Category: General (Page 57 of 64)

Big news for this week is that we managed to get our Arctic Fox 26x trailer home from Grand Junction. Therein lies a story.

We borrowed a neighbor’s truck. Although it was wired for a heavy trailer, with a 6-pin electrical connector, the trailer hitch ball was too small. The Arctic Fox needs a 2 – 5/16 inch ball, the truck had a 2 inch ball. However, the larger ball needs a 1 – 1/4 inch shank (the part the nut threads onto) and the hitch had only a 1 inch shank. The truck didn’t have a receiver hitch, so there was no option to modify the bumper to accept the larger shank. (The dealer was not too keen on me using a bumper hitch anyway.) This was on Friday.  No trailer that day!

On to Plan B.

Saturday morning I drove into Grand Junction and rented a U-Haul pickup equipped with a receiver hitch. I bought the correct size drawbar with a 2 – 5/16 ball on it, proceeded to the RV dealer, hooked up the trailer, and brought it home.

Bringing home the RV trailer

The dealership did a good job of walking me through the various operational parts of the trailer: how to winterize and flush the water systems, run the refrigerator and furnace, decipher electrical systems, drain the holding tanks, and general operations. Experience will be the key, though, as there are no manuals with the trailer. I will go on-line and see what service manuals can be found.

The upshot of the towing problems we experienced is — (wait for it) — we are considering getting a truck. Perhaps trade off the Subaru (which is almost paid off), but we are looking at our options. An extended cab truck looks to be the best layout for us but we will start looking at what the market has to offer.

Given the towing needs and general hauling we will be doing over the next few years, a truck is probably a viable option. In the past we’ve owned vans and small Toyota trucks that proved to be very convenient and useful. Problem is trucks get lousy gas mileage and are not the best vehicles in slippery winter interstate driving conditions. Getting a truck is a developing story and will be the subject of future posts. If anyone has advice on trucks generally, let us know!

Back to the RV.  It will need a few small repairs and changes. Nothing big, so far, has revealed itself. The switch  that turns off the speakers in the bedroom doesn’t work. The after-market water filter on the kitchen faucet doesn’t have a brand name so we’ll have to manually identify the filter if we can (replace it if we can’t). The cover of the front window needs a couple of new rivets.  The slide-out mechanism should be lubricated. The bedroom screen door needs a new latch. Small stuff. I will take care of these before we move the trailer to the Sanderling lot.  At this point, we are thinking about moving the RV to the lot in late April, after we drive to see Felicity in Boise.

So, how did the dogs react to their “new” home-away-from-home?

Blondie, Bru, and Jo sniff out their new digs

It smells funny.  They said it will take some getting used to, and requested I make a ramp to replace the steps to make entry easier. I will take it under consideration!

One of the things we had the dealership do was replace the carpet in the bedroom. This turned out pretty well:

New bedroom carpet looks good.

Pam has put a clip board in the trailer so we can jot down items needing to be purchased, fixed, or changed. Today I will level the trailer, check all the lights, put the refrigerator on electric, and get started on some maintenance jobs (and probably add items to the clip board).  We are very pleased (and relieved) to have the trailer here and will be going through it pretty closely in the next few weeks.

Here’s an interior shot of this trailer with the slide-out extended. (Similar photo in earlier post was a generic dealer photo.)  As you can see, the reality of our RV is slightly more basic than the glamorous photo taken for the product brochure.

Interior of our 2000 Arctic Fox 26X trailer

While the trailer is the big story of the week, there are a couple of minor topics to hit on as well. Below is a photo of  some of our animals enjoying a sunny day in our living room.  Spring has arrived and the afternoon sun on the west side of the De Beque place is actually warm.

Cats and dogs in our living room

In my last post I mentioned I was putting a winch on the ATV. That job has been completed. Here is a photo of the work in progress. (Note the battery cables draped over the fenders.)

Installing winch on The Griz

Happy Easter to everyone!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

A truck.  Bet everyone saw that coming, huh?

Pam pointed out a couple of iris plants starting to poke up in one of our flower beds. Even though we enjoyed temps in the mid-40 degree range yesterday (our normal average), I don’t think spring is around the corner. The forecast for the next week shows high temps in the well-below-average range. I’m betting this winter goes down as one of the colder winters on record in the high desert.

Still, there are the iris plants and the robins Pam spotted a few weeks ago. On my last snowmobile trip I saw evidence of snow beginning to melt and exposing bare ground on one of the lower trails. Maybe the end of the winter is in sight. We shall see!

