Thursday Apr. 03
We
made a good start out of Quartzsite after dumping at about 9:30 AM
on March 31 Monday. Larry and Phillis the BLM campground hosts walked
over as were hooking up to talk and say good-by. That was very nice of
them. They do a great job managing the BLM entrance station, coordinating
the volunteers who staff the station. Us Long Term BLM area campers
look out for each other and become good friends over the seasons.
Off
we went on I-10 toward Phoenix and yes we did just go right on through
and came on out on US 60 without any problems except we took the diamond
lane <> for the exit to US 60. It was between restricted hours usage
so we pulled off a fast one there. No pun intended.
We went from this... (Now
that I post this picture as we are off in NM now, I miss our Q BLM
site) But I also remember how warm, or in hot it was getting before we
left.
And as it looked in mid November
after we got the lawn installed. See our November
posts building our nests back then.
To this... We
do have to return the desert as we found it...
The last of the prime firewood
(non pallets) got packed into the back of the PU for fires on down the
road. We had placed several wood pallets out for others and they were scooped
up within minuets. Firewood in the desert is a prime item and valued.
Original plans called for
us to camp in Globe but, it was very early in the day, so we keep right
on going.
When in the grove I just
keep on driving. I know we should only go about 50 -100 miles a day...
but even after several years fall back into the vacation mode of travel.
Above the road into Globe.
From Globe to Show Low is
the big Salt River Canyon and a fun road to drive if in a sports car. And
if pulling a 5er even more fun. After a request I did on an RV forum
about this road, a person told us to never go this way. But we did it anyway,
and were fine, getting used to up and down 6% - 8% grades. Our Duramax
diesel truck just gets better with more miles on it. More power and pulls
without any strain. A joy to drive. If we only stayed on smooth Interstates
what would we ever see.
We kept on going to Show
Low which we thought would be a small burg and hoped they would have a
good grocery store. WOW what a huge overgrown mess this place was.
A get-a-way for the AZ rich for summer homes. Not a place we like to spend
much time. More like Sedona than a high forest retreat. We knew if nothing
else we could get into the State Park in Show Low and went to check it
out. Even on the state web site said it is open year round. (unlike the
forest service campgrounds in the area who don't open till May. 1) several
of
their campground loops were closed. And the one loop open was pretty
full. A couple of spots, open but not sure if we could get out on our satellite.
And when we tried to back into one our trailer breaks would lock up. What
was that all about? I even tried to back up down hill in neutral but gave
up. The breaks worked fine going forward but when I put it in reverse things
locked up. We gave up and went on down the road to find another more
user friendly RV park. We even tried using free Google
411 to find a park. (do check out the google link) We saw a few
rundown and very tight parks in stands of trees so we keep on going. What
I do best, untill we have to give up and it is late and the yelling starts.
BUT we lucked out as we rounded a corner, there it was
HON-DAH Indian Casino and a huge RV park. The office was closed but
they had directions for RV dry parking. And no backing, just what we were
looking for. I called the casino and they connected me to the night manager
of the RV park. She said to park anywhere and just stop in in the AM and
have a great night. Hon-Dah casino is in Pinetop, AZ.
 
It cost $10 for dry camping
and we were glad to get it at any cost.
While parked I got on the
web and went to the rvnet.com forum and asked for suggestions for help
on my Prodigy brake backup problems. The first response was
the one that had it nailed as what was wrong. He said we had a short
between the center pin and an outer pin on our connector. Terry took
the extension cable we use between the 5er and the truck trailer connector
and sure enough there was a wire lug screw loose from the center terminal
and it was jammed next to another lug. Can you imagine how much time
and expense it would of taken to have an RV dealer find and fix
that problem. They would first off, removed all the trailer tires
and looked at the breaks and then and then... WOW were we happy campers
with the help of the RV forums to solve our problem. Sure it costs
to have satellite internet on the road, but great to be able to use it
to get the information you need. As they say priceless... We just
could not live like this without it. Doing banking, bills, meds, finding
campgrounds, and connecting with people of like mind who are fulltimers.
