We got up a little earlier this morning and, of course, went over to the Apple Ridge Cafe for breakfast. Our waitress made a mistake and brought us two breakfast burritos when we intended to share, darn. We went away with a nice doggie box for later.
The temperature was 40 degrees at 6am but by 8am it was about 32 degrees. It was raining ice this morning. We hooked up and headed out of town. The rain turned to snow as we continued South to Colorado Springs.
After fueling (love the lower fuel prices here, about $1 less than home) we moved to WalMarts off Academy Blvd. We bought a nice roasted chicken in their market for lunch.
There is a big mall, Chapel Hill Mall, next door to WalMart's so we took a look. We went to a theater there and watched "Wild Hogs." Nice movie. When we returned, the temperature had dropped to 26 degrees at 7:30 pm. We had dinner of leftovers, roast chicken from lunch and the burrito from breakfast.
Tomorrow the real storm arrives so we're planning on more inside stuff tomorrow.
Since it's so cold, the Motosat wont find it's satellite because it seems the GPS doesn't like temperatures below freezing and it doesn't know where to point. I'm too lazy to do it manually so no Internet.
Saturday:
It was 26 degrees last night and only got up to 30 degrees for the high. Snowing occasionally during the day. It's really icy everywhere.
We took a walk around the neighbor hood today. This time we didn't go to the indoor mall but looked around the multitude of stores in the strip malls across the street.
I picked up some wiper blade refills at Pep Boys Auto Parts next door. On our way out here, we picked up some replacement wiper blades at Napa Auto Parts in Elko, Nevada. Their blades didn't really fit. They were too wide where they attach to the arm. A little bending made it sort of work. I only replaced the blade for the passenger side since it was the only one that had fallen apart, torn apart by all the snow. I bought but didn't install the left side. Good thing, it worked better than the new one which just didn't make good contact across the full length of the blade. Anyway, I refilled the original blade assembly and, when the snow stops, will replace the previously new passenger side blade and the drivers side blade. Nothing is ever simple.
We went back to the mall about 5:00 pm to see the movie "The Last Mimzy". Another very good movie on the order of Harry Potter.
Sunday:
We took the morning easily and about 11:00 am, we went over to the Country Buffet, next door, for breakfast/dinner. Since it was so late, the menu changed from breakfast to dinner as we were there. Not over eating was a challenge.
We returned to WalMart for a little walk before hanging out in the RV. It's interesting what you can find at a WalMart. I have a two pin inline connector for the macerator on the left side of the RV. I've wanted to make a cigarette lighter adapter for it to allow easier use of the air compressor. I didn't know they made such a thing, but there it was on the rack in this WalMart. Exactly what I would have made. It's an adapter intended for use to add the cigarette liter to a trailer light connector. I've never seen it before and will probably never see it again.
We tinkered in the RV after our walk. Went through the mail with Dawn and now will stay here at least another day waiting for her package of mail to arrive. The Motosat finally came to life since the temperature was above freezing for a couple of hours. So that meant I had to get online for a while. Catch up with banking and bills, email and blogging.
The day after the storm. Note layer of snow on the solar panels that defeated getting power from them. That made them kind of useless. They were working great after the snow melted off. I'm both lazy enough and smart enough not to get up there to clean them off in a storm.
Everything grew these ice crystals on the one side the snow came from. Even the grass had these crystal growths.
Note the snow on the dish. It seems that my Motosat system wont work when the temperature is below freezing. The GPS doesn't work so the system doesn't know where to point so it wont move. On the right is our campsite at Walmart on the first day.
Monday:
At 6am the temperature was about 35 degrees. At 0730, when we got moving, it was 60 degrees per our window thermometer. It was actually colder but the radiant heat is sure nice. The roads were dry and the lawns well on their way to being green again. All the ice and snow was melting quickly and falling off the trees and vehicles. By 1030 there was almost no sign of the snow and it was shirt sleeve weather.
I installed the windshield wiper refills. they are so much better than the new wipers. I also cleaned all the windows of the RV and installed Rainex on the windshield. Per brother Ernie, that will help with the window clogging with ice and snow like it did on the way in to Cheyenne. Hopefully we never find out if it helps but if by chance, we are actually in another snow or ice storm, hopefully it does.
Since it is so nice today, we uncoupled the car and scouted out an LPG source. I then drove the RV over to get a fillup and while I was out, I stopped off and washed the RV. there was a lot of grim and sand all over it. It almost sparkles now. It wont last once we're on the road again though.
This afternoon, Dawn sent some papers we need via FedEx overnight. We'll be here until we pick it up tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll go look around the Garden of The Gods, as well, before we leave. Another storm is due Friday and we intend to be gone and far enough away so it doesn't bother us, I hope. I thought is was supposed to be spring?
We took a drive down Academy Blvd a short ways in the late afternoon so Lou could check out the Ross's and the Marshal's stores for something Dawn needs for here exercise program. She didn't find it yet. On our way home, we were rear ended. Fortunately the bumpers matched and there was no damage.
Since we've been walking around the nearby shops during the storm, we discovered a fault with Colorado Springs. It is not pedestrian friendly. There are some sidewalks on the streets but there are no connections from those sidewalks into the shopping centers. Quite odd. Also, they evidently have never herd of the Americans With Disabilities Act. In addition to the missing sidewalks, a disabled person would really have a problem finding and then getting to the pedestrian push buttons. Wheelchair ramps, where they exist, are great distances from the crosswalks. Odd place. Denver, on the other hand, is great. I guess things average out? Don't get me wrong. I don't think we've ever had such a nice WalMart camp, right in the heart of almost infinite shopping. It looks like all shopping in town is on Academy Blvd, most right by us. The view of the mountains, now that the the fog is gone, is great. Pikes Peak looms just a short distance away. Makes for some great shadow outlines as the sun goes down.
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