I’ve been in contact with our mountain driveway contractor, Peter, and I will probably meet with him at the Sanderling property sometime this coming week. Peter said he generally can begin excavation work around the first of March. Although the route of the first part of the drive is established, the final route to the saddle where we want to put the building is still unresolved. We can make a sharp turn left, up the hill, or swing out in a more gentle left-hand curve (around a slope) and go up-hill diagonally. The latter option would require a good amount of retaining wall and fill, but would result in a more gentle grade — plus the drive would be in winter sunlight (helping to melt winter snow cover).

The red line is the shorter but steeper route, the blue is the second option:

Driveway options

We hope Peter can give us an opinion based on his expertise in building driveways in the area, and his knowledge of county regulations regarding percent of incline. At this point we really need a driveway to be able to move on to other tasks; the driveway is a priority.

In other news…my old leather coat, a gift from Pam more than 20 years ago, finally died. The zipper will no longer stay shut. It’s like losing an old friend. Pam has ordered me a new L.L Bean coat to replace it (item # TC187484), but I may try to find a shop that will replace the zipper so I can continue to use the old coat for around-the-house chores.

Yesterday was a very nice day so I went for another snowmobile ride on the Grand Mesa. This trip totaled 128 miles, probably the longest ride I have been on. I carried extra fuel just to make sure I could get back to the parking lot OK. (Tabitha: Some sleds have reverse, this one does not.) Most of this ride was on forest service roads so I was able to make good time.  Here are a few photos.  (Hooray, more snowmobile photos…)

Heading up the trail

Buzzard Pass Divide

I saw a female moose and 2 wolves on this trip, all on Road 265, and all within about 3 miles of each other. On the photo above note the extra gas can. Behind it, in the green sleeve, is my tripod. I did use both this trip!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

My Valentine’s Card to Pam:

Note:

After you click the Play button move your cursor just up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Player’s control panel. You can adjust the volume, go to Full Screen, and stop and start the clip. I can’t get rid of the advertisement at the end as it is embeded with the video, but it does have a convenient Replay button and I know you will want to watch this more than once! 🙂

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

This last weekend it was snowing in the high country both Saturday and Sunday. Forecast was for 1 – 2 feet of snow, and we could see the clouds from our back deck. Since I didn’t want to ride solo in those conditions I left the snowmobile at home and  took out my ATV. The weather was good enough for a short trip – about 3 hours – into Wild Horse Mesa. Yes, there is that much change in weather between our 5,028 foot elevation and the 10,000 foot plus elevation of Grand Mesa.

As I was heading out the words of John Denver’s “Home Again” stuck in my mind, particularly the phrase “There’s a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in…”  To my left I could see snow falling on the south side of the Colorado River. (Ahead of me a cloud bank was on the horizon.)

Storm across the valley…

The sun was shining so I knew I had some time before I would need to turn around for home. Here is a shot of the landscape as it looks about 8 – 9 miles out. Note the unusuall purple colored rocks in the center. There is a band of this color throughout the region, but it is particularly evident here.

Landscape about 9 miles from home, Wild Horse Mesa

The road, dry at the beginning of the ride, went through a couple of transitions. At about 11.5 miles out it turned muddy as the snow was melting, mile 13 saw a mix of mud and snow, and by mile 15  the road was snow-covered and frozen. It doesn’t seem like the change in elevation is that great, but the changes in road conditions are a reminder that the farther you go the higher you get.

I rode for several miles observing the landscape and looking at the animal tracks. I didn’t see any wildlife, except for a few birds. As I went I kept an eye on the sky knowing the forcast included a 70 percent chance of precipitation. When I saw this cloud bank coming toward me I knew it was time to turn around and head home:

Clouds are rolling in!

The fact that it was already beginning to snow – lightly – reinforced my decision. I was 19 miles out and it had taken me about 90 minutes to get here. (That time included photo stops.) The mud and snow zones cut down on my over-the-road speeds and I was not in a hurry.  I knew it would take me as long to return as it had to get to this point.

The ride home was uneventful –  but colder – as the clouds continued to build and block the sun. I had to stop once to warm up my right thumb as the ATV has no grip or thumb warmers. (These are available as after-market add-ons but I don’t have a set installed on The Griz.)

Once home I parked The Griz and proceeded to fix myself a nice hot cup of tea. While it was steeping I fired up the Mac, started looking at the photos, and began to plan this post. It was a nice way to finish off the day’s ride.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Well, today is Super Bowl Sunday, neither Pam or I are too excited about it. We just hope it’s a good game (with excellent commercials!) Most of the pre-game pundits have picked Baltimore to  win, but the ’49ers are closer to home for us so we will be rooting for them.

