A few photos of El Manglar to end the year

New bar installed at El Manglar Restaurant yesterday, the "Grand Opening" was today.

And by 6:30 PM in full swing.

Another boring sunset.

THE SUBLIME

Humming birds showed up a few weeks ago. While looking up feeding info I confirmed what I thought I had remembered about sugar syrup for them: DO NOT use raw sugar or brown sugar. The colour is iron which is highly toxic to humming birds in those amounts. Even the light brown granulated sugar that is common here in Mexico is toxic and will kill them in time. Nor should powdered sugar be used--it contains anti-caking agents which is bad for them. Never thought that I would be hunting for "healthy" granulated white sugar! Finally found 2 kilo bags at the Comercial Mexicana!

AND THE RIDICULOUS

PAINTING IN THE PARK

We had had some body and paint work done just after arriving and when our friends Dale and Barb arrived we told them about Margarito. Dale and Barb had been hit in the rear by a runaway trailer while on their way home from Mexico last year and totally smashed in the rear of their motorhome. It was deemed a writeoff but they decided to patch it up. On arrival here this year there was a lot of screw holes etc left from the temporary plywood repairs done in Mexico. Also the decals were quite sun faded on the left side.

Margarito and Dale discussed what was wanted/needed and soon they were at work. Those curved waves on the side are not decals: Photographed, paint matched and painted on.

About a week later Fred arrived, planning to stay a day or two while making his way further south. When Art noticed some serious damage to the fibreglass body on the left rear of his 1990 Winnebago Warrior he said "I know someone who can fix that."

Margarito came around and Fred was quoted a few thousand pesos. Then they began looking at the years' and decades' collection of dents, bumps, tears and scrapes. A little bargaining and 15,000 pesos and one week later a full body repair and repaint:

 (note, 15 pesos to the Canadian dollar, 20 to the US dollar)

El Manglar, Zihuatanejo

Not done a lot since we got here; wash and wax, small body and paint repairs to the motorhome


Microwave/Convection went BANG when Art pressed the Start button to reheat some tea in the cup. 40 seconds later the tea was hot, no smoke, no smell.

Happened again three more times yet ran perfectly in between. Something is Arcing intermittently.

Went onto RV.NET to ask for advice, and also how to take the oven out so he can followup on the suggestions. One poster asked for a photo of the installation in order to best advise on how to remove it. So here are the photos. Now I can copy their URLs and post it on RV.NET

UPDATE:  It BANGED once more a week later, and now, 29th of December, almost the end of the year it has worked perfectly since. Must have burned all the carbon off!

There is nothing to stand it on here while I investigate, so I think I will leave well enough alone for now.

And another photo I need for rv.net

MaxxFan with fuse in the fan. (Someone said they didn't make them.)

But just to prove that we are really here:

Full Moon 13 December 2016 

Greeted with this returning to the rig after dinner in the restaurant.

 

Catching Up! Laredo to Zihuatanejo

Since I am so far behind and really all we did was travel I'll put the next three days into one pos

 12 November 2016  Lardeo to Matehuala

We left the Info Center at 8:00 AM, much later than planned, as usual! There are two options for the route; north a bit and take the toll road, or continue south on the I-35 then west to meet the toll road at the Columbia Bridge crossing. Since the tolls are take automatically either by a license plate reader or Toll Pass reader we opted to take the free road.

NOTE:  Garmin does not recognise this crossing and shouted at us the entire way until we had actually crossed the bridge. This is the reason that we keep the voice option turned off!

The directions are somewhat different than from last year though fairly well signed. Watch for signs for Solidarity Bridge or Colombia Bridge. The full name of the bridge is Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. Eventually you need to be on Mines Road, numbered FM 1472, then after what seems like a very long way it intersects with 255, (the toll road) where you must turn LEFT. The sign here this year was not very obvious and was quite close to the turn.

We arrived at the Columbia toll Bridge  at 8:35 and were at the border on the other side a few moments later.

How to navigate the crossing (At least this year):

They keep changing the setup here: This year they wanted big rigs to park  by the fence on the far LEFT before going through the lights and walk across to get paper work done.