After leaving the Show Low
area, (we had panned to explore the area) but when we found it so built
up we deiced to just move on. As you can see it didn't take us long to
find snow and a more remote road to travel.
Now this was more what we
were looking for as we headed toward Springerville on the White Mountains
Scenic Highway HW 260. The interactive mpas below are part of the
Public
lands Info Center web site and after going to this link you can
click on the highlighted text for expanded info on the area. Enjoy one
of the best resources on the web.
 
But do you think we would
by diesel in Springerville NOT St. Johns to the north
on US 191 and 180 will have it.
When we got there we found
three gas stations and the Mustang station was the only with diesel and
there was a repair truck working on them, with bags on the pump handles
Now it was 50-60 miles north to I-40. I drove at 55 mph at 1600 rpm for
better gas mileage. In hindsight I should have gotten a picture of
the pumps shut down for the blog. (I've learned it's the little offbeat
pictures that mean the most.)
We got to Gallup and of course
we had to stay at the Red Rocks State Park. It is called a State
Park but is run by the city of Gallup along with huge rodeo grounds next
to it. While on the road we tried to call the park to see if they
were having a rodeo, and if so the park would be full, we worried. No Ans.
So we called the C of C and they said the park office is not open yet,
but a person would came around and collect the fees.
We never saw that person
and we were of about three who stayed there for the night. If someone from
the Gallup Parks dept. reads this, let us know and we will send the camp
fee to you. Yah Shure...
We went to the New Super
Wal*Mart in Gallup and we both were a little dumfounded as we entered and
looked around as it was so huge. Remember we have been in Q for 6 months
and this was more than our minds were ready for. So much stuff...
the American way... and I have to admit it was fun to cruise the aisles
and see what we couldn't live without. So with trying to restrain
ourselves with buys, we headed out for points north to Shiprock on US 666
to then east on US 64 to Farmington and fishing in NM. Did
I say on the west side of Farmington, NM is another Super W*M. so we had
to stop for last minute supplies for when in Navajo Dam, no place to get
above the must haves.
So we found a wonderful campsite
(I have a quest of finding the ultimate campsite) right on the rim overlooking
the Navajo
Lake State Park. Blue Ribbon Trout fishing is in the San Juan river
below the dam. The snows were high this year and the reservoir is up and
the dam release flows are at high levels UPDATED (4 thousand feet
per min. but next week they will be reduced to 1600 for four days)
Terry hopes the river is still fishable. If not it's still too cold up
north and we are here to relax and enjoy each day as it comes. We bought
the NM State Parks annual camping permit (for out of state residence $225)
and now we can camp for free in dry sites or $4 in electric/water sites
for a year in each campground for 21 days at a time. Since you can now
stay 21 days per stay in each campground, (up from 14 days and we plan
on staying that long, and will be back next fall for another 21 days right
here.. So it will save us money. Many times when things are slow they will
let you stay past the 21 day limit. NM parks are user friendly. The
ranger who sold the permit to us was surprised we would lay out that much
money up front.
Guess we should not be in
a hurry to get to IOWA as Terry's brother is on the phone right now and
and sez it snowed 2 inches today. They should be getting in the fields
and planting corn soon.
We are looking for our friends
Bob and Sandy to arrive in the Navajo Dam Cottonwood campground as they
went to the Grand Canyon after they left Quartzsite.
Friday Apr. 04
Slept
in and had a late brunch of Spam (low salt) and eggs with toast..
I relaxed taking a nap and listening to the police scanner radio while
Terry did his web thing. A little after noon we went for a ride to the
Navajo Dam post office so he could mail off his taxes and to see if Bob
and Sandy got to the lower campground OK.
Sandy
was in camp and Bob was off exploring the river and Fly shops for tips
on the fishing reports. They stopped by later at our ridge campsite to
visit and use our internet connection to update the GeoCashing data for
their GPS unit.
