All is well!

This blog has been pretty inactive lately -- the last post was about two months ago, after I got back from my last longish trip.  I was really touched when one of you sent me a message to ask if I was OK.  

I am!  When I got back to Tucson, I jumped into some house maintenance projects which I'd put off: repainting a couple of rooms and getting rid of stuff I simply wasn't using.  There was maintenance work to be done on the Beast as well:  I had my mechanic investigate the warning light situation which had cropped up on my way into White Rock.  The misfires on a couple of cylinders were cured by replacing injector wiring harnesses.  The clunking sound when the driver's window was open and closed required a new window motor assemble.  And yet another pack rat nest was discovered, deep inside.  Photo attached.  At least they didn't eat any of the wires!  So, after a deep breath and a big check, all is well again.  I think.

I also made some progress on a problem which has been nagging at me for a while.  The ceiling of the Beast is covered in a fabric which resembles a very short-pile carpet.  It had stains from some roof leaks which have since been attended to, but the stains were unsightly.  So I hauled my trusty Bissell spot cleaner (acquired to deal with pet stains on the carpet at home) down to the storage lot and used it on the stained areas.  Bingo!  It's a small thing, I suppose, but it gave me pleasure.

I've also been considering what to do with the radio/stereo in the Beast.  It may have been original equipment (in 1999!) and has a cassette deck.  Not, to say the least, current technology.  It drives speakers in the cab area, the "coach" area, and a couple of exterior speakers which I've never used.  I pulled one of the coach speakers out of its housing and it was shot... the cone had pretty much detached from the housing.  The dash installation wasn't standard, to say the least: I think perhaps the RV manufacturer had replaced the Ford original.   I started to research replacement stereo, and while I was doing that, my car radio up and quit on me!

Long story short: I've discovered Crutchfield as an online source of car stereo gear.  I was probably the last on my block to learn about them.  I'm replacing the stereo in the car this week, and if that goes well, I'll consider the more complex problems of the RV system.  It would be good to have some better quality sound in there.

Next trip, I think: a short trip down to a couple of southern Arizona places I like.  Probably about a week.  That may generate a little more activity here on the much-neglected blog.