Desert Hot Springs Winter 2009

Thanksgiving Day was really warm, in the 80’s. I went to the pool, had an enjoyable time. The pool is a natural hot spring and the temperature of the water is kept at 92 degrees! And the spa is 102 degrees. It is located about 60 feet from our door. It’s wonderful!
We really had some excitement! Someone noticed a large bee being carried along by several hundred ants! At a closer look, it seems that the ants had removed the bee’s right legs and also the wings. However the bee was still alive. When he tried to get away, he fell to one side, and then the ants would pick him up and keep carrying him to their cave which was a large crack in the cement. They moved about 2” an hour! Pretty exciting!
Bob was feeling lost on Thanksgiving Day because he did not have a turkey to tend to. He vowed that if we were on the west coast at Thanksgiving, we would come home so he could BBQ a turkey! The dinner at the club house was nice. Bob had an accident with the wine cork. Seems he was trying to remove the cork and something slipped and he has two sore fingers! Left a blister and blood all over the sheets.
We have signed up for another month here. So we will be here until the middle of January. We have met friends. Brenda and Jerry are from British Columbia. Brenda and I meet at 9:30AM for a 2 hour walk. We then spend an hour or two at the pool and spa. Then some lunch, do some errands, site seeing, or resting then guess what! It is time for “Happy Hour.” No matter how warm it is during the day, when the sun sets, around 4:15PM it gets really cold. The days are so short and time is going so fast. Boo Hoo! Brenda and Jerry left to go on to Yuma AZ. Hopefully we will meet again!
We will be spending Christmas here in the park. Decorations are going up and we like it here. This gypsy life style really appeals to us. It was fun to debate our options on where to go next. Then we both realized we really liked it here and the weather is better than anywhere around at this time. So we will stay!
We have had a very good and also a very sad year. This year in February our RV has taken us to the Desert Hot Springs area, to Tuscon, Lake Havasu, and Sedona AZ. After making the decision about our future??? We crunched the numbers, arranged, gave away, stored all of our belongings and in June we hit the road “Full Time!” It has been a good move for us.
We toured Zion National Park in Utah, enjoyed visiting my Dad and Vena in Provo, then on to Colorado.
In July, we got a very sad call. My favorite and only brother Terry passed away very suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. Terry loved his family, playing golf and he had told us all, he did not want to get old. He had just turned 68 and was getting ready to play his weekly golf game with good friends, he passed away very suddenly. Bob also lost 2 of his Uncles this year.
We went to Clancy MT to Terry & Diane’s home on the mountain top for a week. We then came back down to Colorado. Spent a week in our daughter’s driveway in Lafayette. Then on to Glenwood Springs, Colorado Springs, Ouray. Saw Colorado Monument Park, went to the top of Pikes Peak and spent a week next to a creek in Clear Creek close to Leadville, elevation almost 10,000 above sea level. Then on to New Mexico and Texas to see Rob & Leticia and eventually to Florida.
Another phone call in September about Uncle Bev turned us around and back to the Bay Area. So we are now still in CA, but in the warm part! WE will keep you informed of our travels.
To all of you, have a very Merry Christmas and a very good and healthy New Year!

