My goodness – another month has slipped by! We had a great time back at the ranch for three weeks after a long and tiring (but enjoyable) summer on the road.

We are currently in Phoenix, Arizona after attending a rally for mobile satellite Internet users in Tucson, and for some coach maintenance here in Phoenix. We continue to be dogged by some problems that we are still trying to get settled down. We had intermittant generator problems that were diagnosed and repaired at the Rocky Mountain Cummins dealership in Phoenix two weeks ago. Thank goodness we didn’t have to pay the $3,000 bill since the generator is still in warranty. (Our Onan generator actually is a giant alternator driven by a three cylinder diesel engine that powers an electronic inverter and produces 7,500 watts. It is extremely fuel-efficient burning only about 1/3 gallon per hour under 50% load.)

The Freightliner dealership in Tolleson (Phoenix) did a major routine maintenance on the chassis and performed a recall replacement of the hydraulic oil cooler. Since I complained about some engine overheating on the way West, they checked the side radiator fan

speeds and determined the speed was too low for proper cooling. So after the rally we are back at the Freightliner dealer for replacement of the hydraulic fan motor and the hydraulic pump that drives the motor. They will start on this job tomorrow and we will be finished sometime Wednesday.

We are becoming veterans of amusing ourselves while we are off the coach waiting for work to be done. We both have our number puzzles to work (Sudoku), magazines and books to read, and we both have MP3 players to drown out the annoying customer waiting lounge noise. John has discovered several hobby shops here in Phoenix so that consumes some time (and money.) There is shopping nearby so the waiting isn’t too boring.

While we were in Tucson, we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which is a 20

minute drive from Tucson. It features 1300 types of desert plants and 300 kind of animals. We saw a bear, javalinas (hog), ocelot, deer, reptiles, etc., etc. It was an extremely well done exhibition in a beautiful part of the desert.

We hope to be headed back to our little ranch by the end of the week where we will hang out for most of the winter. We are thinking about a winter trip to the Big Bend area of Texas which is the best time to visit there.

We are doing well and God has blessed us with great health. We wish God’s Blessings on all of you as well!