New Mexico & Colorado - August 07

Saturday, August 11, 2007

We left Kemah this morning about 9 am.  Everyone was a little slow getting up, with Austin being the last one.  After dumping the tanks and filling with water we left the park at right at 9am.  We got to Trader's Village right about 10, after calling David and Kim to let them know what time we would be there.  They got there just as we did, and I mean right behind us.  Courtney was glad to see her Mom and Dad, but particularly glad to see Conner.  Course Conner was glad to see Courtney, too.  LOL  They say Conner had been all over the house for 3 days looking for Courtney.

We left Trader's Village about 10:30, went south on Hwy 6, then west on I-10.  We stopped for about an hour in a rest area for lunch, and to check email, leaving there about 12:30.  After a couple of delays we arrived at Buckhorn Resort in Kerrville right about 5:30.  We would have gone further, but had a little incident with the steps in a construction area. 

For some reason, at one of the stops we made the steps did not retract.  This, by itself, might not have been a problem if I had not hit some cones in a construction area.  This damaged the steps, pushed them back, and prevented them from retracting at all.  No way we could straighten them enough to manually retract them.  We stopped at a Truck Stop east of San Antonio, called the Good Sam Emergency Road Service, but they could not find anyone on a Saturday afternoon that could work on them.

So we drove on to Kerrville with bent steps sticking out about 8 inches, figuring that we could find an RV repair shop with Mobile Service.  Sure enough the office gave me the number for Chris, who showed up in about 30 minutes, and removed the steps completely, and secured all the wiring that operates the steps.  We CAN do without the steps, just by using a little stool we carry as a substitute.  So, I guess we were pretty fortunate, after all.

HOWEVER, As Chris was removing the steps, he noticed an area on the right front tire that has some 'cupping'.  He suggested the tire might be showing signs of failure, and we might want to get them looked at.  He called a tire place he knew, and although they were closed, the dispatcher sent a guy out about an hour or so later.  After looking at the tire he found 3 other places with cupping on that tire, and noticed there were some sidewall cracks on all the tires, indicating the tires were beginning to fail.  These tires only have 46,000 miles on them, but they were manufactured in 2002, making them 5 years old, just about the life of these type tires.

I usually care a spare tire (without a wheel), but forgot to load in the pickup for this trip.  If I had brought it along, we could have just changed out that tire, although we still would have 7 other 'old' tires that 'could' be in danger of failing. Maybe not imminent danger, but it 'could' happen on this trip.  A blowout on a motorhome can be quite expensive, if the blown out tire separates and does damage to the body or chassis.

I suppose in the morning we will decide if we stay here till Monday to see if the local guy can get the tires we want, or if we try to locate them further down the road.

Stay Tuned

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Donna and I were both up by about 7:00, actually I was up even earlier.  Austin didn't roll out until after 8, maybe even 8:30.  I pretty well tossed, turned, and mulled over the tire situation all night.  Then Donna and I discussed it this morning.  We decided to replace the right front tire that is 'cupped', and then later (maybe back home) replace all tires with new Michelin's.  Hopefully the cracking on the sidewalk is not significant or serious, at least for now.

I called the Tire Company, and the guy came out about 9 and was done within 30 minutes.  We were ready to roll by 10, and headed west on I-10, the next intended stop being the Sonora Caverns.  Donna and I, with Scott and David, had visited here many years ago, probably when Scott was not much older than Austin.  The tour is guided, lasts about and hour and 45 minutes, and covers about 2 miles of the cavern.  Because of the length, I decided my legs were probably not up to a 2-mile walk.  So I am waiting in the motorhome, typing this report, and watching NASCAR race. 

Their tour left at 1pm and they will be back about 2:45, so I will meet them in the gift shop (with money, of course). Donna explained to Austin that he would have to wait till they came out to buy a souvenir.  As a surprise for Austin, I have already bought a 45 minute DVD, which the man said was very educational (of course, he is the one selling them).

We did stop in Sonora for fuel, no truck stop, but a Convenience Store had diesel.  One of those small and slow nozzles, so it took about 20 minutes or so to pump 50 gallons.  We were only at 1/2 tank, but when we get to 1/4 tank the generator and Aqua Hot cannot pick up fuel.  This is a safety feature to prevent them from draining the tank dry.  The 50 gallons didn't fill us up, but the pump shut off at $150.00, so I just didn't bother to re-authorize on the credit card.

