Utah to Alburquerque, New Mexico

Thursday, October  31

We did better today than yesterday, on the freeway about 10:15

Once on the I 15 we had to decide how we were going to get to the I 70 which ran eastwards towards Utah. We had several options: Route 6 which essentially ran the hypotenuse of the triangle but ran about 140 miles through the mountains. Option 2 was highway 28 along a wide valley, about 50 miles, but a lot further down the I 15 or Highway 50 even further south which was only 30 miles long but ran  up quite high--we ran into a little snow up there last year. Still, this route missed 50 miles of the I 15 and 50 of the I 70.

We decided on the 28 which turned out to be a good choice. The road was mostly flat and the weather cleared as we drove along.

Soon we were eastbound on the I 70, much colder here.

Though the weather was good when we got to Green River, where the 6 joins the I 70, only 25 miles or so from the Moab exit. Perhaps the 6 would have been better, perhaps not. The route we took was longer but more reliable.

Here is a map that shows our route and options.

Early stop tonight in Moab, though Bluff is only some 170 kilometers further on we'd need groceries before we got there. Also, the Portal RV Park in Moab has a nice dog park.

We were stopped and done at 4:40 on |Hallowe'en. We weren't sure if we would have any trick-or-treaters but we were prepared with a couple of large bags of candies. The kids old and young along the way will be happy with us.

There were no fireworks for which the dogs were grateful, Trekker enjoying his swim in the dog pond which in previous years was the fishing pond. Trekker liked the upgrade!

Odometer: 96,883 kilometers


Friday, November 1st

This is usually the day we cross the border into Mexico. It will likely be another week give or take a day this year.

Since is would be a short run to Bluff we weren't in any great rush to set off. Art went out to clean a few bugs from the front of the motorhome and found quite an unusual one. Must have been the time of year.

We left a few minutes before noon, checking out time. In Blanding we stopped for a while to do some Grocery shopping. It took a little longer than normal since Gillian's cold was getting her down Art was the Designated Shopper. He didn't do to badly and only forgot a couple of things. Yes, he had a list, but no pen to check the items off. Ah well. . . .  . Nothing too important.

About 2:30 we arrived in Bluff which has been a native settlement long before the Mormons arrived via a backbreaking route in 1880. Population according to the 2000 Census was 320.

We stopped at the Twin Rocks Cafe for lunch before moving on the half mile or so the RV park. For such a tiny town the restaurant is excellent. Even real turkey, sliced from a real bird, in the club house sandwich. And a nice craft brewed IPA to wash it down. The trading post too has a nice selection of native art work, crafts and clothing

The scenery here is the typical spectacular landscapes of southeast Utah, one of our favourite places. We have visited most of the accessable areas and last year did a little off roading with two couples we met in the RV park.

We were settled into Cadillac Ranch RV Park by 3:30, the dogs enjoying a walk, Gillian working on recovering from her cold and Art taking a nap just because.

We though we might spent another day here and take a trip to either Glen Canyon or perhaps just another drive around Valley of the Gods which we have done before. Glen Canyon would be an all day trip. We'll decide in the morning.

Odometer: 97,049 kilometers

Saturday

After we had risen and were having breakfast Gillian said "Let's just move on today". Her cold wasn't any better even though it was beginning to look like she was sharing it with Art.

The weather was still clear and cold. We now know what the Jeep would look like with a white top. The black one was covered in frost.

10:25 we left the park and stopped up the road for fuel, finally on the road again at 10:45

We're heading for Albuquerque, New Mexico, all being well. We again had a choice of routes.

Last year we visited Canyon de Chelly in Arizona which was only a slight detour and well worth it, though it cost us an overnight in a Wallmart parking lot on the way to Albuquerque.

This time it would be more direct, but we still had a three options. Once eastbound on the 64, we could turn south on the 491 at Shiprock, or turn south at Farmington on the 371, both of which join the I 40, or we could go a little further east on the 64 to Bloomfield and take the 550 south east to the I 25 then south to Alburquerque.  (On the map below, Bluff is just off the page top left--green pointer, and our destination near bottom right, the other green pointer)

Gillian favoured the 550 which we had taken before but Art didn't remember it at all, though most of it is marked as a scenic route, and he thought it would take longer. Gillian also thought south from Farmington was a good option.

