We are pretty much worn out this evening. Lela and I have been unpacking and putting away, organizing, and trying to remember where we put everything.
We left Las Cruces early on Wednesday with the intent to arrive at the "ranch" around 1PM. Naturally, the best laid plans aft times go astray.
As we pulled onto the highway accelerating, the truck didn't feel right but we continued on. Horror of horrors! I hate that little engine light. We were about 12 miles down the road when the warning light started flashing. We chugged to the nest exit and called the nearest Ford dealer. He said bring it in, but he probably wouldn't be able to get to it today.
Well that was going to really put a crimp in our travel schedule. We returned to Hacienda RV park, where we had spent the night and disconnected the Silver Star on the site we had overnight. Check out was at 12 noon so we were going to be okay for a few more hours. I went inside and told the desk clerk about the trouble so she would be aware that we might have to pay another night if we couldn't get Ford to work with us.
She told me about a mechanic she uses and swears by him. She called him and he said to come on over. It was only about a mile from the park. He diagnosed the trouble as a coil on #3 cylinder. That was the same problem ( different cylinder) that kept us in Winslow, AZ last year. He tried every parts store in town without finding the part. Finally, he called the dealer and they had one. It was the only one in all of Las Cruces.
He put it on, test drove it and all was well. We picked up SS and headed out again. going up the ramp to the highway, the engine light came on again. We limped back to the shop. Chad (mechanic) changed the spark plug in the offending cylinder and we were off again. This time everything went smoothly.
It was late, however, when we rolled into our park. It was a few minutes after 7PM and we were very tired, not only from the travel but also the stress of the day.
Christy and the family come over to help us settle. They brought pizza and helped move things.
So, we are unpacked, SS is in storage, I fixed BBQ pork steaks for supper and we are anticipating another busy day tomorrow.
Lela got to do FaceTime with Ana this evening. It seems she got to play in the snow today. I'm sorry I missed the snow (not). We have enjoyed middle 60's since New Year's day, all through Texas, New Mexico, and today was near 70. We are lovin' it.
Here are a few shots along the road.
West Texas...nothing there
First view of the mountains in the distance
impressive formation in front of us
Mountain range
cool rock formation
Impressive in person.
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