We've been busy

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.  

Bayfield, CO

We were suppose to leave Cortez, CO on Wednesday, May 18, but due to a winter storm rolling in, we decided to leave Cortez a day early.  I contacted the Bayfield Riverside RV Park where we are going to stay for a month to see if it would be ok to come in a day early in order to beat the weather.  The owner, Mack, told us were were welcome to come in a day early and that there wouldn't be a charge for doing so. That was very nice of him. 

The drive was uneventful until we got past the ski area, Hesperus, and on the border of West Durango, when a light came on the dash showing a wrench icon.  John pulled over and I pulled out the manual to see what the warning was about.  There were a couple of items it could have been but it wasn't anything that would keep us from getting to Bayview that was only another 18 miles or so.  Once we got set up, John called Keesee Ford in Cortez to discuss the matter with them.  They thought it could be a plugged fuel line.  There is a Ford Dealership in Durango but it would be a week before they could take a look see.  John called Keesee Ford back and they could get to us Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.   Guess where we were headed on Wednesday; yep, back to Cortez from which we came.  John pulled our maintenance records last night and the fuel filters were suppose to have been replaced with our 60K appointment at Holmes Tuttle Ford in Tucson.  Our records do not show that they were replaced.  Something to have Keesee Ford check in to.

Wednesday morning we were on the road around 8 a.m. to Cortez. Roads were dry but the threat of rain and snow were forecast.  We got past Durango before the wrench light came on again with the message that we were running at half power.  We could have gotten bad fuel but the truck didn't act like it.  The truck got taken in before its scheduled time with diagnostics being ran once again.  Tony at Keesee Ford checked the Ford records and interestingly enough, the records at Ford submitted by Holmes Tuttle Ford show that the fuel filters were replaced.  It appears to us that Tuttle Holmes Ford charged Ford for the work but didn't do it by our records (we have a prepaid maintenance plan).  What a sleazy way of doing business. We are beginning to see a bad pattern of workmanship with Holmes Tuttle Ford that we will never allow them to touch our truck again.  If the Ford Dealership in Cotttonwood hadn't caught that Holmes Tuttle hadn't done the reflash and did it themselves, most likely, we would have blown up the engine when the heater hose blew.  I digress. Keesee found that it wasn't bad fuel filters but two thermostats that failed most likely due to the heater hose issue.  The thought is that we could have driven forever with no problems but when towing the trailer, it put so much pressure on them that they failed.  While there, we had them replace the fuel filters at our expense.  Events come in threes so we should be done, right?  

We were headed back to Bayfield a little after 2 p.m.  It had been raining in Cortez so we were knew there was a good chance it was going to be snowing over the pass.  We saw the dusting of snow over the mountains that make up Mesa Verde NP.

The further east we went, the harder it was snowing.

Most people were driving sensibly but then you have some real idiots who drive like the roads are dry.  We were relieved to make it home safe and sound.  We spent the afternoon watching it snow like crazy, rain,  and then repeat.  We were very happy that we made the decision to drive to Bayfield yesterday rather than waiting for today.

Driving Tour

This morning we decided to take a drive up Highway 145 along the Dolores River which is running rather full.  Once leaving the Cortez area, the road opened up to beautiful valleys.  As we drove through the town of Dolores, something caught my eye and I asked John to turn around and go back.  This little oddity is what caught my eye:

It looked like a morphed trailer, bus, and train.  Very odd.  It was parked in front of this little railroad museum.  If the museum had been open, we would have gone in to inquire about their "train".

This is shot of the Dolores River.  The property to the left was gorgeous and all ready for a RV site or two.  I did a little research and you can have this gorgeous 1.71 acres for only $305,000.  Dream on!

After spending six months in the desert, we were soaking up the beautiful views; green grass, pine trees, river and snow-capped mountains.  Wow, this is true Colorado splendor.

The multitude of aspen trees in this area don't yet have their green foliage.  The mountains are going to be even more beautiful once all the trees are green.  Makes me wonder what the fall foliage looks like.

We turned around 21 miles shy of the ski town of Telluride. Other than the scenic beauty of the drive, neither one of the us were too interested in visiting the area. So we headed back to Cortez but took a different route home.  

After dinner, we took a walk around the Cortez City Park and Centennial Park.  It has been overcast today and while out walking, I mentioned how hot it felt in the sun even though the temperature is in the low 70's.  John reminded me that we have been use to the humidity being single digit or the low teens and that the humidity is much higher here if you look at all the grass, water, and ranches that are around.  I joked and said I thought it was because we were closer to the sun.  I checked and the humidity is 24 percent.

Another lovely day.