A Little "Ditty" We Kept Passing as We Drove Between Cortez, CO & Durango, CO...

   Abandoned
Sinclair Station

37001 U.S. 160          Mancos, Colorado 81328

You can't miss this huge "toxic site" on the drive along Highway 160 in between Mesa Verde and Mancos/Durango.
The signs warning about toxic contamination and blaming the state of Colorado for a massive fuel spill are pretty jarring.



Located on Highway 160 in between Mesa Verde National Park and the town of Mancos, CO is a former Sinclair gas station and "Wild Wild Rest" general store. All that remains, however, is a shell of the station and store and a contaminated plot of land after residual fuels flowed from gasoline storage tanks into the ground during a tank removal process in 2006. 
Frustrated by the perceived inaction of both the gas station's operator and the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety, land owner Ray McCarty placed signs--bracketed by skull-and-cross bone flags and graphics--declaring the area a "Massive Petroleum Spill, Toxic Site," a "State-Chemical Landfill," and warning "Benzene, Cancer Hazard" in 2013.

Our Time in Cortez, CO...so far!

Friday, July 15, 2016

Arrived at La Mesa RV Park in Cortez, CO (pop. 8,500) about 4 pm. 

 
What a nice park.  No pool but we don’t need one.  Staying 17 days.   We set up in about ½ hour.  They have a Safeway & City Market (Kroger) as well as a Super Walmart.  They also have quite a few “weed stores” (as Georgie puts it).  You can easily spot them…they have a large green cross outside.  Georgie made sure this was our 1^st stop!  That’s all I heard from him the last 2 days of our drive here.

Since it’s legal here I decided I could smoke some.  Yea, well!  We were laughing SO hard.  I was laughing so hard I started to fall backwards.  I grabbed the edge of the counter…and ripped it off…on my way down to the floor!  Great!  Of course this was just one more thing to laugh about!  Old people and dope…what can I say. 

Saturday, July 16

Unloaded the Harley’s.   Cleaned the garage.  Took a nap…a long nap…because we can.

Sunday, July 17

Had to take Annie to the Emergency Vet in Durango (pop. 17,800), Riverview Animal Hospital.  

 

 

 

 

 

Found a nice restaurant where we could eat outside so Tori could be with us, Ska Brewery.  I think they have the best hamburgers we have ever eaten!

Monday, July 18

Hung out around here.  Did some laundry.  Took a drive to see the town.

 

Tuesday, July 19
Rode the Harley’s to Four Corners Monument-90 miles round trip.  Stopped at Ute Mountain Casino on the way there.  A lot of penny slots.

 

Wednesday, July 20

Back to Durango.  Annie had to get her bandages changed.  Made reservations at Alpen Rose RV Park for Aug 1-8.

Thursday, July 21

Rode out to Dolores (pop. 953) through Mancos (pop. 1,360).

Friday, July 22

Rode back to Dolores.  Had really good pizza at Riverfront Bar & Grill.  Sat out on the deck, right on the Delores River. 

Saturday, July 23

I stayed home to do some things around the house.  Georgie road to Dolores.  He rode through San Juan National Forest.  Was only gone about 2 hours. 

We’ll take a drive up there some evening before dark.  Georgie thinks we’ll see a lot of wild life.

 

Sunday, July 24

Back again to Durango for Annie’s check up.  Got her bandages off but now has to wear her Cone of Shame ALL THE TIME!

Elevation in Silverton

Silverton

 Drove up to Silverton (pop. 629).  What a SCARY drive!  Rt. 550 is called The Million Dollar Rd.  We hit a deer as we came around a curve.  Most of the road has no shoulder, just a looooong drop off.   No guardrails!  Silverton doesn’t have any fast food places BUT…they have at least 1 “weed store”.  We decided that since Annie will have to go to the Vet at least 1 more time we’d stay another week in Durango and ride the Harley’s up to Silverton.

 

On the way back from Silverton

Monday, July 25

Rode the Harley’s to Mesa Verde National Park.  What a beautiful ride!  Lots of switch-backs but there were guardrails so not too bad…for me.  About  50 miles round trip.

 

There are a lot of places to stop.  As far back as 800 AD the Pueblo Indians built and lived in the Cliff Dwellings.  

 

Tuesday, July 26

Started to wax the rig.  This is going to be a big job.  We’ll do a little at a time.  It was somewhat overcast today so was a good day to do this.

