Monday, December 31, 2012

The Home Stretch

Sunday, Dec 30

We got up at a decent time and made quick work to get ready to head home. We had set our clocks to Texas time, so we'd move a little faster. We didn't unhook from the truck last night, so that saved us some time. We pulled out about 8:30am Texas Time.




Eileen at Tucumcari KOA, Tucumcari, NM

When we left, the wind was picking up due to a cold front moving east, expected to bring snow and frigid temps to the area. We headed out under cloudy skies and a cold wind-chill.




When we got to Amarillo, we decided to stop at the Blue Beacon to get the Mammoth and truck washed. She really needed it!


Whole Rig Before




Truck Before


Whole Rig After




Truck After

We made pretty good time after that and made it home to about 7pm.

We unloaded some of the goods, like food and clothes, and then collapsed to watch the Cowboys play in a win or go home game for the division title. They lost. :( oh well, we had a great trip (besides me getting sick!) and were very pleased at how Mammoth performed during this winter excursion.

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Heading Home

Saturday, Dec 29

Today, we awoke early to get started with the final prep to head home. Tony check the temp, it was -6 degrees! Tony dumped tanks while I readied the inside, we got Mammoth hooked up and were on our way by 8:30am. It helps to be dressed for skiing, with heavy lined boots, ski pants, faces and heads covered, and of course ski jackets and gloves!!

Our destination would typically be Amarillo, Tx, to stop again and visit relatives. This time, due to the fact that they were fighting colds and I was too, we opted to bypass the visit. Instead, we decided to stop in Tucumcari, NM and we figured we could get there before dark.

Our trip was uneventful, and easy. We even decided to go through Albuquerque, since it was a Saturday afternoon. It wasn't too bad at all! As we got onto I-40 we really started seeing lots of RVs going West. Even one new tan-colored North Trail! Most of them were high-end 5vers and Motorcoaches. After a while, we figured they must be snowbirds headed for warmer climates.
A few pics of the scenery:




























We got to the Tucumcari KOA about 5:15, just as it was beginning to get dark. They lead us to our site, and we settled in for the night. Luckily, the temps were not going to be as cold, a low of 32 was predicted. Both of us were out pretty quick! It had been a long day.

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Pizza and Packing

Friday, Dec. 28th

Today, I woke up feeling a little better. Sleeping better through the night helped. Tony made us breakfast, and then we took it easy for the morning. After getting dressed, we made our way downtown, to find a place to park and go eat at DSP, a great little pizza joint on Main Street. They sell other things as well, but single pizza slices as big as your head (I think it said from a 26" pizza) are their specialty. We each ordered slices with our preferred toppings. This was the first meal I'd had out of the trailer since Sunday! And probably the biggest! I must confess, I ate the whole thing! It was great.




DSP pizza slice

After we ate, we stopped in a few shops but ultimately, we headed back. I just didn't have enough energy yet. Tony took the scenic route, since I hadn't been out in a week. We drove up the canyon to Ft. Lewis College, which overlooks the town of Durango. Tony got out and took some pics, but here are two I took:


Overlooking Durango



Tony with snow-capped mountains

After we returned to the park, I took a few pics while Tony did some prep work to get ready for leaving tomorrow, and then I went in and took a much needed nap.




The park entrance



Some of the guests (Mammoth on the right)



Our home away from home!



Eileen at Westerly RV Park, Durango, Co

After we both rested a bit, we started doing things to get ready to leave, like packing up the Christmas Tree and storing the ski gear. For dinner, Tony ran across the street to the grocery store, and picked up a ready-to-eat meal of Chicken Cordon Bleu. He also picked up some sweet-rolls ... Not on the diet, but we are off it for the trip, anyway!

After dinner we did a little more prep for the trip, and then settled in to watch an episode of our "Ken Burn's National Parks". I decided to go to bed before it was over, and was out pretty quickly!

We hit the road for home tomorrow.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Snow, Skiing, Sleeping

Thursday, Dec. 27

Today we woke up to a little more snowfall, so I darted out for 5 min to take some pictures.



Powdered pickup



A little fresh snow is fine!



Snow in the branches, so delicate

The sky was sunny at the moment, but snow chances ranged from 50-30% all day. Sure enough, clouds would drift in, and some flurries would fall.

