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G has a "swell" time kayaking

G has a "swell" time kayaking
G has a "swell" time on Lake Michigan in an inflatable canoe

Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico

Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico
Dawn on the Gulf of Mexico

Warren Dunes Sunset

Warren Dunes Sunset
Warren Dunes Sunset

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Heat and approaching monsoon season

Tucson Sunset

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It's June and that means high heat and the Monsoon Season is approaching.  This time of year is called the Monsoon Tease. There have been rainstorms in the area, and they bring spectacular sunsets and the occasional rainbow.

Rainbow at sunset

Fiery sky looking up and easterly at sunset, with the rainbow to my right

A few minutes earlier it was a much less dramatic sunset

(c) N. Retzke 2022

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Trek and Sunset Elephant Butte, NM - Towing 15+ MPG

 

Elephant Butte Sunset


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This trek we took I-80 to I-76 to I-25 through Denver, but we also took highways such as NM 26.  We were towing a trailer, estimated weight 1500 lbs. As a consequence, we generally travelled via the interstate highway system at 55-60 MPH, and I wanted to be on a main road with a good shoulder should there be an issue with the trailer.  Ergo the trek through Denver, rather than via US 350, the old Santa Fe Trail. 

I've included a few statistics in this post.

We did investigate the Colorado E-470 tollway which would have allowed us to bypass Denver. According to the online Colorado website our cost for a vehicle with three axels would have been about $35.  However, if we pre-registered the toll would have been half; that's a significant savings. But there is a minimum "charge" to the account of $35 which goes in a digital wallet.  We're not sure when we'll be going through Denver again.  So, we saw no advantage to the pre-registration and leaving about $18 for future use in Colorado.  

There were speed restrictions imposed by UHaul.  They said the trailer max speed is 55 MPH. The trailer had new tires and we were towing about 1,500 lbs.  I followed their recommendation.    

We began on June 4 at 7:10am and arrived at our final destination on June 8 at 12:30pm local time.  The trip was about 4-1/2 days. We spent four nights in a variety of campgrounds.  

About every two hours we would stop for 30 minutes to stretch and get gas, etc. We also stopped once each day for a meal and that stop was about one hour. Sometimes our meal/stretch stop was a breakfast, and on other days it was a lunch.  Our stop one day was a 1-1/2 hour lunch break which included some shopping.  Other meals were with food we brought in the Roadtrek.  The stops were more frequent than usual for us; I guess this is what Class A or Super-C owners may experience.  I've spoken with a few and I was told that they generally travel about 300 miles a day with frequent stops each day.

One thing we observed on this trek was the difficulty of some RVs getting gasoline.  I'd never thought about this, but many of the "truck stops" have one side with pumps for gasoline powered vehicles and the other for diesel.  Getting in line at the gas pumps was clearly a challenge for some of the RVers.

Another thing we noticed was the Roadtrek seemed to travel more smoothly when towing. Some of that I attribute to the rear weight on the hitch.  I usually trek with water only in the front tank.  That's because I can visually inspect how full it is when the side drawer is open.  However, after this experience I may fill the inside fresh water tank at the rear of the vehicle instead.  That would put more weight on the rear wheels. 

I suppose I could have the vehicle weighed at each tire to determine the actual weight.

Trip Summary - To Lordsburg, NM 

This includes the portion of the trek up to and including Lordsburg, NM, which was our final gas stop for the 1,909 mile trek. To Lordburg was 1,760 miles. I didn't gas up when we arrived at the ultimate destination and so at the time I wrote this I was unsure of how much gas was actually used beyond Lordsburg.  That final leg was 149 miles plus local driving.  I used the receipts to calculate gas used, etc. Distance was per the odometer and our mapping software. 

  • Miles driven for these statistics: 1,760
  • Gallons of gas: 125.583
  • Average cost, per gallon:  $4.73  (some gas at a $0.05 discount per gallon)
  • Cost of gasoline: $548.49
  • Octane of gas purchased: 87 and 88 (some stations only had 86 and 88)
  • Average driving speed: 55.94 MPH
  • MPG (based upon receipts): 15.2 (towing an estimated 1,500 lb. trailer).

Daily Miles

  • June 4, 342 miles
  • June 5, 445 miles
  • June 6, 439 miles
  • June 7, 379 miles
  • June 8, 304 miles
  • Total trek 1909 miles.

We experienced some overnight rain in Alda NE and Ogallala, then smoke from fires as we proceeded west.  There was a nice sunset at Elephant Butte NM.  We didn't drive to the lake because I was towing a trailer.  That means very wide turning radius and less than simple backups.