Well, when we came to ask the new Garmin GPS ( for RVs) it sided with Art so that is the way we went. :)


The town of Shiprock is named from a rock formation of the same name. Our photo of it below was taken from the 491 due east of the rock at a distance off about 10 miles.

Fortunately for Art and the GPS, Highway 491 proved to be in excellent condition and mostly flat and straight. The occasional striking chunk of rock appearing here and there. We thought this one resembled a ruined medieval castle.

Fuel along this stretch was very cheap. We saw regular gas at 3.29 a gallon and diesel as low as 3.69. Our diesel in Bluff was 4.05.

Onto the I 40, we turned east again, 140 some miles to go. At exit 39 we pulled into a truck stop and parked off the the side to walk the dogs and have our lunch and a rest, on the road again at 3:20 and at 5:45 arrived at the Albuquerque Central KOA. We stayed here last year, it's handy to the freeway--almost too close--the traffic is going by only a few hundred feet away but there is an effective noise barrier.

We don't usually frequent the KOAs, they tend to be a bit pricy but this one we knew from last year, and though not exactly central it has good access to the city. They have a nice dog park with an agility course set out and good laundry facilities as well as having propane available which we will take advantage of. This link should show you where we are.

We are booked in for three nights, our last main shopping before the Mexican border in a few days.

Late Sunday morning we put a couple of loads of laundry in and got it out just in time to meet our friends for lunch at an excellent New Mexican restaurant, El Pinto where we spent a very pleasant few hours. Cathy and Ken visited us in Victoria this summer, we met them years ago in Mexico and try to keep in touch. After lunch it was off an off leash dog park.

Tia went in with Art and had a good time, including putting a rambunctious 7 month old Great Dane in his place. The owners said Thank You to Tia, saying that is just what he needs! Art replied, why do you think we called her Tia?--she likes puppies but knows how to handle them!

Trekker however was just too full of it to put him in the very busy (Sunday afternoon) park so walked on leash on the paths around the park, joined by Cathy and her new dog who is fearful of other dogs and somewhat of people. Gillian and Cathy did a little work on that and when Tia returned continued on with a few seconds of sniffing and moved them apart. It was nice to see that just before we left Cathy's dog wanted to go see Tia again and was only allowed a very quick sniff then put in the car. Progress.

We stopped at a pet food place for a final bag of dog food for Trekker, hopefully we will have enough for Mexico then home to the rig. The laundry hadn't been completely dry so Gillian took it back for another spin in the dryer them we all took time for a nap.

Monday was catching up on the blog day, getting Tia's nails clipped (not a fun thing) and shopping. Gillian found a bottle of Trader Joe's Blended Scotch Whisky at ten dollars, Art said "Sure why not give it a try. We have lots of Canada Dry Ginger Ale if necessary!"

Which brings us up to date. I might post a photo or two more this evening, but no promises. And who knows when we will have internet access again.


We'll be out of here in the morning for points south, likely Carlsbad. We won't be doing the caverns again--if you haven's seen them, do so. This is an overnight stop only. Wednesday we will be near Larado and we'll cross the border Thursday morning for Saltillo.

Odometer: 97,570 kilometers.

Here is our planned route from there which I will edit--add to or modify as we progress.

Overnight stops in bold

Saltillo.
Matehuala or possible through to 
Queretaro
then further south to see if we can find San Juan Teotihuacan to visit the ruins. This will be the closest we have driven to Mexico City.

From there to Patzcuaro via Morelia

And finally Zihuatanejo.

Mexico Trip 2013-2014, Off to a good start. Finally!

Sunday, October 27th Leaving Victoria.


Odometer reading: 94,723 Km

Since we have had spectacular weather  at home the delays had not been too hard to take. Still nice weather but now noticeably cooler. We had parked the rig in front of the house to make it easier to load and to be
level for the fridge. Art's back was making progress but was still very sore if he moved around too much. Of course this left most of the work to Gillian (even more than usual) but her tennis elbow slowed her down a lot too! Did we mention Art's concussion? Trekker's worrying blood work? That too delayed things! (Trekker is fine as is Art, though Trekker's treatment was by far the most expensive.)

