Thursday, March 22, 2012

Soooooo... we left for our big adventure at 11:15, Sunday, March 18 in bunches of rain and wind. Headed for Bakersfield, we plugged on and on for 312 miles and made pretty good time! For this leg, Momma drove while Daddy checked for heights of bridges and such!


Outside of Chowchilla, on highway 99 (The Golden State Highway), we saw a beautifimuss rainbow! We got a little lost in Bakersfield as the sun was setting, looking for Orange Grove RV Park. We eventually found it, but way after dark. The next morning, our route to Joshua Tree was closed due to SNOW!!! After about three hours, we were permitted to go and proceeded...

The roads were good, but our truck was not. When we'd just about made it to the top of the pass, our transmission died again. It seems that the parts those guys who replaced the whole kit and kaboodle last week were no good. Lucky that we are completely warranteed. Unlucky that we are sitting here in Tehachapi until at least next Tuesday. Lucky that the guys now working on our truck are super, super nice. Also lucky that so much cool stuff is going on here. Lastly, unlucky that we're going to have to miss J-Tree and the Grand Canyon. However, there is a lot to do here... which. is. lucky! Such as all the snows when we arrived!

Me, Sammie, just lovin' the fluffy stuff!

And Avalon... smellin' the gophers undersnowground!

How cool is it to run and jostle each other in that white fluff? Later, when the snows disappeared, I just had to do some roachin'...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Next, there was a buncha action takin' place on the main street of this town! They were filming a commercial for Dodge!

They were trying to make it all up like a fourth of July deal - check out the stilt lady!

Look at these cell phone extra guys!


And here are some of the new Dodges that you'll see soon, we guess!

On the next day, we took a tour of the wind farms in the hills around Tehachapi. Some of these are just... well... mighty!


Love ya, Mom! We're just figgurin' out how to do the internets with our phone... and will try to visit you in the next day or two. We have more pix and stories to tell too, so will be posting more. We sure hope we'll get off soon with fully functional transmission this time ark!


16 comments:

Martha said...

Hi guys, your pics are amazing! We are sorry to hear about your transmission problems which we take it is the UK equivalent ot gear box?
Thankfully it is covered under the warranty as these things are expensive.
312 miles is an awful lot of travelling and you two are clearly more patient than us as we hate long journeys! When we go to the Isle of Skye it is about 200 and we try to just have one stop- we are always pleased to arrive!
You had great fun in the snow and that was a good Bailey type roach if ever we saw one.
Sorry we have become the world's worst bloggers but you will know that is the humans fault and not our own.
Much love
Martha and Bailey xxx

Bassetmomma said...

Wow! Your guys adventure really has been an adventure right from the start with that transmission! You'll be some glad when that is fixed properly and there are no worries. Looks like your wait in this town has turned out to be a nice stop!

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, I recognize so many of your sights, having lived 50+ yrs in no.Ca.
I'm thankful that you didn't have any more serious issues, like an accident, when your transmission died.Hey in the photo with your mom-my sil makes those blades on the wind turbines. So glad the snow stopped. I hope you have a wonderful remainder of the trip.
Happy Paws to you.
Noreen & Reggie

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Bummer, too bad about the rain and the transmission woes, but maybe you are getting all the bad luck out of the way now so the rest of the trek can go well. Love your photos, as always. Wish we could be there with you to zoom zoom in that lovely snow.

Safe travels.

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

So sorry about your ADDITIONAL Transmixer troubles. BUTT you are surely makin the MOST of the.. extra stay. LOVE the pictures. I'll be watchin all the commercials.. to see if I can Spot YOU TWO!!

The Daily Pip said...

Oh no, I am sorry about your transmission! These pictures are beautiful. We just love seeing the pictures of the mountains and beautiful scenery. Remember, we live in the boring old Midwest so we don't get to see this cool stuff very often. Keep the pictures coming!

Your pal, Pip

The Army of Four said...

How exciting! And the BEST part is that snow!!!
Play bows,
Zim

Molly the Airedale said...

I sure hope the transmission problems are behind you now and the rest of your vacation is a winner!
What a gorgeous rainbow!

Love ya lots,
Mitch

Kari in Alaska said...

you guys look like you are having fun in that snow

Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Barb said...

Gosh - hope your mechanical problems are soon handled and you can hit the road again. Stay safe and keep having a great time!

NCmountainwoman said...

You guys really know how to turn misfortune into opportunity! Sorry about the transmission but glad there was no accident.

Berts Blog said...

My Vickie just loves the way you are beign so cool about things not going as planned.

I*t makes it the best ever, if you can see the good in everything that happens. Like, you got to play in snow.....

You two loook wonderful playing in snow.

Hope the transmission gets working soon so you can get on your wya.

Infrequent Flyers said...

So glad you finally got the heck out of Dodge, only to be there WITH Dodge! I've never been to Tehachapi, but it sure looks nice, especially for hanging out for a few days until your tranny is fixed.

Angel Tucker, Daisy and Leo said...

Wow, you guys are already having adventures. Lucky you to play in snow. Sorry about your transmission, hope it get's better soon.

Tucker and Daisy

Wyatt said...

Pretty exciting first day out...snow, tv commercials, hiking...good stuff!

Wyatt and Stanzie

houndstooth said...

What a crazy beginning to your adventure! I hope you're back on the road in no time. It looks like you're having a fantastic time already!

Bunny