Reluctantly, we made our way from Gunnison yesterday to Loveland. We arrived in the late afternoon at DM RV Repair. Owners Don (The "D") and Mary Ann (The "M") welcomed us and graciously offered a space for us to hook up the moose and get a good night's sleep before things really got going this morning.
Today's forecast in Loveland wasn't pleasant. The forecast highs were into the upper 90s. On a day when our moose was expected to go hours without AC we were faced with an important challenge: What to do with our cats?
Anyway you looked at it, the outlook for any being to survive, much less thrive, in our rolling home today was poor, at best. With temps in the upper 90s and the Front Range sun a blazing, the mercury inside an AC-less Bullwinkle was projected to approach or top the century mark.
And, life inside our mighty Jeep didn't look much more promising today.
So, today, we looked for alternatives.
After a quick online evaluation of feline day care facilities, today's winner became obvious. It was five minutes away, the folks were oh-so-pleasant when we called in to inquire, and they had space available today for our feline friends to hang out in cool comfort today.
Done deal.
So, after checking in with the good people who had the power to restore cooling power to our moose, we crated up the cats for their first-ever kitty day care experience.
We drove up, met the lovely people, handed over our critters and asked ourselves this question.
What parents in their right mind would hand over their nine-year-old children to complete strangers?
Scary!
The good news is it all felt right. With clear kitty parent consciences we headed out to kill way too much time in Loveland.
We went to Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond, and Smashburger (Yum!) and Super Cuts and TCBY and JAX (a place we'd never heard of) and Kohl's and we even checked out our egress out of town tomorrow.
Yes, we were definitely killing time. And, when it comes to that we don't do it very well.
We went back to the shop and checked in on our progress. Things were moving slowly. But, they were moving.
With our pick-up deadline looming, we checked in with our tech. Everything was coming together. By 6 o'clock, everything would be wrapped up. We made a quick dash to the vet center to pick up our babies before the magic hour of six. They seemed happy, well, and a bit wiped out. We so wish they would answer our many questions about how their first-ever day of day care went. Alas, they can't. But, based on their desire to rapidly devour dinner and hang out with their parents, we're assuming it all went well.
At just about six, our heat pump was in place. With an inside temp of 98 degrees, our magical technician Don gave us the go ahead to fire things up. Within 30 minutes, the temp was down to the low 90s. Within an hour, we were into the low 80s. The cats were happy and so were we.
Both compressors are firing. The temperature is dropping. The cats and peeps in our house are definitely happy.
It's been 14 months since our heat pump worked properly. It's been a long, ugly journey. Maybe someday we'll tell the whole ugly story. But, tonight we're just appreciating what we have.
Our heat pump works. Finally.
Kudos to Mary Ann and Don of DM Mobile RV Repair in Loveland for wrestling the "Heat Pump From Hell". At least one Winnebago dealer and folks at the factory couldn't conquer this beast, but DM did. We're so grateful for their skilled craftsmanship and warm hospitality. For all and any of our RVing friends passing along the Front Range, is you need service, these are definitely the folks to call. We're so glad we did!
Three cheers for Coleman, the manufacturers of our heat pump. You folks get a bad rap that isn't always deserved. Thank you so much for stepping up and honoring your factory warranty long after many others would have passed. We really appreciate how you've gone the extra mile.
We have nothing, and I mean nothing, good to say about Winnebago Factory Service through this ordeal. Y'all screwed up. Plain and simple. Enough said.
Finally, after nearly 14 months we have a heat pump that actually works. And, we're so happy.
And, our cats have had their first taste of day care.
Tomorrow, after three completely unexpected months in Colorado, we're heading to Kansas.
Wahoo!
Feliway!
While the peeps in our household have been basking in the splendid isolation of Gunnison (and, it is awesome), it seems that one of our furry friends has suffered some stress.
Our boy kitty has been in a state for the last three days. And, this state has involved a periodic piddle where he shouldn't. When it comes to boy kitties and piddlin', we've learned over the years that it's important to get these things checked out ASAP. So, today we did.
This morning, we made an afternoon appointment at Tomichi Pet Center here in Gunnison. We loaded up the offending cat and headed off to the unknown (to us, anyway) vet. We received a warm greeting, and after a short wait were escorted to an exam room. The friendly tech and wonderful vet were both Kansas natives. So, we knew we were in good hands.