After leaving the Sonora Caverns, we weren't sure if we would try to make all the way to Ft. Davis which was about 240 miles.  We got to Ft. Stockton about 6, decided we could probably make it before dark, so onward we marched (or rather boogied).  The last 38 miles was on Tx Hwy 17, was rather curvy and hilly, but we made pretty good time.  Not sure of the elevation here, but its fairly cool outside, with a nice breeze, and it seems like NO humidity.  In fact, I met a fellow as we got situated, that told me it was 62 degrees this morning.

We drove right through downtown Ft. Davis, and about a mile south of downtown is the McMillan in the Highlands campground.  As we pulled in Austin said: "This is a Dump"  LOL  I guess he has gotten accustomed to concrete pads and concrete streets, like in Kemah and Kerrville,  but here its gravel pads and streets.  Oh well, I hope we are too busy for him to want to ride his scooter anyway.  There are several things to do, such as Ft Davis State Park, Ft. Davis Historical Site ( National Site ), McDonald's Observatory.  If anyone will stay up late enough (dusky dark), we may drive over to Marfa to see if we can observe the mysterious 'Marfa Lights.'

Although the campground is not as fancy as Austin would prefer, it is really pretty nice with lots of grass between the sites, covered picnic tables, full hookups with 50amp electrical service.  Nice open area around us, so I think we will enjoy it here.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Sixty degrees when I got up this morning --- Eat your heart out East Texas !!

We left the coach this morning about 9, still no one in the office, so we figured we would catch the lady later.  We then went to the Fort Davis Historical Site, the location of an Army Fort before and after the Civil War.  It was closed in 1891.  Mostly after the Civil War, it was manned by the 'Buffalo Soldiers', as they were referred to by the Indians.  The Infantry and Calvary garrisoned here were made up of Black soldiers, former slaves and Union soldiers. The fort is continuing to be restored with several building completed.  There are a lot of old building foundations all over the property. 

Austin decided he would do the Junior Ranger program, completed all the steps and received a badge as Jr Ranger for Fort Davis.  He was really proud.  Last night we had given him the new Passport Explorer Edition that we bought for him when we were at the Grand Canyon.  It is a zip-up notebook size, with lots of information about US Parks.  Today he got to get his first stamp for the first park he has visited.  He really enjoyed visiting this old fort, much to our surprise, and really paid attention to what he saw and learned.

We then stopped downtown at the Texas Inn for a quick lunch, which was not so quick, but very good.  Just like home cooking.  It turned out they had a lunch buffet that looked really great, but they didn't put it out until 12 noon, and they didn't tell us when we ordered at 11:45.  Oh, Well !!

Back to the park we caught the lady that owns it, paid our fee, and then left for a 2 hour scenic loop around the Davis Mountain.  Did I mention it was 60 degrees here this morning.

Back in town we stopped at the Broom Factory, where a fella and his wife make old fashioned broom, the way they were made 200 years ago.  Except for the broom handle made of wood, it is made of corn stalks and straw tied with yarn or twine.  Austin really enjoyed watching him, and he gave Austin a small broom to keep his room clean.  Austin did tell however that his Mommy kept his room clean!!

Back at the coach, Donna went to the grocery store and Austin and I just hung out.  I took a 'real short' nap.  After Donna got back and we put up the groceries, we took a drive over to Alpine, and then Marfa.  Alpine is where Sul Ross University is located, a real pretty campus on the side of a mountain, but all the buildings seemed Identical, not much character, same brick, same limestone, same colors, nothing unique.

Marfa is a small town with about every 4th or 5th house for sale.  Many abandoned looking houses.  But they have a beautiful Court House and a hotel named Hotel Paisano, which really looked neat.  We didn't go inside, but could see a beautiful courtyard at the front entrance.

On the way back to Fort Davis, we encountered 2 large green house operations.  We had seen one of them from a distance this morning on the Scenic Loop, but not up close, and didn't know what it was.  Not sure what they were growing, but these things were huge.

Its now about 7:30, we are back in the coach, probably for the night.  Did I mention it was 60 degrees this morning.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

First thing we did this morning was to drive out to the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens to view their displays of native plants of the area.  We have been to several botanical garden around the US and Canada, and you can believe me when I say this place was totally Under-Whelming.  We took the 1/2 mile hike through their outdoor garden consisting of quite a variation of plants and cactus, most without much beauty or appeal.  The path led to their 'research greenhouse', which seemed only halfway attended, and was not a whole lot larger that some 'backyard greenhouses' in East Texas.  There were a few blooming bushes on the grounds and some blooming cactus in the greenhouse, of which some were quite pretty.

After leaving there, we drove through the Davis Mountain State Park that has a really nice lodge, called Indian Lodge. We cruised around their campground, mostly for tent campers and small trailers, but there were a few spaces that would fit us quite nicely.  Overall a nice park.

