May 3 - 7

Friday, May 3:  Today is “Doctor Day” for Mike.  Sometime during our Texas crossing he got dust and grime in his eyes from all the wind.  His eyes got progressively worse and by the time we got to Clearwater he was miserable!  Both eyes were red, watery and itchy and he said they kind of hurt behind the eyeball.  Yikes!  Fortunately, my sister-in-law JoAnn has worked for an eye doctor for many years so we called her on Wednesday and asked her if she could get Mike in to see the doctor on Thursday afternoon or Friday.  Mike’s appointment was today at 2 PM so we hung around the RV until it was time to go.  When the doctor looked at Mike’s eyes she remarked he had “Angry Eyes!”  No kidding!  It was just an allergic reaction to all the dust so she prescribed him an eye drop to take that was both an anti-biotic (to prevent an infection) and a steroid to help soothe his eyes.  Soon after he started using the drops his eyes felt better. 

We were back at the coach by 5ish, walked the dog and got ready to go Rita and Seths’ for dinner.  I have known Rita for many years; she was one of my mentors when I was training to be a sign language interpreter.  We have worked together many times and have remained close over the years.  She and her husband, Seth, have been out to visit us in Colorado on a couple of occasions.  We always enjoy their company.  In my excitement of seeing them the only picture we have is of Seth, Mike and I.  Sorry, Rita! 

Seth, Mike and I

Saturday, May 4:  Graduation Day!  Today is the day our niece Brittany graduates from St. Petersburg College with a Physical Therapy Assistant degree.  The graduation was held at 10:00 AM at Tropicana Field (the Trop!) where the Devil Rays play baseball.  This is also the largest graduation class SPC has ever had, over 2,600 graduates this year!  Fortunately, only about 800 walked.  Whew, the reading of the names would have been for two days if all had walked! 

 The Trop

 Brittany and me

Brittany, her Mom JoAnn, JoAnn's husband Rick, Rick's Mom Juanita and me

After graduation we went back to the coach to have lunch and walk Jenny.  Poor dog has been cooped up in the motor home a lot lately.  I’m sure she is chomping at the bit to get back to her 30 acres of freedom in Colorado!  JoAnn, Brittany’s Mom was hosting an open house from 3-5 PM today and we went over to visit with the rest of the family and to enjoy the delicious treats everyone had prepared.  It was great to see JoAnn’s family again.  By the time we got back to the coach we were exhausted and our tummies were full.  What a great day!! 

Sunday, May 5:  We enjoyed a leisurely morning, had lunch, took a nap and then went over to the beach to visit Mike & Chuck.  They have been out to see us several times in Colorado and we try to see them when we get to Florida.  The traffic to be beach was horrendous so we took an alternate route over a bridge that is not used as much as the main bridge to Clearwater Beach.  Traffic hasn’t gotten any better in Pinellas County!  They have just returned from an 80 day trip mostly on a cruise ship.  No grass grows under the feet of these two men in their 70’s!  We sat around Mike’s condo and caught up on each other’s trips.  I had forgotten what a beautiful view he has of the intra-coastal waterway and the mainland.  We couldn’t have asked for more gorgeous day, bright blue sky and perfect temps in the mid 70’s. 

One of our favorite restaurants on the beach is “TJ’s” which we frequented a lot when we lived there.  Mike and Chuck took us to TJ’s for dinner that evening.  We enjoyed our Ahi Tuna appetizer and the rest of the meal, too.  Ahh, another great evening! 

Mike, Mike & Chuck here

Monday, May 6:  I did two loads of laundry in the coach and two loads in the park Laundromat.  It was a productive morning!  It was also an interesting morning.  While Mike was walking Jenny in the dog walk area of the park he found a yellow cockatiel on the ground next to a big tree.  It was very tame and full flight feathers but seemed to be exhausted.  We guessed it might have “escaped” from its’ cage and after flying for awhile just needed to rest.  Mike walked around the park with it hoping someone would claim it but no one did.  He took it to the office and the woman there said she would find a home for it. 