A recent post by Pam’s sister Becky was a trip down memory lane. It got me to thinking abut digital photography. Going back, it looks like I bought my first digital (a whopping 1.2 mega-pixles!) back in 1999. Boy, has that technology advanced! I don’t have many decent digital images from that time, and those I do have need to be run through an editing program to see if they can be improved. Still, this one caught my eye:

Caitlin and Felicity, March 2000

Becky’s daughter Caitlin and our daughter Felicity show off their (temporary) tats. Taken in March of 2000. I have no idea why Felicity’s arm turned out that color. Too much flash, I guess!

Little new since my last post. The weather got warm enough to melt a lot of our snow, with standing water that now has nowhere to go. The high temps are all below freezing so it’s back to “normal” winter weather.

I took another snowmobile trip yesterday, this time to a place called Stevens Gulch. It was a nice, bright day in the high country. Early morning frost had covered the tree branches and turned them into ice-covered art:

Ice-covered branches are winter’s art.

Here is a landscape shot of a similar scene:

Winter landscape in ice.

The Stevens Gulch trail offers some excellent views of the Elk Mountain range. I enjoy this route and the scenery along the way. Here is a shot of me pulled up along the trail’s edge and using a tripod to get into the picture:

Elk Mountains from Stevens Gulch Trail

I had parked at the Visitor’s Center on Grand Mesa. Here is a shot of the car and sled as I’m getting ready to return home at the end of the day. At this point I had ridden 102 miles and the gas gauge showed 1/4 of a tank left. I still have to put the tie-downs and cover on the sled before I head for home.

Car, trailer, and snowmobile.

There were dozens of other snowmobilers out, along with some cross-country skiers and snowshoers. (No fat tire bikes this time!)

And for Becky: Yes, grip and thumb warmers are now standard on all snowmobiles and have been for some time. They are independently adjustable – grips on one switch and thumb warmer on another – and the heat is very welcome on cold rides!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Hmmm… 10 days since my last post. I like to keep the interval down to about a week, but some times there is not a lot to blog about. This post will cover a few events that have transpired recently.

It’s still cold. The story is not just the sub-zero temps, but the number of them in a row. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

“We fell below zero once again this morning in Grand Junction, marking the 20th day this has occurred this winter season. Interestingly, looking back at the records through 1893, the most days with a minimum temperature below 0 F is 21, which occurred during the winters of 1919-20, 1924-25, 1962-63, and 1990-91. Last winter, we did not even fall below zero. Anyone else looking forward to spring?”

We have set several new low-for-the date records during this stretch as well. Mostly these have been in the 8 to 12 below range for us, but other parts of the state have hit 24 to 40 below. It’s cold outside!

As an anomaly,  for several days temperatures have been higher  as you go up in elevation. The Grand Valley, where we live, is suffering from an inversion. Cold air sinks into the valley and warm air rises, making places like the top of Grand Mesa (10,800 feet) warmer than Grand Junction (4,800 feet).

The answer is, of course, to go snowmobiling!

I took my Mountain Max out yesterday to the top of Grand Mesa for the first long ride of the season. My trip before Christmas ended early as heavily falling snow made it hard to follow the trails. Complete opposite this time: beautiful blue skies, groomed trails, and warm enough to not need the grip and thumb warmers.

Heading west on Land’s End Trail

Trail grooming makes snowmobile trails easy to follow and safer to ride. I was able to go for a total of 72 miles this day, a good outing for a single ride.

Approaching Land’s End lookout point from trail SP1.

The Land’s End trail is always wind-blown and the snow is not as deep as one might expect. You can see tufts of grass sticking out of the snow.

My Mountain Max near Land’s End Point

Last year (the first year I had this sled), I had a few mechanical problems that limited my number of rides. This time the sled ran perfectly.

It was a good afternoon to get out. In addition to others on snowmobiles I passed cross-country skiers, a couple  people on snow shoes, and for the first time, snow-bikers. Snow-biking (aka fat tire biking)  is relatively new to Colorado. Take a mountain bike, add huge balloon tires and very low gearing, and you have a bike that is capable of riding on snowmobile trails. It looks like a lot of hard, cold work, but the sport is gaining in popularity quite rapidly. Below is a stock photo of one of these rigs.

Snow-bike, also known as a fat tire bike

I had heard about them but hadn’t seen one on the trails until yesterday, when I saw a total of 4.

 Today it is back to more mundane stuff, like solo grocery shopping (since Pam is still recovering from the head cold I gave her) and other household chores. Football is on this afternoon and I will take in some of the playoff action. Too bad my 2 favorite teams, the Broncos and Packers, will be watching from their homes as well.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!