Then proceed through which ever gate has the green light--or as directed--the rig will probably have to go through the X-Ray machine after the paperwork has been completed.

Everyone and pets( or every live animal) except the driver MUST exit the rig while the driver takes the rig to the X-Ray. The driver exits the machine and hides behind a very thick concrete wall with the attendant while the X-Ray apparatus moves over the rig. When done, the rig has to make a U-Turn and go back towards the north bound lanes. DON'T go through! Park alongside the grass and wait until the X-Rays are checked and you are cleared by an agent to proceed. This involves another U-Turn and you're on your way.

We were finished with Immigration Customs and the vehicle permit and cleared the X-Ray at 10:05

The exit from the customs winds around quite a bit before meeting highway 2. Here you turn left.

The highway started out in good shape--last year it was terrible--but soon deteriorated. The police are very vigilant along here but there was no way we could maintain the 80 Km/H speed limit for most of it. 

At about 11:00 on the main highway south we stopped at a Pemex/OXXO for phone cards. The  machine for adding time directly to the phones was not working but we were able to buy one 100 peso card (they only had one!) and a 200 peso card that we could add to the phones ourselves by entering the number. Art did his right then but Gillian decided to wait as she had to find the SIM card adapter.

Then 15 minutes or so down the road another Customs check but we were waved through once they saw the import decals on the vehicles.

Heavy fog around Monterrey and heaver still as we climbed the mountains. Fortunately it was not as bad as it had been the first time we took this route some years ago.

Approaching Matehuala we went straight ahead to the city NOT taking the bypass around it as the GPS was insisting. We knew that our way would work as we wanted fuel. A few kilometers along we stopped at the Pemex at 5:35 and by 6:08 were parked and level at Las Palmas Midway Inn 

We didn't bother to connect to power, water or sewer, power here if often iffy at best, batteries were fully charged and tanks were appropriately full or empty. Relatively expensive here for unreliable services, AND they charge in US dollars and convert to pesos! Put it on VISA at 364.14 pesos, which came through on our VISA statement as a charge to Motel 6 of $24.55

If you are heading for Las Palmas from the north as we were you can see the sign on the left but it is not near the road but on a high tower near the rear of the park. Look at the map available in the link above and if you look closely you will see a break in the divided highway where you can turn left. Not a 90 degree turn, a much broader angle: you need to cross the north bound traffic at a diagonal and (in a big rig) make a U Turn at the entrance so that you end up parallel to (but not in) the north bound lanes. On the map you can see a dark lane angling towards the north corner of the property. This is the gate they will open for you if you cannot fit under the arch at the front of the hotel which is quite low--check it out first even if driving a van.

If you don't need fuel and would rather pay the toll than deal with the traffic you can take the 57D Toll road and take the first exit right into the city.  When you reach the 57, DON'T go under the highway but turn north on the lateral. Just as the lateral ends and merges with the main through you will see the Las Palmas Inn on your right.


13 November Matehuala to Queretaro 

9:30 on the road through town it seems to take forever to get out of the city. Low speed limits for quite a distance though many locals seem to ignore it. Might be worthwhile to take the toll road next time but then again, it might not!

11:50 one small toll 115 peso ($7.75 Canadian)

 Lots of new construction into Queretaro. The highway is being mostly elevated with wide laterals on each side, several cross streets providing Retornos. Or at least they will when finished. Some are blocked off. For most of it we are on the laterals, the through lanes not yet finished. Looks good for next year though.

We soon spotted the Pemex and the Hotel Juriquilla Inn on the left side of the road so knew to be watching carefully for our exit. Again changes from previous years but we knew we had to cross the highway and head back north a little. We spotted the exit and were soon over the highway and making the 270 degree turn over the highway and another one to head us back northbound on the highway and then we were there. 2:30 PM

This exit is a little hard to spot; Keep to the right lane as you pass the Pemex/Hotel Juriquilla Inn on the other side of the highway and take the exit the instant that you go under the over pass. As said above, a 270 degree turn takes you over the highway then an immediate 270 degree from the exit puts you north bound again and the hotel and pemex are on the right.