We tried to knock off Saturday evening to have a quiet hour or two, but still managed to interrupt our rest by finding a few more things to do. We finally called it a night about 11:00pm

Up at 6:00 AM. Still a lot of thing to do before we leave, quite a lot of stuff to be loaded and put away, finish tidying the kitchen, move our bedding from the house to the motorhome etc etc etc. But ready to leave about 7:30, Gillian first with dogs in the Jeep and Art about 10 minutes behind, waiting for the air pressure to come up then putting away the leveling blocks the rig had been parked on in the driveway.

Gillian arrived in the Jeep at the Coho at 08:30 for the 10:20 sailing. When Art arrived some 10 minutes later he found the Jeep park on the street. The ferry was full, we had not made reservations.

We could enter the lot at 10:30 after the ferry had departed. At least we had time for a leisurely breakfast across the street and will have time for nice leisurely dog walks and a leisurely lunch since we don't have to be back in the vehicles until 2:30 for immigration. We sail at 4:00 PM.

The good news is that the sun is shining and the Blackball Ferries have free wifi. The bad news is they had the motorhome park in the shade of large trees so no solar and we'll need the propane for heat, it's only 12 C outside. We also took the opportunity to take a few photos of our beautiful city harbour.

Beautiful weather for the middle of October. Seems we're off to a good start with the Blog Fodder material too.

Starting the engine ready to depart the Ferry, Art noted that the air pressure had dropped quite a bit more than usual. He had noted that previously that when parked for several hours the air pressure would drop more that he thought normal. On asking a friend with the same rig this summer, it appeared that it was perhaps a bit more than his, but not a big problem. Likely a very slow leak somewhere. Now Art decided he better keep a good eye on the air loss and perhaps have it looked at before we cross into Mexico. The problem is there are many places where there could be a small leak and some of them are very difficult (expensive and/or time consuming) to access, like removing the bed. Did I say something about Blog Fodder?

Off  the ferry, Gillian was through customs in seconds and set off for Safeway for the groceries we're not allowed to bring across the border. Art and the motorhome were selected for Agriculture Inspection so he had to pull off alongside the road. No problems, we know what not to bring across after all these years, therefore the grocery stop.

We met up again at Safeway fuel pumps where the motorhome took on a load of fuel then we hooked up  the  Jeep and were away at 7:10 PM. We should have been tucked in for the night by this time. Oh well, only a few hours down the 101 to Olympia and the weather was still pretty good.

It was a pleasant drive, other than a bit of wind, the gusts buffeted us around a bit but it wasn't unsafe. We were more concerned with the branches blowing off the trees--some of them were a couple of inches in diameter and ten or 12 feet long and could do considerable damage to the Jeep, especially the soft top, and to the solar panels on the roof of the motorhome.

The gusty areas came an went, and when we thought we were through the worst of it we saw in the distance a lot of flashing red and blue lights. As we got closer we could see a good collection of emergency vehicles and a couple of work trucks. We were directed into a parking lot and along a frontage road back to the highway. As we passed we could see what all the commotion was about. There was a white sedan that appeared to be nestled in the upper branches of a large tree that had fallen across the road. It seemed that the car had driven into the downed tree. As we passed through the parking lot we could see an obviously distraught woman being comforted by others.

The weather calmed down shortly afterwards and eventually we joined the I 5 at the south end of Olympia. A few miles later pulled off into the Maywood Rest Area at just after 10:00 PM. As Gillian walked past the front of the rig she asked "Where is this water coming from?" It appeared to be dripping from the dash air heater. Art dipped a finger in it to sniff for coolant but there was so much crap from the road surface he couldn't be sure it was not. Checking the coolant expansion tank showed it not at the full hot mark, but at least not empty. It would have to be checked in the morning when cold.

 Thankfully, we had a carton of frozen homemade pasta sauce in the freezer so dinner was quick and easy. We didn't even bother with the satellite dish. The TV news could wait at least another day!

Odometer: 94,995 Km

Monday

Twelve hours later we were rolling south again. The coolant seemed low but OK, the water drip had disappeared. We'll keep and eye out and pickup some coolant as soon as feasable.

20 minutes later we spied an RV and Truck Repair service alongside the I 5 so took the next exit and circled back. Confirmed "leak" to be condensation from the heater which activates the AC when on window defrost. Added the better part of a gallon of coolant to the reservoir and carried on. A little annoyed at my self for not checking the coolant lever sooner, and for the shop for not doing it when ti was in for service.


