Left Houston on Weds. June 27th at 3:30PM. Hit just a little traffic trying to get out of town. It was a clear wonderful day, birds were singing, butterflies flying,Homer was purring right along. We stopped a couple of times between Houston and Cooper, once to get some great gas and snacks(Road Snacks:Ya know the hey it looks like a burrito it might have meat and cheese, could have both, ya never know) It started raining right outside of Athens, Homer was doing great. Then Dan & I noticed that he must have a problem, Homer must have farted. Smelled like a wire burning somewhere. I looked in the dash hoping that Homer wasn't making a wire fire under Dan's face. Well that wasn't the problem. We made it to Cooper State Park, it stopped raining. Dan looked at it and said the wires were burning and it's the alternator. We both were a little tired, took showers, put the A/ C in the window,went to bed.
Thurs. June 28th at 7AM.Cooper State Park heading to Springdale,AR. (Denis and Jan's) Woke up and got back out on the road. Dan noticed we were having major problems with Homer, we need a alternator now, called Denis and told him, he got us a Chinese alternator, we did have a Bosch alternator... But, we knew we had a few more days of traveling to do so we just got the Chinese one $179. Dan suggested we just drive all the way to Denis' without turning off the bus. The ride wasn't too bad, just a weird smell in the air. Made it to Denis' no problem, Homer got us there once again. Got there at 1PM. Denis and Jan were there to greet us with,"We have a lot of stuff still to do before the party." I washed windows and Dan took off stickers and washed windows. Went out to dinner with Brad & Claudette. Brad was the guy who did the addition on Denis' house. Denis' house looked fabulous, and Brad did a wonderful job. Oh did I forget to mention Brad has a nice VW bus? Dinner was great Denis took us to a Seafood Restaurant, oyster's were to die for literally. Thanks again Denis and Jan. I just love ya'll! Got back to Denis' house after dinner and Gerald showed up! Stayed up kinda late talking with Denis and Gerald. Denis asked how many people I thought would be attending the party, I said "48 people". Talked to Jerry & Duncan, they were on their way since about 7PM. We told Jerry to call us every hour to keep in touch. He did, every hour, up until they got there at 4AM. Dan was already up so he got out of the bed and greeting them, I stayed in bed for a little while. I got up about 6AM and greeted them.
Fri. June 29th at 7AM. Denis & Jans' house.Got up. Dan,Gerald,Jerry,and I went to Chad's for breakfast. Took Duncan some breakfast, even though he tried to act like he was trying to sleep or something. Ha! I felt tired after breakfast, so Dan & I took a nap until 10AM. Got up again...Then people started arriving around 3PM...Chatted with everyone. Went to bed at 2AM.
Sat. June 30th at 7AM. Denis & Jans' house.Psycoblooie was in full swing. Steve was making bus and bug pancakes. They were great! Sandwiches for lunch. Shish KaBobs for dinner. Sharon,Debbie,and I helped cut up all the Kabob Stuff. Dan & I thought of the Shish Ka Bob idea, and I never knew how well it was going to go, it was so much fun, everyone was all bunched together talking and eating. Steve cooked all the food for the evening. Including a bunch of corn Paul Smith brought, with butter, fresh limes, and chili powder. It was one great fireworks show. I loved how Steve served everyone corn during the fireworks. Thanks Steve & Sharon no one could ask for better friends than you. Chuck definitely deserves the Bus! The fireworks were the best I had ever saw at Psycoblooie. Everyone got into the hot tub. I mean a lot of people, the water was outside of the tub instead of inside the tub. Chatted with the DAC, and Jerry made some sirloin burgers and steak that Gerald donated. Thanks Gerald! Couldn't stay awake any longer, I was too drunk to stay upright any longer. Went to bed at 2AM. Good night.
Sunday July 1st at 11AM left Denis & Jans' palace. Headed towards Boiling Springs State Park in Woodward, Oklahoma. Made it to Woodward at 6:45PM. We both took a shower then went to bed. We couldn't wait to get to Eagle Nest,New Mexico.
Monday July 2nd at 8AM left Boiling Springs campground and headed towards Eagle Nest,NM. We were off like a herd of turtles! The weather was great, Homer was just running up an down the mountains like he knew what he was doing.
