Monday, September 23 – We are S-P-O-I-L-E-D. We had to go three whole days without Internet or cell phone. We both thought we were just about going to die. Thank goodness for Direct TV.
We headed out of Utah this morning and spread ourselves in four states. We visited the Four Corners National Park. Again, an Indian Park, so the America the Beautiful pass was not accepted. A $3/person admission was charged....not bad. We spread our limbs into four different states ....Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Yeah, we know this is just a symbolic marker....guess GPS has found the actual site is off by 2.5 miles.
From there we headed to our campground for the next three or four days at LaMesa RV Park in Cortez, Colorado. A Passport America RV park so we can stay two days at half price. We are in site #27, a full-hookup, 50 amp, pull-through site.
Looking right.
Looking left.
We were SHOCKED to see SNOW in the nearby mountains. What's with that? We checked the local weather forecast and much to our surprise they are forecasting a low of 35 degrees tonight......YIKES!!!
La Plata Mountains
After getting set-up in our site, we headed about 45 miles east to Durango, CO. We visited this area about 30 years ago to ride the Silverton-Durango Railroad. We're not riding the train this time, but it was fun to see how the city changed. It's much bigger! Not a sleepy mountain town any more. We walked around the historic district for about an hour enjoying a little window shopping.
Historic Strater Hotel built in 1891
General Palmer Hotel built in 1898
Old downtown.
On the way back to Cortez, we stopped at a home where a guy sells cabin style furniture made out of Aspen wood. Paul talked to him awhile and was rewarded with several pieces of Aspen wood for carving. Cool!
There are signs along the road cautioning drivers to watch for Elk and Deer.
With our campground having Internet and good Verizon phone signal, we returned to catch up on our computer stuff, call family, and do some grocery shopping. Paul washed the red canyon dust off the truck too! It's good to be back in civilization again. Gotta' love the electronic 21st century......LOL
TIRE QUESTION UPDATE: Several inquiring minds have asked what tires we have on the 5th wheel after our two problems. We currently have Goodyear Marathon ST 235/80 R16 with Load Range E and a maximum inflation of 80 PSI.
Paul was running them at about 75 PSI and found he should always keep them inflated to the maximum 80 PSI. Not sure if that was the problem. Also was told that long travel days in near 100 degree temperatures prior to the blowout could have been the cause.
Regardless, Paul is researching tires and even the possibility of going to larger rims. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Email Paul directly: pweaver123@gmail.com.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
I spent a few weeks at LaMesa this summer, tell management I said hi.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be fun to visit Four Corners - even if it isn't quite the exact location. Good picture. Enjoyed your pictures of Durango. That hotel is sure stunning. Have fun and stay worm!!
ReplyDeleteGood to see you are settled and again part of the real world! But wasn't it nice knowing you didn't have to think about doing anything on the computer or phone. A little vacation of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI love the snow covered mountain peaks! We had that the entire time we were in Moab. We would have a shower and the La Salle Mts would get snow...so pretty.
It isn't much warmer here in the east at night. We are looking at 42 tonight.
Stay warm and enjoy CO.
Wonderful photos!
ReplyDeleteWe spread our limbs at Four Corners too! With the cold, cold temperatures, did you get out your long johns?
ReplyDeleteMike's father always loved to visit Four Corners!! Can't wait to get in that awkward position and say I have been in 4 states all at once..even if it is only symbolic!!
ReplyDeleteWe do get used to our electronics don't we??
Take care!
did you skip Natural Bridges? After all the other parks, its just so-so. we did stay on free BLM land while there though, so that was nice. Did a drive by of Durango. S
ReplyDeleteWish we had spent more time there. We've never done the train ride. Next time.
For trailer tires my experience is to run at maximum pressure, and new tires every five years.
ReplyDeleteHave you had your trailer weighed fully loaded?
Maybe a higher load range.
I'm embarrassed to say that internet is the most important service for us, we can get along without tv just fine, plenty of good books, but losing the internet drives us crazy!
ReplyDeleteA good friend of ours is in the market for a 5th wheel, their first. Any suggestions or caveats your could share?
Also, Dave wonders if using nitrogen instead of air in your tires would keep the air pressure more stable in the heat? He's read quite a bit of anecdotal evidence to that theory.
Sue
Nice looking old hotels in Durango. Those old bars are always nice with all the natural wood and carvings.
ReplyDeleteI've always been told to run our tires at the 80psi max and to make sure they are never older than 7 yrs. Some say 5, but I'm settling for the middle 6yr limit depending, of course, on how they actually look as far as wear and tear.
We spent a lot of time in Durango in the 90s and early 2000s. It was a good central location to explore the area, including Silverton and Ouray. We did the circle a couple of times to Telluride and Cortez. We used to like to see the Ironhorse race from Durango to Silverton. Hard to imagine how they cycled all the way up to and back.
ReplyDeleteI like Durango because you can camp in pretty private places, yet be close enough to enjoy walks around a busy town (city, now). I saw the changes, too.
4 corners corny maybe but on our list
ReplyDelete