Another week

Tuesday      Breakfast on the grill as we get back on our regular 4 day shift.   Despite being a Tuesday we only have 6 empty sites.  We did our first round then Brad headed into town for basic groceries and a stop at Ace hardware and Lowes.  We bought some foil wrap to block the sun from the windshield and now we look like people who afraid of aliens reading our minds.   After happy hour with Larry and Sue we had a nice diner steak,  baked potato and green beans.  Just as we finished our last bite we had a customer at the door.    Finished out last round just as a strong thunderstorm rolled through.

Wednesday     We both made the rounds today a few more check outs than check ins but we made up for it with the amount of walk ins.  After lunch we made another round or two a fairly calm day.  The maintenance crew was here and dug up the water line for the fourth time in two months, they says they fixed it for sure this time.  Larry and Sue had their kids and grand kids here for diner so we had a very short happy hour.  Diane made ribs in the crock pot, boy they were tender and delicious.  It seemed like a good day as I headed to bed around 10pm.  But that was about to change.  As Diane is brushing her teeth at 10:30 we get a knock at door.  The guys in site 14 and 15 are here and have a guy trying to set up camp between them.  I got on the radio called the rangers to check it out.  To make the long short the guy trying to set up camp was on site 28 not 14.  After a half hour or so two rangers convinced him to move to site 28 and even helped him set up.  It was all over by midnight but left us wide awake.

Thursday    After breakfast Diane went to town I did the rounds not much happening mid week. It was a big shopping day we needed everything. As luck would have it  when Diane got back I was on the far end of the campground.  People say the golf cart looked like a NASCAR heading to the finish line as I tried to get back to unload groceries. I made it just as the checkered hammer was coming down.   Another nasty thunderstorm moved through about 3pm and by 5 the sun was back out.  Larry and Sue's kids are here for a few more days so no social hour(s).  And again just before bed there is a knock at the door,  the shower token machine isn't working....sell some tokens...call the ranger to fix machine..... ranger comes back he can't fix it....... gives us 20 or so token to sell(at 11)..... ranger comes back to borrow golf cart....ranger returns golf cart...it's now almost midnight.    We go to bed.

Friday   Last day of this shift.  Breakfast on the grill, make our rounds, 40 plus check-ins, and a bunch of fliers to hand out.  The day passed quickly and Diane made(for the first time) a crock pot spaghetti meal.  It was great and I may have eaten a bit to much.  The camp ground was full but calm and we headed to bed a little early.  

 

Brad

One more day in Colorado Springs, then back to work!!

Wednesday, Buddy still wasn't feeling great, so instead of going to the Royal Gorge we headed to the 'Cave of the Winds'.  It was a decent tour, the guide was pretty good and they had this things called


Brad's off the path!!

the Terror-dactyl which dropped you straight down into the canyon and then you swung on it like a swing towards the opposite canyon wall......I got nauseated just watching the other people go.  The best part was they had a camera set up on the seat and watching the faces of the people on the ride was great.  After that we headed over to the Garden of the Gods Trading Post for lunch and some shopping.  Lunch was good, but the shopping got put on hold, they were painting the building  and the fumes were getting to us all.  Back to the CG, a few cocktails then off to the CG eatery .  for dinner...roasted chicken, potatoes, corn and a roll, not a bad meal at all.  We ended up talking 'til about 11:00, then off to bed with us all. 


 

 

This is the Canyon you swing
down into!!  Not for me!!



This is the platform they drop you from!

Thursday was pack-up, say our sad good-byes and we hit the road about 10:30.  Just before we hit Denver we stopped at a Bass Pro Shop for lunch and a little

Buddy and Theresa at
the Campground!!

shopping, we were checking out the kayaks, but nothing purchased.  As we head into Denver, it is stop and go traffic and took us forever to get through, but what a relief it was when we got through and started seeing all the familiar stuff near Fort Collins.  We stopped at JJ's corner market before heading up the mountain, disconnected the car and sent me on my way to HQ to do our checkout for the Sunday before while Brad got gas and a case of beer....a hot day and a cold one sounded great.  It was almost 4:00 until we got back, so we set up home again, grabbed a cold one and headed over for a visit with Larry and Sue.  Surprise, surprise....we didn't miss much.  It was a nice chat, a quick dinner and off to bed about 11:00. 

