? We were able
to load up everything by the evening as packing was completed in the days
beforehand.
The carpet cleaners were able to reschedule to earlier Thursday morning,
although the landlady could not so the townhome got an extra cleaning
before her walkthrough; must have worked well as she thought we had it
professionally cleaned.
At 4:30 pm we left Orcutt for New Mexico; my wife driving her car, my
youngest son – with fresh, newly-issued-the-day-before CA driver license -
my pickup, and me leading with the big rental truck. One of my other sons
had loaned us his 2-way radios to communicate on the road, of which became
invaluable with the darkness of night later in the evening.
The truck ended up being a bit of a wallow-er on the 101 with me at the
wheel, which I attribute primarily to my unfamiliarity to such an ungainly
beast; its need to occupy a full-freeway lane, moreover my need to learn
precision as far as tire placements – a few corrections and in time got
used to it. I knew it was not the load distribution as our heavier items
were low and forward. Gaviota Pass was the first climb-test, and even with
a 70-MPH run, near the peak the speedo indicated ½ that; these trucks
could do without a governor.
Our first freeway backup was in Santa Barbara – it was supposed to be past
that hour although we were in the midst of it. After Carpentaria it was
clear sailing until our first stop at Thousand Oaks for snacks and truck
fuel – I regretted not checking it prior to loading the day before as the
rental yard released it to me 7/8 full; that’s 8 gallons of diesel of
which you will hear about again below.
The next freeway backup was minor with a stalled rice rocket in the fast
lane approaching Glendale. Due to the late-evening hour and otherwise
light traffic (by LA standards) we were able to make it all the way to our
final exposure to congestion just before Redlands, of all places. Due to a
fire around Calimesa, the authorities had required the city to evacuate,
and there was no mention on any of the radio stations I was listening to.
So we pulled off of Interstate 10, backtracked and looped southward by
Riverside, through Moreno Valley on the 60 and ended up at Palm Desert for
the night, securing a hotel room at 1am – what a way to end the day.
The parking lot was full of CFD fire trucks and as thus we got one of the
last rooms, although in the morning the dozens of trucks were gone while
others with firemen were pulling in off of shift for their rest/stay
period. This was early in the morning while my wife and son slept in; I
left to refuel the vehicles in the interim. BTW, it was 98 degrees at 7am!
It wasn’t until mid day when we left the hotel as my wife needed
sufficient rest/recovery from the previous night’s drive in order to make
the long haul across Arizona. (She suggested we make the leg at night but
it just did not pan out.) There was a long and steep climb on the other
side of the Colorado, such that the A/C needed to be off and the heater on
when the water temp needle approached 210 degrees! Now this was a truck
with less than 10k miles on it, so there may be no concern as it should
take it, though I did not want to gamble, seeing others pulled off with
overheated vehicles. Once past the plateau, we stopped at a rest area, and
it was like stepping into an oven - a real cooker at 118 degrees.
As we were approaching Phoenix it became apparent rush-hour traffic was
waiting for us, and I stumbled across a bypassing highway, as shown on the
map, going south to Gila Bend; that alternate became a real welcomed saver
over the congestion we would have otherwise been in. The truck needed
refueling at Gila Bend, and afterwards we connected to I-8 and reconnected
to I-10 south of Phoenix. We had I-8 almost to ourselves.
Our next stop was Tucson, and we pulled in at a more reasonable hour at 7
(or was it 8?) pm. It was still cooking outside. As we were settling down
in our hotel room, there were some light flashes outside, and my son said
it was pouring. I said “no way” as I had just come from outside, attending
to the vehicles, making sure the windows were open a bit to release any
residual cabin heat. Sure enough, as I peeked through the curtains there
was a downpour, so we ran outside and rolled up all the windows, getting
drenched in the process and laughing the whole time.
Likewise, the next morning I sneaked out early to refuel the vehicles, and
it was already near 100 degrees.
Leaving on the last leg Saturday mid-morning placed us back on I-10 with
little traffic yet some long climbs up and over the Continental Divide.
Past the final descent out of Deming and into Las Cruces the truck’s fuel
gauge dipped unusually quick, and I began to do math in my head,
attempting to determine if I’d make it at all. Not only was the low fuel
light on by then but the alarm entered into a constant, irritating buzz
state. We pulled into the first station 20-miles west of town, only to
find they did not have diesel. Uh oh. The next would be 12 miles away.
Stepping out at the pump there, it was a bit less hot (higher elevation?),
and the tank swallowed a whole 42 gallons, meaning there was all but 8
gallons left when pulling in – poetic in that there’s the 8 gallons of
which I was shorted earlier in the week and caused this panic late in the
trip. That amount sounds safe although I had no way of knowing what was
and certainly did not want to risk coasting into town, with the rate fuel
was disappearing and the gauge needle moving.
Before leaving the truck stop (1:30 pm) I called the new landlady to
confirm our arrival at the new place. Once there, we had completely
emptied the truck about an hour after sunset, as it had to be turned in
Sunday morning, according to the contract.
After dropping off the truck, we continued on to El Paso where my son
took a fight back to San Luis Obispo to join his troop - he’s in basic
training now, and the next time we see him may be at his graduation to becoming a marine.
