#68 – Coveys Great Adventure – May 2020 – AZ-UT via NM, TX, AR, MS, IA, NB and WY

May 2020 – AZ to UT via NM, TX, AR, MO, IA, NE and WY

Yes, really. 3,100 miles in just over 2 weeks. “Why?” requires a little explanation.

Part of our plans for Spring travel (that got made and blown up several times as Covid started to take off) was to stop in Arkansas and Iowa to get two persistent coach problems fixed. A small family business based near Little Rock is the go-to AquaHot repair shop according to many of the folks on the Monaco forums that I follow. HWH Corp. located in Moscow, Iowa manufactures the air leveling systems used in the majority of large coaches, including ours. As faithful readers will recall, we have been nursing problems with both systems for quite awhile. The plan was to combine touring the South with Charlie and Mollie Kendrick with visits to the experts to get both problems behind us once and for all.

As Covid unfolded through March and April, we realized that there were fewer places as safe as where we were, the SKP Saguaro Co-op in Benson, AZ. We have friends (Hi Leslie, Ray, Ellen, Cosmo, Jackie and Kaz!) that we felt safe getting together with. The town has most of what we need; even TP was back in stock just as we were leaving. Mi Casa was also open for takeout, so life was…ok.

But, the coach problems wouldn’t fix themselves. We could live with the leveling issues, but the AquaHot is key to our cold weather comfort. In early May, Oregon State Parks announced that some parks would begin opening on a limited basis beginning in June. We reached out to the ranger at Thompson's Mills where we had plans to host beginning in August, and Tom said he expected us to arrive on schedule. About that same time, the Covid numbers looked like they were flattening, especially where we were going to stay more than one night, Arkansas and Utah. We felt we had a window that would allow us to get to Arkansas, then to Iowa and finally to Utah with minimal risk of exposure to the virus.

So we said our goodbyes and hit the road on May 16. I am no fan of our interstate highway system. Deferred maintenance and decades of gross neglect has turned a world wonder into a nightmare of broken pavement and potholes that just pound our coach to death. Wherever possible, we found an alternate US highway. It may take a little longer but the trip is so much better. I10 across Texas is just plain awful, and most of the other interstates in TX are close seconds. 

We picked up US 62 in El Paso and followed a series of US highways for two days for almost 700 miles across most of the state. It might have taken a couple of hours longer, but the reduced noise, pounding and overall wear and tear was certainly worth it. Besides, you get to see small towns and scenery that you never see on an interstate.

May 19 marked our 35th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with takeout subs at Subway in the Love's truck stop somewhere in Texas. I've always been a romantic devil, but I think I topped myself this time. 

Not DIY

We pulled into Lloyd de Gerald’s yard in Paron, Arkansas five days after we left Benson. Lloyd and his wife, Verda, immediately made us feel right at home. Lloyd and Brian got right to work, and by that evening the AquaHot was out of the coach. The next day saw a rebuilt unit shoehorned into place and the long process of hooking up all the wires and tubes began. The exhaust system was completely shot and a replacement was locally fabricated. By morning the final connections were made and testing began. We could have pulled out that afternoon, but decided to spend a third night in their big shed and get a fresh start in the morning.

I didn't see any way....

Paron is northwest of Little Rock in a beautiful area of rolling hills, vivid greenery of many hues and small towns, many quietly dying.  The whole area is slowly being gentrified, though. Gaudy gatehouses, and new walls and perfect fences mark where old farms have been converted to elaborate country estates for the new gentry of Little Rock. It is certainly welcome work for the local trades and craftsmen, but the inexorable sprawl of the big-box stores and their remoras are moving in, too.

HWH is in Moscow, Iowa, roughly 500 miles due north of Peron. Another triumph of good planning put us on the road on Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Finding an RV site on a holiday weekend without several months leadtime is… difficult. We grabbed an opening at a park called Spencer’s Landing in London, Arkansas. The park had nothing to recommend it, but we were happy to have full hook ups and be off the road for the holiday weekend.

With serious trepidation about Covid running rampant in the meat packing plants of Iowa, we headed north on May 26. We stayed at Camp WallyWorld one night in Bowling Green, Missouri. I think Lucy and Schroeder will remember the ducks and geese in the park pond across the street for quite awhile.

We arrived at HWH about noon, and they pulled us right into the shop. We were finished and ready to leave by 4:00. We declined their offer of an overnight spot in favor of the Walmart parking lot in Coralville, about 30 miles west. That turned out to be a good call, because it poured all night. The HWH dirt lot would have turned into an ankle-deep quagmire. In contrast, the Walmart lot was paved, flat, well drained and had plenty of grass for the dogs to stretch their legs in the morning after the skies cleared.

Four days later we arrived in Heber City, Utah. We spent one night at Deer Creek State Park, and on June 1 moved a few miles away to Jordanelle State Park near Park City for two weeks. All of us were pretty tired of moving every day and were ready to unwind, drink some wine and visit with Liesa, who we hadn't seen since last November.

More soon,

Bob