Relaxing in Durango

August 12-18, 2008
Durango, CO

The past week has been both relaxing and productive, as we've spent the last week in Durango, CO.

We had a relatively easy driving day on Tuesday, following CO-115 south out of Colorado City and US-50 west (past the Royal Gorge again), to US-160 which brought us right into Durango. The only minor glitch was that I was watching for a fuel stop before we got into our campground, but didn't find one (at least one we could get the rig into and out of). This isn't a big problem, since we have 5/8 of a tank and will be able to find a place during our next driving day, the 21st.

In general, we haven't tried to do a lot, which is OK since it's pleasant and scenic just staying here in the park. We're in a small valley along the Animas River, with red rock mountains of 800-1,000 feet on either side. The Durango-Silverton scenic train goes right past the park several times a day hauling tourists, but we decided to pass on the train. First, it's pretty rustic, with coal-fired steam engines belching smoke and the old open-window wooden cars not exactly the lap of luxury. Second, it's an all-day affair, involving about 9 hours (3 hours to travel the 50 miles to Silverton, 3 hours to walk around there and three hours back).

Geri did some laundry early in our stay here, and will do another batch before we leave. I had some fun upgrading the water pump in the coach, and we've had several nice meals (grilled steaks, low-and-slow ribs, veal parm, and (a first for us) home-made pork lo mein. Geri found a simple (lots of prep work but easy to assemble) lo mein recipe in the Fine Cooking magazine, and it's definitely a keeper.

This park has an open space of a little over an acre that fronts the road (US-550), and they've fenced it off and mowed it for use as a dog run. It's been great to be able to let the pups run loose and they've met some of the other dogs staying here. Unfortunately, many of the other dogs (or their owners) are skittish about playing nice, so sometimes it seems like the dog run is "single threaded", but other than that, it's been great. In the meantime, they've been enjoying their portable pen by our site.

The water pump saga goes back several months, actually over a year. Late last summer, I noticed a small intermittent water leak, and soon determined that it only happened when we were not hooked up to a water supply, only when we were using our on-board water supply. The reason it didn't leak all the time was the difference in pressure. When we're hooked up, I keep our pressure regulated to 40-45 PSI right at the faucet. The pump generates 65 PSI, and the difference apparently was enough to force a small leak. After we got back to Arizona, I tracked the leak down to a plastic fitting where the water pipe connected to the accumulator tank. I tightened it up and all was well - I thought. After we left Connecticut a few weeks ago, I noticed the leak had started again. Unfortunately, this time, tightening the fitting caused it to leak more, not less. That's when I knew it was time to upgrade the water pump - the high end models are variable-speed and don't require the accumulator, and provide more flow (5.7 gallons per minute as opposed to 4.0 GPM).

I bypassed the accumulator while we were in Illinois (the old pump still works without it, just runs a lot more frequently) and bought the new pump at Camping World (the best source for generic RV parts like water pumps) while we were in Colorado Springs. Since it rained every day there, I held off on installation. With the weather so nice here, it made sense to get it done. As soon as I read the directions (yes, some of us do read the directions - at least some of the time), I thought I'd need a trip to the store for electrical parts since the upgraded pump requires a 30 amp relay for switching (the current draw is higher). When I crawled in to check, I was surprised to see the relay already in place! I'm not sure if it was original equipment, or if it was installed as part of some of the warranty work. Either way, I was happy to see it there.

Swapping out the pump was pretty easy, since they use standardized fittings that only go on hand-tight, and they're all roughly the same size. When I went to reconnect the wiring, I realized that the aforementioned relay had been directly "in the line of fire" from the leaking fitting and was heavily corroded. I removed and cleaned it, but couldn't get a reliable operation, so off to Napa Auto Parts I went (I always note the location of Home Depots and Napas on entering town) for a replacement. With a little location adjustment and some contact cleaner, we're back in business. I'll pick up another relay (~$9) as a spare at some point, and I stored the old pump in the "spare parts bin" in the basement. Another $100 in labor saved!

Friday, we took a short scenic drive over to Cortez, a place we'd been to before - a long time ago. Years ago, we started RVing by renting one when I could cobble two weeks of vacation at a time. Our very first trip like this was in the late-80s, and we flew to Phoenix, rented the RV in Mesa, and drove up through the "4-Corners" region with stops at Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks. Mesa Verde is just west of the town of Cortez, and we stayed in town - somewhere. Darned if I could remember where, of course, but that's OK. We'll pass through there again when we leave here heading for Lake Powell.