Stormy weather

Stormy weather started yesterday afternoon and pretty much continued throughout today.  Sometimes sprinkles, sometimes downpours, sometimes sunshine along with a bit of hail and thunder and lightning.  Needless to say we haven't been doing much.

I did get a chat in with my sister yesterday.  We had just come back from a walk and were sitting outside enjoying some ice tea when Jan called.  We got updated and she asked me what time it was.  I said I didn't know as I don't wear a watch so John told me the time - a little after 11 a.m.  She asked were we were, I told her sitting outside the rig drinking ice tea after finishing a walk and hadn't even showered yet.  She said it must be nice (it is) but when you have no place to go and no particular time to get there, what is the hurry I ask?

We will be making the drive to Montrose tomorrow afternoon to visit the Ford Dealer as our engine light has come on; something to do with the OBD-II (onboard diagnostics).  I swear, when we were in Montrose the other day, we both saw the Ford Dealer and chose not to say anything to one another for fear of jinxing ourselves.  Dang it, the truck must have sensed we were near another Ford Dealership lol!  Good thing we have the extended warranty is all I can say.  

Curecanti National Recreation Area

Not to far from where we are staying begins the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The Gunnison River had three dams built to provide irrigation and hydroelectric power.  Three reservoirs make this semiarid location a water-based recreation area: Blue Mesa (main storage reservoir), Morrow Point Dam is the power generator, and Crystal Dam maintains an even flow through the Black Canyon of Gunnison.  As we took our drive yesterday, we really didn't realize that we were technically driving past three lakes.

Below is a view of Blue Mesa which is Colorado's largest lake.  There is easy access to all three lakes for boating, fishing, and hiking.  They also seem to have some nice camping facilities as well.

Dillion's Pinnacles

Still a lot of snow on the mountains towards Telluride.

Wild flowers are beginning to bloom.

The most exciting event of the day was that we saw a bear in the wild.  He accommodated us quite well as he seemed to be posing.

Before we knew it, we were in Montrose.  This town and area around it really reminded us of Grand Junction which mileage wise is not that far away.  We had lunch and headed back home.

On one of the many hillsides, there appeared to be a stand of trees that looked like Mickey Mouse's head to us.  Upon downloading the picture, the stand of trees now looks like a bird to me.  What does it look like to you?

As the wind seems to blow in the afternoon, here is someone making the most of it.

Again, we were surprised at the diversity of terrain in the area; some alpine areas and mostly high desert.

Windy Weekend

Since we came in on Friday, the afternoons are windy as all get out. The benefit to the wind is that almost all of the cottonwood tree blossoms have been blown away so here in the park, John isn't being to bothered to badly with allergies.

We went in to town yesterday for fuel, go to the Visitor's Center, go to a Farmer's Market where we bought some bread, and the grocery store.  All the while we were in town (about a mile or two from where we are staying), the cotton was blowing and John started feeling miserable.  Back to the rig we went.  Nothing allergy medicine and a little nap couldn't help.  

Picked up a lot of interesting information on the sights to see around here.  We pretty much stayed around the rig to leave the working people the weekend.  

On Sundays, the park puts on a bbq (hamburgers $2 and hot dogs $1) with all the fixings and everyone brings a dish to share.  We had a nice time visiting and of course, the brought dishes were tasty.  The park is putting on a chicken bbq on the 4th of July along with a raffle and entertainment.  Of course, more potluck items to share.  We were told at the Visitor Center, that the town of Gunnison puts on an excellent fireworks display.  We were told to bring our chairs to set up across from the park from where they light them off.  Sounds like fun.

Tomorrow, the wind is suppose to die down so maybe we can get out and about without John feeling so run down.  We will have to determine what our first exploration will entail.  Stay tuned.

Gunnison, CO

When we left at 9 a.m. to head for Gunnison, the temperature was already 90 degrees in the Colorado Springs area.  Neither of us would enjoy sightseeing this time of year.  I guess we will have to return late spring or early fall some year to see what we would like to see in the area.

As we traveled on Hwy 50 towards the towns of Canon City, Salida, and Poncha Springs, we were amazed that between 6,000 and 7,000 feet you are still in high desert.  In California, you would be in the pines at 3,000 feet.  Takes some getting use to for us.

