Week of June 7
Left home on Sunday, with fully stocked RV and towing my F-150 behind, traveled to Lubbock to visit our son. Good couple of days there, then the night before our scheduled departure, the weather service issued a high wind warning for the panhandle. So as a precaution we waited one more day to take off.
About an hour beyond Amarillo, heading to the corner of New Mexico, the coach gives a “check engine” light. Okay this could be minor, or it could not. So we pulled over into the next safe area and looked in the manual for instructions of how to find the exact fault codes. Figured out how to retrieve those and called Freightliner. Long story – short, it is a fuel filter issue. So now, (not carrying a spare set and a filter wrench as I will now) I have to decide to go back to Amarillo or push on to Trinidad. I was told by the Cummins rep we could make it a couple more hours of travel as the engine was not hesitating or missing. YET !
We passed a name brand truck stop on the way, but they did not have a service center, just fuel. Just about 30 minutes or so from our destination for this day, the diesel starts hesitating up the steep hills….. in a big way. Lord, just help us to the next pull out or rest area. In His way of creating humor in the middle of a crisis… the rest area on the map was closed, under construction ! We did make it within two miles of the campground when our GPS says ” turn left, now”. Guess what? Another aha moment from God reminding me to trust Him. It gets worse.
The left turn was a private road with no exit! Okay… calm down. So I say to my wife, ” Let’s unhook the truck, I’ll slowly and cautiously turn the RV around and you can follow me to the campground.” We undo the truck from the tow bar and IT WILL NOT GO INTO GEAR, ANY GEAR! Come on! Another couple hours of phone calls, waiting and return calls, we get a wrecker lined up to come get my pickup and a mobile RV mechanic to come to the campground the following morning. By 11am the pickup was on the way to the Ford dealership and the mobile mechanic has two new fuel filters installed and we’re on our way to continue our trip.
Continued through Colorado, stopping in Laramie, WY for the night. The next morning, after a quick trip into downtown to the hardware store, (yes, I parallel parked it at the curb; see photo) we are off to Dubois, WY. The Longhorn Ranch Lodge and RV Resort is a nice place to stay when in this area. A little over an hour commute to Teton and a few minutes more to enter Yellowstone. There is a river running behind the RV park and lots of shade trees. After a couple of days there and a visit into the Tetons, now we are heading to see family in the valley near Alpine. We will be there for a few days before continuing toward Oregon. Thank you, Lord for keeping us “centered” and safe.
Stay tuned and enjoy the pics.
Miles & Miles of Texas 
Trinidad Lake SP 
Trinidad Lake SP 
WW I memorial, Laramie 
Downtown Laramie 
correct pronunciation 
Teton NP 
Grand Tetons 