This was parked in the Bass Pro
Lot when we walked out of the
store, never heard it land!!

 

 

Friday morning we were back on duty for our 2 day make up, and had 40 check-ins to do.  We had one person, site 25, that we had to get the ranger to talk to about check out.  On the weekends, as fast as somebody pulls out, another camper pulls in...what a day.  All in all we survived, but about 1:30 I had to leave for training on the 'Gate Keepers' job.  I got a whole hour at the window, nothing on close out due to the computer being down, and Saturday they are putting me at the gate by myself....hope it all goes well.  Back home, burgers for dinner and off to bed about 10:00, I need to be at gate by 7:30 to get ready for the day. 

 

Saturday I was at the Inlet Bay Gate House and it was a busy day, all three of the boat launch areas, South Bay, Inlet Bay and Satanka,  were parked full by noon and anybody else that came in had a 1-2 hour wait for a launch.  By 1:30 all the car parking was full, so for the next hour all I could do was turn people away.  Needless to say, they weren't very happy with me, but they were all nice enough about it, understanding that it was a beautiful weekend and it seems everybody was having the same idea.  About 3:00, Lucy came to relief me at the gate, so off to HQ to do my check out....which took me until 4:30, they say I'll get faster at it, so I hope I do. Back at the CG Brad had to manage as host all by himself, but with no computer work he did just fine, the CG was full so no walk-ins were available, I headed back home, had a cold one with him and we settled on breakfast for dinner without a campfire, I'm not eating hot dogs.  :-)  We sat outside and chatted for a while then  headed in for the night. 

 

Sunday I was at the South Bay gate and when I pulled up to open there were 2 people already waiting to talk to me, so they did while I opened the window and unlocked everything.  I was actually able to help them out and then the fun began, the line of cars/trucks and boats was never ending.  About 10:30 Kathleen came up to help (Sunday's they have 2 people at that gate), walking up the line and selling day passes to the people that had cash.  About 2:00, Lindsay came up and I got my first break of the day, so a bathroom break, quick bite to eat and back at it until about 3:00, then off to HQ to check out.  Can you believe it, it took me longer the second day then it did the first.....not right.  But I get finished, head home but stop and grab a 6 pack on my way past the liquor store, I was ready for one.  Brad was off today, so he had the house hold chores to do...like running to the Laundromat.  As I was pulling into the campground I notice a couple of tents and EZ-up's in the site next to us.  Brad said it's a lot better now, they had their tents set up on our site, right beside the picnic table, now at least they are about 10 feet away, but the two nights they were here, they were quiet and the 8 kids were very well behaved. My cupboards are getting bare, so we ate the last of brauts and called it dinner, we were both hot and not very hungry, so that was a good choice. 

 I almost forgot, on Brads way home from town he sat in my line at South Bay and when he came to the window he had some snack food for me, so I could snack while still at my window, how thoughtful..    

Monday is our only day off together so we planned a day of replenishing supplies....nope it didn't get done.  I didn't want to go anywhere, so we stayed home and just did some little things around the camp site.  Up went the canopy around the table, got rid of what was left of the old refrigerator, scrubbed the shower and got some other cleaning done inside and even moved the new refrigerator into the hole where the old one used to be.  It's beginning to look like we live here and actually like it.  We ended up having ham steak and a veggie for dinner, now a store run is necessary, my freezer is empty.  Brad is going into town tomorrow to pick up some things while I hold down the CG, on duty in the AM. 