We drove along the Arkansas River which, of course, was swiftly flowing.  We saw a lot of rafters enjoying themselves on the fast moving water.  Sorry, the picture is fuzzy as we were moving swiftly and so were they.

We had to travel through the towns of Canon City, Salida, and Poncha Springs.  We finally began to see some pine trees at the 8,000 ft elevation.

Before we knew it, we were soon tackling Monarch Pass (11,332 ft elevation).  Whew, another tough mountain pass, ever bit on par with Wolf Creek Pass.  Colorado sure knows how to grow them! To think, we have to go back over it when we leave.  Maybe we won't ever leave!  Wait a minute, it gets -40 degrees here in the winter.  Scratch that, we will take on Monarch Pass once again when the times comes.

We pulled in to Palisades Senior RV Park (55+ park; benefit to getting older) in Gunnison around 1 p.m. No trains as tracks were removed in 1955!  The park has 59 sites but there are only 21 rigs in the park right now.  Neighbors have mentioned that the economy seems to be having an effect on occupancy this year because they are normally full.  The park is quiet and does not have a lot of lighting so no light shining in my eyes while I try to go to sleep.

Mary (manager) got us checked in and escorted to a nice back-in site.  This park has lots of maneuvering room for big rigs.  Each site has a picnic table; pull-thrus have lawn while we have the lawn for the Chip n Putt course behind us.  Beyond that, we look out on to a pasture with cows and a few horses.  Our site size is almost that of what we had at Justin's Diamond J in Tucson so we definitely aren't cramped.

John was happy to "nest" our outside area.  After we got all settled in for the evening, I went to raise our rear shades (as our kitchen has a western exposure) so that as the evening progressed, we might be able to see some deer behind us.  To my surprise, they were already out there.

 Look at the cute little velvet covered nubbins on two of the deer.

Seeing deer is just like seeing a bunny, it makes a good day even better.  We think we are going to like it here.

Colorado Springs, CO

When we left Smith Center, we weren't sure where we were going to land for the night.  With getting such an early start plus gaining an hour from going from Central to Mountain Time Zone, we decided that we would just head towards Colorado Springs as that would pretty much get us off the open plains (no complaint to be heard from me).  It was a 380 mile day for us.  We decided that we did not want to stay at the RV park in Falcon and the closest other RV park was in Fountain and was a KOA.  We had passed it on I-25 and thought it looked decent so we pulled in around 1:30 p.m.

This RV park is expensive, large number of sites, lots of kids, and lots of dirt.  When the wind blows, it must be a real mess not to mention when it rains.  The site was long and level enough to stay hooked-up but as we needed fuel we unhooked and went into town for fuel for the truck and us.  The KOA has wifi but it didn't seem to work at our site.  John and I agreed that we seem to be striking out in the RV park department in the area around Colorado Springs because we wouldn't come back here again either.  The real deal breaker for us was at 1:48 a.m. it sounded like a train was coming through the park.  John and I both just about came out of bed.  Every hour after that, here comes another train.  Not too much sleep going on when you keep getting woken up by train whistles.

Smith Center, KS

We pulled in to the Peterson Industries, Inc. (PI) Service Center parking lot early Saturday afternoon (6/18) and had the place to ourselves. We found the customer lounge to be locked which was strange as it had always been unlocked in the past.  We decided that as we had all the comforts of home with us, we really didn't need the customer lounge.

We were able to hook up to fuzzy cable but that at least gave us weather reports that weren't very comforting to this former Californian.  Severe weather warnings about damaging winds in excess of 70 mph, tennis ball size hail, and the possibility of tornadoes.  The town of Smith Center does not have any shelters and as the lounge was locked, we couldn't get in to an interior room, if needed.  I watched the news weather station and radar until late at night while John slept like a baby lol.  Also, I was playing Words With Friends (like Scrabble) on my phone with our friend Rick who was/is in Eagle Nest, NM.  Thanks Rick for the added diversion.  I finally went to bed and could look out my window and see the sky light up with small and large bursts of light looking north towards the Nebraska border.  No thunder could be heard as the actual storm was far enough away but the rig sure shook from the wind.  This routine for me was repeated Sunday night.  Thankfully, the customer lounge was unlocked Sunday morning so that if needed, we had a place to escape.  Monday still brought the same concerns but I was so tired that once my head the pillow, I was out.  Thankfully, nothing came from all the warnings as the activity was either west, north, or east of us.  We were told that when the severe weather is like a horseshoe around you, the tension is lessoned in the center.  Also, when the cool air/wind came in Monday evening, we were told that was a good thing; maybe that is why I slept so well Monday night.  

