Jan 1, 2018. Jill and I where sitting at the kitchen table having much needed coffee after New Year’s Eve celebrations. A Flames Game which we won in over time and a party to follow at the Idt’s. Wasn’t “Idt” a Party. I was looking again for a new RV for Jill and I so we could start a new life on the road exploring the America’s.
I found a new Ad posting in CraigsList in Arizona for a 1990 Prevost XL Mirage and dam it looked good. I contacted the owner John via text with an offer to purchase. The offer was much less than asking price as we had a budget. After negotiations and to my amazement we agreed on a final price! Now what?
I needed to call my bus buddy Wade! After discussion the bus looked to be good on paper and the only way to tell was to book a ticket to Vegas and drive to Lake Havasu City. So after dealing with funds, brokers and banks, off Wade and I flew to Las Vegas, 3 days later. We arrived in Lake Havasu City on Friday January 5th in the late afternoon and upon seeing the Bus first hand, she was better than expected! Wade looked over the bus and he determined the rig was in top notch shape and seemed to good to be true! Wow – I called Wifey and instructed her to wire transfer so we could complete the deal. Can you believe it we are officially Bus owners. As it was Friday afternoon we where stuck in Lake Havasu for the weekend till the international transfer was verified. Dam really? It was 70 + with the sun in January.
Ruby in Arizona – we bought a bus!
John Campbell was the 2nd owner of the bus. He was an ex Marine and had a military front plate on the bus, which we wanted to leave there in honor of John and Service, but we got flack for it and had to take it off. John showed us the in and the outs of the bus and let us sleep in her while the funds cleared… What a gentleman.
We stayed over the weekend in Lake Havasu and winterized the Bus. It took 8 gallons of pink as it has a very large water system. After that, we toured Lake Havasu and saw all it had to offer. We took in the London Bridge (bought from London in 1965 for 2.4 million and reassembled. Why? Not sure. It cost 7 million more to move and build.). We toured around and looked at all kinds of unique vehicles. Crazy machines in this area.
Sunday we took a road trip to Parker AZ south on the Colorado River and went the this Crazy Desert Bar. 8 miles off road in a rental car. You must Google this place. Monday we drove back after staying @ Bluewater Casino on the reserve. 65 bucks a night. We got hassled by a Hugh herd of burrows. Yes burrows…
We has some more time to kill so we drove around and found am RC flying club and met some old timer fly boys. We drove back to the bus and was learning the bus and John told me the funds had cleared! The bus was ours. I can still hardly believe Jill and I bought a Bus. She had 128,355 miles on her when we left Lake Havasu City.
As we still had our rental car from Vegas we fired up the bus and headed North. My first impression driving the Bus was like riding on a marshmallow with tonnes of power and great brakes. A little getting used to as you sit in front of the tires on a cab over. Wade was behind me in the car.
Drove right into Vegas and stopped in a parking lot to figure our next plan. Wade knew that Circus Circus had a big parking lot so off we went. Straight up the Las Vegas Strip driving the Bus. It was awesome and I only ran over 1 curb. Lol After a night on the town in Vegas we headed back to the bus in the Circus Circus parking lot and got stopped by security and told we could not stay there… Good thing I had beer in hand as I explained I could not drive as I had been drinking… They agreed and told me to get a hotal room… after they left we stayed in the bus… Right. They wrote me my first citation after only less than 12 hours of possession. A definite Donovan things. 24 hour move it of lose it…
We took to the road @ 8:00am. It rained the first time in 117 days. So long Vegas. I -15 North. Just shy of Idaho Falls – Wade pulled her in to a Wally Mart parking lot and we shut our eyes. Up early with little sleep… It again rained all night. Off we headed north once again and the cold was upon us. The temp dropped and the snow started… I am sure this was the first snow the bus has ever seen… and for me I was hoping the last snow I would have to see as this is why we purchased the bus – the entry into the Snow Bird Club. We still had many of mile to go…
Springville UT not where the Simpson live to Shelby MT. Snow and more Snow. The mountain passes had lots of snow covered roads. The bus seemed to handle the conditions quite well. North and more highway for the bus. Wade and I shared the driving. It is something else to get up and move around the bus while in motion. Good to be able to stretch the legs. Shelby MT. We have arrived. The bus will have a stay over till the paper title is mailed so we can bring her home.