Today we are visiting with Mike & Barb Hennessy, another couple who have been out to visit us in Colorado on several occasions.  Barb and I have worked at almost all the same places at the same time.  Our paths are intertwined.  They live in Largo about a stone’s throw (hey, that would be a great name for an RV Park!) away from our old house in Clearwater.  Between our two houses was a large tract of land, 150+ acres that was donated to Pinellas County and has been turned into a big park.  It’s named Eagle Lake Park because of the nesting pair of eagles that raised several clutches of eaglets on that land.  After visiting with Mike & Barb the four of us went over to the park and walked a couple of miles.  It was great for Jenny, she really needed the exercise and so did we! 

After our walk and more visiting at Mike & Barb’s house we went to dinner at Rumba’s Bar & Grill, a seafood restaurant not far from their house.  We have been trying to eat as much seafood as possible on this trip and so far this has been the best meal we’ve had out at a restaurant!  Sorry, TJ…  The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxed and the company was wonderful.  Alas, we had to say our goodbyes and head back to the RV.  I’m glad we got to see Mike & Barb again!

Me, Mike, Mike & Barb

Tuesday, May 7:  At Brittany’s graduation I had an opportunity to speak with the two interpreters, Crystal and Irma who were “working” the graduation.  Crystal was a former student of mine and it made me so proud to see how skilled she has become as an interpreter.  I made plans to stop by SPC to visit them on Tuesday morning and maybe to see any other staff that might still be around.  This was their spring break week so most of the staff and faculty and gone away for the week.  I got to see Cynthia, Irma and Marika and to see the new building at SPC, my old Alma Mater. 

We planned to have lunch with our nieces Brittany and her sister Crystal and also their mom, Joann today.  They wanted to ‘show off’ how downtown St. Petersburg has been revitalized.  We met them at Joann’s office downtown around noon and drove to a restaurant called “The Avenue” on 1^st Avenue South.  They had yummy burgers and “sliders” on the menu.  They also had tater tots which I am quite fond of and these were Cajun style with just enough spice to make them tasty! 

Crystal, Brittany, Mike, me and JoAnn

When we finished lunch we walked around downtown St. Pete which is on Tampa Bay.  The weather was perfect once again, bright blue sky and perfect temps in the 70’s plus the humidity was very low.  We walked along the marina and had gelato at one of the shops, yummy!  By mid afternoon we had to say our goodbyes and head back to the coach to take care of Jenny.  It was a great day with family!

Pics of downtown St. Pete

This evening we were to go back to downtown St. Pete and have dinner with Carol Downing, another interpreter friend of mine.  We have worked together many times and have been teachers at St. Pete College in the Sign Language Interpretation Program.  She has also been out to visit us in Colorado.  When we arrived at her door there was a sign on it welcoming us to her home. 

Cool sign!!

On our trip last summer as we were driving through downtown Denver I saw a sign that said Downing Street and took a picture of it for our blog.  She copied it from the blog and made the sign.  How cool is that!  Even cooler are the views from her condo.  There is a park between her and the beach that is all green and even has a palm arboretum.  We could sit for hours watching the world go by and sipping wine.  Carol prepared a wonderful meal Asian style with a pork loin, noodles and a delicious salad.  Carol’s brother David, who lives in the same condo complex, dropped by and joined us for dinner.  Dessert was two flavors of gelato which I am really becoming addicted to!  Again, in my excitement of seeing Carol we didn’t get any pictures!  Dang it!!  The iPhone is right there in my pocket and I didn’t even use it!! 

 The setting sun on the palms is beautiful!

Palm Arboretum

Of course it was another great evening with Carol and David, they both know how to tell a story and do they have a lot of stories of growing up in a large family!  Their camping stories are the best.  Thanks for great evening, Carol!

May 1 & 2

Wednesday, May 1:  What a soggy morning, there’s standing water everywhere, not a dry place to connect the car so we waded around the RV and prepared to leave.  It’s a beautiful drive through Louisiana and Mississippi with water everywhere in the form of lakes, rivers, bayous and swamps. 

