Fulton Around

Another day waking up on the shore of Raptor Lake alongside friends. Today we’re going back into the White Sands NM, this time together. Jen finished up the Jr. Ranger packets with the kids this morning and all four kids ran around playing as we struck camp. With the kids in their car seats and a final sweep of the surrounding area for toys, we got back on the highway for the short drive back to the park.

We stopped at the visitor center to have the kids sworn in, receive their badges, and filled up one of our 6 gallon fresh water tanks that was empty. We ended up back near Alkali Flat trailhead but at a different lobe of the dunes. We had a quick lunch and then got down to playing. Up and down the hill, over and over again. Races, fort building, and yummy brownies. The afternoon was full of fun and Cory even pulled out his trainer kite which I flew for awhile which brought me back to old days of kiteboarding and flying the trainer at Jones Beach in Oregon. Our goal was to get back to the lake before sunset because it’s prettier at the water’s edge than inside the White Sands NM. We didn’t make sunset, but we did arrive before full dark and right before the first glimpse of the rising full moon. It was our last day at the White Sands and it was a great one.

Our friends rolled in after we had settled down to dinner last night. It was a great reunion and we quickly caught up in the darkness. We hurridly talked about our plans for the next day. This morning the kids got to do some playing, there was big mounds of slashings and a huge pile of concrete slabs that made for some creative forts, worlds, and adventures. Our friends needed to make a town run, so we said goodbye while they headed out for Alamagordo and we got ready to head out to the White Sands.

Our boondocking site at the lake was only a 10 minute drive from White Sands National Monument. We pulled into the visitor center, bought some sleds from a lady selling her used ones in the parking lot (3 for $30), bought our hunks of wax ($2 an ounce), and picked up our Jr. Ranger packets. We flashed our “America the Beautiful” pass to the ranger at the entrance booth and made the drive into the national monument. We heard from our friends that the place to sled was near the end of the loop near the Alkali Flat trailhead. So that was where we settled in for the day.

The skies were blue, the weather was perfect (warm in the sun, cool in the shade), and the kids made friends right away. You hike up, catch your breath, sled down, apply sunscreen, and repeat all day long 🙂 It was a great relaxing day.

Once I had hiked my fill up the hill and frisbee’d the sleds up for the kids to meet their appetite, I pulled out a couple wrenches and addressed a rattle that was coming from the rear sway bar linkage where a bushing had warn out. I had ordered one from the manufacturer when we were in Phoenix last, but it didn’t arrive in time to install it before we took off again. It’s not a critical component and other than a little rattle while driving wasn’t noticeable.

After removing the culprit from below the van and measuring all the important dimensions with my digital calipers, I proceeded to cut off all the remaining rubber on the bushing with a box knife and fired up Fusion 360 on my laptop to design a replacement. A few minutes later the design was completed and ready for a trip to the printer. One of the materials I’m able to print with on the 3d printer that I’m carrying with me on this journey is TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurathane) It’s resistance to oil, abrasion, and high melting temperature make it a good solution for now (or until I get the actual part from Phoenix).

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Each half took 20 minutes to print. After printing both, I crawled back under the van and reconnected the sway bar utilizing the 3d printed bushings which fit perfectly. Just in time too. As I was under the van putting it back together, the ranger drove up and asked if anything was broken and that we needed to get going as the sun was set and the park was about to close. It was a great day filled with lots of exhausting fun, creative problem solving, and more quality family time spent in God’s wonderful creation.

Remember that appointment I scheduled on Saturday after calling around looking for a certified Sprinter technician to figure out why we have a few lights lit up on the dashboard. So we had to do some strategic planning. We brought Molly into Petsmart to be groomed while the van was getting worked on and then pulled into the garage door as they opened right on time. Turns out their Sprinter Tech doesn’t work Mondays…….

I guess the scheduler that I spoke with who said the earliest the sprinter tech could diagnose our van would be Monday morning, was mistaken. This was not a good start to the day. We had to wake up early (for us) and we had already dropped off Molly and were told 3-4 hours. So now what do we do??? I brought Jen to Target just down the street to grab some items we needed that we had planned to grab while the van was being worked on. While she was inside I called around and found a shop that was very kind and willing to try and calibrate the Steering Angle Sensor (this is what I had diagnosed the issue to be, along with my good friend Googles help). So we went there, they tried, to no avail, they weren’t able to communicate with our van’s computer with their scanner. Strike two….

We heard back from our new family friends that they could get us half price tickets for the tram ride. So kind of them, not only to actually make the effort to check but they also were willing to meet us at the credit union to get us the passes. It was a huge blessing and at that point of the day, was the only thing that was working out.

We made the drive up to the base of Sandia Peak Tramway and got in line with our tickets (after pressing some pennies of course).