Tony decided to head to the slopes again, and I stayed home, still suffering from what now seems more like a sinus infection. I mostly slept while he was gone.

Here are a few pics he took. He said the skiing was much better than when we went Sunday. It was definitely colder, and snowed on him off and on. Wish I was well enough to ski some more, but just doesn't look like its in the cards this trip. That's ok, I've enjoyed just being here!



Sun behind a cloud briefly



Tony on the slopes. Notice the freshly flocked trees behind him!

When he returned, we talked about his adventures and ate dinner. I headed back to bed again. I finally took some Mucinex DM that is supposed to help with congestion... Man did that help! I am hoping I'll start feeling better tomorrow, so I can help with packing and getting ready to head home on Saturday.

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

More snow and sickness

Wednesday, Dec 26

We got a little more snow overnight, but it was the granular type. Off and on today we got snow, but not the large pretty flakes we like to see. It didn't do much accumulating, either.

Tony slipped out with his camera about 10:15am to catch some photos of the Durango & Silverton Steam Train, that runs by the RV park just on the other side of the highway from us. He got some great pics. When he gets them downloaded I'll get one posted here. Tony had started to make Chili yesterday and realized he forgot the rotel tomatoes, so he also picked some up this morning.

I again stayed in bed mostly and slept on and off. I started getting a headache today, too, and my throat was really hurting.

Tony went out again about 2:30pm to catch more pics of the train and just explore. The chili fixin's in the crock pot sure smelled good, but there's no way my tummy can handle that yet!

After chicken noodle soup for dinner I went back to bed and struggled to get comfortable. My head was still hurting. Gosh I want to start to get well soon!!

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Not a Silent Night

Tuesday, Dec 25th

The evening of the 24th, I started to feel bad, with some abdominal issues and nausea, as well as a fever. I couldn't keep anything down so I got dehydrated. The morning of Christmas, I asked Tony to take me to an urgent care facility, because I was feeling so bad. We could not find one open, so we headed to Mercy Regional Medical Center to the ER, since we knew they would be open. It was not busy at all 9:30 Christmas Day, and I was seen immediately. They gave me fluids and checked blood and ran a cat scan to check my abdomen, and ultimately said I probably had the virus that's going around. Thankfully the fluids really helped, and we headed home, picking up some pink stuff and Tylenol on the way back.

We spent most of the day just hanging around the rig. I laid in bed and slept on and off, while Tony hung out down stairs. For dinner, I had chicken soup, while Tony ate the leftover Spaghetti.

Not how I had hoped to spend Christmas, but at least we are snug as bugs in a rug, surrounded by snow. Speaking of, we heard that back home in North Texas, they had a white Christmas! That's pretty rare. All our friends and family posted great pics on Facebook. It was nice to see.


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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Monday, December 24th

Today I was starting to not feel well. I had a bit of a scratchy throat, so we decided to stay home today.

Tony went out about mid-morning to refill one of the propane tanks, since we didn't want to chance running out on Christmas Day.

About the time he got back, it had started to snow!




We enjoyed just staying home and watching the snow fall, all day and into the evening. Tony cooked Spaghetti for dinner, and we watched "Catch Me If You Can", a great movie that is always an intriguing watch. It uses Christmas Eve as a plot point as well, so it was appropriate to watch on Christmas Eve.

Since I wasn't feeling well, we decided to set up the couch/air-bed for Tony. It was a good thing, because I had a rough night, my illness got worse and my fever got high and I had some abdominal distress and nausea. Needless to say, I was not having a Merry Christmas!

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Skiing -- Oh what fun!

Sunday, Dec. 23rd

Today we loaded up our gear and headed to the slopes at Durango Mountain Resort at Purgatory. We were having a great time, and it wasn't too crowded yet.


The base area




Us on the chairlift


About 12 we decided to head to the back side and get a bite to eat. The problem was, the run we were on suddenly became closed off, and we had no choice but to head down a black (most difficult) run. That wore us out so bad, we really struggled after that. We finally found a different place to eat, and had chili-dogs. They were huge, and we made quick work of them. We didn't have much energy left, so we just worked our way back to the base area and headed home.

We had set up a roast to cook while we were skiing, and it was great smelling when we got home!

I have a problem that one my ski boots likes to cut into my left calf, and it caused a bad cramp, so Tony unloaded the ski gear while I hobbled about trying to put it away. Our clothes rack worked great!

