On Wednesday, May 5th, Charlie, Lloyd (my hiking buddy), and I set off on a one-week trip to Colorado to see our “adopted 5th son” Jason Friedman and test-drive our recent repairs to the RV.
We had a nice run up to Grand Junction, Colorado that first day. Weather was great, the dogs were calm in the rig, we had plenty to chat about while we drove the 360 miles, and the improved suspension (5 new air bags) gave us a nice, smooth ride.
After a good night’s sleep, we headed east on I-70 toward Denver. What a beautiful part of the country that is!
Unfortunately for us, the high-fiving came to an unceremonious halt about two miles east of Vail, when the RV lost power on I-70 and I had to quickly find a wide spot adjacent to the slow lane to glide to a stop. It was obvious that something REAL BAD had happened, and some close inspection under the rig revealed that the U-joint/drive shaft (about 2’ long) had gone south on us.
(Had this catastrophe happened a couple hundred yards east, where I-70 was choked down to one lane due to construction, my dead-in-the-water motorhome would have totally blocked the interstate highway for an hour or so.)
We were lucky to quickly find a big rig towing service that could come to our rescue and haul the motorhome 100 miles into west Denver to a major trucking repair facility. The tow bill was $2,100, of which my Allstate insurance will probably reimburse a puny $250.
However, we had to count our blessings. No one got hurt, we didn’t block the Interstate (and get shot by some pissed-off, gun-toting Coloradan), and the breakdown occurred within 80 miles of Jason’s home in Arvada, where we planned to stay for 5 days anyway. So, at least we had somewhere to crash while the rig was repaired.
By Tuesday night, the repair folks had assessed the damage and had ordered the replacement part. They estimated that they could get the job done by the following Monday night. Parts and labor would be $2,600.
There’s goes our “stimulus” money!
Our trip plan had called for several days of hiking and a round of golf in the Denver area, so the only blip (an expensive one!) on our itinerary was that the motorhome would be parked in a repair shop instead of Jason’s driveway.
On Friday, the Three Amigos (Jason, Lloyd and I) went on a hike in the mountains near Boulder on the Indian Peak Trail. It was supposed to be a 13-mile trek, but we had to cut it short to maybe five miles because we ran into too much snow and ice on the trail, which started at around 10,000 feet elevation. We made it to 11,000 feet before calling it quits. It was a beautiful hike, though: spectacular scenery and a rip-roaring stream right next to the trail. Nothing like our desert hikes in Nevada.
On the way down the mountain, near Nederland, Jason got pulled over by the local cops for speeding 45 mph in a 25 mph zone. What saved him was his demeanor (he announced very quickly to the male officer that he had a gun in the car, politely showed his paperwork for concealed carry) and the fact that his license plate identified him as ex-US Navy. This seemed to be of particular interest to cop’s female partner/supervisor, who happened to be training the young male officer. The lady officer, SGT FINE-LOVEN, gave Jason some good lovin’ when she decided to just issue him a warning for being a scofflaw.
On Saturday, we hiked the Mountain Lion Trail, a 7-mile loop which started at 7,500’ and peaked at 9,000’ elevation. It was a very nice outing: some snow and ice, but most of the trail was excellent and the scenery was, again, very Rocky Mountain-ish. What a beautiful place!
Also, we crossed paths with a female moose about a half-mile into the hike. Luckily for us, she didn’t have a young one with her, or we might have gotten our asses handed to us. On the bright side, we observed many college coeds hiking in skin-tight Spandex leggings. Like I said, the scenery up here is magnificent.
Sunday was supposed to be our golf day. However, some cold, threatening weather was moving into the area and we decided against swinging golf clubs in 43-degree weather. Not my cup of tea, for sure, with the infestation of arthritis that plagues my hands and wrists.
So, we stayed in the Arvada neighborhood, walking the dog pack (our two plus Ashka, Jason’s 13-year-old Siberian Husky), doing some shopping, playing cards and keeping warm in the house.
The Arvada community, which is maybe ten miles upstream of Denver, is a very nice suburb with nice amenities, beautiful 50-year-old trees, lots of walking paths, and such. The dogs, in particular, have enjoyed the visit, as we have taken many short hikes in the community, following streams, greeting other dogs and their owners, and observing chickens, goats, and waterfowl along the way. Baby and BonBon are enthralled with all of it, and especially getting to wander off the concrete walkways into REAL GRASS. They are truly in Hound Dog Heaven.
Jason owns a 50-year-old 2,900 s.f. “fixer upper” which is fairly good shape. It is a two-level home, street level plus basement, with the square footage about equally divided between the stories. Jason is in the process of remodeling the basement into a 1,400 s.f. unit that he can either rent out or live in himself (and maybe rent out the main floor). He’s already remodeled the bedroom and bathroom down there and also converted one of the rooms into a major league audiovisual man cave with high tech “surroundsound”…in spades. (During our visit, the guys watched a marathon showing of the John Wick action movies while Charlie read a book.)
Jason is a manager with Richmond America, which is a large residential construction company that (in the Denver area alone) is building 5,000 units over a number of years. Jason manages a bunch of project managers who are responsible for about 500 units currently under construction. He is well versed in all the trades from his earlier experience with Pulte Homes and Lennar (I believe), so this enables him to do most of his home remodeling by himself at his leisure.
He’s a 48-year-old guy who lives with his dog, works hard, and is a 15-year veteran of Alcoholics Anonymous, within which he is a leader. He’s also very fit and has competed in numerous Iron Man competitions. The only thing he lacks is a good woman, and it’s not for trying. We’ve met a number of nice gals that he’s romanced over the years and they’ve all seemed to have potential. However, his life is busy, he is a very high energy guy, and has lots of intense outdoor hobbies. Most of the women he has hooked up with (online) are in their late 30’s and early 40’s and come complete with their own issues and baggage. So, maybe a lifelong female companion just isn’t in the works for Jason. It’s too bad, because he needs that extra component to complete him.
It is Monday morning now, its raining, and our RV repairs are supposed to be completed later today. We are scheduled to hit the road back to Mesquite (via a stopover in Grand Junction) tomorrow, but that will depend upon completion of the repairs and the weather, as it is supposed to snow tomorrow.
Hopefully, we can get home safely later in the week.
UPDATE: We did! Six hundred miles of smooth-sailing across I-70 and down I-15. No dropped drive shafts, no overheating, no vibrations…no nada. I think The Beast is ready for the annual RV Road Trip in late June.
Yay!