Final Days in New Mexico

May 11-12, 2012

Friday- I took Cassie and drove up to the Visitor’s Center (about 1 mile away).   There was a trail that I wanted to try.   The hike was just ok; it was very hot and the trail was covered in small rocks.    The trail ended with a view of the Rio Grande, but it wasn’t as majestic of a view as on some other hikes.    After finishing the hike, I decided to check out the put-in for the nearby run.   They had the cfs posted at the river….500 cfs, where the low end of the runnable range is 1000.    Sigh.   But, rafts were still running it.  That means that there has to be at least a flow of water the whole way down, in case we decided we wanted a class 1-2 run.   I drove the 4 miles to the takeout; did not see any decent rapids.   They could be hidden from view, but I suspect that the river is just too low.    So, probably no run for us.

The day started out hot and dry.   But around 2 pm we had thunderstorms move in.   It rained and thundered for a couple hours.  The temps dropped by about 30 degrees.   We spent the rest of the day reading inside the rig.

Saturday- We started the day by worrying about the slider bar arm issue on the fifth wheel hitch.    We got out the instruction manual, and it seemed pretty insistent that there should be a smooth, effortless movement to the arm.   We now are manhandling it out.   Getting it in is even harder.    So we were worried about the safety of the hitch.    Finally, we decided we should just go to Santa Fe (1.5 hours south) and try to get it fixed.    On the way to SF, we drive through Espanola.   It’s a decent-sized suburb with a library.   We stopped to check out the library.   Not the fastest speeds, but we got internet.  So we were able to look up RV places to see about getting the hitch fixed.   We took turns calling places.   Most didn’t do hitch repair.  There were 2 that did, but we couldn’t get in until mid-week next week.   Sigh.   So I changed the focus of my web research to looking for discussions on slider bar issues.  I found a couple of forum posts where people indicated that wear & tear is to be expected on our type of hitch.   The consensus is that it was designed for the casual user who would only do a couple of trips a year.   With heavier use, you will see wear.    Ours isn’t too bad yet, so we’re going to risk our lives and not get it fixed right now.    Missy found an RV repair shop in Durango, so we will try to get an appointment there for later.

After making the decision not to immediately fix the hitch, we were going to focus on getting Jane updated.   Sadly, the library’s wifi was so weak that the upgrade was showing an infinite time to completion.    The decision we had to make was whether to continue on to the Santa Fe library and get the upgrade done, or just forget about it.  (Who knows when the next time we’ll be somewhere with decent enough internet to get the maps upgrade).    We went to Santa Fe.   With those fantastic fast speeds, we got the download done in a couple of hours.

One last chore for the day.   We had to stop at Lowes to get an air compressor.   One of the new tire issues that I alluded to before is that our trusty green machine is incapable of inflating a tire past 70 psi (and it smokes at that point).   So we need a bigger air compressor to get our back tires inflated to the proper setting. 

We’re off to Colorado tomorrow.    We have a lot of options for campgrounds in the Pagosa Springs area.   Very excited to be moving into a forest again!    I hope the drive goes smoothly.   I have to admit I’m quite nervous about both the hitch and the tires.   Probably will be a sleepless night…

More Days in Taos

May 9-10, 2012

We had a 3pm apt at the tire place in Taos on Wed.   We went in early to go to the library to use the internet.    Missy tried to get the new maps downloaded to Jane (our new GPS), but it wouldn’t go.    There appears to be some kind of network block on downloading.   This is a bummer, because we’re still having issues with both Jane and Karen.   Jane tried to get us to turn down a side street a ½ mile from a major highway.    Up till then, we were going with the theory that her gaps in intelligence were due to a needed upgrade.   A lot of times Jane and Karen disagree on a route, and even what roads exist.    One positive is that at least one of them at a time will have the correct data.    We’ll have to use both until we can get Jane upgraded.

Went to the tire place.  Did not go well.    The other rear tire was deemed worthless.   (The same tire that had been declared “good” the day before).  I’m sick of thinking about it, and writing about it.   I’m anxious about the decisions we had to make, and supremely nervous for our next trip with the fitty hooked up.    That’s all I’ll say about that.

