Aug 16th to 18th - CO to NV

Aug 16^th – Fri – Longmont

Suz had to do a couple of haircuts this morning and Larry had some work to do so I had time to finally catch up the blog.  We went to their house shortly after 11, chatted while they finished their chores and had a quick lunch and then went sightseeing again.

We drove through the Prospect housing development which was interesting.  There is a wide range of building styles and the background provided by Larry makes it more fun.  Then we went to the Leanin’ Tree (greeting cards) facility.  They have a big outdoor area with bronze statues that are wonderful.  There is also a full-sized horse welded from pieces of everything including nuts & bolts, farm machinery parts, and hay forks for the mane & tail.  Inside, of course they have lots of cards & such for sale but they also have art galleries up & down with more sculptures as well as great paintings.  Loved it!

Our next stop was quite close at Celestial Seasonings which specializes in tea.  We shopped a bit and then went to the next building for tea tasting but passed on the tour.  Now it was on to Chautauqua Park which is up a mountain and provides amazing views of Boulder and a peek of Longmont in the distance.  We walked to an amphitheater where people were setting up for a wedding.  On the way back down the hill we went through a housing development which included a lot of rental cabins.

We carried on to Pearl Street in Boulder which has a pedestrian mall for several blocks and which offers street entertainment on Fridays.  We found a parking spot a couple of blocks away and started wandering, “shopping” & people watching.  When David & Docma called, we met them and decided on a place for dinner.  We ate on a rooftop patio with misters as it was still very warm.  We did some more wandering after dinner and paused to watch a couple of street performers.  Of course the people watching was the most entertaining.

After hugging Larry & Suz goodbye, we headed back to the rig.  We got back shortly after 9, directed the AC to the bedroom and relaxed with TV & a book.

Aug 17^th – Sat – to Salina UT

We were on the road at 8:30 after dumping the tanks.  Of course we could not make the turn into the dump station as we came out of the RV spot so Terry had to turn around and come in from the road.

I took lots of pictures as we drove through scenic Glenwood Canyon.  Larry recommended a stop at Glenwood Springs (hot spring pools) but as we approached the town we saw nothing but full parking lots and kept going.  Also, according to some information that Suz printed from the internet, it costs close to $20 per person to use the pools and reviews on RV parks were not encouraging – both $$ and facilities.  We stopped down the road for fuel for the truck & for us and kept driving on great roads at high altitudes.

We stopped for the night in Salina UT.  The GPS took us right past the RV park and we didn’t notice the hard-to-read sign.  Terry did notice the RV park so we returned and discovered it was the park we were looking for!  We didn’t have to unhook in the long pull-through and since we had a late lunch we settled for a drink, dessert and a walk around the park.

Aug 18^th – Sun – to Pahrump NV

It didn’t take long to unhook the electricity & water, pull in the slides and get on the road.   We quickly got into typical, amazing Utah scenery with colored cliffs & canyons.  There are a lot of view pullouts on the road and we stopped at one for yet more photos. 

A display on the truck indicated that our coolant was low so I looked through the manual for advice – type of coolant – and we pulled into a station for diesel.  We bought a gallon of coolant ($20!) but when Terry went to put it in he found the reservoir was full!  We thought we could eat as well but the available restaurant didn’t open until 10 so we hit the road.  When we got out of the canyons, the wind started and we actually had to slow down several times as we were getting blown around a lot.

We stopped at Mesquite NV which of course was to visit a new casino and finally get something to eat.  We had to walk halfway down a large parking lot to buy a parking ticket and then waited in line for a player’s card and received travel mugs for joining.  After eating, we played the slots a bit.

As we were going up the entrance ramp to the freeway, we heard a HUGE bang and a metallic clank.  I thought we blew a tire but Terry said it was the engine as we had no power.  He realized the engine was still running so he quickly pulled to the edge of the road, checked under the hood and found a large hose had come apart.  He decided to continue as long as the engine was running and try to get off the ramp/freeway.  I searched the GPS and found a diesel repair place in Mesquite.  We got on the freeway, drove 2 miles to the next exit, got back on the freeway to the first exit and then less than a mile to the repair shop – all at 10 MPH max with the engine whistling.  We found the shop with a large parking spot at the curb, found a phone number on a company truck for 24 hour service and called.  The guy said to give him 20 minutes and actually arrived in 15.  He found a very sturdy clamp to replace the one that gave way on the hose and made a quick fix.  If it wasn’t for the $75 “Sunday” charge, it would have been really cheap!

As we approached Las Vegas, we saw clouds & then lightning.  Since it was Sunday, the traffic through Vegas wasn’t bad.  We got some rain and saw white “clouds” towards Pahrump which we finally identified as blowing dust.  We arrived at the RV park just before 3 (PDT) which was lucky as the office closed at 3.  We thought we would stay here for a month until the guy said they were totally full for Labor Day weekend.  He found a site for 12 days and said come in tomorrow to pay.

We had some trees that we thought might block the satellite but it all turned out OK and we got set up.  I think we were tired as we did the worst job in years of parking & leveling.  Good thing it was too hot for neighbors to be sitting outside.

After a drink we went the casino to get player’s cards and check out the slots.  It didn’t take long to discover that they are not the same as the last time we were here.  There are new owners so we might be happy that we can’t stay a month.  I made dinner and we called it a day.