Revcon Rebuild Part 10: Year Long Hiatus

It has been a full year since we made any progress on the Revcon. Mike returned last Thanksgiving from a 3 month work assignment. We then dove head first into two truck builds that wrapped up this summer and fall respectively. It felt like the right time to make any progress on the exterior of the Revcon.




Arizona had been unseasonably warm and dry. We took time off work, specifically to finish the exterior paint this past week. So we popped out the 5 remaining windows and did some finish sanding. Only to find out that the following day, southern Arizona would see the first measurable rain in 110 days. Of course.

 

So we taped the five gaping holes and ran errands during our rain delay. In between fits of wind, we managed to tape up and prime the cab. Desert winters just don't have enough daylight.

 

In the meantime I got to work sanding/painting the windows for the driver's side RV section.

We lost so much of this week to rain, humidity and wind. We blindly moved the Revcon to the rear of the shop yesterday to put primer on the driver's side RV and paint on the cab. It is an interesting experience driving a 31' RV blindly, with just the guidance of your spouse, be we did it.

I'm bummed we're, yet again, behind on progress but we still hope to have it dried in as soon as possible. If the afternoon desert winds will cut a break sometime this week, we may just get the driver's side completely done. Hopefully by Christmas (fingers crossed), both sides will be done. Just maybe.

 

We will both be happy to put this part of the renovation behind us. Once the walls go up, windows installed, we can plan out the interior build while we tackle a few projects in between. Sadly, this sandy beast just gets the short end of the stick when it comes to our attention, but a personal project and a paid project are creeping in after the New Year.

This Isn't Iceland: Why Go Home?

Today marked the last day of our vacation.  We woke to heavy frost, zoomed into town for chai and breakfast and hoped the rising sun would dry off our awning.  Thankfully it did.  But sadly, that meant we were starting our journey back south.  

It's always bittersweet to end a vacation.  We desperately needed this vacation.  Not only were our bucket list international plans dashed, but we worked our tails off to finish two Ford F100 projects this year, on top of our day jobs.  

Not wanting it to end, we stopped for the night back along the river in Mexican Hat.  This time we were early enough to enjoy a soak in the river in the full sun.  And were greeted by a mountain goat dining along the shore.  

We stayed up late into the evening, enjoying the solitude and watching the moon set and stars rise.  

One last sunrise along the river - then home.

Obligatory Monument Valley shot:

This Isn't Iceland: Rainy Red Mountain

We woke to frost, again.  And gloomy skies all around us.  Not looking to put ourselves in a complicated situation, we stayed low and close to town and played around Red Mountain again.

On our way back down 550, we stopped off and climbed 821.  The waterfall is much more impressive in the summer, but for some reason, this is the first time we've ever decided to run this trail.  We started up the switchbacks past the waterfall, but the rain started coming harder and the trail was really steep.  Back down and into Silverton.

By the time we made it through town, the sun was emerging.  We meandered down Cunningham Gulch and scouted campsites for future visits with our Revcon.  (We will hopefully get back into that project shortly). 

Tonight, pizza was on the agenda.  So a stop to the Gold Blok Brewery for pizza and a growler was on order.    

This Isn't Iceland: "Lazy Day"

 We both we're feeling the ill effects of high altitude.  We're desert basin dwellers, and sometimes, the altitude just gets to us.  We did a short jaunt to a mining camp before heading up 550 to Ouray.  Walked a bit through Ouray, before we just headed back to camp to relax.  

Sometimes its just about taking a breather and enjoying the fall colors along easy routes.

This Isn't Iceland: Hurricane and California Passes

Since our first trip in 2012, we've slowly been crossing off the passes.  Today was Hurricane and California.  After thawing over coffee at camp, we headed up the mountains.  

Since the grasses are dying, this entire day felt like we were scaling mountains on another planet.  We hit both passes with rentals and all marveled at the beauty. 

Hurricane

California

After a lunch break, where Mike shared his map with several passersby, we made our way towards Placer Gulch.  

Placer featured the Sound Democrat Mill.  Mike is forever fascinated by mills, mines and machines so we relaxed here quite a while, soaking up the cool breeze and bright sun.

We left the mill long after everyone else and slowly made our way back to camp.  The sun was still high, so we walked down the creek we were camped next to and were not disappointed.  

This Isn't Iceland: Landing in Silverton

After a few hours on the road, we made our way into Silverton.  The closer we got, the prettier 550 got.  We've only been through Colorado during the summer wild flower bloom.  To see the aspens in full fall glory was incredible.  The air crisped up and we made our way to a secluded camp spot just outside of Silverton.  

We had to cross a creek, which ensured that this spot would remain ours the entire trip.  In fact, we only had 3 other campers near our site the whole week. Perfection.  

Bad weather was on the forecast, so the teardrop setup was fully deployed.  We were ready for the week ahead.  We explored around camp before the sun set, made dinner and tucked in for the night.