To Colorado the Long Way 2019

2 years ago we stumbled across a gem of a Nation Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, in Colorado. We were just zooming across the state to get to New Mexico, and didn’t have time to stop and enjoy the area. But we vowed to come back in the future, and make CO our destination. Fast forward to 2019 when we decided to make it come true. We are based in Nevada, approximately a thousand miles from the center of CO. So why was our trip 8,600 miles? It’s quite a story, from starting out with our 2014 Winnebago View spewing gallons of DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) out our tailpipe, to sitting in the lap of luxury in new recliners, and going to our first clothing optional hot springs. Creating memories, that’s what we do.

Here's our ride

Meet Coco, our mascot. He goes on all of our trips, making memories that are reported back to our granddaughter. He loves it when we visit farm stands and buy fresh local corn. I used to be an accountant, and certain activities just come naturally to me. For example, I keep a meticulous ongoing log of dates and costs, which is entered in a spreadsheet and compared to credit card bills when I get home. The raw data looks like this in a note on my phone:

8/24/19 Sat. 9:15AM 49,060

49,257 Winnemucca 197 miles 15.4 $47.99 =13mpg@75mph

Wells add small DEF <1 gal

Wendover, NV 18.1. $55.51 49,490 232 = 15.3 @80mph! (May not have been full)

O/N Walmart, Evanston, WY Michelle & Todd 2018 Navion from Phoenix/Chandler

8/25 Sun 49,694. 204 Evanston Maverik $52 16.6. =12.3mpg. 8:30AM Left Walmart

Noon: Rawlins, WY Sinclair - Needed 3 more gal DEF

49,901 207 13.5 $39.53 15.3mpg

Sidney, NE 50,153 234 $48.97 16.8 gal=13.9 plus needed 2 1/2 more gal DEF

O/N @ Kearney, NE Arch Monument free parking

50,376 223 Conoco $53.01 19.2 11.6 mpg plus 2 more gal DEF

And on it goes, from 8/24-10/14/19, 50 days on the road. Fuel economy was all over the place, from 12-18mpg depending on driving speed, wind, hills, etc, with an average of 14.6mpg. Not bad for a motorhome, I’d say. Price per gallon varied too, from a low of $2.32 in Indiana, to $3.71 in Ontario, Canada (converted to US $). Total fuel cost $1,739, average per gallon $2.99.

We like to boondock, since we have 460 watts of solar power on our roof and a 2,000 watt inverter than can run my espresso machine. Oh, you don’t know what boondocking is? Google it. It’s a thing. Really. It involves camping somewhere away from it all, usually on government land and FREE. We like free. We especially dislike RV parks, where rigs are all lined up with no elbow room. They’re usually noisy due to proximity to neighbors and highways. But sometimes they’re unavoidable, like when it’s boiling and you need to plug in to run the AC. Or when you need a real shower, not the navy shower where you have to turn off the water while you soap up and engage in combat with the shower curtain that insists on sticking to your butt. We sometimes do laundry there too, but found generally prices are considerably lower in local laundromats.

So we head out expecting to hightail it to our appointment to get recliners installed in our rig at Lambright in Topeka, IL 3 days later. The very first day, up pops the check engine light. And the rig starts guzzling DEF, about a gallon every 100 miles. This is not good. The ScanGauge gives us an obscure code indicating there’s something going on with the DEF. Yeah, DUH! But our beloved Facebook group comes to the rescue with advice and a better link to diagnose the problem. 

 So on Monday 8/25 I called Des Moines Mercedes - no luck. Lincoln, and Omaha. Sprinter repair appointments were 2 weeks out. Arg! The recliners were still good for Wed installation, so I scheduled repair for Ft Wayne after recliners installed. The Mercedes tech who helps advise our group said it would probably be OK to keep driving, just adding DEF. We got to Ft Wayne and anxiously awaited our diagnosis. This was nuts. “So sorry, your warranty expired in June, 2 months ago. It’s not covered.”  What about the CA 7 year emissions warranty? Well, although it was originally purchased in CA, since it’s now registered in NV, the warranty is no longer valid, and that particular part (DEF heater) wouldn’t have been covered anyway. Said what??? OK, well, we have an extended warranty transferred from the previous owner. Oh, but it doesn’t cover emissions issues. We’re talking about a $2,600 repair here, so it’s a big deal. And just to make the experience more complete, they don’t have the part in stock and will have to order it. Great. The one thing I have to say about the Ft Wayne Mercedes dealership is the staff was extremely nice and professional. And they have a great snack area in the waiting room! It became clear that we were going to have to spend the night in Ft Wayne.

