Making Preparations

Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana

The "calling of the road" is building up. It is a combination of excitement and a touch of fear. Yeah, fear, just a little though. It is a respectful type of fear. The type that makes you careful and thoughtful. Going to cities and places that are unknown to me, means I have to be more aware of my surroundings and the people around me. A small amount of skepticism, cynicism, "head on a swivel", and situational awareness are healthy things when being on the road alone.  

To me, traveling is seeing places I've never seen. That is what I do most of the time, but in some of those special places, the other senses get involved. Smelling is good for things other than smelling great food. I remember smelling the blooming jasmine and honeysuckle in the south, the creosote bushes in Arizona, the ocean smells from the crashing waves along the Oregon coast (just to name a few). But the best smell on the road is the smell of Freedom. The freedom to turn left or right, to stop or go, to drive a little ways or a long way, to camp along a lake or in the desert. I know this may sound strange to many people and to some it is frightening to not be on a set schedule of, do this or that, at this time or that time. To me, it helps open all of the senses.

I've settled on a route. There are things I want to see in Oklahoma City, so I'll be headed there with one stop at a Corp of Engineers park before getting there. After Oklahoma City, I'll head due west along I-40 all the way to Flagstaff, Arizona with stops about every 150 to 200 miles. I'm not sure which direction I'll be going after Flagstaff. I like traveling along the interstate highway when towing Liberty. Interstates are faster and safer than the 2-lane (blue highways). I'll travel those 2-laners when it is just me and Freedom or when I have no choice of an interstate. 

I've finished some of the maintenance on Liberty. I greased her wheel bearings the other day. She is equipped with E-Z lube bearing system which just requires me to connect a grease gun to the fitting on the end of the spindle and shoot some grease. Once I see the new grease coming out, I know the job is done. Very easy. I also change the anode rod in the hot water heater. I waited longer than usual to change it this time but it was still OK. I've back flushed the waste tanks. Liberty has a black tank sprayer but the grey and galley tanks don't. I use a "flush king" to do the trick on all three tanks. I'll also be adding some Calgon and dawn detergent to the tanks right before leaving. The traveling with agitate the fluid in the tanks and will help clean the sensors and sides. I also changed out the main water filter. I thought long and hard about just removing the filter and canister permanently but realized I was not a contortionist and would therefore have difficulty rerouting the water lines. I changed out the water pump, mistakenly thinking it was causing a problem. Now I have a new pump installed and a used one for a reserve. I will add an extra dose of Clorox to the fresh water tank before I leave. I've greased up the fifth wheel hitch in Freedom and will have her serviced before I leave.

Flush King at work

Difference between new and used anode rods.
The old one is 18 months old.

Since I use my fresh water tank all the time
and with staying in so many different campground,
I add some Clorox to my tank every now and then.
The red "ketchup" bottle with an oil spout attached is the
perfect size for 1/4 cup per 10 gallons. 

There are other things I've done in preparation for leaving, but this post is getting too boring. I guess I'm out of the habit of blogging. Oh well, maybe it will come back in time.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.