Great Sand Dunes National Park

We stopped by the Great Sand Dunes National Park it is off RT 160 and is an interesting thing to see. Hardly anyone was there and the Ranger at the entrance was nice ...extra nice maybe a bit lonely and cold too.

Thw wind was blowing forty to fifty miles an hour and it was cold, the dogs didn't mind it they had fun running in the sand.

On the road to Colorado Springs

Some of the great mountain views we have seen



One of the many snow covered places in the pass

This is the snow level in April

Sure looks cold

We suprised a duck on our walk by the river

Deer herd

More deer

We packed up and headed to Colorado Springs via rt 160. This route took us over some mountain passes that where around 11,000 feet. I was a bit concerned the old RV would have problems with the grade going up the passes and with the down grade as in some places the grade was in excess of 6%.

It didn't take us long before we were surrounded by snow and ice; thankfully the roads were clear and for the most part dry. One spot had me worried; just before we got to a tunnel there was a big electric sign that said "Use Caution Tunnel May be Icy" well it may have been but my visions of us swerving on ice and causing a wreck were unfounded and we made it through without incident. The old RV took the moutian roads very well.

After the passes we began looking for an RV camp but everything we checked was closed or so crummy we didn't want to stay in it. By chance we came across one that was in our Passport America book and miracles never cease it was open. We staid at the River and Woods RV park owned by a nice couple who had opened early this year for some out of town workers. We had a lovely spot under some big trees and settled in for the night.

In the morning we got up and got dressed and took the dogs for a walk and just as we got to the tree line in front of the river we came across a herd of deer. Thankfully our dogs didn't start barking and we got some nice photos of the deer.

We broke camp later and made a note of the little camp ground that was so pleasant just in case we should pass by there again.

Went to Mesa Verde today

One of the views from the top


The road going looking down


Nice brunch today at the Casino then a trip to town for information about what to see in the area. The suggestion from the folks at the tourist information place was to see Mesa Verde. We went shopping at Wal-Mart first and then went on the hunt for the National Park called Mesa Verde.



The park entrance is off Rt. 160 about 15 miles outside of town then the fun begins the road is up all the way with hairpin turns to make switch backs to climb the mountains to the top. The road even has a tunnel an unlit tunnel and coming to the dark after bright sunlight it is very dark. Fortunately it is a short tunnel and one can see the end from the beginning and it is tall enough for RVs. There are portions of the road without guard rails and the drop off of the roadway is very impressive one would go miles before coming to a complete stop in some areas.

The view from the top and on the way to the top is impressive. If one has the stamina the walking tour of the archaeological sites is equally impressive.

This was our lucky day we didn't drop off, we didn't have to pay a fee to enter and this was the first day the information center was open. Great day!

On the road again !

Left son's home and headed to Phoenix AZ to visit a friend who is recovering from a broken hip. She is doing well as can be expected and is as feisty as ever ... a very good sign.

After the visit traveled north on I-17 to Camp Verde. Couldn't find the RV place listed in Passport America's book, third time that has happened. Seems the information in that book is either out of date inaccurate or incomplete. Getting a little ticked that I haven't been able to use it yet. Went down the road looking for an RV camp and found one called Zane Grey. They seemed reluctant to take us with pets, but quoted a price of $37.00 a night that was after the ten percent discount. Errrr, I balked at that offer I was only staying one night and they didn't have any amenities there I would use like a nice restaurant or something, just dirt lots no pads or something to make it worth that much. Soooo we went back up the road and stayed at the Casino for Nadda, zip, nothing and had dinner there. The Casino has a nice shuttle service from the RV lot to the front door of the casino and the dinning room was nice, service excellent and the food was ample and good. I think we made a good choice. Note; the RV parking area is very well lit at night, shades are a good idea.

In the morning we packed up and drove to Flagstaff. I was looking for an RV dump site and didn't find a public one and couldn't find the Tourist office although there was one sign coming into town for a Tourist Office. There is a lot of that where a sign is put up and no other signs are posted to help find the place. The local RV parks charged outrageous prices to dump one wanted $15 and the other $10. I would have waited if I could but the smell was getting to me so I paid the $10... just about killed me to do it but sometimes you gotta take care of business. Fuel price was $2.99 for unleaded all over town, I guess they are getting ready for tourist season.

Left Flagstaff on the I-40 and followed it to Gallop NM and followed 610 north to CO. Where we are staying at the Ute Casino RV park. Note: lots not level. Seems like they have a nice operation here and have a fuel station like a truck stop, RV park, restaurant, convenience store, motel and of course the casino. It is a good thing too, the drive from Gallop NM to here is scenic but there ain't noth'n but a few maybe two or three small gas stations and that is it until Ship Rock NM, then more scenic mountain desert and blowing sand until you get here at the Casino.
The price of a space with electric and water with an Old Fart's discount is $20 not great but reasonable.

