Final Days at Lottis Creek

July 4-8, 2012

Wednesday – Happy 4^th of July!    Today there was no construction going on, so setting shuttle was a bit easier for today’s run on the Taylor.   It was still low, but we had some new challenges with the cloudy weather.   Without the sun to illuminate the rocks, it was harder to negotiate a clean path.   But still lots of fun.    We got back to camp just as the rain/thunderstorms started.   We had a West Wing marathon. 

Thursday – Nothing special 

Friday – We drove to Buena Vista today.   I enjoyed taking the Cottonwood Pass.  The views were fantastic.   We needed to evaluate this route for driving with the fitty on it. I felt better when we passed other rigs as big as ours.   Some of the switchbacks are hairy, but if you crane your neck and look for oncoming traffic, it’s certainly doable.   And the condition of the dirt road is very nice.

We checked out the campground we thought we’d move to next: Cottonwood Lake.   But, the warning that the max length was 35 was true.  So while there were 1 or 2 spots we could probably fit the rig, we’d have no place to park the truck.   Now we still have to figure out where to go next.

On the way back from BV, as we rounded a random tight curve, we heard a sudden and loud squealing noise.   We freaked out!   We managed to creep forward to a small pull-off and we hopped out to look for the source of the noise.   It wasn’t the tires.   But we didn’t know what it was.   Basically for going forward or backwards, there was an insanely loud screech. Sounded like the drive shaft was shearing loose PLUS we had snagged a metal structure and were dragging it on blacktop.   But we didn’t see any sign of anything wrong.    Just as we were getting good and scared about what to do….some nice guys in a pickup stopped to help.  They took one listen to the horrible noise and said “you’ve got a small rock stuck in your brakes”.   We tried to tell them that the noise didn’t happen when we braked, but they were confident.   They said it was safe to drive.    Phew!    So we drove with that horrible noise back to camp.   Did some internet research on what to do.   We tried dislodging it with crazy steering and fast starts and stops, but it didn’t work.   We ended up having to take the tire off.   Once the tire was off, I looked behind and saw the tiny offending stuck rock.   We fixed it!    So happy it wasn’t something more serious.

We got caught in some pretty heavy downpours.   Turns out the windshield on the truck still leaks like a MF.   We’ll have to give up and pay to get that fixed when we get back to MN.

 Saturday-I got a hike in, and Missy got a bike ride in before noon.   Then the rain/boomers moved in per usual.

 Sunday- We got an early start to do a last run on the Taylor before the weather moved in around noon.   The river was about 50 cfs higher, and it was a lot of fun.   Now there were more avenues of current around various rocks and boulders.   We had to use all our cunning and skill to beat the river.   (Probably more of the latter).    We got back to camp and hurried to dry and pack up the kayaks before the rains moved in.   Tomorrow is moving day.   We’re hoping to get a boondocking spot near the reservoir for our last week.   Not sure what we’ll do if it’s not available.