Cortez, Colorado ... that's where we woke up this morning. We drove here from Elk City, Oklahoma yesterday (including through a pass east of Albuquerque in a snowstorm!), and today we're driving ... home. Last night we had a memorably good Thai meal in this most unlikely place: a small, somewhat run-down town. That's Scott's main course at right. I'm guessing that's because Cortez is a bit of a tourist town, hosting visitors to Mesa Verde – but that's just a guess, and even if that's right this is very much the off season. Whatever the reason, the meal was wonderful! This morning we're going to (uncharacteristically) hang around Cortez a bit, until the local breakfast joint opens. Then, after some coffee and food, we'll head out on the roughly 7 hour drive home. Yay!
For those who have wondered about the trailer and truck rig: here's a photo. That's a 21' 6" aluminum canoe and an extension ladder on the rack, and the trailer is loaded with about 2200 pounds of Scott's belongings. The truck bed has several containers of Scott's “super soil” ingredients, along with roughly 1000 pounds of driftwood that he collected in the brackish bays around Virginia Beach. I took that photo in Virginia Beach before we left. Since then, we've improved the “rigging” considerably. We haven't had any trouble at all with either a shifting load or flapping tarps. Overall, driving this rig was much less difficult than my imagination made it. Stopping or slowing is the main thing I notice; all that weight really makes a difference. I also noticed the increased gas consumption – probably 30% higher. On the other hand, we spent a lot of the trip at 80 MPH, which I was a bit surprised the truck could even accomplish! The stability is superb, even on roads with imperfect pavement. In a couple of parking lots with sandy or gravely surfaces, the ABS has kicked in while we were braking, mainly to keep the rear end from shifting left or right – and that meant the trailer never got kittywumpus. Nice, these Tundras ... but I'll be very glad if I don't have to test its capabilities on ice...
