New Mexico - Day 2: A Day of Sad and Happy Goodbyes....

Richard, my FIL and Martha's Dad passed this morning.  

I got the call from Martha at around 5:30 AM, and I was up with the sunrise for this shot.  I think Richard, or Doc as I called him, would have liked it.  This was the sad goodbye of the day.

R.I.P.

Martha, Richard and Laura

Martha confirmed that I should complete the primary mission of this trip and deliver the Sammy to Mike and Laura W in Elephant Butte, NM.

Around 1PM, I arrived at their house and the Sammy was transferred to its new owners and I said a happy goodbye.

Why was Laura wearing the sash that had 4 and Fabulous on it, along with a Tiara with the number 4?

Laura W.

#4

The joke is that now that Mike has three Samurais, Laura's position in the "order of affection" has now moved to number 4!  :)

Mike steps out of his "new to him" Samurai:

Martha flies soon to Wisconsin to join Laura, her sister, to get things squared away for Doc's funeral.  

Needless to say, this camping trip is now on hold and I'm making my way back home to help with things as I can.  I hope to be home before this weekend, the funeral is hopefully going to happen late next week.

Tonight's campsite and sunset.

The Sammy is going to a new home.

After much anguish, costs and worries, I've decided to take the Sammy to a new home and owner.

I must say, it feels like a great weight has been lifted off of me.

The Sammy will go to someone who is more than capable of fixing her current and future issues.  Mike and Laura are great friends that Martha and I met through the Sammy, they and other Samurai enthusiasts who befriended us as newbie Samurai owners will of course remain friends.

I'll pick her up from the shop today, and ready things to take her to her new home in New Mexico after the Labor Day Weekend.

Selling the Sammy - Nope

I placed the Sammy up for sale via Craigslist and Face Book Marketplace today.

She remains drive-able of course and will be used as camping towed vehicle until sold.  The plan then is to get Martha's Honda CR-V to be flat-towed by mounting a tow plate and acquiring required items such as an assistive braking system.

The decision to sell has been long in coming.  A final discussion with Martha this morning solidified the decision to sell.  We don't want to put more money into the Sammy and I'm not comfortable with the idea of replacing the head gasket myself.

Realistically, yes, I could probably do it but then what will break next on this 35 year old car?

While she's great off-road, being able to go places I wouldn't dare to go; her performance on paved roads is not enough for us.  If she could only 55 mph on the hills this wouldn't be an issue but there you go.

IIWII:  It Is What It Is.

Update: January 21

Though there were several "inquiries", it wasn't till a call today by someone asking to come by to see the Sammy tomorrow that I realized I wasn't ready to let go of the Sammy.  The FB and Craigslist ads have been deleted so we'll see how things go!

 

An eventful displacement to Arizona after hiking in the Gila NF

I woke before sunrise as usual and captured it through the port window of the VRRV:

 I also happened to see a small herd of Javelina Pigs stroll on by the campsite, crossing the entrance road like it was nothing:

Just look at the mean face being made by the Javelina on the left, I wouldn't want to be near it when its mad.

I also drove the Sammy over to the other side of the lake to get the reflection:

I would end up doing an earlier than expected displacement to Arizona today; the replacement oxygen sensor for the VRRV wasn't expected till sometime this afternoon in Safford, AZ.  It was delivered before 9am instead!  The original plan had been to overnight one more night then head to Safford on Thursday morning.

Where was I at that time, not at the campsite I'll tell you!  I was out of cellular signal range, hiking the Sanctuary Trail in the Gila National Forest.

I only hiked about 1.75 miles of it, the below pic being the furthest point I made after arriving at a gate that lead to trail 859B.

Here's some views as I hiked back to the Sammy:

I then meandered with the Sammy, checking out the same trails I'd seen yesterday, but this time under bright sunshine:

Around 11 AM, as I was parking the Sammy for more pictures, I heard my phone go "Ting!".  Surprised that I had signal, I checked out the message from Martha and responded.  I took the opportunity to check email as well and there it was, the notice from Amazon that my part had been delivered to the Safford Main Post Office!

I got back to the campsite by 1130 and by Noon I was ready to go!  

I used US180, which transits the Apache National Forest.  I must go back and check out the campgrounds there some day soon.  Not because of the campsites, but the awesome looking large rock formations visible from the highway as one drives along!  Very nice.  I was almost tempted to turn around and find a campsite but continued on instead.  The thought was, there's better chances of getting a good campsite in the middle of the week, the closer to the weekend one is, the more weekenders abound!

Got to Safford shortly before 2 PM and picked up the part from the Post Office and the supplies/tool from Napa within 30 minutes!  I would then waste over an hour trying to find a campground which would allow me to dump tanks and take on water!  I must have used nearly a quarter of the tank crisscrossing the town in heavy traffic doing this.

The one advertised on Allstays.com as doing this, didn't do it anymore.  I couldn't find the one recommended by them and then called a third site.  The Safford RV Resort said sure!  But cash only and if possible, in quarters.  Huh?

So I spent more time tracking down a bank for its ATM then walking inside to get said quarters.  A few minutes later I was dumping tanks and getting water, finally.

On the way to gas up, I was driving slowly (luckily) through town when I felt a bump from behind.  I looked on the rear camera monitor and the Sammy was out of position!  I was at a stop sign so I slowly turned right and parked the RV.  

I found the Sammy had somehow lost the port side pin that secured the tow bar arm to the port side tow point!  The bump I felt/heard had been the Sammy bumping against the now collapsed tow bar when I had come to a stop!

Dammit.

As I was doing initial assessments, a passing motorist who'd seen all this happen stopped and offered assistance.  Anthony L. helped me get the Sammy out of the traffic lane and then generously offered to take me to the Ace hardware store for a replacement pin.

I found a suitable replacement pin with built-in locking bar which fit nicely.  Anthony helped me hook up the Sammy once more, I ran through the towing checklist with his help and was soon on the road again.

My thanks to Anthony L.!  I tried to give him money but he said: "Just pay it forward...." .  A man after my own heart!

After getting gas for the VRRV, it was 4:15 PM and I was about 50 minutes from the Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area campsite!  Sunset was at 5:20PM so I raced the sun to the site.  I would have made it with more than 10 minutes to spare but ran up on a convoy of three other RVs, driving VERY slowly.

I finally got past two of the slower ones when they stopped at the registration point.  The other RV and I continued onwards, leaving the slow bastards in our dust.

Found a site near where I'd stayed before.  The place seems to be more full than ever.  Especially for a Wednesday night!  What the hell.  Still, I found a good spot, got camp set up in the gathering darkness and could still see outside when finished.  What a drive!

Still, I'm here safely.  I met a Good Samaritan, got everything I needed for the repairs and planning on a few days of dune riding ahead!