Constipation!

Not us, the RV.    I know some of you share this blog with your children so I will keep this clean, but oh the options that are there.  RVs have 3 holding tanks for water.  One for fresh water, one for gray water and one for black water.  Gray water is water used at the sinks and in the shower.  Black water is from the toilets.  The campground sight in Cheyenne did not have sewer hook up so we were conserving water and filling our tanks.  On Wednesday when it was time to leave the first stop was at the dump station.  I hooked everything up, pulled the valve for the black water...nothing!  I knew the tank was full since we had not emptied for 5 days.  We unhooked and drove around the camp ground thinking the agitation might break things up.  Nope!  Call the RV dealer and they suggest open the valve and push an awning wire in to loosen the clog.  I don't carry an awning wire with me but I do have a hose.  So while Diana turned the hose on full blast I pushed it into the drain line.  Of course I'm waiting to get covered with the contents of the tank, but nothing.  I called a plumber and they said they could pump out the tank and they would call me back.  2.5hours later we decided to call someone in Custer, SD which was our destination for that day.  They might be able to help, "call me when you get here."  By now the black water valve has been open for some time and we notice the indicator is reading empty!  What?  We figured that while we were making calls etc. the clog must have broken.  So off we went to Custer.  When we got to Custer and hooked up I pulled the black water valve and we had a gusher.  I flushed the tank twice and all is well.  Apparently the enema I gave it with the hose and the drive really got things moving.  Sorry, no pictures of this.

sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!

We got up early Sunday so we could get to Frontier Park for what was billed as "Cowboy church".  We have been getting to church regularly and figured this would be a new way for us to worship.  We got there early and found great free parking.

The service was led by Suzie Mcentire, sister to Reba Mcentire of country music fame.  Suzy was with her husband Mark Eaton, and they did a nice job.  They mostly sang songs and chatted a bit.  Mark gave a nice message.  A little too much country music for my liking but it was a nice service.

After the service we took a "behind the shoots tour".  We got to walk out into the arena and see the shoots that the bulls are in just before the riders compete.  Very cool.  But watch your step or you maybe taking home a smelly prize!  The tour was informative and interesting.

A bite to eat and something to drink then back into the grandstand to watch a rodeo.  These things are great entertainment!  Fast paced, and always something to see.  It lasted 3 hours and we had a ball.

Then we walked thru the Indian village, the old west town and the Frontier Days museum.  Finally, back home, shower and to bed.

I (we) Love a Parade

We ended up here in Cheyenne on a suggestion from a friend.  Originally we were going to come thru here a week  earlier.  One of the guys from the Men's Bible study grew up out here and said we should try to come during Cheyenne Frontier Days.  It work out well and we own a big thank you to Boyd.

Boyd has a sister who lives here and we got in contact with her.  She announces one of the parades and invited us to sit with her while she worked.  So we met Lyn Saturday morning and saw a great parade.  It lasted about an hour and a half.  We saw school bands, floats, old cars, old fire trucks, old horse drawn carriages and all the usual stuff you find in parades.  It was great.  After the parade we spent abut 30 minutes talking with Lyn.  What a nice lady!  She was so accommodating and helpful.  She clued us in on what to see at Frontier Park and the best gates to go in and parking.  We employed her advise and it paid off.  We did a few things on Saturday but because we had been up late Friday night and got up early on Saturday we just went home and relaxed the rest on the day.  Yes, we are old.

Styx and Journey concert

We got into Cheyenne, WY on Thursday and got settled.  Friday we went to Frontier Park for part of Cheyenne Frontier Days.  This is supposed to be the largest out door rodeo anywhere.  It actually goes by the slogan "Daddy of 'em all".  We checked out the grounds and found it to be a very festive fair.  Lots of great food that is bad for you.  Lots of vendors selling wares that you will only see at a fair of some sort.  We had a little food then went to the arena for the concert.  Styx was fantastic.  Very high energy, the crowd singing along, some great guitar and key board.  Just wonderful.

Journey came out after a long intermission and cranked up the volume.  So much so that even with my poor hearing the volume was physically painful.  Diana agreed and about 20 minutes into the show we left.  The good news is from out side the arena and while still in the park with all the festivities the band sounded great.  Just too much volume when we were inside.

We had taken the shuttle from the campground and were told to meet the driver at the same place he dropped us off after the concert.  We got there maybe 10 minutes after the show ended and waited.  And waited, and waited.  Finally about midnight a van pulled up and 2 women hung a hand made sign out the window offering cab service for $10.  There were 2 young women that were not with us but were waiting for a ride near us and all four of us jumped into this van.  The 2 women passengers asked to be taken to a local bar.  They  were under the miss-impression that they were not drunk enough.  So we drop them off and our 2 "cabbies" ask where we are going and they brought us to the campground with no problem.  They were very nice young ladies and I told them I respected their entrepreneurial spirit.

The next day I asked in the office what happened to the van.  They said he was there and brought 20 people back from the concert.  I am not sure how we missed it but the "cabbies" were nice.

Tranny pump resolved??

If you have been reading along you know we have had issues with the supplemental transmission fluid pump on the Jeep.  I'll spare the details and just pick up at the Camping World in Longmont, CO.  This is where we set an appointment to have the broken pump replaced and where we had the new pump shipped.  After the technician replaced the pump he found the system still did not work properly.  So he investigated more and found a connection problem between the RV and the Jeep.  He replace the connection plug on the back of the RV and presto...problem solved.

So I called the Camping World in Bowling Green, KY where the pump was first diagnosed as defective.  I explained what was really wrong and asked for a refund on the diagnostic charges from them.  They not only agreed to that but also refunded the diagnostic on the generator.  Additionally, they apologized for the misdiagnosis.  I am very impressed!

