Great Sand Dunes National Mounument, Aug. 19-22, 2013

Great Sand Dunes National Monument. It’s amazing to see these kinds of dunes in a valley at 8,000 ft. in the Rockies. The tallest dune is 755 ft. high. The beautiful visitor center is a great educational experience with hands on exhibits and activities for kids. Of course the best activity is playing in the dunes.

The campground has small but spacious sites perfect for tents and small rigs like ours. There are restrooms but no showers or utilities.

We found a great site with a view of the dunes and were entertained watching people, just little specs out there climbing around on the dunes.

 

The days are warm in August so we hiked into the dunes in the early evening, toes sinking into cool sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim tries dune skiing. 

I climbed up a dune and sat down to take it all in, high, green mountains to the east and waves of sand sailing into the sunset. I liked the solitude and peacefulness, the anonymity of being just one of those little specs in the dunes. I find sunflowers boldly taking root in the dunes.

 

There are also trails to follow into the mountains through flickering green aspens and flowering meadows. We hiked to Mosca Pass, a 4.5 mile, 1500 ft. climb accompanied by a little mountain stream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the pass we can see Blanca Peak at 14,345 ft. only another 3,000 ft. higher.

 

 

 

 

Cochetopa Pass. We spent two nights at the Dunes then headed for Buena Vista with a stop near the town of Saguache to ride our bikes up highway 114 to North Cochetopa Pass at 10,149 ft. It’s a great bike ride; wonderful rock formations, light traffic, fir and aspen forests, and a good steady 6 mile climb to the pass after 16 miles of gradual ascent up the Saguache Creek valley.
When we reached the pass there was no time to enjoy the lunch we brought. Afternoon thunderstorms began to develop and rumble with thunder. A few bold lightning strikes sent us on a mad dash down the mountain and we never stopped pedaling those 22 miles as rain fell on peaks on both sides of the highway. The storms closed in and sprinkles began as we made our last 2-mile sprint for the Sprinter. Oh, but we had a good time!

 

Buena Vista KOA. We finished the day with a stay at the Buena Vista KOA to visit our friends and KOA owners, Tommy and Sarah. They have a beautiful park on the side of a hill with inspiring views of the Collegiate Peaks. The park is natural, spacious, and blends with the mountain scenery. If you go through Buena Vista stay with them and enjoy the area for a few days. They’re very nice people.

Camp Hale. We moved on towards Vail. We stayed overnight at Camp Hale on Highway 24 between Leadville and Red Cliff. Here is a view of the Eagle River Valley from our forest camp site. It’s a small national forest campground at the site of a US Army training facility built in 1942. The soldiers stationed here during WWII were trained in mountain climbing, cold-weather combat and survival skills, Alpine and Nordic skiing. It was a large camp housing about 14,000 to 15,000 men at the height of its operation. Only one partial concrete structure which was the field house remains today in this beautiful valley. There is a memorial and historical kiosks with photos. It’s a very interesting part of history. 

 

We'll go on to Vail to see the USA Pro Cycling bike race time trial. You'll see race photos in next post!

Jackie

 

Santa Fe to Fort Garland via the High Road to Taos, Aug. 17-19, 2013

The Santa Fe Indian Market. As we set out on our 1^st post-retirement adventure, our destination is Santa Fe to visit friends and the Santa Fe Indian Market which takes place mid-August. This 4-day annual market, which features remarkable art, jewelry and pottery, attracts Native American artists from all over the southwest. The streets converging on the plaza at the heart of Santa Fe are lined with booths and it will take you several days if you want to see it all. A real treat are the drummers that sit in circles throughout the market. We are mesmerized as synchronized drumming and chanting fill the air. The group is a mix of both old and young drummers who follow each other so precisely that they play as one person.

We enjoyed visiting the beautiful churches and walking the historic streets.  Old adobe walls rise from the earth they’re made of and guide us serenely through the winding streets as if we were water flowing between canyon walls.

Our friend, Cille & Jim.

