AZBAMBI...On the Road Again...

[Mackhopp]

Originally Posted by TBRich

Well thank you, Michelle! Glad you are enjoying the pictures and our travel log ramblings... We are always encouraging folks to come and see our beautiful state...we are sure enjoying it at every opportunity!

Come on down!

I have a work colleague who lives in Paradise Valley and has a cabin near Show Low. I've always threatened to come and visit, and now that I've seen your pictures I may have to do just that!

As an aside, I love the work you guys have done on the interior of your Bambi. The cushions and the colours look fabulous.

Keep up the great work!

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by Macfrodge

I have a work colleague who lives in Paradise Valley and has a cabin near Show Low. I've always threatened to come and visit, and now that I've seen your pictures I may have to do just that!

As an aside, I love the work you guys have done on the interior of your Bambi. The cushions and the colours look fabulous.

Keep up the great work!

It owuld be a great trip...lots to see in AZ and virtually any climate/altitude you want is here within a couple of hours...

And thanks for your words oubout the interiors...we are enjoying doing them and have even created an new interior for a friend who also has a newer Bambi...so if anyone has a newer Bambi and wants new slip covers and/or curtains give us a PM...

Ease on down the road....

[wagnerda]

Hey TB,

Kudos as usual on your pics.... Man they are nice, everyone is literally a postcard...

I'll attach one of mine from tonite, and as you will see mine is just a "snapshot" while your's are truly "photographs".

In case you can't tell where I be at, I am in Jackson Center, back to get my Bambi repaired from the tree limb falling on it... And, I hope you don't mind, but I am also going to blatantly, shamelessly, copy youse and get the rear and street side awnings installed like you have. I just love how that looks on your Bambi. Last January when I was down in Key West parked 3 feet from the ocean, the sunlight every morning would blast right in thru the rear window and I kept saying that "I was going to get a rear window awning like AZBAMBI..."

Anyway, it was your idea but I am doing it anyway... :-)

At any rate, I am sitting right now at the Terraport here in Jackson Center on a Saturday night.... For excitement I went out and watched the town's traffic light (there is only 1) go from green to yellow to red for awhile... It just keeps doing that over and over and over again...

That is about it for the excitement in Jackson Center on a Saturday night....

It is also only about 60 degrees and a medium rain coming down so I have the furnace fired up while typeing away and cooking some dinner...

So that is about it for now...

Best regards, Dave...

(Shari stayed home in Maryland and is planting tomatoes this weekend).

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by wagnerda

Hey TB,

Kudos as usual on your pics.... Man they are nice, everyone is literally a postcard...

I'll attach one of mine from tonite, and as you will see mine is just a "snapshot" while your's are truly "photographs".

In case you can't tell where I be at, I am in Jackson Center, back to get my Bambi repaired from the tree limb falling on it... And, I hope you don't mind, but I am also going to blatantly, shamelessly, copy youse and get the rear and street side awnings installed like you have. I just love how that looks on your Bambi. Last January when I was down in Key West parked 3 feet from the ocean, the sunlight every morning would blast right in thru the rear window and I kept saying that "I was going to get a rear window awning like AZBAMBI..."

Anyway, it was your idea but I am doing it anyway... :-)

At any rate, I am sitting right now at the Terraport here in Jackson Center on a Saturday night.... For excitement I went out and watched the town's traffic light (there is only 1) go from green to yellow to red for awhile... It just keeps doing that over and over and over again...

That is about it for the excitement in Jackson Center on a Saturday night....

It is also only about 60 degrees and a medium rain coming down so I have the furnace fired up while typeing away and cooking some dinner...

So that is about it for now...

Best regards, Dave...

(Shari stayed home in Maryland and is planting tomatoes this weekend).

Thanks for the post Dave...glad you continue to enjoy the pics and travel log...

We are so pleased you are getting that limb damage taken care of right way...I don't think I could stand to look at the AZBambi if something like that were to befall us. (Knock on wood.) You've handled the trauma quite nicely, and for that you should be proud.

You will love the rear and curbside awnings. We are at Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, AZ, at the moment...we are in a "new" loop that doesn't have very mature trees, so there's not much shade to be had...the weather isn't too hot yet, but we still use the awnings to minimize the "heating up" factor and give us some shade. The guys at the dealer where we got them call the awnings "portable trees." When all the awnings are deployed it looks as if it's about to take off! I don't think you'll be sorry, and am pleased that our efforts served as inspiration. Now you have to come out to AZ so we can meet up camping somewhere wiht the "twins" and confuse the heck out of everyone!

Sounds like a real invigorating Saturday night in Jackson Center. How long will it take them to fix it?

Good luck with it and let us wee it when they get done...a "before" and "after" would be great...

