September 28 and 29, 2015
So home we go. We pulled 500+ miles to land at the Fishberry Campground in Valentine, NE on Monday night. We barely pulled in and a big rain storm hit. No wind but just the wonderful sound of rain on the roof. These small RV parks in the middle of nowhere USA are amazing. No, they don't take a credit card when you call. You just pick up an envelope under the front porch of the office and put $25 cash in it to stay the night. It's off-season so the rate is low for such a charming campsite with a full hook up...except for TV of course.
We pulled out around 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and headed to Armour, SD to meet up with some friends we met at Gulf Waters, Sharon and Carter Weise. We pulled in just in time for lunch, walked to the local restaurant, where the blue plate special of the day was a special local sausage, sauerkraut, bread with butter and macaroni salad. Carter and Sharon are very interesting people and the former mortician's in town. She currently has a huge antique store, while Carter manages several buildings in town. She is very active in the Mayflower Pilgrim Society, for decedents of the Mayflower.
They live in a charming old home where her grandparents lived in the historical district of this small middle of nowhere town. We had a wonderful tea type dessert at their home after lunch, said our goodbyes and then headed out to our last stop on the trip.
We drove a few hours to Summit, SD, where we first missed the turn to the RV park and ended up having to back across a road to turn around (always an adventure with 55' rig), but where Google Maps directed us, we would have wiped off the AC from the top of the rig going under the local train bridge.
Finally, ending up at the County Line campground, we were greeted by the hosts, who were both missing all their teeth, but they were incredibly, nice and hospitable folks who helped us settle in and later came by to make sure everything was okay.
As I type, the chocolate chip cookies are baking, the sunset to the West was magnificent and we are sad to say 'goodbye' to our last night on the road for this trip. What a great journey and adventure we're blessed to have had this year in our rig with each other.
Gil is busy reading a tractor magazine he picked up, and the cookies are calling. Another night with no TV but that's OK. Tomorrow we head a short distance to Fargo and then roll home to the lake saying goodbye to the adventure for now.
Sunday, September 27th, 2015
It's Sunday and the decision is...to get up or not to get up. However, since reveille from Fort Carson woke us at 6:30 a.m. we chose to get up for yet another beautiful day. Clear skies, light breeze and a high expected of near 90 degrees. A little to hot but far better than rain!
We drove up to Seven Falls, took the shuttle, paid our $28 and headed to the falls on foot. It's an amazing park that is now run by The Broadmoor. The landscaping and mountains is spectacular. When you get to the falls, you can climb 166 stairs to the Eagles Nest, which we did. Breathless in the Springs! At the top you can see all seven falls. We choose to walk down and sat in rocking chairs on a patio just viewing the falls. There is a charming, first class spot to have lunch/dinner right by the stream. You can buy 'food' to feed the trout in the holding pond, which we are pretty sure is the same trout that is on the menu!
Next we headed to famous Broadmoor Hotel, where we marveled at the decor, fresh bouquets of red roses and the friendliness of the staff. It's clearly for the rich and famous, because rooms start at $500 night and go up to $8000 a night. Last night there were two weddings there....imagine the cost of those!
We toured the Penrose Museum and saw all the buggies, saddles, etc. owned by this wealthy man, who made his fortune in Utah copper. The museum houses all sorts of 'vehicles' that have completed the race up to Pikes Peak, which has been going on since the early 1900's.
We strolled around and then ate our picnic in the parking lot. At least we can say we ate lunch at The Broadmoor.
September 26, 2015
We found our way with an uneventful trip to Colorado Springs and checked into the KOA in Fountain, CO. We set up, settled in and checked out the dam and stream in the park. Then we headed to Costco for gas and a few supplies. The weather is amazing and the moon is nearly full. This is a great park, close to everything. We had an ice cream at Costco for dinner, which is always a hit even though not a good weight loss program.
We got up early, headed to Camping World and then headed to Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs and the climb to Pikes Peak. Honestly, we've been a lot of places in the mountains, but the drive up to the peak forced me to lean, lean really hard, to the inside of the car. The truck is amazing as it really controls your speed without using the breaks. We made it to the top, perfect blue skies and warm temps. The fall is the perfect time to be here. The aspen trees are spectacular and brilliantly yellow blended into the green pines.