While Gillian went into the office to check in Art began disconnecting the Jeep. We would top up with fuel here to avoid any delays in the morning. We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Art fueled the motorhome while Gillian moved the Jeep then she took the dogs out and scouted our parking place.  The mute lad that opened the gate was quite excited when we recognised him. And very excited when we reminded him of our getting stuck in the very wet grass some years ago. He and another young man spent three hours digging us out!

The spot they gave us this time, he assured us was very firm. Art took a look and was not so sure. However, we reversed around a pile of rocks and were soon in place parallel to the wall. Tires sinking somewhat into the sod. Art found a flattish rock about 8 inches across and 4 to 5 inches thick which he placed on the grass under the right rear jack where the grass seemed softest. Then a couple of squares of plywood which we carry with us on top of this, and also under each of the other three jacks. Then he put the jacks down. They sank in a little but not too much. Hopefully we will be able to drive out in the morning!

Parked, level, slides out and Satellite dish locked on at 3:15

Again, not worth hooking up and at 200 pesos quite reasonable. (Less than $14.00

14 November Queretaro to Zihuatanejo

8:30 on the road. North for a few kilometers, retorno, back through town to the 45D toward Celaya and Silao. There was one retorno that we could have taken but missed it. There is a lot of construction here, there should be a retorno or two under the new highway being built.

Once southbound into the city watch for the signs for Celaya and Silao Cuota. It is well into the city and a right exit about where the laterals end.  WATCH CAREFULLY FOR THE SIGNS. The last on is not all that obvious until the last minute. It is not necessary to keep to the laterals.

9:15 First of many tolls today on the Quota out of the city. This would be an expensive Toll day.

There are several tolls quite close together and not cheap! One of the tolls you take a ticket and pay at the end.

Crossing Lago Qutizeo we sometime spot cows up grazing, to their knees in water! Not so this year.

One across the lake we began keeping our eyes out for any signs to the new toll road that would avoid Morelia and the periferico traffic. We knew that we would have to turn north towards Guadalajara but were not sure what the signs would actually read. If memory serves me right Patzcuaro was listed!  Once north bound watch for signs for the Patzcuaro, Uruapan, or Lazaro Cardenas. I believe it was actually marked 37D somewhere!

For first timers on this route: There is quite a bit of up and down and we were almost past Patzcuaro before we realised it! Once we hit the big downgrades between Patzcuaro and Uruapan  we knew exactly where we were.

When these are more or less done you have to watch carefully because to continue to Zihuatanejo and the coast rather than Uruapan you will actually have to EXIT on the the right. This exit will merge with traffic coming from Uruapan. Should you miss the exit don't worry too much, you'll just have to find a place to turn around as the Cuota ends and becomes the main road into the city.

Still more tolls to come! And hot hot hot. Infernillo is not named that in jest! Still a picturesque drive for the most part.

Eventually we arrived at the junction with the 200, and turned left to Zihuatanejo. One hour away. 
Since it seems that someone may be using this blog to follow our route I'll give specific direction to El Manglar RV Park, including a small detour for fuel.

South on the 200 towards Zihuatanejo the highway is in pretty good shape. The upgrades have cut 20 to 30 minutes off what it used to take.

As you enter Zihuatanejo at the bottom of the downgrade after the Ixtapa cut off keep in the right lane. Do not take the lateral. After a bit the highway divides and goes around what is more or less a large roundabout though that is hard to see.


IF you want to stop for fuel, stay in the left lane but DO NOT return around the roundabout (though you could go around again) but go straight to the traffic lights. At the light, keep in the left lane, you will see a PEMEX station ahead and on the left.  The left turn lane here (at the light) has a green filter. Turn left on the green signal and enter the Pemex from the cross street, right at the corner. This PEMEX has only ONE Diesel pump, it is the one nearest that corner. 

The best way to get back on the 200, you will have to head north again for a block, is NOT to use the side street but turn right onto or hopefully ACROSS the lateral to the main highway lanes. Immediately after the traffic lights you need the far left lane and keep going left around the roundabout again. As you go around there will be a cross street--this is the one you came in on--
keep left but use the RIGHT lane as you go around past that cross street.