It was a fun experience and I’m glad we did it, especially for the price that it cost us. On our way up I got a call from Petsmart that I let go to voicemail, as we were crammed into the gondola with about 30 other people whom I sure didn’t want to hear me talk with the groomer. At the top of the mountain I called them back and was informed that Molly was ready for pickup. So we got in the same glass box that brought us up the mountain and rode it right back down to the parking lot below. I had setup one more appointment for the van at another mechanic shop that speciallizes in German vehicles that could look at the van between 1:30 and 2:00. So we drove back across town, picked up Molly, who sure was glad to see us, and I see her glowing report card 🙂

Once there were 12 legs back inside the van, we drove (of course) back across town to see if this mechanic could calibrate the SAS. Super kind in the lobby and very accommodating as they even allowed us to stay inside the van as the mechanic drove the van around the shop and up onto the lift (which of course Henry and Amelia were both very excited about). As the poked around the van I could hear the discussion regarding what they thought the problem was and when the lead mechanic stuck his head in and said they’d need the van for 2-3 days to “find the problem” I as calmly as I could, declined and said we’d continue on our journey as-is/how we’ve been driving it for the past 11,000 miles. Again, the shop surprised me when I went into the lobby with the mechanic to get the keys, sign paperwork, and I assumed pay my bill. They said “no charge”, “drive safe and have fun!”. Totally unexpected, and another blessing to be grateful for. With our release from this shop we had already decided that we would continue the adventure and knowing that we had another road tripping family within a few hours drive, we turned South towards White Sands National Monument and finally left Albuquerque in the rear view mirror (that’s just a figure of speech as our van doesn’t have a rear view mirror 🙂

We grabbed some groceries in Alamagordo as we neared our boondocking site and then settled in next to the lake while the sun fell on the mountains beyond the white sands, it was a long drive and an even longer day, but we were happy to be where we were, with people that we enjoy, and new adventures in front of us.

Having the thermometer is easing my fears. Of course feeling something that is hotter than our body temp is a vague measurement. Having the wheel bearing give out previously had me more tuned in to the possibility of it happening again and when someone online asked me “How hot is it?” my ignorant answer of “I’m not sure” led me to the purchase of the thermometer. For $20 I can now say that it “Isn’t very hot” the brake rotors are around 200f and the wheel bearing cap is around 100f, both well within normal operating temps. Phew, not going to blow another bearing, but the lights are still on the dash, so we’re keeping our appointment for Monday because I’ve called all the rest of our stops in New Mexico and can’t find another Sprinter Tech until we get well into Texas…..

The RV Park had laundry and shower facilities on site, so we took advantage of that opportunity and then headed to a park for a relax Sunday. Though the park was right next to a library, unfortunately the library was closed and there wasn’t a bathroom at the park, this wasn’t an issue until right before we left, but we managed. The park was fun and after the kids finished their school work with Jen, we got out the razor scooters and they rode around for awhile on the paths. There was a birthday party going on with a bounce house and one attendee rode his 4 wheeler to the party. He was doing wheelies up and down the street around the park, so that was some unexpected entertainment.

Remember the family we camped next to and hung out with at Petrified Forest NP? They were from Albuquerque so Jen sent them a text to see if they could recommend another park for us to visit. They sent her their favorite and said they’d meet us there around 3. So we loaded into the van and set off across town to see a much larger, much more expensive, and much more crowded park. It is very large with everything you could want at a park, playground, grassy fields, skatepark, dog park, and bathrooms. Being a Sunday afternoon, it also had a lot of people, but that was great too. Sure enough we met up with the other family and talked for hours while the kids ran around and played. I did take a stroll with Molly to this dog park which she proved to be a little too protective of me when other dogs would get too close. No real issues, she just want’s me to be a one dog kind of guy 🙂

As we were leaving the park saying goodbye to our new family friends we mentioned that we considered going to the Tram but that the cost was more than we were willing to pay. They thought they might get a discount from their credit union and said they’d look into in the next day and let us know if anything was available.

We had our appointment scheduled for early the next morning so instead of heading back to the RV Park, we hunkered down in another Walmart parking lot near the Dodge dealership, had a great dinner, set our alarms, and went to sleep.

Remember the heat I was “feeling” at each front wheel? Well last night had me up late searching and commenting on sprinter forums about what the possible causes could be. This morning I broke the news to Jen, she was bummed but we discussed our options and what we thought the best course of action would be. We decided on getting the van into a dodge dealership’s service department where they have a certified sprinter technician who can hopefully diagnose the lights and get us confidently back on the road. Being a Saturday I called around hoping to get lucky and be able to get in right away but the Mercedes Benz dealership and Dodge dealership both couldn’t accommodate us until Monday morning. Knowing there’s a price difference at the MB service department and that a sprinter tech is a sprinter tech, we took the earliest appointment (8:30am on Monday) at Melloy Dodge and set out for a day in Albuquerque. Our national museum pass from our OMSI membership (Thanks Mom and Rob!) gives us access to museums and other great spots throughout the country. Explora which is in Albuquerque was on the list, so we left our cozy RV park where we spent the night, stopped at a Harbor Freight to pickup a contactless thermometer to see just how “hot” the bearings/brakes were getting and went to Explora.