Reporting to work on Monday the 17th, they gave me and others about 4 hectic-days of training, etc. I picked up four big and highly-visible
projects; two have just begun and two are out for bid, with others planned for FY ’07. They consist of a new, much longer deceleration-site entry lane; a site waste-transfer facility; a new (secure) perimeter fence and security road; and an expansion of the parking lot - mostly civil work, with earth moving involved for them all; a bit of a twist for me, a factory builder.
The weather here has been hot during the day, but never over 100;
typically in the high 70s/low 80s at night and in the mornings - it cools
down at 9pm, being the high desert. It’s bearable, being dry – I wouldn’t
want to know how it’s like if humid. Often there is cloud cover, and we
get occasional thunder in the evenings with some light rain. The sunrise
and sunset skies are typically full of color and quite spectatular.
The city has about the same to offer as the CA cental coast, though it’s not as built up nor as populated. There’s a bid of farmland, with onions, peppers, and the biggest crop: pecans. Quite a few dairies reside to south along the Rio Grande, which surprisingly is flowing near capacity for this time of year; they must be emptying out the reservoirs for some reason or have an agreement with Texas.
I went to register my vehicles and get a driver's license. Everthing went
well until it was time for my dirt bike, the one I had purchased last month before leaving CA. The clerk said I had to have the prev. owner sign off on the odometer reading, and I said that was an N/A as it was a dirt bike for cryin' out loud, let alone a CA pink slip before her and not one from NM! She said no exceptions. Barump! And her supervisor/manger was gone on this first visit but today I talked with her and got her to sign off-okay. Now I am waiting for a brake light switch, mirror, license-plate holder and looking for min. insurance to get it all legal. Now this doesn't mean I'm going soft and road riding much - this is just to connect trails as there seems to be a concerted effort elsewhere like we had in CA to cut out the ability to do loops.
There are plenty of open spaces to ride, though I don't plan on doing any alone. I've been by the Yami shop, and from the likes of it, sez the sales guy, is that not many are into riding around here - heat or
economics? The KTM shop owner says the same. He knows of ~10 other
hard-core, old-time dez riders, of which I'll plan on connecting with once it cools down, as long as they need a sweeper. Then there's another two guys of whom want to show me around = they are from KTMtalk; one lives over on the other side of Cloudcroft, my new Kennedy Meadows/Los Padres-like substitute.
That’s all for now, folks.
12th, only to lose over an hour as the bumper dug into our steep driveway
when backing in! I tried stuffing 2x4s under the tires only to find it had
a standard live axle (no posi-track/limited slip) and ended up calling a
tow truck to pull it loose; what a way to start a move, eh? We were able
to load up everything by the evening as packing was completed in the days
beforehand.
The carpet cleaners were able to reschedule to earlier Thursday morning,
although the landlady could not so the townhome got an extra cleaning
before her walkthrough; must have worked well as she thought we had it
professionally cleaned.
At 4:30 pm we left Orcutt for New Mexico; my wife driving her car, my
youngest son – with fresh, newly-issued-the-day-before CA driver license -
my pickup, and me leading with the big rental truck. One of my other sons
had loaned us his 2-way radios to communicate on the road, of which became
invaluable with the darkness of night later in the evening.
The truck ended up being a bit of a wallow-er on the 101 with me at the
wheel, which I attribute primarily to my unfamiliarity to such an ungainly
beast; its need to occupy a full-freeway lane, moreover my need to learn
precision as far as tire placements – a few corrections and in time got
used to it. I knew it was not the load distribution as our heavier items
were low and forward. Gaviota Pass was the first climb-test, and even with
a 70-MPH run, near the peak the speedo indicated ½ that; these trucks
could do without a governor.
Our first freeway backup was in Santa Barbara – it was supposed to be past
that hour although we were in the midst of it. After Carpentaria it was
clear sailing until our first stop at Thousand Oaks for snacks and truck
fuel – I regretted not checking it prior to loading the day before as the
rental yard released it to me 7/8 full; that’s 8 gallons of diesel of
which you will hear about again below.
The next freeway backup was minor with a stalled rice rocket in the fast
lane approaching Glendale. Due to the late-evening hour and otherwise
light traffic (by LA standards) we were able to make it all the way to our
final exposure to congestion just before Redlands, of all places. Due to a
fire around Calimesa, the authorities had required the city to evacuate,
and there was no mention on any of the radio stations I was listening to.
So we pulled off of Interstate 10, backtracked and looped southward by
Riverside, through Moreno Valley on the 60 and ended up at Palm Desert for
the night, securing a hotel room at 1am – what a way to end the day.
The parking lot was full of CFD fire trucks and as thus we got one of the
last rooms, although in the morning the dozens of trucks were gone while
others with firemen were pulling in off of shift for their rest/stay
period. This was early in the morning while my wife and son slept in; I
left to refuel the vehicles in the interim. BTW, it was 98 degrees at 7am!