 Almost immediately you will see another two lanes entering from the right: THEY have the right of way. Here you carry around heading south you need to stay right (If you went for fuel, the first time around you were staying left) as you will need to immediately exit to the lateral. You have the right of way here entering the lateral but note that buses and taxis may want to argue the point!

From the lateral turn right at the next (very close) street, just past the bus station. This street will take you past the Comercial Mexicana department store on your left. (Good place to shop if you need to. Also there are 4 ATMs inside.  IF you do, LeaveCM by the same entrance exit.) This street Ts into another street, turn right. Watch OUT for 2 topes in the next short block. Further down there in another that is almost impossible to see. Watch other traffic for hints!

Soon is another roundabout. You want the third exit. This puts you on the La Ropa Road which will take you up then down a hill or two. At the bottom of the hill a road leads off to the right at the Dolfin Statues. Keep going straight (the road bears slightly left). The road surface deteriorates badly here. Around the next curve another road goes left. Again, keep going straight. WATCH OUT: after you pass that road and round a slight curve, La Ropa road divides ahead of you. You will  see at the last minute two lanes bear right and two lanes are straight ahead. KEEP RIGHT.  These lanes soon merge into one and La Ropa road is back to one lane each way.  Don't ask why this road is like that. Too long to go into here!

 The straight section of road goes up hill ahead of you. DON'T go up the hill! Turn right. Depending on your height you may be able to take the one lane on the right. Note the ARCH at the end of it. If in doubt, don't go there! The height notice was painted over some years ago. I know we don't fit!

To avoid the arch you need to go down the wide street along side, just on the other side of a treed  divider. This is a ONE WAY street: Put your hazard lights on, keep to the right and drive slowly. Once immediately past the arch turn right and cross the road the goes under the arch. If you were able to drive under the arch turn right once you exit the arch. Take the next left under low trees and the worst road surface you have seen in a while. In maybe one hundred feet turn a hard right to El Manglar.


4:25 Fuel at the Pemex on the highway (just south of the roundabout).

4:57 Arrived El Manglar

Sometimes it seemed to be taking forever but we're here at last and suddenly it all seems worth it.


Numbers to date:  Distance travelled from home to here: 6,554 kilometers. (4,072.6 miles)
Fuel burned (From fill at Port Angeles) 1882.22 liters. (414 Imperial gallons, 497.23 US gallons)
Fuel/distance:  28.7 Litres per 100 Kilometers :O ! (9.84 mpg imperial, 8.19 mpg (US)
Total fuel cost: $1,694.00 Cdn  1.11 per litre.

San Antonio, and closer to the border

We are quite at home at Braunig Lake RV Park. Even though under new owners this year the staff is all the same. They even remembered us from the previous year and the much delayed windshield replacement.

Friday we called Billy Bob RV, the RV service place recommended by the resort. The Mechanic would be able to come Tuesday morning. The earliest the RV Tech could get to us was Thursday. Looks like we'll be here another week. Worse places to be.

Friday evening there was dinner in the activity room. Saturday and Sunday mornings they did breakfasts; bacon or sausage with eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, toast and coffee on Saturdays and Sundays is all you can eat pancakes or waffles.

We were able to get in touch with our friend Lulú and made arrangements for a visit. We drove to the other side of the city to her daughter's place and had a wonderful lunch and visit. We may not see her this winter in Zihuatanejo as she has to stay in the U.S until her paper work comes through. She has been waiting for her "Green Card" since summer. With her daughter and grand children in San Antonio it will be so much easier to cross back and forth.

Jorge, her husband is still in their home in Morelia working. We hope we can persuade him to drive their campervan to Zihuatanejo and visit us even if Lulú doesn't get back.

Tuesday the mechanic arrived and had a look at the oil which had spread about again with the rain. He crawled about over and under and couldn't find anything to be concerned about. His comment "I'd be happy to drive this to Mexico." took a weight off our shoulders.

