This afternoon, we took the recycling to Reno. We really couldn't put it off much longer, because there wasn't any more room in the minivan. (To recap: the county in which I live does not offer much recycling, and certainly not curbside pickup. The nearest comprehensive recycling center is in Reno.) Because the recycling drop-off center closes at 3 ( Read more... )

Yesterday, after getting propane from Hanneman Service, we worked on swapping the repaired tire back into place on the Astro. We also discovered that the spare tire was very low on air. The tire says it should be 44 psi, but it registered less than 20 when we tested it. Hanneman Service used to have an air station, but too many people were leaving ( Read more... )

Today's plan was to drive to Roseville, where I could get lab test draws done for my annual medical checkup that will be in a couple of weeks. Sutter Health has no labs in Reno, so Roseville is the nearest lab to which I can get on a Saturday, but the lab does close at Noon. We figured that would not be a problem, though, as we planned to leave at ( Read more... )

We did pretty good getting packed and on the road than I expected, buttoning up the house and leaving around 2 PM. We had one local stop in Fernley, then Lisa took the wheel and we set out east on I-80. Here was the general route without our slight diversions here and there.

We zipped across the Forty Mile Desert in air-conditioned comfort. The ( Read more... )

This afternoon after work, Lisa and I went to Fallon mainly to shop at their larger Big R. We weren't able to find everything we wanted, but we did get a new swamp cooler pump and some other items for which Lisa was looking. The pump is not expensive: $35 plus tax ( Read more... )

We had several things that needed to get done in Reno during "working hours," including some with time constraints, so as I soon as I could get off work today, we headed in to get as much done as we could.

( Shopping List )

This is a continuation about which I hinted in my post yesterday about bringing the Astro home. Our luck ran out on the Rolling Stone. As I mentioned yesterday, we started the RV in Fernley and did not turn it off, as the problem had appeared to be just getting the vehicle started in the first place. Until yesterday, once the RV started, it would ( Read more... )

After work today, we tried starting the Rolling Stone and it started right up, so we decided to go with Plan A and simply drive to Yerrington to collect the RV from Wild West Chevrolet without turning off the RV, then driving home ( Read more... )

Today I got a call from the GM dealership: after two months, they say that they've finally fixed the Astro's air conditioning. I just have to come down to Yerrington and pay them $3500. Initially, I figured that Lisa and I would take the Rolling Stone there tomorrow and convoy back, because we had an appointment in Reno today, but now it looks like ( Read more... )

My minivan has been in the shop much longer this year than I've had it to actually drive. The issue has been trying to get parts for a late-1980s Chevrolet Astro. I called the dealership yesterday, mainly because there seemed to always be a chance that they'd called me and I didn't get the voicemail. The latest update is that the final repairs ( ( Read more... )