One
thing I forgot to report on when we were about to leave Red Rocks State
Park. It's one of the worst nightmares anyone pulling a 5er worries
about. Terry had backed up the truck and I watched the 5er hitch connect.
He was a little off center and I saw the hitch latch slide in. After we
had raised the trailer jacks and were connecting the Prodigy brake connections.
It occurred to me the hitch lock handle was not in all the way. I
yelled put down the jacks fast, as we are not hooked up correctly. As soon
as we raised the trailer the hitch slider clicked into place like it should.
WOW If we had tried to pull off we would have had our 5er smash down
on our 3000 Honda generator and crush our truck bed sides. Boy did we luck
out by my thinking things didn't just look right.
In
the campsite right next to us when we got back to our site was is a brand
new Prowler trailer and we got to visiting with the owner. His FIRST time
out with his brand new unit. WOW what a great time that is... The first
time to play and learn how to use a brand new trailer. I know many
of you can relate to that feeling. We said just ask if he has questions,
and it wasn't long we were helping him get the water heater to fire up.
Gave him our card with our web site and the RV forum web sites, he had
never heard about. A whole new adventure for another RVer.
This
is a GREAT site and all we have to do is relax and enjoy life... This is
not the desert view we got used to in Quartzsite.
Wednesday Apr. 09
Time
flies, as we have been here a week and today will have to renew our site.
Just love the thought of only having to pay $28 for 7 days for a site with
this view and with water/power. Terry got out our 50 gal barrel and
did the honers of dumping our black and gray. Only had about 60 gal of
stuff. It works so nice not to have to push the slides in and hook up and
move to the dump. Another link to our How
we deal with gray and black water.
About
three days ago I woke up with upper back pain and could hardly get out
of bed. Then later more aches all over, even the hair on my head ached.
WOW what was this all about. Glad we have a heating pad, and on the grid
to use it, as it helped. Then I started to get a dry cough and knew that
I was in for the dreaded flu. All the others had it while in Quartzsite
and I was so smug not getting it from them. Well my time has come. The
aches are gone but the cough is going strong. If I'm quiet it's not so
bad, but if try to move around and breath deeper I must cough.
Terry
went fishing yesterday as they were going to reduce the river flow from
4 to 1.6 K feet. He said it didn't go that low, but he still caught
the largest trout for him here. Something like 19 - 20 inches. I
will have to have him proof read this to correct the story if he embellished
it a bit. Not him. He took off mid morning today to see what he could
do again as the weather in going down hill. Woke up to overcast skys and
as he drove off we got a few sprinkles. The forcast calles for Showers
AM and Rain/Snow PM today. high 48 and low 31 It was a warm 47 at
7 AM. Thursday Rain/SnowShowers/Wind AM and PM high 52 low
29 Then clear up and be nice for the extended forcast. Upper 60s
to 70 and lows upper 30s.
The
weather right now sort of looks like I feel. Could be worse. I could
still be working for a living, in an office ,in a cubicle, trapped like
a rat in a cage, dreaming of being right here, where
I am, right NOW.
I am
trying to get into Oprah's book club pick: A New Earth
Awakening to your Life's Purpose I'm starting it with a open
mind and hope to learn a thing or two. She even has online study
sessions each week with the author. So I will try to see if it can put
some new thoughts into my brain. I didn't get the book till after the online
sessions started, but can go back and download them later. Had to wait
for Wal*Mart in Gallup to find it.
Stay tuned for fishing tales
later from Terry.
In the meantime here a few
web sites all about the Blue Ribbon Trout fishing on the San Jaun River
here in NM.
http://www.ifly4trout.com/
http://www.sanjuanriver.com/
http://www.sanjuanriverforum.com/
A couple of pics I found
on the web of the river below the dam. I did not take these.
We have been here in the
fall and the cottonwoods are out of sight with their beauty.
Wednesday Apr. 16
by
your roving reporter Terry
Has
it really been a week since our last post, time just seems to fly by.