Dropped the bedroom clicker beside the bed.  On my side there is a small space between the bed and the floor so the slide can go in and out.  The clicker fell down in that small space.  We had to take the strip of wood off Georgie’s side then slide the broom handle all the way across to push the clicker up where I could reach it.  Georgie was in charge of putting the strip of wood back.  He’s getting so handly!

We fixed the emergency window latch.  It broke on the drive here.   We ordered a new one.

And the Saga of Poor Sweet Annie Continues....

If you read our blog post from Friday, July 8, 2016 OMG!  Glad We Weren't...On the Road..., you know what happened to our Annie.

We left Brent & Ashley's on Sunday, July 10th.  We were checking her wound every night when we stopped.  On Wednesday, July 13th we noticed a couple of stitches had come out.  We didn't think too much of it.  We put some Neosporin on it, a huge bandaid then wrapped gauze around it then put her T-shirt back on.
When we checked it on Thursday, July 14th a couple more stitches had come out.  Again with the Neosporin, bandaid and gauze.

We arrived at our campground on Friday, July 15th in Cortez, CO.  We were busy setting up and we were sooooo tired.  Annie's wound didn't get checked until Saturday morning.  It looked like most of the stitches had come out but it didn't seem to bother her.  We wrapped it again.  We called all the vets in the area, none were open until Monday, July 18th.  We figured we'd just keep an eye on it then take her Monday to see a vet.
On Sunday when we checked it, it was completely open.  You could see the muscle!  We found an emergency vet in Durango that was open.  We all loaded in the truck at 9:30 am and headed to Durango, about an hour east of us.
We got to the vets office around 10:30 am.  They looked at it.  Dr. Randy said they would have to do surgery...again.  There may be some infection also.  Shit!  And we thought we were taking good care of her.  Shit!  He said it would be a couple of hours before we could take her home.  Poor Annie.
We drove around a while, went to lunch (at Ska Brewery-more about this in another blog post)
We got a call around 2 pm.  Annie was out of surgery, it went well.  She was in recovery.  We could pick her up around 4 pm.  This was beginning to be a very long day!  We asked if we could come see her.  They said she was still sleeping and wouldn't even know we were there.  Ok we said.
About 20 minutes later my phone rings.  It's the vets office.  Annie woke up.  We could come get her as she would probably be happier with us.  (We figured when she woke up, she WOKE UP!  She was probably barking and wouldn't stop).
We raced to the vets office.  We could hear her in the back.  Tori was ready to head back there. 
They brought her out.  Poor thing, she looked pitiful but was full of energy!  Oh...and she gets to wear "The Cone of Shame". 

They wanted to see her on Wednesday, July 20th at 7:45 am.  We thought they said they were going to check her and take her bandage off. 
She did pretty good with the cone of shame.  She got to take it off to eat and when she went out to pee and other stuff.  She caught on pretty quick when she got it off.  She wanted to go out a lot more than normal, that's for sure.  It was the least we could do for poor Annie.  Tori didn't know what to think.  Alley cat was puzzled.  How would she be able to play with her buddy.  Believe me, they figured it out!
Anyway, we got to the vets office on Wednesday and had to leave her for about an hour.  We were excited for her to have her bandage off!

We got a call that we could pick her up about 9 am. 
They brought her out when we got there.  To our dismay, she had another bandage on.  This one was red instead of blue. 

We were kind of disappointed but Dr. Randy explained that with her being a puppy it was best if they kept it bandaged for a couple weeks.  We understood.
They wanted to see her Sunday, July 24th and then again on Thursday and again on Monday or Tuesday.
We were only going to stay in Cortez until Friday, July 29th.  We looked around Durango for campgrounds.  We found one we could get into for a week starting August 1.  We made reservations at Alpen Rose RV Park in Durango (Will tell you why we chose this campground in another blog post).  Came back to Cortez and extended our stay here until August 1.
Hopefully Annie will recover nicely and this will all be behind us.
We've said many times...this is the most expensive dog we have every owned!  The nurse said Annie needs to get a job.  Well...show dog is out of the questions now.

The Adventure Continues...

Thursday, July 14, 2016

We left Checotah, OK at 8 am.  Weather was nice.  Traffic wasn’t bad. 

George was surprised that we were getting 8.4 mpg.  He figured we’d get around 7.5 mpg pulling this 15,000 lb rig.  He’s very pleased with the way the truck is running and how well it pulls the 5^th wheel.

We’re moseying along, driving between 65-70 mph.  It’s hilly but nothing extreme.  We got around Oklahoma City around 9:30 am.  We figured we get close to Albuquerque, NM around 4 pm and stay the night there.  We’d only have about a ½ day drive Friday to get into Durango, CO.

