This was the most difficult driving so far. Though the 235+ mile trip took only 7 hours it involved a The trip had two clearly different geological environments to transit. The first was a 115 mile journey from Lamar to Walsenburg, Colorado. In Alamosa we filled the tank with an average mileage of followed the transit of three mountain passes. Fuel was an ever present consideration and we did manage to find a closed convenience store in La Junta which still had open pumps.
From La Junta a 73 mile drive through an empty corner of Colorado was uneventful but, a head wind developed in the last 25 miles. In Walsenburg we had to drive several miles north to find fuel at a truck stop on I-25. Getting that task completed was frustrating to say the least.
On leaving the truck stop we drove through Walsenburg and turned west again. Within a mile we were on a moderate grade with a heavy head wind. The grade increased and with that the highway opened to a three lane with a passing lane on the uphill side. This allowed us to put our rig in the slow land and faster traffic move smoothly past. On that stretch we saw several RV's with hoods opened and drivers with bewildered expressions. I thought we were going slowly at 45 mph but we were pulling away from the other camper/recreational vehicles.
Alamosa was a quick stop with an average over La Veta Pass of 5.8 mpg. MPG.Up to this point the mileage had been in the low 8 mpg range. The drive south in the San Luis Valley to Antonita, about 30 miles was uneventful and them we turned west again on Colorado Highway 17. This State Highway goes straight west from Antonito where US285 turns south to arrive in Santa Fe. At the junction is the Antonito terminus of the Cumbres and Toltec. The railroad trends SW along the course of the Rio De Los Pinos whilst Highway 17 follows the course of the Conejos River.
Chama is 54 miles by highway and 64 by rail - The Cumbres and Toltec. Two passes are crossed in the highway transit to Chama, the first is a 5 mile drive over 10,200' La Manga Pass. This is a very steep narrow highway with numerous tight curves. Our speed was reduced to 32 mph in second gear with the engine turning about 3,000 rpm. We had a RV following us from Alamosa to that point but he fell far behind arriving in Chama nearly 45 minutes later than us.
Once LaManga was out of the way we had to cross Cumbres Pass. At 10.018' both Colorado Highway 17 and the Cumbres and Toltec cross the Tusas Range there. Several miles before reaching the pass the highway roughly parallels the Railroad. Over the top the last 13 miles to Chama are on a 5% grade while the Railroad winds back and forth along the course of Wolf Creek.
We went to bed exhausted and Georgia asked if I could open the roof vents because she was concerned about the Propane. I advised the Cabin has a CO detector and there was no problem but I opened a vent anyway. At 3:00am a beeping noise woke me up and I noticed a lite on the CO detector. Half awake I opened another vent and turned the exhaust fan.
It quit for 5 minutes. I put on slippers and went ourside in my nightshirt and turned off the propane. The breeze up my nightshirt was bracing.
5 minutes later - CHAOS! It was beeping again. G and I took the place apart turning off computers and everything else we could think of. Quiet - We got it but we don't know that "it" was.
15 minutes later IT'S BACK!
G turns to me and says, "Do you think it could be the smoke detector?"
I don't smell any smoke yet, in the dark, I fumble with the thing and take out the battery - Silence.
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By the way, I have found no skill or particular interest as a movie maker so I have packed-up the "action camera" and now take only photographs. The "action camera" will find a good home. Due to wifi overload within the RV park, evening posts are near impossible. I will continue writing them daily to archive and will them post them in chronological order when computer time is available/ This will result in multiple publications on a single day.