Since our last post we have been very very busy doing not much at all.
With shore power we have gotten into the habit of staying up late for the
late night tv shows, and sleeping in.
I have
been fishing a number of times, and every time it is a challenge.
The river flows have been reduced to about 2200 cfm, which is still a good
deal higher then normal, the flows I am used to on the San Juan are normally
in the 750 cfm area. Most of the areas I normally fish are to deep
to safley wade and I find that I am fishing the area above the Texas Hole.
I have done fairly well compared to most of the people out there.
The first time out I was able to catch a 19" rainbow trout and the following
day caught 4 fish all in the 16" range. The last couple of times
though I have been shut out, getting a few strikes, but not landing anything.
Tonight I will have to tie a few more flies, rebuild my leader and build
a couple more yarn strike indicators. When you are fishing in the
willows you have to expect to lose a bit of your equipment.
We
did Laundry earlier in the week, and the Laundromat in Aztec, NM seemed
to be quite expenside, at $2.50 per load of laundry. We then drove
into Farmington for propane, and groceries at Wally world. I am hoping
we will not have to head into town till the end of the week, with
$120. worth of groceries there will not be any room in the refrigerator
till next Saturday or Sunday. Rounding out our trip we were able
to find Diesel fuel at $3.99 at a Circle K convience store. Bob and
Sandy were into Farmington the day after we went and the Circle K is now
at $4.13 like all of the rest of the gas stations in the area.
Will
be here for another week, then will have to head further east. There
is a state park in the Chama NM area, but will probably end up a little
further down the road, perhaps in the area of Taos. After Taos we
intend to go into Colorado then follow the Front range north then a dash
accross Kansas and Nebraska to keep ahead of any storm fronts. Do
not want to get in any hurry to get back to Iowa, its been a late spring,
the secondary roads are still very soft and we do not want to get stuck
in the driveway as we back into our summer campsite.
We
had a general delivery mail drop into the Post Office at Navajo Dam.,
Ron had some meds shipped in along with a mail drop. Everything arrived
in good order, one less thing to worry about. Had a bit of
rain and snow to contend with on our trip to the post office. Since
then have had cool overnight temps and a couple of very windy days.
One
of the low light of the past week was the need to do income taxes.
Ron tells me how easy it is with the computerized tax program, but it takes
quite a bit of work to get to the point where one can input the data,
then you fight the computers twisted version of logic. Got the taxes
done early last week and dropped off at the Post office.
On
Monday night about 10:30 pm local time (11:30 central time) got a phone
call from my Brother. With my parents in the mid 80's a call at that
time of night is always a cause for trepidation, but all my Brother wanted
was some figures for a family partnership. I had gotten the figures
from My Sister in early March, do not know what happened with my
Brother. He was trying to get his taxes done so he could photocopy
them in the morning then mail the whole works in. Nothing like waiting
to the last minute.
Here
is another picture of the views from our current camp site. this
spring we decide to stay above the dam, and we are enjoying the views and
site much more then if we had been in the Cottonwood camp ground below
the dam. this time of year the trees in the Cottonwood campground
are still bare of leaves, and its not bvery scenic. We have caught
the campground in the fall in full colors and it is very nice then, but
a bit depressing in early spring.
Looks
like a lot of snow in Colorado, they got 30" last week on top of all that
was up there, the farmers down stream will have a good irrigation season
this year, and a bit of extra water to help refill Lake Powell.
Saturday Apr. 19
by
your roving reporter Terry
Went
for a hike yesterday, Just a short walk to the top of the hill.
From here you get a very good view of the San Juan River Valley.
With the high stream flows on the river you get to see lots of water in
the back sloughs and swampy areas of the river valley. Went fishing
for a couple of hours yesterday, and did not go out today, there is to
much wind to try to do fly casting. We will be here till the middle
of next week so there will be a few more opportunities to get on the stream.
When
you take the time to hike to the cliffs along side the San Juan river it
makes one take pause to enjoy the beauty and scope of the valley.