It was a great place and we didn’t even get through it all though we were there for most of the day. The kids really enjoyed the water activities and spinning table was a lot of fun too. When we did leave, we headed to a dog park nearby to let Molly off the leash and do some doggy socializing….

All in all it was a great day, and after one more, we’ll be able to get the van looked at and hopefully be on our way, once again headed “East” 🙂

We awoke to blue skies and the kids from the night before playing baseball outside. Henry was quick to shove some breakfast in his mouth and get outside to play. The rest of us were a little slower to enjoy our breakfast, some coffee and put away the beds for the day ahead. We did speak with the kid’s parents shortly before they pulled out and once we were ready, we headed out as well.

A short drive up the road (4 miles) and we were at the park entrance

It’s not the most photogenic national park I’ve ever seen, but the visitor center does a good job of explaining the phenomenon of the petrified wood has several stops along the road northbound that you can stop at to see Native American sites and petrified wood highlights.

We stopped at the Puerco Pueblo and wouldn’t you know, the other family was there too. We chatted in the parking lot for a bit and then set off down the trail together. It was a short walk but we enjoyed their company and took photos of the kids together and exchanged mailing addresses to be pen pals.

At the northern end of the park is another visitor center where we pulled in to get the kids their badges for becoming Jr. Rangers and also use the restroom before our drive to Albuquerque. In the parking lot, I saw Loren with the kids and we exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch while we’re in Albuquerque (where they live).

The drive to Albuquerque was longer than we had done the two days previous and when we got to our stop for the night (Enchanted Trails RV Park & Trading Post) I did a quick touch on each wheel check their temperature. I was bummed to feel heat on both sides (a bad front wheel bearing is what brought us back to Phoenix early on our last leg). I went inside the lobby to check in, get our spot, and contemplate what our next move would be.

After spending the night in the Walmart parking lot, we woke up and were excited to toast some bread and bagels for breakfast. We had added the smallest toaster we could find when we were back in Phoenix because our family loves carbs, especially if it comes out of a toaster. The toaster was “stinky” with burn off with it’s first operation, so Jen hooked it up to our extension cord and was going to run a cycle with it outside the van. That’s when her foot caught the cord and down the toaster fell, ending it’s serviceable life and our hopes of a toasted breakfast. That is unless we still happen to be parked in front of Walmart 🙂

Toaster down, guess this one didn’t want to travel the country 😉

The irony that we were parked at Walmart ( a big player in reducing the price and quality of goods ) wasn’t lost on me.

The smallest toaster was still the cheapest, and we were back in the toasting business.

We had a great “toasted” breakfast and then set our sights for the Petrified Forest National Park. There’s a museum / gift shop just in front of the park where they have some spots to camp for the night. No services, but they do have a bathroom in the gift shop and plenty of room for the kids to play.

Amelia bought a rock and Henry bought a rubber band gun.

There was another family that pulled into the area about the same time as us. As the adults were setting up dinner, the kids started to play. They played until just before dark, we waited to call them in for dinner, because there’s nothing like meeting new friends and you never know what the friendship will turn into.

And we’re back on the road! We got “most” of what we needed taken care of during our extended stay in Phoenix, but it’s time to hit the road. I can’t speak for everyone in the family, but I’m itching to have more new experiences and see new places. We cleaned up grandma’s, packed up the van, and set out only an hour later than we had planned (pretty good for us). Our destination for the day was Payson Arizona. At less than 100 miles from Phoenix, it was a good length to get reacquainted with our seats and ease into the traveling routine.

I had a appointment to meet up with a family and trial a modified Lipsync device to enable easier access to an iPad. The appointment was a few hours as we tried to work out some bugs and get the device and iPad to communicate effectively. In the end, it just wasn’t a good solution and so I made plans to redesign the existing interface and gave them a tour of our van.

It was later than planned when the trial was completed so instead of heading for the Mogollon Rim to camp in a wilderness spot, we drove a couple miles to Walmart where we setup for the night.

Anyone following our journey thus far knows that I like to go off the beaten path, and as we’ve found out, sometimes that leads to a pause in our forward momentum. Our last “stuck” (thanks Drew for the pull) lead to our desire to get some traction boards to help get ourselves unstuck.

The industry standard are Maxtrax. They’re targeted at serious off roaders and Continue reading “DIY Traction Boards”

Yesterday didn’t go as planned. We had a beautiful morning greet us, blue skies with little puffy white clouds. We knocked out morning chores and got on the road towards flagstaff where we had reserved a room at the Springhill Suites the night before. It was time for showers, laundry, and another Continue reading “Feb 10 – Lees Ferry to the back of a tow truck”