Iowa Storms

Castle Rock CO


Smoky Haze in the distance, NM

Smokey Haze at sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Sunset - Elephant Butte NM

Rio Grande River near Hatch NM

Entering Hatch on NM-26 - "Chili Capital of the World"

At the destination


(c) 2022 N. Retzke

Saturday, June 4, 2022

Towing a trailer with a Roadtrek 210P

 

2013 210P Towing a 5x8 trailer

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We are on a trek of about 1,900 miles.  We are towing a UHaul 5x8 trailer. I've never towed with the Roadtrek before, although I've towed in the past using a variety of vehicles. 

This is at the end of day one of the trek. The towing was very smooth and stable. I'm travelling "at" the UHaul recommended maximum speed of 55 MPH (Hint: travelling faster may void insurance, etc.). 

The trailer is not equipped with independent brakes, so some care must be exercised when braking. However, the vehicle seems perfectly capable of stopping with the trailer.  

I loaded the trailer so that the load is balanced with 60% of the weight near the trailer front. Everything in the trailer is secured. This is the recommended procedure and balancing the load reduces the tendency to "fishtail". 

Today, travelling 342 miles on some local roads, mostly interstate and minimizing the idling, the MPG is about 16.0, which is our usual experience at highway speeds below 70 MPH.

I'll track performance for the entire 1,900 miles. 

Our 2013 210P is on the Chevy Express 3500 Chassis with 6.0 liter V-8. If I couldn't see the trailer in the rear view mirror, I wouldn't even know it was there. 

I modified the factory equipped rear camera so it will operate when moving forward in "drive" and for this trek I pointed it slightly upwards so I can see the trailer and beyond, to the rear. 

The chassis can tow a maximum trailer weight of 10,000 lbs. However, the GCWR is limited to 16,000 lbs. According to Chevy "The Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) is the total allowable weight of the completely loaded vehicle and trailer including any passengers, cargo equipment and conversion. The GCWR for the vehicle should not be exceeded." The empty trailer weight is 900 lbs, the cargo about 600 lbs; 1,500 lbs combined. The GVWR of the Roadtrek is a maximum 9,600 lbs. That's vehicle, passengers, cargo + tongue weight. Furthermore the ratings for the 2" hitch ball is 2,000 lbs, the hitch is 10,000 lbs and the hitch mounting is rated 5,000 lbs. 

I enabled the "Tow-Haul mode". The Chevy has this Mode which "adjusts the transmission shift pattern to reduce shift cycling, providing increased performance, vehicle control, and transmission cooling when towing or hauling heavy loads." 

Note: UHaul will not generally allow a Class B RV to tow this trailer. We passed because of the Chevy 3500 chassis and engine.

My "HUM" gave me a safety score rating of 100.  That is for 459 miles of driving per the GPS and includes about 100 miles of driving on the Memorial Day weekend. 

HUM Safety Score May 29-June 4

(c) N. Retzke 2022

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Next trek estimated 1,845 miles

 


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We'll be doing in a few days that which was scheduled for October, 2021.  Thieves and relatives got in the way back then, so we'll try again.  Of course Tucson will be far less pleasant in June and we have Bidenomics including extraordinarily high gasoline prices to deal with.  I filled up this morning and it was $5.559 a gallon for 87 octane in DuPage County, Illinois.  

On the bright side, we have reservations along the entire route.  High gas prices are interfering with some family's plans.

(c) N. Retzke  2022





Visiting Las Vegas NM

 

Hotel Castaneda - a mission style Harvey House built in 1898

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We travelled portions of the Santa Fe Trail.  Along the route we stopped at Las Vegas NM. It is the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico. Las Vegas was established in 1835 and prospered as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived at Las Vegas from the North on July 4, 1879. During the railroad era Las Vegas boomed, quickly becoming one of the largest cities in the American Southwest. Turn-of-the-century Las Vegas featured all the modern amenities, including an electric street railway, the "Duncan Opera House" at the northeast corner of 6th Street and Douglas Avenue, a Carnegie library, the Castañeda Hotel (a major Harvey House)...... [per Wikipedia]. 

Click for:  Harvey Houses in the old west

Hotel Castaneda



G at Hotel Castaneda

The train rolls right past the hotel and the station is next door.  This is an Amtrak station on the Southwest Chief route. 

Amtrak Station as viewed from the Castaneda Hotel


Las Vegas has numerous historic structures (mostly railroad-era houses and commercial buildings), with over 900 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

We were unable to visit The City of Las Vegas Museum & Rough Rider Memorial on Grand Avenue. It was dedicated in 1940, is free and open to the public. It houses a memorial collection of artifacts, archives and photographs from the Rough Riders and mementos about the 1898 Cuban Campaign of the Spanish–American War, with information on over 200 members of the original regiment, RRR Association documents, etc. "The museum illuminates the history of Las Vegas, its connection to the Rough Riders, the Santa Fe Trail and the development of New Mexico. It features collections of local Native American pottery, household items, costumes, ranching and farming equipment, agricultural and mercantile operations, and home life." [Wikipedia]. 