Pleasanton to Desert Hot Springs CA

We spent 3 weeks in the Bay Area. Perfect weather, the trees and colors were beautiful. Spent time with some good friends and had wonderful family dinners. Felt good to have your family surrounding you! We had a lovely dinner at Bill & Lynda’s house. Always a pleasure. Christine was visiting from San Diego and Kayla is now a blond! Nicole and Dave had us to their house. Delightful evening and great food. They are both gourmet cooks. Halloween day we went to Emma’s soccer game, Rick is a Soccer coach this season. After the game we went to their house and carved pumpkins. Mine is the mouse! Alison and Claire were going to parties so they had some neat costumes.
Another tire problem. We have a “Buddy Brake” system. This sits in the car and is extra protection for the brakes. State Requirment. Bob had barely stepped on the brake in the RV for a slow down and the Buddy Brake went into panic. As a result, in the tow car we have 4 tires with flat spots on them. So when you drive the car you go bumpy, bump, bump. We will get this fixed soon! The problem was in the PSI setting on the the buddy break.
We left the Pleasanton Fair grounds on Monday November 4 and drove to Morro Bay. We had stopped just south of King City for lunch. After a nice lunch break we got ready to leave. Turned the key and guess what? Nothing!!! Bob spent some time fiddling around. Got the cables out and connected jumper cables to the car. Found a wire not connected! Fixed that and we got on our way thinking all problems gone! Well guess what! We turned off the motor off at the entrance of the Morro Bay RV Park. Got registered and tried to set off. Turned the key and nothing. We are in the entrance drive way to a very popular park and we cannot move! Looked up and a RV repair sign was there. Park RV maintance crew!! We needed help and they wanted us out of their drive way. Our RV has 6 batteries, 2 for the engine and 4 for the house. We had replaced the 4 house batteries. It was the engine batteries that were the problem. One of the crew after a while, cleaned off the battery cable connections. Viola!! It worked. He gave some advice. Replace those engine batteries. OK, we got the message.
Finally got settled in. The weather was perfection The Park is just across the street from the beach. We had some nice evenings with my cousin Chick. Saw an increable sunset.
On Thursday we received word that Bob’s Uncle Don had been in the hospital for minor surgery and had passed away from complications. Uncle Don is an artist and we had seen him and his family last fall in Virginia. Check out his Web site. http://www.donstivers.com I know some of you have seen some of his prints at our house. Uncle Don is Bob’s Uncle on his Father’s side.
Then on Sunday the 8th we found out Uncle Bev had passed on. Uncle Bev was 97 and in good shape up until this last year. He was very religious so it was fitting he passed away on Sunday. We will miss him. Uncle Bev is Bob’s Uncle on his Mother’s side. So life goes on
On Monday we pulled out of Morro Bay on our way to Desert Hot Springs. When we arrived in Bakersfield from Morro Bay, we decided that we were tired of driving and stopped at the Orange Grove RV Park for the night. We had a mystery! We have been keeping Korkie’s collar on all the time. He does tend to wander off now and then. After dinner, we found out his collar was gone. Bob and I asked each other, “did you take it off?’ Well, our memory is not as good as it once was, but no, neither one of us had removed the collar! Korkie was no help at all. So we looked all over, under chairs, outside, everywhere. It was dark and we were outside with flash lights still looking. After a while, Bob looked under the driver’s chair. There it was. Korkie had gotten stuck on the handle that swivels the chair and had wiggled his way out of it. We still do not know how he did this.
On our way out from Texas we had stopped at this small park and really enjoyed it, so when we left Morro Bay we decided to make a month’s reservation here in Desert Hot Springs. We have begun to build a nest. Got some plants and arranged our chairs outside. Korkie has found some cute dogs to rub noses with and bunnies come out to play at night to entertain him! We are in the front of the park, so we get to watch the rigs come it.
A few days ago a very large 40’ new RV came in with a 20 foot trailer behind it. The manager had a hard time finding a good spot for them. Finally got them unhooked. A park pick up had to take the trailer to a storage parking place. The trailer held a bright red convertible. The man was older with gold chains around his neck. His wife (I think) was a cute young blond with very short shorts and halter top on. Took about 4 hours for them to get settled. Lots of outside tables and chairs, etc. The next morning he attached a clothes line on the back of his quarter million dollar rig and proceeded to hang up his pants and Tee’s. It was tacky tacky. The stayed 3 days and left. We never did see the cute blond wife again. That’s entertainment for us!
Last evening we met a charming man and his wife. He was a Marine who turned 19 in February 1945…… on Iwo Jima.
We are very comfortable here and have signed up for the Park’s Thanksgiving Dinner. The days are very warm and sunny, and when the sun goes down around 4:14 it becomes pretty chilly. We have moved “Happy Hour” up to 4:00 PM because it is getting darker earlier and we are eating earlier and getting up earlier! Hey, maybe we will stay another month?

Or Parker Dam or Yuma AZ is looking kinda interesting. We will let you know.

Texas to CA

Excerpt from the song “El Paso” regarding the West Texas wind:
“One night a wild Young cowboy came in, wild as the west Texas wind.”
Yes, there really is a west Texas wind. Our first night in LaMesa, we stayed in a brand new RV park. The pull thru lots had green grass (a major feat in west Texas) and all hook ups in. The office, rest rooms etc were being built. The owners came by to welcome us. There were only 6 rigs there. Nice Park, so we stayed 2 nights! We drove into town in the afternoon. A small town supported by farming and oil field equipment. The center streets were paved with red bricks! Pretty neat. Then on our way to Kerrville TX.
On our travels last year, someone gave us a card and said we would love “Buckhorn RV Park” in Kerrville TX. Kerrville is about 150 miles west of Round Rock. A beautiful park, very friendly people and we really liked it. The weather was warm, around high 80’s. Only problem was the humidly , the same as the temperature or higher! Like steamy. However we signed up for 1 week and were happy. Lots of things to see in the area. We found “Stonehenge” in Texas! In a country road amid the rolling green hills was Stonehenge. It seems a farmer once found a large diamond shaped rock on his land. He then decided people should be able to see it. He planted it upright. Then he had another idea, and the rock formations were formed! Besides Stonehenge, there were statues from Easter Island. The size was 2/3 of the original. Still it was a neat sight.
Then on Tuesday of that week we got the message that Bob’s Uncle Bev who is 97 years old was having medical problems. Serious ones. A decision had to be made. We e-mailed Rob & Leticia that we would not be able to see them this trip, signed out of the park and left Wednesday AM for Yuba City CA which was over 1700 miles away.
Get out your US map or Atlas and find Hwy 10 in Kerrville TX. (About 150 miles west of Austin)Then you can follow our route. We drove from Kerrville and spent the night in Van Horn TX. We were in the Texas Hill country for a time. It is beautiful with rolling hills and green trees good roads and we did not have a lot of traffic. We made good time. Texas is a large state. Then we got into the west Texas wind again. The wind blew from all directions. We bounced along with large trucks all over the Hwy! We left Van Horn early the next morning and wind was with us. A head wind! It was with us all day long. Winds are not good in a RV and the gas millage was worse! The next night we were in Benson AZ.
Remember, our normal drive schedule is to leave around 10:00AM, take time out for lunch then back on the road. Total drive time 4-5 hours and approximate 200 miles. Now we are driving 7 hours and covering over 350 miles a day!!! We are getting tired. Bob and Korkie are getting cranky.
Finally we cross over into CA. Got to Desert Hot Springs. The weather was beautiful, the park was nice and friendly. We took a rest and stayed 2 nights. It was good for us. We then went on to Bakersfield and into Yuba City. Guess what, the only RV Park in Yuba City was full. They managed to fit us into the last slot. Must be exciting things happening in Yuba City!
The trip was worth it. Uncle Bev was in a Nursing Home tucked into bed. However being a natty dresser, he had a beautiful soft plaid shirt on and a nice sweater. He smiled and held up his hand to us when we came in on Monday. He could not talk, but knew who we were and was happy to see us.
After a few days in Yuba City, we came down to the Bay Area. We are staying at the Alameda County Fair Grounds. Nice park. We are seeing family and friends. We have done some shopping and RV fix ups.
The weather here has been absolutely perfect and then one morning the wind came up and it turned cool. It’s time to move on. We get reports on Uncle Bev. He is hanging on by a thread. What to do now?
Our tentative plan is to go to Morro Bay to see my cousin Chick and spend a few days, then on to Desert Hot Springs where we were on our trip out. From there on to Yuma AZ? We will figure it out when the time comes.