Its not the Grand Canyon by any means, but it has its own unique charm.
After scrambling over and around rocks to get to the point where I could
get these photos I discovered that there is a service road that goes within
100 yards of my destination. It did make for and easy hike back to
the trailer.
There
is a lot of water flowing in the river, even at the reduced levels of 2200cfm.
The weeks before we got here had river flows in the 5000cfm range, can
not imagine how one could fish the river at those flows.
Ron
has been under the weather for a few days, fighting a bout of the
flu. Ron has gotten to the point where it hurts him to cough.
He has been coughing so bad that I am starting to have sympathy pains.
Hope he gets better soon. I had something similar last month before
we left Quartzsite, but it did not seem to be quite a bad as what Ron is
currently suffering with. Of course I am being blamed for giving
the flu to him, and now I have to work extra hard taking care of him.
Hoping
he get better soon, we will have to move on come the middle of next
week, do not need to have the added stress of being sick and trying
to travel.
Do
not want to get in to big of a hurry going North, still very early spring
in the midwest. With all of the rain the ground is probably to soft
for us to get our trailer backed into our summer campsite. We would
hate to repeat the performance of a couple yrs. back when we got stuck
in the middle of the yard backing in. Had to wait a couple of days
for things to dry out enough so we could continue to back into the pad
site.
Wednesday Apr. 23
Bob
and Sandy came over for happy hour as we sat talking overlooking the lake
from our campsite. We all spent the winter in Quartzsite and have
been good friends for the last few years. We hope to see them next fall
back in Q as we part company for the summer.
We
are leaving in the morning heading east on US 64 to Chama and then a little
south to Heron Lake SP where ewe can stay for $4 a night as we have
the NM annual camping permit. The State Park is just east of there on the
lake. After a day or two we will head east on US64 over the mountains.
The last few years we have gone south and then came back up from the south
to get to Taos to avoid the US 64 pass. Lots of switchbacks per the
map below on the east side east of Tierra Amerilla. This year we are going
to just go for it as we are going north at Tres Piedras.
This year we are not going
into Taos but heading north on US 285 up the valley to Alamosa where we
have reasearched, on the web, they have hot springs. We both could use
some hot spring water to soothe what ailes us. Not sure it will help our
mental functions, but it couldn't hurt. Right now were are looking at Sand
Dunes Swimming Pool & RV Park
Stop back to see if we turned
out to be boiled clams or relaxed happy campers.
Thursday Apr. 24
by
your roving reporter Terry
We Traveled today, and got
the thrill of the day very early on, crossing Navajo Dam on the very narrow
road that tops the dam. If you do not like bridges or high places
you would not be happy on this short stretch of road, but you get a very
good view of the River Valley to the west. Crossing the dam really
did not amount to much, but the next mile or so of road is not that great,
going up a very steep grade which snakes its way to the mesa top.
of course we had traffic behind us, but they were very understanding and
waited till we had reached the top before they tried to pass us.
Just to the right of the
dam you can see the intake for the irrigation water which travels through
a tunnel in the Meas. In the right place on the road you can see
the concrete lined irrigation canal as it crosses the valley floor before
entering another tunnel. I was not fast enough with the camera to
get that picture.
Navajo Dam in all its glory.
Crossing the Dam saved 25
miles on our trip. If we had been timid and not wanted to cross on
top of the dam it would have been a 20 mile trip down the valley to the
junction with hwy 64 and another 20 miles back to Navajo City. Our
short cut was only about 5 or 6 miles and saved a lot of time for us. Heading
east on hwy 64 is a nice drive, no steep grades to speak of, and
a lot of scenery. The only steep grade on the route is a couple of
miles out of Dulce and only about a mile in length
After leaving Dulce you cross
the continental divide, but without the marker to tell you when you cross
the divide you would be hard presses to know you had. The divide
is just another smallish ridge that you cross on your way to Chama
NM.
