Colorado Springs, here we come!

Our first stop after leaving Boyd Lake was at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, situated in Colorado Springs, in close proximity to Fort Carson Army base.  We were lucky enough to find two sites here, since most of the time sites are completely filled six months out.  The sites are situated on the side of Cheyenne Mountain, so we have beautiful views of the city below. Another plus is that we can hear the bugle playing in the morning and 5 PM, and taps in the evening.

 This is the view from our campsite, looking south.

A rafter of turkeys calmly walked behind our trailer as they searched for food, or maybe they are looking for a place to hide since Thanksgiving is not that far off!

The skies were dark and cloudy as we headed out in the afternoon.  It had rained and cleared up and was in the process of raining again when we were on our way to Garden of the Gods.  By the time we got across town, it was dry!  Boy, we sure lucked out in choosing the right place to visit!

It was perfect for walking around the huge rock formations.  A nice breeze, overcast and not hot at all.  Then the thunder came.  As we headed back to our truck, we realized we had gotten turned around.   And then, we all had a senior moment:  none of us had looked at what parking lot we had come from!  Was it parking lot #3, or parking lot #4?!  Or was it parking lot #2?  And we left the map from the visitor center in the truck!  Talk about all of us having a "senior moment"!  Thank goodness we finally figured it out and made it back to the truck before it started to rain. 

Dinner at a nearby Rudy's BBQ was wonderful, and we returned to the campground with our belly's full and our feet tired.

Right after we got back, a Harvest moon rising over the city below greeted us with it's orange glow.

Farewell, Boyd Lake!

Summer is over.  Time for us to head out along with Ron and Patty.

Thanks for all the memories, which were numerous!  Among the "firsts" this year were the sightings of two pair of eagles in the same day, and Osprey feeding on fish caught in Boyd Lake.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunrises

and numerous sunsets from our camp site.

Our granddaughter, Ella, came to stay with us quite a few times.  Loved the time spent with her biking at Boyd Lake, and going out to breakfast at her favorite restaurant, Denny's!

Many nights were spent by the campfire with Ron and Patty, watching other trailers pull their rigs into the campground and wondering if they would make it into their site without running over a firepit or electric box!  You never know what to expect!  One of the funniest memories is a guy who brought over his camping chair and plopped it right in front of Ron and Patty's door. He thought he could use their Wifi since the park had none! Sheesh!

It will be a couple of weeks before we are finally home in Avondale, but we'll enjoy all the stops along the way!

Camp Host Tour

 Almost every year when we are in Loveland, we visit the Benson Park Sculpture Gardens, an amazing place with all types of bronze statues.  This year,  all of the camp hosts at Boyd Lake State Park went on a tour through Art Castings of Colorado, where bronze and steel statues are created.

Bob, Patty, Ron and Nancy were  relaxing in the reception area before the start of the tour.  Below, is a small piece that caught my eye since it involved a family camping in their tent.  The family dog is even helping out by holding the stick with marshmallows over the fire!

After the artist has created the sculpture in clay or wax, a mold must be made. The piece is covered with liquid rubber and plaster.  If the piece is large, it will be cut into many smaller pieces.  The gentleman below is using molten wax to build up thin layers into the mold with a paintbrush.  The wall will vary between 3/16 and 1/8 inch.  After the rubber has cooled, it's pulled away from the hollow sculpture.

Afterwards, spruing takes place,  which is where wax sprues are attached to the piece to allow the molten metal to flow into every nook and cranny.  From there the piece is dipped multiple times into a ceramic mixture and covered with very fine sand.  It can be dipped anywhere between 8 and 14 times!

 Here is a large piece being held up by one worker while the other gets ready to dump the sand.  Below are pieces that have gone through this process and are drying before going into a kiln.

Out comes one batch from the kiln, and behind it is another one waiting to be baked at 1600 degrees.  Surprisingly, it was not that hot in the room due to enormous fans and coolers, unless you were close to the kiln.  All of us stayed behind the yellow line!

After baking in the kiln, the worker has placed the pieces into sand.  The man on the right is controlling the bucket full of liquid metal which has been heated to a temperature of 2000 degrees.  The wheel allows him to raise or lower the bucket as he pours.

Even though this guy has on a protective mask, gloves and clothing over his upper body, notice that he has nothing over his jeans.  I bet he is very, very careful not to spill a drop!  That would hurt!

After the items have cooled, the ceramic outer coating is broken off.  They have a large machine for this process.

This huge moose was patiently waiting to be sanded and finished after being welded together.  One of the men working on this piece estimated it will take two weeks before it's done.  Pneumatic tools are used to grind down all the rough places, smooth out all the weld spots and add texture.  This ensures the finished piece will be just as the artist envisioned it.  I wonder where he will end up?