Thanks,

Diane, Brad and Rudy

A vacation from vacation

Saturday morning we get up and are back to work.  We are taking a couple of days off and are making up our time....the only good thing we only have a few check-ins (3) and the park is full.  We did our rounds about 4 or 5 times, lots of questions from the campers, but all in all a quiet day.  We do have one site that is really wet and the people that had it reserved are in on of our emergency sites, but we somebody came in and re-rented the wet camp site.....now there are absolutely no sites, both emergency sites are rented as well as the flooded site.....who knew it would be this busy.   Dinner was in the crock pot, corned beef and cabbage, so that was easy and done early, after that we sat outside and talked until about 9:00, then headed inside to watch the news and get ready for bed. 

 

Sunday should have been another quiet day.....but no.  We only had about 20 campers to check out, and then we had 14 campers checking in, meaning we only had 6 open sites for the night.  OK, first off we had one site that had 2 campers on it and about 3 tents, stopped about 10:30, to remind them check out is at 11:00 .....oh they say, we probably won't be out by then, so we left them know somebody had the site reserved and could be there at noon, oh, they weren't sure they would be out by noon either.....we don't enforce the rules, we just pass them info.  We had another 2 sites with 3 big rigs parked tightly together, same thing...no hurry to get out, but the site is reserved.  Down the road to 3 more newly reserved sites that are parked full of cars (about 7) and we can only find the owners of one of the cars....so back  up the road we head (this is only the first half of the CG).  We actually ran into Roger (our Ranger) told him what was going on, so he was going to talk to the folks, by now it is 11:45.  Two of the new campers have just pulled in and aren't happy they can't get into their sites. So between us, the ranger and the new campers standing, staring and walk around  the leaving people finally started to pull out.  About that time they announce over the radio that the boat trailer parking lot at South Bay is full and they are directed to send all boat launchers to Inlet Bay (our CG/Marina), so the next thing you know the boats are lined up about 30 in a line and we can hardly get past the marina to the other half of the CG, but we managed to make it.  Things over there aren't looking to bad, but one site is already parked full of boat trailers and there is nobody around that can move them.....so we crossed that site off the available list.  Just to sum things up, every time we had a walk in and rented a site we spent the next half hour running to the site, making sure it was empty and if not, finding the owners of the vehicles and asking them to move.  The best thing was, we actually had 3 people that just wanted to day use a campsite, ended up renting them a site so we wouldn't make them leave....made our life easier.  What a hectic day, happy hour with Larry and Sue began about 4:30, then about 5:00 Larry went out to wet down the road because the dust was getting bad.  A camper flew by and Larry snapped a pic of his license plate number...well the guy didn't like that, so he slammed the car in reverse and flew back the road....a ranger saw this and came over just as the guy was threatening Larry, saying he has a gun and would be back.....George, the ranger, called the big guys in, 'Rangers with Guns'.  We ended up having about an hour talk with Jim, "the ranger with the gun", about what can be improved.....that was helpful and maybe things can be changed that will help...i.e., instead of 15 mph, make it 5, now we all know 5 is almost impossible, but at 15 they push it.  After that Larry and Sue headed inside and we continued to pack, have dinner and get ready for our trip in the morning.  In the mean time, Katherine started texting, they scheduled me until 11:00 pm.....I don't do 11:00 PM, so change me or I don't work.....imagine that, they changed the hours....plus they have me 3 days a week.....only 2. 

 

Monday....enough of this, pack, cleaning up and out of the park by 10:00.  I stopped to do our weekend close out.....computers are downed, probably all day, back on the road for me.  A stop for wine, and quick trip through Wal-Mart and on the road to meet Brad at Transwest, where he headed

A view of Pike's Peak
from our campsite!

for a refrigerator estimate.  I get a phone call when I'm about 20 miles away, they want $150.00 just to do the estimate....I don't think so.  So we plan to meet at a gas station, hook up, head down the road, stop for lunch... back on the road with our destination 'Garden of the Gods RV Resort' to meet Buddy and Theresa.  We finally pull in, get in our site and meet them about 4:00.  About 5:00, after we are settled and hooked up, a glass of wine and drinks for them and we settle in for a chat.  About  6:30 we headed across the road for a very good Mexican Dinner, Margarita's included.....and when we headed out about 8:30 it was pouring.  Now, not knowing where we were headed we all drove, pulling in we thought it was funny that it was just across the street from the CG, but on the way home, we were glad we had the cars. We get home and it starts to rain so hard it sounds like hail, but it was just rain.  That was still going on when we all headed to bed....hope we sleep.  