The weather continued to be acceptable so at Portland we turned East on the I 84. Our route would take us along the scenic Columbia River Valley, through Idaho and into Utah. As you can see the weather was great, except for fairly strong headwinds. The fuel was going to suffer. We usually cruise at about 100 Km/H (60+) which keeps the engine revs at about 1650 rpm.

We stopped for lunch at the first Rest Area on the I 84 (mm 49). Art took another quick peek at the dash heater just to be sure! As he reached in he felt air blowing on his wrist. THE AIR LEAK! A valve that feeds a small air tank that operates the step cover was leaking! Now we just need to keep our eyes open for another convenient Truck Stop! 

As you can see the weather continued bright and sunny though it was cold, I think only once did the temperature get over 12C.


We fueled just past Pendleton at about 5:30 and decided not to push on any further. Across the street was the Wildhorse Casino, RVs welcome to park over night. They also had a full service RV Park aroumd the back but we didn't need water or power, the parking lot was fine.

Odometer: 95,500 Km



I was going to post some more but there is an episode of Frost on the TV that I haven't seen. Post a comment if you see this and know what I am talking about!


 Tuesday morning a slow start--this is getting to be a habit! On the road at 9:55 and were soon grinding up hill, reaching  Deadman Pass, 1100 meters, 20minutes later. On the way up we noted in passing a Rest Area that was not level enough for a comfortable night.  Continuing on up with the occasional downgrade we reached the 1275 meter summit still in the clear, cold (2C)  weather but a lot of cloud to the east and west. And the snow was getting a little too close for comfort.

An hour after leaving the casino we stopped at La Grande Freightliner to have the air valve looked at. The service desk said they could get someone on it today, maybe 20 minutes, maybe a few hours. A after waiting around a while we decided to head off for some grocery shopping.

We started the Jeep. . . and the low tire pressure light came on! A check showed both right side tires at  37 pounds and both left side tires at 32 pounds. Spec is 35 so we carried on into town. On the way was a Les Schwab Tire shop! We made a note to stop by after lunch.

Shopping done, except for the blue cheese and brie that we were short of we were ready for lunch. We have found in the USA that except in the larger centers, decent cheese, like decent bread, is hard to get. The supermarket had a nice deli however so lunch was clam chowder and turkey and cranberry sandwiches and a coffee from Starbucks.

At the tire shop the tech said that the warning light may have been the temperature differential but it usually took more than that. We hoped that it wasn't the spare--that would have entailed removing the bike and the tire cover to check--and got lucky. Airing up all 4 tires to a few pounds over spec( less wear when towing) and we were good to go.


Back at Freightliner the rig was done with a nice new shiny brass shut off valve. Much nicer than the original. The system had been tested; NO MORE LEAKS!

2:45 PM we are under way again having covered so far, only 49 kilometers. In one hour!

Half an hour later we crossed the 45th parallel. We are making progress!  Then we changed Time Zones, we are now on Mountain Time so Art's watch is an hour slow. If we wait until Sunday it will be right again when Daylight Saving Time ends. As we dropped a little in elevation we came into some high plains country.

 Finally at 6:30 we had had enough and booked into the Ambassador RV park, just into Idaho.

Odometer 95,815 

 Wednesday

Must have been tired as we were up and running at 11:00 AM! The weather was changing, a few threatening clouds in the distance and sometimes not so distant! We took a couple of short Pee breaks and a half hour lunch break trying to make up for the late start.

Then came the end of I 84 and take the I 15 south through Salt Lake City. In the photo I 15 runs from left to right at the foot of the mountains ahead. Yes, we noted the snow.


We had been hoping to get past Salt Lake City and overnight well south of there which would mean we could make Bluff, in southeast Utah the next day. However, as we approached the city Art realised that pushing on a few more hours in the dark wouldn't be worth the effort or risk.




6:20 PM (Mountain Time) after a quick fuel stop at a Flying J we arrived at the Pony Express RV Park just off the 215 Bypass.  The Flying J and the RV Park are at exit 28 on the same cross road on opposite sides of the freeway. Also relatively cheap fuel. The Pony Express is a very nice clean and spacious park but unfortunately the free wifi wasn't worth any more than what we paid for it.

