Shredded!

It happened on I-25 northbound between Pueblo and Colorado Springs.  Trish had taken over as pilot after our lunch break at Pueblo.  She pulled onto an off ramp and I asked,  "What's up?"  "There's something flapping back there" said she.  There was a wide spot with room enough for us to park well off the road.  We hopped out and took a look.

Holy crap!  Some folks get flat tires but not us.  We shred 'em!

Trish got on the phone to Hartford to request roadside assistance.  After 30 minutes of inane questions and long holds, she was told that we had roadside assistance on our vehicles but not the 5th wheel.  She told the claims guy to go ahead and send out a repair truck anyway - at a cost of $125.

The alligator, aka tread, wrapped itself around the axle, had to pry it off.

We waited an hour for a message from the repair people, at which time I said the hell with it: I'll change it myself.  Just then,Trish got the message that the repair truck would be there in 2 1/2 hours.  We told them to forget it and issue a credit for the $125.

It took us 45 minutes to change the tire, first tire change on the 5W and first time I'd used the bottle jack I'd purchased for exactly that purpose.  Had a couple false starts, experimenting with the number of wood blocks under the jack to get the necessary height.

Yesterday morning we went to Discount Tire in Colorado Springs, bought 4 new, top of the line, 10 ply tires (original ones were 6 ply), had them balanced and mounted, out of there an hour later, $611, worth every penny.

Now, I have to fix the collateral damage.  The underside of the rig is insulated and covered with tough woven plastic - all sealed up.  Except, that is, for the 5' x 1' section that the alligator ripped out as it flapped around.  That section is now bare wood, chip board to be exact, not known for its water resistant qualities, soaks up moisture like a sponge.  We bought some heavy duty contact vinyl, will see if that'll stick, with the aid of duct tape.

Great Sand Dunes NP, CO

Sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, above and below.

The Dunes are at the base of the Mountains.

We'd been looking for a rest stop or a park or a wide spot in the road along US 285 where we could stop for lunch and walk the dogs.  Saw this huge empty parking lot fronting some school buildings so we pulled in and parked.

We'd been there 10 minutes, heard someone outside say, "Hello?"  A clean cut guy of about 35, nicely dressed in business casual, introduced himself, said he was the school superintendent, asked if we were in trouble, needed any help.  Nope, just stopped for lunch.  We chatted awhile, told him where we'd been, said we were headed for Great Sand Dunes.  He called it a geological oxymoron; never heard that one before, had to include it here.

Bronze plaque near visitor center entrance; 3' diameter.

Below: view of dunes from visitor center.

This shallow seasonal creek will dry up soon, after all the snow is melted.  

Very popular with the kids.

Above and below pix taken at the same spot, the one above taken at max zoom (10X).  People climb to the top of dunes and slide down on plastic saucers and rental boards

We would have gladly complied with this directive but didn't have a shovel.

NM Capitol II

The NM State Capitol Building was our favorite art venue when we were here in Santa Fe 2 years ago.  We revisited the Capitol yesterday and were delighted by the first display we encountered - fabric art.  These first 3 pix, 1 above and 2 below, are of fabric 'paintings', 100% thread/cloth.  Amazing detail!

Above and below, a couple native-flavored pieces I liked.

The above sculpture, Mental Floss, made me chuckle.

It's enclosed in plexiglass so there's some reflection distortion. There's probably some slick computer program that removes the distortion but it's one of those Rhett Butler things - I don't give a damn.

Love the color!

Bandelier Nat'l Monument, NM

Bandelier NM, 48 miles NW of Santa Fe near the town of White Rock, is chock full of pueblo-type ruins.  Natives lived there for about 500 years in caves, cliff dwellings and stone structures.  We visited the area and took these pix along the Main Loop Trail.

Trish checks her trail guide booklet beside a large kiva.

The remains of a circular stone village which was 3 stories high in some parts.

Several hundred people lived there.

Lots of natives lived in caves.