Around lunch time we found a rest area in the middle of all that water for lunch and to walk the dog.  After lunch when I started the RV the check engine light came on.  My first thought was to go check to see if the engine was still there.  Ha-ha.  What the heck does “check engine” mean?  It could mean a lot of things so we ran down the list of possibilities and ruled most of them out.  We are in the middle of nowhere so the chance of getting service quickly was slim.  I put the RV in gear and started off and thankfully the “check engine” light went out.  I’m hoping it was just a fluke thing and would not reappear later to haunt us.

 

Today was a long day, over 7 hours behind the wheel and a little over 350 miles total driving.  Our destination was an RV Park in Lamont, FL at the intersection of I-10 and US Hwy 19.  We got there a little before 5 PM and set up in a light drizzle.  The name of the park is “A Stone’s Throw” because it is a stone’s throw from I-10 and from US 19.  It’s built on a slight grade so when I leveled the coach the back end was so high off the ground it looked like the tow bar was almost vertical!  Wine under the awning again…

Thursday, May 2:  We awoke to more rain and were not surprised.  Yes, I know, the rain is what keeps the southeast states so green but does it have to rain so much.  Did that sound like I was whining?  The drive on US 19 south, otherwise known as the Florida-Georgia Parkway, was beautiful with big patches of blue sky in between the rain drizzles.  We stopped for fuel in Spring Hill at a Chevron station that had diesel pump off to the side making it easier for me to get in and out of.  After fueling we parked in a big vacant area and had lunch then got back on the road.  From Spring Hill south US 19 is very busy because the communities along this highway have grown so much and this area is also a snowbird destination.  We decided to cut over to another north-south road to avoid the heavy traffic of US 19.  Our alternative route took us through a few residential areas which was fine, at least the traffic was better. 

We rolled into the Clearwater Travel RV Resort about 2:30 and got our site.  Wouldn’t you know, there was a tree at our site and it would be on the south side of the coach blocking the satellite dish!  Mike went back over to the office and the woman behind the counter gave him 4 other sites to choose from.  We picked one with no trees and quickly set up the RV.  I wanted to get over to see my friend Chris Wagner at his office in downtown Clearwater before he left for the day.  Chris is the director of a video phone relay company and is also the president of the National Association of the Deaf.  I've know he and his wife, Staci, since they moved to the Clearwater area back in the ‘90’s.  We have worked together on several occasions mostly when he was teaching at St. Petersburg College where I would be his “voice” in the classroom while he signed to the students.  We worked well together and have been friends ever since. 

Downtown Clearwater has changed a lot since I was here the last time.  I found the office and actually found a place to park!  Once inside I connected with my interpreter friend Rita who works as a staff interpreter.  Luckily, Chris’ wife Staci was on a video phone call with an employee and I was able to “chat” with her for a bit.  Chris came along and we had a big happy reunion!  Whew!  I remembered how to sign!  I stumbled a few times but my friend Rita assisted so all went well. 

We had a great visit and after hugs and goodbyes I headed back to the coach.  Mike and I were going to my sister-in-laws house to have pizza with them and my niece.  On the drive to her new house in Seminole we noticed it was a familiar neighborhood.  Our friends, Ron & Karey, used to live on the same block!  They no longer live there but it was nice to see their old house and to see the new house of my sister-in-law JoAnn.  The new house is very nice and much larger than the house she lived in before.  Her husband, Rick, went and picked up pizza for us.  JoAnn was getting her hair done and joined us, I can’t believe we yakked until almost 10:00 PM!  It was great catching up with them but we finally tore ourselves away and went back to the coach and crashed!

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the new house or of anyone during this visit or of the visit with Chris at his office; I guess I was just so excited about seeing them I didn't even think about pictures.  Dang!!  I did get a few pictures of the site at the Clearwater RV Resort.

That tree in the background is at the first site we were supposed to be in.  

                             A morning visitor!                                                   The cats were intrigued....

