October Miles & Necessary Repairs

After we said “a dieu” to the Black Hills the coach meandered into Wyoming.  We wanted to make only one overnight stop in this state so that we could be refreshed and rested before getting to I-25 and the craziness that was ahead of us going through Denver and The Springs.

 

We had already contacted our friends, Matt and Nancy who own Haggard’s RV Campground in Pueblo West and had a reservation made to stay about a week.  One of our favorite campgrounds strategically located so that we can hook up with friends who live in Littleton and Colorado Springs.  Jeff was already planning on making his killer homemade Italian Sausage Lasagna for Matt and Nancy, so we were really ready to park the coach at this time.

Nancy & Matt

Colorado "Slopper" and some Coors

Our friends, Penny and Gary from Littleton drove down from their home to spend the day with us so that we could soak in the hot springs in Florence.  We have known this couple for 10 years now.  They were one of the three other couples that set sail with us in the BVI for a week’s stay on a catamaran sailing the islands around Tortola.  What a blast we had and after all of the years we still have contact with the other two couples.  How special is that?

Talking about a special connection with friends, Harley and Delores from Colorado Springs are right up at the top of this list.  We met them at Haggard's back in October 2014 and always make it a point to connect with them when we are in Colorado.  In fact, last winter it just so happened that we were both in the Yuma area at the same time. What is so unique about our relationship is that both of us own the same paint job on our Dutch Stars . . . plus we like each other like family.  Harley’s is a 40 ft. and ours is a 43 ft.  Harley is a wealth of information on his coach since he’s had his a little longer than we have, and Jeff truly appreciates the wisdom and experience that he is constantly sharing.  

New Friends ~

April and Da Boyz



April is an instructor for ENSA. She instructs
"Tower Climbers" on what and what not
to do.  Pretty awesome. . .yes, she is!!!

Ray & Suzanne who own a Dutch Star also.  Very nice people
that we hope to connect up with in Yuma this winter.

The Cat's sun patio from their window.  We need one of these for Abby.

Why is it that weather always has to put a damper on visits?  As we are always checking out weather before a future trip, this time was no different.  What was happening across most of the country was a cold snap with some precipitation in the forecast.  So it came to pass that after 8 days in Pueblo West, we knew that we would have to hit the road soon, on our way over Ratan Pass and into New Mexico.  Time to fill up on propane too!

Jeff's serenading me with the new Wilson Cell Booster
Antenna that we purchased.

Jeff & Abby sacked out.



Getting our fill of propane before we start the trek into New Mexico

The asset up Raton Pass to an elevation of over 7,000 ft. was a little on the challenge side. The saving grace is that when we did make it over the Pass, it was like day and night weather-wise.  No snow or precipitation of any kind on the other side and which made us very happy.

This kind of weather makes anyone in a big rig a little nervous.
We were no exception.

Some pictures along the way . . .

The Rio Grande near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

The very colorful town of Hatch, known for their famous Chili's. 

But, what didn’t make us happy was a sick feeling that Jeff had that we just didn’t have the power that we should, and with a “regeneration required” message coming over our message dash along the miles,  there was a lot that we needed to do research on.

We pulled into the Escapee RV Park called Dream Catcher in Deming, New Mexico.  Jeff made a call to set up an appointment with a diesel shop in Phoenix that we had work done on in the past.  The shop, Massey Diesel, was about a week out so we spent a few days at Dream Catcher before putting more miles on the coach.

The nine days that we spent in Deming, after getting through Albuquerque where the Balloon Festival was well under way, did give us an opportunity just to relax somewhat.  We were also able to meet up with another friend from Colorado that was passing through the area, and share some home made bran muffins she whipped up, over coffee, at her Lazy Daze camper that was parked near Walmart.

A good visit with Kathy, Jessie and Mittens.

Enjoy the video below of the Festival that we picked up on TV.  One of these days we'll have to experience the real thing.

After leaving the Deming area, we were anxious to get to Phoenix and that was heavy on our minds.  We arrived for our appointment on 10/20 at Massey's Diesel.  Unfortunately, after four days of having them work on the coach they recommended that we needed to go to the Cummins dealer in Phoenix.  What appeared like possible warranty coverage on a fuel pump that was installed for us back in May, 2017 by this Cummins shop - and for codes that Massey couldn't identify - the last six days in October were spent at Camp Cummins.  What we didn't know was that more days in November were just on the horizon!!!