[TBRich]

Stopped for an overnight at Picacho Peak (we are the only campers in the loop!) on our way home from a trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, followed by a stay in Prescott, AZ...17 April through 28 April...

Pic #1: A crane in one of the lagoons at Dead Horse Ranch State Park...
Pic #2: A shot north from top of one of the rock formations in the Granite Dells in Prescott (we were camped right below this formation)...
Pic #3: Watson Lake which is one of the several lakes at the base of Granite Dells...
Pic #4: Susnset from the Dells...
Pic #5: Today's sunset at Picacho Peak...

Stay tuned for more pics when we get home (tomorrow) and have a chance to go through the horde of photos and get them up on our website (link below)...

[TBRich]

Some of you know about the several interior decors (customized interior slip covers, curtains and bed spreads, etc) that Greg has made for our 19' Bambi to change its mood for various trips, but he has also made some items that are not only good looking but highly functional...

For instance...I'll bet everyone who has towed a trailer has accidentally gotten grease on thier legs or pants while tending to matters at the back of thier tow vehicle...we sure have.

Since we do not usually remove our hitch when we are at a camp ground...Greg designed a hitch cover of black vinyl for our Equalizer Hitch to keep our clothes and legs hitch-grease free! Looks and works great...it's even lined with vinyl so it can be wiped clean periodically... Let the vinyl take the grease...yes!

He also made a power jack cover to keep the jack protected from our punishing Arizona sun when we are parked...we found some great aluminum-colored vinyl for that...

Everybody who sees his work wants their own...so he's made a few for other AS folks as well...

Thought we'd share some pics of this hitch and jack cover designs...

Pic #1: Hitch Cover with basic closure...
Pic #2: Tightening Hitch Cover for more secure closure
Pic #3: Hitch Cover with tight closure
Pic #4: Jack Cover on the post...
Pic #5: Jack Cover secured...
Pic #6: Jack Cover seen from front...

[LHall]

I'll take one of those hitch covers! Looks like a new endeavor for Greg.

[Fenghuang]

Impressive, thanks for sharing your solution of containing the mess of hitch grease. A job well met Greg!!! I especially like the clever use of bungie cord to securely fasten the hitch cover.

Larry & Bill...and Mac and Pau Hoa

[TBRich]

Thanks, Guys! Greg appreciates your notes!

[TBRich]

Hey Gang...we've got our travel log updated to include our trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood, AZ, and to Prescott, AZ the last part of April... It was a great trip and we took a lot of pictures, hence the length of time it has taken to get it all together for the log... We made several day trips from Cottonwood as well.

Here are some shots to tease you into checking out the web link below to see the whole story and many more pics...

Pic #1: The view of Cottonwood and Verde Valley from our campsite at Dead Horse Ranch...
Pic #2: Sadie and Annie...Happy Puppies in the truck...goin' 'Streamin'!
Pic #3: Spring bloom at Dead Horse...
pic #4: Greg with Soleri Bells at Arcosanti, one of our side trips...
Pic #5: Looking north from the top of a rock formation in the Gradite Dells, Prescott...
Pic #6: Watson Lake from the top of the Dells...(Prescott)
Pic #7: Sunset from the Dells...
Pic #8: A stand of Iris at Prescott campground...at night...
Pic #9: Sunset at Picacho Peak on the way back to Tucson...
Pic #10: A bit of AS Architecture...for the fun of it...

Hope you enjoy!

Later...and take it easy out there!

[Jimandrod]

Hey guys!

It looks great. I looked at the web site last night - it was a nice diversion from the stack of A/S owner's manuals that I was mulling through iin preparation for today.

Yup - today is the day! We'll be bring our trailer home later this morning. I did the walk through and orientation yesterday and we'll be doing the test tow and bringing it home today. We're a bit excited, a bit anxious and really nervous. Neither of us have ever towed anything and now we're faced with a 28 ft Airstream to lug around! Oh well!

J 'n R

[azflycaster]

TB - Great pictures, again! Cottonwood and Dead Horse Ranch State Park are very special to us. We host a rally every year for the 4CU in the group site on Presidents weekend. Why not try and make it next year?

About the bells. Solari has a shop and store in Scottsdale also. They have hundreds of bells to chose from and everyone is unique. We like to give them to people as house warming gifts. We have a couple ourselves as well.

[azflycaster]

J & R - Wishing you the best of luck with the new baby. Where are you picking her up from? If you have any questions, Ken and Jerry are right down the block from you.

Don't forget to share some pictures with us as well.

[Jimandrod]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

J & R - Wishing you the best of luck with the new baby. Where are you picking her up from? If you have any questions, Ken and Jerry are right down the block from you.

Don't forget to share some pictures with us as well.

Thanks Richard! We'll be picking it up from Holiday down in Albuquerque. The folks there are great. It's NMs only Airstream dealer and it's a family run business that is exceptional. Pics will follow later this afternoon once it's in the driveway.

