Roller Derby in “The Fort”

Last week Tobey saw an ad in the paper for a roller derby match and he decided we should go. We had seen the movie, Whip It, with Drew Barrymore, but it did nothing to prepares us for what roller derby in Fort Collins would be.

We arrived early at the Qdoba Events Center in Fort Collins because we had been told it would be a packed house. Not so much … Unlike the raised track with rails around it as seen in the movie, this track was a flat track marked with fluorescent pink tape on the floor. PVH arrived with an ambulance and two paramedics – just in case.

At 7pm we were treated to a junior division exhibition match. These little girls were somewhere between 7 and 10 years old and were quite the skaters! Like the movie, all of the skaters had their special monikers which they went by. Mega Drama, pictured above, was a “jammer,” or one of the skaters who could score points. She had her entire family there to cheer her on – Drama Mama, Drama Daddy, Drama Sista, Drama Grammy, (all wearing tee shirts with their names on them. The other team had better blockers, so Mega Drama’s team ended up losing. The main event, the competition between the Fort Collins’ nationally ranked travel team, the Micro Bruisers (in blue) , facing off against the Castle Rock ‘N Rollers Greatest Hits began shortly after the Juniors.  With “jammers” like “Slim Skatey” and “98 Pounds of Steel",  and blockers, “Inner Demon” and “Battle C Portman”, the Micro Bruisers were off to a fast start which never let up. Try as they might, the Castle Rock ‘n Rollers could not get past the Micro Bruisers and lost 212 to 49!

Following a competition of high school aged skaters, the second official matchup was between the Fort Collins Punchy Brewsters and the Boulder County Bombers. The Bombers had the clear advantage at the beginning of the match with their awesome jammer, “Faelust” finding her way through the Brewsters blockers. At 10pm, we decided we could officially cross “attend a roller derby” off our bucket list and headed home.

Watch the trailer of “Whip It”  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172233/

Last Camping Trip of the Season

We have taken our last RV camping trip for the year. Two weeks ago we went to Mountain Park in the Poudre River Canyon, with our good friends, Ann and Gary. After a rainy start early on Friday afternoon, the sky cleared and we had a fantastic weekend. We had planned to hike the Mount McConnel /Kreutzer Nature Trail on Saturday, but it was still closed while the forest service was working to repair damage from the High Park Fire this summer. Instead, we walked our dogs all around the campground several times, then let Penny swim in the Poudre River. She had a blast!
We spent most of the afternoon sitting in the sun, playing cards and dominos. It was tough duty. We had fun watching the Stellar jays flit from tree to tree, and from limb to land, looking for any scraps of food that might have been dropped near the camp area. Later, we broke out the adult beverages and hor d'oeuvres before preparing dinner.

As the sun went down, Gary built a great campfire and brought out some ice cream for dessert. We shared stories by the fire while enjoying a great view of the stars.

On Sunday morning we intended to take Gary’s truck and drive further up the Canyon to an open trailhead for hiking. As we headed out of the campground, we noticed the McConnel trail was open, so we changed plans and decided to stay at Mountain Park and check it out.

Much of the 2.1 mile trail was quite slippery with loose gravel and pine needles. It was evident where there had been mudslides which required the forest service to eke out the trail and many areas where they cut down the burned trees to ensure hikers’ safety.

It was good to see lots of green still in the area, and it was encouraging to see new growth peeking up under the trees.

The High Park fire burned over 87,000 acres of land and it will be years before the area is restored to its previous beauty, but we still love camping here. This won’t be our last trip!

As September is coming to a close, the weather is starting to cool down and the winterization of the RV is almost complete. Tobey still needs to change the oil in the generator and repair the damaged solar panel while I finish cleaning and putting things away. I guess it’s time to start planning for next year!

High Park fire info: http://inciweb.org/incident/2904/

Mountain Park: http://campincolorado.com/federal/arapaho_roosevelt_nf/mountain_park/mountain_park.html

McConnel/Kreutzer Trail info: ttp://poudrewildernessvolunteers.org/trails/lower-poudre-canyon/16-mt-mcconnel-trail-kreutzer-nature-trail#description

Labor Day Weekend - Fort Collins

Tobey and I did not travel far this Labor Day weekend, opting instead to enjoy some of the activities in and around our area. Saturday morning we rode our bikes to watch the Tour de Fat parade, sponsored by New Belgium Brewing. The Tour de Fat parade attracts 20,000+ participants and raises money for Overland Mountain Bike Club, Bike Fort Collins and Fort Collins Bike Co-op.