April 23 to April 30

Tuesday, April 23:  Last Friday was supposed to be my last day at work but as always, it didn’t work out like it was supposed to.  I kept remembering things I needed to finish before we left for two months, so I worked Monday and a little bit this morning.  I got back to the RV about 10 and Mike had just about everything ready for us to hit the road.  I loaded the bikes on the back of the Honda and we were ready to go!  We pulled out of our sight and backed up along the street to connect the Honda to the RV.  As I stepped out of the RV I noticed our steps were already out.  They should have retracted when I started the RV and automatically came out when I opened the door.  Crap!!  I did what I do best; I called Colin the RV repair guy immediately.  We have given him a lot of work during the 5 years we have been staying in Tucson and he has been very good to us.  He said he could be there in about 30 minutes.  It was already 11:00 so Mike made sandwiches and put them in the refrigerator to eat later.  We knew that once Colin fixed the steps we would have to hit the road and keep going in order to make it to Las Cruces, NM by “wine time.” 

Colin got there by 11:20 and with two taps of his hammer on the step motor we were back in business!  We had tried that on his suggestion but evidently we weren’t hitting the motor in the “right” spot!  Anyway, we were on the road again.  Goodbye, Tucson!

           

A beautiful Tucson sunset...

The drive to Las Cruces was fairly uneventful which we were grateful for.  My strength and stamina are slowly returning to normal after the treatments.  I still tire easily and run out of steam by late afternoon.  So this drive was a test to see how well I would do on the whole trip.  Since it was interstate highway all the way to Las Cruces I let Mikey drive for about an hour while I took a nap.  Wow, did I nap!  Out like a light and didn’t wake up for 40 minutes!  After the nap I was quite refreshed and drove on to Las Cruces to the Siesta RV Park.  Nice little park, only about 40 usable sites and a real dust bowl.  And the wind was horrendous!  We had to have “wine time” inside because the sand from the wind made everything gritty. 

Wednesday, April 24:  Our first full day in Las Cruces we walked into the old town of Mesilla which was only about a half mile away.  150 years ago Mesilla was a booming town on the Butterfield Stage Coach line.  It was also where Billy the Kid stood trial for murder.  There are several shops and restaurants around the central plaza.  We walked quite a bit then had to go back to the coach for a nap!  All this “not working” is wearing me out!!  After our nap we went for a drive to explore the town of Las Cruces.  I noticed the Rio Grande River went through Las Cruces so we drove over to a park on the river.  As you can see in the pictures, the river is kind of dry.  I loved the sign that said, “No Swimming!”  

Later that evening we walked back into Mesilla and had a beer at El Patio and then went over to La Posta for dinner.  The food was excellent and the building is an historical landmark.  After dinner we headed back to the coach for a relaxing evening and to catch up on our TV programs.  And for those of you wondering about our satellite dish, yes, we had to change sites at this RV Park in order for the satellite dish to work.  The manager put us in a site next to a tree and wouldn’t you know it, the tree blocked the dish!  We moved over two spots to a site where the tree was smaller.  It was a windy night so it was “awnings in” and hang on!

 A variety of pictures from Las Cruces…

Thursday, April 25:  We were on the road by 9:30 today, our usual start time, and had lunch at the Subway inside the gas station in Sierra Blanca, TX.  After lunch we noticed a lot of RV’s on the road heading east like us.  As 3:00 neared we realized that many of these RV’s were probably going to stop for the night in Fort Stockton, like us.  Hmm.  I had set the cruise control to 2,000 RPM’s which is between 66 and 68 mph.  I bumped it up a bit and cruised along between 68 and 70 mph, passing a few more RV’s along the way.  Fort Stockton is in the middle of nowhere right off the interstate.  We got there about 3:30 in the afternoon and checked in.  We no sooner got to our site then the barrage of RV’s we passed on the highway started showing up!  Mike said the woman behind the counter at the RV Park mentioned she had 12 more checking in today.  Whew, we made it just in time! 

      No rain yet…

This RV Park has a restaurant on site with country fried steak on the menu.  I’m a sucker for country fried steak so we had dinner at the Roadrunner Café.  When we walked in the place was almost full but we found a table and sat down.  As we were sitting down I noticed a familiar face smiling and walking towards us!  It was Dawn Stephenson from Tucson!  She and her husband Duane were among the RV’s we passed on the highway.  They were on their way to Duane’s high school reunion in Indiana I believe.  We had a nice visit with them and a pretty good meal, too!  We also endured another windy night in Texas.  “Awnings in!”

