Thursday, we had a bit of everything that mother nature could throw at us: rain, sleet, hail, and snow. Oh, and thunder. I never associated thunder and lightning with a snow storm . . . who knew? We were going to go to Durango to do some much needed grocery shopping but decided against it when the snow just wasn't going to let up.
Friday, the weather improved to where we could get the grocery shopping done. While in the store, John's phone rang and it was Scott from Holmes Tuttle Ford in Tucson. It seems that their IT Department scans the internet (blogs) for their company name and guess what, our blog popped up. Talk about Big Brother! The gist of the call was to discuss the issue with the diesel fuel filters and reflash of the PCM and TCM modules. To make a long story short, Scott did a lot of research on our Ford records and apparently had a discussion with the service techs at Steve Coury Ford in Camp Verde and Keesee Ford in Cortez. Holmes Tuttle Ford is going to reimburse us for the cost to have the fuel filters replaced at Keesee Ford in Cortez. We spent a long time discussing several topics that have left us frustrated. We were surprised but appreciative of the effort Scott put forth to open a dialogue with us so that we would consider returning to them for service when we return to Tucson. We slept with our small bedroom windows open just a bit for some fresh air and were treated to the soft calling sounds of a nearby owl. Nice.
Saturday, we took a drive to Farmington, NM; why, you ask? Well, Farmington is the location of the closest Target store. It was an interesting drive from the outskirts of Durango as you drive up this steep hill to the top of a mesa to head south. It was like taking an elevator to another floor. After my Target fix was met, we got a bite to eat and then headed back by taking a different route home. It was a very nice drive.
Sunday, we took a drive up to Vallecito Lake. We checked out the Vallecito Resort RV Park for future reference and had a nice conversation with the people in the office. The road past the RV park winds along the lake. The area where the river feeds into the lake is so beautiful. Dandelions are in bloom so there are fields of yellow everywhere.
The access to the lake is all private so you have to pay to have a permit to park on the lakeshore as well as to launch your boat. We stopped at this funky restaurant called Pura Vida Cafe that looks out over the lake. We were very pleased with our meal even if the service was a bit slow. Our neighbors told us after the fact that one can expect the dining experience to take a while especially on a Sunday. Good food just not fast food - so who is in a hurry anyway?
By the time we got home, the sun was out (yeah) so we sat outside for a while just soaking up the rays. After a while, I went inside to do some bookwork so John took the camera out on his walk. John came across a couple of young bucks all in velvet, one of which started to approach him which rattled John for a moment until the deer turned away.
Why get your hooves wet when you can use the bridge?
The resident Alpaca wasn't very happy to have the young buck get close to him/her and started jumping around nervously John said until the deer lost interest and walked away. Makes you wonder if the Alpaca had a bad experience at one time or another with a deer.
Today, I spent the better part of the morning getting the paperwork together to submit to Good Sam Emergency Road Service as we were billed the over-mileage charge even though we did not exceed the 50 mile range when we were towed. GS ERS bills you up-front and then you have to pursue getting a refund that can take four to six weeks. So frustrating! By the time I was done, I was more than ready to go for another exploration ride. We saw (from a distance) a large herd of elk - more than 20. Also, more beautiful lush valleys, hillsides, and many gorgeous homes.
We are enjoying our stay here in Southern Colorado. Can't say we are having a Rocky Mountain high because we are in the San Juan Mountains but it must be a close second.
