Ouray Box Canyon

A must-see location near Ouray is Box Canyon.  Creek water has cut through the rock to create this narrow and deep canyon.  You can see from the pipes along and across the canyon that water from the stream is diverted to town.

A little further up the trail we could really see the rushing water below.  Colorado had impressive amounts of snow last winter, leading to heavy snow melt.  We have also had several days with rain since we arrived

In the winter, this box canyon is used for ice climbing.  This sign at the base of the trail/canyon illustrates where the ice climbing can be done.

In town, we saw sporting goods store with ice climbing equipment.  I wouldn't consider either rock climbing or ice climbing.  Scary--and really cold on the ice.

All's Well that Ends Well

We had some exasperating and frustrating moments last week. Tuesday morning we headed out to Best Buy to buy John a new computer. He is writing his family history and his own life story and our two old (very) laptops just weren't up to heavy use anymore.

We picked an HP Envy with plenty of storage and without serious graphic capability, since he doesn't do gaming. We also purchased the new 2016 Microsoft Office, which we would download once we set up the computer. At home, John did the set-up then attempted to log in to the site to download the software. Somehow, he ended up with a page containing a phone number and a message saying he had encountered a problem. I called the number, then had them go into our computer remotely to see what was wrong. They tried to convince me we had a trojan and a virus that could not be eliminated by the Geek Squad. BUT, they said, just sign up for service from their company, for $100+, $200+ or $300+ and they would take care of it. I hung up and off we went, again, to Best Buy.  Obviously, it is very, very important to enter the Microsoft website name accurately.  A slight error sent us to the bad guys, instead of getting us 404 error that the url wasn't valid.  BE VERY CAREFUL!

We have always been happy with the service we received from the Geek Squad out of Best Buy.  We have had to take computers to them several times.  And we had a great crew from there install the TV in our winter house.

But this week, things are a mess.  The squad members are friendly and doing their job well.  BUT, the new corporate policy of requiring appointments at the Geek Squad desk is a pain.  And you would think that Geeks would have a reliable web site for checking the status of repairs.  NOT.  We had two automatic phone calls telling us the work was done on our computer and we could pick it up.  Twice we have gone in to pick it up and it wasn't ready.  "Don't pay attention to the automatic calls, wait till an agent calls in person," we were told.  What?  The Geek Squad automatic phone notice is to be ignored?

When we checked the web site for the status of the repair, it too said the computer is ready for pickup.  Geeks don't have a reliable web site?  Can you believe that?

When we went in to pick up our computer, we were told we could schedule an appointment for 1:30 in the afternoon, or sign in and wait.  They had appointments up until 1:30, so if all those folks showed up, we would have to wait that long, at least.  We had been in a store next door when we received the second call saying the computer was ready. .  We were supposed call or come in, make an appointment, drive 13 miles home, then come back 13 miles to pick it up? Plus, it wasn't ready. They were still doing updates.

It isn't the fault of the squad members for this appointment system.  But it seems they should both provide appointments and have enough staff to handle walk-ins.  Even auto service shops provide that.

We complained and asked to talk to a supervisor. Andrew really came through. He couldn't give us the computer, it wasn't ready. But he did give us a nice $150 off the cost of the computer and helped us make an appointment for the next morning. When we came in the next morning it was done. When we asked the Geek Squad member to install our Microsoft Office software on their wifi, she agreed. Apparently all the Geeks were aware of the problems we had had and so this Geek said to give them about an hour. And, she wouldn't make us set up another appointment. She would help us the minute it was ready.

We wandered the shopping center for an hour, spending some money, of course. Then we went back to wait. The minute the work was done, she waved us up, explained everything they had done for us, and sent us on our way. (They had completely wiped the computer since we didn't know what the other company had done. Then reinstalled everything.

Final thought:  if anyone should have a reliable online presence, it should be the Geek Squad.  They need a new computer system.  Even the in-store computers were very slow.  And they need to schedule more Geeks.

However, the work they did was good and everyone we talked to was nice and helpful. After all the frustrations, it ended well.

They Don't Understand

John and I are a team. We make our decisions together and don't act until we are in agreement. In fact, we usually can anticipate what the other will say or think because we almost always think alike. I don't know how a couple can be full-time RVers if they don't agree about most things. You have to really like each other as well as love each other and you have to agree most of the time to make that lifestyle work.

For a good part of our married life, we have worked together in one way or another. We do have different responsibilities in our common life--John does most of the driving, though not all of it. He hooks up the electric, water and sewer systems of the RV while I take care of leveling and setting up the inside. I do the cooking. He washes the dishes and we do the laundry together. I am largely in charge of indoor cleaning.

While I handle our finances, we make financial decisions together. That has been true all of our marriage. (It must have rubbed off on our sons. Both of them have wives who handle the finances.)

We are buying a house/park model this fall in Arizona. Over the past couple of weeks, we have had meetings with a salesman, the sales manager, the sales coordinator, a manufacturer representative, and the resort manager. Two of the men looked only at John most of the time they talked. One woman looked mainly at me as she talked. Two of the people were really good at treating us equally and including both of us fully in the conversations. This week, we bought furniture at American Furniture Warehouse and the salesman treated us as co-participants in the purchase.

I don't know if the men didn't understand that women can be equal partners in the purchase of a home and additions that are built there. Or maybe, they don't approve of women in that role. And why wouldn't John be equally interested in the rental agreement here?

If I could train people in customer relations, I would tell them to treat both husband and wife equally, whether or not the two really have an equal voice in decisions. They can't judge from the outside and it is better to err on the side of equal treatment than to offend one member of the couple.

If we were 20 years younger, we would be handling this home purchase in the hours after work or on the weekend or during a short break from work. But we are both 71 and we no longer have that kind of stamina or ability to change focus quickly or multi-task. So this purchase, with the many meetings, has taken up most of our time and most of our energy. That explains why I haven't blogged in a week.