            Duane and Dawn and me….

Friday, April 26:  This morning as we were preparing to leave I couldn't get the “jacks down” light to go out on the dash.  The jacks came up but the light wouldn't go out.  When it doesn't go out and you put the RV in gear you hear a warning beep, beep, beep.  It was very annoying.  We put the jacks back down and brought them up again but that didn't help.  Since the jacks were up we decided to go ahead and leave.  We made it out to the main road heading into the park and stopped.  I put the jacks down, Mike cleaned and lubed them then I brought them back up.  The light stayed on.  AAARRGGHHHH!!   Duane and Dawn pulled up beside us and offered assistance but I told them we were ok, just going to travel down the road with the beeping sound.  Sigh.  We prepared the RV for travel and took off.  Wouldn't you know it, the dang light went out and the beeping stopped.  We haven’t a problem with the jacks since!  Sheesh!  As we passed Dawn and Duane on the highway we gave the OK sign and thumbs up. 

We parked for the night at the Roadrunner RV Park in Johnson City, TX, home of Lyndon B. Johnson.  The park is right off the highway but is next door to a supermarket and a Dollar General and we visited both!  It has been raining on us constantly through Texas so we have to put the awning out to have our wine outside in the evenings.  The temperature has been OK, warm and humid but the constant rain has been a pain. 

Saturday, April 27:  We awoke to more rain drizzle and after our normal morning routine we were on the road by 9ish.  The last two stops have been for one night each and we were both growing weary of the “one night stands.”  Mike changed the next two reservations to two nights each which gives us a little bit of a break and a chance to explore the town and surrounding community. 

The stop for the night was in Beaumont, Texas at the Gulf Shores RV Resort.  This is a nice place with paved interior streets, concrete sites and lots of green grass!  They also have a free breakfast every morning featuring waffles, biscuits and gravy, bagels, donuts, fresh fruit and a variety of cereals.  It is not a 55+ park so there were a lot of kids when we arrived but by Sunday afternoon it was quiet.  I also think because we used the Passport America discount card they put us next to a transformer on purpose.  There were many empty sites away from the transformer and I started to go ask but decided it wasn't worth it, we’re only going to be here for two nights and the humming was kind of soothing. 

    The dish is up!

Sunday, April 28:  After a leisurely morning we took a ride to explore the town.  Of course we found a Wal-Mart and just had to go in for few things.  Then it was back to the coach for lunch and a nap.  Dinner that evening was at Floyd’s Restaurant where the specialty was seafood!!  I had been craving fried catfish and Mike wanted hush puppies, both were on the menu and we pigged out!  We also had oysters on the half shell and they were delicious!  Since the cancer diagnosis I had not been “allowed” to eat sushi or anything rare so the oysters were a real treat!  

Monday, April 29:  Today we leave Texas after five days and four nights of slugging through rain and wind!  Our first stop outside of Texas was to get fuel and to meet up with our friend Darrell.  Darrell was on his way back to Houston after attending a memorial service for his father in Florida.  We got fuel at a Truck Stop at exit 4, Mike coordinated with Darrell to meet us at there and lo and behold when we pulled in there was Darrell putting fuel in his car! 

Our destination today is an RV park in in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi along the Gulf Coast.  This was part of the area hit by Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans.  Katrina wiped out the beach communities of Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Biloxi.  The park we are staying in is called Bay Hide Away and is inland about a mile from the Gulf.  Nice little park but water everywhere!  We set up in the rain, again, and put the awning out to have our evening wine.  The elevation here is about 17 feet above sea level so the rain has nowhere to go so it just pools in low areas.  There is not even enough sunshine for evaporation to take place!  We are so thankful we had the carpet pulled from the coach and vinyl flooring put in this past winter.  What a difference it makes in a damp and humid climate. 

 Dish is up, wine is in hand, all is well... except for all the water!!