 

A nice morning, and now I didn't sleep well but Brad and Rudy did.  They were up early and out for their walk and I was in the shower before the alarm went off at 7:15.  Out trip to up Pikes Peak is at 10:40, but we all plan on leaving the CG about 9:30.  Theresa yells Hi about 8:00 so I head over for a chat to find our they had a terrible night, Buddy choked on his pills, passed out, fell and didn't hurt himself bad, but a few bruises on his face...Theresa says he mouthed off so she slapped him with the cutting board....great sense of humor.  We all managed to get on the road about 9:30 getting to the Cog Railway on time, checked in, got our seat assignments and then shopped for water and snacks.  Boarding was a 10:20....we waited until last and finally headed up the mountain for the 1.5 hour trip.  What a ride, not bad, great views, but the car was having troubles.  One unscheduled stop and a complete restart, but we made it.  We had about 30-45 min. at the top, not really long after using the rest room and getting something to eat, but we survived.  The temp was 32, so a quick pic or two out side and a dart back into the visitor center.  It was interesting, lots of snow and it was snowing so hard it looked like a blizzard when we stopped, but we survived.  We then heard the warning whistle, so back out to the train for our trip back down the mountain, what a great trip.  After that a few purchases at the shops we all headed into town for a late lunch.  The first restaurant wasn't open, so down the hill a little further to the pizza shop....what a great find.  We all had the Laughing Lab Beer which was great, but we kicked the keg and they didn't have any more... .so we just had water after that.  We finally headed out of there about 4:00 to go rescue Rudy and then we walked him for over and hour, while Buddy and Tee got to rest.....some how it didn't seem fair, but we survived.  After that we all just sat outside and talked until about 8pm when a thunderstorm chased us all in side.

Thanks for the visit,
Brad and Diane

Old Camp we passed.

Pikes Peak, Brad
is Froze at 32 degrees!!



Parked on the
edge of the mountain.

Beautiful views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here Kitty Kitty

Here Kitty Kitty

Tuesday was fairly calm day in the camp ground with nice weather and only a passing thunderstorm in the evening.  We had our normal happy hour with Larry and Sue and just as we were finishing dinner I saw a couple of cars stopped on the road just outside the campground.  I got the binoculars and low and behold two mountain loins are walking through this guys yard and pass by two mule deer.  The deer watch the big cats and move out of their way but they didn't run.  The cats were gone in just a few minutes but we did get a decent picture.   Back inside finish dinner and got ready for bed.

 

 

Wednesday the last day of the shift.  Nice sunny morning as we wind down.  Just a couple of check-ins and the usual rounds of the campground.  They are still working on the water line right beside our site and have turned the water on and off several times,  but we still have water(yeah).  I showed the picture of the mountain lion to Mike (maintenance worker) and said it looked like a female with last years cub.  He says there are many big cats in the area but it is unusual for anyone to see them, so we were lucky to see them.  Shari texted that they are back in Colorado, and we are still trying to find a refrigerator that will fit.  Sausages for dinner and a relaxing evening.

Another water line
dug up!!

Thursday woke up to a nice morning and we are off duty so breakfast on the grill eggs, sausage and home fries (yumm).  Spent most of the morning picking up and cleaning up what we can in preparation for our trip to Garden of the Gods. And the skies cloud up and rain starts and soon after we have flash flood warnings all over the county.  It rained steady until about 6pm.  We went out to talk to Larry and Sue but before we could get the chairs out the rain started again.  Back inside called and ordered two dozen wings from the Canyon Bar and Grill.  When we went to pick them up the bar maid carries out 4 large carry out containers.  Turns out they serve the whole three piece wing, no wonder they are a dollar each. We didn't even eat half of them.  The rain continues as we head off to bed.