Four Days Camped At Son's Home

We camped at my Son's house in Tucson AZ for four days and traveled about visiting with friends and family. Stayed busy just doing that. Found a nice RV repair place and hope to return there to do some mods on this RV.

Lots of sunshine and fair winds-this is April and it is 80 degrees during the day. You can just imagine how hot it will get later in the Summer !

We are now packing up and going to the airport to turn in a car rental then on to Phoenix to visit with another friend and then head to Flagstaff. Most likely camp somewhere in between Phoenix and Flagstaff AZ.

Day 2 and 3

Got up early, but not early enough to see our neighbors off-they were gone before we got out of our Rig. We took the dogs for a walk and then walked to a restaurant recommended by the office of the RV park. Nice place nice food good service. I couldn't finish my breakfast so we combined our scraps to take back to the dogs.

When we go back to the Rig I started to un-hook and noticed that water was coming out of the city water fitting, I think that it was because other campers had departed letting the water pressure go higher. We rolled up and out there by nine and on the road we went. By our 300 mile mark it was still early so we decided to go on in to Fort Stockton. When we got there we had a hard time finding an RV camp we liked. Walmart was full and small no one seemed to know where the camp was that I was looking for and all the cheap ones looked rough. Finally I found someone who knew where it was. When we got there the office was closed and no one was around. A sign said pick a spot come back fill out an envelope, put in the fee and put the envelope in the letter box. The camp was flat, gravel with pedestals for power and water and sewer connections. The place seemed to have a few abandoned vehicles/campers that made it look sad. There were no amenities; no picnic tables, no shade, no decoration, the place looked like it was forgotten. One other place in town had the same look, the look of no care.

The following day we fueled up at the local truck stop $2.99 a gallon ! Well better than the $3.19 a gallon on the highway outside of Fort Stockton. Then we were back on the road again

to El Paso TX and beyond. We got through El Paso fine with only one scare when some little car pulled out of line right in front of us and put on his brakes causing us to brake hard. We stopped at Flying J for lunch and fuel then headed to N.M. We stopped at an RV park called Coachlight not bad, looks well kept has a mixture of short stays, long stays, and permanent residents. The advertised restaurant was closed for the day and doesn't open on Sunday. There is a TA truck stop down the street we paid $18.60 for the night full hook up.

Tomorrow Tucson?

The trip log Day 1

Wow sounds impressive trip log! Gotta call it something so here goes.
Got up early because the dogs wanted to go for their morning constitutional so There I was head lamp on , in a hoodie, picking up doggy poo before day break. Quite the sight I tell ya!
When the business was taken care of I walked to the office and made some phone calls and tried to get a hold of my insurance agent. My agent didn't call me back but I got my house insurance paid over the phone. When I got back to the Rig (that's RV talk for RV) I started to un-hook the electric cable and as it came out of the circuit box the plug fell apart in pieces. Great another thing to fix. I got everything put away and drove over to the office and checked out.

I drove over to Joel West RV to pick up a new electric plug and city water connector as mine wouldn't hold the hose under pressure. Seems there are two kinds of water connectors male and female and you have to know which to get. To do that you have to unscrew the city connector from the rig and see what it is. Of course when I went to do that I found that the screws were square heads needing a special tool after talking the manager into undoing it for me we found that on my unit you cant pull the city connector far enough out to see what it type it is or to undo the connector. So I had the shop do it and they did it in record time. I put the new electric plug on myself later in the day.

I headed down route 59, and pulled into my favorite Valero fuel stop and got fuel. I thought I had filled it up but later I when driving I noticed that the fuel gauge read less than full. This threw my mpg calculations into a cocked hat. When I got to the road leading to Houston Airport (Bush) I pulled in and topped off the tank taking care to complete the job this time. Now I am really confused as to how much fuel the Rig is using. We'll see later I guess.

I picked up Samantha as planned and we hit the road. Traffic coming and leaving the city was heavy and confusing when coming up to the toll plazas lots of lane changes to get into the right lane for our Rig and to pay cash. Seems most locals us an EZ pass system, they just drive right through and the fee is electronically tallied. Cash payers have only a few places to use and it isn't apparent which lane to use until your almost upon it.

We drove west on I-10 and stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant. I had the Jeager Schnitzel and Samantha the fried chicken. After dinner we tried to look up a campground in our books, but the books were not of great help this time. Some places had poor directions and no phone numbers. Frustrating when some tells you that reservations are requested and they don't give a phone number.

We picked a camp out of the next exit book and although it is expensive and crowded it is comforting to be off the road with hook ups for the night to keep us in relative comfort, so to speak.

Gee only 990 more miles to go .... more or less.