October 24, 2019. $135, $500, $1200 to $2150. It snowed last night. The volume was far less than the 3-5 inches predicted. The ground was warm, so a lot of it melted as it hit the ground. We may have had two inches, total. It was pretty as it fell and it coated the yard and outside furniture in white.
September 16, I was driving in to work when a taxi veered into my lane and sideswiped the passenger side of my car near the rear wheel. It could have been much worse had I not been such an "excellent driver." I honked and swerved but was unable to avoid being struck. We were traveling at 65 mph. I very nearly hit the cable just off the left four-foot shoulder as I swerved to avoid the collision. The collision resulted in the paint being scratched in front of my passenger side rear wheel. But, the main impact was on the wheel, breaking off pieces of the rim. I reported the collision then drove to Bella Vista and to Colorado.
Four days ago, the VSA warning light came on my dash. We were able to get the car into Airport Automotive where a diagnostic test was run for $135. They discovered that the battery cable was corroded and disintegrating. That will cause a fault which sets off a number of error codes and warnings. Additionally, the break and transmission fluids were dirty and required flushing and replacement. All of this I approved. The hood supports weren't working, the rear tires were out of alignment and the rear window washer was out of order. The cost of repairs climbed to $500 and then to $1200. All of this because the Vehicle Stabilization Assist warning light came on.
The above work took place over two days while we drove a loaner car. Late yesterday we went to pick up our car and were told that the rear wheels could not be aligned. There were five different points that would not adjust into alignment. The certified master mechanic was able to correct three, but the control arm had been damaged in the collision and would not allow realignment of all points. However, the VSA warning light was off and I drove off expecting to have further repairs made when we arrived back home.
As we left the repair shop, it was snowing pretty hard and visibility was poor. It was rush hour and traffic was heavy. When I saw a gap in the traffic, I pulled out quickly and merged into the flow. I heard a ping, looked at the dash board and the VSA warning light was on. Two days, $1200 and the problem I had paid to fix was not fixed. So, I turned around and returned to the shop. We exchanged our car for another loaner and restarted for home. As I merged into the heavy traffic, I looked down at the dash of the loaner car and the engine warning light was illuminated. I am cursed.
It turns out that the control arm on the passenger side rear wheel needs to be replaced. Today, I authorized that work at an additional cost of $950 bringing the total to $2150. I hope that fixes the problem. The repairs should be finished this afternoon. We'll see.
If all goes well, we will drive the 600 miles home tomorrow. If it doesn't, we will drive home anyway and deal with the problem on our home turf. It has been an exciting, not to mention costly, finish to a relaxing trip. At the moment we have no plans for a January trip. I expect there will be one, probably to some place warm. And, probably in a different car.
That is a wrap for this trip. Thanks for stopping by to read about the Farkleys, on the road. I will be back in January, I think.
Goodnight.
October 23, 2019. Confrontation with Terror, Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak was, of course, discovered by Zebulon Pike, although he failed to reach the summit. Its highest point is 14,115 feet above sea level. It is the highest mountain in the southern front range and the highest mountain in the United States east of its longitude.
The information above comes from Wikipedia. I noticed that there, Pikes is without an apostrophe. Why, I wondered? Since it was named after Pike, it is his mountain. Pikes should be possessive. Puzzled, I asked Google. Google said, "The prevailing rule is that the possessive apostrophe is not permitted in place names." Another example is Harpers Ferry - no apostrophe. There. Never let it be said this blog is an empty vessel. You can actually learn stuff here.
Annie was not eager to drive the fourteener. The last time we did it, the road to the top was dirt. We were both surprised to find that, today, it has an asphalt surface. Annie is a trooper. She does not like looking to the side of the road and seeing an unguarded 2000 foot vertical drop-off. I got a lot of the hand motions where she extends her left arm, palm down, and raises and lowers her hand. I think that means slow down. Had I been going slower, the bicyclist we met along the way would have passed me, riding uphill.
The road to the top starts at Santa's North Pole. We have pictures of our first two daughters taken with Santa there in 1976. The drive to the peak is 19 miles from the Ranger Station. It didn't help Annie's nerves when the ranger told us they had snow plowed the top six miles that morning. It took about 45 minutes to get to the top. There was very little snow. It is the easiest fourteener I have ever summited.
The Park Service is building a new summit house at the top. There was heavy equipment moving rock and preparing the foundation for the new building. One of the "things to do" at the top is to eat one of the donuts from the kitchen. We were advised to eat it at the top because its molecular structure changes if you take it back down the mountain. If we had it to do over again, we'd have taken it down the mountain. Its changed molecular structure might have tasted better than it did at the top.
It was cold and windy at 14115 feet up. The wind howled at 30-40 miles per hour. That's the reason you can see only half my face in the photos above. I had my hat pulled down over my ears so it wouldn't blow away. Annie Farkley had her hood pulled so tightly there were times I had to lead her around. Only her nose protruded from her hood.
Annie posed with a big horn sheep for Emory's enjoyment. I posed with Big Foot. He is the one with the hat on.
I got more of the hand movement on the way down. I tried to get Annie to relax and enjoy the scenery out her window. Her eyes were glued on the road ahead with only an occasional fearful glance out the side window. I don't think she enjoyed the trip nearly as much as I did. Maybe she was looking out the windshield because she thought one of us should.
