Getting the Jeep fixed

Arriving at Dave's gave me hope that a reputable Jeep dealer should be nearby and I could get the AC fixed after the Memorial Day weekend -- since Dave would be going to work again on Tuesday, I could just park the camper at an RV park in Tempe and then drop by the dealer that day and wait for repairs or leave it overnight and stay at the camper.  As it turned out, the day before I was to head over to the RV park, I tried to start the Jeep and it wouldn't start -- just clicked a little each time the ignititon key was turned.  We took out the battery and drove to a nearby auto parts store to have the battery checked -- checked out fine so, it wasn't the battery. Now it would seem the starter might need to be replaced and the AC would need to be repaired.

More time to visit with Dave and enjoy his AC and walking around the neighborhood -- after the heat dissipated some, of course.  We walked by a canal nearby and he pointed out some of the large grass carp (or other species of fish) and we saw what seemed to be some sort of lake (which Dave hadn't been previously aware of -- did show up on a map after getting back to his place).

Dave had done some work on the family genealogy on both the Roger's side and the Cunningham side so, I looked over much of what he had compiled -- hoped I could get copies of the material for the Cunninghams.  There were some interesting stories from both sides of the families and some of the Roger's side went back to Edward II or Edward III.  Another story on the Cunningham side went back to a skirmish near the end of the Civil War in which a Robert Cunningham was killed in his father's front yard -- while trying to come to his father's rescue.

We went out to dinner each evening I was there and his daughter Tori joined us on one occasion so, I heard about her possible plans to relocate to Atlanta -- where her boyfriend Tyler would be going to school for some graduate studies.  She was not about to just jump up and run off to Atlanta with him -- good head on her shoulders -- she would get her GRE and apply to Emory for further studies before making the move and find some work too before finalizing anything.  She is a beautiful young girl and has such a bubbly personality with intelligence to match.  Too bad my camera failed to get me some good pictures of her and her dad.

So back to the Jeep -- called the dealer on Tuesday morning and they arranged for a tow truck to come out and pick up the car.  After arriving, the driver and I pondered possibly pushing the Jeep a little forward to better position it for pickup by the tow truck.  However, after some attempts to start the Jeep -- with the first few sounding just like the ones I had gotten earlier -- the car started and he just drove it onto the flatbed (tires screeching as the car climbed the angled surface).  As I waited to hear back from the dealer, I copied by hand some of the Cunningham genealogy from cousing Dave's binder -- wished he had a copier (maybe he did but, didn't want to go poking around his place).

Almost $1900.00 for the repairs but, that also included some crankcase work too -- had them clean it out and put fresh fluid in for the mountains and desert ahead of me.  Car wouldn't be ready until possibly next day and it turned out to be the following morning -- gave them time to wash it and check out other systems and the airfilter -- all okay.

In the meantime, I did get more walks in around my cousin's neighborhood and to some fast food places for a small breakfast and coffee -- saw dozens of those big fish in the canal -- swimming around a grocery cart someone had pushed into the canal from a nearby store.  The cart was on its side near the middle so, the canal seemed to be not much more than 5 feet deep rather than the 10 plus feet my cousin and I had discussed during our previous walk.  I noted too that the trailer park (next to the canal) had a sign at the far east end indicating that it had homes starting at $1000.00 -- some looked like they might not even be worth that price -- but, the neighborhood seemed to be clean and well kept (had that nice southwest look).

Jeep dealer shuttle picked me up the morning the Jeep was ready and I made it back to Dave's before noon and hitched up the trailer in no time -- headed for Apache Palms RV park in nearby Mesa, AZ -- only a few miles from Dave's place.  I invited Dave over for a cookout at the RV park that evening and he joined me before the sun set behind the little tree next to my camper -- cold beer and some "thin" steaks which cooked quickly on the grill -- "Bush" beans warmed on an inside burner with a little salad on the side.  Not a bad meal for a "Meanderthal Man".

Next morning, I planned to take the Jeep on a test-run to Sedona -- an extra day would have been good to get to Taleisan West but, maybe another time.