 Wednesday was Gillian's birthday so we went into the middle of the city for a celebratory dinner at Zinc Bistro & Bar which had so impressed us last year. And it's only a few steps from a parking garage! The Texas Lamb Pappardelle was superb.

Thursday the Fantastic Fan was installed and now we're ready to go Friday morning. We had booked in for a week when we arrived so had to pay one more night.



Friday 11 November, San Antonio to Laredo

We had a very short drive ahead of us today so there was no rush to get started. Once we were ready Art took the rig over to the propane tank while Gillian drove the Jeep to the office  to ask them for a fill, (and to wait for it to be done and pay for it).

Once topped up with propane Art drove next door to the Valero station to fill the fuel tank, Gillian was right along to fill the Jeep. We drove behind the station to hook up where Art discovered that he had forgotten to put the protective cover over the airline and brake indicator wire for the Jeep braking system.  A few minutes with a roll of PVC tape took care of that. At 1:45 we were on the road northbound for a few exits before following the 410 to the I-35 South towards Laredo.

A few minutes after 4:00 we arrived at the Texas Tourist Information Center for the night. (MM 18 I-35)

Tomorrow: Mexico!



As you can see I'm chipping away at the blog:

We are now in Zihuatanejo and I'll do my best to tear myself away from a book, the restaurant, the beach, the chaiselongue,. .  .at least once in a while, to get this done.  Unfortunately, I am not a skilled typist and spend more time correcting errors than composing! And as for getting the photos out of the camera and into the computer where I can find them again. . . . . .

Albuquerque to San Antonio.

1 November, heading East

We left ABQ at 11:10 AM, about what we had planned for. Today we were continuing Eastbound, looking to spend at least one night in Oklahoma, a new state for us. We wouldn't reach Oklahoma today, guessing we'd be spending the night in a rest area or perhaps the Oasis RV Park in Amarillo TX which had been recommended to us.

Still east bound on the I-40 at 1:30 we made a 40 minute lunch stop at a closed Rest Area at mm 300.

At 3:30/4:30 we crossed the New Mexico-Texas state line and changed from Mountain Time to Central Time. Almost into Amarillo we stopped for fuel at 5:10 and at 5:30 checked in to the Oasis RV Park for the night.

As it happened they have a kitchen and it was open until 6:00PM, wings and/or pizza on the menu. We were either going to have an early dinner close on the heels of lunch, OR one of us was going to have to cook and the other would be doing the washing up. No contest. Dinner: Pizza from the office and cold beer from our fridge.

2: November Southeast

 10:45 We left the Oasis and were east bound through Amarillo then turned southeast on the 287.

At Quanah we turned left on the 6 and followed that north for a bit into Oklahoma and up to the 62 then continued east until at 2:50 in a pullout near Cache OK (Near Lawton) we stopped for lunch. From Lawton we continued west on the 7

We were getting to the end of our day and near our destination; as we approached the I-35 we stopped for fuel at 5:00 PM then on to the 35 where we turned south towards Hidden Lake RV Park near Ardmore. Following the conspicuous signs for the Hidden Lake RV Park rather than the GPS, which wanted us to take a somewhat convoluted route, we arrived at 6:20. Another State for the map!

To be fair to Garmin, we are using the Garmin RV unit and it has our length, height and weight details programmed into it and so tends to keep us off residential streets. 




 

Thursday, 3rd November Southbound
 
at 10:00 AM and soon back into Texas on the I-35 which would take us all the way to San Antonio. We were through Fort Worth by noon, traffic not as bad as expected, pretty uneventful for a big city.

Then we began to run into rain. Which soon turned to RAIN and of course wind. Hard driving to say the least. After a bit of this, shortly after 2:00 we stopped at a rest area between Waco and Austin for lunch and to give the dogs (and us!) a break. The rain let up a bit and actually stopped long enough to get the dogs walked and we were back southbound on the I-35.




In terrible rain and wind. Driving through Austin was horrible with wind, rain, heavy traffic and roadworks. Visibility at times down to 100 meters. Most of the big trucks had 4 way flashers going, 30mph in a 70 zone, sometimes almost at a stop. Nearing the end of the city limits we came across a large overhead highway sign warning: NEXT 4 MILES 9 MINUTES.









