| Trip Report [message #95566] |
Thu, 12 August 2010 16:22 |
willietrucker
Messages: 83
Registered: April 2010
Location: Central Texas
Karma: 0
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Left Central Texas on Friday, July 30Th. Stopped in Lubbock and Flagstaff on the way.
Got to the North Rim on Sunday, August 1. Had reserved rooms last year. The North Rim was very crowded with "day trippers" and rented RV's with European and Asian tourists.
Of course the National Park Service decided to re-top one of the two major parking lots while we were there so parking was at a premium. Times like this, I really appreciate the 23 feet the coach takes up. They were turning the big coaches away at the manned Park Ranger entrance due to parking congestion.
Had a 3 day stay at the North Rim which was just great.
On the way back we ran into severe thunderstorms with rain, hail and high winds. The coach weathered this very well. Had to pull off the road along with several other travelers & 18 wheelers due to poor visibility because of the heavy rain.
Found out the 455 didn't like the 85 (10% Ethanol) octane gas in New Mexico and Arizona so I had to use the MSD Timing Module to adjust the timing a degree or two. Then I started filling up with 89 octane gas and had no further problems.
Spent the night in Holbrook AZ on the way back and found a great Italian restaurant there. It's called the Mesa Italiana at 2318 Navajo Blvd. in Holbrook. Great food.
Pretty uneventful trip after that except for the thunderstorms to out North as we watched as the spectacular lighting display.
The coach ran well and had no unexpected problems. The round trip covered 2,678 miles. Still working on the MPH we got. I lost a couple of the gas receipts that I was using to keep track of fuel purchased.
Tom Henderson
Elgin, TX
'76 Birchaven 23'
GMC..."Gimme More Cash"
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