 

 

 

Friday we woke up to a steady rain that lasted until just before lunch. Seems this weather pattern is here to stay.   I wasn't feeling so good so Diane went to town alone to do some shopping and attend to a few appointments for her job as "the gate keeper",  ok part time fee collector.  It took her most of day and she was not a happy camper with how long it took for her drug test(hours of waiting)  for the 2 minutes it took.  We had burgers for dinner and sat outside for awhile enjoying the evening.

 

Diane and Brad

Another couple of days

Friday.   Well we survived the night after the hard rain and wind over night we were no worst for the wear.  Three tornadoes touched down about 20 miles from here and the morning news had a lot of damage reports.   After a careful inspection of the camper and the campground we were very lucky

Another storm heading
our way.

just a few branches here and there.   By lunch time the skies darken and a few thunderstorms rolled through and it cleared up again by late afternoon.  We put the soda, beer, water etc. in the ice chest then headed off to the marina for ice.  We had to put a trash bag over the refrigerator access hole to keep the bugs out.   We had steaks for diner and cooked all the rest of the thawed meat then refroze it for future use.  A busy and long day finally cleaning up dishes around 8:30-9pm.  I almost forgot, the excitement of the morning.....a car came out of gear from across the street at the CG (steep driveway) and ended up crashing into a camp site taking out a tree and getting hung up on a nice sized boulder.  Lucky for everyone, the campsite was empty and all ended OK.

Saturday morning we had a little more rain, but we headed into town just after noon.  It was a decent afternoon, first stop ace hardware, where we ended up having a hot dog in support of a non-profit organization, then over to Starbucks for a coffee and a break on the patio trying to figure out what to do next.  We then stopped at the drug store, then off to a furniture store looking for a recliner,  Of course we were there well over an hour, but we found one, got all the measurements and material samples then headed off to the grocery store.   On our way home the rain started again and we pulled in just as the down pour hit, but we managed to get the groceries into the house and stuffed into the tiny refrigerator (creative packing at work).  I then made jambalaya with fire roasted tomatoes,  shrimp and Andouille sausage.  It was delicious, but I think the next time I'll double the rice content.  It was a stay inside night, so off to bed early for Brad and Rudy, I lasted until 10:30 when the news ended.    

Sun back on shift. First thing this morning the guy in site 50 did not check out and today's people are here.  And not only did he not check out but nothing is packed and the people are no where to be found.  So we call the rangers who come immediately to resolve the trouble.  We return to our site one guy wants to move from site 5 to site 8 no problem site 8 is open.  The guy pays us takes his rig over to fill up with fresh water.   Another fella walks up and wants a site so we sell him site 5 and all is well(so we think).   In the meantime (back at site 50) to calm down the arriving people the ranger sends them to site 8 and they move and start to set up on site 8 just as the guys returns from getting water and his site is occupied.  We go down to tell the people to leave not knowing they just berated the ranger for a hour.  The woman just lays into Diane about how screwed up this place is.  The ranger come over and finally calms them down and gets them another site.  In the meantime(back at site 50) the people return, they are issued two citations and quickly pack, hook up their boat trailer, pull out to get their boat.  In the hast to leave they forgot to latch the boat trailer and when they backed down the ramp the trailer just kept on going out into the deep abyss. They had to call in the divers to find the trailer, hook it up so they can pull it out and that finally ended  about 6:00pm.  The site 50 people still don't like their new site and move again into now unoccupied site 50.  As the sun sets on Inlet Bay all the natives are settled down.  Our chicken is cold and dried out but we still had wraps for dinner but didn't eat until 8-830pm.  Sure are glad this day is over.

Monday  What a nice day clear blue sky no rain and high temperature of  85 degrees.  With the high temperature a lost hiker became urgent as dehydration sets in fairly quickly.  There were a bunch kids(under 18) cliff diving and the rangers converged on them and cited 8 and held them until their parents came to pick them up. We came across two girls enjoying a wallow in a mud puddle on such

Making the best of
the day!!

a warm day.   A fairly calm day and the weather was just wonderful.  We sat around and talked with Larry and Sue had beef tips and mushrooms for diner and a peaceful evening only one customer after 6pm.