As you know, everything’s bigger in Texas.  The hills are higher and longer.  We always start looking for a truck stop when the gas gauge gets around ½ a tank.  We stop at truck stops because we know we won’t have a problem getting in and out.  We passed though a lot of small towns on I-40. 

We didn’t see any signs for truck stops.  I was on my phone checking for truck stops.  We were down to about ¼ of a tank.  I was starting to panic a little.  George said, “No problem.  It says I can go 89 miles.”  I was still worried.  I found a Love’s Truck Stop at exit 96.  It was about 50 miles ahead. 

George had to accelerate quite a bit to get up the hills as a decent speed.  I kept asking him to slow down to conserve fuel.  Stop worrying he kept saying.  We were coming up to this little town, Groom, TX (population 500).  It has a huge white cross you can’t miss. 

There was a Phillips 66 there but didn’t advertise diesel fuel.  George said he didn’t want to pull off and take a chance on wasting fuel.  This was at exit 112.  George said we could make it to exit 96, it was only 16 miles away.  The truck said we had 34 miles left on this tank.

We passed mile marker 104.  We could see mile marker 103 when all of a sudden the truck shut off!

THE TRUCK SHUT OFF!!  George coasted over to the shoulder, barely off the interstate.  WE RAN OUT OF FUEL!!!  George said, “It said we could go 34 miles.”  Yea, that didn’t happen!  We sat there for a minute, not saying anything.  All of a sudden I remembered that Love’s has a sign in all their truck stops that says they have roadside assistance.  I’ll call them.  They’re only 8 ½ miles ahead.  We’ll be on our way in no time.

I called Love’s, told them we ran out of fuel and where we were.  They asked what we were driving.  I said, “We’re driving an F350 diesel, towing a 40’ 5^th wheel.”  Cool I thought.  This is going to be easy.

Well…the gal on the other end of the phone proceeded to tell me they only deliver fuel to 18 wheelers.  I said, “But we’re only 8 ½ miles away.  Couldn’t somebody just run up here with a can of diesel fuel?”  She said no and was very firm when she said it.  Ok I thought.  Now what?    It was 101 outside.  The truck won’t start so we have no air conditioning.  The dogs and cat are hot, we’re hot.  What are we going to do?

TaDa!!  I remembered we have AAA.  I told George I’d call them.  Since we were in the middle of nowhere it may take a while for them to get there.  George decided while I was calling them, he’d take a gas can and run across the interstate to a building that had a truck parked in front.  It was a farm of some sort but only had this building and a grain elevator.

After 10 minutes on the phone with AAA they said because of the heat and the dogs they would put a rush on it.  Someone should be here in less than 45 minutes.  I text George to let him know (he’s not having any luck finding anyone over there).  His phone goes off.  It’s sitting right next to me.  No problem, he won’t be there too much longer. 

I get the dogs out, get them and the cat some water.  We spend about 15 minutes walking around.  I look across the interstate expecting to see George on his way back.  He is nowhere to be found.  My first thought is someone is holding him captive inside that building.  Now what?  Then I get my senses about me and decide he found someone and he’s filling the gas can.

My phone rings.  It’s an 806 area code.  I think its AAA.  It’s George.  He found a nice guy that is taking him to Love’s to get fuel.  I tell him AAA is on their way. 

George and his new friend pull up in front of our truck.  30 seconds later the AAA truck pulls up behind the 5^th wheel.  George’s friend says, “Did you call someone?”  AAA I say.  He says, “That’s my company.  I own that truck.”  NO WAY!  Small world.

We end up with almost a ½ a tank of fuel.  We give George’s friend $45 (that’s all the cash we had on hand) and the AAA truck our information so he can get paid.

We are on our way…finally.

We made it to Tucumcari, NM by 5 pm, about 175 miles east of Albuquerque.  Oh well, at least we’re still not sitting on the side of the road.

Hoping for an uneventful day tomorrow.

 

Friday, July 15, 2016

Left Tucumcari, NM at 7:50 am.  Made sure we checked fuel regularly.  Filled up close to ½ a tank so we made a couple extra stops. 

Started looking for campgrounds in Durango.  I called every campground listed.  Nothing available.  Most told me they were booked until mid August. 

I should have known better!  I did vacation rentals in Indian Rocks Beach, FL for more than 20 years.  People would call at the last minute looking for a place on the beach in mid July or February or March.  No such luck.  It was our busiest times of the year.  I should have know better!