New Mexico

It has taken us a while to enjoy New Mexico. Colorado is so beautiful with high green mountains, quaking aspen starting to turn colors. It is truly “colorful”. New Mexico is rather flat desert, with some canyons and granite gray mountains. After a while it does become enchanting!
It took us 2 days to get out of Albuquerque. No, it wasn’t the garmen this time. We had driven south about 20-30 miles and came across a Wal Mart!!! Well we needed to stock up on supplies so we stopped. While we were getting ready to go in, Bob did a walk around and found a large bulge in one of the tires!! Well a bulge in one of our tires is Trouble! So we asked at Wal Mart about the tires we needed. No, we do not carry that kind. We did our shopping, came and a saw “Discount Tires”!! We are in luck. No, Discount Tires do not carry that kind either. They told us that we needed to go to a Commercial Tire Company. They gave us a name and phone number that was located in Albuquerque. With no other options, we drove quite slowly back to Albuquerque. Made some phone calls on where they are located. Great place. They got us right in, replaced all 6 tires in a couple of hours. It had been an exhausting and scary day so we decided to stay another night in Albuquerque. Interesting night. There had been thunder and some lighting all evening. We went to bed and then around midnight, neither one of us were sleeping because of the storm. The storm got closer and louder! All of a sudden the thunder was on the side of our RV! All 3 of us jumped. It was so close it was totally scary! We finally settled down and the storm went to some rain. We finally went to sleep.
We were headed for Elephant Butte NM. On our last trip we had spent 1 night overlooking the town. We had always wanted to go back and see what was in that town. We also had found old friends in CS that were vacationing in Elephant Butte. We found a great State Park on the bluff overlooking the lake. The lake is really for fishing and house boating, but the surrounding countryside was really neat. We spent about a week there.
On our last night there, the evening was very warm. We had dinner outside the after dark, the starts came out. There were a million stars above! Over the lake was a drop of stars, it was the Milky Way! According to Bob: we are a part of the galaxy of the Milky Way. The stars were so clear and close, an amazing sight. We stayed out late, drank wine and had a romantic evening thinking maybe we would stay a while longer. Came onto the RV, heard a great song and started dancing. At that point, we heard a squeak, squeak of Korkie’s toy. That’s the sound we hear when Korkie needs more attention. So we stopped dancing and got on floor to play with Korkie.
Later on we settled in and went to bed. Usually when we go to bed, Korkie curls up and stays still until morning. Well he was pacing, up and down, up and down. Things were not going well. Then around 11:00 the wind started. The wind was about 30-50 miles an hour and was blowing every which way. Our RV was pitching all over. Korkie gave the bark that said “I need to go out now!” So I got up and opened the door. It is pitch black and he runs out and I cannot see him. After a few minutes he returns. This went on several times during the night. The wind pitching us all over, Korkie needing to get out. Then I realized, he was sick and barfing. A very long night. Well in the morning we were ready to leave.
The morning, all was cool and settled. Still it was time to go. Cleaned up the carpet and we took off. Drove to Alamogordo. A really interesting place. The first few days we stayed home to check Korkie out. He was not eating and his poopie was black. However, his eyes were clear and he barked at other dogs and cats when they came near. We got him to a Vet on Wednesday. After an exam and X-rays and several prescriptions we went home. We were not very good about giving Korkie his meds. Every 8 hous???? After 2 days we settled on the antibiotics only in the AM and then again at Happy Hour (5:00 PM if you did not know) after a couple of days, it worked! It turned out he will not eat his food which he has been on since we got him and that we had bought a one year supply for this trip so we would not upset his delicate digestive system. He would not touch it! So off to Wal Mark. Bob got him some Kibble and Bits. He loves it. We don’t think it is very good for him but he sure likes it.
We then went site seeing! Drove out to White Sands National Monument. It is a gigantic sea of sparkling white gypsum and covers nearly 300 square miles. You can rent a snow disk to slide down the hills! It feels like baking soda.
Then we toured the Air Space Museum which was located couple of miles from our campground. We found it really interesting. Maybe because a lot of the events happened in our life time. The next day we went to the IMAX Dome Theater. It’s has a wraparound dome screen and to see the galaxy and actual pictures of the working astronauts and space craft was really something.
On the Hwy from Alamogordo to Roswell we drove through some beautiful country. In this part of New Mexico there are natural springs. This is agricultural country. The Hwy went from desert up into green mountains. We passed Ruidoso Downs which is the site of the Racehorse Hall of Fame and the premier facility for Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred racing. Lots of beautiful green horse farms along the way. Back to the dessert and to Roswell to see the UFO’s. We enjoyed the museum. We stayed in a State Park at Bottomless Lake. Pretty nice. One evening Korkie started barking, it was pitch black outside. Then we saw 4 large Raccoons checking out the garbage cans. They were the size of small bears! Two of them came over just below our front window and looked up at us. We like the State Parks. Maybe a little out of the way but nice scenery and great prices! We paid $14 per night vs. approximate $30+ in RV parks.
Left Wednesday and went though Hobbs NM. A dusty town with lots of oil wells sticking up all over. They also supply the electric power for NM. Interesting area!
Bob has decided that I should share in the dinner cooking. This is causing problems. I gave away all my cook books and we do cook completely different! Stay tuned and I will let you know how this turns out.
On Thursday, 10/1/09 we entered Lamesa, Texas! We are staying in Lamesa a couple of days to ward off the rigors of driving for 3 hours.
We need your help! Bob and are have different ideas of what kind of pictures we send you. One of us like the scenery and the other leans toward pictures of us. Please comment here and let us know what you like and we really do not know if anyone reads this. We are taking hundreds of pictures!