 

Another treat was the fresh-squeezed lemonade. Have a glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The High Road to Taos. Pointing our Sprinter north we take the scenic route to Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Monument. This is the High Road to Taos on the western slopes of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. The road ascends ridges and winds through canyons and old Spanish villages where walled courtyards embrace cool patios, flower gardens and the comforts of home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truchas. The homes in Truchas, a village along the High Road, are placed purposefully along a ridge with a view of the Truchas Peaks that grace the eastern horizon. This lovingly preserved adobe home perches on the slope overlooking the canyon with its back to the road, leaving me longing to see inside its rambling rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Las Trampas. Along the High Road, Las Trampas is a scattering of homes far from anywhere which is just where its residents want to be. It has a beautiful old church, one of those things you don’t know you were looking for until you come around the corner and there it is glowing warmly in the sun. The San Jose de Garcia Catholic Church was built in 1760. It sets resolutely in the present but its rough appearance anchors it firmly to its past. It is unpresuming and doesn’t tell you to believe but only to have faith. Turning around after I photographed the church I saw this wonderful gate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penasco. Another High Road town has a building proclaiming its use as a theater and bistro. Colorful murals depict the culture of the area. I like the guys building the adobe wall. The building looked like it hadn’t been open for a long time but who knows. Some nights it could be really hopping. A Penasco resident also created a sculpture garden of which the best piece was a fence made of bicycles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taos. The only stopping we did as we passed through Taos was in the continuous traffic jam that is the only road through town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. North of Taos on Hwy 522, we took a 7-mile side trip to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge just to walk across it and got a good dose of vertigo. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Fort Garland. Fort Garland figures into stories we knew about the frontier days so we visited the Fort Garland Museum and were not disappointed. Many buildings made of adobe brick and wood beams have been preserved in almost original condition and house a fine collection of artifacts. We walk at leisure through the barracks where the enlisted men slept and the home where the commander and family lived. Kit Carson commanded the New Mexico Volunteers at this fort and aided in negotiations with the Utes. A successful campaign against rebel forces at the Battle of Glorieta near Santa Fe was launched from here. This battle was one of only two Civil War battles fought in the West.
Among the exhibits are some very well done dioramas depicting frontier and infantry life. Don’t miss this little jewel of a museum.

Our next stop is Great Sand Dunes National Monument. Finding good 4G connection is challenging in the mountains but we’ll try to keep up with our blog as best we can.

See you down the road.
Jackie

Our First Extended Trip - Loaded up and Ready to Go!

Tomorrow we leave for our first extended trip.  Now that we are retired we have the ability to travel without having to schedule our return with our employees.  We intend to make the most of this freedom and spend time following the interests of the moment.

We have decided to plan for a trip of at least 6 weeks in duration.  We will be staying predominately in "dispersed camping" sites in National Forests or minimal hook-up sites in State Parks and Monuments.  However, the first 9 days of our trip will be in cities and we will be staying in KOA campgrounds.  We intend this to be a very active trip, we will try to get some sort of physical exercise nearly every day.  We are also prepared for overnight backpacking trips if we find the opportunity.

So, because of the variety of activities we have planned, we have been anticipating the loading of the Mercury.  We want to be sure that we can take everything that we need and have room to store it without overloading the van.

Driver's Side Upper Cabinet

We have loaded a large quantity of food to minimize trips to the grocery store.  However with our taste for fruits and vegetables we know that a grocery store will be in our plans about every 3 days.  The driver's side upper storage cabinet contains our supply of snacks for accessibility.

Galley Upper Cabinet

Galley Storage
 

Our galley upper cabinet contains cooking supplies and equipment.  We have discovered that a small (2 liter) pressure cooker makes cooking rice and beans fast and easy.







The galley, with it's two large drawers, provides ample space for pots and pans.  The slide-out pantry provides a large space for food storage.






Platform Bed

With the bed made up full time, there is no need to dedicate storage space to linens and blankets during the day.  We have added cargo nets to store sleeping bags.  The bags can be used when we encounter colder weather as well as backpacking trips.




Under the platform with the back doors open is where all of the gear not used in travel is stored.  The driver's side door holds the grey water flush hose and on the passenger side door is mounted the fresh water fill hose.  Portable chairs and a table for outdoor living are loose on the floor.

Bikes and Portable A/C

 On the right side I've secured the portable air conditioning unit.  We hope that once we visit a few select KOA campgrounds in the first 9 days, we are able to camp in the forest and not need the A/C.  The bikes can be removed fairly easily and ride very securely.  Leveling blocks are useful even without a LP refrigerator just to keep the sink and shower drains flowing properly.




Bulk Storage

 

On the left side we've got 4 tubs. One each for extra and cold weather clothes, one for backpacking gear, and one for additional canned and dried food storage.  Boots are stored in a tray that can be slid under the van when the boots are wet.