I will do one more blog, tomorrow and we'll head home Friday. Tomorrow's blog will deal with our car problems. After our second repair stop on this trip, our friend, Fred, advised that I "trade it in." I am beginning to think Fred is right. Although, I will have spent a lot of money making it right. Once I get it all fixed up, I hate to give it to someone else - know what I mean?
More tomorrow.
Goodnight.
October 21, 2019. US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. The 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo next summer. Many members of the USA team are now training at the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. American athletes train here in the following sports: boxing, cycling, figure skating, gymnastics, judo, pentathlon, shooting, swimming and wrestling. Most, if not all, of the indoor athletes train here. The outdoor athletes train in California and the winter athletes train in Lake Placid, NY.
The training center is located inside the city on an abandoned military base. The federal government seeded the land to the city and the city sold it to the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee for one dollar. Our tour guide, Paul, said the city has recovered the difference between the one dollar and its actual value many times. He said there are all sorts of supporting industries which came to town, bought property and hired employees to market their goods to the training site. I am not sure how you measure that, but that's what Paul said. Who am I to challenge it.
The center has housing for 150 athletes. Additionally, there are barracks which will house several hundred more. Athletes are selected to train here. Their lodging and meals are provided. A fair comparison would be full scholarships granted to college or university athletes.
The tour lasted about an hour and a half. We made a quick stop in the gift shop and bought a birthday gift for our youngest granddaughter. She is a very good swimmer and has entertained aspirations about the Olympics. The statue of the young woman in a swimming suit reminded us of her.
We had planned to drive up Pike's Peak tomorrow. Snow is predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. I expect the road to the top will be snow covered then. However, a warning light came on in the car so we have an appointment at the repair shop in the morning. I don't think it is anything serious but who knows how long the repairs will take. Too bad. Driving is the only way I'll make it to the top of another fourteener.
Goodnight.
October 20, 2019. The Air Force Academy. Today has been a wintery and blustery day in Colorado Springs. The temperature, when we were at the Air Force Academy, was 39 and the winds were blasting at 30-40 miles per hour. I wore four layers and a wool hat. It wasn't enough. But. as the pictures show, it didn't stop the cadets from being outside - in shorts. Those cadets are some pretty tough kids.
The pictures above begin with the Academy and end with youth soccer games being played at Cottonwood park. The park is about a mile from the house we are staying in. We've been walking in the park because it is the only level ground within 40 miles. Hills are not our friends. That's Pike's Peak in the background.
The Chapel dominates the landscape at the Academy. Unfortunately, it is undergoing repairs and updating which began last fall. Those repairs must be substantial because it will not reopen until November, 2022.
As we entered the Academy, there was an armed guard at the entry station. He appeared to be in his early 20s, probably a cadet. He asked for identification, so I handed him my federal ID. I expected him to look at my federal ID and call the Commandant to tell him there was a VIP at the gate. Maybe the Commandant would drive to the gate in a black sedan with American flags attached to the front fenders to welcome us and personally guide our tour. That didn't happen. The guard looked at my ID, handed it back to me, then asked if I had a drivers license.
While on our trip, we purchased six boxes of Lego blocks as Christmas presents for our grandchildren. Annie had covered the boxes with a coat to prevent some thieving miscreant from looking in, seeing the boxes and stealing them. He removed the coat and shook several of the boxes to insure they didn't contain - oh, I don't know, maybe explosives. I was beginning to worry that he might strip search me. That isn't a pretty thought. Finally, he handed my drivers license back to me and said, "Welcome to the Air Force Academy." Despite his words, I didn't feel very welcome. Next time I will offer my drivers license first.
The Academy is worth the time to drive through and walk around. Maybe the thing I liked most was the motto which is displayed in the visitors center, "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor will we tolerate anyone among us who does." That is a pretty good rule for life.
So, if you get a chance to see the Academy, I encourage you to do so. If you do, and the guard asks for identification, just hand him your drivers license.
Goodnight.
October 18, 2019. Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. There is a street in Colorado Springs named Banjo. That is my nickname for my second daughter. Over the years, I have included names or nicknames of my other daughters, so I thought it was time for Banjo to make her appearance.
Today, we traveled to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. We first saw both in 1974, on our first trip to Colorado. Neither has changed much. There is a little more glitz in Manitou Springs and lots more people in Garden of the Gods. There in a new Visitors and Nature Center at the Garden. The rocks look pretty much the same as they have for the last 30,000,000 years.
Native Americans passed though the area about 1300 BC. In the 1600s, Spanish explorers and trappers passed through the area. In 1879, Charles Perkins purchased about 500 acres that included a portion of today's Garden of the Gods. When he died in 1909, his will directed his children to give the land to the city of Colorado Springs with the provision that it would be a free park for all to enjoy.
The more distinctive rock formations have names: Kissing Camels, The Three Graces, Balanced Rock and Ship Rock to mention a few. It is a nice destination with trails enabling tourists to get close to the formations. And, the price is right.
Old Manitou Springs is another tourist attraction. It began in the 1870s as a scenic health resort advertising healing spring water which was discovered by the Ute Indians. They had been drinking the healing spring waters for centuries. People still drink it for it's healing powers. And, it is free. There is a main street that leads to the road up Pike's Peak. The street is lined with one-story buildings now occupied by retail stores, boutiques, candy shops and art galleries.
That's it from Colorado Springs and its surroundings. We are entering our last week on our fall Colorado exploration. It has gone fast. I am sure the next week will go fast, too.
Goodnight.