 

Diane and Brad

What a week!!

Friday.  This is our last day off so we went to the Laundromat, had lunch, stopped at K-mart, Home Depot and the last stop was for groceries.  It just poured as we were leaving King Sooper.  Shawna called so we stood by the door waiting for the storm to pass while Brad talked to her.  We got home around 3:30 walked Rudy and just came inside as another storm went through this one lasted for a half hour or so.  The good news for today is the guys were here early this morning found the water leak, dug it up and fixed it.  We now have water and we are very happy.  About 10:00 PM I was out for a cig, when a women walked up to the other Camp Host trailer and knocked on the door.....no answer.  I ended up talking with them, the one was a camper and the other was a deaf lady that was just wondering from camp site to camp site looking for her boyfriend.  I had no radio and couldn't call the rangers, but the camper had already called the 1-800 and reported it.  After that the roaming lady decided to leave, and the camper went back to site 19.  About 11:00 as I was changing for bed another knock at the door, this time a ranger wanting the story of what happened.  I told them the little bit I knew and then he headed off to site 19.....I guess it all ended well. 

Saturday was such a busy day, we had one tag to place (one incoming camper) and the rest of the time was spent driving around on the golf cart, visiting and talking with all the campers.  It wasn't a bad day weather wise, but it was a bit overcast with a passing shower from time to time.....but at least it wasn't a total wash out.  I spoke with the lady from site 19, all did end well and she said the ranger was really nice.....although her kids harassed her about being in trouble with the cops..  :-).  After a decent day, then afternoon rains came back and we were back to hiding inside....this is getting old. 



A little down time and
a big fish (ha ha)

Sunday was a mass exodus with a little over half the campers leaving and about 5 walk-ins looking for sites.  An interesting and dry day, lots of trips around the CG just to keep ourselves entertained.  Everyone was excited and talking about a whole day without rain.  We had dinner on the grill and the first camp fire since we have been here, yeah.  We sat outside until about 11:00, then headed inside for a good nights sleep!

Monday was another beautiful day.  We got to hang out just talking with the campers again and checking in lots of new ones.  We were over talking with Larry and Sue and the funniest thing, a Baltimore Oriole thinks it's a humming bird and keeps going to the humming bird feeder.  Just before dinner I walked in the Moho and the refrigerator was beeping so I turned it off waited a couple of minutes,

Baltimore Oriole
thinks he's a
humming bird

back on, no problem, all worked fine.  We had dinner, talked with Larry and Sue some more, did our last rounds, then back home.  Brad headed to bed about 10:00 and I turned off the lights just before 11:00, the refrig. started beeping again.....no luck on the reset, it was dead.  Brad hopped in the car, off to the little jot'em down store, got there as they were locking the door, but they opened up, gave him a bag full of ice and sent him home.  We packed the cooler as best we could then headed to bed, more to come tomorrow. 

Tuesday, not really knowing what else to do, Brad called 5 or 6 mobile repair men to see who would call back or show up.  We called King Sooper, and then Brad headed down for dry ice....a chunk for the freezer to keep the meat frozen and a chunk for the frig to keep the few things in there cold.  He got home and about 3:00 one of the mobile repair guys called back and would be here about 6:00 PM.  In the mean time I got ice, drained the cooler and restocked that...ugh, this is getting to be a pain in the butt.   The repair guy called at 6:00 saying he would be about 30 min. late....by gosh, then made it.  A look in the back of the frig and yep we were right, dead, dead, dead, the cooling unit is shot and needs replaced...$1500.00 or higher plus labor.  Nope, we'll pull it out and put in a residential frig, which the repair man actually thought that was a good idea.  He was really nice, capped the propane feed and then checked the water heater, nothing wrong there, other than the regulator needed adjusted.  OK, no problem, now we can move forward with a plan....need to make one.  Burgers for dinner and off to bed by 10:00/10:30 for us all.

