Leaving Las Vegas. Las Vegas is located on a giant shelf next to the Rocky Mountains. It’s not in the mountains, but it is still at 6,500 feet. We decided to drop off the shelf and head out into the plains. We dropped 2,000 feet when we left Villa Grove, Colorado for Las Vegas, New Mexico. We dropped another 2,000 feet by driving a little farther east. We’re at Oasis State Park right at the eastern border of New Mexico, just north of Portales, at 4,500 feet. Cool and foggy. Birded the little pond. Got to watch a harrier hunt the prairie. A quiet mild weekend.
Mysteries
Lessons learned. I’ve talked before about all the warning bells and buzzers we have in this coach. We discovered a new one. The first time we heard it we were blowing down the freeway in the Texas hill country. Down a hill, across the bridge at the bottom, bounce, “dong, dong, dong). Warning bell, then it stopped. Later, another bump, another “dong, dong, dong”. High speed, slow speed, bounce the coach and you get the warning bell. Has to be suspension, right? Air suspension, maybe a leak in a bag, a brief low air alarm, then resolved? Never any indication on any of the gauges, just the warning bell, then nothing. Phone calls for service. Tech support. Then the solution. Over the phone. Nothing to do with suspension. A jack slipped. We have two leveling systems: air leveling and hydraulic jacks. We’ve used the hydraulic jacks maybe two times, to stabilize the rig in really high winds. The alarm that tells you if you’re trying to drive off with the jacks down is tied to the hydraulic fluid reservoir for the jacks. The fluid in the reservoir goes down when the jacks are extended, then it comes back up when the jacks are retracted. He said next time we hear the warning “dong, dong, dong”, push the jack retract button and that should take care of it. We weren’t traveling right then, so we didn’t actually have the opportunity to test the theory until later, but it was attractive for its simplicity. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And now that we’ve driven again? He nailed it. The jacks are up. The warning bell is gone. All mysteries should have such simple solutions.
Villa grove
The view from the campground.
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Done! Fieldwork finished, report drafted, exit conference done. What a great job, this land trust. What a pleasure. I’ll finish off the workpapers tomorrow and send it all back to the office. Then I’ll have time to do some more work on the job I did the week before in Carbondale, but didn’t get done. Beautiful as the San Luis Valley is, Judy and I left it to find some place warmer to spend the weekend. Tonight, we’re in Las Vegas, New Mexico, twenty degrees warmer than last night. Next job starts Monday in Santa Fe.
Villa grove
This. Is a very big valley.