The Last Hurrah (Post #1)

 This is our last trip with the trailer. 

The time has come for us to hang it up, so to speak.  We've always wondered what would go first: us or the trailer?!😟   Now we know!  We still have some good miles left on us, but Don no longer wants to mess with setting it up or taking it down when we travel.  Our Cougar 5th wheel doesn't have the automatic levelers which made for a much easier set up when we pulled into a campground.  There was also a lot of preparation work for each trip which included picking it up, cleaning, loading all the food and clothes, making sure everything is working, etc.  

This is our small caravan heading out from our neighborhood in Avondale.  Doris, Sandy and Jerry had come up on Wednesday from Tucson and stayed in the house with us. We left on Friday morning, February 9th.  The Five of us and our little homes on wheels.

The morning was very cool and cloudy as we headed towards River Island State Park, north of Parker, Arizona.  At least the rain had quit the day before.

Saturday morning at the campground was wet and windy. You can tell it was colder by just looking at Don's outfit (jacket and jeans).  Usually if it was 50 degrees or more, he had on shorts.   It had rained during the night. We were still glad to be together once again, enjoying time with our family and friends.

The constant breeze coming from the west and the clouds meant it was jacket time for all of us.  One of the best ways to deal with the wind was to sit behind Doris' trailer.  We had our own little group area, even if it took up part of the roadway.  😂

Our group is smaller this year, but there were cousins who came all the way from Reno to camp with us.  One couple backed out because they had a leak in their trailer......wonder why they decided not to show up?  Because of storms with wind and rain in the forecast?  Smart decision.

The line up: us, Doris, Sandy and Jerry.  Not in view is Jim & Shelly's motor home, Allen and Cheri's trailer, Bob and Kerry's motorhome and Greg and Lori's motorhome.

This time the campground had an abundance of blackbirds, who spent a lot of time roosting in the huge Eucalyptus tree by our table and common area.  We had to be careful of where we sat.  It reminded me of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie called "The Birds".  Needless to say, if any crumb made it to the ground, the birds took care of it.

Travels with our rig took us to the East coast and up into Maine twice, over the Mackinac Bridge, up into Banff National Park and down into the Everglades. We made it to the Oregon coast with it's spectacular beaches three different times. We hunted down covered bridges and lighthouses in different states.  There were years we traveled alone and explored by ourselves, while other times we joined up with friends and family.  Both ways worked for us.  It was a blessing to have our own bed each night, no matter where we were!  

Those times are now behind us but I have 4 journals full of notes, pictures on Facebook and a blog that keeps all the memories right at hand.  We are BLESSED!

Below is the map that I have highlighted all our travels.  Different colors for different years, some overlapping.  Remember, not all who wander are lost!

The Last Hurrah: Super Bowl Sunday

 This was our whole group on Sunday morning. Left to right: Lori, Bob, Shelly, Jim, Kerry, Greg, Sandy, Jerry, Doris, Don, Allen and Cheri.  It was still a bit cool that morning, although the sun was out and the rain was gone.

                                                            View of the front entrance

The one drawback for this park is the lack of dependable internet service.  You can see Jerry and Kerry checking their phones in the pic below, just to discover there was no cell service either.  Sometimes a text would go through or you would connect to the internet if you were close to the office, but it wasn't a given.  My gosh, we even had to resort to getting in touch with each other the old fashioned way by walking to their rig and talking in person! Imagine that!

Time for the Super Bowl!  No way to watch it on TV, so Jim found a guy who announced each play.  At times he talked so fast I thought he must be an auctioneer!  We did our patriotic duty by standing in the direction of the American flag while Reba sang the National Anthem.

Apparently, listening to the game made a lot of people hungry.  Don and Jerry to the rescue with their dueling grills!

Hamburgers are always a good choice for camping!  Greg was chowing down on his.

As the afternoon sun left, it became chilly.  Out came the propane grills to keep us warm.

The game went into overtime, lasting until 9 PM!  In the end, it was Kansas City 25 and  the San Francisco 49er's with 22.

