Part 3 of this Wild West Adventure sees ME up before daylight again. This time to drive a 20 year old Vintage Jeep LJ from Nacogdoches, Tx to Dallas, TX. Since the radiator we need is no longer available we will have the old one rebuilt.
And the first thing I see when I pull into the driveway
is this sign..................
I knew right then....... I was in the right place.
Now, bare with me thru this video....it was very busy and loud inside this facility. But the folks here were very accommodating. This is not the typical subject matter for our Youtube Channel but IT IS educational if you are so inclined. The main goal was to get our generator radiator rebuilt and get back on the road.
Part 2 of this Story continues with us leaving Lake City, Colorado....But only after we accomplish our goal of Driving through the entire Alpine Loop.
As promised, check this Adventurous Video... join us below and please subscribe on Youtube
After finishing our multiple Jeep "Badge of Honor" trails and a few others that are too easy to meet that criteria we are grateful that the Little Blue Jeep is in good shape to tackle the AlpineLoop. That said, our Motorhome still has no generator power because after bypassing the relay back in Moab and running it all the way to Lake City in this record setting heat wave we now have a leaking generator radiator. Sooooo, our destination has changed somewhat. We are now headed to Nacogdoches, Texas to have that problem solved.....
So off we go South on Hwy 149 towards Creede, Colorado. This was not our previously planned route but Hey....we "Go with the Flow". And glad we did, this is a beautiful route to take. We learned of this from the Texans we met at Lake City. This is how they go home. Awesome scenery! So much better than Interstates.
Stopped at a Staging Area in Weminuche Wilderness about 45 miles south of Lake City for a breakfast break. Long day ahead, still without A/C we intend to hit campgrounds every HOT afternoon until we get to Texas. Not much traffic today but on weekends it would be full of trailers unloading ATV's and UHV's to ride the trails.
Just us and one lonely Trucker......
Great views while cooking breakfast and enjoying our coffee outside.
This Wilderness Area has walking trails and ATV/Horse Trails.....
And the scenery is Stunning..
Next stop.
Roadside Rest Area just before Amarillo.....this stop even has a corral and ramp to unload your horses. Dang it....we brought the wrong horse.
Next Stop... and it's a doozy.........THE BIG TEXAN
Great Campground, and Annie says let's go check this place out.
And she found her spot.....
Very nice Place to overnite. A bit more than we usually do for just a one night stay but...HEY,......they offer free shuttle service over to their Steak House....
And as soon as Annie is finished at the playground we are off to find that Shuttle.
You know what they say......Everything is BIG in Texas......this place backs it up.
Come on in.... we'll show you around.
Remember...Old Folks Do It Too!
Should I try that 72 ounce Steak???
It's free if you can eat it all..
The bear eats one every day and look what it's done for him.
Does that come with bread and a potato?
Yes it does....and you must eat that too !!!!
to qualify for the FreeBee
But looks like Christine is more concerned with the dessert.
This place has something for everyone.
You thought I was kidding....
I was NOT kidding........Here is the KID
Be sure to watch the video about THE BIG TEXAN on our YouTube channel.
Big Texan part is near the end.
ROUND ONE ..OF THE RADIATOR SAGA
And now let's get this Generator Radiator fixed...it's Hot in Texas
Sounds simple huh? ....FAT CHANCE....a few phone calls later we find out this radiator is no longer available. Looks like we will be stopping by Keith Risch's RV Repair to see what can be done. We did manage to find a radiator repair shop and Keith's guys removed it for us but they were too busy to take it to the repair shop in Dallas. Keith had a lot full of other coaches with appointments ahead of us. Understandable, been in that shape myself many times.
Looks like Keith has plenty to do and has one man on vacation....
This may take a few days..
If they can't get us inside they will do it outside.
Keith was determined to get us fixed up somehow.
And Carlos and Jared got the radiator out and found some small leaks..
Enough to require further inspection.
I will be leaving for Dallas at 3 am to take it to Industrial Radiator for a core replacement. They open at six am and said they could have it done by closing time.
