Friday, June 28, 2013

Glitches!

We arrived at Horsetooth Reservoir near Ft. Collins Colorado on Tuesday.  This is a County Park with mostly electric only sites with a few full hookups.  I did not know about the full hookups until we arrived and saw the sign pointing to the “Full Hookup Sites”.  I had made, and paid for, reservations a couple of weeks ago, so I stuck with the original plan.  The rate for a 50 amp site is $25 a night, plus there is a $7 per night County Park Access Fee, so it is a bit pricey for our taste.  However, the site is level and big and right on the water.  Here are a couple of pictures:
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This is a busy 3 days for me with 5 work assignments, all about an hours drive from the campground.  On Wednesday, my “Check Engine” symbol came on in the truck.  I didn’t feel anything different about the performance of the engine, but I went by the local Chevy dealer to have the codes read.  The code was the same as it was a couple of weeks ago in Denver, so I had them reset the Check Engine light.  Thursday morning as I was heading out I noticed occasional “hesitations” in the engine when accelerating uphill.  After a big “hesitation”, the Check Engine light came on again.  After the truck sat in the hot sun for 3+ hours, it didn’t want to start.  I primed the fuel pump on the engine and it started right up.  So back to the dealership for a new fuel pump.  After a diagnosis, they informed me that the fuel pump was very “clogged”, but there were two other issues dealing with “glow plugs and camshaft sensors”.  That is well above my knowledge of diesel technology, but the Dealership gets rave reviews online, so I guess I need to trust they know what they are doing and they are being honest with me.  Bottom line is I have an estimate for $850 worth of work.  They did put a priority on it after telling them my story about being full timers and having to move our “home” on Saturday.  They said they would be done with it this afternoon.  A nice young lady from Enterprise Rent-a-Car picked me up and put me in a new, bright red, Dodge Ram 1500 truck. She gave me the Chevy Dealer discount so I was happy about that.  Let’s hope everything comes together and I get my truck back this afternoon and we can hit the road for Chadron State Park in Nebraska tomorrow morning.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

All Fixed Up!

Abra Body Shop in Lakewood Colorado did a wonderful job on repairing the damage to my right rear quarter panel after a tire lost it’s tread while I was going down the highway. 

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While the truck was in the shop I had a mid-size VW SUV to tool around in.  It feels strange driving anything that is not a big pickup truck.

So what else has been happening.  Nothing really exciting, or even mildly exciting.  We have settled into a routine here in the Denver area.  We go shopping; Rosie goes hiking with all of her friends;  I walk the dogs; etc. 

We went out to dinner at a restaurant we used to frequent a lot, the Morrison Inn, in Morrison, CO.  The prices have gone up and the quality of the food has diminished.  We decided to write that restaurant off our list of places to eat while in the Denver area.  On the other hand, we did have dinner at a Texas Roadhouse in Littleton a few weeks back that was excellent.  The portions were substantial and we both brought home a doggie bag that served as lunch the next day.

Rosie suffered a bout of altitude sickness on Thursday’s hike with the ladies.  They started out at 10,000 feet above sea level and went up from there.  Just as they were returning to the starting point, Rosie felt the rumble in the tummy that precedes nausea.  She was sick to her tummy the rest of the evening, so we had to bow out of the after hike party at Mark and Janice Richter’s home in Shawnee.  By Friday morning she was fine; back to her normal self.

Last week we purchased a 5 quart crock pot.  Yesterday, Rosie loaded it up with 3 turkey drumsticks, potatoes, vegetables and cream of mushroom soup.  It was delicious; and there is enough left over for a lunch.

Today we went to church (Unitarian Universalist) in Golden, CO; then checked out a private campground in Golden.  It is a Good Sam park in downtown Golden along Clear Creek.  The sites are small and the rate is $31 and change a night.  No weekly or monthly rates and a 14 day stay limit.  That is not attractive to us.  The places we stayed here were $19 and $20 per night with a 14 day limit.  Our sites were much bigger and the campgrounds were less crowded.  So no luck in finding a full hookup RV Park or Campground with a monthly rate in the Denver area.  If any of you know of such a place, please leave a comment.

Tomorrow we stock up at Wal-Mart.  Tuesday we head for Ft. Collins, CO and Horsetooth Reservoir for 4 nights.

Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Campground Review

We are at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood, Colorado.  This is a very large city park with a couple of small, man made lakes being the main attraction.  There is a lake for water skiing and a lake for swimming and other non-motorized water sports.  The park also has miles of concrete, and dirt, biking trails.    There is also an Archery range and horseback riding.  And of course, there is the campground with camp sites, a few yurts and 3 or 4 cabins.  The campground has electric 30 amp hookups with some of the sites having 50 amp electric.   Most are back in sites, but there are about 6 or 7 large pull throughs.  We are in one of the pull throughs with 50 amp service.  There is a dump station on one side of the campground and a freshwater fill station on the other side.  The City of Lakewood Parks Department manages the place and there is a campground host on duty.

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That is us in the center of the photo.

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Other campsites with the cabins in the background.

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That is a VW SUV on our site.  It is a rental while the truck is in the body shop.

We stayed here last year when we met Dee and Dennis, who were campground hosts at that time.  Dee and Dennis are camp hosting at Chatfield State Park, about 20 miles south of here.  They were hosting the C Loop where we stayed for two weeks before coming here and it was great to see them again.

There is not much else to write home about.  Rosie is having a great time with her hiking buddies every Thursday.  I have a couple of work assignments that I am doing.  Other than that it is just calm and peaceful around here.  I took my truck into the body shop on Wednesday and hope to have it back by next Wednesday.  It will be getting close to tank dumping and water replenishment time by then and I don’t think the VW SUV is up to the task of pulling the camper to get that accomplished.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to have something to write about after we leave here on the 25th.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

It Is Good To See Green Again.

It is sooooo nice to see green lawns and green leaves on trees again.  We were so tired of sand and cactus.  Yes, we are in Colorado at a State Park on the edge of Denver.  The weather is wonderful; not too hot, not too cold, just right.  Experienced a thunderstorm one afternoon, with more expected today and this week, but you will get no complaints from us.  We are busy visiting friends and, of course, Rosie is in heaven with her former hiking group getting together. 

I met with the Allstate claims adjuster at their claims center in Lakewood.  All went well and I have scheduled the truck repairs at the body shop on June 12th.  That will give them up to 14 days before I will need the truck to pull our home to our next destination.  They estimate it should take a week.  I have been with Allstate since 1989 and they sure take care of their long time customers.

Here are the numbers for May:

Camping – $494.00  ($15.93per night)
Diesel Fuel when pulling – $79.00
Truck Service/Repairs – $632.00 (Set of tires w/taxes)
RV  Repairs/Service – $0.00
Generator Gas/Propane - $24.59 (all propane)

Metered Electricity – $0.00

Satellite TV/Radio – $107.25
Campground Pet Fees – $0.00
Laundry – $20.00

Total = $1356.84

Thanks for stopping by!