A few small repairs

First thing this morning was calling travel assistance about that funny battery. They decided to have it replaced and send us to a repair shop in Colorado Springs. We also asked the staff there to have a look at the leak we have discovered in the morning when we filled up the freshwater tank. Travel assistance claimed it was just an overflow from filling too much water into the tank, but the mechanics and us thought it was something else, a crack in the tank maybe. So we decided to go over to Cruise America's Colorado Springs branch and had the poor lady there do her very first RV repair *smile* The problem was a little valve, that was supposed to be shut. Easy enough to fix it then.

We hit the road again around one o'clock, skipping the Garden of Gods since the sky took on a threatening kind of grey. Rain and snow fell, so we were happy to get away, driving south and even past Pueblo (the campground doesn't offer Wifi, so dad had already taken it off the list *g*), past Trinidad (which we had planned on staying at tonight), into Raton, NM. The sky opened up and we even had some sunshine along with the view!



We were so amazed by those long, straight roads... Don't think we have those at home. Not enough space in our country *smile*

In Raton we found shopping places right across the street, perfect to satisfy the happy campers' needs. After dinner, prepared by our on-board-cook Sebastian, we had a glass of wine and then curled up in our beds - that's where we still are *smile*
The heather's going on and off at a cozy 16°C (~60°F), the sun is up and so am I - time for the rest of the crowd to open their eyes!

Miles travelled: 160
Current location: Raton, NM
Next stop: Amarillo, TX

The frost alert woke me up

Good morning everyone!

This has been our first night in the RV, the first night on a campground.
Again everyone is still asleep, so I'll take advantage of that. It was the little thermometer my Dad installed last night that woke me up. At 20 past 5! It was 2.8°C - about 37°F - but no need to worry at that time of day. Didn't know how to turn it off so I just took the little sensor inside. Unfortunately I couldn't go back to sleep afterwards. Ah well... Blogging time *smile*

So, let's get you updated.
We went to pick up the RV around 11am yesterday after a large breakfast at Denny's. It was pretty easy to get through the pick up process. We watched a little video, did some paperwork and were allowed to put our stuff into the RV. Pretty easy, pretty amazing (Remember, this is our first time travelling by RV *smile*)
Dad had tons of questions, walked around, tried this and that. He had read about a billion forum threads beforehand about virtually everything on RV's and their rental... He brought a long list of things to check and so my brother discovered there was a latch broken on one of the rear windows. Anyone could just enter the vehicle from the outside, just by sliding that window. We asked for assistance and since they couldn't fix it, were given another RV. So, move all your stuff and do the checks again (We were all a bit ... how should I put it ... irritable maybe, 'cause we felt my dad overdid it a bit. But then, we'd be made liable for any damage in the end, so better check beforehand...)
Anyway, we finally got everything settled - I imagined the rental staff to sigh in relief - and left the rental to return the other rental car.
Afterwards, still pretty close to the airport in Aurora, we made a coffee-toilet-shopping stop. We bought dinner and breakfast stuff, things my dad had read we would need, and marveled like people marvel in supermarkets in a foreign country *smile* We ever got our first shopping card from King Soopers.
When we stowed away all our groceries, we discovered the RV battery was low, almost dead. Big worry! It must have something to do with the fridge, but how do we know... We decided to start driving to charge it up, so that's what we did. The Colorado Springs KOA campground office was already closed, but there's always a self-registering available. Everything else went ok, the hook up to water and electricity, yummy Mac'n'Cheese dinner, even Internet *smile* Only the water heater was a bit weird, didn't heat up but leak, so we decided to leave that for the morning.

And here we are: family is slowly waking up. We'll call travel assistance about the battery if it still is low, then decide what to do today. Garden of the Gods is said to be a must-see, so we might do that. Then continue on to Pueblo, Co.

Have a good day!

Miles travelled by RV: about 120
Current location: Colorado Springs, CO
Next stop: Pueblo, CO

Our adventure begins...

Hi everyone!

We have arrived in Denver, Colorado, yesterday.


Immigration was alright - we were split up into different queues only to be told we'd better stay together. No big deal really. No, we don't have fruit in our luggage. Enjoy your stay. Bye bye.

All our luggage arrived with us, without any damage, and the two cherry jars and the two cherry liqueur bottles didn't break either.

We were taken to the car rental place to pick up a huge white Chrysler, that we took for a scenic ride through Denver. It was a little tricky to find our hotel, but all it needs is a call to find out the Bryant Street you are on is not quite the one where the hotel is located upon *smile*.
After check-in 4 of us went for a little walk in downtown and had a yummy fast-food dinner while the 5th was sound asleep in his hotel bed *g*. Ah well, there's always take-out.

The last thing we did was getting up to the 14th floor of our hotel, to the Skybox, to have a little nightcap (aweful beer *yikes*) and to enjoy the Denver city lights.

Now it is almost 7 in the morning. Everyone else is still sleeping - but I get to have the computer, hehe. Today we are picking up the RV and returning the rental car before heading towards Colorado Springs where we'll catch the first campground on our route. Stay tuned!

Miles traveled by RV: 0
Current location: Denver, CO
Next stop: Colorado Springs, CO