The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

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Ian
Posts: 147
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 10:15 pm
Info: 1962 Dormobile "Zuma"
Location: Malibu, USA

The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by Ian » Tue Sep 08, 2015 5:21 am

I've posted some of these pictures on another list so apologies if you have seen them before but as this is a camper-related list, I will be more specific.

So, what's the longest you've camped and traveled in your camper? My last trip was 5 weeks on the road which is my record so far. As I've mentioned previously, I like to go places for a reason and this year's plan was to visit the Great Continental Divide - so-called because it is the place where, if it rains to the west, water flows to the Pacific but if it rains to the east, water flows to the Atlantic. So, plans made, tanks filled, it is time to leave!

Driving the Dormobile with it's 2.25 liter petrol engine means slow but steady progress so I usually take the byways such as Route 66 which still exists in many places.
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Yes, on the right road!
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Route 66 memorabilia is everywhere!
So, the route was to be - across California to Needles, then through Kingman, Arizona on to Williams, then north to the Grand Canyon and east to Monument Valley.
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Then up through Utah and then east to Farmington, New Mexico.
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And then on to the Great Continental Divide.
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So, in four days, I've climbed to over 7,000 feet above sea level. And, for the next, and best, part of the trip. I've signed up for a firing and driving course on the steam-powered 3ft gauge Cumbres and Toltec Railroad that winds through the mountains between Cumbres and Antonito amid absolutely spectacular scenery. It is a remnant of the San Juan extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and is owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado. Trains run during the summer for tourists.
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The 10am eastbound at the top of Cumbres Pass at 10,000ft after the climb on 4% grades from Chama which lies at 7,000ft.
Day 1 is school - theory and rule books followed by light engine moves to the yard limit and back.
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#484 tied up after the 1st session.
Day 2 is 2 round trips with a freight train up to Cumbres Pass and back.
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Day 3 is Chama to Antonito with the freight train - all 64 miles, taking around 6 hours, then returning the following day.
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I tend to dry camp during the summer months, so campsites are cheap, if somewhat rural.
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This campsite was in Mogote Springs, about 4 miles from Antonito - a one-horse town, where most of the population is on welfare, and that includes the horse.
After the course was over, I spent time in the Friends of the railroad's well-equipped workshop assembling replica Pullman passenger trucks for an 1882 3rd class sleeper, a project we've been working on for over 3 years.
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All we need now are wheels and springs!
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Heading back to Chama, I stopped at Cumbres Pass and ended up working on the section house restoration for a week.
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Back in Chama, there were 4 engines in steam - all built in the 1920's and restored by the railroad with a 5th in Chama.
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Time to go home. It takes 4 days to get back home, with the temperature rising as the Dormie descends towards the coast. By Needles, the temperature was 117 degrees F (that's 47 degrees C!) and I'm having issues with vapor lock if I turn off the engine. I'm also sticking to the seat. The vapor lock I got to fix quite quickly - undo the fuel pipe to the carb, pump the fuel pump until fuel appears, then reconnect and jump in and GO!
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The campground in Needles on the way home where the temperature was 117 degrees. I am alone. I had to have a serious talk with Mr. Cold Beer.
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Finally, after 5 weeks, almost back home, after around 3,000 miles.

I only had two problems on the entire trip - the afore-mentioned vapor lock and, just as I left Barstow on the way out, the odometer broke. It still showed the approximate forward speed, but not the number of miles traveled. Bummer, that. The petrol gauge works backwards and isn't very accurate so I rely on dead reckoning - 200 miles and it is time to fill up.

Ian
67dormobile
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:21 pm
Info: 67 2a Dormobile
Location: Brisbane

Re: The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by 67dormobile » Tue Sep 08, 2015 6:36 am

I can never hear the name Barstow without thinking of the line :

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.”


― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

He also went on to mention the bats they could see but the hitchhiker couldn't - ' he would see them soon enough '.

Your trip looks fabulous and I want to do all of it - except maybe the 107F heatwave!

Gary
Marque
Posts: 121
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2014 6:35 am

Re: The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by Marque » Tue Sep 08, 2015 9:53 am

Ian
Trips like the one you kindly documented are truly inspirational. It is very helpful to know what can be achieved by the 2.25 (Diesel in my case) give the venerable nature of the power plant.

Excellent effort & I hope you enjoyed yourself! I think perhaps a meet with Terri Anne Wakeman is on the cards perhaps...

Thank you indeed for posting. Much appreciated.
Kindest regards
Mark
(from a slightly damp / modestly moist part of England)
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RMS
Posts: 2236
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:02 am
Location: Near Wakefield, UK, in God's own Country!

Re: The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by RMS » Tue Sep 08, 2015 10:18 am

That looks like a fantastic trip, and a great report - thanks for sharing Ian :cheers:

We've done many of those areas over the years and loved our trips there; the deserts are our favourites and we too loved the memorabilia on Route66 :tiphat:
However, we've always been in a hire car so limited to tarmac most of the time, though we did do a fair bit of gravel/dirt when we could (just don't tell the car hire company!).

Your pictures make me want to book another trip :whistle:

Cheers,
Robin.
1967 109" Carawagon 200TDi
1972 109" SW Carawagon 2.5NA
1958 109" Carawagon 2.25P (project)
1972 109" Carawagon 200 or 300TDi (project)
1974 Dormobile 2.25D (project)
(Robin on S2C forum)
Ian
Posts: 147
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 10:15 pm
Info: 1962 Dormobile "Zuma"
Location: Malibu, USA

Re: The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by Ian » Wed Sep 09, 2015 6:15 pm

Gary,

Thanks for reminding me about "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". I worked on the film version of the book which was a really bizarre experience. Hunter S. Thompson appears in the film in a night club scene and to quote Terry Gilliam at the time, "his information intake tray appears to be completely clogged". Ah Hunter, R.I.P., you were a true original.

Ian
Travelinlight
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:39 pm
Info: 1971 Series IIA Dormobile
Location: USA

Re: The Great Continental Divide expedition 2015

Post by Travelinlight » Tue Sep 29, 2015 5:10 pm

Ian, the trip looks amazing. We should plan a central meet in the near future to do some traveling when schedules permit.
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