September 27, 2014 Fort Collins - Dodge City, Kansas

After our return from Santa Fe and Grand Junction a few weeks ago, we had some repairs to take care of on the RV. A couple calls to the local RV repair shops were disappointing – the earliest openings were at the end of October! Well, that wasn’t going to work, so Tobey tried Tim, the mobile RV repair guy, and he came out a few days later. We think he found the source of our leak – one of the front running lights was cracked so he replaced that and recaulked around it, as well as recaulking another seam on the cab. Let’s hope that does it! He also made a couple adjustments to the slide control in the refrigerator, took the top vent off and cleaned out a wasp nest, then resealed that. Tobey and Tyler took the microwave completely out and put in a new screw/attachment system so it shouldn’t jiggle loose again. We are waiting for some parts for the water pump, but it works okay, it’s just noisy.

So with most major repairs finished, we are on the road again! We are heading to Camp Cheerio near Sparta, North Carolina, where I am going to a quilting retreat. We got started about 8:30 this morning.

It is amazing how diverse the Colorado landscape is! East of I-25 the area certainly earns its name “Eastern Plains!” It is flat with little vegetation other than some tall grasses. This summer’s rain and hail storms look like they took a toll on the corn crops, also. Most of the fields were only abut knee-high!

Driving through Kansas we passed several cattle feed lots – oh the smell of money! In today’s newspaper there was an article saying to expect meat prices to continue rising. Maybe we should stop and see if we could pickup some beef here!
There are also large wind farms from Ingalls, Kansas extending beyond Dodge City. We have been fighting the wind all day and the turbines were all turning, generating lots of electricity. We had passed a truck hauling one of the tower sections – they are huge!

Just west of Dodge City we stopped at one of the historical markers for the Santa Fe Trail Tracks. Through the years, rain and wind have eroded many of the ruts, so we had to guess where the trail actually went. We enjoyed reading the interpretative signs while imagining how difficult it was for the freight wagons carrying goods over the 900 mile trail. It took anywhere from six to ten weeks, traveling between 18-21 miles per day! And to think that Tobey and I drove 420 miles in about 8 hours today.

We made a brief stop in Dodge City, but arrived too late to visit Front Street, a recreated street from the 1870s. During the summer they have characters dressed in costumes and stage gun fights for the tourists. We walked around a bit and saw Dodge City’s “walk of fame” with stars in the sidewalk for all the TV stars of “Gunsmoke”.

We are camped just outside of Dodge City at a roadside park that allows overnight camping. There is a trucker here, as well, and Penny barked her head off at his Daschund puppy! The trucker was friendly and we visited a while.

We were treated to a beautiful Kansas sunset while Tobey grilled our dinner.

We’ll settle in for the night and get a fairly early start in the morning.

September 9, 2014 Rifle Falls to Fort Collins

It rained off and on all night, but it had stopped when we got up this morning. We took Penny for a walk on the Squirrel Trail which starts off through the tent camping area. It was very pretty – a bit muddy – but pretty. When we got back to the RV the rain started up again while we were having breakfast and showers, so luck was with us.

We had to stop at the Rifle Gap campground since there was no dump station at Rifle Falls campground. Once again, the rain almost stopped while we were dumping and started up as we finished. All to prove Tobey’s saying “you’ve gotta get lucky once in a while”.

We took the county road past Harvey Gap State Park and back into New Castle and onto I-70 eastbound for Denver. It was a beautiful drive, even through the road was quite narrow and winding. The clouds hung in the valleys and, of course, it rained.
Back on I-70, we were able to increase our speed from 25mph so we could make pretty good time. We stopped near Vail Pass Summit for lunch.

We were surprised at how many trees at the 10,000 foot elevation were starting to sport their fall golds and reds. It was beautiful.
Near Frisco and the Eisenhower Tunnel we had road construction slowdowns, but Tobey brought us safely through it. We arrived home with a list of repairs to the RV that will need to be attended to …. the microwave jiggling loose, the refrigerator temperature not holding, and the leak to the front of the RV onto the bed reappearing. I guess every journey has a price!

September 6, 7, and 8, 2014 Santa Fe, NM to Cedaredge, Colorado to Rifle Falls State Park

We headed out at 7am today for Cedaredge to see my nephew and his family. After crossing into Colorado, near Conejos, we spotted a sign for the “the oldest church in Colorado,” so we made a quick turn to check it out.