These people had a tuff life.  Tuff is volcanic ash that became compacted into very soft, workable rock.  Got a baby coming, need more space?  Grab a sharp rock, scrape and shape, 3-4 days work and there you have it, your new nursery room.

It was the other kind of tough, too; life expectancy was 35.

A restored home of rock.

They must have been avid readers.  Nearly every home had its own newspaper slot. 

Flowering cactus along the trail, a type of cholla I think.

The modern main visitor center in the town of White Rock.

The siding is Hardiplank, 3 colors applied randomly.  Cool!

Close up of big bug and lizard sculptures by the visitor center entrance.

The lizard is 7' long.

Lookout Point in White Rock, a sweeping view of the Rio Grande valley.

Los Alamos, NM

A couple days ago we visited Los Alamos, which is located 45 minutes NW of Santa Fe, our current hangout.  LA was the research/design/build center for the Manhattan Project - the first atomic bomb, aka 'the gadget' - in the early 1940s.  Gadget ingredients were cooked up at the Hanford site near Richland, WA and in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  The first bomb was successfully tested at the 'Trinity Site' near Las Cruces, NM in 1945.

Robert Oppenheimer, left, a brilliant theoretical physicist, was the leader of the Manhattan Project.  General Groves was his military counterpart.  Here, they are pictured at the Trinity Site where the first bomb was tested.

The Project was super hush and super rush because it was feared the Nazis were ahead of us in building the bomb.  The brainiacs at LA, super bright people of varied disciplines, knew the objective but the majority of the 6000 people on site did not.  Security was tight and mail was censored but that didn't stop the spies: there were at least 3, perhaps more - spying for Russia though, not Germany.

The main lab complex.  There are also many satellite locations several miles away.  I assume they're spread out so one enemy missile or bomb (or one major accident) doesn't destroy everything.

Today, LA is an upscale town of 18K souls and the Los Alamos National Laboratory that was founded in 1943 is still active, working on projects related to energy, defense, national security, science and environmental management.  The lab complex is huge; nearly 10K people work there.  The town is said to have the highest average education level of any town in the entire world.

Old Ads II

The brand names and products are:

1.  A little dab'll do ya.  Brylcreem hair conditioner/pomade

2.  Still using that greasy kid stuff?  Vitalis hair tonic; greasy kid stuff referred to Brylcreem

3.  LS/MFT  Lucky Strike cigarettes

4.  See the USA in your.....  Chevrolet cars

5.  I can't believe I ate the whole thing.  Alka Seltzer 

6.  I'd walk a mile for a .....  Camel cigarettes

7.  The cure for tired blood.  Geritol dietary supplement, aka tonic, aka snake oil

8.  Have you ever wondered how the man who drives a snowplow drives to the snowplow?  VW Beetle

9.  99 and 44/100 percent pure.  Ivory bath soap

10.  We really move our tail for you.  Continental Airlines 

11.  Don't be a paleface.  Coppertone tanning oil

12.  Ladies, please don't squeeze the .....  Charmin bath tissue

13. From the land of sky blue waters  Hamm's beer

14. Don't you wish everybody did?  Dial bath soap

15. Finger lickin' good.  Kentucky Fried Chicken

Did any of y'all blog readers correctly name the brands and products?

Old Ads

It's doubtful that anyone under 50 will know what's being touted in these ads.  Fellow seniors, how many of these slogans or key phrases can you ID, name the product and the brand?

1.  A little dab'll do ya.

2.  Still using that greasy kid stuff?

3.  LS/MFT

4.  See the USA in your.....

5.  I can't believe I ate the whole thing.

6.  I'd walk a mile for a .....

7.  The cure for tired blood.

8.  Have you ever wondered how the man who drives a snowplow drives to the snowplow?

9.  99 and 44/100 percent pure.

10.  We really move our tail for you.

11.  Don't be a paleface.

12.  Ladies, please don't squeeze the .....

13. From the land of sky blue waters

14. Don't you wish everybody did?

15. Finger lickin' good.