We found a prime section of grass with shade to watch along Mountain Avenue. The parade, according to the New Belgium website, is “ is a thrilling rite of passage that includes an unparalleled costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, eccentric entertainment, local food, unusual bike contests and much more. “

We chose to partake in watching the 2-hour parade!



We even saw a couple guys from our Lions Club riding in the parade.

It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Some interesting comments from parade participants which we overheard included one from a college-aged young man saying he should have learned how to ride a bide before today! Another joked that the parade was a lot like a cross between Halloween and Mardi Gras.

After the parade we pedaled home to watch the Rocky Mountain Showdown – the CSU vs. CU football game. We had the opportunity to go to the game in Denver, but opted for the TV version instead so we didn’t have to miss the parade. It has always been fun to watch the game, but when our son went to CU Boulder, a new dimension of competition was added. (I graduated from CSU.) Saturday’s game was exciting for us. CSU scored first (field goal), but was answered by TWO CU touchdowns.

Tyler and Katie went to the game, so we did a little texting after each score … trying not to be too mean. CU’s quarterback appeared to be injured in the second half – probably from being sacked five times. CSU’s defense was the best we have seen in years! Anyway, CSU prevailed and won the game 22-17. I didn’t send any texts gloating over the victory and Tyler didn’t send any congratulating us, either.

On Sunday we headed to Denver to the Taste of Colorado. The band, Head East, was playing at 1 pm. We arrived with plenty of time to stake out a spot center stage, just behind a few people.

The music was great and the weather was hot. Tobey was able to catch TWO guitar picks, so he will be sending them off to our friend, Chris, who played with the band back in the 1970s! After the concert, we waited in line to talk to the band which was fun. We enjoyed checking out all the crafts which were for sale. Tobey and I both took a try at a game sponsored by Ford, and he won $10. Lucky guy! Guess he can pay for gas for the next trip!

We are rested now, and ready for the week ahead. We hope you had a good weekend, too!

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 20 - 22

We had a pleasant drive from Moab to Gypsum on Monday. It was overcast, but not too bad. We passed Arches National Park and later some hills that appeared to have striations of copper in them. It was interesting.

Along I-70 we could see the Colorado River and knew that were were “home” to Colorado!

The solar panel came loose again, so Tobey pulled over on the shoulder on I-70 to reseal it with duct tape. As he was going out the back door, a highway patrol officer stopped and was walking to the front door to make sure we were okay. He waited behind us with his lights on until Tobey finished and we were safely on our way. Nice.

We enjoyed two nights with Tyler. We took the dogs to the pond and they all (ours, Tyler’s, and two that live on the ranch) had fun chasing balls and sticks and cooling off. It was fun looking out his living room window to see the hot air balloons in the morning. You can see the green climbing wall in the lower part of the picture which he constructed for the camp this summer.

Some cows from a neighboring ranch got into the pasture so Tobey and Tyler had to go chase them out. They thought they had come in from an open gate in the lower pasture, but when they were back later in the day. Tyler’s further investigation found a couple bad spots in the fence which he repaired. Penny tried to herd the cows away from the ranch which was pretty funny to watch!

Tuesday was a beautiful day so Tobey and I took Penny and Lucy for a 1-1/2 mile hike up Sunset Ridge and back. Both dogs were quick to find the creek and wade in it before we got back to Tyler’s. They were excited about going into the pond to chase balls again. Tobey even got Penny to jump in off the dock. In the past, she was afraid to jump, but I guess her desire to chase the ball was stronger than her fear this time.

This morning we loaded up and headed home. We stopped at Camping World to see if they had an adhesive to repair the solar panel, but they were hesitant to recommend anything until we talked with the company about warranty issues. We arrived back in Fort Collins about 1:30 and unloaded the RV. I’ve started the laundry and tomorrow will work on cleaning the inside of the RV. It was a fun trip, but good to be home.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 19

We were up early today (for us) and took Penny for a short swim then visited with the moms before they took off for church. We finished loading up and were on the road about 9:30.

Heading north on AZ Hwy 277 we encountered more stupid drivers than we have in a long time. I find it hard to believe that driving 58 in a 65 mph zone is a big enough reason to pass in No Passing Zones. We had TWO cars do that – and we were praying when they pulled in JUST in front of us to avoid head-on collisions because of the oncoming cars. In both cases, if they had waited less than 1/2 mile, there were passing areas and no cars coming the other direction.