We decided to stay in Taos for a few more days.   We’re enjoying the weather and the scenery.   We’ve had the campground to ourselves the past few days.   It’s peaceful and quiet here.  I suspect that traffic will pick up over the weekend, though.    In our CO rivers book, it says that there is an annual Mother’s Day kayak race on the section of the Rio Grande right by us.    I don’t know if it will be on this year, though, since the river is low.   On AW, it’s listed as low runnable.   We keep meaning to go take a look at it, but so far other things have popped up.

On Thursday we went for a drive to test the new tires and to check out a possible boondocking site.   We did a scenic route through Taos and over the high bridge.   This snuck up on me and I was terrorized having to drive over it.   There was construction going on ON THE BRIDGE; they had it set up so only one lane went at a time.  The driving lane was riddled with busted concrete patches and it seemed certain that the whole structure could only be seconds from collapsing into the gorge.   (I have a slight phobia of driving over open bridges, and it’s rationally exacerbated when that bridge is under construction).    After making it safely to the other side, we pulled into the rest stop that was right there so we could get out and go back and see the view.    It was stunning!    So far down to the bottom of the gorge.   And the gorge is hidden from view up until the last second.   Seriously, you could be 100 feet away and not know it was there.    I’m really glad we got the chance to see this.

We could not find the boondocking site.   The blog poster just gave an intersection and that was it.  We assumed it would be obvious once we got there, but no dice.   So we headed back to our campground.   We took the scenic, windy, steep dirt road from the top of the mountain to our site.   It was a neat drive.   We got back to camp and enjoyed some relaxing time in our new loungers.   There are some tenting sites in this campground, and those sites get shelters (for shade).   Since no one is here, we set up the loungers in one of the shelters.   This gave us an unobstructed view of the mountain behind.   This is my favorite view of all the campsites to date.

Tire Shopping in Taos

May 8, 2012

We walked the trail this morning to the next campground up the road. It's a great developed trail that's technically roadside, but is back enough into the ridge that you never really see the road. When we got to the next campground, we went down to check it out. This one, unlike ours, is on the river (Rio Grande). We walked the dogs down a path to the river so they could get drinks. The dogs were THIRLLED to find perfect grass for snacking on. They've really been missing having a decent source of grass snacks. After visiting the river, we headed back. (About 1 mile roundtrip).
We left for Toas city proper after lunch. We went to the library first. Disappointing wifi. There's no 3G in Taos, and the library speeds aren't great. But, it was sufficient for research purposes. Missy looked for campgrounds in Southern Colorado. I researched on RV blogs and forums for advice on tires for our pickup. There's a lot of confusing and contradictory information. I finally called it quits and realized we'd have to throw ourselves on the mercy of the tire salesman for advice. So next I checked out the tire stores in the area. I picked one that didn't have any bad reviews and we went for it.

We had a tough decision to make with the tire purchase. 3 of our tires are still good. 2 of those are 8 ply/65 psi, and one is 10 ply/80 psi. Not sure how we ended up without a matching set. Missy initially wanted to just get 4 tires and have a matching set. After a call to Dad for advice, and checking with the salesguy, we decided to just buy 2 new tires. The new tires will be 10 ply/80 psi and will go in the back. We'll have a matching pair of 8 ply/65 psi on the front. We will have them take the oddball 10 ply/80 psi tire that is on the front passenger and put that on the spare tire rim. We will hold onto the current spare tire in case of another blowout. (only costs about $15 to swap out tires). We've been assured that this is all safe and acceptable. This way, we can get the full life out of the front tires. Well, that's the hope anyway. Seems we angered the tire gods along the way somehow and we just aren't destined to get a full 8 years or 65,000 miles out of any tire.
Oh, and we learned something shocking. I asked the tire guy what he recommended we have our tires inflated to when we're towing the fitty. He said there's a truck manufacturing sticker in the door, and they tell people to just use that. I did not know that. Guess what our tires are supposed to be at? Backs are at 80, fronts are at 50. Sheesh! We didn't even have tires on the back capable of going up to 80. We'd had all 4 tires at 60 this whole time we had the truck. I wonder if we'll have better gas mileage and safer trips now that we know the proper inflation. And tell me this: why did Tires Plus sell us back tires that didn't match manufacturer recommendations?????!!!!! That kinda pisses me off.