This guy looks a little perturbed that he was left by the side of the wall.  Maybe they are searching for the lower half of his body.  

This lady had waited long enough, and lost her mind...at least part of it!  

We all were impressed by this set of razorbacks being made for the University of Arkansas.  Actually, there are 6 of these, the other 3 were offsite.  The lady doing the sanding was working furiously since they had to be completed in two weeks.  After this stage, they still needed a patina finish before being shipped.

Multiple pieces were at their final stages as our group passed by.

And one of my favorite pieces was this precious bunny:

I would have bought him right then and there, except for a few obstacles:  cost (major $$$$$$$), how to transport him home to Arizona and how in the world would we get him into our back yard!

Catalina Camping

We've been camping at Catalina State Park for over a decade, and it never disappoints.  This time again we were greeted by warm days and plenty of sunshine every day except one.  Our group has some favorite spots in Loop B, affording us ample space to put up canopies and play games of cornhole.  While most people are dealing with snow, ice and cold weather, we had days warm enough for shorts and short sleeves.

Doris, Sandy, Lori and Kerry were all set to play a fierce game.  Me, not so much.  To say the least, I am horrible at it.  Hence, I relegate myself to taking photos and cheering from the sidelines.  If everyone picked their players, I would definitely be the last one standing!

Games are over now it's time for some afternoon wine and snacks.  Sandy and Doris shared with their cousin, John, who had driven down from Surprise for the weekend.

 This year, we added another extended member of the family, Roberta Ross.  Jerry was giving her instructions on how to cook with a Dutch Oven.  He is the master of Dutch oven cooking whenever there is a group of us camping.  He keeps us going with his food and his humor.

 Time to check to see how it's coming along, Roberta.....

Well, now it seems that more have joined the Dutch oven circle.  Do you notice that most of them have a cup or glass in their hand.  Don't let the red plastic cups fool you....they are filled with wine!

As the day became dusk, all the side dishes were on the table.  We were waiting for Don and Jerry to finish cutting the brisket, which had been cooking since 7 AM.    It was Don's first attempt at smoking a brisket, and it turned out great.  No complaints from this crowd.

 During the last week camping, some dear friends came to visit us.  Phyllis and Nellie had gone to Flowing Wells High School with the rest of us, and they also had attended Redeemer Lutheran with Doris and Sandy. It was good to reminisce with them.  Maybe next time we can find a place where the sun isn't shining directly into our eyes.

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Gorgeous weather.  Friends and family.  Great food.  Fun.  Lots of humor and laughing.  All of these are why we booked our stay at Catalina State Park for next 2019 before we left this year!

Davis Monthan Air Force Base

Our educational tour this year was at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, which dates back to 1927.  It was named after two pilots from WWII.  Our former neighbor, Ivan Lewis, retired from the Air Force in late 2016 and moved back to Tucson to work as a contractor at DM. 

 Before we could even take the tour, all of us had to submit our names, Social Security numbers, date of birth and address a week ahead of time.  Thankfully, none of us were deemed "risky" and the guard at the gate let us pass through.

 It was a gorgeous day as Ivan led us to the hangar where we would be able to watch teams being trained on how to load weapons on the A-10 planes.

We behaved ourselves, especially after looking at this warning on the cement floor.  At our age, we are too old to do much horsing around anyway.

 None of the weapons in this area were activated, thank goodness.  We all stayed behind the red line as the airmen went about their business.

 It takes two men to load the bombs, one drives the small vehicle while his assistant steadies the weapon.  Teamwork is essential in loading and securing each weapon.

As we passed behind the plane, Roberta pointed out the beautiful American flag hanging right above it.  What a privilege it is for us to be Americans and support all of our armed forces.

 Ivan, our gracious tour guide for the day, took time to further explain some of the ammunition loaded on to the A-10s.  Interestingly, the A-10's are the only aircraft designed around the 30 mm rotary cannon, which can spit out an enormous amount of fire power in a short amount of time.  The pilot is protected by a titanium box.

 Afterwards, we sauntered outside to view what Ivan referred to as "the dragon".  This unique and odd-looking machine does resemble a dragon.  It's function is to load new ammunition while sucking out the used shells simultaneously.

 This is a photo of the sign painted on the side of the dragon.  Cute, huh?!

This was one busy place.  We spotted lots of fighter jets coming in after their morning flights.

As we left, we passed by the "fighter on a stick", a local landmark at the base.  Thanks for the informative tour, Ivan!