Three days of cliff dwelling tours and self-guided hikes leave our wobbly limbs begging for rest. Back at the campground while Storm naps, I strategically locate my lounger near the purple thistles beside our RV and keep one eye open hoping to snap a photo of hummingbirds dining there. Matt and Sherry who we met on our tour to Balcony House soon stroll by and as RVers will do, we share fun places to see, cheap places to overnight and RV horror (aka repair) stories. The subject of electrical possibilities arises and Matt (an electrical genius) helps Storm correctly program the generator auto start portion of our power inverter . Programmed properly (as long as we have more than 1/4 tank of diesel fuel), the inverter will automatically turn on the generator when the batteries reach the 56% charge level, recharge the batteries, and turn off the generator when they are at 90%. With Matt’s help we are now able to take a side trip and leave the RV alone for a few days and our system will insure that the batteries remain charged. Thank you Matt!
This campground stay was monumental for us in another way – for 5 days we have been without power, water, sewer, cell, TV, or Internet at our extremely affordable campsite ($15 per night if you have a Golden Age pass). Five days sets a new benchmark for us in the water conservation arena. I imagined that we would have to drain our tanks and fill our water at least once while here, but we meter our usage without becoming too smelly and avoid the extra trip to the dump station. Under the restriction of waste tank use, no chance of washing clothes in the RV so off we go to the camp laundry. This facility is huge, affordable, winner of the “best laundry so far award” and in a National Park no less – I LOVE this park. They even have desk-like stations around the machines so campers can latch onto the strong internet signal at this spot while monitoring their laundry.
Five days of tranquil bliss, end abruptly Tuesday morning when a cacophony of pea size hail batters our RV roof just as the sun peeks around the menacing cloud over us. Of course the prediction for rain this morning is 0% so we left lots of stuff outside last night all of which is now getting drenched. In spite of the soggy start, we leave Mesa Verde feeling positive about this stop. We learned a lot, got a great deal on fuel, met a whole bunch of interesting people and even made a dent in our “things to fix on the RV” list.
More favorites from Mesa Verde:
We had so much fun visiting with you two and I was happy to help with the genny. You are definitely the first person EVER to refer to me as an electrical genius!!! ? Looking forward to catching up again in ABQ!
LOL!!! We are getting things ready here in Albuquerque and having so much fun I can’t imagine how we will contain ourselves when the Fiesta starts. See you in a few weeks!
Wooooowza! Way too cool!
I am glad you enjoyed – thank you so much!