Tuesday, April 30:  We drove from Bay St. Louis up the coast to just before Pascagoula and were awed by the vacant land.  You could see where the homes used to sit on these beautiful pieces of gulf front property.  Sometimes you would see red brick steps leading up to nothing or a slab or poles where a house used to sit.  Strangely enough, most of the vacant sites were still being taken care of and looked very nice.  Many of the buildings along the coast had been rebuilt and looked quite sturdy.  There was even a new Catholic Church up on brick stilts! 

I had been using a “thing” the eye doctor gives you to put inside your glasses after you’ve had your eyes dilated to help with the glare while driving the coach.  It had become scratched and I wanted to find a new one so we stopped at Wal-Mart to see if I could purchase one from the vision counter.  Instead, the clerk talked me into purchasing a pair of clip-on’s for my glasses that are polarized to really reduce the glare.  My glasses have transition lenses and darken nicely outside but are useless in a vehicle.  The clip-on shades are very helpful.  I also asked where we could get a good grouper sandwich and the clerk suggested “Steve’s Marina Restaurant” in Ocean Springs.  We decided to give it a try and we’re glad we did, the food was delicious and the view was amazing!  We shared a Mahi-mahi sandwich (no grouper, dang it) and stuffed fried green tomato.  Needless to say, dinner that night was wine and snacks cuz we were still full from lunch. 

Check out the Stuffed Fried Green Tomato, it was yummy!

Stay tuned for more...

Summer 2013, Prologue

Summer 2013 Travel Blog

Prologue:  First, let me fill in the gap(s) since my last blog posting of August 15, 2012.  A lot has happened this past winter and I am going to try and recap it in less than two paragraphs. 

Here goes… 

Our summer trip last year ended August 15 when we rolled into Dolores, Colorado and parked in our driveway once again.  Since our house is still rented we were only going to be there for a short time.  We stayed about a week then I headed for Tucson and Mike stayed with friends, or as I like to tease him, he “slept around.”  He stayed at our house in the guest bedroom downstairs for a couple of days (Thank you, Kathy!), he stayed with Lee in Cortez for a couple of days and he stayed with Mike & Marie in Dolores for several days.  He joined me in Tucson on September 10, one day earlier than the year before. 

The 2012/2013 winter season was a different kind of season at Far Horizons RV Resort in Tucson.  It was unusually cold most of the season so “patio parties” were few and far between or were very cold, the flu and colds ran rampant throughout the resort and I was diagnosed with anal cancer.  Fortunately, it was caught early and the team at the Univ. of AZ Medical Center took very good care of me even if they did try to “kill” me with the treatments!!   I have now experienced 27 radiation treatments and two rounds of 96 hour chemo treatments first hand and I hope I NEVER have to go through that again!  The prognosis is excellent and the doctors are so confident they got it all that my port for the chemo infusions was removed on April 8, my niece Brittany’s birthday.  I have to give special recognition to my loving spouse Mike, or as I learned to call him, Nurse Ratchett, for making sure I followed doctors orders and didn't over do it.  Interestingly enough, while everyone else in the resort was sick Mike and I did not catch even a slight cold!  That’s what quarantine will do for you!  Thank you Mike for helping me cope with my “social isolation.”  It was a tough season.

This is a pic of Cassie (on the left) and Danielle (on the right), my Radiology Techs.  They helped me get through all 27 treatments.  Cassie has a special place in my heart...

Prologue, part 2:  I picked the date of April 23 at random to leave Tucson.  Not sure why, I guess it was a birthday present for Doris V. and Lasell B.  The plan was to visit family and friends in the SE states where we are from.  This includes Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Texas.  FL & GA would be my family, AL is where Mike’s family lives and our friends Darrell & Frank live in Houston, TX.  We also wanted to check out South Padre Island in Texas since we have heard so much about it.  In total we would be on the road for about two months, returning to Tucson on June 21 or 22.  I have follow up doctor appointments and a PET/CT scan scheduled for the last week of June.  After that we will go home to Colorado for the rest of the summer and fall. 