Both the Mercedes guy and I called the extended warranty company, and eventually they agreed, reluctantly, to cover all but $300 of the repair. That was $200 deductible, and $100 because they don’t cover fluids. Naturally the repair required a complete fill of DEF. We breathed a sigh of relief at paying $300 instead of $2,500, but still think Mercedes should have covered it. This is a 2014 vehicle, apparently first purchased in June of that year. (We’re the third owner.) Since we showed up in August, they simply declared it out of warranty. Obviously customer goodwill isn’t a concern of theirs. It turned out a DEF hose had sprung a leak and was squirting out. That in turn probably caused the DEF heater to burn out, although it certainly wasn’t cold, so it wasn’t needed at that point anyway. It required a part, Ad blue module that went for a cool $1,540. I'm not a fan.

There was a funny story from staying in Ft Wayne. We made our way over to a city campground, Johnny Appleseed. I about spewed my coffee when I saw that it is on Harry Baals Dr. If your last name was Baals, would you name your poor kid Harry? Hearing the prim GPS lady talk about hairy balls was too priceless. When we got there, we saw that the street signs all read “HW Baals.” Seems the signs kept getting stolen. We reckon there’s probably one in every frat house in the area. Unfortunately, like pretty much everywhere, there seems to be a homeless problem. Guys hanging around the restroom would follow in when hubby entered the combo. Creepy.

😱

The next morning we reported back to the Mercedes dealer, the repair job went well, and we were on the road again at 12:30, heading for upstate NY to visit mom for the Labor Day weekend. We figured we needed to be somewhere other than a campground over the long weekend. We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot in Hamburg, NY (near Buffalo), and had an uneventful drive up to the farm in Chateaugay, NY.

Along the way we had other fun times, even though the engine health was weighing heavily on our minds. We seek out places to stay overnight using a most excellent app, AllStays. It directed us to a free overnight parking place at the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport, Iowa. There was wide open space (not by the big rigs), and we even came out ahead when we gambled our traditional $10 each!  Wait, what??? They have gambling in Iowa? Yep, and it’s not even an Indian casino. Seems in the old days the had gambling on the river boats. Then they quit making them cruise, just staying tied up. And one day the politicians figured out it wouldn’t make any difference if they just allowed it on land. They have corn fields to spare. Anyway, we have a rule about leaving if we double our money. Bill put in 10, and hit a jackpot after just a few spins. He had over $70! I hadn’t even started, still looking for a machine that was calling to me. I only had a twenty, so planned to play it down to $10 and be on my way. It was the same $20 left from the cruise that I never got around to playing. It got down to $13 when it hit a jackpot, so I had to take $40 with me. That’s the rule 😄💰

When we finally got to Indiana, things came screeching to a halt as there was stop & go traffic due to an accident. We had been planning a gas stop very shortly, so as time dragged on, someone REALLY had to go to the bathroom. That’s the beauty of traveling in an RV… you have your own. But what if it’s the driver? No problem, just switch places while driving! This was one time where stopped was better than slow.

Getting back to the reason for heading to Indiana, the recliners. Oh my, what a great decision. It’s in an Amish community, and the owner, Vernon Lambright, was so warm and appreciative of our business on the phone when we placed the order. He said we were welcome to spend the night in their parking lot. He came recommended by the Facebook View/Navion group, and we had seen pictures of his work. Check out the before and after pics, from an uncomfortable old hard bench, to stuffed power recliners. An added benefit... Now we can stealth camp. The recliners will fully extend without having to put the slide out. Our View is a G model, where the bed slides out the back, making it pretty obvious when someone is sleeping there. 

 

Lambert’s, in the heart of Amish country. The 

Amish fruit stand, with amazing pies, 

yellow watermelons, jam, peaches… 

We wanted to buy it all!

Enjoying Lambright's Driveway. There were cows on the other side of that white fence.