Then we went on to the McDonald Observatory, owned and operated by the University of Texas.  We started at the visitor's center and inquired about the tours available.  The tour had already started, but the group was in the theater for the introduction video, so the lady told us we could just join the tour, drive to the first observatory, and wait for the guide.  It turned out to be about 40 people on this tour.

We first toured the 107" telescope building, with a very detail explanation and demonstration of how it operates and how it is controlled.  The lady guide let some of the kids move it up and down, side to side, and then open the huge doors that allow the telescope to see outside.

Then we went to the newest telescope a 10 meter by 11 meter telescope, built in 1997 jointly by U of T and 4 other universities in the world.  This is a totally different type of telescope, has a group of 91 mirrors comprising the main mirror that is the 10 x 11 meters. The sides of the telescope are clear glass, and you can actually see inside the telescope.

After returning to the visitors center we then watched the introduction video.  It was very interesting how it all started, and how U of T became the owner of a world renown observatory, in the far reaches of West Texas, right in the middle of no where.

Tonight, we are going back for a night program starting at 8, the first of which will be the Twilight Program, in the theater and outdoor amphitheater.  This program last about an hour.  Then at 9:30 will be the Star Party Program, which will include telescope viewing, constellation tour, and an astronomy program.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Today we will be heading north to Carlsbad Caverns, with intentions to park at a RV Resort in White's City, NM.  The park in located right at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, just a short drive to the Caverns themselves.  Looks like about 180 miles drive from here in Ft. Davis.  Hope it is as cool at night there, as it has been here.  No need for air conditioning last night, but of course, it will warm up today.

We left Ft. Davis about 8:45 this morning, and headed north, not exactly the way we traveled, from Pecos we went north.  We took US 285 out of Pecos toward Carlsbad.  But, before we got to Carlsbad, we turn on a 'paved' county road to go west to White's City, a little place right at the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  We got here about 11:30 Mountain Time, got hooked up to the electric, which is only 30amp, so we could run only one air conditioner.

The first thing Austin had to do was get his Passport stamped.  He was not real enthused about going in another cave, but we told him we could only get the patch and pin at the gift shop down the elevator.  He's not much on elevators either, but he went along like a trooper.  At the bottom, we were in a large room, in the cave, he got his patch and pin, and seems ready to walk the trail in the Big Room.  We took about an hour for the 'short' trail and he really did great.  The rooms were bigger that the Sonora Caverns, so he was more comfortable.

After viewing the cave, we went back to the 'Bus', to drop off some stuff, and found in the heat the one a/c could not keep up.  So I unhooked the electric, cranked the generator and turned on both a/c's.  We then headed south on US 180 to Guadalupe National Park.  As soon as we arrived Austin jumped out with his 'Passport Explorer' under his arm, and headed for the visitor's center to get his notebook stamped.  At Guadalupe there are only hiking trails, no driving trails, but the visitor's center had a large display of all sort of animals that Austin really liked.

We got back to the "nice and cool" bus about 4 or so, and Donna and Austin went to the pool at the motel owned by the same people as the RV Park.  Incidentally, although Austin didn't declare this place to be a dump, it CERTAINLY IS !!

After they got back we ate a little bite or two, and then went back up to the Caverns to see the bats leave the cave.  A young lady Ranger gave about a 30 minute presentation, explaining a lot about the Mexican Freetail Bats that live in the cave.  Right now there are about 200,000 in residence.  We never know if Austin is really paying attention, but then he always shocks us later by repeating something he learned. 

While the program was going on, I bought Austin an "Adopt a Bat" package and put it in the truck, without him knowing.  When I got back to the seat the Ranger was showing the 'Adopt a Bat' packet, Austin got excited, so I told him I had already got him one.  He really got excited then.  He decided to name his bat "Boo the Bat", and has its birth certificate to prove it.

We leave here in the morning, headed toward the Durango, Mancos, Mesa Verde area.  Not sure how far we will get, but to go most of the way.  Maybe just overnite at a rest area.  Doubt we can make it all the way.

Thursday, August 15, 2007

We spent just about the entire day traveling today. We left White's City about 7:45, headed north on US 285.  We stopped at the Carlsbad Wal-Mart for about 45 minutes.  Austin and I waited in the coach while Donna bought a few groceries.  After that was just boggey down the road, US 285 to I-40, then I-25 to US 550, the in Durango US 160 west to the campground right at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park.  We are about 6 miles east of Mancos, and about 35 miles west of Durango. getting here about 6:30.  Austin was a real trooper all day, and absolutely no problem.