You can see the marker for
the continental divide on the side of the road. Had to react fast
to get this picture, Ron did not want to stop. A few miles further
down the Road is the town of Chama, NM. southern terminus of the
Cumbres and Toltec Narrow Gauge Steam RR.
I tried to get a few shots of the rail yard and buildings. but trees always
seemed to be jumping into my way as I was taking the pictures.
Chama had a very hard winter,
and there were still snow banks on the north sides of homes and buildings.
We also drove past the grocery store where contractors were cleaning up
the remains of the building, there was enough snow last winter to
collapse the roof of the building.
We had talked about taking
the train, but they will not be opening till May 24th. We are just
a bit to early. This year they are planning on running from May 24th
till October 19th. We are hoping to be able to ride the Cumbres and
toltec this fall when we are heading back to Quartzsite. For more
information on the Cumbres and Toltec RR go to www.
cumbrestoltec.com
We are camped for the night
at EL Vado State park. We must be some of the early campers, as they
have not turned on the water yet, and there are no registration forms in
the Iron Ranger. We are waiting for a ranger to come around tonight
to collect our $4.. We brought half a tank of water with us so no
problem there.
They love their posts at
this park, have them every 4 feet or so to keep everyone on the roads.
Makes for interesting time when extending the slide outs, Ron was
on the inside running the slides and I was on the outside to stop him if
the slide go to close to a post. Had no problems getting the slides
out, 4 or 5 inches to spare on the south side and all kinds of room on
the north side.
The view from our from door
across the campground and to mesa in the distance.
Tomorrow we are planning
on another travel day, unless Ron wants to stay for the spring harvest
festival (sheep shearing) in Tierra Amarilla. Sheep shearing, spinning,
weaving natural dyes, ect. I think he was being facetious when he
mentioned the event. I am pretty sure tomrrow will find us in Colorado
some where in or near Alamosa.
Duty calls, time to start
supper, having a slow cooked pot roast tonight.
Friday Apr. 25
We
left the State Park just west of Tierra Amarilla where we got diesel for
$$4.53 and thought we would have a fun day going over US 64 toward Toas.
Turning onto US64 big signs told us the road was closed due to snow still
not cleared form the pass. We then had to go south to almost Santa Clara
and then head noreth on US 285. About a 105 mile detour. We stopped for
diesel in Alamosa for $4.19.
The
Antoninto Depot, the Northeastern terminus of the Cumbres and Toltec Narrow
Gauge Railroad. Antoninto set out in the middle of the valley, There
wasn't a lot of rolling stock here, the main yard must be in Chams.
This
engine was setting in the Rail yards in Alamosa. You can not see
the logo on the engine, but it is from the Grand Canyon Rail road,
thinking its here for repairs or rebuilding. Did not spend enough
time in Alamosa to get the real story.
We
continued north on Hwy 17 from Alamosa. Hwy 17 was supposed
to go past a number of developed hot springs, and our plan was to stop
at one of the campgrounds/hot springs and take in the waters. And
the best made pans oft go astray. Every hotspring we drove past was
unacceptable. The first one was way over developed, when the
word spa starts getting thrown around you know that its grossly overpriced.
It didn't even look that nice, just a lot of overhyped signage.
The other hot springs were even more run down, and unappealing.
Since
it was still early in the afternoon we continued on towards Poncha Springs.
The road from Alamosa North runs through a wide valley, gradually
approaching Poncha Pass at an elevation of 9,000 feet. As we were
approaching the pass summit the truck began to loose power and the check
engine light came on. We pulled to the side of the road and let the
engine idle for a while, and I finally thought that priming the fuel filter
might help. The first souple of pumps on the priming pump bottomed
out, gradually I was able to build up fuel pressure and the engine
recovered for a bit. We repeated the priming process a couple of
times until we reached the summit. At the summit I got out a small
wrench and bled some air out of the fuel pump and we were able to get to
Poncho Springs. When I bled the air out I was also able to get the
check engine light to go out. We have an appointment tommrrow morning
at the Chevrolet Dealer in Salida.
