You can solve a lot of problems with a Blackberry and a GPS.
I searched for a battery in our path of travel to Grand Junction, Colorado and found Batteries Plus had exactly what I needed. I asked it be held for me as I was less than 200 miles away and would be there before closing time. They did, and by the time I got to Grand Junction, I realized that my heated handgrips may have been on all night. The bike battery had charged up and seemed alright by the time I arrived at Batteries Plus. When I explained my situation to battery guru, Dave Hutchinson, he offered me tools and assistance to remove the battery so we could "load test" it as that is the only sure way to know its true health. Two minutes later we had the battery hooked up to a professional quality tester in his immaculate shop and found... the old battery was OK. He told me I didn't need to buy the new battery after all. I found the receipt for my old battery, a Deka AGM type, and was surprised to find it had already given me 4 years of service. To try to get a 5th year out of any battery is begging to be stranded somewhere and Mr. Murphy, of law fame, will assert that the failure should happen when camping in the wilderness as a tornado, flash flood or bear is approaching. When asked, Dave offered to discount the battery a bit and pushed me over the edge, favoring reliability over, (probable false), economy. In a few more minutes we had the battery installed, again with his help, tools, cleaning and corrosion inhibiting sprays, etc. Then he let me use the computer terminal in the store to arrange lodging via hotwire. The transaction could not have been more perfect! I felt like royalty the way I was treated and after experiencing this new high water mark in customer service, will surely return to Batteries Plus in the future. I expect Dave will be the store owner some day. His focus on customer needs was laser sharp and that's what makes a person successful in business.
I searched for a battery in our path of travel to Grand Junction, Colorado and found Batteries Plus had exactly what I needed. I asked it be held for me as I was less than 200 miles away and would be there before closing time. They did, and by the time I got to Grand Junction, I realized that my heated handgrips may have been on all night. The bike battery had charged up and seemed alright by the time I arrived at Batteries Plus. When I explained my situation to battery guru, Dave Hutchinson, he offered me tools and assistance to remove the battery so we could "load test" it as that is the only sure way to know its true health. Two minutes later we had the battery hooked up to a professional quality tester in his immaculate shop and found... the old battery was OK. He told me I didn't need to buy the new battery after all. I found the receipt for my old battery, a Deka AGM type, and was surprised to find it had already given me 4 years of service. To try to get a 5th year out of any battery is begging to be stranded somewhere and Mr. Murphy, of law fame, will assert that the failure should happen when camping in the wilderness as a tornado, flash flood or bear is approaching. When asked, Dave offered to discount the battery a bit and pushed me over the edge, favoring reliability over, (probable false), economy. In a few more minutes we had the battery installed, again with his help, tools, cleaning and corrosion inhibiting sprays, etc. Then he let me use the computer terminal in the store to arrange lodging via hotwire. The transaction could not have been more perfect! I felt like royalty the way I was treated and after experiencing this new high water mark in customer service, will surely return to Batteries Plus in the future. I expect Dave will be the store owner some day. His focus on customer needs was laser sharp and that's what makes a person successful in business.
Our trip from Leadville to Grand Junction was another day of scenic overload. We were advised to go to Aspen via Independence Pass. This was great advice for we were treated to the most beautiful road we have seen to date. At the top of the pass, 12,095 feet, we looked down on the cloud that had drizzled on us coming to the top. The scenery was amazing
. It gave me a chance to test a bracketing feature of the new Panasonic camera. A demo freeware High Dynamic range program brings the three pictures into one for a more pleasing, wide rage effect. I tried it with a bubbly stream and a large stand of Aspen trees. Click on the pictures to see the results, (which are limited to 1 mega pixel in this free version).
The town of Aspen was another treat. It could be the prettiest town I've seen. Everything looks upscale here. Exotic cars, beautiful women dressed in beautiful clothes, lovely homes with manicured lawns and flower gardens. There might be an ordinance in Aspen forbidding anything ugly. If there is such a law, everyone looked to be in perfect compliance. As we passed the golf course, photographers with fancy cameras and very long lenses, were snapping shots of celebrities playing in a tournament. I guess it was a typical Aspen Monday.
The perfectionistic rigor even extends to the Aspen city buses, which, of course, are hybrids.
Tonight we are pursuing the good life again via Hotwire. They offered a three star hotel for $84 plus tax, so we will sleep in a brand new Holiday Inn. This place is beautiful and I will test the mattress now. Goodnight.
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