We did get into some rain a couple of times yesterday, but the worst was just before we arrived here.  Around Mancos it was really raining hard.  I just barely rained as we got situated at the campground.  Austin spotted a huge rainbow.

By the way, the temperature after getting in the northern New Mexico was mostly in the low 70's and high 60's.

We paid for three nights here, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  We plan to spend one day at Mesa Verde, or at least most of a day.  We will probably go to Four Corners, where 4 states come together at one point, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.  We will also probably visit Hovenweep, another National Park nearby.

At some point, we plan to ride the train from Durango to Silverton and back.  And, who knows what else we may find to do around this part of southwestern Colorado.

Friday, August 16, 2007

6:00 am - Nobody up but me, and its 54 degrees this morning.

7:30 am - Still only me up and about.  Guess the others will start stirring shortly.

7:45 am - Austin is up, playing his game.

8:15 am - Ms. Beauty rolled out, is fixing breakfast.  Maybe leave for Mesa Verde by 9 or 9:30.

9:00 PM - Whew! What a day!!  First thing on the agenda was to visit the Mesa Verde National Park, which is now a World Heritage Site.  Since the entrance is across the road from where we are parked, it only took about 10 minutes to enter the park.  Of course the Visitor's Center is 15 miles inside the park.  Austin was exited about getting a new stamp (date cancellation) in his Passport Explorer notebook.  And that's just what he did first thing, plus he got a new patch and pin.

We visited several of the most popular site, although we did not actually tour the ruin itself.  Donna had intended to walk down to the Spruce House ruins with Austin, but he decided he didn't want to do that.  But every time we found a Pit House or Kiva he would almost run to get to see it.  He seemed really interested in how the 'ancients' lived in these semi hole in the ground.  These sites are all protected from the element by covered pavilions, and very well explained.

After leaving the park, we drove in to Mancos and had lunch at the Millwood Lodge Restaurant on their patio.  The food was really good, but the service was extremely slow.  It took almost and hour to get salads for Donna and I, and a hamburger for Austin.

Then we drove on in to Durango with two purposes: (1) buy tickets for the train ride, and (2) find a campground to move to on Sunday.  We wanted to take the train up to Silverton and ride a bus back, but all bus seats were taken.  So we will ride the train both ways.  Takes about 2 hours longer, but that's ok. We then checked a couple of campgrounds, and decided to stay at Alpen Rose Campground just north of Durango.

We then went back to Mancos, stopped off at the motorhome, then drove on in to Cortez. We went to the Cortez Cultural Center to watch a outdoor presentation of Indian Dance by a Ute Indian family, whose last name was 'Badback'.  It was really interesting with some kids as young as about 4 or 5 years old presenting Indian dance.  Four guys performed on a drum and sang the chant to which the dancers danced.

One little kid about 2 years old, and with the family just kinda had the run of the place, going around the audience, and grabbing them from behind.  After the show he and Austin posed together for a picture.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

We left fairly early again this morning, with a lot of driving to do.  Our first stop was 7 miles down the road at McDonalds.  Very slow service, mediocre food, and would not accept anything bigger than a $20 bill.  First time I ever had to use a credit card at McDonalds.  I only had $100's and Donna had a $50.

Okay, so the first leg was kinda short, but then it was about 45 miles or so to the next stop, Hovenweep National Monument.

Of course, first on the agenda was to get the cancellation stamp for Austin's book.  The lady volunteer ranger was very helpful with information.  We walked the shortest trail (about 300 yards), where we could see 7 or the 11 ruins.  These towers were built on top of canyon walls around 1200 AD.

This park had a small campground mostly geared for tent camping with a few small RV spaces.  No hookups at any of the sites.

Then it was another 45 miles or so to Four Corners.  Although a lot of people think this is some sort or park or national site, it actually is not.  The land is owned by the Navajo Indians, its on their reservation, and they operate it.  They charge $3 per person to get in.  The site consists of basically two things. First, is a very nice concrete platform, with the point of the four states join marked in the middle with the state boundaries radiating from that in four directions, and an elevated platform for photographing your friends standing in four state all at once.

Second thing is the 40 or so booths with 'real live' Indians selling 'real live' Indian jewelry, knives, arrows, and other trinkets, as well as some food. We decided to have a 'Navajo Taco'.  Sounds different, right?  Well. it was different and very good.  The 'taco shell' is actually 'Navajo Fry Bread', a soft bread that has be fried in oil, we guess.  On top was all the normal topping, including ground beef.  Donna and I shared it, and it was really good.

