As is usually the case, things are always changing with my "itinerary"! I am currently headed back to Alabama. Lily is in need of some more TLC! As in a new radiator, heater core, some brake work, and a few updates/modifications to her interior! As is always the case with a house...especially a hose on wheels! I'm considering this current run as Trial Run #3! Worked out some of the kinks, found out a few things that need changing....and living in her for 3 months allowed me to see things that I need to change!
As on today, Lily has traveled over 3,500 miles on this "trial run"! And over all she has done great! But....I knew I should have gotten her a new radiator before I left, but she had done so well with the short runs that I thought it would be ok....but real life is the true test!
Once out West and into some REAL
mountains...well....the fact that the radiator does have flow issues
came to the forefront. As long as the rpm's are kept fairly high, then
the flow thru the radiator is enough to keep here from getting very
warm. But on "warm" days, no matter what the rpm's are kept at, she has a
tendency to creep up to the too hot area of the gauge!
But it has given me a chance to see some West for a couple of months, catch up with some friends that I haven't seen in a couple of years....and just to stretch out in the part of the country that I fee so good in!
Not to mention the fact that I just feel so at home on the road. Relaxed, rested, comfortable....it is just where I need to be!!
And since the last time I saw these two wonderful folks, they have covered a little more territory than I have! As in...to South Africa, got "engaged" AND then got married!!
So it was time to catch up and reminisce! Was so good to see Jim & Susan!
In the mean time, I did make it up to Cortez, CO to get to visit the "Canyons of the Ancients" and Mesa Verde NP ... and see some of the fabulous pueblo dwellings there!
The scenery was and is just fabulous! To be able to stand on top of a mountain and see mountains that are way over 50 miles away is breath-taking!
And looking at "ruins" that are still standing after 700+ years is completely spellbinding! And to be able to live in such a "desolate" area is almost beyond comprehension!
And we think we have it tough today when we happen to be without electricity for a few hours! I'm always talking bout getting back to the woods...these pueblos put a whole different perspective to the concept of "getting back out into the woods"!
And then there is Mesa Verde NP...and the pueblos there are even more mind blowing! To be able to "scrape" together a life in an area that seems to not have ANY level ground is just amazing to me!
I only drove about halfway into the Park due to the fact that Lily was not taking very kindly to the steep pulls on the road! But getting halfway in is amazing scenery and history.
And I did more walking on this day than I have in a long time...and it felt great....for the most part! LOL! Now I won't mention how many times I had to stop for a break for my hip & ankle...let's just say 20 years ago I would have been able to cover a whole lot more ground! Heheheh.
Stopped at the "Ranger Fire Outlook" and, OH, what a view! To be able to sit there for a couple of days and just look at the sunrises and sunsets would be thrilling!
And when you can stand in one spot and see a 360 degree view of 100+ miles and 4 states...it is a time when you actually come to the realization that you are not as "large" as you think you are! And your own personal "smallness" is burned into your emotional makeup!
So back to "the barn" we go to give Lily some more well deserved attention! Currently on the road in Texas. 1,000 miles to go and if all goes well...should be home in 7-10 days! LOL! I am finally getting used to driving 45-125 miles a day, as opposed to 550-700 miles a day when I was driving a truck. It has taken a while, but finally NOT in a rush any longer! But those were good days also!
So stick it out with us...we'll be "off the road" for a couple of months doing TLC on Lily, then we will be headed back out West for the rest of this year and a large part of next year! There will still be "test runs" while in Alabama so check out what all we get done, so that hopefully there will be no surprises once back out here!
Stay tuned for more from Frog, Lily & AYNTSI