We ordered the tires and paid the hefty bill. We will go back to the store at 3 tomorrow for the install. Please, please, please let this be the last time we prematurely buy tires.

After getting the tires, we went back to camp and enjoyed a fire.

Moving Day a/k/a Disasters Day

May 7, 2012

Well.  That didn’t go well at all.    Here’s a timeline of our 2 hour trip to Taos.   We started hooking up the fitty at 11:30, and we got to Taos at 4:30 pm.   Here’s our timeline.

7:30        Wake up, coffee, TV.   So far, so good.

8:30        I leave for Walmart for an oil change.   Being the only customer at this time, I get right in.  I’m told it will be 20-30 minutes.  I exchange a sewer hose and then settle in with my crossword.   After waiting seemingly forever (I left my phone with Missy so she could have internet to map our trip, so I had no clock), I’m finally told it’s ready.    It’s been ready for a long time, but due to a faulty intercom system, the tech worker didn’t know the front desk worker did not get the page about it being ready.   No biggie…as far as snafoos go, this is minor.  (Guess how much the recycle oil fee is?   $9!!!!!!!    Good thing I did the oil change and not Jeremiah when he was here, because I know he wouldn’t have been able to stomach the fee and would have insisted on taking the used oil with him). 

                Meanwhile, back at camp.   Missy compiles data from a couple of sites to map our journey.  She also packs up the rig for moving, and uses the campground shower.   No snafoos for her at all.  (Unless you count, as she does, getting sandblasted while packing up the outside).

9:20        I go to the gas company and get the propane tank filled.  $13, vs. $20 if I’d done the tank swamp like Missy wanted.   Score!   She looks at the savings in terms of absolute dollars, whereas I look at it in terms of the percentage.   I’m like Dad in that regard.   (Hi Dad!)  

9:30        We finish getting ready.   We get nervous by the weather reports.   We don’t usually get normal TV reception, so we haven’t seen a proper weather repor since we left.   Forecasts are for VERY strong winds, steady at 20-30 with gusts up to 50.   Missy gets nervous and wonders if we should delay travel.   We call Jeremiah for his advice.  He thinks it should be fine.   Assures us we won’t topple on the freeway, and to take it slow and steady.  I’m apprehensive, but willing to drive, so we get ready to go.

11:30     After surveying the exit from our spot, we decide to go for just backing up.   Going forward is complicated by a ton of posts placed (maliciously, I believe) alongside the driveways and road.   And since someone occupies the site opposite us, we can’t cheat by going into their site.   However, before we can even move at all, we have to hook up.   Which we can’t do.  The slider-bar-arm-thingy for the hitch won’t pull out.    We both pull with all our might, but it won’t budge.   So Missy went to get the WD40 and after an application, the arm slid reluctantly.   Then we had issues getting the truck hooked up.   At first, I had trouble sighting in the hitch pin on the fitty.   The new lower profile truck really gives you a different perspective.  After several attempts, I finally had to remove the bag of kindling that had partially blocked my sight.    That helped a lot.    However, once we got connected,  the slider-bar-arm-thingy wouldn’t go back in.   Arrrrgh!   We had to back up and try again.   During all this, Missy had to deal with a nosy old man who desperately wanted to help and seemed unable to accept Missy’s assurances that we wanted to try doing it on our own.  (He asked Missy if we were “life partners”.   Missy said, um no.   To which he answered, you can’t tell; his daughter has a life partner.     Later in the day, when Missy told me this, we discussed it.   And we agreed that perhaps we do fit the most literal definition of “life partners”).

12:00     We backed up a little, and that gave us clearance to pull forward.    We didn’t disconnect from the fitty, so our hookup was deemed a success!     We dumped our tanks, had lunch, and were on our way!   First solo trip here we come!