Above is a picture that Cheri took of our group.  Even I'm in it!

Last Hurrah: Post # 3

 The weather has warmed up...so it's time for a hike up the hillside!  Doris, of course, is in the lead.  She is the fastest walker and has already done this several times this week.  We're headed towards the orange wind sock up on the bluff.

As we turn around, the blue waters of the Colorado River appear along with a partial view of our campground.  Right now, there is no one nearby and it is extremely quiet.  Peaceful.

Another view from here reveals a trio of jet skis heading south down the river.  Across the river is California.  

And as Sandy and I turn around towards the hillside, there is Doris waving to us!  Sometimes I think she has more energy than the Energizer Bunny!

More delicious food is on the agenda for today.  Shelly made taco meat from White Tail deer meat.  It tastes just like regular beef, no gamey taste at all.  She has also cooked up taco shells and there is a huge assortment of toppings including cilantro, guacamole, avocado, different cheeses, non-dairy cheese, lettuce, etc.  Both Doris and Shelly are working hard at getting everything ready.  TACO TIME!

The crowd is down 4 people.  Kerry and Bob, and Greg and Lori left Monday morning to head home and to go back to work.  

Thursday was beignet day.  This is a tradition for Jerry, who makes the dough from scratch.  Then he and Sandy team up to roll out the dough, cook them in the Dutch oven and coat them with powdered sugar.  This is a treat all of us look forward to (except me because of my lactose intolerance-drats).

I'm going to call Jerry "Beignet Boy"! 😀  The Legend Lives On....

No Wandering in Wyoming

 Wyoming has a LOT of open space!  What a difference between the traffic on I-25 in Colorado and I-25 in Wyoming!  I think we encountered more cars in half an hour in Colorado than the whole time we were in Wyoming.

About half our trip in Wyoming was on the I-25 interstate, the remaining was on Wyoming Route 59. Gilllette is almost straight north of Windsor, Colorado where our son and daughter-in-law live. Don drove, Glen rode shotgun and I was content in the backseat. 

 

Not much to look at here except trains with their coal cars.  Wyoming has been the biggest coal producer in the United States since 1986.  The coal that comes from here is lower in sulfur, so it burns cleaner than coal from other states.  

Those long lines of coal cars needed a lot of engines to pull them!

Almost all the way back to Parker, Colorado there were storms brewing.  Luckily, we hit a few light and brief showers or drove through the area right after the storm had passed.  

No heavy traffic on the road we just went over either.  I wonder if people from Wyoming even know what it is to experience a traffic jam.  Boy, I would have been ecstatic to drive on the mostly empty roads to work years ago.

Going to Gillette

 Our last adventure was to the small town of Gillette, Wyoming.  Why there you ask?  To pick up our son-in-law, Glen and take him home with us to Arizona.  Our granddaughter Hailey was assigned to a physical therapy place there for a 6-week internship.  He flew to Utah and helped her drive to Gillette.  There is only a very small airport there, so it would be quite a process for him to fly home.  Luckily, we were still in Colorado, only 4 hours away by car (or truck).   We drove up on Saturday morning and left on Sunday morning, so it was a very quick and short trip.

Previously called Donkey Town and Rocky Pile, Gillette was founded in 1891.  The current population is probably around 40,000 people.   On Saturday afternoon we took a stroll in downtown Gillette.  At 4:30 PM not much was open and there was almost no traffic on the street.  It sure made it easy to find a parking spot!

Can you see the photo bomber between Glen and the cute bear?  👀

Basically, the downtown area is about two blocks long.   Definitely no crowds to worry about here. 

Hailey decided to take a break and have a short chat with a guy named Abe. 

Even though this is a small area, bronze sculptures were in abundance.  The tall lady below is "Belle".

Here is a cute grouping right in front of the children's store. Apropos, don't you think?