After dinner we watched a little TV and hit the hay pretty early. We were tired!


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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Exploring Durango and the area

Saturday, Dec. 22nd

Today, we had a slow start, mainly getting settled in and relaxing. The temperature was 9 degrees when we woke up, but it was a sunshiny day, so the temp rose quickly. We had the heat set a little high, and were a little toasty overnight. We'll have to adjust that. Tony made us eggs and bacon, and we enjoyed  taking it easy this morning. Tony took a few pics, and I got our tree set up and decorated. now it feels like Christmas!

our site

our tree

relaxing in front of a "fire"



We finally decided to go out to the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, CO, not too far from Durango. We visited the Casino a number of years ago. They had advertised a year-round RV park, and we were curious if they still had it open. Sure enough, the park was there, and a park host was staying there, with full skirting around the base of their fifth-wheel. No guests, but it looks like they are well prepared for winter RVers. This Casino has very unique architecture.






We decided to eat at their buffet, and then play a bit. At least they have a small area for non-smoking play! We didn't win big, so we headed back to Durango. We explored a new housing development out by the hospital, called Three Springs, and then drove through downtown Durango. There seemed to be lots of folks out shopping! We made a few other stops, and then returned home to have a quiet evening. 

Before we left for our trip, we removed one of the recliners, so that we could set up a clothes rack to hold our ski-gear, and keep it out of the way.

our gear


Looking forward to hitting the slopes tomorrow!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Mountain-bound Mammoth

Thursday, Dec 20th, 2012

Today we headed out for our winter trip to Durango, Colorado. The previous night we finished the loading, and final hitch-up to Mammoth in the driveway, while the temperature was a balmy 75 degrees. Once we pulled Mammoth onto the street, just a few hours later a blustery cold front came through dropping some rain, blowing winds, dust, and colder temps. Overnight we had winds around 25-30mph and gusts to 45mph. Once morning of the 20th came, the winds had somewhat subsided.


ready to roll!


We headed out about 9am, and headed through Rockwall to the George Bush Tollway. Although it is expensive, it is a much easier drive with far less traffic to get around the Dallas area. We got to Denton around 10am, and stopped in at Camping World to use a $10 gift certificate that was destined to expire soon. When we stepped out of the rig, we were caught by surprise. The wind had really picked up, and was hard to even stand against it! We couldn't tell that while driving in it, as we really hadn't experienced any gusts or difficult driving. We resumed our travel, which was directly into a headwind. Tony could tell it was pushing against us, and we had to stop for fuel a little sooner than expected. By Wichita Falls, the winds calmed to more typical speeds, and we made it to Amarillo by 6pm. We had dinner with relatives, exchanged some Christmas gifts, and enjoyed their company.


Friday, Dec 21st, 2012


We hit the road by 7am, headed west on I-40.


Sunrise leaving Amarillo, TX.


We stopped in Tucumcari, NM for fuel, and noticed a Landmark being pulled by a transport driver, fueling as well. I asked him where he was headed, he said California! What a nice Christmas present for someone! We did notice that the transporter was trying to use a Dodge 2500 to pull this Landmark... It was not being pulled very level... I am curious how he passed the weigh stations successfully?!

We learned from a previous trip that to take the exit at Clines Corners and go to Santa Fe, then cut back down I-25 to Bernalillo, is a much easier drive than going through Albuquerque. We followed this same route, and stopped in Bernadillo to eat. We started seeing snow remnants, as well, once we turned North towards Santa Fe. From Bernalillo, we traveled NM 550 to Durango, CO. This drive through the various Indian Reservations is so pretty. I would love to stop and explore this area more. The roads were mostly dry, with the shoulders being wet, or icy, as we got further north.




The terrain is changing!


Beautiful New Mexico around us.


Gorgeous!


Beautiful colors in the rock formations.


snow


more snow near Bloomfield


Mountains in the distance!


Nearly there!



We arrived in Durango about 5pm.





Welcome to Durango!


Sun setting on the red cliffs, covered in snow.


We checked in at Westerly RV Park, got set up, ate dinner and collapsed. It was a long day, but an excellent day to travel. We are so glad to be here!


Pulled in and set up. Durango has at least 4-6 inches of snow on the ground!