It wasn’t until mid day when we left the hotel as my wife needed
sufficient rest/recovery from the previous night’s drive in order to make
the long haul across Arizona. (She suggested we make the leg at night but
it just did not pan out.) There was a long and steep climb on the other
side of the Colorado, such that the A/C needed to be off and the heater on
when the water temp needle approached 210 degrees! Now this was a truck
with less than 10k miles on it, so there may be no concern as it should
take it, though I did not want to gamble, seeing others pulled off with
overheated vehicles. Once past the plateau, we stopped at a rest area, and
it was like stepping into an oven - a real cooker at 118 degrees.
As we were approaching Phoenix it became apparent rush-hour traffic was
waiting for us, and I stumbled across a bypassing highway, as shown on the
map, going south to Gila Bend; that alternate became a real welcomed saver
over the congestion we would have otherwise been in. The truck needed
refueling at Gila Bend, and afterwards we connected to I-8 and reconnected
to I-10 south of Phoenix. We had I-8 almost to ourselves.
Our next stop was Tucson, and we pulled in at a more reasonable hour at 7
(or was it 8?) pm. It was still cooking outside. As we were settling down
in our hotel room, there were some light flashes outside, and my son said
it was pouring. I said “no way” as I had just come from outside, attending
to the vehicles, making sure the windows were open a bit to release any
residual cabin heat. Sure enough, as I peeked through the curtains there
was a downpour, so we ran outside and rolled up all the windows, getting
drenched in the process and laughing the whole time.
Likewise, the next morning I sneaked out early to refuel the vehicles, and
it was already near 100 degrees.
Leaving on the last leg Saturday mid-morning placed us back on I-10 with
little traffic yet some long climbs up and over the Continental Divide.
Past the final descent out of Deming and into Las Cruces the truck’s fuel
gauge dipped unusually quick, and I began to do math in my head,
attempting to determine if I’d make it at all. Not only was the low fuel
light on by then but the alarm entered into a constant, irritating buzz
state. We pulled into the first station 20-miles west of town, only to
find they did not have diesel. Uh oh. The next would be 12 miles away.
Stepping out at the pump there, it was a bit less hot (higher elevation?),
and the tank swallowed a whole 42 gallons, meaning there was all but 8
gallons left when pulling in – poetic in that there’s the 8 gallons of
which I was shorted earlier in the week and caused this panic late in the
trip. That amount sounds safe although I had no way of knowing what was
and certainly did not want to risk coasting into town, with the rate fuel
was disappearing and the gauge needle moving.
Before leaving the truck stop (1:30 pm) I called the new landlady to
confirm our arrival at the new place. Once there, we had completely
emptied the truck about an hour after sunset, as it had to be turned in
Sunday morning, according to the contract.
After dropping off the truck, we continued on to El Paso where my son
took a fight back to San Luis Obispo to join his troop - he’s in basic
training now, and the next time we see him may be at his graduation to becoming a marine.
Reporting to work on Monday the 17th, they gave me and others about 4 hectic-days of training, etc. I picked up four big and highly-visible
projects; two have just begun and two are out for bid, with others planned for FY ’07. They consist of a new, much longer deceleration-site entry lane; a site waste-transfer facility; a new (secure) perimeter fence and security road; and an expansion of the parking lot - mostly civil work, with earth moving involved for them all; a bit of a twist for me, a factory builder.
The weather here has been hot during the day, but never over 100;
typically in the high 70s/low 80s at night and in the mornings - it cools
down at 9pm, being the high desert. It’s bearable, being dry – I wouldn’t
want to know how it’s like if humid. Often there is cloud cover, and we
get occasional thunder in the evenings with some light rain. The sunrise
and sunset skies are typically full of color and quite spectatular.
The city has about the same to offer as the CA cental coast, though it’s not as built up nor as populated. There’s a bid of farmland, with onions, peppers, and the biggest crop: pecans. Quite a few dairies reside to south along the Rio Grande, which surprisingly is flowing near capacity for this time of year; they must be emptying out the reservoirs for some reason or have an agreement with Texas.
I went to register my vehicles and get a driver's license. Everthing went
well until it was time for my dirt bike, the one I had purchased last month before leaving CA. The clerk said I had to have the prev. owner sign off on the odometer reading, and I said that was an N/A as it was a dirt bike for cryin' out loud, let alone a CA pink slip before her and not one from NM! She said no exceptions. Barump! And her supervisor/manger was gone on this first visit but today I talked with her and got her to sign off-okay. Now I am waiting for a brake light switch, mirror, license-plate holder and looking for min. insurance to get it all legal. Now this doesn't mean I'm going soft and road riding much - this is just to connect trails as there seems to be a concerted effort elsewhere like we had in CA to cut out the ability to do loops.
There are plenty of open spaces to ride, though I don't plan on doing any alone. I've been by the Yami shop, and from the likes of it, sez the sales guy, is that not many are into riding around here - heat or
economics? The KTM shop owner says the same. He knows of ~10 other
hard-core, old-time dez riders, of which I'll plan on connecting with once it cools down, as long as they need a sweeper. Then there's another two guys of whom want to show me around = they are from KTMtalk; one lives over on the other side of Cloudcroft, my new Kennedy Meadows/Los Padres-like substitute.
That’s all for now, folks.