Pictures

Colorado Springs was fun. We spent 1 week in a nice park in Manitou Springs. We drove around seeing our old houses and driving on favorite streets and areas. It is a beautiful town. I lived there when I was in school before Bob, then as a family we moved back 10 years later in 1966 and stayed 10 years! After we got our bearings, we called a few old friends. Those who are left and remembered us after being gone for over 30 years! Had some nice times together. We also played tourist. Spent some time in the Garden of the Gods, Kissing Camel area and took the trip up to the top of Pikes Peak! Weather was nice with afternoon thunder, lighting and rain!
From Colorado Springs, we drove to Gunnison CO. Only spent 2 nights. We have decided that we will spend minimum 2 nights when we stop no matter where we are! Nice park at Gunnison but quite chilly. We found out that Colorado winter temperatures, Gunnison is the lowest! So off we went to Montrose. Lots warmer. Nice warm days and evenings! We took side trips to Colorado National Monument, an incredible place. Beautiful scenery. I had a very old book, a Readers Digest book, “Just off the Interstate” and there was a picture of the spires in the park and I always wanted to see it. Well, we went and it was wonderful! If you are ever in the Grand Junction CO area, go. Well worth the time. Then we went to the “Black Canyon of the Gunnison, another incredible place. Tremendous scenery! We spend 1 week in Montrose. With a neat old fashion cinema across the Hwy, I left Bob and Korkie alone and walked over one afternoon and saw “Julie & Julia. What a wonderful movie. We did create a reputation with Korkie running out to greet everyone who walked by and our habit of “5:00 Happy Hour” on our patio, people came up to visit! We had to extend our stay one more day because Bob lost a crown on Saturday of Labor Day week end! He got a Dentist name from the Park Manager and on Tuesday, he called them. He got in on Wednesday and they could put it back in so the Thursday, we could get on our way.
From Montrose we sent south to Ouray CO. One of my favorite places! It’s called the “The Switzerland of America”. The town is surrounded by the mountains of the San Juan Range. The colors on the surrounding mountains change hourly. As the sun moves, (I’m sorry guys, it’s the earth that changes) the shadows on the mountains change colors. Amazing! We are still in high altitude at 7800 ft elevation! I think we are getting acclimated by now being in high altitude for about a month. The weather here has been from warm sunshine to strong winds, thunder and lightning, rain and hail. Quite a few tent campers here in the park. We are about 2 blocks from the “Hot Springs Pool” I went one afternoon alone. Bob cannot get into even a hot tub with other people, let alone a huge therapeutic natural hot spring pool. Also saw “Box Canyon Falls”. The canyon is 20 feet wide and 285 feet high. Its perpendicular granite walls are roofed by stone. Canyon Creek rushes through the narrow gorge, which is spanned by a high bridge and cat walks. When we went to the Visitor’s Center, it said “No Dogs.” The nice man said it’s “OK if you carry him.” So we carried him. This was only about 3 blocks from our camp but Korkie likes to see the sights! Afterward we came home, had lunch and read a while then went off to see the “Cascade Falls”. A 300 foot waterfall and also the Ice Park where they Ice Climb in the winter. We left Korkie at home this time. Good thing, the trail was pretty steep. One day we took a car trip to Telluride. Great place. It’s a funky ski town high in the mountains where rich and famous people took a liking to. Beautiful scenery all around.
Ouray became rather cool with some chilly nights, so we headed up through the “Million Dollar Highway” to Durango. Amazing country! The Colorado Aspens are starting to turn yellow. In a week or so they will be red and orange. We had planned on spending some time there, but the cold and high altitude was getting to us. Needed to get into some warmer weather. Our motto is to go where “The weather suits our clothes.” So New Mexico, here we come.