Do you suppose it’s genetic roots that make me feel at home and swoon over pastoral scenes?  I took a bazillion pics because everything was just so awesome. OMG, the farm stands. And everyone is so nice. The fruit stand guy insisted that we take a red seedless watermelon as a bonus gift as we were leaving. He of course knows the furniture guy. He was floored to hear that we drove all the way here from Nevada just to get Vernon’s recliners. The Amish are known for their furniture making skills, so it makes sense to go there.

The visit on the farm in upstate NY was so peaceful and full of critters. I can’t get enough of the pastoral serenity of such places. Now I'm sure it's my farmgirl DNA! The goats quickly became my new buddies, as each time I went out, there were tasty morsels for them to munch. Bill got to have some of the wine he fondly remembers from back in the 70’s. And I got to commune with the animals. It was a beautiful weekend.

New babies!

Chuck is a bruiser - Old and arthritic,

But he still has spirit.

Fainting goats - Always hungry

Someone loves apples

Oh brother!

His mama misses him.

We stopped by to see cousin Dan displaying his pride & joy at the car show.

After the long weekend, we zipped through Canada in order to get to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to take in some fall colors. We noticed a National Park in the area and decided to check it out. It turns out the best way to take in the views at Pictured Rock is by boat, so after checking in with the local Forest Service office, we found a nice campground (Furnace Bay) and bought tickets for the Lake Superior cruise.

The cruise takes you right up next to the rocks, and it’s only $38.

I decided to try using the hatchet to make kindling. Huh, cut a hole right through 

my jeans and into my leg. He took away my hatchet privileges!

 

Our next destination was to be Mt. Rushmore, but of course there are always good things along the way. We stayed at an RV park, Sleepy Hollow, in Wall near Badlands Nation Park so we could take time to enjoy the park the next day. In the morning we headed out for a tour of Badlands NP, and we both enjoyed it.  Had no idea what to expect so I was hugely awed when I saw the sights. I struck up a conversation with a scientist, PhD math prof at U of Colorado, who is writing a graphic novel. We had an interesting conversation over science deniers as we were looking at fossils. The ranger on site looked like he was about 15 years old! So we listened to the PhD guy instead.

Finally on Sunday 9/8, we made it to Rushmore. Again it was our lucky day, traveling without reservations, as we managed to score the best campsite in the place at Horsethief Lake, $13 right on the lake, concrete pad, woot! We would go back there. Bill had to be an agitator when standing looking at Rushmore, commenting loudly next to someone with a MAGA hat, “Gosh, look, there’s still room for Obama, our first black president!” I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack. He said, “I certainly hope you’re joking.” Since there’s obviously a little devil in him, we next headed for Devils Tower. It’s a cool place I never heard of before. The campground had a great view of the rock, and with the senior pass only $10.

 Pink for girls, blue for boys! J

Always looking for a View

We really are heading for Colorado, just taking some time to get there. Again using AllStays, we found a great place along the way in Torrington, WY: Pioneer Park, which had concrete pads and only $15 including electric, water, & dump. What really shocked me was when we got home, in the mail bin amidst about a zillion cruise brochures was the sweetest hand-written note from the city of Torrington, WY, thanking us for staying at their little RV park. I’ve never before received a thank you note from someplace we stayed. They were super nice on the phone, too.  It was one of those stops where we were just passing through, and I found the place through the Allstays app. I sent Adam, the app developer, a note about it. Every so often I send him a random pic of anything that’s eye-popping at one of the places.

On Wednesday 9/11, we finally got to Colorado. Hungry, as usual, the driver felt the need to find a diner that could rival his favorite back home. Using TripAdvisor, I came up with a winner hole in the wall in Cheyenne, the Luxury Diner-Yum! I showed the owner the Facebook food porn put out by our place back home, the Cracker Box. She was so enamored of Bill’s passion for food, that after our huge breakfast, she brought out a complementary cheesesteak sandwich for him to try. He took it to go and had it for dinner that night.

We decided to start our Colorado exploration with a visit to Rocky Mountain NP. It was a beautiful drive.

Does this make my butt look big?

 Dang, we got there only to find it completely sold out. They actually laughed at us, commenting that the reservations are sold out at least 6 months in advance. Sorry, but we just can’t plan like that. The ranger said there might be a few openings on the west side of the park where it’s first come, first served, but no guarantees. So 30 miles on steep winding road, which was closed due to icy weather about an hour after we passed through, and woo hoo, we lucked out to score a place at the Timber Creek campground on the west side of the park. Because the weekend was coming, we decided we’d best stay put for 4 nights ($52 total with senior pass). We had a great site, and the elk were in rut, so the trumpeting was all around. They even freely passed through the campground.