Click for:  Rough-rider-museum

The museum also has a YouTube Channel:    Rough Rider Museum YouTube Channel


At the corner of Grand and Douglas


The El Fidel Hotel


Continuing on to Colorado.............


(c) N. Retzke 2022

Sunday, May 29, 2022

LT Organic Farm Waukee, IA

 


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On our most recent trek, we made a stop in Waukee, IA.  While on an earlier trek we noticed the L.T. Organic Farm Restaurant and decided we wanted to stop in the future.  This was the opportunity for a late lunch.

It is a bit early in the season for the farm, but the restaurant was functioning.


G at LT Organic Restaurant




Serving

Our server explained the functioning of the farm and restaurant, their philosophy about food and also explained the meal.

It was delicious and G said it was the best meal of the trek.  We ordered a cheesecake portion "to go". 

For more about this establishment, visit their website.


The restaurant has interesting murals.  Here are two:




"Stress is good for immune health"


(C) N. Retzke 2022

Saturday, May 28, 2022

What a difference a year makes

 

2,000 mile trek

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We completed a 2,015 mile trek.  We left the cactus flowers behind, encountered snow and deer in the Raton Pass at 7,834 feet elevation.  I'll post some additional photos in a later blog entry.

Cactus Flower - Tucson

On to Trinidad, CO where we encountered more snow and deer attempting to cross the interstate! I took over driving at the Trinidad lookout point.

Scenic stop, Trinidad, CO

"Colorful Colorado" includes the guard rails.

Colorful Colorado - Trinidad




Early Morning - at Lake Michigan


Early Sunworshippers at Warren Dunes State Park

Observations

It seems that because of higher gasoline prices, some trekkers are hunkering down.  Some of the campgrounds were very full.  We made reservations and were never turned away. Some people exhibited keen interest in our Roadtrek 210P.  I had to inform them that this model is no longer manufactured.  However, there are used Chevy based Roadtreks available:

Roadtrek International Chapter FMCA "For Sale"

One year later, gas prices are significantly higher.  Last year this trek cost us $371.02 for gasoline.  In 2022 the gas cost for the same trek is $529.80. 

That's the equivalent of dropping from 15.54 MPG for this trip to 10.88 MPG.  We encountered some disgruntled people on the trek.  I don't understand.  About 51% of the voters decided to elect a guy with mush for brains.  Why should the other 49% be upset?  Oh, it was different when Trump was elected and the other minority created a Russian hoax and attempted to impeach him.  LOL. 

This morning at breakfast, the gentleman at the table next to us was wearing this hat.  There are some really angry people out there.  I'd say, it might be prudent to remove those "Biden-Harris" bumper stickers.  But as the saying goes "You can't fix stupid":

Demanding Reparations from Biden Voters

We arrived in Michigan and the nighttime temperature was 45F and it rained and rained!  We aren't in Arizona anymore, Toto!  We pulled out the electric blanket and turned on the heat.

The sun did come out and the prediction for today was a high of 90F.  LOL.  In fact, prior to leaving AZ, the "heat index" in DuPage County, IL was 104F.  Actually less comfortable than Arizona.

Today the forecast has been revised: high of 70F and sunny.  Tomorrow 83F, sunny and partly cloudy. Low tonight 60F.  

Trip Summary:

  • Average gas price, per gallon: $4.37
  • Highest gasoline price, per gallon: $5.049
  • Lowest gasoline price, per gallon: $3.969 at Alda, NE.
  • Total Miles: 2,015.
  • Trip: 15.54 MPG (see Notes 1 and 2).
  • Peak speed: 80MPH (short downhill stretch)
  • Interstate speeds: 65-75 MPH (we did whatever prevailing traffic was doing).

Note:  

  1. I used 88 Octane for 700 miles.  This probably contributed to enhanced mileage; it is well known that ethanol in gasoline reduces the MPG.  I did this because there are portions out west where one can choose 86 or 88 octane.  87 is recommended for the Chevy 6.8L engine so I bumped up to 88. Alternately, I could have alternated 86 and 88 at fill-ups. That would have blended to 87 octane in the tank.
  2. Here's an older chart based upon U.S. Department of Energy data. It provides a rough idea of the drop in fuel efficiency at higher speeds. My highway speed is usually about 70 MPH (lower in 65 MPH speed zones, etc.).  I do my best to minimize idle time, which simply wastes fuel:


(c) N. Retzke 2022