Colorado Springs to Ouray CO

Colorado Springs was fun. We spent 1 week in a nice park in Manitou Springs. We drove around seeing our old houses and driving on favorite streets and areas. It is a beautiful town. I lived there when I was in school before Bob, then as a family we moved back 10 years later in 1966 and stayed 10 years! After we got our bearings, we called a few old friends. Those who are left and remembered us after being gone for over 30 years! Had some nice times together. We also played tourist. Spent some time in the Garden of the Gods, Kissing Camel area and took the trip up to the top of Pikes Peak! Weather was nice with afternoon thunder, lighting and rain!
From Colorado Springs, we drove to Gunnison CO. Only spent 2 nights. We have decided that we will spend minimum 2 nights when we stop no matter where we are! Nice park at Gunnison but quite chilly. We found out that Colorado winter temperatures, Gunnison is the lowest! So off we went to Montrose. Lots warmer. Nice warm days and evenings! We took side trips to Colorado National Monument, an incredible place. Beautiful scenery. I had a very old book, a Readers Digest book, “Just off the Interstate” and there was a picture of the spires in the park and I always wanted to see it. Well, we went and it was wonderful! If you are ever in the Grand Junction CO area, go. Well worth the time. Then we went to the “Black Canyon of the Gunnison, another incredible place. Tremendous scenery! We spend 1 week in Montrose. With a neat old fashion cinema across the Hwy, I left Bob and Korkie alone and walked over one afternoon and saw “Julie & Julia. What a wonderful movie. We did create a reputation with Korkie running out to greet everyone who walked by and our habit of “5:00 Happy Hour” on our patio, people came up to visit! We had to extend our stay one more day because Bob lost a crown on Saturday of Labor Day week end! He got a Dentist name from the Park Manager and on Tuesday, he called them. He got in on Wednesday and they could put it back in so the Thursday, we could get on our way.
From Montrose we sent south to Ouray CO. One of my favorite places! It’s called the “The Switzerland of America”. The town is surrounded by the mountains of the San Juan Range. The colors on the surrounding mountains change hourly. As the sun moves, (I’m sorry guys, it’s the earth that changes) the shadows on the mountains change colors. Amazing! We are still in high altitude at 7800 ft elevation! I think we are getting acclimated by now being in high altitude for about a month. The weather here has been from warm sunshine to strong winds, thunder and lightning, rain and hail. Quite a few tent campers here in the park. We are about 2 blocks from the “Hot Springs Pool” I went one afternoon alone. Bob cannot get into even a hot tub with other people, let alone a huge therapeutic natural hot spring pool. Also saw “Box Canyon Falls”. The canyon is 20 feet wide and 285 feet high. Its perpendicular granite walls are roofed by stone. Canyon Creek rushes through the narrow gorge, which is spanned by a high bridge and cat walks. When we went to the Visitor’s Center, it said “No Dogs.” The nice man said it’s “OK if you carry him.” So we carried him. This was only about 3 blocks from our camp but Korkie likes to see the sights! Afterward we came home, had lunch and read a while then went off to see the “Cascade Falls”. A 300 foot waterfall and also the Ice Park where they Ice Climb in the winter. We left Korkie at home this time. Good thing, the trail was pretty steep. One day we took a car trip to Telluride. Great place. It’s a funky ski town high in the mountains where rich and famous people took a liking to. Beautiful scenery all around.
Ouray became rather cool with some chilly nights, so we headed up through the “Million Dollar Highway” to Durango. Amazing country! The Colorado Aspens are starting to turn yellow. In a week or so they will be red and orange. We had planned on spending some time there, but the cold and high altitude was getting to us. Needed to get into some warmer weather. Our motto is to go where “The weather suits our clothes.” So New Mexico, here we come.