1:00        (Scene: 10 miles on the freeway)  I noticed that the siding on the rig was flapping out pretty far.    I was sure I hadn’t noticed this before, so it must be a new problem.    I asked Missy if we should stop and look at it.  I was worried that waiting to deal with it would make the problem worse.   We agreed to stop.   I pulled off at an exit in a valley.   Smart move on my part picking a spot that already has a permanent sign warning of strong winds.   We were in jet plane wash type winds.   If you dropped a screwdriver, it would go flying across the parking lot.  Sigh.   We put the slide out and discovered that a brace had lost its lower connection to the fitty.   This allowed some give in the siding, and that coupled with the strong wind was tearing the siding away from the screws.    Good thing we stopped, because if we’d let it progress, it probably would have torn a section right off.    We replaced the screw in the brace, and duct taped the hell out of the torn bits.     After we got back on the freeway, it was immediately apparent that the fix worked.    Hooray!    We were feeling quite proud of our self-sufficiency.

2:00        The gods tried to mess with us by closing our exit.   But we thwarted them with our eagle-eyed attention to detail.   We only just figured out that the advertised upcoming exit closure was ours, and got off at the prescribed earlier exit.

2:45        (Scene:Only  6 miles from our campsite).   *Kabooom* *Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump, etc*.    A tire has blown.    The same goddamn problem tire from all previous escapades.  Missy shouts, rather helpfully, STOP, STOP, STOP!    (As if I needed to be told to stop).     Goddamn.  We are on a narrow, 2 lane mountain road with no shoulders.   Behind us, we have a line of about 20-30 cars because we just came through a construction site with 1 lane closed (where they have workers use stop signs to wave one side through at a time).    At least we are on a rare straight part, so people can see around us for oncoming traffic, which was light enough to allow most people to pass without problem.    I had previously had the foresight to purchase a roadside accident kit,  but I couldn’t put down the triangles because the wind was so fierce.

2:46        Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

2:47        Missy hops into gear and starts to get ready to change the tire herself.   I ask her if she’s sure.  (I’m sure my readers remember from just a short time ago when this same FRICKIN thing happened that we have USAA roadside assistance).    She said she wants to try.    Ok.   She gets out the jack and the special tool thingy for lowering the spare.    An SUV passes us slowly, pulls in front of us slowly, and the eventually drives off.    After a few minutes, it comes back.   The driver, hereinafter referred to as GS (Good Samaritan), asks if we need help.    Missy actually starts to say no, we’ll try on our own.  I quickly interject and say, wait, we’d take the help.    So GS pulled back around and parked in front of us.   Missy tried and tried and tried to get the tire lowered.   GS tried and tried and tried.   I called Jeremiah to see if there was some advice he could give.  Nope.   Frickinfrack.    So I went to the truck to call USAA.     Hah…wonder if any nearby business even has the necessary truck to tow our truck whilst it’s hooked to the fitty.    While I was on the phone, Missy FINALLY remembered that you needed a special small part hooked to the pipe.   Once that was taken care of, the spare lowered nicely.   I told USAA we’d call back if we needed them.

G.S. worked very hard getting the jack in place and removing the busted tire and putting on the new one.  As it happens, he once lived in Maple Grove, so he of course knew where we were from when we said Brooklyn Park.    It was so nice of him to help us out.    I’m not sure if we would have managed on our own.   And PRAY TO THE GODS AND ALL THAT IS HOLY, I hope to NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER be in a position to find out.   (Come on….this has got to be it for tire problems for us.   Missy said we need to start a separate blog just to document our tire issues).    We gave GS $20 and went on our way.   

4:20        6 miles down the road.     So close.   We pulled up to the Orilla Verde campground,  a series of small campgrounds off the dirt road.   Some are on the Rio Grande, some across the road.    We pulled into the first one, which we knew had large pull-thrus.   After our stressful ordeal getting to Taos, we wanted an easy park.    $15/night for 50amp and water.   A great deal!   We had problems disengaging the slider arm again.    I guess we’ll have to get that look at.   Maybe it got warped somehow.

