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.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/IMG_0818_zpsvxnlhpil.jpg)
Then up through Utah and then east to Farmington, New Mexico.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/P7150328_zps0ufqwu8s.jpg)
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.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/P8090518_zps3ekdw0zz.jpg)
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.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/P8090501_zpskkffl0ln.jpg)
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.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/IMG_0799_zpsrwbrzi2l.jpg)
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.
![Image](http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag326/eyekelly/Continental%20Divide%202015/P8080478_zpsvvhojwpy.jpg)
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