Homer'll be coming round the mountain When he comes (Honk, Honk!) He'll be coming round the mountain When he comes (Honk, Honk!) He'll be coming round the mountain, He'll be coming round the mountain, He'll be coming round the mountain When he comes (Honk, Honk!) Dan'll be driving six white & sierra yellow busses When he comes (Honk,honk) He'll be driving six white & sierra yellow busses When he comes (Honk, Honk!) He'll be driving six white & sierra yellow busses, He'll be driving six white & sierra yellow busses, He'll be driving six white & sierra yellow busses When he comes (Beep, Beep!) Oh, we'll all go out to see Homer When he comes (Beep, beep!) Oh, we'll all go out to see Homer When he comes (Doh!) Oh, we'll all go out to see Homer, Oh, we'll all go out to see Homer, Oh, we'll all go out to see Homer When he comes (Honk,Beep,Doh!,Beep,Honk,Doh!)Sorry I just had to do a jig for a second and play some spoons on my knee. We were almost to the OK,TX,NM border. Well actually we were in Clayton New Mexico by 5PM. All of a sudden we spotted a Blue Bay Window Bus driving towards us, we waved, they waved! We were just on the other side of Springer. Oh my gosh here comes some rain, no it's hail instead. It lasted about 3 minutes. Nothing got damaged. Dan & Homer drove us through some beautiful mountains in Cimarron. We noticed how much the weather had changed, it got much cooler outside. Dan & I both checked all the campgrounds to see if there was a available spot, there were a bunch of RV's. Decided to go to Eagle Nest. We stayed in the Gold Pan RV Park/Hotel/Cabins. No restrooms or showers. The weather was fabulous it was about 60 degrees. All of us were hungry. We had to find a place where we could sit outside because of the dog. There was a Steak House that looked good. I went inside the restaurant and asked if we could sit outside, beside the bar that was a part of the Steak House where some picnic tables were. Some chic said,"No problem I'll be your waitress." Come to find out she's from Lubbock TX. Talked to some folks who live in Eagle Nest, asked where we could do some mountain camping. He told us "Greens Mountain it's the same road by the Reintegration Center." "That's where they keep bad teens, up there about 15 miles up the mountain." He said,"Hey don't worry they're not going anywhere." Dan & I laughed, then ate our buffalo burgers,fries,and baked potato. Thor got some fries when we got back to our RV site at the Gold Pan. Dan called his sister, Kathy and asked where we should camp tomorrow. She told us to check out the Golden Eagle RV Park, it was just down the road. Dan,Thor & I walked down there and made reservations for July 3rd and maybe the 4th. They had a restroom,shower, & a store. It was a cute little RV Park. The scenery of the mountains and lake was just beautiful. 11PM must go to bed. Good night.
Tues. July 3rd at 7AM. Eagle Nest,NM. Got up and went to a coffee shop to get some coffee. Tried to get some money out of the ATM at the Shamrock. Totally sucked, the guy that runs the store says,"Well it should work some people were just in here using it." Well my debit card is kinda old so the magnet on the back is scratched a little. After that we packed up and went to a bank in Angel Fire. Dan & I then cruised the loop around the mountains. Eagle Nest,Angel Fire,Taos,Rio Grande Gorge http://www.sangres.com/statenm/taosbridge.htm and, Red River. A must do if you go to New Mexico. Made it back to the Golden Eagle RV Park about 6PM. I went to the little store and got 2 salmon steaks and 1 rib-eye. Dan cooked it on our Kerbachi. Took showers and watched some podcasts then went to bed.
Weds. July 4th at 7AM. Eagle Nest NM. Golden Eagle RV Park. Got up and had a pancake breakfast the RV Park. There was a list of activities at the RV Park to keep us all well entertained. This huge trailer with a HUGE smoker started setting up to serve food at 2PM. Wine tasting booth was getting all set up. The stage for the BAND was getting set up also. http://www.goldeneaglerv.com/Events.html Dan called his sister Kathy whom was going to camp with us in her new found bus, same like ours. A 71 sierra yellow and pastel white bus. She just bought it 3 weeks ago. Kathy lives in Denver Colorado. She left at 8:30AM. We waited for her patiently, at least Dan did. I couldn't wait to see Homer's brother "Herb". Kathy arrived at 2:00PM. Herb was a really cool bus. Dan repaired the slider door and put the Z-Bed back together. Kathy and I went to taste some wine. Also got me a Turkey leg, a Brisket sandwich, and lemonade. Walked into town later and had a small slice of pizza. Looked at some really weird clothes in a boutique and almost bought a T-Shirt. Well let me tell ya'll something, Thor hates fireworks. He started hearing firecrackers and was not very happy. Got back to the RV Park and wondered when the Fireworks show was going to happen. Had to go ask the locals at the Food Concession place. Kathy and I waited in a long line waiting for sausage on a stick, fried candy bar, and cheesecake dipped in chocolate on a stick. So we waited and waited in line to get our goodies. Then all of a sudden the fireworks start. Started at 9PM. Finally, we got to get our goodies at 9:30PM. Had to get hot dogs instead of sausage on a stick. Went back to the campsite and Dan was holding Thor in the bus. Dang ol' Dan wasn't having any fun. Thanks again Honey for watching the dog. Fireworks lasted until 9:45PM. They were spectacular echoing through the mountains. Lots of pretty colors, a few of them were just colored circles. Dan & I watched a few podcasts, then crashed about 11:30PM.