What was so strange to us was that we were all alone come Sunday evening.  Usually, Sunday afternoon brings in anywhere from three to four more rigs.  I asked John if there was a possibility we could have gotten our service date wrong and he said no and even if we had, there should be other rigs here.  So where is everyone?

We did move the truck to the proper parking area Sunday evening.

We had to be out of our rig by 6:15 a.m with all the slides pulled in each morning we needed work done.  When we went to the lounge, we saw Ralph and asked him where everyone was.  He laughed and said he wasn't sure.  He did confirm we were in the right place at the right time.  We later found out that one couple (Darrell and Barbara) stayed in the small RV park down the road rather than pulling in to the service center.  Another couple (Larry and Nancy) came in Monday evening.  As usual, there was friendly conversations and stories told by those of us hanging out in the lounge.  Darrell and Barbara were able to leave Tuesday afternoon.  Larry and Nancy had water intrusion issues and needed all their slide floors rebuilt.  Since their rig wasn't going to be ready until Friday, they decided to head towards Nebraska to visit the Pioneer Village and visit The Great Platte River Road Archway (well worth doing, by the way).  We did get to meet someone who participates on the Excel Owner's Forum - Jim (RedCow) and his wife.  Jim had the misfortune of backing in to a bollard and damaged the bottom of his end cap.  After looking over the situation, it was determined that PI was just going to replace his entire endcap as it was going to have to come off anyway. It was a pleasure meeting and conversing with Jim.

As the service center no longer has wifi in their lounge (darn) and I don't have an air card, I wasn't able to update my blog as planned.

Our work got finished up early Wednesday morning but the wind was blowing so strong out of the west, that we asked if we could stay the night.  We were up and at-'em early Thursday and were on the road at 6:30 a.m.

It was an expensive detour to Smith Center but we feel confident in having the service center do whatever work needs to done. Thanks Jack, Ralph, and your service crew.

Goodland, KS

As we were wide awake early, we decided to just get going and were probably on the road by 7:30.  The trip was uneventful but we could tell from the sky that we most likely would be having rain later in the day.  We got to Goodland KOA around 11 a.m. just about the time when most travelers have to depart.  The park's owner came out to get us registered and escorted to our site.  We don't like staying at KOA's for a number of reasons but when it is basically the only game in town, we will bite the bullet.  I must say that this KOA has been a very pleasant surprise and by far is the nicest one we have ever stayed at. The grounds are park-like, clean, and well laid out. You can tell there is pride of ownership here. It is also far enough from the freeway so there isn't any highway noise and I haven't heard a train yet at all lol.  

After lunch, John cleaned the end cap of bugs and decided that he was going to wash the trailer's roof as he could work in the shade of a tree and the afternoon temperature was pleasant.  While he was up there scrubbing, I made good use of my time by doing some laundry.  

Around 3 p.m. I became aware that we were in for some severe weather with the possibility of large hail, damaging winds, and a possibility of a tornado.  Yikes!  John asked the owner about where to go for cover if needed.  He told John that if the siren goes off, to head for his house as they have a cement basement.  Just in case, I put together a bag with all our "important" stuff to grab should we have to head to shelter.  Thankfully, the storm seems to be splitting up and going around us.  Whew.  We have seen some lightning and heard some long rolling thunderclaps but thankfully, nothing serious.  I will be up for a while keeping an eye on the radar while my dear husband sleeps lol.  

Falcon, CO

Planned on getting an early start but got sidetracked for a while talking about RVs with some fellow RVers.  One of the gentlemen was particularly interested in our Pivot-Ez (sewer hose compartment) and wanted a closer look and of course, we were happy to let him.

We had only one mountain pass today - La Veta.  The uphill was steep but the downhill seemed to go on forever finally ending at the town of Walsenburg.  In one section of the highway, we had to slow way down due to a loose cow.  John had slowed but I kept asking him to slow down even more because I just knew that cow was going to run out in front of us.  Sure enough, she cut across the road right in front of us and then ran parallel with the truck for a ways.  After we safely got past her, she cut back across the road behind us.