The original church was built in 1863, but destroyed by fire in 1926. This church constructed in 1927, with and addition in 1948, sits on the land of the original church. The sign was misleading, but the stop was interesting.

Back on the road, we booked on down Highway 285 heading north. From Saguach to Gunnison we passed through beautiful winding forest roads and entered into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison area. The Gunnison River is beautiful and opens up into the reservoir.

We met up with my nephew, Jeff, in Delta, CO before going in to Grand Junction to celebrate my great-niece’s 21st birthday and meet her new baby boy who was born on August 14. We had a great time at Liz and Ken’s (Dana’s Mom) and enjoyed a great barbeque dinner and birthday party. We had fun seeing great-niece Elizabeth, meeting her husband, Nick and their new baby, Cashtion. (Isn’t it always confusing trying to keep family sorted out?!!)

After dinner, cupcakes, and birthday presents were opened, Jeff and Dana’s son, Nathan, (my 5 year old great-nephew) rode back to Cedaredge with us in the RV. We had the best time and Nathan chattered the entire trip back!

We were beat and got parked for the night next door to Jeff and Dana. Sunday morning we had a shared breakfast before taking a long walk with Nathan and Penny. Nathan has quickly learned his way around his new town! He showed us where the horses and cows live and how to get to the “Go-Fer” gas station and convenience store! When we got back, we all hopped in their car and we got the complete tour including the lot where they are going to build their house and Nathan’s school. He was really excited to show us the playground equipment and where his kindergarten classroom is located. We headed into Delta and had Chinese food for lunch before returning to Cedaredge and afternoon rest time. Tobey took Nathan and Penny for another long walk before dinner. We barbequed and had fun sitting outside enjoying the beautiful Colorado evening.
Penny loved Nathan and they had fun playing ball in the yard before bedtime. She was the happiest dog getting to take several walks and he had a good time holding the leash. We said our goodnights and goodbyes about 7:30 so he had time for his bath and bedtime since he had school today and they get an early start in the morning.

9-8-2014

Tobey and I were up and on the road around 8:30, and heading north to I-70. We went back west so we could stop in Palisade at a winery then on to Rifle Falls State Park. I have wanted to camp here for a long time so we thought this would be a good opportunity to check it out. The campground is about 10 miles north of I-70 and the town of Rifle It is really pretty! This is our campsite.

We had lunch then took a hike to the falls and up to the falls overlook – about 2/3 mile round trip. The falls spill over a limestone cliff that geologists think may have formed in the waters of a beaver dam.

In 1910, the town of Rifle built the Rifle Hydroelectric Plant at the falls which changed the creek’s natural flow from one wide waterfall into three falls that are there today. We hiked to the overlook then back down.

There are several limestone caves in the cliffs under the falls including a 90-foot room!

The large room looked like they had carved out benches where they might give ranger talks, but we couldn’t see any signs about it. Penny did get a chance to swim a little, but the water was quite swift so it was good she was wearing a harness so we could “reel her in”!

We played cards and relaxed tonight. Maybe a small hike in the morning before we have to hit the road for home.

September 4-5, 2014 - Santa Fe, NM

We slept in today – 8 am! After showers and breakfast of pancakes, we took a small hike from the campground.

It was a loop trail – about 1.3 miles round trip. It was really beautiful, some elevation gain, but Penny had a great time checking things out.

We returned to our beautiful campsite after the hike, got things put away, and headed into town.

We stopped at a McDonalds to use their WIFI, then headed back north to the Buffalo Thunder Resort to wait for Christoph and his friends to arrive.The guys got here around 4pm, and we visited for a while before we all went back into town for dinner. We ate at Tomasita’s Mexican Restaurant, which is widely known in the area. It is definitely a touristy place and was pretty crowded. We had a great time with Christoph, Jonas, and Matt.

After dinner we came back to the hotel. Tobey and the boys went off to the casino, while Penny and I took a walk before settling down for the evening.

September 5, 2014

On Friday morning we met the boys about 10 am and headed into town to see the main Plaza area. The “El Palacio Real” or Govenor’s Palace is located on the north side of the Plaza. The fortress/castle was built by the order of the Spanish crown between 1610-1612. It has been the seat of government under three flags – Spanish, Mexican, and American and has been the residence of over 100 governors and generals between 1610 to 1910. It is supposed to be the oldest public building in the United States. It is quite modest to look at, but I love the architecture! Local artisans were set up on small blankets in the shade along the Palace, selling jewelry and pottery.
Today is also the start of the Fiesta, so several streets were blocked off, food and craft booths set up, and entertainment on the stage.