Besides just relaxing we had a some laundry to do. Gillian had trouble with the number pad lock so Art jumped in to help :)

How We $pent Our Summer Vacation Part 3

Portugal! 

(Trying to finish this bit before I have to start our 2013 Mexico Trip posts!--we leave in less that two weeks)

Our wake up call early enough--at about 3:45 AM if I recall correctly.

Down in the lobby at 4:10 we joined quite a large group waiting for the shuttle which ran every 15 minutes. We were cutting things a bit fine a bit fine as we thought an hour before flight time would be enough time at this time of morning, our flight was due to depart at 5:30!

By the time the bus waited around for late arrivals it was almost 4:30 by the time we left the hotel. We arrived at the airport to find a very busy departure lounge. Fortunately we travel with out checked baggage and were able to use the automated boarding pass system and when one of the officials spotted Art's stick he opened another lane and we bypassed at least 30 people in line for security!

Then the computer and liquids had to be inspected, belt removed (happily Art was able to keep his pants held up); we finally had everything back together and set off for the gate. We loaded and took off on time and arrived in Germany for our plane change for Portugal.

So much for being easier in Europe: We have never seen such an unorganised mess. Art had asked for wheel chair assistance since the long walk between gates is difficult and slow for him. This meant however that since the cart couldn't negotiate the stairs we could not use the intransit area and had to leave the secure area and go back through security once again--at the other end of the airport! We then had to catch a bus (waiting especially for us) and driven airside around, it seemed, three sides of the airport runways back to the side we had started from. We pulled up to the plane which had had the ramp retracted already and was ready to pull away! The bus driver said "Oh Oh!" and went to talk to the ground crew. A few minutes later the stairs were pushed back in place and we were allowed to board.

We took off a bit late but were able to make up time and landed in sunny Faro at 9:45.

We picked up the rental car without any fuss and set off for the freeway north. We managed to miss a turn or two--detours! Then at one point we relised it would be easier to back up a few feet that go around. . . . and Art couldn't find how to put it in reverse! No owner's manual, but after a bit of fiddling around discovered that there was a lever to lift on the stickshift.

The toll freeways were interesting; like the one in Ireland they made full use of transponders and our rental was so equipped. Unlike in Ireland however, we didn't have to worry about how to pay; Avis entered our VISA information and our credit card was charged the correct amount as we passed under transponders! Toll booths at 120 Km/H !  There was one small area to the side where you could stop and pay if your vehicle did not have a transponder.

We headed west on the A22, making a lunch stop as quick tour around of town of Lagos wandering around in and near this area. The street view doesn't seem to cover where we parked or ate our lunch but it was just a bit up the hill from the street view link. Here are a few photos of the area, our lunch stop was the pasteleria on the left.

Lunch was a beer and a cruji coque, similar to a pizza with a hard crust. Note the cutting tool supplied! Very good.

Part of the old City Wall, on the way back up the hill to the car park.

Then onwards to Salema, where we were lucky to find on street parking in front of the Hotel Residencial Salema. Close to the beach and great restaurants, and the deciding factor; it had an elevator!


We stayed here three days, made a good dent in local restaurants, could have happily done a few more.

We both agree that Lorenzos had the best food. The fish of the day menu was interesting!

We were told that their cataplana was the best anywhere and we certainly had to agree.

To say that cataplana is a fish stew is like saying that Crepes Suzette are pancakes.

Another night  at another recommended restaurant and were lucky enough to get a table without having a reservation. This time we tried a seafood pasta dish and again very were pleased.  We also about this time began to fall in love with the local vino verde, a young white sometimes frissante wine.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped to watch some young boys playing. It might just have been the vino but we found it very funny!

We detoured into our hotel bar when we noticed it was quite busy. At the bar, enjoying another glass of vino verde, Art commented on the bar towel. He was glad he did because a gentleman sitting around the corner heard him and bought him a Jameson! We went over to join them for an enjoyable hour or so and a few more drinks the up to bed.

For now I've posted this photo here since it was on the notebook, which I find hard to type on. It was taken near the end of  our Portugal trip in the town of Tavira. I'll add more text later when I log on from the laptop.

More to come.