 

Wednesday we turned over hosting to the Coy's (Larry and Sue) then headed over to HQ to close out and then our plan was into town for breakfast and a small frig to use until we can get ours out and replaced.  No luck, Pat (the gate guard) was at HQ and said about the severe weather we were to get in the afternoon, so back home (3 mile trip) to put the awning in and the chairs away, walk Rudy,

Glad Brad removed the
half of sofa.  Tiny Frig.

then we head back to town for breakfast (really late) and frig shopping.  Larry and Sue told us about a couple of second hand shops that had them, after check 4 or 5 no luck so off to Home Depot and Lowes, finally finding a 9 cubic foot one at Home Depot.  It fit in the car, but the hatch was tied shut, so a slow nervy ride up to the mountain top, no troubles we made it.  We get it out of the car, unbox it and it is dented and scratched terribly.  I take pictures, hoping to go back and get a discount, when Brad stops a Ranger and gets him to help load it in the Moho.  They get it in the door, we thank the kid, then realize it isn't going to fit where we want it....ok lets try something else, no luck, we can't even bring the slide in with this one in the house....oh no.  Brad and I managed to get it out of the Moho, back in the car and off he goes, back to Home Depot.  I through a load a laundry in, drained the cooler and headed over to the marina for ice.  Back home got things cleaned up and Brad finally pulled in with a tiny 5 cubic foot frig....at least it fits, but now we have to change our grocery shopping habits and see what needs to be thrown away or kept....tomorrow.  Once again just as we are settling in for a night a few thunder storms pass through chasing us inside.   A quick dinner and again off to bed by 10:30 for us both. 

 

Here it is Thursday and we finally plug in the frig (had to wait after transporting on it's back) and in about 3-4 hours we start to load it up.....boy is it even tiny, throw a few things away and pack the thing pretty tight with what we have left....but by 11:00 Brad is working on the demo of the old one.  First the doors, then all the interior of the frig that can be removed with out too much trouble...next the hard part.  After that outside, take the frig panel off, disconnect the water (ice maker), electric (both ac & dc) and the remove of a couple of bolts that hold the frig in place.  A little wiggle to see if it's loose then I finally get him to take a break for lunch.   A quick lunch, a few more bolts and the thing is loose, now to get it out of it's built in hole, and it ways a ton.  We pile up all the cardboard from the two purchased fridges, then we managed to get  the thing to the floor...no other damage done.  Now we know it is too heavy to carry out the door, so off with the cooling unit and we heave that out the door(now we know where the weight is).  A few more strips and things pulled off, then we carried out the frame (shell) of the fridge, what a breeze after the cooling unit.  Now we have a pile of junk outside of the Moho and a big hole in the empty spot in the Moho.  It is now 4:00 and we are both ready for a beer and there are none in the house, so Brad showers while I run up the road for some....hot, rough day, what a nice treat. 

A couple of Pics:       Refrigerator Removal

I have a cold one with Brad then shower, while he cleans up the mess out side.  Larry and Sue come over and we chat for a while, the weather is taking a turn for the worse, Tornado watches and the sky over Fort Collins is black.  We can here the thunder and even manage to find a rainbow, but it's about an hour before we get any of the rain...and honestly, for all the dark sky's in the direction of Fort Collins, we didn't get much of anything.  We headed inside, just as my phone alarm goes off, we are now in a tornado warning, and then another and then one more.  It seems that there have been a few of them confirmed in the area about 20 miles south of us, and there have been a few that have touched down and damaged a couple of homes.  It seems like the worst of it is over, but as I sit here now at 9:00 I can still here the continuous rumble of thunder and the lightening flashing in the back ground.  There was a lot of hail not that far south of us....just praying we are safe tonight and no one has been hurt by the storms that have blown through.  Now back down to a tornado watch that will end at 10:00...I think I'll wait until then to go to bed.    Ok, now on the news, 8" of hail on route 66, so it is closed, and there is major flooding in the Berthoud area...what a night.

Dark skies over
Fort Collins

Rainbow over
Fort Collins

Dark skies heading our way

 

 

Diane and Brad