We have some good trips planned but the best one will be the 4CU Balloon Fiesta Rally. Even though it's only 12 miles down the road it's going to be a blast! We're trying to talk Terry and Greg into going too.

Jim

[azflycaster]

Sounds great, we will see you at the Fiesta in October...

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

Hey guys!

It looks great. I looked at the web site last night - it was a nice diversion from the stack of A/S owner's manuals that I was mulling through iin preparation for today.

Yup - today is the day! We'll be bring our trailer home later this morning. I did the walk through and orientation yesterday and we'll be doing the test tow and bringing it home today. We're a bit excited, a bit anxious and really nervous. Neither of us have ever towed anything and now we're faced with a 28 ft Airstream to lug around! Oh well!

J 'n R

Thanks, Guys...glad you enjoyed the website... and CONGRATULATIONS on picking up the new baby today! What a wonderful thing...and if you weren't excited, nervous there'd be something wrong... But relax...everyting will be great and you will be towing with the pros before you know it. Looking forward to seeing pics!

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

TB - Great pictures, again! Cottonwood and Dead Horse Ranch State Park are very special to us. We host a rally every year for the 4CU in the group site on Presidents weekend. Why not try and make it next year?

About the bells. Solari has a shop and store in Scottsdale also. They have hundreds of bells to chose from and everyone is unique. We like to give them to people as house warming gifts. We have a couple ourselves as well.

Thanks, Richard...glad you enoyed the pics...

We are thinking about the Dead Horse Rally next year...we'll see how it works out...

We have several bells as well, but this was our first trip to Arcosanti in the flesh...youi can also order the bells on line... They make great gifts and are very "Arizona"...and they have both bronze and ceramic, in addition to some other things like tiles and pots... (We don't get a commission from them, unfortunately!)

[TBRich]

Hi all...hope you are all traveling safely and enjoying your Airstreams!

We have updated our travel log (link below in signature) with our most recent trip earlier this month...a return trip to Silver City, NM and City of Rocks State Park (which we couldn't get into the last time we were there and had to keep drivin')...that was when we had our little SOB motorhome. It was much better fun this time with the AS, even though the weather didn't cooperate well! We left on 15 May and returned 22 May...a week out. Spent 4 nights in Silver City, 2 nights at City of Rocks and then one night on the way home at Roper Lake State Park in Safford, AZ.

Stayed at Rose Valley RV Ranch in Silver City, which we can recommend...free WiFi (that works!), full hookups, Good Sam discount, and reasonable prices...very close to town (but you'd never know it)... The park's grounds are interesting in themselves...it's a re-invention of an old farm with farm equipment scattered about, original trees left in place, cabins, bath/showers, an excercise, room, etc...a good place to plant yourself to take in the area interests.

City of Rocks is a very interesting place with some easy hikes, other-worldly geology, and great views...nothing much else around there...2 or 3 might would be enough...Of the 50 sites, 10 in one loop are electric/water sites (5 pull-throughs + 5 back-ins)...only a couple are reservable. No sewers and no dump station, so come with empty holding tanks. The most interesting sites are tucked away in the boulders, etc, and are dry camping...some of OK for trailers and RVs but most are better suited to tent-camping. A handful of the dry-camping sites are also reservable).

We had a lot of rain and then terribe wind and dust storms in southern NM on the I-10 corridor on the way home...had reduced visibility and speed off and on, but we made it though it unscathed. The scariest part was the semis blasting by us like bats out of hell...with no better visibility than we had...we were most afraid of getting rear-ended in the dust storms.

Check out our web site for lots of pictures and a full blow-by-blow of our trip...but here are some pics to tempt you to come see the rest.

Pic #1: Our camp site at Rose Valley RV Ranch...interesting privacy walls at each site made from old board siding and railroad ties...
Pic #2: A view of the grounds at Rose Valley RV...the old wind mill, farm equipment and out buildings...
Pic #3: A 1950 Silver Streak that joned us in Rose Valley for a couple of days...
Pic #4: Pecan grove (I think) near the AZ/NM border on 1-10...heading east...
Pic #5: Old town section in Silver City...
Pic #6: Our camp site at City of Rocks (electrical pull-through)...
Pic #7: The view from our front windows...(we used our "Golden Zebra" decor for this trip, by the way...)
Pic #8: The sun is setting on the west side of the Rocks...
Pic #9: Looking east from the south side of the Park at dusk...that's a working wind mill...
Pic #10: Sunset behind the Rocks from the east side of the park where the electric loop is located...

Enjoy!

[eubank]

Oh, wow. Once again, absolutely stunning photographs!

Lynn

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by eubank

Oh, wow. Once again, absolutely stunning photographs!

Lynn

Thanks, Lynn!