Thurs. July 5th at 7AM. Had some pastries,fruit, and coffee at the RV Park. Kathy was leaving early so she could get home before dark. Dan & I left the RV Park at 10AM. Went to a Laundromat in Angel Fire. I ran out of change and asked some guy in the Laundromat if he had change for a $20 bill, I needed a $5 or some $1's. He says,"No, but I will got to the bank right over there and get you some change." I said,"Sure, if you don't mind and thank you." He went over to the bank and got me some change. Dan & I thanked him then I finished the laundry while Dan chatted with him. Come to find out his son lives there in Angel Fire and he was just visiting him for a few days. His wife and granddaughter were doing their laundry. Dan also struck up a conversation with a local whom used to live in Utah. Great people in New Mexico. Dan & I got done with the laundry and went to go camp on TOP OF GREENS MOUNTAIN(National Forest camping-Free) What a rough road going up the mountain. Found a good place, well the first place looked good to us and Homer. Got parked and video taped a little. Then made a sourdough swiss cheese turkey sandwich. It was great! I laid back on my bean bag and took in all the scenery. What a beautiful place...My isn't it pretty up here...Dan & I made a small fire. Dan started the fire in the Kerbachi for the rib-eye. We had caesar salad with the rib-eye. The realized we didn't have enough water, so we couldn't stay a few more days on the mountain. We could only stay tonight then we had to go. It was getting late so we decided to watch a couple of podcasts and go to sleep.
Fri. July 6th at 7AM. Got up and was relieved no BEARS got us. Ha! People told us to watch out for bears. Ha! Dan made breakfast. Then we video taped a little. Then got all packed up slowly for our ride back down the mountain. I taped it. It was fun! I kept on video taping us going through the mountains until we got out of Cimmaron. It was a nice day. Homer was running good. We drove about 3 hours then Homer started acting up in between Mosquero & Logan.
http://www.google.com/maps?q=Cimarron,+NM,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=titleSmoke came out the back of Homer and he just died. We was really out in the middle of no where. Dan got out and looked and the battery had raised up and smoke was coming from it. Not good. He told me that we need to get it up on the road so we can push start it, maybe then it would get going. We both pushed and rocked Homer back up onto the road. Then we realized after we got it up on the road it was at an incline. Going up hill instead of down hill like we needed to be to push start the bus. Then all of a sudden a really nice guy stopped in a Subaru. Said he just came from the Rainbow Festival in Arkansas and was headed to Colorado to take his girlfriend to visit with her parents. He was a nice guy, named Gabe. So we tried to push Homer again with Gabe helping. Was not working at all. It was WAY TOO HOT TO BE PUSHING A VW at 3PM in the afternoon. Then Gabe thought of just pushing us with his Subaru. He waved to his girlfriend Alicia to come where we was. Well then we got out the beanbag and some bungey cords and tried to push Homer. Not working, Damb it! Then I called AAA. They asked,"Where are you?" I said,"Between Mosquero and Logan." She says,"Where are you exactly?South or North of Logan? How many miles from Logan?" I said," In between Logan & Mosquero." She said she was sending a wrecker, and the wrecker company will be calling soon. Sure enough the wrecker service called me 5 minutes later. The lady from the wrecker service says,"It will cost $6 a mile for a tow truck to tow you where you need to go." I said,"I still need the tow I don't care how much it costs." I was so hot and so was Dan and ooh ya and so was Thor. Tow truck guy got there and said,"I stopped up at the top of that hill at a picnic area to call and see exactly where you were." "Then someone driving by told me where you were." "I didn't want to have to drive anymore if I didn't have to." "I came from Tucumcari,it's about 50 miles from here." He says,"You got a dog in there?"I said,"Yes," he says,"Ya'll can ride in the truck but he can't." So Thor got to ride on the tow truck in the bus. He was ok he had two 12v fans blowing on him and the windows were down. The tow truck guy was really friendly talked to us all the way to Tucumcari and we could even smoke. We made it to the Tucumcari NAPA Auto Parts on Route 66. Got our bus off the tow truck and got the bill for the ride. Tow truck guy says,"You really should get AAA Plus, your gonna scream when I tell you how much the bill is." I said,"No I won't scream,just let me see the bill." He showed it to me and I didn't scream, it was $302.00. The truck guy left and Dan had been in and out of the parts store a couple of times. Got a new battery,hose,and a timing light. Dan had me start the bus, didn't start the first time, did the second time. Dan says,"Call that tow truck company and ask where there's a good motel around here." She said,"Route 66 Motel,east about a couple of miles." We drove to the motel checked in and paid only $32.00,including 3 dollars for the dog. They had HBO, High Speed Internet, and Continental Breakfast. Can't beat that. Dan & I both showered and went to a local hamburger/malt place. Had the best philley steak,fries,and a Dr.Pepper. We also made sure to get a chocolate malt to go. It was so good. By the time we got back to the motel I was so full and tired. Fed the dog,then took him to the park next to the Motel to do his business. Laid down and went to sleep.
Sat. July 7th at 5:15AM. Tucumcari,NM, the Route 66 Motel. Got everything into the bus and got on the road at 5:45AM. Dan says,"I hope we make it home on just one battery." We stopped in a little town and got a extra battery. Got to Temple and left the extra battery at the gas station. Dan says,"Shit I left that battery at the gas station." I said well do we need to go back and get it?" He said,"No we aren't going back, hopefully we'll make it home on this battery." Started getting dark and Dan started getting nervous because we couldn't use the head lights . Turned them on for a hour and made it home at 9:30PM.
Katrina & Dan Martin 71'bus "Homer" http://web.mac.com/danandkatrinamartin http://ical.mac.com/danandkatrinamartin/Volks32Shows