After we were well out of Austin the rain began to abate and the drive through and around San Antonio on the 410 wasn't bad at all. It helps that we have driven that quite a lot over the past few years in the Jeep so knew where our exits were and what to expect.

A few days ago I got the idea of marking the Start with green pointer and arrival position with red. These just mark our entry to the city and our arrival at the RV Park.








We arrived at Braunig Lake RV Resort at 6:30 PM. We plan to stay here a week, get the ceiling vent fan installed, get the oil leak confirmed, repaired or . . . .

Santa Fe and on to Alburquerque

Friday, 28 October

A good secure internet here so we took advantage to catch up on some banking and financials. And of course getting this far on the blog!

Early afternoon we took the Jeep into the center of town, the old town area and spent a few hours walking around with the dogs. A very pet friendly town, even a crowded gift shop with attached small museum said that Gillian could bring the dogs in rather than wait outside while Art poked around.

She did later take Prana into the museum for a few minutes without incident.

The museum was small but interesting, inside was the entrance to the oldest house in the US, dating from about 1646. That's 300 years older than Art!

Next door was a very old church dating from about the same time. Inside was this very very old church bell which had been brought from Spain. Cast in 1336 (you may be able to read the date cast into it). It was made from metals donated by the towns people (sorry forgot to note which town!) during the Spanish effort to chase the Moors out of Spain. The table lists the metal content. Sorry it is out of focus but it was taken with my old flip phone camera in very poor light.

The street we were on (and the site of the church) is part of the original Santa Fe Overland Trail which ran from Franklin Missouri to Santa Fé which of course still belonged to Mexico. The trail was established 1821 and took two and a half months to travel.






That evening, back in the RV Park Prana decided she needed some cuddle time














Saturday, 29 October

Just a short run today so we took our time getting ready and were on the road at 11:35. Unfortunately, when we unhooked the Jeep yesterday we noticed oil on the rear of the motorhome, towbar, cables and the front of the Jeep . Not a lot, just enough to give Art dirty hands.

While checking things out before hooking up Art discovered that the hitch ball was loose. Not even finger tight! While Gillian held the ball with a pair of large waterpump pliers Art tightened the ball with the large wrench we carry for just that purpose.

Note to self: Check that more frequently!

We gave everything a good wash (Thanks Dawn Dishwashing Liquid) and we will see what we find after an hour or two of driving. Art is suspecting that the fuel leak diagnosed by Chris, our tech back home, is still there and the broken fuel line was something else.

Out of the park we made a left onto the highway as advised by a local and were soon moving southwest on the I-25 to Alburquerque. Uneventful drive, weather quite acceptable.

Into the city, which we are somewhat familiar with, we proceeded straight through to the I-40 then eastbound for several miles to our exit. Which the GPS told us to bypass and take the next.

Suspecting that the street that we would need to turn left from may have had a barrier added since last year we followed the GPS then saw a KOA sign indicating that we were on the correct route. It was a bit round about, with one not very well marked right turn and zig-zaged through a few blocks to find the RV Park entrance straight ahead. Later driving the Jeep we discovered that we could have taken the original exit, I suppose that the way we went would be easier for longer rigs entering the park.

We arrived at the Albuquerque Central KOA at 1:00PM. Disconnecting the Jeep we found slight traces of oil. We will observe as we proceed to San Antonio, a run of several days. Our thought now to go via Oklahoma, a state that we have not yet visited, and thus earn another sticker for the Visited States Map on the side of the rig.

We will spend at least three expensive nights here (read KOA!) We have some good friends to spend some time with here and there are a few things we want to do to the rig, such as fix the recently failed roof fan in the galley. Hopefully just a microswitch. Then this afternoon Gillian was unable to open one of the bay doors to get the seating and tables out. It would appear that the lock mechanism has failed. Art was able to access and remove the latches via the bays at each end and thus open the door but this is not a long term solution! Monday he will see if he can order a new lock to be picked up in San Antonio. Later while fiddling with the mechanism, it seemed to be working. Think we'll look for a new one anyway.