Glenwood CO to Colorado Springs CO

Korkie missed the animal activity at Kay’s house. They have 2 large cats, 2 ferrets and 1 Italian Greyhound dog, Icabod. Then in the evening, Elisa would bring her 3 dogs over. Korkie was only allowed in the house if the coast was clear. The cats took care of themselves; however the ferrets were in trouble. He also had a large grassy yard to run and play in. We stayed in their drive way for about 2 weeks. Got the ice machine fixed!!!! We then took off to Glenwood Springs.
In Glenwood Springs our RV campground was on a side of a mountain. The vertical roads were at an angle \\\ and all sites were pull- through between the diagonal roads. We could look down at the Hwy and the river. Glenwood canyon is one of most beautiful places in the US. Kay & Bruce stayed in a Victorian B&B in town. A Farmer’s market was in town the first night. Afterword we decided it should be “Pizza” night. Guess what! There is no Pizza joint in Glenwood Springs! With Korkie along, we could not go inside so we came home for a “chili” night.
We had read about a trail to Hanging Lake, a water-filled rocky bowl literally clinging to the face of a cliff 1,200 feet above the floor of the canyon. Spouting Rock Creek, which feeds the lake, creates Bridal Veil Falls. Kay had heard it was a very rocky hard climb, so I chickened out. She went and said absolutely beautiful and no, I could not have made it. Now that it is past, I think I should have gone. On Thursday we said our “Good’ by’s and continued on to Clear Creek.
When we lived in CO in the 70’s, our favorite fishing hole and campground was in Clear Creek CO located between Leadville, said to be the highest incorporated city in the country, elevation: 10,152’, and Buena Vista. We wanted to see it again. Found a nice campground and settled in. Took a ride out and found a place along the creek where we could Boondock. Bob decided he needed fishing gear, so off to the sporting goods stores we went. Took several trips and he was outfitted. We waited until Monday when the weekenders left and found us a perfect spot along the creek.
The creek is about 30’ across, not very deep but has a swift current in places. The water is really clear. The creek is about 5’ from our door! On sunny mornings the birds play hide & seek between the trees and across the creek. Some butterflies and humming birds are mixed in. The other night the sky was full of stars, it looked like a diamond blanket in the sky. We are really enjoying this place and keep putting off when to leave. The weather changes fast and the forest and water colors change hourly. Accross from the creek is a mountain filled with green trees. This AM I did spot a small ting of yellow aspen trees. That means in about 6 -8 weeks the aspen trees will be bright yellow, orange and red. Buena Vista is about 10 miles down the road. A cute mountain town. We found a great used book store. So we spend our days fishing, taking walks and short hikes and reading. It has been quite warm the last few days so we have been wading out into the creek to cool off.
Then one afternoon Bob said “come on; let’s drive up the river a bit.” OK, sounds good to me. Well, after a few miles the normal dirt road ended and a sign said “Bad road ahead, 4 wheel drive only.” They were right, at some points there was no road. We went across creek beds, over rocky trails up hills where it looked like a sheer drop. Bob kept saying, I did this in the Ranchero years ago, we can do it. We came to the end, about 5 miles in and there were several jeeps and some hikers gathered. It was good, we were still in civilation. Our jeep is now covered with dirt and mud. That night Bob admitted, there was no way he could have gotten the Ranchero in over that road. We are not quite sure of the correct story.
Well our time has come. Monday the 24th we pulled out of our perfect spot. We learned to boondock meaning you go to bed when it is dark and get up when it is light. We ate fresh trout, met some nice people.
We are on our way to Colorado Springs next to see tourist sights and old friends.

