June 4....Mesa to Holbrook, AZ

If you are following this blog for the bicycling info, you might want to skip the blog for the next week!  This is about Pam traveling from Mesa, Arizona to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a very large motorhome!  Some friends and family want to know where I am and how I'm fairing as I travel across tornado alley!  After spending 5+ weeks back home, spending time with my Dad, I had to fly back to Mesa to pick up the jeep at the Phoenix Airport and then on to Towerpoint Resort.

I spent a week relaxing by the pool, visiting with neighbors and my boss and getting the rig ready to roll.  Yesterday was my appointment to get routine work done on the motorhome.  Unfortunately, last evening I discovered that our satellite dish wouldn't go down all of the way.  In February, I took Directv up on an offer to upgrade to a DVR.  Unfortunately, the guy who came out to upgrade our rig, didn't know a thing about Winegard equipment, which is the RV equipment.  Unknown to us, he took off parts, put things on wrong, etc.  So when I put the dish down yesterday, it jammed up and wouldn't go down all the way.  Long story short, Winegard sent out a tech who tried (he really did) to get the whole thing to work.  In the end, he had to replace the whole dish and I didn't get on the road until 2!

I headed north on AZ87 which is alot of climbing, short descent, over and over as I traveled out of the Valley of the Sun.  Lots of scenery and cactus to look at.  I passed thru Payson and continued northeast on AZ260, AZ277, AZ 377 and finally AZ77 to Holbrook.  This is where I will pick up I-40 to head east.  The scenery was awesome up through the mountains and onto the Mogollon Rim.  Saw lots of signs telling me to watch for animals and elk, but didn't see anything except cows!

And now it's cool and raining and once again I get to smell the desert (in this case, high desert) when it rains!  It has a very distinct smell that I never smelled until I discovered the desert last year and I believe it comes from the creosote plant!  No! I'm not crazy!