Mike had been working diligently on our itinerary during the winter and had it mapped out to go to Houston, South Padre Island, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama and then return to Tucson.  Two things changed our plans, our friend Darrell in Houston was going to Florida the same dates we were to visit him and we got the word my niece would be graduating from the Physical Therapy Assistant program at St. Petersburg College on Saturday, May 4^th.  Mike easily adjusted our itinerary to go to Florida first then GA, AL and then Houston before going to South Padre.  And as all things in life are fluid so are our plans for this trip.  We have now decided to skip South Padre and head back to Tucson after stopping in Houston and then in Dallas to see Ann & Evan.  Shh, we haven’t told them we’re coming for a visit yet.  

HOME!! Dolores, CO

Saturday, August 11.  Needless to say, we were both up early and ready to hit the road by 8:00 AM this morning.  I think this was record time for us.  Even Jenny was ready!

I was concerned about the motor home overheating going over the Dallas Divide, climbing into and out of Telluride and also Lizard Head Pass.  I was worried for nothing!  The motor home did great, none of those passes are as steep or as high as Monarch Pass.

Here are pictures I took of Lizard Head Pass when we reached the top.  Aww, home...

We pulled into our driveway about lunch time on Saturday.  We'll be here until I leave on Monday the 20th to head to Tucson, Mike will stay with friends until after labor day and then join me in Tucson.

That's it for now.  I hope you have enjoyed our travels as much as we have.  Until next trip...

Salida, CO/Ridgway, CO

Tuesday, August 7.  We left Chatfield State Park and headed towards Salida.  Hwy 285 is a beautiful drive from the Denver area over the mountains and through some very pretty valleys.  The weather was perfect so we didn't have to run the a/c in the coach.  Mike had made us reservations at a Passport America park in the town of Howard about 10 miles east of Salida on Hwy 50.  It is on the Arkansas river but because we waited so late to make our reservation we had to take a site that didn't have a river view.  That's ok, $14 a night is not bad for full hookups and wifi!  Besides, it was an easy walk to the river.  Here are pictures of our site and the river deck where we enjoyed our wine.

Wednesday, August 8.  We both wanted to explore Salida so we drove into town and stopped at the Visitor Center and got some information about local hiking trails.  The town is cute, about the size of Cortez but is on the Arkansas river.  The woman at the V.C. suggested a hike that was on the way back to the campground so we drove to the trail head and had a nice walk with Jenny.

Thursday, August 9.  Today we drove from Salida to Ridgway via Hwy 50 over the Monarch Pass.  I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Monarch Pass but it is one of the longest and highest passes in Colorado at 11,200 +/- feet.  We've been over it before and knew what to expect but even so, it was still a pain.  The diesel engine really does a good job in the mountains but this pass is a real challenge.  About half way up the engine started overheating and then the transmission light started flickering which means the trans. is struggling.  I had to pull over to the side of the road twice to let the engine and transmission cool off.  We finally made it to the top and I thought, whew, the worst is over.  Wrong!  Going down is rough on the brakes and the transmission because of the steep grade and how far you have to go.  This time my brakes started to over heat even though I was using the exhaust brake and also had downshifted as low as I could go without stressing the transmission.  Again, I had to pull over a couple of times to let the brakes and the transmission cool off.  I hope that's the last time we have to go over Monarch Pass for a while!!

We made it to Ridgway State Park, Dutch Charlie Campground and got set up in time for cocktail hour.  Now that we're back in pinon/juniper country I don't have to worry too much about trees blocking the satellite dish.  This campground is on a ridge overlooking a reservoir that is very low because of the drought. It's pretty sad, same thing with the Blue Mesa, we couldn't believe how low it was when we drove by.  Here are a couple pics of our campsite at Dutch Charlie.

We had some pretty good storms while we were here, thankfully we have the drugs for Jenny now so we can keep her calm.

Friday, August 10.  There are some awesome hot springs in Ridgway that we have been to before so that's where we went today.  We had a nice long soak at Orvis and then came back to the RV and chilled out.  We took Jenny for a walk and had a nap.  Such a rough day...  We're both excited about returning home tomorrow, we've been on the road 3 months and 1 week.  That's a long time!  8,500 miles!!  Whew!