We had fun looking at the architecture and made a stop at the St. Francis Cathedral which was constructed around 1886. The building was quite beautiful, both inside and out.

Matt and Jonas tried snow cones for the first time, while Christoph had some mango juice, and Tobey and I shared a horchata. It was pretty good and reminded us of the horchata we had in Mexico.
We watched the procession in to the main stage and the beginning of the opening ceremonies, before heading out.

We took the boys back up to the Black Canyon National Forest to hike.

It was the same hike we had done yesterday – except we continued a little further up the trail instead of turning at the loop. It looked like there had been a lightening strike and fire in the upper portion of the hike. There were a few downed, burned trees, but it must have been caught early because there was very little damage in the area.

There were some nice views, but the trail ends, so we turned around and came back, making about a 2 mile hike which was just enough for everyone!
After an afternoon nap and brief rain storm, we went back into town and had dinner at the Santa Fe Bites. We all had burgers and malts, which were pretty yummy. We took another stroll through the Fiesta and back to the hotel. We all visited the casino, and the boys walked away winners.

After a fun two days together, we said our goodbyes. We will head to Grand Junction, CO in the morning to see our nephew and his family and the boys get back on Route 66 toward Gallup, New Mexico.

September 3, 2014 Fort Collins to Santa Fe, NM

One of our German exchange students, Christoph, is back in the U.S. with a couple of his friends driving Route 66 from Chicago to California. Since Santa Fe is only about 7 hours from Fort Collins, we decided to meet up with them for a couple days.

We headed out at 6 this morning and pushed through the Denver rush hour traffic – thank goodness for the HOV lane! We were able to get past some of the most congested areas without too much trouble. After a short stop in Colorado Springs for breakfast and refueling, we were back on the road. We headed west from Walsenburg on Hwy. 160, then turned south so we could go through Taos.
Neither of us have ever been to Taos, so we parked and took Penny for a walk through the historic district.

It is a fun place with lots of artist’s studios, but it would take much more time than we had to really explore. Another trip!

We had several elevation climbs and fought cross and head winds, which made our little RV strain, but we made it! As we got closer to Santa Fe we noticed how cloudy/hazy it was off to the west and decided it must be from a forest fire. We’ll have to check it out when we have internet!

As we headed south on Highway 84 we went past “Camel Rock” – not to be confused with Camelback Mountain in Phoenix! It really did look like a camel taking a break.

We are camped at Black Canyon National Forest tonight. It’s a beautiful campground set in a tall pine forest and it is only $10 a night! Once we got set up, we took Penny for a walk and she tried so hard to catch the chipmunks, with no success. There’s always tomorrow!

Early bedtime for us tonight after a long day. We will see see what adventures tomorrow brings.

July 11 - 13, 2014 - Jack’s Gulch Camping, Colorado

We took our maiden voyage of the year with the RV today and ventured about 50 miles up the Poudre Canyon.

We left home about 10 am and stopped at one of the first pullouts on Highway 14, Picnic Rock. Penny was anxious to get in the water to swim! The Poudre River is still running pretty high and fast with the winter snowmelt runoff, so we had her on a harness and leash. She couldn’t keep up trying to catch sticks, but she sure had fun trying. We did find a couple spots where she could play, so she was a happy dog! After drying her off and cleaning her muddy paws, we were back on the road.

We turned off on the Pingree Park Road and kept our eyes out for a spot to boondock (dispersed camping) in the Roosevelt National Forest. All along the 6 mile drive to Jack’s Gulch Campground we saw the charred remains from the 2012 High Park Fire. It was devastating.

The spot we wanted to park in already had a camper and horse trailer and most of the other “free” areas were not at all level, so we ended up in the campground. No problem – it isn’t full and the goal was to get away.

We settled into site 44 and the rain started coming down. We fixed lunch, ate, and as it happens in Colorado, the sun came back out. We took a walk and Penny had a fun time trying to catch the ground squirrels. Back to the RV for reading and naps. We played three games of gin rummy – Tobey is ahead, 2 to 1.