Thanks to instructions from a friend, we were able to by-pass most of the congestion of Colorado Springs as we were planning on spending the night in a town east of Colorado Springs.  We selected a particular campground based on its location and reviews on RVParkReviews.com.  Let's just say that we don't exactly agree with the high ratings that several of the posters have given.  The park did have some nice features but there were a few items that would not have us return.  We did get to see an antelope in the field behind the park and were serenaded by the howls of coyotes (love that sound) during the night.

We decided not to do any sightseeing as we will be returning to the general area once our service work is complete in Smith Center.  It was nice to just settle in for the afternoon.  John has commented every day how he has liked leaving around 8  to 8:30 a.m. and then pulling in for the day around by noon.  As we have kept our slow meander to Smith Center to less than 200 miles a day, we have been able to not feel so beaten up on travel days.  

After lunch, John set about cleaning the bugs off the end cap.  Once that was done, the truck was next as it was covered with sticky stuff from the cottonwood trees in Bayfield.  Once I saw what he was doing, I went out to lend him a hand.  The trailer also is covered with sticky stuff and John says the roof is particularly gross.  Guess when we get into Smith Center, I know what will be done over the weekend.

No TV or internet as a tree was in the way of our satellite.  The park's wifi was not functioning so the blog update was delayed.  Some days, one just has to rough it.

Alamosa, CO

Looking at the date of my last entry, I have been a real slacker.  We have seen and done a lot in the Durango/Bayfield area but just haven't posted.  I will have to make good use of my time while at the service center to get the blog up-to-date.

The Bayfield Pine River RV Park is loaded with cottonwood trees that have exploded in releasing cotton balls everywhere.  For the first time in his life, John has been hit with allergies due to these blooming cottonwood trees and has been pretty miserable the past couple of weeks.  The ironic thing about this to us is that in Sacramento, the blooming cottonwood trees tore me to pieces but here in Colorado, I haven't been bothered at all.  Different species of cottonwoods I suppose.  Anyway, we were planning on leaving on Friday but with John feeling so miserable, we decided to begin a leisurely trek to Kansas a couple of days early in hopes that by leaving the area, he could get to feeling better.  Besides, we were ready to get back on the road.

The last two times of towing, we had mechanical problems so we (I) had some worries about whether or not they would continue. Thankfully, the truck hummed along just fine and we made it up and over Wolf Creek Pass (7% grade for 9 miles) just fine.  Our destination for the day was Alamosa, CO.

We pulled in to Alamosa before lunch.  As our travel day was a short one - 138 miles, we had our afternoon free, so we decided to take the drive to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve that is about 38 miles from Alamosa.  First stop was at the Visitor's Center where we watched a movie about the park and got a panoramic view of the dunes.  The park has a bit of everything: alpine tundra, subalpine, montane forest, dunefield, grassland, riparian and wetlands. 

The dunes are considered the tallest in North America and cover more than 330 square miles.  Around the edges of the dunefield are the lifeblood of the dunes system - Medano Creek and Sand Creek. Both of these creeks begin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The rangers said that mountains did not receive their normal snowfall this winter so that Medano Creek was reaching its peak level today which wasn't very deep.  We were surprised to learn this as the other mountain ranges west of here certainly received a significant amount of snow and the rivers really show it.

We drove through the campground but it didn't look like it was big-rig friendly.  Warnings about bears and mountain lions were posted. Still, if one uses common sense, it would be a neat place to spend a night or two for a small rig or tent.

We then headed for Medano Creek and were very much surprised at all the activity in the area.  Kids of all ages were playing in the water and wet sand.  Others were taking saucers and hiking up the dunes to slide down while others hiked to the very top of the dunes (1 1/4 to 2 hours one way).  It was quite the happening place.  The creek really doesn't look like much here but one can look down the creek area and see how wide and deep the creek can get when the snow melt is substantial.

It was surprising to step off the trail and feel how warm the sand was on my feet.  The park does put out warnings that during the summer the sand temperature can reach 140 degrees.

We love the way the sand dunes look in this picture.

We were really glad that we took the time to visit this diverse national park of ours.