Cortez, Colorado to Kingman, Arizona

Monday, October 30, 2023

Our Home in the Desert

(The blog is getting closer to where we are.)

Friday, October 13, 2023 (LaMesa RV in Cortez, CO to Rest Area in Lupton, AZ)

After seven nights today we packed up and pulled in the slides. Then we said a little prayer while crossing our fingers that I would be able to get the Jeep in to tow mode, I did; so we hooked it to the Stinger "B" and headed south. Today's ride took us south on US-491 back to where we turned off of I-40, Gallup, NM, to travel north to this place. After 135 miles we merged onto I-40 headed west then in a short 31 miles we were stopped for the night at a Rest Area near Lupton, AZ.

A couple of the murals in Cortez, CO

On the left a Veteran's Memorial.
I thought it was interesting that a coffee shop would say
their coffee was the second best. 

Heading south on US-491

The scenery was still beautiful.

What was not beautiful was the road. 

When we were heading north for the most part the road was smooth.
Heading south for the most part the road was a mess.

A bridge in Shiprock, NM
The northern lane is not covered.

As I mentioned above the scenery driving south

was just as beautiful as when we drove north.

We were surprised how bad US-491 was going south.
There were holes, raised patches, large cracks in the road and
then this sign. We were not sure how much rougher the road
could get. Answer, it was about the same.

Coming into Gallup, NM

and approaching our turn to merge on to I-40,
I do not have a picture but somehow we missed it.

We made a couple of turns and this was in front of us.

It was an easy few miles and we were making the merge

on to I-40 headed west.
Once and a while even on Friday the 13th things
work out wonderfully.

Our stop for the night. It is also a welcome center.
Nothing was open here including the rest rooms. 

Saturday, October 14, 2023 (Rest Area in Lupton, AZ to Zuni Village RV Park in                                                               Kingman, AZ)

Today was suppose to be another short day; the plan was to stop for the night at a rest area close to our destination. Well as luck would have it we missed the rest area, do you see a trend here...lol  Anyway, we called ahead to the Zuni Village RV Park about coming in early and were told no problem. So we kept going and after 306 miles pulled into what would be home for the next 10 nights.

Leaving the rest area around 8:00AM we pulled back out on to I-40 into a lot of semi traffic. Not complaining because we know how lucky we are that these drivers continue to travel our highways carrying the goods that make our lives more comfortable on a daily basis. 

I

Upper right: remembering the vacations with our kids.

We had hoped to stop here but it wasnot meant to be this time.

A ways past Williams we had a 6% grade going down hill for
about 6 miles. We talked about how several years back we
came this way going east with a gas truck pulling our 5th wheel.
We were crawling that day by the time we made it to the top.

Bottom left is part of the road ahead.
Then we could see Kingman in the distance and it felt good.

It was around 4:00PM when we turned into the Zuni Village RV and Tom went in to register and pay our bill. Having stayed here in the past we knew what to expect' the sites are hard dirt and fairly level but luckily long enough to accommodate our motorhome with the Jeep attached. I share this because no matter what we tried neither of us could get the transfer case out of neutral.

I do want to mention here that while living this life style we have met a lot of wonderful people over the years. Some have become dear friends that we spend time with every year. Some have been people we park next to and spend time with and each go our separate ways but those times are memories that stay with us forever. Others are like the couple next to us at this park who came over and talked with Tom and after finding out about our situation said if you need a ride for any reason let us know. We didn't but it was nice to know the offer was there.

Sunday, October 15, 2023--Monday, October 16, 2023--Tuesday, October 17, 2023

There are no pictures from these day. We spent Sunday and Monday at the RV Park. We tried several times to move the transfer case out of neutral to no avail. I am trying to remember what else we did but I am drawing a blank. The temperatures were in the 90's so I am thinking not a lot. 

Monday morning Tom call the dealership to explain our situation and find out if we would be able to pull the motorhome into their dealership with the Jeep behind it and the woman Tom talked to said yes and explained where to come in. 

In a previous blog I talked about what happened in Cortez, CO with the Jeep and how the dealership their was of no real help. Tom had called ahead to the Martin Swanty Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep Dealership's Service Department in Kingman, AZ. Once he explained our situation he was asked when we would be there he said Monday and an appointment was made for Tuesday at 9:00AM. 

After we arrived the service technician that would be checking out the Jeep came out to talk with us. Got in and the transfer case slipped right out of neutral into 2 wheel drive. Of course it did. Anyway, we headed back to the RV Park to get settled in and he told us they would be hooking it up and checking it out. Once he knew what was going on they would call then send their shuttle to pick us up. There was no alternator problem or any loose wires like the technician back in Cortez guessed. The problem ends up being our aftermarket equipment that we had installed for towing drawing on the battery. The tech in Kingman explained though the draw was not a lot it would be a good idea when we are towing for several days in a row to disconnect the Jeep and take it for a ride to keep the battery charged. We have not had any problems, since. He also took the time to go over the process of putting the Jeep's transfer case in and out of neutral with me and gave me some hints as to what to do to make it easier. All of this took about a total of three hours. We were thrilled with the service we received here and would recommend them without hesitation if you need help with a Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge or Kia.

Tom and I have always said things happen for a reason. So we are done with the "if onlys" and done being upset that the dealership in Cortez would not take the time to help us. We are moving forward and continuing to enjoy our journey.  I have said it many times and will continue to say it in the future. We are Living Our Retirement Dream and know just how lucky we are to be doing so. This was just a tiny bump in the road.  

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.