September 26, 2019. Home to Colorado.

.

September 26, 2019.  Home to Colorado.  We made our first trip to Colorado in 1974.  We stayed in a house on the Taylor River near Gunnison.  Our first night was spent in Colorado Springs.  I was completely awestruck by the view of Pike's Peak and Cheyenne Mountain.  I kept leaving our motel room to look at the towering monoliths surrounding us.  With one exception, we have traveled to Colorado at least once per year, sometimes as many as 3-4 times per year.  This year, we cut our summer stay here short, so we are back to spend a month in the mountains.  It is like coming home.  To torture the lyrics of a great John Denver song, we're coming home to a place we've been before.  

The drive out was uneventful.  We followed the example of Fred and Anna, staying the first night in Colby, Kansas.  We stopped at the outlet mall in Loveland.  The American Flag waved over an empty parking lot.  I recall times when the mall swarmed with shoppers.  Not so now.  Several of the buildings have been taken over by churches.  There are used cars for sale on part of the lot.  One of the sales clerks told us that several more stores will close by the end of the year.  With time does not always come progress.  Sometimes, it is the opposite.

Our first overnight stop in Colorado was Fort Collins.  We arrived too early to check in to the hotel, so I got the oil changed in the car.  One of the servicemen noticed the squeaky noise under the hood.  He suggested we have it looked at by a repair shop.  "It could be the bearings in the clutch to your air conditioner.  If it fails completely, your engine could seize and you'll be stranded."

That was enough for Annie Farkley.  We first went to a dealership.  There we were told that they couldn't get to it for possibly two days.  He recommended a locally owned repair shop.  Ten minutes later we were there.  I told the intake guy that we were traveling and would like to have the repair made as soon as possible.  

Fifteen minutes later, a mechanic told us that the tensioner on the serpentine belt was bad.  "You should replace the belt at the same time," he said.  "It will save the labor expense of replacing it later."  
We were at the shop no more than and hour.  The squeak is no more.  I am $500 poorer, but I really don't mind so much when the repair is correctly diagnosed and completed quickly.  We have spent two days sitting in waiting rooms on previous trips.  This was a breath of fresh air.  

Today, we drove up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park.  The elk were resting on the golf course, the YMCA was sparsely populated and we enjoyed having Estes pretty much to ourselves.  

Tomorrow, we will explore Fort Collins, population about 160,000 and home to Colorado State University.  From our drive-abouts, it looks like a nice community.  More later.

Goodnight.