Sunday 30th October Art messed with the fan for a while  with no joy and decided that the only way to properly diagnose what is wrong in to remove the unit entirely. Since this would entail working up on the roof which now is probably not the best idea since he is no longer stable on his feet and even climbing the ladder is difficult he decided to purchase a new one and have it installed by an RV tech. (He would probably climb onto the roof  to fix or install a ham radio antenna though!)

We did get together with Ken and Kathy at their home Sunday evening for an extended happy hour with some lovely appies and of course a nice visit with their dog Sandy Paws. We had stopped off at a car wash on the way to get the worst of the oil off the Jeep and tow-bar so it was at least presentable.

Monday we spent running around:

To AT&T where Art received a free new 3G free flip phone to replace his aging 2G phone that after the end of the year would no longer work on the AT&T system. Unfortunately it is not unlocked so he will not be able to use it on other networks. The rep said that Customer Service could unlock it for us, we will call them from San Antonio and see how we make out with that.

 To Camping World 10 or 15 miles to the west where we bought a new Fantastic Fan to replace the MaxxAir fan that has failed.  Several near by RV supply stores had fans but not with the exact options we needed; bi directional, tri speed and with a built in thermostat. We also located a new latch for the compartment door but it would require a piece being cut off with a hacksaw to make it fit. Since the old one is now working we'll keep our fingers crossed!

Then to meet Ken and Kathy for lunch in the Old Town where again we passed a very pleasant hour or two with good friends and good food.

In a the window of a book shop on the square Art spotted another Anne Hillerman novel, "Rock With Wings" (The Navajo name for Ship Rock.) This is her second in the series, her first, "Spider Woman's Daughter", he had purchased at the same store a couple of years ago! She is the daughter of Tony Hillerman whose detective novels set in the Four Corners area is full of Navajo culture references and features the Navajo Tribal Police. We were both very sad when Tony passed away some years ago. We had been avid fans since discovering his novels in the Twin Rocks Trading Post in Bluff, Utah years ago. We were pleased to see his daughter continue his style, characters and location. Always a good read; interesting insight into Navajo tradition and way of life mixed with a touch of suspense, though not what I would call "nail biters".

(To see where Ship Rock and the area of the Navajo Nation are located see the blue pointer in the second photo in the post "Cortez to Santa Fé". Ship Rock is at the top of the pointer, the town of Shiprock a bit to the north and east.)

Here are the first two paragraphs from "Rock With Wings":

     Officer Bernadette Manuelito had been sitting in her unit by the side of the road for an hour, watching the last of the twilight fade and the pinpoints of stars appear in the blue-grey sky. In that time she had seen two vehicles, both with the classic yellow and red New Mexico plates with the Zia symbol in the center. The grey Subaru advanced at close to the speed limit with no sign of driver impairment. The old green Buick cruised along more leisurely, with the windows rolled down and country music flowing into the night air. She knew the car and the driver and knew he was headed for home after a long shift at the Four Corners Power Plant. If he'd had beer or two, his driving didn't show it. 
     After that burst of activity, things slowed down.

Back at the RV Park we made the decision that we would leave in the morning if we could get ready to go by 11:00. There was still a lot to do, (replace the latch, replace a clearance lamp lens that had broken, set the dog crates up again etc etc) and it takes quite a while with the dogs needing a good walk before setting off.  Even leaving from a Rest Area where the Jeep is already connected, the slides are already in and there are no water and electric connections to put away, from the time the first of us wakes up in the morning (not counting the dogs!)  it takes us about an hour and a half to be ready to leave.

Cortez to Santa Fe, crossed the Continental Devide

27 October


 End of the Tire Saga:

We were away from Four State tire at 10:40, not far off our usual departure time. In Durango we found the Four State shop and pulled in. OOPS! This is not a big rig friendly area--essentially a strip mall with a one lane wide lane across the front! We unhooked the Jeep, and managed to reverse between a couple of buildings and then drive out again and park on the wide shoulder of the frontage road. A couple of cheery young men came out with a very large torque wrench, removed the wheel covers, re-torqued the wheel nuts to spec and reinstalled the wheel covers (which are bolted on). No charge, a smile and a wave earned them each a tip and we were eastbound again shortly after noon. Looks like Santa Fe will be doable today!