We decided to look at some towns around Durango.  Cortez, CO was a little closer to Four Corners Monument, which we wanted to see for sure.  We found a very nice RV park, La Mesa RV Park.  Only about 35 sites.  Nothing too fancy but pet friendly with 4 separate grassy areas for the dogs.  Small laundry  room.  Bath house with 3 showers (recently updated).  The park is very well maintained and extremely clean.  Everything is in good working condition.  WIFI is excellent!  Water pressure is also great!

We are going to stay here for 2 weeks. 

 

On Our Way to Durango, CO...

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Brent & Ashley's

Lyla & Brent

We are finally on our way.  Spent a few days at Brent & Ashley's so we could see the grandkids (and Brandon, Brent & Ashley too).


Cayden & Tyler

Diane, Ashley, Brent, Chris & Frank

 

We got to Crestview, FL Sunday night.  We already planned to spend Monday there getting our Driver's Licenses changed & registering to vote.  As most know you have to take 2 pieces of mail with your address on it in order to do these things.
If you want Florida to be your residence (or Texas or South Dakota) but don't have a "residence" most full-time RV'ers use a mail service as an address.  This can be used as our legal address.  All our mail goes here.  We can check what mail came daily.  If we are stationary for a week or more we can have it sent to us.  If we're traveling, they'll scan it if we want them to.  This all comes at a price but it's very fair for what they do & the convenience.
 

 

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Left Crestview at 7:45 am.

Tunnel in Arkansas

There was a tunnel...in Arkansas!  A tunnel!  WTF!  We hadn't gone through a tunnel before.  We think it went under the water.  Georgie was a little nervous.  It was kind of creepy really.

Pretty uneventful until...we hit Jackson, MS!  I-40 W...what a bitch of a road!  That part of I-40 will jar your teeth loose!

Oh...and on top of that...we were just getting through Jackson when all of a sudden we couldn't maintain our speed! Georgie said, "Somethings wrong".  What I ask.  He said he wasn't sure.  On the interstate, in heavy traffic we weren't really moving too fast, just over a hump, he pulled over...way over.  Got out of the truck to see what he could find.  Low & behold...this road was so bad it jiggled the plug to the emergency trailer brakes loose.  He jumped in the bed of the truck & pushed that plug in so hard it won't ever come out.  He said it must not have been in as tight as it should have been even though it looked like it was.  MAJOR EVENT AVERTED!  My hero! (Sunday night it came out when we forgot to disconnect it from the hitch.  If that happens you just push it back in.)

We were back on the road in about 15 minutes.

Ended our day at Frog Hollow RV Park at 5:10 pm.  Too long of a day.  Our asses were dragging!  572 miles, pulling a 40' 5th wheel that weighs about 15,000 lbs.

Tori & Annie

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

On the road at 7:30 am.  Weather was nice, roads were decent.  Nothing too much going on.

Annie the Copilot

We entered Tennessee at 9 am.  Into Arkansas at 9:15 am...in the middle of some old, rickety bridge on I-40 W.

Expert park job!

Georgie said, "Now I'm scared!"  There was an 18 wheeler right next to us in the left lane.  The bridge was 2 lanes.  It was so narrow he could have reached out & touched it.

That was it, our excitement for the day.  We decided that yesterday was too long of a day.  We were going to stop earlier.  We found what appeared to be a nice KOA just off the road in Checotah, OK.  Called an hour ahead & made reservations.  We pulled in.  Very nice...except the pool looked green & the wifi was down.  OK.  We'll just get the air cranked up (since it was 97 outside at 4 pm).  

It took us 15 minutes to get set up.  Both air conditioners were cranking, 3 fans on.  Georgie was sweating his balls off.  If I had them I'd be sweating mine off too.  Everything shuts off!  Georgie went outside to the electrical box we were plugged into & flipped the breaker.  Everything came back on. 

In an RV it takes a while for things to cool off.  The a/c doesn't work the same as residential ones. 

Anyway, in 10 short minutes the temperature inside climbed 2 degrees.

20 minutes later...the breaker again.  15 minutes later...again with the breaker!

We didn't want to move to another site.  We'd have to start over.  Unhook the water & electric.  Get the slides in.  Etc, etc, etc. 

We switched the fridge from electric to propane for now.  Several hours later all is good...so far.  Fingers crossed.  It's still 81 degrees in the rig after 4 hours but that's better than 95...where it started.