St Regis MT to Layfette CO

St. Regis MT sent us off in a big bang. During the night, a burst of light flashed outside my window. Then a loud roar of thunder sounded. At the foot of my bed, two black eyes were looking at me. I grabbed Korkie. He was shaking and scared. As the thunder roared and lightning flashed he dived under the covers and to the bottom of the bed. The storm lasted quite a while.
The next morning, the sky was blue, trees and grass were green. It was beautiful! We took off to go south to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Around Butte, the sky turned really black ahead and the rain started. Going through the mountain passes we had hard rain, hail and strong winds. We decided to stop at Bozeman for the night. It was only around 3:30 but with the rain and winds we were beat so better to stop. Decided on Bear Canyon Campground and the book directions said “Exit 313 on I-90 and South 100 ft. Sounds easy! Well the GPS lady had us turn off on Exit 310 and us for a long drive thru new shopping areas, construction road sites, heavy traffic areas and ended up in a beautiful residential area with wooded small drive ways. Remember, we cannot go backwards with a towed car! So we kept driving. Finally gave up on finding the park, directed GPS back to highway. After about 45 min we got back on the highway on Exit 314. As we were going up the on ramp, we could see the park behind us. O’ well, check out book for parks in next town, Livingston MT. Found a nice park with green grass. Owner said “no credit cards accepted” either a check or cash. A discount if you have been in the Military. Bob said USMC as a reservist and we got our discount!
There is a RV park in Gardiner MT just above Yellowstone. We have driven by it twice now and each time I have said “I have to stay their someday.” It’s located just north of Yellowstone in MT on a beautiful pass looking down on the Yellowstone River. A perfect place. I had called a few days before and naturally they were full. Maybe next time! We drove down through Yellowstone Park. No matter how many times you are in Yellowstone, it is unreliable beautiful! We had decided to spend time in Grand Tetons this time. We found a RV park just south of the Grand Tetons. The reviews didn’t rate it too good but it was the only park in the area and the book said great views. We got an end spot and the views were spectacular. Toward the north were the Tetons. The sight changed during the day. Out our door was a horse farm with several beautiful friendly horses. When you walked over to the fence they came over to be petted. One time Bob had his back to the fence watching Korkie and 2 of the horses came over and nudged him. Korkie did his growling and barking but they ignored him. We took the car into the park, took some walks, took lots of pictures and drove into Jackson WY. Jackson is a cute tourist town that was full of Art galleries, gift shops, restaurants, and people. We were not in the mood for that. We did not stop nor get out of the car. Went back to our park and enjoyed the surroundings.
We had wanted to go south through Dubois and Lander, but other campers said “lots of dirt road construction”. That is not good for an RV. So we went back around through Jackson then down into Rock Springs. We hadn’t been on Hwy 80 across Wyoming for a long time. Had some wild weather, wind, rain, and sleet and sunshine. Stayed in Rock Springs one night, then on to Laramie. We arrived here in Lafayette CO Wednesday the 29th.
We are having a good time with daughter Kay and Bruce and granddaughters Elise and Kristi Rose. We are parked in their drive way. The ice machine is getting fixed. The part should come in next week. We have made reservations to stay at Glenwood Springs for a few days. Kay & Bruce are staying at a B&B there. We are looking forward to that.
We are planning on staying in Colorado for quite a while. Want to see Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National park, Colorado Springs and Ouray. We have decided that we will not go to the east coast this year. We want to winter in Texas and Arizona.

Provo UT to St Regis MT

On July 2 we arrived at the home of my Dad and his wife Vena Lee in Provo UT. The RV parks were full so we parked in their side yard. It worked out perfect! We got to visit with some of Vena Lee’s daughters and families. Korkie loves being in Provo. They have a large back yard with grass and the next yard has several sheep and baby lambs! He can roam free in the yard and bark at the sheep! There was a parade in Provo on the 4th with lots of bands, floats and balloons. We were invited to one of Vena’s daughter’s home who live on top of a hill overlooking Provo. They can see several displays of fireworks from their yard and Korkie was invited. So off we go. Korkie did really well making friends with everyone. Then some poppers went off. Well, he started shaking real bad. We took him for a walk down the block but he got worse. So we had to take him home. We missed all the fireworks. We made plans to meet in Helena MT the end of July for a family reunion once we got hold of my brother Terry and his wife Diane. We left Provo on Monday the 5th.
Decided to see the Dinosaur National Monument Park in UT. We stayed at the Outlaw Trail RV Park in Jensen UT. Now this park looked like the down and out outlaws still lived there. A few of the rigs were OK but most looked like they had been abandoned or should be. When we arrived to ask for a space the manager just said “take your pick and I will catch up with you later.” Well, we had all the hook ups we needed and a laundry which we really needed. On our way out of UT we had stopped at a Rest stop for lunch. There was a nice trail so I took off for a short walk. When I got back, Bob is standing by the sink with brown stuff all over his shirt and shorts and glass all around him. A bottle of Worchester sauce had exploited as he opened the cupboard. We cleaned up as much as we could and Bob changed clothes. Worchester sauce smells pretty good for a while but after several hours it wears thin and becomes yucky. This RV Park was across the Hwy from the Utah visitor’s center and the entrance to the Dinosaur Park and had a laundry which we needed very badly. What more could we want so we signed up for 2 nights. Still didn’t know what the rate was. We did some site seeing of the area and took an Auto tour of Cub Creek Road and the Dinosaur Park. We enjoyed it very much.
We were then on our way to Lafayette CO to see our daughter Kay and her family. The Bark Beetle has hit Utah and Colorado very bad. Large mountain ranges are filled with dead trees. The only way to get rid of them is a very cold, below freeze for several days. The weather has been too warm the last few years.
We pulled into Kay’s drive way around 2:00 PM. I was to call Kay at work when we arrived and she would come home. I left a message that we were there and we went ahead and got settled. My phone rang about 30 min later and that was when we got the message from Vena Lee that my brother, Terry Cannon had passed away in Clancy MT. But I had only talked to him the day before and he was fine. On Thursday AM, his golf day, he had got up, put on his golf clothes then collapsed and died from an embolism. Well, Terry said many times that he did not want to get old. He loved to golf. I guess it was fitting that he died quite young (he was 68) and he was getting ready to play golf.
We stayed in Lafayette that night, had a nice time with Kay and granddaughter Elisa. Bruce and Kristi Rose were in Las Vegas and would be back the next day. Kristi dances in competitions around the country.
The next day, Friday, we headed up to Clancy MT. We got about 3 blocks from Kay’s house and heard a loud bang. Imagine the sound that comes from metal hitting a concrete embankment going about 35 miles an hour. A loud BANG! We looked around, narrow road, no place to stop to see what we hit. Finally a right hand lane appeared and we could park and see what happened. The magnetic sensor switch for the stairs had fallen off and the stairs actuated just as we crossed the one lane bridge. They were bent back at a 30 degree angle. Could not get them up, down or off! After working with several implements, Bob unhooked the car from the back, drove in front of the rig, took the steel safety chain and tied it to the car and the other end to the stairs, then back up. Darn if it didn’t work! Didn’t look too good, but got the stairs up.
It took us 2 days to get to Helena. My 94 year old Dad and Vena Lee had come in an hour before us. Terry & Diane’s children, Lisa and Brian and their 3 children from upstate NY had come in the day before and Ben & Sue and their son from Helena came to the house every day. Vena Lee’s daughter Diane came in from Canada and our daughter Lynda and son Rick came from CA. We laughed, cried and hugged each other. A cocoon of family members is so comforting in time of grief. We had the service on Tuesday and on Thursday the family had bought a Blue Spruce tree and had it planted on the #3 hole at the golf course Terry played at. Autopsy revealed blood clot on the lung. They had been treating him for heart problems.
On Friday Bob and I headed to the mountains of Montana for a rest. We chose St Regis MT, a small (population 300) mountain town. Our campground is on top of a hill surrounded by green mountain forests. There are no signs of Bark Beetle here. The RV Park has walking trails that take you into the forest and through meadows. We have seen deer and Elk in the evening. It gets dark around 10:00PM here. We have been here for a week and will be heading out tomorrow. Thinking of heading south around the Grand Tetons!