Keith is chasing down our generator relay problem in between other jobs.....a very busy man
Watch this video while I drive to Dallas, Texas in the Little Blue Jeep.......3 1/2 hours there........3 1/2 hours back ....No hill for a climber...lol..
ROUND TWO...ON THE RADIATOR SAGA
WE WILL TRY TO WRAP-UP THIS RADIATOR SAGA IN THE NEXT VIDEO
.....Well, It's taken exactly one month to recover, repair, and get caught up after a month long Journey thru the Wild-Wild West. And what an Adventure it was. There is no way we can organize these days in proper order so we'll wing it. First Day went as planned, early departure with first stop at a Rest Area in Concordia, Missouri. All Good, with our Vintage Foretravel Motor Coach well prepared, our trailer with the Jeep snuggled up indoors, Christine enjoying the ride with Annie snuggled up beside her we knew it was going to be a Fabulous second day..........Until it wasn't.
About 50 miles or so from our second nite stop ( in Genoa, Colorado )we noticed a cloud formation building ahead. No worries, we are stopping in a bit anyway. BUT.......I see yellow flashing lights in my mirror. ZOOM, ZOOM we are passed by two Storm Chaser vans...no camera on to catch it. But, the clouds are getting lower and stranger looking. So Christine checks the weather channel.....(nothing like waiting to check weather AFTER you are in the storm)...Tornado Warnings in effect with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rain.
Click on VIDEO BELOW for action just as we arrived at our campsite.......
After surviving the night in high winds, heavy rain, and small hail we felt real good missing the tornado that touched town about two inches from us (at least that's what if felt like). So off we go the next day with Lower Onion Creek Utah in our sites for a quiet campsite right on the Colorado River and all is going Great..........Until it Ain't........
But we only get to the Rockies and Red lights start appearing ahead......Story details in VIDEO ABOVE.
That's smoke in them thar hills >>>>>>
2 hour delay, both sides of I-70 are closed.
They finally turned us around and sent us back to Glenwood Springs.....now a tiny mountain town totally packed with cars...
AND us.
June 9th, 2026
SO, after being delayed one nite in Glenwood Springs due to the Mountainside Fire we are now able to continue on to Onion Creek Utah. And one would think we are over the travel problems and ready for some rest and relaxation at our campsite. FAT CHANCE........We are in a very hot and dry area of Utah, and the Coach Generator wouldn't start...we are in a BLM dispersed camping with no services....we have to get that generator started to have Air Conditioning. No A/C = no sleep. So after crawling around in the sand (with wind blowing 15-20 knots) I removed the under belly panel to access the generator and jump started it. Hallelujah, we have power = A/C. Later diagnosis = bad relay in control box.
Well, now maybe we can get to some serious Off-Road Adventures with a ride up Onion Creek....
see VIDEO BELOW for some trail activity...
Ready for an Easy day tomorrow.......Don"t count on that Chafton
After riding all day in almost 100 degree temperatures we arrive back at camp and notice Anti-Freeze all over the fenders of the Jeep....now what? Seems the upper tank on the radiator has a 4-5 inch split in it.
June 11, 2026
So off to Moab tomorrow and back to fixing something.
And, just like that.........(Actually about four hours due to some modifications we had to do)........Kevin and I replaced the Jeep radiator with a new one at the campground in Moab. So far nothing has stopped us yet. .................see VIDEO ABOVE and BELOW for details and the following Trails.
Hell's Canyon.........Shafer Trail.....Sand Flats
Fins and Things.......Long Canyon.....ETC.
Kevin, another one of our Best MudBuds....
and rock formations that will blow you away.
June 16, 2026
Today we made it to Lake City, Colorado. Camping with full services in a beautiful little mountain town.
Might even get to chill out a while, dinner with the Queen, River walks along the Colorado River, visit to the local Bakery, practice with Kevin's drone in the park (that's a hilarious story in itself,) visit the Sportsman Tackle Shop, have a drink with some Texan's down the street. (we learned a lot there) etc.
Click on VIDEO BELOW for the Nickel Tour
The Grand Finally.........THE ALPINE LOOP .....will be in the following Blog Story
and it might contain that very expensive trip to Texas.......stay tuned!!!!!
