Nov. 21- Dec. 1, 2013 Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, NM

I think I've given up trying to recreate a month's worth of travel before I continue with current stuff. Posts are much more interesting if they're written almost immediately, so I'll just recap our stay at Oliver Lee, then continue to write at a roughly 2 or 3-day delay. If I ever have the time and the inclination, I'll post a summary for most of November's travels.

Oliver Lee is a wonderful park. It's far enough from a population center and major highways that it's quiet, but close enough (15 miles to the Walmart) for convenient resupply, thrift stores, and restaurants. Most of all it's beautiful and relatively empty. It's nestled at the base of a range of mountains with lovely views in all directions. Here's our site:

I usurped the Queen chair!

The night we arrived, we'd just gotten set up and had dinner, probably about 8 PM, when our furnace quit. Not a good thing, since below freezing temps were expected overnight. And water lines in RVs freeze and burst, leading to a big mess and a bigger repair bill. Then it started snowing and sleeting. Figured the propane tank was empty, but since we have two tanks, I should just be able to switch it to the other tank. However, the other tank felt empty, too, so now what? Where to get propane filled after 10 PM? In Alamagordo. Well, no where is the answer. What to do? Oh, just run in to Walmart and buy a full BBQ propane tank! Not as large as I needed, but it'll keep the pipes from freezing. OK, so off I go. By the time I arrive at Walmart, it's 11:30. Good thing the Alamagordo Walmart stays open 24 hours. Buy the tank, drive the 20 minutes back to the campground through blowing snow, hook it up...no go! Some gas gets through, but not enough for the auto-igniter to fire up the furnace. %$#@#$!! Now what? Getting cold in the rig. Ah-hah! Drive back to Walmart, buy an electric space heater. Check by phone first...yes, they had some. Alright! I drive back to the Walmart, discover they have about 6 different types, so need to do some research. 20 minutes later, buy the heater, drive back to the campground. Find Leah bundled up under a mountain of down vests, sweaters and blankets, reading on the couch. Unbox heater, read manual, plug it in......and.....heat!! Finally to bed near 2 AM. Pipes are saved.

Next morning, I'm outside fiddling with the propane tanks. I discover (by hefting it) that my spare tank--the one I thought was empty--actually was half full! Oh...so I hook it up. Same thing happens as last night: a bit of gas gets through, but not enough to light the furnace pilot. I'm running through my options: call Crossroads, call Coachnet, get an RV tech to make a house call...and pay $100s of dollars. I'm feeling helpless and bummed out.

Leah, on the other hand, walks outside and flags down a couple of full-timers walking by on their morning stroll. One of them, a retired engineer named Richard, says "You know sometimes, the jets collect a bit of moisture, which freezes in the nozzle, restricting the flow of gas. Here, I'll just hold the nozzle for a minute to warm it up and melt any ice." He does. I turn on the furnace...bingo! We have heat!! I thank him profusely. Crisis averted.

Then I thank Leah!

Next couple days were cloudy and unseasonably cold. Had that furnace working, though, so we were toasty. As soon as the weather warmed up and the sun came out, we thought a hike was in order, so we loaded up on energy bars and water, and started up on the Dog Canyon hike. 

To be continued...