After we left Four Corners, we drove back into Cortez and then north to Dolores, the location of Anasazi Cultural Museum.  This is really a great museum, with lots of hands on activities for kids, such as grinding corn and weaving a rug.  Austin really got into both those activities.  He also did the Kid Ranger program, earning a badge and certificate.  Although the museum is not a part of the National Park System, it is part of the BLM, so they also had a 'stamp' for his book.

After leaving Dolores, we went into Mancos to take Austin to the Elk Ranch just east of Mancos.  They raise the Elk there and process the meat for sale.  They have some really big bulls in one small pasture.  I bought some Elk Sticks for Austin, which he has not tried yet, and some Elk sausage for Donna to cook one morning.  I will let you know how the sausage tastes.

We then went back to the coach, then Austin and Donna went down by the Office and played some Mini-Golf.  I took a short, very short, nap while they were gone.

Later, we went back into Cortex, back to the Cortez Cultural Center, to watch a performance of 'The Black Shawl', a one-woman show about her ancestors.  Her great-grandmother had been adopted by white settlers, after her Indian parents were killed.  The lady giving the performance also introduced one of her uncles that was in the audience.  The uncle is 95 years, survived the Battaan Death March in WW II, was a prisoner of war for 4 years, and is currently the oldest living POW.  Photography was not permitted, so no pictures.

After we watched the first half, we left because Austin was a little bored.  He told me he didn't understand most of it, probably because she actually played several characters, in different voices.  We then went to Denny's Diner, mostly because I have never been in their new concept.  Much smaller than the older Denny's and a lot smaller than an IHOP.  Pretty good food, fair service, and a nice place.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

We slept as late a possible this am, at least I slept till Austin woke about 7:30.  We let Donna sleep as long as she wanted to, even though Austin really wanted to wake her up.  We left the park in Mancos for the 40 mile drive to the Alpen Rose campground just a few miles north of Durango.  We didn't even bother to hook up the truck. I drove the motorhome and Donna drove the truck.

So far today, we have just hung around the campground, resting up from a busy 3 days.  We did drive a mile or so down the road to hang around a glider port and watched a couple of gliders leave, but they had not returned by the time we left. Later we are going the the Bar-D Chuck Wagon Supper, a place where you get a steak dinner and some great western music.  Will let you know how that turns out.

Back from the Bar-D Chuckwagon Show, and a great show it was.  Probably about 350 to 400 folks there for the dinner and show.  They have one heckofa way of serving that many, too.  In fact within 15 minutes, everyone had their food and back to the table eating.  The show lasted about an hour, and stars Cy Scarborough, who started the Bar D in 1969, and plays rhythm guitar and does comedy.  Cy is about 80 or so, and a real hoot.  They play a lot of western music, with a lot of comedy mixed in.  Crowd favorites were a couple of songs made famous by the Sons of the Pioneers.  They closed the show with a patriotic medley.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Well today was another one of those long ones.  We were up very early in order to be at the train for boarding at 7:45, with the departure time of 8:15.  Of course we made it in plenty time, no running and jumping on a moving train.  We were on a gondola car, which is an open car with a roof, with upholstered bench seat facing outward on both sides, with an aisle down the middle.  We were about the 5th or 6th car from the front and 7th or 8th car from the back, with the concession car right next to us.

The ride to Silverton is quite spectacular, about 3 1/2 hours long arriving at 11:45.  Several stops were made along the way to either take on water for the steam engine or let off passengers intending to hike up into the mountains.

About the first hour was along Animas valley, fairly flat with a lot of farm land and residential development.  Then we immediately started climbing and for a while we were high above the Animas River hanging over the cliff on the side of the mountain.  As we got higher, we were back along the river, passing through forests and meadows. 

Upon arriving in Silverton, we decided to find a place to eat quickly in order to beat the crowds, particularly since another train would be arriving in 45 minutes.  We spotted Natalie's right away, went in, and had a pretty good lunch at a more reasonable price that expected.  After lunch we walked around town a while, visited a few shops, bought Austin a pin, then went back to the train. 

While we were off the train, it had been turned around.  And since all seats were reserved, our view was to the opposite side going back than when we came up.  Not that it matter a lot, because we could move around a bit, and take pictures out both sides if we needed to.

I  completely filled up my card in the Canon Digital with 223 photos, but not to worry, I will not post all of them here.  I kinda messed up with the video camera, thinking the battery was fully charge, though it was not. But I did get quite a bit of video before the battery played out.

We arrived back in Durango at 5:30, after about 10 hours of train riding and strolling around Silverton.  Quite tired, of course, but I still had enough energy to grill some pork chops for dinner.  Donna fixed some nice fixing to go along.  I also had a chance to meet a couple of couples parked nearby to discuss the trials, tribulations, and fun rewards of motor home travel.