I know
it had to hurt, but Ron actually admitted that I had saved the day.
He had visions of camping out for the night on the side of the road at
9,000 ft and temps of 20 deg. We could have done it but we would
not have been happy about it. The smile on Ron's face was priceless
when we pulled into Poncha Springs.
We are currently are camped
for the evening at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds. They have a nice
little rv park set up with water and electricity, 30 amp power for $15.00
. Ron found the campground on the internet. Tomrrow we will
follow the Arkansas River out to Pueblo, Co.
Ron had to struggle with
the data storm unit for an hour or so before he could get the unit to work.
Fred, the datastorm unit did not like traveling today any more then the
pick up.
Having hamburger strogonoff
tonight. I have to make this dish extra special or Ron is going to
stock up on hamburger helper the next time we hit a big grocery store.
Sunday Apr. 27
It
is about time I posted. Terry posted about as well as he sings...
Everyone on the web forums told us we needed a new fuel filter... Well
it was Saturday afternoon and the Car Quest person told us their filter
was a 4 micron one and if I remembered correct the recall form GM was to
replace thier 2 micron with a 1 micron so we didn't get this one.
We exploerd Salida.
Quaint downtown, very nice
small town and we found Murdoch's a farm and ranch store where they had
Carhart colthes.
I bought a zippered sweatshirt
and t-shirt and got 10% off and a free bucket which Terry went wild over.
He loves his buckets. We have more times than I can count stopped alone
the road to check out ones thrown away or fallen from a truck. Now we got
one for FREE.
It was still windy so we
stayed Saturday night and left early on Sunday. I didn't even get
a Sunday paper.
Heading east out of Salida
along the Arkansas river we found many fly fishermen and in the above shot
some even panning for gold. They were camping along the river in tents
and it did get down to about 20 deg overnight. That's cold this time of
year if not in RV. But if your after the first brown trout of the
year I guess you will streach your comfort to be rewarded in the end.
These guys were in the campground
along the road getting ready.
On down the road from salida
to canon City, Penrose and up CO 115 to Colorado City. We went around the
south side on HW 83 and then NE on US 24 to ovoid the traffic and get out
on the CO plains.
As we headed NE on US 24
we had the dreaded no power again and the engine light come on again.
We pulled off to the side (we are getting used to this) (but with friends
from the web forums knew what the trouble was) (remember when you used
see an RV on the side of the road and say those poor folks are having trouble
and you are so gald it'wasn't you)
Well this go round it is
US. We primed and it helped some and we continued but the engine
fault light stayed one. Terry used Google
411 to call for a Car Parts store in Limon to see if they had our filter.
The Napa store was closing but would stay open for us as they normally
close at 1:00 PM on Sunday. They got us the filter and wrench to
change it and Terry did it with much effert in the parking lot. After the
warning light went out and power returned. Happy campers at last. If you
think all this happend without raised voices you have to be kidding. I
treated for lunch at Arbys and we hit the road going east looking for campgrounds
as it was getting to be after 3 PM and just down the road central time
made it a hour later.
We used Google
411 again and found a RV park in Colby KS and are parked and happy
now with a drink to make things feel better. The campground is Bourquin’s
RV Park . . .
They also claim to have
the best restaurant in all of KS. We can't tell as they are closed
on Sunday.
We had searched wwwfreecampgrounds.com
and had several on our printout but they were many miles down the road
to the east so we had to punt and look at Colby for a place to stay. One
was at Hill City and Grahm County fairground E/W for $8 a nite. Didn't
get that far but are still happy ritgh here in Colby KS for now. The city
link for Colby KS
What shall we find on Monday
as we head east in KS and up to NE watching the weather VERY cosely as
we cross the scarry weather section of this mid setion of the USA.
Think we shall head up US
83 northeast to McCook and east on US 34 to Hastings and then on east on
US 6 and stop at Beaver Crossing (just east of Milford on the map) at a
new find that was just offered in a forum as a nice free city park
with elec. just south of I-80. More later to see if we make it to
this place in southeast Nebraska.