One of our day trips was into Granby where we did laundry. We also went to the Fraser pot dispensary, to see what we could see. $237 later, I had some CBD cream for my knee, and the other person had some smelly stuff and edibles. We were both happy. The weather had started turning pretty cold at night, so we were grateful that our rig just sips propane. The fridge runs on it full time, and we also use the stove and heater. We only filled up after we had been on the road for 26 days.   

Sun 9/15 was a driving day, so we went to local places for food & supplies - BBQ and peaches from a roadside stand, and overnight at Angel of Shavano, $10 w/senior pass Forest Svc property. We never know if these places are going to be open, since many close down after Labor Day. We were heading for Black Canyon of the Gunnison, since we knew it was gorgeous. We like it better than the Grand Canyon. But we hate to revisit places we’ve already been since there are so many more great places out there just waiting to be discovered. So this time we went to the north rim, following a long gravel road. The place has only 13 sites, so we’d hate to go all that way only to find it full. Lucky us (again), finding a nice site, but the best looking site also had an awning eating tree! It was right on the rim, but we had to park on the other side of the road in order to get adequate clearance. It was only $16 for 2 nights w/senior pass.

 Oops!

Love the north rim.

We left Black Canyon on Thurs 9/18 heading for Telluride, but hubby was having neck spasms, probably from all the driving, so we decided to look for some hot springs and maybe a massage. We found massage and hot springs @ Ridgway, just north of Ouray. It was $100 to camp (park), but it came with complete access to the hot springs for 2 days. We also signed up for a couples massage which wasn’t all that great. It could be described as “pushing my fat around” rather than the therapeutic deep tissue massages we favor. Now here’s the interesting part (to some)… the hot springs are clothing optional. I had never been to such a place, and I certainly wasn’t going to get naked in front of a bunch of strangers. Not to mention large female appendages hang down when you walk to the pool, and float once in the water. One needs a swimsuit to keep them in their place J  The gardens around the numerous pools were spectacular.

The next day we went through Ouray to get propane at an RV park. We decided to pass on tank dump because they wanted $25. The tank wasn’t anywhere near full, so we agreed, “Throw in another tablet and call it good!” Seems this minimum price is a city requirement. They don’t want passing RV’s to be dumping in their city. Just down the road we again lucked into a wonderful Forest Service camping spot by Mineral Creek, above Silverton. It was so gorgeous we decided to stay 3 nights. We gathered wood, sat and read in the sun, took naps, and tried to stay warm when it got down to 20.

We ate lunch then got groceries in Durango, then headed off to Mesa Verde National Park for 2 nights, free shower, dump & fill, $34.70 w/senior pass. Although there’s no cell service there, near the park store there’s wifi, so we were able to do FaceTime with our granddaughter. Showers were great, too. We went into the town of Cortez and found a great liquor store that had a fabulous supply of cider. I bought enough to last the rest of the trip.

             Great label

 24-9/27 We found an amazing boondocking location East Fork of the San Juan River, mile marker 154, above Pagosa Springs, found by visiting Forest Service office in town. It’s 2 miles past East Fork Forest Service campground up rocky gravel road, right on the river, where 2 days turned into 3, with the only negative being no cell service. There was lots of firewood, sturdy fire rings, dark sky at night, a perfect place. Pagosa Springs seemed really unfriendly to RVers. You can’t stay in the Walmart lot there, and the police will come throw you out and issue citations. Makes us wonder if someone on the city council owns an RV park! This is from one of the reviews online: Spend as little as possible around here. Local campgrounds work with community to push travelers to their businesses. Jul 2019: Signs say no overnight parking. I called the store anyway and said I was passing through and asked to park overnight and was told no, it is a city ordinance.  

Bacon with a View

Fri 9/27 Leaving CO- 16 days total. We visited Great Sand Dune NP on the way out, but left when there were no camping sites that would accommodate our rig. Besides, there wasn't much to see there.

There's a tree and a sand dune

We went to the Taos, NM Forest Service office to get advice on where to boondock. She gave us a large detailed map of the FS roads in the area, and circled popular camping spots. We went to both recommended spots, and found them pretty disgusting with trash. We ended up spending the night on FS Road 237, but it had a very bad vibe and lots of trash. Yes, but it was free! We wouldn’t do it again. We both had nightmares that night, because we didn’t feel safe.

