Wednesday, August 3, 2022

 

Left Transfer Campground and drove down to the main road at Mancos.  Drove on to Cortez to do a day’s worth of chores.  Got a $3 shower at the local Rec Center.  This is turning out to be a great showering option.  We also did this in Moab.  

 

Before showering we got coffee and a pastry at the Silver Bean coffee drive-thru.  It’s a little Airstream trailer tht has been made into an espresso drive-thru.  It also has a tiny front garden with a picket fence and patio tables so you can sit outside with your coffee if you decided to walk to the garden window to order instead of drive around the back to the in-car order window.  

 

Then we stopped at a Walgreens to get some products and some extra cash at checkout.  Unfortunately at Walgreens you can only get a max of $20 extra.  I’ll turn the cash into quarters at the laundromat change machine.  

 

Next, we found the laundromat.  It was really big and very clean, lots of machines.  So far I have learned that the price of washing and drying at laundromats varies wildly depending on locale.  I think the most has been $3.00 wash load in Elko, NV, with only 6 minutes of dry time per quarter.  Elgin, Oregon, a lovely little old town in Central Eastern Oregon, was $1.25 per wash load and 18 minutes drytime per quarter.  This little laundromat in Oregon also had a rolling library cart in back that was stocked with used paperback books.  I’m assuming they were for reading while your clothes are in the machines.  BUT it also had the look of being maybe a lending/exchange library for local people who come to the Speedy Wash.  There was no sign, though, so I don’t know for sure.  Also at the back of this laundromat there was a big work table with folding chairs at it and some basic art materials.  They appeared to be for entertaining little people who showed up with parents to do laundry.  

 

Anyway, back to the laundromat in Cortez, Colorado.  Lots of locals in there doing laundry .  Many wore masks, which has been unusual in other places.  Most were Native American.  Most were also talking to each other in a language I don’t know.  My guess is that they were speaking a language of the Utes, because there is a Ute reservation nearby, but also because I have heard the Navajo language before and it has a harsh, clickty sound.  Today’s language was much softer and smoother.  Cost of a wash load here said $2.25 on the machines.  BUT, when you selected soil level and temp of water, the cost changed (went up) and you had to keep feeding in quarters or else make cheaper choicrs.  Overall, I think most of my loads cost $3.00 to wash.  Drying was 9 minutes per quarter.

 

After the laundry was complete, we stopped in at Walmart for a grocery run.  Then left town to head for a Forest Service Campground at a cooler altitude (it was 85 degrees in Cortez).  We drove out toward Telluride on CO145N–”The San Juan Skyway”.  This road follows the Dolores River and is very scenic.  We stopped at Cayton Campground.  It has water, TRASH service, vault toilets.  Unfortunately you can hear the cars on CO145N.  Biggest drawback, though, is that about five minutes after we got there (and had already paid the camping fee) huge clouds of mosquitos and teeny little flies descended upon us.  We set up the solar panels because the sun was still very strong, and we put up the bug screens that I had made for the windows and back door.  We spent time hanging out in the van.  There’s been a bear sighting in this area in the past month, but not in this actual campground.  

 

Just heard nearby thunder and black clouds are overhead instead of sunshine.  Seems like we are about to get a little rain shower.  Went to sleep with the patter of rain on the van roof.  So cozy!