Grandma's Big Red Van steps out.

[Southwest Dave]

That's unlucky, especially as I know what a careful driver you are, at least the oil leak was fixed and was nothing major !

Dave.

[DonnaR57]

Sorry about your ticket, hope you don't have another oil problem.

I'm with you -- bills wait until the day they are due. Hmmm....I better pay the water bill soon, it's due today! ;-)



Donna

[Lifemagician]

It has not been easy keeping this report vaguely up to date, especially without the help of any worthwhile images. I will get them sorted soon, and post some here.

But there is one thing I need to share.

Last year was the first time I had driven a van. It had been well over two decades since we had the microbus with the family. So the experience of the van was completely new again. Now I have another van for my roadtrips in Oz. It is right hand drive, though being a European make the controls such as the indicators and wipers, are the same as in my Ford.

Maybe I should not have been surprised, but I was. Right from the start I automatically drifted to the right hand side of the road. It has taken a fair bit of concentration, especially on the more remote roads, to remember I belong on the left. Fortunately the authorities in and around the tourist regions have been of help. Regular road signs remind motorists that in Australia we drive on the left side of the road.

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

After spending a full weekend in and around Alice Springs I headed back down south and home via the Oodnadatta, Coober Pedy and Woomera. Grandma's Big Red Van loved the trip, as did I. We're both looking forward to many more.

There was now less than two weeks to pack and prepare for my trip to the US. More of that to come.

Lifey

[keithg]

Love reading your stories Lifey. You paint a very clear picture of where you are.

Keith

[Lifemagician]

I visited the rock many years ago -- before there was much coverage about not taking the walk to the top. (Or I didn't hear of it). Yes, going down is much more tricky than walking up. Got to keep your wits about you!

Really enjoying this report -- brings back memories of my own trip.Mark

That may have been before the indigenous people were given back the whole area which is so significant to their culture. It would no doubt also have been before we got to know it by its ancient name of Uluru. Lifey

Yes, it was about 30 years ago. I stayed at the nearby resort -- although it's A LOT more developed now than it was in the 1980's!Mark

The chain is gone!

Lifey

[ghostwriter]

I hope you have managed to get some images on your other camera to share.

[Lifemagician]

Hi ghostwriter, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

The best pictures I took that year - so long ago - were used in a calendar for the following year. Unfortunately they were not all that good.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Lifey

[acheter]

Right now I am spending a couple of days in Alice Springs, a really lovely town.

[Lifemagician]

Great!! visiting from where?

Such a lovely town with great history. Hope the weather is kind to you.

Lifey