It is 1:30 on Tuesday afternoon, I am sitting in the lounge at the Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque. We have been here since 7:15 this morning. I have returned the rental car and have been assured that we will have our Doodle back soon. Fingers crossed. This post is going to be a short one and try to catch up over the past few days.
We spent a lot of time here. . .
We have been in the Albuquerque area several days now just waiting for our appointment on Tuesday, which was pushed to Wednesday as parts needed to be overnighted. We spent Tuesday night parked at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant about a mile from the dealership. Since we arrived in the Albuquerque area we have visited the mountains and hiked several trails.
Hiking, and mostly uphill.
This is a great place for exploring and has breathtaking views. We also visited the Petroglyphs National Monument. The petroglyphs were awesome. We also saw some volcanoes and went down to old town. Carol’s friend Ali recommended several breakfast spots - some very local, non tourist places. So the long and short of it is, we have just been hanging out waiting to get our repairs done and eating well.
Hard to imagine who made these so many years ago in the desolate place.
It is now 6:30 Thursday afternoon! Things did not go well Tuesday. We did get our van back and it had no engine lights. Wednesday afternoon we got the Doodle just as I was writing the paragraph above. We were very happy travelers. We said a quick good bye and thank you and headed south down I-25 back toward Las Cruces. Thirty minutes later then engine light came back on. We called the Mercedes dealership, turned around and headed back. Five minutes later the DEF light came back on. This is not making me happy.
The Doodle back at the shop
We arrived back at Mercedes-Benz of Albuquerque about four in the afternoon. They were waiting for us. A half an hour later we had a diagnosis that a heat sensor in the exhaust system was the culprit. Couldn't we please bring it back in the morning. So it was back to the Cracker Barrel for another night. We arrived back at the Mercedes place at 7:15. We got very tired of sitting.
Harper waiting at the dealership.
It was 12:15 when we got the Doodle back. I was apprehensive as you can imagine when we pulled out of the driveway and began our trip south once again. Thirty miles down the road we stopped for fuel. When we pulled out NO lights, and no lights displayed for the remainder of the day. After several stops, refueling a couple of times - all seems well, and I am feeling a lot better about things.
Worlds best window cleaner, at a fuel stop.
The staff at this Mercedes dealership is outstanding. The service we received was absolutely first rate. From those service department to the young man who came and picked me up at the car rental place with a courtesy ride..everyone treated us very well. The staff here instilled confidence. The difference between this dealership and the one we experienced in El Paso is night and day. Our thanks goes out to Leland, Tony, Jonathan and all who worked on the Doodle. All of the work, several pages of things, was at no cost, as the exhaust system had a recall for an emissions adjustment. Our entire system was updated at no charge. Even the heat sensor. Our trip can continue with a much better frame of mind. Thanks again guys.
We saw dust devils everywhere.
I am writing this sitting in the shadow of the Doodle in Deming, New Mexico at a very nice RV park called Little Vineyard RV Park. We haven't seen a vineyard but it is nice and cozy here, we have power and water, showers tonight... tomorrow on to Arizona.
Here are some photos from the past few days.