5:30        We finished dinner, and didn’t feel like reading.   So we hopped in the truck and drove on down the road to look at the other campsites.   The scenery here is breathtaking!    Long range mountain views with tabletop ridges.    We stopped at a trailhead parking spot up the mountain partway.   We were enjoying the desert hike along the great trail, and then popped up on a stunning view.    I’m looking forward to trying out any of the 100s of trails here in the river gorge.    They’ve got developed trails both riverside and up through the mountains.   Cassie, as you might expect, is in heaven to be able to go on hikes again.

So, there you have it.    This simple 2 hour starter trip for our first solo certainly turned out to be harder than we expected.    But we are both strangely proud to have met each problem and work out a solution.    Tomorrow we get to spend our time getting a new tire.   Yippee.

Waffling

May 5-6

Saturday-We got up early, Jeremiah finished off the Chinese food for breakfast, and we brought him to the airport.    There was zero traffic on the way nor at the airport.  I think Jeremiah was the only scheduled passenger for the day.   I took a picture of Missy looking sad as we dropped him off.   Then Missy took a picture of me being nervous to be on our own.   Thanks, Jeremiah!   We had a blast on the road trip/RV orientation.    Seeya in a month, hopefully!

After leaving the airport, we went to Camping World, Costco, and Petsmart.  Got a sweet new lounger chair at Costco.   We bought only 1, which turned out to be a mistake.  It's so comfy, we're prolly going to be fighting over it.   At Petsmart, we got a dog ramp.   I had misgivings on whether it would assist Buddy in getting into the RV, but Missy wanted to try it.   Turns out I was right.   Buddy could not handle the steep grade with no muscle in his back legs.   Sigh. 

The big purchase at Camping World was a new GPS.    It has lane assist, which is crucial for chicken-shit drivers who hate merging while towing a fifth-wheel.   The only issue is that it needs a maps upgrade, and we don't have decent internet speeds here.   Not sure what we'll do...maybe try stopping at the Santa Fe library for wicked fast wifi.  (The issue is what to do with the fitty, since we'll be hooked up).

Sunday- We were supposed to leave for Taos this morning, but we had a bout of the waffles.   We went back and forth on different options for where to go.   Looked up weather for tons of cities.   (ironically, while we have no rain and thus no kayaking here in NM or even in nearby CO,  MN is having some rain and the rivers are running there.   Grrrrr.)  Finally, we decided to just stay here another night.   That way we could go back to ABQ to return the dog ramp and get another chair at Costco.   We spent some time cleaning the rig.   Missy also got herself a longtime coveted Oreck vacuum on this trip to Costco.   I've been against getting one, since I don't mind sweeping.  Plus, you can only use it when you have electric hook-up or have the genny running.    But she said it was a message from god that Costco stocked the one vacuum she wanted.    Soooo, now the rig is freshly vacuumed. 

Tomorrow we are headed for Taos.    (Cassie will be so excited!   The pooches have had no off-leash walks here, and even leashed walks are shortened due to the extreme heat).  Right now, I'm planning on taking the truck to the nearby Walmart for an oil change first thing in the morning.  Right next to it there's a propane gas company, so I can fill our propane tank also.  Hopefully I won't bow out from laziness, because it would be nice to get these errands done before heading to our next boondocking site.

If we don't respond to emails/texts starting tomorrow afternoon, it'll be because either we crashed and died trying to move/park the fitty without Jeremiah, or else it will be because we have no reception. 

p.s. That is NOT a doctored picture of Missy next to an obnoxiously lifted truck. Her head barely reaches the bed! We were going to wait in the parking lot for the owner to come out so we could see how they got in. Perhaps this is the way we should have gone....higher instead of lower. Now living with regret...

