After Chatfield, we stayed a few days in Monument, at the CO Heights Camping Resort. Jeremy met us there, in order to have time to sell his car before flying to Ireland (and to spend time with us, of course!) Things got a bit complicated with trying to figure out the logistics of selling it and Randy’s 4-Runner, along with needing to get warranty work done on the fifth wheel and fix an issue with the F350.
Jeremy’s car was filled with stuff he was storing and the stuff he was taking to Ireland, so we put the Ireland stuff in the RV (then spent several days stumbling over the extra suitcases laying around) and had to move the storage stuff to the 4-Runner while he went to have his car inspected by a prospective buyer. Then we had to move the storage stuff back to his car for him to drive it up to Parker, to store it at Robin’s house, and do an inspection at Carmax. Carmax ended up giving him the best price, so I met him there to sign paperwork and give him a ride home. Since we were both on the title, they made the check out to both of us; but Jeremy’s bank would not accept the deposit without us having a joint account. We ended up having to go into our local branch to make the deposit in person instead of online, then I had to pay Jeremy back. Not a huge deal, but just something else to have to figure out.
Meanwhile, the title to Marissa’s car that was totaled in the St. Louis flood seems to have gotten lost in the mail. So, we’ve had to order a duplicate before we can sell the car to Progressive Insurance and get the insurance money. Fortunately, she had enough savings to go ahead and get a new car to use while she’s waiting for that payout. I’m not sure how we’re going to deposit that money if it has to be made out to both Randy and Marissa, since they’re both on the title. Hopefully, there will be a US Bank branch wherever we happen to be at the time we get the check! (She also had a car full of stuff that was stored in her car while she was in Scotland. Most of it was ruined, so she’s had to replace a lot of dorm stuff she had accumulated the past few years.)
After much contemplation, Randy decided to sell his beloved 2000 Toyota 4-Runner instead of letting it sit around for about a year, until we make it back to CO. The decision was a bit easier, since we had a friend who was interesting in buying it. We made arrangements to drop it off at his mechanic to get the timing belt changed, since it had recently gone over 200,000 miles.
We have been trying to get a damaged compartment door replaced on our RV ever since we bought it almost a year ago. The dealer finally got the door in, so we made an appointment to do that work while we were in town. When we left the CO Heights campground, we moved out of the RV and dropped it off at the dealer for a few days. Surprisingly, they got the job done in one day, along with a few other small things that needed fixing. (Not surprisingly, it was a shabby job, with a larger than normal gap now showing at the bottom of the door. <sigh>) But since we had already planned to stay with friends for a few days, we just left it there until we could pick it up and take it straight to Cherry Creek, our next reservation.
While the RV was being worked on, we thought it’d be a good time to get the truck maintained, too. We thought it’d just be routine maintenance, but they noticed there was a leak in the transmission. Ford would not be able to get to it for a couple of weeks, so Randy called around to find someone who would look at it the next day. We ended up keeping the truck a few more days, while they ordered parts, so we used it to pick up and tow the fifth wheel to Cherry Creek.
At this point, we have made arrangements to drop off both our other cars, and we didn’t want to have to re-figure out details of getting rid of them, so we now had to borrow another car while the truck was getting worked on! <sigh> It just so happens that Becky, my sister from TX, is in Parker helping Robin, my sister who had a recent ankle surgery. Since Robin can’t drive right now, they only need one car, so they loaned us the other! <whew!>
Of course, the truck took longer to fix than they initially planned, so we had to get a friend to tow our fifth wheel from Cherry Creek back to Monument (Thanks, Ben!), to wait at the Schott’s house before we continue on to our next campground. If we had to be stuck somewhere for a while, that was a really nice place to be! (Thanks, Jason & Emily!) Randy took advantage of being here longer by going out on patrol again; and we went to the Broadmoor for breakfast then hiked around Garden of the Gods. So, we made the best of it!
We picked up the truck Friday evening, then drove to Parker and back to return Becky’s car (Thanks, Becky!) while breaking in the transmission a bit before towing. Then we were finally able to hit the road again Saturday morning, to use one day of our five day reservation in Rifle, CO. It was harder to leave this time, knowing it’ll probably be close to a year before we return. <sniff!>
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