Littleton, CO

Saturday, August 4.  Our friend Fred came down from Lone Tree to visit us while we were in the Walmart parking lot at Castle Rock.  We had a great visit and made plans to go to his house on Sunday after we checked in at Chatfield State Park.  Mike took this picture of the sunset we had this evening. 

(Castle Rock sunset)

Sunday, August 5.  We awoke to a beautiful morning in the Walmart parking lot and watched the coming and going of Walmart employees.  Our reservation confirmation said we could check in at noon so we had breakfast and prepared the coach for take-off!  Hmm, how do we get out of the parking lot?  The route out I was going to use was now blocked by a big pickup truck.  The only other option was to try and squeeze through the curb openings and circle around another parking area and then head out.  Whew!  We did it!  That’s one of the issues when you stay in a parking lot, you can’t always depend on having the same empty parking spaces when you are ready to leave. 

We drove over to Chatfield State Park and parked at the High Line Canal trailhead where we had lunch on Saturday.  Since it was only 8:45 in the morning and we can’t check in until noon we took Jenny for a walk.  Mike calculated we walked about 3.5 miles round trip.  Jenny was tired when we got back to the trailhead and took a nap in the shade at the gazebo.  The gazebo is to the left of the port-a-potty. 

(Chatfield, waiting to enter)

We had an early lunch and by 11:45 were ready to go into the park.  A lot of RV’s had already come out and a few had started going in so we figured it would be ok.  We checked in and were set up by 1 PM.  Here is our site, no trees to block the dish!

(Chatfield, site #182)

After showers and drugging the dog we headed to Fred’s house.  It looked like it might rain so we gave Jenny her meds to keep her calm in the coach.  Fred had purchased tickets for the show, “Jersey Boys” for this evening as an anniversary/wedding gift for us.  We treated him to dinner at Pasta Jay’s, one of our favorite places to eat, and then went to the theater.  The show was absolutely incredible!  It is the story of how the Four Seasons came together and how Frankie Valli started with them when he was just 16 years old.  Here is a picture of Fred and Mike in the theater lobby. 

(Fred & Mike at Jersey Boys, I took the picture)

The actors did a great job of singing almost all of the Four Seasons hits.  I can’t think of any songs they missed.  Here is a list of the songs from the show. 

(Jersey Boys music)

During the show it was explained how some of the songs developed from events that took place in one or more of their lives.  It was quite moving and funny, too.  I won’t give away too much, but the song “Oh What A Night!” does have significant meaning to Bob Gaudio, the songwriting member of the group. 

Monday, August 6.  There were threats of storms this afternoon and we wanted to be at the RV with Jenny if they happened so we went to Fred’s house late morning.   He took us downtown again to have lunch at Steuben’s Restaurant which was featured on “Diner’s, Drive-in’s & Dive’s.”   Steuben’s building was once a gas station and garage I believe.  It was busy when we got there at 11:55 so we had to sit outside in the patio area.  Thankfully, they had fans but it was still hot.  The food was delicious, I had an iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing and bacon bits, Mike had a Greek salad and we shared an order of chicken wings and Fred had a green chili burger.  It was a wonderful dining experience! 

(Steuben’s restaurant)

On the way into the Denver area on Saturday the interstate passed under a road by the name of “Downing” which made me think of our friend Carol in St. Petersburg.  On the way to Steuben’s on Monday we drove on Downing Street for a while.  I miss you, Carol!!

(Downing Street)

A new museum recently opened in Denver called the History Colorado Museum and is just what it says, a museum of the history of Colorado.  We walked over to it after having lunch at Steuben's.  The museum is very interactive, a great place for kids and adults, too!  It is two floors and takes a while to see all of the exhibits.  You can step into a mine elevator and get the "feel" of being lowered into the ground or you can stand in a pair of ski's and "experience" a ski jump.  These are just a couple of the interactive exhibits.  

After the museum Fred treated us to ice cream at a place near his home and then we had to say our goodbyes.  Thank you, Fred, for making our anniversary one of the best ever!!