Beginning adventure

We did it! After thinking about it, then re-thinking about it, and then we decided to do it! We have sold, loaned out, given away, donated and stored what was left of our worldly goods. We cleaned out and rented out our home for at least 1 year and we will on our way tomorrow, Sunday June 28, 2009.
What are our plans? Itinerary? Well to start, on our way to Provo UT to visit my Dad and Vena Lee for a few days. We like Hwy 50 so it may take a while. I have always wanted to spend some time in those old Nevada towns. Maybe this will by my chance!
Some interesting things have happened so far. Coming up the Hwy 80 upgrade our engine got hot. Now we are really heavy with stuff, (What we cannot find room for, we are sleeping with ) it is hot outside, upper 90’s, and we are towing the Jeep, but our 350 Diesel Cat engine should not be doing this. We wanted to stop at Gold Run rest stop, but it was closed. So we went on. Finally made it to the top. Bob checked the Air filter, changed the fuel filter, and several other things, all OK. So we cooled down, had lunch and took off. We then discovered our Ice Machine does not make ice. So we now buy a bag every day or so. Could be worse. Spent our first night in Finley NV. Met a nice couple from Sacramento got to talking and he was a former Union City Cop, we knew some same people. They had a small dog and he was a Marine. Need I say more? Had an enjoyable evening.
Next day, Hwy 50 the loneliest road in America. Saw a vehicle every hour or so. Very windy, like the grass on the side of the road was laying flat against the road! Our 24,000#’s rig plus car is jumping around in the wind! We hear a flapping and the locked awning has come undone and is flapping in the wind. There is no shoulder to get off the road. We pull over anyhow. A CHP officer came by and parked behind us to warn other cars. Finally got it fixed and re locked. Spent the night in Ely NV.
Next day off the loneliest Hwy in America to a lonelier one on Hwy 93. Saw a vehicle ever 2 hours or so. A few miles down the road one of the locked bottom cupboards pops open. A dust storm is brewing on the desert. It was a day of hard driving for Bob and hard for me because I lean back and forth depending on how we are moving. Korkie spent the day under the table.
Looked on the map and found we were pretty close to Zion National Park! Never had been there so decided to check that out! Found a campground in Springdale UT. Pretty little town. Came across a bit of a problem. The campground is located with a Quality Inn Motel. We were driving along, Bob spied a Quality Inn sign and we pull in. Well right away a nice lady comes out and says “wrong Quality Inn and you can turn around up there”. It was a very small parking lot. Remember, with the jeep being towed, we cannot back up. So we wiggle to and fro and after quite a long time, we pull out. Find our campsite, set up. V/T time.
Next day we decided to go into the park. Well we found there was oil splatter all over the car so we sent out to find a car wash. In pretty tourist towns, there is no car wash. It was then we found out the tires were out of alignment due to the small parking lot turn around. We asked at a gas station where the closet tire alignment place is. “Well, it’s in Hurricane down the road about 20-30 miles. On the right hand side of the street, you can’t miss it”. So off we go. You can’t miss it means asking in several places before we find the only place in town that can alignment tires. Turned out good, a nice place, found a car wash and ready to come back to Springdale. That afternoon we toured Zion Park. Beautiful sights. On to Provo UT

Dust Storm

On the road again