A group of retired people had set out their camping chairs on the sidewalk!  I guess that is what people do on Saturday night here to create their own entertainment.  As other individuals walked through, the group would clap and holler.  I was up for the challenge and skipped by them.😂😂

We met up with Hailey's host grandmother at Wyoming's Rib and Chop House for a nice dinner.

This is the church that Hailey will be attending while she stays with Elsie Peters. We left right after church to head back to Colorado for the night.

Hailey and Elsie Peters, her "adopted Grandma".  We discovered that Elsie grew up in Tucson and knew some of the same people we did since she attended Grace Lutheran Church there.  What a blessing for Hailey!  She has her own bedroom and bathroom in the basement and a loving person to watch over her.

Happy Trails to You

For those of us in the "older" generation, "Happy Trails to You Until We Meet Again" conjures up the image of Roy Rogers singing.  Happy trails for us now means biking on trails in various places, mostly in Colorado. Colorado is a great place for bicyclists, with trails all over the place.  When a new neighborhood is built, automatically incorporated are cement sidewalks that will accommodate riders and walkers.  

This year we tackled many different trails that were new to us, or sections of the 40-mile Cherry Creek trail that starts in Denver and goes through many suburbs.  No electric bikes for us although we have seen a dramatic increase of those on every single trail that we have ridden this year. 

The Centerra Trail took us over to Equalizer Lake through the city of Loveland. It does have many open areas with no shade, but it links up to the trail at Boyd Lake.

This trail also had a place where you could fix your bike or air up your tires!  Convenient!

The Poudre trail ride from Eastman Park (named after Eastman Kodak because the plant was nearby) took us up hills, open fields and shady paths.

Above is the view from one of the hills.  Below is the top part of the hill that we had to ride up. There are a few lakes in this 5 mile section.

Love this wood pelican carved out of a Cottonwood tree. It had been moved since the last time we rode from about a quarter of a mile away.  It is quite tall so that must have been a bear to move!

Our bike ride to La Porte from Ft. Collins was one of our favorite rides this summer. We started out near New Belgium Brewery which is well known to our beer loving family and friends. 🍺🍺 Lots of shade is provided by the huge Cottonwoods lining the path. 

However, the best part is the huge bridge that crosses over the Cache La Poudre River.  It juts out over the river itself, turning at left or right angles on it's way across.

We always try to do a ride on the Boyd Lake trail because it takes us right through the state park we camp hosted at for 6 years.  This year the lake was very high since there was plenty of runoff from the mountain snowmelt and an abundant amount of spring rain.

We ended up taking the detour through the grassy field.  Let's just say it was a whole lot bumpier than the regular cement path that goes right beside the lake.

Ah, Cherry Creek Trail, we sure do love you!  We have ridden on different portions at least 15 times this summer.  There are many parks and trailheads that we can start at, making this an easy trail to access. This year the grasshoppers were out in force but at least we didn't have to dodge them.  Coyote scat and goose poop is an entirely different story.  LOL😂

One section in the town of Parker took us right past some cute alpacas.

 

Another portion of the Cherry Creek trail was one that we had never ridden before.  Our son-in-law, Ken suggested this since he is avid biker and knows the paths like the back of his hand.  It took us south from Parker towards Franktown.  The only thing that I didn't care for was the snake sign.....I hate snakes!

There were a lot of Brown Eye Susans along the first part of our ride after starting out at Cobblestone Ranch Park.  Some of the flowers were taller than Don.

For a change, Don took a picture of me.  Usually I'm the one taking the pics, but today I left my camera back at Ken and Lisa's.

Due to major flooding in Ft. Collins this summer, a portion the Spring Creek trail was closed off.   Other portions required us to ride either beside the flowing creek or right through the standing water.

No fenders on the bikes meant we had to go through really SLOW to avoid getting muddy water splashed all over our backs. At least we have learned from experience.

Riding the Mason trail was a last-minute decision after seeing the detour sign on the Spring Creek Trail.  We were already near the downtown portion of Ft. Collins, so we both agreed to go in a different direction. It took us past many of the Colorado State University buildings and across quite a few railroad tracks.