With just about all of the possible physical maladies ruled out, the vet suggested that the problem might be behavioral. Actually, she surmised, it sounded like the issue might be territorial. It seems our alpha kitty might just be marking his territory at the threat of passing deer, dogs, cats and whatever other wildlife might pass our way.
And what does one do with such a territorial kitty? The lovely vet suggested Feliway. I had read about it over the years, and was a bit skeptical. But, as the doc explained the science of it all, it suddenly made sense.
Feliway mimics feline pheromones, which are the things all kitties spread around a place by scratching, rubbing their faces (and occasionally piddlin') here and there. These pheromones make a kitty's place "theirs". Once everything is appropriately marked, a kitty can kick back and relax, knowing that they have fended off an intrusion by any passing animals. A few sprays of Feliway are supposed to get the job done for any resident kitties, which makes, scratching, rubbing (and occasional piddlin') unnecessary. With their territory artificially marked, resident kitties can get straight to the business of kickin' back and relaxing.
We gave it a shot.
Thirty bucks and five strategically placed sprays later, we were absolutely dumbstruck. Our kitties were calm, cool and collected. They were definitely kickin' back and relaxing.
Actually, our newfound vet has a great word for it. They were "chillaxin'".
Truth be told, we all were.
We know it's early. But, so far so good.
Three cheers for Feliway!
Splendid Isolation
For not being anywhere near where we'd planned to be, we really couldn't ask to be in a better place. Gunnison is simply great. Have we mentioned lately how much we love it?
We really do.
We went Jeepin' yesterday with our friends Karen and Arvin and their grandsons. Our route was Alpine Road, which took us on an amazing and incredibly scenic ride high into the mountains above Curecanti National Recreation Area. It was awesome!
One of the treats of our arrival back here in Gunnison was a chance meeting with a couple of folks over there on our blog roll. When we pulled into the park Saturday, the manager looked at our rig and said, "Hey! There's another one of those here." As we drove to our spot we couldn't help but notice a 2009 Tour with the exact same paint scheme as our moose. With a different floor plan, it was Bullwinkle's fraternal, rather than identical, twin. Our first thought was it would be fun to meet our Winnie kin. Our second thought was how much we lusted after their healthy heat pump. (But, I digress!)
Sunday night we were sitting outside enjoying the evening. A menagerie-walking couple came our way. There were two dogs, two cats and a familiar face. "We've come to meet the other Tour folks," they announced. As we shook hands, I was flipping through the visual rolodex in my mind. I tried my best to identify this familiar face. After the handshakes, we moved on to introductions.
"I'm Carrie," said the familiar face I couldn't place. With a name, I instantly made the match.
"I know you!" I exclaimed.
Carrie Barton is a blogger we've followed for years. Back in 2010, we tried to hook up in Texas Hill Country, but we weren't able to connect. We exchanged a few emails, but lost track as we got back to the business of living. What a pleasant surprise to have this chance meet up here in Gunnison! We exchanged pleasantries and made plans to catch up later. We look forward to getting to know Carrie and her husband Bill better and comparing Winnie stories. (Perhaps somebody should warn them...)
Tonight, we met up with Carrie, Bill, Doug, Nona and our neighbors for a park happy hour. The special guests of tonight's gathering were Dave and Susan, local experts in hiking, biking and 4x4 trails in and around Gunnison. (There are many!) Dave and Susan have lived in Gunnison for some 15 years and are obviously in love with their hometown. They told us about the all of the "can't miss" trails around town. (Suddenly, we have a long list of places to visit while we're here!)
As they gushed about all that is good about Gunnison, one of the things they pointed out was how, unlike all of those "popular" destinations along I-70 across the Rockies, Gunnison is quiet. This favorite town of ours has all of the scenery (and then some) of places like Breckenridge and Aspen, but with a fraction of the the folks.
Dave had a name for it. "We call it splendid isolation."
That's it! Those two simple words so perfectly capture what we love about Gunnison! It's beautiful. Yes, in fact, it's splendid. And, it's far from the beaten path. To get here, you need to be willing to traverse a healthy mountain pass or two. As the crow flies, I-70 isn't all that far. But, if you weren't born with wings, that busy interstate is seemingly a zillion miles away. In that way, it's isolated.