We are at the A
star at Colby and are heading up to Milford just west of Lincolin in the
upepr NE map section. Our thought is why stay on Interstates when we can
explore the blue roads and see the small towns and also slow down and save
fuel. A win win, for us and the local economy we stop and spend our money
at in the small towns along the way.
An overview or big picture
of where we at and where we are heading. Yes Iowa for the summer.
Des Moines (not shown) (in the center of the state) and if you don't know
where, then got off the web NOW and audition for Jay Leno's Jay Walking
skit. (Hint at the intersection below theO
in IOWA.
Ya you get to see the big
A again of our overnight stop today.
This whole post may suck,
so be it, but I'm tired and going for a hot shower right now...
Ron
Monday Apr. 28
Since
we got into the RV park late yesterday we didn't get an early start this
AM. I think it was about 10 before we pulled out. Traveling on smooth
roads with no wind, things went well today.
When in farming country in
the spring you have to look out for machines like this.
We may be in a big truck
and 5er but these guys have the right of way every time.
All
we had to to was fuel up (no more no power engine problems) and get some
propane, and now we are at a neat little city park in Beaver Crossing just
south of I-80
We came across on US 6
and HW 33 from the west (the blue roads are more fun) and stopped at the
city of Friend, a booming little town where we found a nice liquor store
and picked up a 6 pack of Goose Island Nut Brown Ale
from a brewery in Chicago.
In Beaver Crossing a free
city park (donations accepted) Yes we will drop an envelope in the box
in the morning. With 20 and 30 amp elec. and water. The red
painted boxes have 30 amp. Clear sky for satellite internet access. This
is a grassy area so if wet, you may get stuck if in a big rig. Don't think
the old tank has any live ammo. Hope they don't use it to chase out unruly
campers. Big baseball park right off to the left. We are just over the
right field fence.
(from the town web site)
The entrance to the city
park, and would you believe thay have a web site. "God's
Gift to the Blue River Valley "
Now
time to relax and get ready for another day on the road.
Terry
just had one of the beers... tastes very much like the ones he used to
brew himself.
Watching
a moive on Starz and maybe stay up for the Leno show.
Tuesday Apr. 29
We
came across I-80 from Lincoln and stopped at Cabela's new store just outside
Omaha and got a couple of new lawn chairs and some clothes.
Next
was a stop at Leach camper sales in Council Buff (just over the IA border
from Omaha) to get some literature and see if they dad the model of HitchHiker
Discover America unit I am looking to upgrade to later this year. Yes a
new 5er now if I can convince Terry of its need.
We
are now safe and sound at our summer spot in Iowa. DataStormUsers
map ID 98 Stopped
at the Chevy dealer to in Ankeny to make an appointment for the oil leak
in the oil pan for next week. They are going to cover it again under warranty
for the third time. Stopped for fuel and spent over $110 at $4.19
a gal in western IA. OUCH. Next stopped at the local Fairway Food store
for casing wieners and charcoal steaks and a case of Leinenkugel's Beer
from Chippewa Falls. Boy that now costs $18.90 a case. We just had to stop
and get our favorite goodies as now back for the summer. But did find the
food prices were SO MUCH lower here in Iowa than anyplace out west.
It is getting easier backing
up a long lane and around a couple of corners to land in this spot.
Getting the step lined up
just so, so we can step out on the patio.
Now after a very LONG hot
shower life looks good.... Now to relax for a few days. Mow
lawn for Terry's sister, as we are on Mark and Kathy's acreage. I turn
into the grounds keeper such as it is, for the summer. Next big event is
to get the Duramax truck to the dealer next Monday. Not too stressful at
this point of things to do. Since sping is so late Terry may go over
to eastern IA and help his brother get his crops in. Corn should be in
by now and we have not seen any planted at all yet. The trees just have
buds on them, by now they should be leafed out.
Later as we get settled in.
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