Tobey took Penny for another short walk and then got the grill going … and the rain started again. This time it poured! Tobey was the brave soul with the umbrella by the grill – but the pork chops were perfect. The weather forecast was for 50% chance of rain … and we will probably be lulled to sleep tonight with the drops falling on our roof. Hopefully we will get a hike in between the 60% chance of rain forecast tomorrow – and we hope that some of this rain is making its way to Fort Collins!

Well – we are definitely in Colorado! After dinner the rain stopped and the sun came back out, so we went for a walk around the campground before settling in for the night.

Saturday – July 12

We really slept in today – it was after 8 this morning before we got up! We made bacon and blueberry turnovers, then headed out for a hike. It wasn’t raining, but it was overcast, so we put on jeans and loaded the backpack with ponchos – just to be safe. We headed down Old Flowers Road and planned to follow it to the trailhead leading to Beaver Park. It wasn’t long before we were both shedding our jackets and wishing we had worn shorts!

Penny was having a great time and loved the the hike. She was out in front and always on the lookout for water. We spotted these bluebirds on the trail – they don’t look very blue just sitting there, but you could see the color when they flew.

Before we left Fort Collins, Tobey installed a “Map My Hike” app on his phone so we could tell how far we traveled. After almost two hours of hiking, we finally arrived at the trailhead that leads to Beaver Park – another 1.8 miles up! We started and I wimped out after having hiked 3.5 miles. If we continued to Beaver Park and retraced our steps, it was 10.3 miles round-trip. If we came back on the Beaver Creek trail it would have been over 12 miles. This being my first hike of the season, I wasn’t sure I could handle that far – especially with the mounting clouds. We turned around and headed back to camp. Near the trailhead is a memorial to the crew of a B-17 that crashed nearby during WWII. He have hiked to the crash site before – it is very interesting.

The wildflowers are blooming like crazy up here and it was really fun to see.

We were still smiling as we made our trek down the hill. I recently got a new waterproof camera which we took on the hike and it is easier to take “selfies” with!

We made it back to the RV about 1 pm and according to Tobey’s app, we hiked 7.03 miles, had elevation changes from 8264’ to 9000’, and burned 1450 calories. Fun. All three of us were tired and hungry, so we fixed lunch and even gave Penny a noon snack, then we ALL took naps! The rain started around 1:30 – and lasted for a couple hours – glad we chose not to go on or those ponchos would have had a good workout. This is a view from the RV window this afternoon!

After the rain stopped, there were huge puddles near the fire pit where we watched six little birds having a grand time taking a bath! They were in the water splashing around, then hopping on the picnic table to flutter their wings and dry off in the sun. It was humorous and entertaining to watch.

We decided we should take advantage of the lull between the storms and take another walk before fixing dinner. There is a nice trail that circles the campground then we walked the loops in the campground on the way back. Penny loves exploring!

We knew that the High Park fire in 2012 had come close to the campground, but we didn’t realize how close until we took this trail – it is just along the edge of the camp! This is one of the views looking back to the east. 

We made it back to our RV and we’re still smiling!

Tobey grilled burgers before the rain started again – now we are waiting for it to let up so we can put the grill away! Another successful day camping in Colorado.

Sunday – July 13

Another lazy morning – sleeping until 8 am! After pancakes and bacon, we packed up the RV and moved to the day-hike parking lot because we wanted to hike part of the Little Beaver Creek Trail. Penny seemed to know the way – we followed the Old Flowers Road for the first half mile – same as yesterday! She was having a ball.

The sun was shining so we wore shorts today and left the ponchos in the RV. After Leaving Old Flowers Road, we turned and headed into the Comanche Peak Wilderness area. It is a nice trail that winds in and out of the forest and follows the Little Beaver Creek. Penny could hear the creek and was beside herself trying to get close enough to swim! About 1-1/2 miles in, there is a wide spot with a log bridge across the creek. It is also a good spot for little dogs to enjoy the water!

She wasn’t happy about getting out, but we had ground to cover!

We passed more wildflowers in bloom – and lots of our beautiful state flower, the columbine. It was really beautiful!

A little over 3 miles in, we decided to head back to the RV for lunch. Penny wasn’t finished with the creek, so we let her get in a few times on the way back. We did pass one small beaver dam on the creek, but we didn’t see any beavers.

We ended up hiking 6.21 miles and had a great time – and no rain! We got home about 3:30 and unloaded and cleaned up the RV. Laundry is now in the washer and it’s back to the age-old question, “what’s for dinner?” Until next time, happy trails!