A stop at Garden of the Gods reminded us of the red rocks of Colorado. I figured out that I'd been here 64 years ago with my family....a long time in between to miss all this beauty.
The landscaping here is decorated with my beloved rocks. They are in all the parking lots, boulevards and parks. I love all these great rocks! Willie had a bath and is the best camper ever!
We saw the cog train, looked for big foot and enjoyed the amazing fall day. The moon is full as we walk the park. We are so luck to be able to experience all this beauty at this time of year. We've fallen in love with Colorado. It's warm, dry and sunny with spectacular views of the mountains. A fun dinner at our favorite, Cheddar's, completed a perfect day.
September 24 , 2014
A fun day shopping downtown Estes Park in the morning and finding the perfect lamp for the camper. Later we headed to the 12,000 foot pass in the park. Before we left for dinner, Xochitl called and we Face Timed and I showed her the elk in the park. What a phenomenon this technology is. She was able to show me the place where her tooth used to be. After that, we had a fun dinner with our good friends, Ev and Kathleen at the Estes Park Brewery. It was so fun to just catch up and enjoy a long dinner of burgers. We are so lucky to have met these special people!
Today, we said goodbye to them as they head to Tulsa and then we headed up to the park again. Yesterday we went to the peak and today we headed down the other side across the Continental Divide and to Grand Lake, CO. There is a beautiful old lodge that sits on the hill and after shopping the charming little town, we headed to the Lodge for some lunch and amazing views. What a charming place this is on the back side of the park. No crowds, beautiful fall colors, amazing scenery and majestic mountains. We are so very lucky to be able to do this and see this amazing country.
When we got home, Willie finally got a bath...wow was he a dusty mess! A little trim, and a bath and he's a new dog! He is be the best camper! Tomorrow we head for 'the springs' to camp for a couple of nights.
September 22nd, 2015
We were here many years ago when the kids were little, so it's fun to have lots of time to explore. Of course, first we had some repairs...the lamp over the dining table tumbled down when we were on the road yesterday, Willie's leash broke and we needed to raise the towel ring in the bathroom. With all that done, we headed out to the Park, watched the movie on the history, explored the visitor center and then took more pictures of grazing elk than imaginable. We are acting like total tourists and enjoying the majesty and humbling experience of this beautiful park.
It's rutting season, so lots of bull deer keeping a close eye on their girls. We had a fun walk around Bear Lake at 9450 feet elevation and enjoyed a scenic day in the park. No moose yet, but lots and lots of elk.
September 21, 2015
Up early and on the road by 7:00 as we thought we had about an 8 hour pull from Jackson, WY to Estes Park, CO. We were so wrong about that! It took us about 10 hours and the last leg was the steep canyon to Estes Park along the Big Thomspson river. The exciting thing today was I got to drive the rig! The BIG RIG and granted, it was straight along I-80 but I did it for the first time! It was a long pull, but we made it safely to the Elk Meadow RV campground where we met up with Ev and Kathleen again!
September 20, 2015
Wow! What a great birthday! After blueberry pancakes, we headed out to downtown Jackson in search of the perfect birthday gift for the person who needs/wants nothing. We are in love with this area that's surrounded by rugged mountains on every side.
Lots of birthday messaging and greetings and a Tango call from the Seattle kiddos was so fun. Even my 92 year old mom sang 'happy birthday' to me and Xochitl and Kim sang too! We found a great Pandora charm representing the antler arches in Jackson Hole. We shared a latte and shopped the fun shops with a stop at the famous Cowboy Bar.
We had a fun tailgate picnic at the 10,000 ft. pass to Idaho and took a short walk. Then we headed to Moose, in hopes of seeing a moose. The back road was worse than any Minnesota potholes --- yikes what is wrong with fixing these dang things? The only moose we've seen so far is on this sign!
We headed back to the rig to pack up so we can get an early start to Colorado tomorrow morning. I had seen a place on Diners, Dives and Drive-In's called Nora's Fish Creek Inn, so we headed there for a nummy birthday dinner. Gil had smoked trout linguine and I had their famous prime rib. What a wonderful and beautiful day to celebrate my birthday! The sign that says, The Mountains are Calling,I Must Go" by John Muir is my new mantra!