But, in this lush green valley between these mountain passes lives a community of friendly people who simply love living in the mountains. They're friendly. They're welcoming. They're wonderful. And, for a few weeks this Summer and last, we have the wonderful privilege of calling them our neighbors.
Yep. We love it here.
Turns out this lovely local couple who provided us the perfect description for our favorite place has made some exciting history of their own. Dave is an elite mountain biker who has competed (and won) against the likes of Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong. (Who knew?) And, tonight, as Dave bragged on is wife, we learned that Susan competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She won a bronze medal in Women's Mountain Biking. (How cool is that?) She brought her medal along to share with us all. She was so gracious!
After all of the congratulations, we shared a few minutes talking with this Olympian from Northern California who has happily made her home here in Gunnison. Over the years, she explained she's learned to live with and come to love the brutal winters here in the mountains.
Maybe we could, too!
We really do.
We went Jeepin' yesterday with our friends Karen and Arvin and their grandsons. Our route was Alpine Road, which took us on an amazing and incredibly scenic ride high into the mountains above Curecanti National Recreation Area. It was awesome!
One of the treats of our arrival back here in Gunnison was a chance meeting with a couple of folks over there on our blog roll. When we pulled into the park Saturday, the manager looked at our rig and said, "Hey! There's another one of those here." As we drove to our spot we couldn't help but notice a 2009 Tour with the exact same paint scheme as our moose. With a different floor plan, it was Bullwinkle's fraternal, rather than identical, twin. Our first thought was it would be fun to meet our Winnie kin. Our second thought was how much we lusted after their healthy heat pump. (But, I digress!)
Sunday night we were sitting outside enjoying the evening. A menagerie-walking couple came our way. There were two dogs, two cats and a familiar face. "We've come to meet the other Tour folks," they announced. As we shook hands, I was flipping through the visual rolodex in my mind. I tried my best to identify this familiar face. After the handshakes, we moved on to introductions.
"I'm Carrie," said the familiar face I couldn't place. With a name, I instantly made the match.
"I know you!" I exclaimed.
Carrie Barton is a blogger we've followed for years. Back in 2010, we tried to hook up in Texas Hill Country, but we weren't able to connect. We exchanged a few emails, but lost track as we got back to the business of living. What a pleasant surprise to have this chance meet up here in Gunnison! We exchanged pleasantries and made plans to catch up later. We look forward to getting to know Carrie and her husband Bill better and comparing Winnie stories. (Perhaps somebody should warn them...)
Tonight, we met up with Carrie, Bill, Doug, Nona and our neighbors for a park happy hour. The special guests of tonight's gathering were Dave and Susan, local experts in hiking, biking and 4x4 trails in and around Gunnison. (There are many!) Dave and Susan have lived in Gunnison for some 15 years and are obviously in love with their hometown. They told us about the all of the "can't miss" trails around town. (Suddenly, we have a long list of places to visit while we're here!)
As they gushed about all that is good about Gunnison, one of the things they pointed out was how, unlike all of those "popular" destinations along I-70 across the Rockies, Gunnison is quiet. This favorite town of ours has all of the scenery (and then some) of places like Breckenridge and Aspen, but with a fraction of the the folks.
Dave had a name for it. "We call it splendid isolation."
That's it! Those two simple words so perfectly capture what we love about Gunnison! It's beautiful. Yes, in fact, it's splendid. And, it's far from the beaten path. To get here, you need to be willing to traverse a healthy mountain pass or two. As the crow flies, I-70 isn't all that far. But, if you weren't born with wings, that busy interstate is seemingly a zillion miles away. In that way, it's isolated.
But, in this lush green valley between these mountain passes lives a community of friendly people who simply love living in the mountains. They're friendly. They're welcoming. They're wonderful. And, for a few weeks this Summer and last, we have the wonderful privilege of calling them our neighbors.
Yep. We love it here.
Turns out this lovely local couple who provided us the perfect description for our favorite place has made some exciting history of their own. Dave is an elite mountain biker who has competed (and won) against the likes of Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong. (Who knew?) And, tonight, as Dave bragged on is wife, we learned that Susan competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She won a bronze medal in Women's Mountain Biking. (How cool is that?) She brought her medal along to share with us all. She was so gracious!
After all of the congratulations, we shared a few minutes talking with this Olympian from Northern California who has happily made her home here in Gunnison. Over the years, she explained she's learned to live with and come to love the brutal winters here in the mountains.
Maybe we could, too!
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