We then hooked up the Jeep and drove to Cheyenne, WY for Frontier Days, the biggest outdoor rodeo in the world, we are told.  More on that in another post.

I also called Remco to see if I could return the pump.  The Camping World tech left the new one on rather than charge us for labor to remove it and install the old one.  Remco will not take the used one back or give me any credit... I'm not surprised but disappointed.  So we have listed the pump on eBay hoping to get something back for that. But now all systems are go.  So we will.

We will be in Cheyenne until the 24th then we move on to Custer, SD for a few days.

Early risers

On Tuesday the 16th we got up early...4:00 AM early.  Our goal was to get into Rocky Mountain National Park, get over toward Grand Lake and maybe see some moose.  Those of you who are on Facebook saw a few pics of the sun rise as we made our way up the mountain.  As we were driving the windy twisty road around one corner I thought I saw something in the road.  As we rounded another corner we saw him.  A large bull elk.  He was beautiful.  We popped the sunroof in the Jeep and Diana stood up on the passenger seat and took a few pics.  Moments later we saw another just off the road.

We came across several more elk and a small heard of females grazing.  That morning was wonderful as we made it out of the park on the western side.  As we approached the Ranger station I got a glimpse of a cow moose.  It came through some trees and crossed the road about 150 yards ahead of us.  We finally got a full side view before it moved into some trees.

We made it to Grand Lake and had some breakfast.  On the way back through the park we found, what we think, were the same 2 bulls we saw in the morning resting on the side of the road.

We got home about 3, took a nap and had dinner.  Another great day!!!

Clouds

We have seen some amazing vistas while in the Rockies.  The one thing I found very fascinating were the shadows of the clouds.  Each mountain we went up offered us a view of other mountains and of vast valleys below.  I have always liked looking at clouds but this was the first time I was at a high enough elevation that I could see the shadows of the clouds as they moved across the hills and valleys.  It was very cool.

Reclaimation and rainbows

As you have read, we have had company since the 2nd of July.  So yesterday, the 13th, we washed up all the guest bedding and towels and got that stowed.  We cleaned the inside of the RV and put things where they belong. We had a great time with Marge and David.  And the time with Daniel is always priceless.  But it did feel good to reclaim our home.

Last night we were blessed to see a very intense double rainbow that lasted about 30 minutes.  Neither of us can remember seeing such intense color and separation in a rainbow.  Also neither of us could remember seeing one last so long.  We could see the entire arch but our cameras were not able to get it all.  It truly seemed to end at the end of our street in the campground.  I don't know if this is a typical rainbow in the Rockies or if we were just that blessed.  It was magnificent!  Of course the picture does not do it justice.  But trust me, it was spectacular!

A great kid!

Sadly we had to say good bye to Daniel.  He flew from Denver to L.A. to meet with some friends and spend a few days.  From there it is back to Maui and we are not sure when we will see him again. We had a great time while he was with us.  It was his first chance to see the RV and see how the old folks live.  He helped us break down and move from Leadville, CO to Estes Park, CO.  We did some great hikes and saw some amazing things, including a herd of elk grazing and just laying around.  There were between 75 and 100 of them just hanging out.

Rockie Moutain High

The last few days we have been to Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen and Snowmass.  At each location we have checked out the area and done some hiking.  We usually take a gondola up the mountain and hike from there.  Sometime there is chair lift that will take us higher, then we hike.  The air is thin as we are usually between 10 and 11 thousand feet above sea level.  This means we stop on our upward journey often to catch our breath and drink some water.  Of the places we have been I prefer Breckenridge.  I just felt it was less pretentious than the others and that I might fit in better.  Snowmass had the best vistas from the mountain top but all were amazing.  The views are incredible and it seems each vista is more magnificent than the last.  These pictures do not even come close to how spectacular the scenery is.

The best part of this leg of the journey is that Daniel is with us.  I know I am bias but I am so proud of what a fine man he is.

Visitors from afar

On July 1 Diana's sister, Marge, and her husband, David, from Port Orange, FL arrived in Leadville and stayed with us a few days.  They were our first overnight guests and things worked out fine.We hiked near Twin Lakes and had a great day.  We explored Leadville a little and just enjoyed the company.

Then on the 4th we all drove into Denver to meet Daniel's flight from Hawaii.  Daniel had no idea that Marge and David would be there.  We were all very excited to see Daniel and Marge made a sign to hold up as a greeting.  She spared no expense on the sign as she use the top if an old pizza box!  Daniel was very surprised to see them.  We were surprised to see Daniel as he now has a Mohawk style haircut.  This will disappear when he gets back to work but it looks good.  The 5 of us spent the day in Denver then Di Daniel and I went to the Rockies game.  Marge and David spent the evening around the area and watched fireworks.  We got to see fireworks at the stadium after the game.  On the 5th Marge and David headed off on the rest of their trip and we headed back to Leadville.  More on Daniel's visit in the next post.

One down, one to go

The night of June 30th was spent in the parking lot of the Cummins Onan dealer.  The dealer had 3 electrical hook ups and we used one.  Neither of us slept well because we were right next to a busy road.  But at 6:45 AM the dealer filled out our paper work and by 8:15 AM the generator was fixed.   We ran the generator for about 45 minutes as we drove down the road.  A quick stop at AAA to get some maps and tour books and we were on the road to Leadville, CO.

We got to Leadville,filled both vehicles with gas and set camp.  We are here for about 9 days and will visit with Daniel.  After he is gone we have an appointment for the transmission pump problem.  So one of our two mechanical issues is solved!!!!