We are camped at Black Canyon CG, Santa Fe National Forest, about 12 miles NE of Santa Fe. It is a beautiful campground on the road up to the local ski areas, and is at El 8400'. We're sucking wind pretty hard! The CG host says to expect temperatures to be in the 40s at night. A far cry and a welcome change from the mid 90's we experienced in Mississippi and Texas.
We came back down into Santa Fe to get some groceries and do some business, and it was a miserable experience. We are ready to get back to camp and chill out. We will be here until Friday. After that, we have no clue where we will go.
We have had several minor mechanical issues. First, the automatic door lock on the coach is not working. I have to use a key to lock the door. How quaint! I called Country Coach on Saturday, but they didn't return my call. I will try again some other time. In the meantime I will tough it out. Second, there is a small oil leak under the generator. It only leaks when the generator is running. I can't tell yet where it is coming from, but I suspect it is a diesel fuel leak rather that lubricant. I'll get under there and figure it out in a few days. Third, the brake for the supplemental brake on the Honda failed. I called the manufacturer, and they will send me a new unit, but they may not be able to get it here before we leave on Friday. I can't tell them our next destination until we make a plan or a reservation. The way we are traveling, it may never catch up with us. I feel fairly comfortable driving without it. The unit has been misbehaving for several days, but the coach stops very well in spite of having no supplemental brakes.
We hope to hit some hiking trails during the next few days. We should be acclimated to the altitude somewhat by tomorrow. Looks like perfect weather.
It is ironic that we are at the western end of the Santa Fe Trail. Several weeks ago while biking on the Katy Trail, we where in New Franklin, MO, considered to be the beginning of the Santa Fe Tail.
Myron
2 comments:
What happened in Santa Fe that was so bad? I remember it as having a pretty cool historical section and a pretty riverwalk kind of area. Where are you going hiking?
As far as western bathrooms go, beware of the ones in Utah - apparently they don't believe in doors with latches or decent toilet paper, so be prepared! Of course that was 15 years ago so maybe they've made some improvements over the years...
Good luck getting all your parts put back together again - I guess it's all part of life on the road!
Have a great weekend -
KT
PS - if it makes you feel any better, it's 90+ degrees here and code orange, so enjoy your 40 degree nights!
Actually it wasn't Santa Fe itself that was miserable. We were hot and tired and experienced some navigational challenges that frustrated us. We are having a much better time in Santa Fe today.
Myron
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