Last Days with Jeremiah

May 3-4, 2012
Thursday-
After giving the dogs one last walk over at Chipmonk Rocks (what I call the area of rock wall border where the chippies love to run and taunt the pooches), we got packed up and ready to leave SFNF. While it will be nice to leave for someplace warmer, I will miss this first rate forest. We loaded up all our firewood into the garage. Hooking up with the newly lowered truck was problem-free. Phew! Missy and Jeremiah make fun of me, but I always have anxieties about doomsday scenarios. Since we hadn't tested the truck with the fitty attached before now, there was still a chance for unforeseen tragedy. (Missy told me just recently that she and Jeremiah share a "Tina is crazy" look between them whenever I bring up one of my perfectly rational problem scenarios. She said she's going to miss having someone to give that look to once it's just the two of us.
Driving down the mountain, everything performed as expected with the new truck. Once we got into cell phone range, I called the campground to see if they had openings. They did! We had a small snafoo with getting there. I had downloaded a pdf with the address on it. However, that address took us the wrong way. Then, we tried to use google maps on our phones, but couldn't find the name of the campground (which we later found was because it was misspelled in google). We eventually figured it out, and arrived at the campground around 1 pm. We dumped our tanks (15 nights in the forest, and we just eeked out with freshwater and still had room in the blacks) and went to the office. I was going to pick the back-in site overlooking the Rio Grande, to have parking practice, but sadly there was NO shade. With extremely hot temps and no awning (thanks to that freakish storm at Wausau last summer), we needed to find a shady spot. So we took a nice pull-through. I'd like to take credit for a perfect parking job, but since it's not difficult at all to just drive straight in, Jeremiah won't credit my record.
This campground is decent. Only $20, with no added fees for pets or extra person. 30 amp, with water. Nice view of the Sandia Mntn, but close to the freeway (lotsa traffic noise). There's a small shelter with a picnic table in it. It's surprisingly nice to sit in the shelter, even during the most sweltering part of the day. With mid-80s and brutal sun outside the shelter, it's pleasant in the shade with a constant gentle breeze. Sooooooooooooo nice to be wearing shorts again! And we don't need the furnace at night!
Friday-
Be careful what you wish for. Sooooo hot in the sun. I can barely take the dogs out to do their business before they fairly pass out from the heat. (They also do not like the stickers and cacti hurting their paws). We spent most of the day doing internets. Missy and I looked at places in Taos for our next stop. I'm a little worried about the weather for the next 10 days. Highs only to 70, with intermittent thunderstorms. Lows to the 30s and 40s again, so looks like we'll be needing the furnace again.
We went out for Mexican for lunch, and did takeout Chinese for dinner. The former was disappointing, and the latter was stellar. Tomorrow we will bring Jeremiah to the airport for his flight back to MN. I sure hope we can manage without him…

Final Days in Santa Fe

April 30-May 2, 2012
*On Monday we went into town again for errands and internets. I was in charge of doing laundry while Missy and Jeremiah did other errands. It seemed kinda expensive, at $2.75/load. We had 3 loads which accumulated over the last coupla weeks. I was planning on using my waiting time updating the blog. That was when I discovered that the new laptop had some issues. First, it won't take our camera card. Why did HP change the universal port? So strange. Then, when I tried to register my blog with Word 2010, I kept getting an error message. A quick google search showed that it's a known problem with word to sometimes just not work right with blogger. Grrr. So I had to use the broken laptop to get my blogging done.
After errands, we went back to the public library. Missy and I did some research looking for campsites to serve as transitional. Something closer to Albuquerque for when we need to drop Jeremiah at the airport on Sat. We found 1 city run site that looked promising. But, we wouldn't know until we got there if spots were open. So we decided to have a $10/night (electric only) casino parking lot as our backup. That chore done, we did a couple of hours of internet before heading back up the mountain.
*Tuesday was brutal. Steady winds of 20 mph, with lots of gusts into 30-40 mph. With overcast skies and temps only in the mid-50s, it was a very chilly day. Despite that, and the fact that it's a workday, there were lots of visitors parking and hiking. I guess people must have vacation time to spend.
*Wednesday was gorgeous! We had discussed possibly moving out today (desperate for some warmer temps), but it was simply too nice to move. Temps warmed into the low 70s, and we had sunshine all day. Missy and I finally got some hammock time in. I had to use a golf umbrella to shade the harsh sun, but the mobility of it was nice because I could simply move it aside when a cold breeze came along. This was a much needed lazy day! (Well, not completely lazy. Missy and I went firewood gathering in the morning).
The pictures in this post show the before and after size difference with the truck.