ON THE ROAD BREAKDOWNS

It will happen at home or on the road…We got up yesterday to a beautiful, cloudless day…Got our early morning chores done and Mary Ann decided to wash the clothes in the Laundromat…When she finished the car had a dead battery…She got a jump from a maintenance man and came straight to the motorhome…She left the car running and we unloaded the clean clothes and took off for Wal-Mart in Colorado Springs…We bought a new battery and some groceries and headed back to the motorhome which was 20 miles away…Each day brings on adventure and solving those problems is really part of the fun in traveling…Well today we got up to cloudy skies and the prediction of strong winds…We were not planning on leaving until 10am but decided to leave as soon as we were ready…Fortunately the strong winds never developed and the ride to Chatfield was a very pleasant scenic morning…The day starts at 12noon and we arrived early…We have waited in the parking area before waiting for the space to clear, but today the space was opened when we arrived and we took our reservations immediately…We hooked up, had lunch, took a massage and took a nap…This life is really tough, so Mary Ann wants to go to the Texas Road House for dinner…Texas Road House is a steak restaurant with excellent selections of beef…Don’t go if you want a quiet dinner…Loud music and waiters are always line dancing and singing anniversaries and birthdays songs…Well I will let you know how it works out for us tonight…I will try and take some pictures…Talk to you later…Philip

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN

Well it is not freezing…It has been raining now for three days…I am not getting cabin fever yet, but Mary Ann is beginning to feel the walls closing in…I am watching the NASCAR races and writing the blog…I have my Spanish Lessons and my woodcarving keeping me happy…We have been cloistered by the rain for the last three days and have not been able to take pictures that would be of interest…I brought my woodcarving dvd’s with me and still learn a lot from watching the various techniques of each carver…When I am waiting for Mary Ann while she is shopping for groceries or other shopping, I can wait in the car and listen to my MP-3 and practice my Spanish…I cannot carve in the motor home because of Mary Ann who cannot stand wood chips all over the motor home…It is predicting rain to stop this afternoon and not rain tomorrow…We will pack up and leave Tuesday for Chatfield…We will stay there for two weeks and then move to Rocky Mountain National Park and dry camp for three days…I think I have brought you up to date and will talk to you later…Philip

NO MORE SNOW

Well today started out with no snow on the ground…I got up at 6am so that I could connect the water…If it looks like it is going to freeze we disconnect the water…The furnace keeps the fresh water tank from freezing…When we disconnect, we still have water for whatever is needed…The mail forwarding service from Escapee has given us excellent service through the 12 years that we have used them…There have only made 2 or 3 mistakes in that period of time…We received ours today…The next service will be next week in Denver…There are a group of children (about 35 or 40) camping…They seem to be having a great time…It must be a school activity…Mary Ann is working on some music for the variety show for next year…I have been watching some DVD’s on carving…I will talk to you later…Philip

GOT THE CAR REPAIRED

I looked for the weather forecast on the computer for todays forecast…It was raining when I woke up…Forecast was for rain, sleet, and snow…guess what…It did all three…By the time I finished getting the forecast, it was 6am…I wanted to download some of my Rosetta Stone (Spanish lessons) to my MP3 so I would have something to do while I was waiting for the car to be repaired…My appointment was for 1pm…By the time we finished with morning chores, it was time for lunch and then leave for Colorado Springs…Colorado Springs is 20 miles from Mountain Dale RV park, traveling hwy 115 just West  of Fort Carson…We were not sure the part had arrived until we got to the dealership…The part had arrived this morning…Things just seems to work out which makes for a pleasant day…Wait just a minute…It was snowing with both hands and we had to purchase fuel and pick up some groceries…It snowed on us most of the way back but things always work out…The ground was still warm and the snow was not sticking…Well, Mary Ann prepared and outstanding dinner of Salmon and sweet potatoes while I sipped hot apple cider and checked my e-mail…Well here I am with a full stomach, writing on the Blog, warm as toast in the motorhome…I didn’t take any pictures today…Snow flurries are forecast for tomorrow…Will let you know how good the weather persons are…Talk to you later…Philip

PICTURES OF OUR MORNING VISITORS

From the front window with the sunscreen in placeThrough the windshieldLove the early morning

I hope you get a thrill of the wild life as we do…Talk to you later…I am sorry about the reverse of the sequence…Philip

CAR REPAIR

It is inevitable…As much as we are on the road, vehicles will require some maintenance…As hard as we try to keep all vehicles well maintained, something will happen…We woke up to fine the break warning light would not turn off…Checking the fluid level and looking for leaks and the brake pedal was very firm, it was time to take The Saturn to the Chevy dealer here in Colorado Springs…We are use to working with computers and felt that we would find something wrong with the sending unit…Sure enough the sending unit had been literally broken off…Well by having a Saturn (they don’t make them any more) an orphan car, the part had to be ordered…We will go in tomorrow after lunch and have a new sending unit replaced…Another experience with computers…Well this morning we woke up to a heard of deer grazing all around the motorhome…I have already had my massage and have taken my morning walk…Mary Ann was able to take the following pictures of our morning visitors…Hope you enjoy  the pictures…Talk to you later…Philip

WE ARE IN TOUCH AGAIN

We left Happy Trails April 24th.  Our RV group from Happy Trails was having a rally at Lake Powell on the Arizona, Utah border in the Navajo Reservation…Such a beautiful location…Was able to observe cliff dwellings,and learn more about the history and culture of the Navajo Nation…I was able to sit and talk with a Native American and learn from a well educated person a lot of intellectual insight from the past and present…Was able to discuss feelings of the past and future plans and hopes of the future…I have always wanted to do something like this…I wish I could have done this in my youth but probably did not have the insight then to ask the proper questions…We left Lake Powell on the 29th and drove to Navajo Reservoir in extreme southern Colorado…We had snow for two days and temperatures in the 20’s F…When it cleared it was beautiful and the sun came out and the snow was gone with temps in the 50’s, 60’s…We were worried about getting through Wolf Creek Pass…The snow plows kept it very clear and we proceeded to Royal Gorge…Spent the night and left this morning for our present destination…Mountaindale..We will be here for the next ten days…Here are some pictures of our recent days…               on lake Powell

Lake Powell DamSandstone formationInside Antelope Canyon

We are getting ready to go and have dinner out in Colorado Springs…Talk to you later…Philip