Half an hour later we stopped for fuel at Bayfield then shortly after that we turned southeast at Pagosa Springs on the US 84 enroute to Santa Fe. It was a very pleasant drive, crossing the Continental Divide along the way. . .







. . .until on entering Santa Fe we turned right onto Cerrillos Road towards the RV Park. Not only was it rush hour, but also most of the highway was under construction, or more realistically, destruction and were down to a crawl for most of it.

As we approached the RV Park, following the GPS carefully, we changed lanes to what we thought was the left turn lane only for find that this particular left lane was very short and led to a hotel! We managed to make it into a U Turn. The GPS showed a mile and a half route to another U Turn but suddenly Art spotted another left turn lane that led to another hotel, this one with an entrance and exit that we could make. As luck would have it there was no oncoming traffic—it was all held up at the traffic light.We made the turn, found the correct left turn lane and were at Los Suenos de Santa Fe only a few minutes later at 5:30.

Scipio to Cortez Colorado

25 October

As posted on yesterday's blog we were on the road Eastbound at 11:00AM along the last piece of Highway 50 which would join the I-70.  We were hoping for Cortez, Colorado, passing through the wonderful broken landscape of South Eastern Utah which we have seen many times before. One of our favoutite drives.

Not happy with this map photo. I'll try to take and post a better one.

This time though we would turn off at Montecello and follow the 491 to Cortez rather than continuing south to Bluff, another interesting place.

At 1:45 we stopped at a Rest Area on the I-70 for lunch then turned south through Moab and arrived in Monticello at 4:00 where we stopped for groceries. The GPS said it was about an hour and a half if memory serves, so it looked like we would make Cortez at a reasonable hour.

Here are a few photos taken along the way:

Following the GPS through Cortez we arrived at the KOA RV Park to find it closed! We had seen another a few blocks back so turned around in the parking lot of a business just up the highway and headed back. Gillian remembered that we had stayed there years before in the Triple E but Art didn't remember it. He didn't like the looks of it from the street--it appeared too tight and small with too many trees so another round the blocks detour and we continued past the old KOA to a new one several miles east. We arrived at Mesa Verde RV Resort at about 6:15 and booked in for 2 nights.

Next day we browsed around the town, had lunch at a nice pub with nice local beers, took the dogs to the municipal fenced off-leash dog park where Tia wandered around quite happily and Prana was of course delighted, chasing balls (no matter who threw them nor which dog for!) and running and playing with other dogs. We had no trouble finding the dog park: It was right next door to the closed KOA!

Art also dropped into Four State Tire to discuss our tire episode and decided to bring the rig in next morning to have the other four tires examined.

7:40 AM he arrived, Gillian and the dogs close behind in the Jeep. Art again explained the incident in Scipio and asked that the four rear wheels be removed from the vehicle and closely examined. Gillian also had a concern about an apparent dent in the right front tire on the Jeep. She was told that it was due to the manufacturing process and was not a concern.

 Then we went off looking for breakfast, at a place recommended by the tire shop staff, Beny's Diner. The gave us directions but we also set the GPS and off we went. The route did not exactly match the directions but was in the same direction and the same general area.  We arrived to find a vacant restaurant with FOR LEASE signs on it!

Gillian remembered seeing another place back down the main street so we set off in that direction. We spotted it as we drove past and as we looked for a place to turn around there was Beny's Diner on the corner. They had moved quite some time ago--it seems the GPS had not caught up.

We had an excellent breakfast, family owned and operated it was friendly and professional.Sated, we returned to the tire shop to find them all done. It seemed that they had misunderstood and had removed all 6 wheels! The good news was the the rear tires wire in fine shape, there was sufficient tread and no sign of damage. Art was both angry with himself and relieved. The cost for the check?  $64.50. They also suggested that we get them re-torqued at their shop in Durango which was on our route.

Art later did a Google Search for G&G Tire Scipio and the second item was Ripoff Report! ARRRGGGGHHHH!