Just after getting on I-40 at Holbrook we heard a new noise so I got up to investigate. It sounded like something on the roof so we took the first exit and Tobey went up top to check it out. The solar panel was coming loose. I tossed the duct tape up and he taped it down, but it looks like part of the solar cell is damaged. Twenty miles down the road and it had come loose again, so Tobey went back up and added more duct tape. The roof isn’t the best surface to adhere the tape, so it will be a challenge getting home. Tobey said to watch for an RV dealer or repair shop – not likely to happen in northeastern Arizona on the Indian Reservations! Our GPS routed us north on Hwy 6 which is TINY and passes through four different Indian reservations.

About 10 miles west of Ganado, AZ we finally connected to Hwy 191 which is what we had originally planned to take – I need to really look closer to the route BEFORE we take off in the morning! We did pass through some really beautiful areas with lots of interesting rock formations, as well as areas of open range, which reminded us of our trip to Mexico!
As we came into southern Utah near Bluff, we passed Twin Rocks which was really cool.

I didn’t see the name of the rock formation below, but it was really fun to see. The colors and shape were most unique!Less than ten miles later, Tobey thought this reminded him of an Egyptian sphinx.

We stopped and climbed up Wilson’s Arch. It is named after Joe Wilson, a pioneer who had a cabin nearby in Dry Valley. The formation is entrada sandstone.

It may not look like it, but the climb up Wilson’s Arch was actually quite steep.
We enjoyed the hike up, but coming down was more difficult – I looked like a crab scrambling down on my rear!

We are camped about five miles south of Moab at Ken’s Lake, a BLM campground. I think Penny could smell the water even though it was about a half mile from our campsite! After dinner we walked over and let her swim – even though the shoreline was quite muddy. She was mostly dry by the time we walked back to the RV. It is a quiet place – only three other RVs and they are on a different loop! Tomorrow we head north and will probably try to get to Tyler’s house near Gypsum, Colorado.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 17-18

The rain that had started on Thursday evening continued all night in Pinetop, but we woke to a nice sunny sky. The moms had to check out of their condo at 10 a.m. and couldn’t check into their new condo in Overgaard until 3 pm, so we headed to the casino to kill some time! That made Tobey’s mom really happy! Tobey and I both spent our $10 and left it there … oh well, that’s a small price for our entertainment.

Around noon we headed to the Lotus Blossom Restaurant for a Chinese lunch buffet. It was good and that made Huey really happy! After lunch, the moms and Carolyn & Huey headed over to the new condo.

Tobey and I stopped to look at RVs on the way. That made us really happy! It is always fun for us to look at what is available. I fell in love with a 36’ 5th wheel trailer – it was gorgeous and had loads of storage. It was a 2012 model and marked down to $53,999 … then we would need a truck and that’s another $45,000. It’s a good thing I really like our little motor home!

We have had a fun time here at the Bison Ranch Resort. We got permission to park in the lot so we can spend time with the moms and still have our own space. We all went to play Bingo last night and played cards tonight. There was a really nice craft fair we went to today and some fun shops here that I found some cute clothes at. (Thank you, Tobey!)

There is also a small lake about a half mile down the road and we took Penny there both yesterday and today. She had so much fun chasing tennis balls and swimming – it was hard to get her out of the water! She has slept well!

We enjoyed going in the hot tub tonight and resting our tired legs, too! When we got out, Tobey spotted this huge beetle walking across the sidewalk. I ran back to the RV to get the camera.  He is kind of cool looking – as long as he doesn’t get too close to me! Check out those horns!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Moms and start our trek northward into Utah.

Hot August Nights 2012 - August 16

We took Penny for a long walk before breakfast then spent time with the moms visiting. Another couple, Huey & Carolyn, who have been friends of Tobey’s family for years, are staying up here with Beverly and Ruthellen. They enjoy travelling together. We women all went on an excursion to see some quilts that another friend who summers up here made. It was fun. Tobey and Huey did the grocery store run.

We all went to the Hon-Dah Casino for lunch and put a little money in the slot machines. Tobey came out even, but I won $50 today! WOOHOO! Mom and I enjoyed taking Penny for another walk after lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting before Tobey and I fixed dinner for the crew. We played cards after dinner until 10pm! Huey was the winner, but it was a close contest.

The rain started about 8pm and it is still coming down quite steadily. When we took Penny out a while ago, we noticed these night blooming flowers. I’m not sure what they are, but the blossom is about 3” in diameter and they were pretty. They could be an evening primrose. Anyone know for sure??

Tomorrow the Moms are moving to another condo back at Overgaard, AZ, so we will go with them for at least one night.