Sat 9/28 We headed west, ending up at Honeywell Lake, which was supposed to be closed for the season except for volunteers working on the trails, but they let us stay anyway FREE! We met a nice couple from CA and ended up spending the evening around the campfire drinking wine.

Sun 9/29 Continuing northwest, we were headed for Zion, where we were planning to meet up with some friends who were on an adventure of their own. Wow did we ever find another gem: Navajo Natl Monument- FREE! And very nice, with flush toilets. It’s the little things.

The next day we headed to Zion, but again found without reservations, we were not welcome. I went online and found a single campsite open for the next day, so reserved it. The ranger was very nice, and showed us where there is free BLM camping in Virgin, UT, about 15 miles from the park. Unlike others, she didn’t laugh at us for being so naïve. We tried both areas listed and found one full, but the other? Incredible! We went about 4 miles on a gravel road and found superb views and nice quiet space. Just look for Sheep Bridge Rd. See all the other campers? No, neither did we!

10/2 Ah, back in Nevada, where our annual pass lets us camp free as long as we don’t plug in. Overnight at Cathedral Gorge, near Pioche, then headed north to kill a few days before we had to be in Vegas for my nephew’s wedding renewal, Elvis style. If it weren’t for that commitment, we’d be heading home at this point. The park had showers, so that helped.

10/3 We’re working on filling the state passport book, in order to get a free annual day use pass, so we visit NV state parks whenever possible to get our books stamped. We stopped by Ward Charcoal Ovens on the way to Cave Lake. There was nobody there, and they let you go inside the ovens.

Th/ Fr nights: Cave Lake, Elk Flats campground. There were only 2 other sites occupied. And showers! Most of the sites around the lake were occupied, and they were smaller, so we opted to go up the hill. The next day we decided to try for Great Basin National Park. It was a bust for camping because we couldn’t get level. We even had a free site donated by someone who left early! So we headed back down south, landing at another state park in Caliente. But wouldn’t you know it, it was full. It was a Saturday night, and it was filled with train enthusiasts in town following some giant steam engine. No problem though. The ranger let us stay in the overflow area at Ryan-Kershaw State Park. The next day we moved into a regular site when the place cleared out. We took the opportunity to spend much of the day in town doing laundry, groceries, and eating out. We were excited to leave because we were headed for our very favorite camping spot, Valley of Fire State Park. We don’t need to plug in, so there’s usually room in the Arch Rock campground (no reservations). 

We stayed 3 nights, but couldn’t really get out much because a huge wind came up. It’s still pretty.

We stopped at another state park, Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort on the way into Vegas. The visitors center had an interesting film on the history of the settlement of the area.

10/11-13 My nephew’s Elvis wedding weekend: Because there are really no camping places nearby, we opted to stay at the Oasis RV Resort and take Uber to the events. Everyone else was staying at the MGM. Because I’m “local” (NV drivers license), we were able to stay at a discounted rate of $50 a night. The place was actually quite nice. We spent Saturday afternoon at the pool. Uber worked great, and we were able to meet up with my niece and her husband for a visit to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. This wasn’t just any Elvis wedding. All the guests had to come dressed as Elvis, male and female alike. We took a party bus to a wedding chapel, where they observed that nobody else had a pure Elvis event where the guests all dressed as Elvis. So yeah, we’re special!

Yes, EVERYONE is Elvis!

On Sunday after the Vegas hoopla, we stopped by another state park, Spring Mountain Ranch and got our passport stamp. We then headed for our last overnight on the road, at Berlin-Ichthyosaur, where they have fossil remains of a huge sea creature from the dinosaur era and an abandoned mining town, Berlin. Alas, the rangers were out, so we could only do self-guided touring.

Huge site with a View/view

Golly, fossils!

My, what big eyes you have!

We had to hike up this path to the fossils. He says I'm trying to kill him!

But we got to drive to the mining town.

10/14 Mon- At this point all we cared about was going home. We had to stop for gas in Fallon, but my trusty driver was rewarded for driving at a snail’s pace, managing to get the elusive 18 mpg!!! He was a happy camper.

Our trip total was around 8,600 miles. I’d say that’s the long way to get to Colorado!