Road Tools

 I found a great storage space for road tools on the under side of the platform. I've used "Quick Fist" straps to attach a "save-a-tow", an axe, a saw, and a shovel.  I've also stored an extensive tool kit in the cabinets under the platform but to get there all of the tubs must be removed first.

After loading the van this afternoon, I took it to the landfill and got it weighed.  It came in at 8490 lb. with driver and passenger and about 5/8 + tank of fuel.  I figure a full fuel tank will bring it right up to it's GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of 8550 lbs.  I won't have any capacity to spare but I also can't think of anything else that I've need to take.  I guess that if we buy something along the way we will just have to get rid of something to make room.

 

So we are ready to go!  Our next posts will be from the road. 

 

'till then....

JIM



How we stay in communication in the Mercury and at home

After 20 years and 5 months of running a 24 x 7 business, on June 20, 2013 we closed on the sale of the Silver City KOA campground!  It was, without a doubt, the highlight of our life experience (so far!).

Now with 60+ years of that life experience behind us and our good health we have the opportunity to use our newly developed Sprinter Van to see the USA and further expand our experience. (It's GREAT! the way thing have come together; I could not have planned it better if I had tried!)

Since the close date we have known that we would be traveling and have put together a plan to use technology. We wanted to use technology to the most cost effective benefit, but not duplicate services in order have these services at home and on the road.





Electronics Tray

This is our Electronics Tray. In the front is an Oregon Scientific Weather Radio, our Verizon Home Phone Connect, and an inexpensive cordless phone.  In the back is a 180 watt inverter and a power strip with all of the required power blocks.

When we are at home the power strip is plugged into AC power.  The Home Phone connect has a small antenna which connects the cordless phone to the Verizon cellular network.  This gives us unlimited "talk" for $25 per month.  This is a very cost effective solution since we both have no desire to carry around a telephone in our pockets.  Sometimes you do have to leave that technology behind.  Here is the link: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/device/home-phone-connect

 

When we are on the road, the Home Phone Connect is attached to an external antenna and  the inverter is plugged into a DC outlet in the van.  While this may be slightly less efficient than converting all of the devices to 12 VDC, it gives us the ability to move the electronics easily and insures that all devices have the correct operating voltage.  It is good to remember that "12 volts" in a RV can range from 11.5 to 14.4 VDC.

 



 

Broadband Hotspot Setup

Our "data" solution is a Novatel 4620LE Broadband Hotspot mounted to a Wilson Electronics cradle amplifier with a dual band external antenna. 

 

This device operates on the 3G and 4G Verizon cellular network.  It was purchased with a month to month agreement from Millenicom, a Verizon reseller.  For exactly (no taxes, no add-on's) $69.99 per month you get 20 Gb of data.  Here is the link: http://millenicom.com/plans/  The Cradle amplifier amplifies the antenna signal and transmits it to the Hotspot for use with up to 10 devices.  That means we can suck up data with our 2 Kindles and the Laptop!  Wilson Electronics products can be purchased from Amazon.  It runs off of a 12 volt adapter and provides 5 v power for the Hotspot as well.

 

So with the Electronics Tray on the counter, the Hotspot working away, and my newly installed flip-up table holding the laptop, my workstation is complete. 

 
 





You will see that the Home Phone Connect is attached to an external antenna.  The cord plugged into the side of the laptop connects to a USB GPS antenna.

 

 The top of the van is relatively clean.  The front antenna is the dash radio, then comes the Home Phone Connect,  the TV antenna (improvement is needed here if we use the TV), and way at the back is the dual band Wilson antenna.  I've covered all of the cables in wire mold to prevent UV damage.

 

So now we are set.  We have disconnected now from the phone company "land lines" and told Comcast where they can take their cable TV.  We are using a Roku device to stream movies from Amazon Prime with a subscription to Hulu+ to keep up with the Daily Show.  On the road we can do the same by connecting the laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable. Digital TV "over the air" gives us adequate news programming. 

 

We will leave our home in the care of our neighbors and hit the road on August 15 for a 6+ week trip.  We will make postings along the way, the first will document how the van is loaded for this trip and how we come out on total weight.  I personally can hardly wait to find out.

 

We will let you know and promise to keep making posts of all our adventures.

 

See you soon....

 

JIM