The view from Boyd Lake Campground
Breckinridge .......................Riding the Gondola
Tom at Bear Lake ......................The Elk in the Distance
We've been in Loveland since last Saturday - enjoying sightseeing and getting ready to head north together with Glenn & Karin.
The mountains and the foothills are spectacular - we can't get enough of them. FOrtunately, we'll be traveling through the Rockies for several more weeks. You may get tired of snow pictures before we get to Alaska!
We have been able to get together with another couple we met last year at BOA. Caroline and Warren went to Alaska in 2000. They shared stories, suggestions, pictures and a wonderful taco soup dinner on a very cold and rainy night this week.
Our itinerary included the Celestial Seasonings factory in Boulder. They take you out on the factory floor and show you everything but the mixing process (that is too dusty). Everyone wears hair nets and Tom had to wear a beard net too. No pictures - we forgot the camera that day!
We drove on to Golden through a snow/rain mix and toured the Coors factory. There were a lot of people on the tour on such a gloomy day. I guess the free beers at the end of the tour helped warm everyone up.
We also visited Glenn and Karin up at Breckinridge before they came down the mountain to join us. Fortunately there was no snow that day. Our poor little 4-cylinder truck took us up over 11,000 feet at the Eisenhower Tunnel near Loveland Pass. We went under the Continental Divide! It was the last day of the ski season so the gondola ride to the base of the ski area was free and we were able to get a flavor of the place.
Today was our last day in the area and we spent a few hours in Rocky Mountain National Park. Some parts are open year round and we took full advantage. The snowy pictures above were taken at Bear Lake. The snow is beginning to melt but was not icy yet. We walked about 250 feet from the parking lot to the still partially frozen lake. If we had had our real hiking boots, we might have tried the 1/2 mile trail around the lake. We spotted a herd of elk and a beautiful blue bird along with what appeared to be prairie dogs but are probably something called pikas.
Tomorrow we set off toward Wyoming. Cheyenne is only 50 miles up the road. WE are stopping there for some shopping at the Sierra Trading Post outlet store - Glenn and Karin want a tent for the back of their pickup. Then we are on to see the Little Big Horn Natl Monument and Yellowstone before crossing into Canada next week.
We are going to keep a daily log in the blog, just for our own reference. Read on if you wish...
April 21: Arrived in Loveland. Stayed two nights at Boyd Lake State Park. Nice park and very interesting bird watching. We saw two horned owls on a morning walk, along with our first black billed magpie. Also a Northern Flicker.
April 22: Drove up to Breckinridge to visit Glenn and Karin at Tiger Run Park. Two good meals - The Mint was great. We cooked our own steaks on a grill in the restaurant!
April 23: Got the oil changed in the RV and the car. Lots of driving around. Moved the RV to Riverside RV park out US 34 toward Estes Park.
April 24: Visited Celestial Seasonings factory in Boulder and Coors in Golden. Ate dinner at Caroline and Warren's with Glenn & Karin. Nasty weather. We had rain and cold wind in Loveland, but it snowed in the mountains and the Front Range.
April 25: An easy day. Mainly getting supplies together. Ate dinner with Glenn & Karin - a wonderful pork dish.
April 26: Rocky Mountain National Park. See above for description. Went to Fort Collins to find a tuner for the dulcimer.
The travels and discoveries of Sally & Tom - traveling the country in their RV
Friday, April 27, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
We made it to Denver!
.......................
At la Hacienda near Dallas ..... Route 66 in OK City
At la Hacienda near Dallas ..... Route 66 in OK City
Tom & the Hanging Tree on Boot Hill .... At the Long Branch
After leaving Louisiana last Thursday, we have made it to the first major milestone on our trip. We saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time as we headed due west into the Denver area.
On the way we sampled some of the local sites and were awed by the plains - we had always thought they were flat and boring. But Oklahoma and Kansas were really beautiful. Very different for those of us from the East.
Here's a log of what we've been up to:
Wednesday, April 11: Calvin Touchet's bar in Maurice, LA for a Cajun band (with the crowd from Betty's RV Park
Friday, April 13: Drove to Shreveport and spent two nights just chilling...
Sunday, April 15: Got to Dallas and checked into the Texas Sundown RV Ranch - spent the evening with friends who live in Corinth, TX just down the road
Monday, April 16: Still in Dallas - met up with Sally's college friend and her husband for dinner at la Hacienda in Frisco. Note that the bear in the pictures does not bite!
Wednesday, April 18: Left for Oklahoma City to get our refrigerator fixed. Unofrtunately the part wasn't there so we had to stay an extra day
Thursday, April 19: Visited the Route 66 park in OK City, drove on a really old Route 66 bridge and ate at the Route 66 Burger Shack
Friday, April 20: Dodge City - saw Boot Hill and a very intriguing museum. Slurped sarsparilla at the Long Branch! Almost got blown away by the wind " whipping down the plains" (but in Kansas, not Oklahoma).
On the way we sampled some of the local sites and were awed by the plains - we had always thought they were flat and boring. But Oklahoma and Kansas were really beautiful. Very different for those of us from the East.
Here's a log of what we've been up to:
Wednesday, April 11: Calvin Touchet's bar in Maurice, LA for a Cajun band (with the crowd from Betty's RV Park
Friday, April 13: Drove to Shreveport and spent two nights just chilling...
Sunday, April 15: Got to Dallas and checked into the Texas Sundown RV Ranch - spent the evening with friends who live in Corinth, TX just down the road
Monday, April 16: Still in Dallas - met up with Sally's college friend and her husband for dinner at la Hacienda in Frisco. Note that the bear in the pictures does not bite!
Wednesday, April 18: Left for Oklahoma City to get our refrigerator fixed. Unofrtunately the part wasn't there so we had to stay an extra day
Thursday, April 19: Visited the Route 66 park in OK City, drove on a really old Route 66 bridge and ate at the Route 66 Burger Shack
Friday, April 20: Dodge City - saw Boot Hill and a very intriguing museum. Slurped sarsparilla at the Long Branch! Almost got blown away by the wind " whipping down the plains" (but in Kansas, not Oklahoma).
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The First Week
----House in NO ---- Tom & Tabasco --- Music at Betty's -- Tom Plays the Backpacker Guitar
We've had quite a week on the initial southern swing on our trip to Alaska.
We spent Thursday through Sunday visiting the"kids" in New Orleans. Their new home in the uptown area is very neat. It's a modified shotgun with a nice little yard.
While visiting, we attended our first crawfish boil - Stephen got the cooker for his birthday last year and has been honing his crawfish boil skills.
Saturday night we attended the Easter vigil service at St Patricks church in New Orleans. It was also very interesting - like an Easter candlelight service.
The next leg of our trip led us to Abbeville, LA and Betty's RV park. We visited the Tabasco factory at Avery Island. Lots more good food and visiting with a group of fellow full-timers. We ran into a lot of musicians - that led to a jam session on Thursday evening.
Next we're on to Shreveport and then Dallas on Sunday!
Westward Ho!
We spent Thursday through Sunday visiting the"kids" in New Orleans. Their new home in the uptown area is very neat. It's a modified shotgun with a nice little yard.
While visiting, we attended our first crawfish boil - Stephen got the cooker for his birthday last year and has been honing his crawfish boil skills.
Saturday night we attended the Easter vigil service at St Patricks church in New Orleans. It was also very interesting - like an Easter candlelight service.
The next leg of our trip led us to Abbeville, LA and Betty's RV park. We visited the Tabasco factory at Avery Island. Lots more good food and visiting with a group of fellow full-timers. We ran into a lot of musicians - that led to a jam session on Thursday evening.
Next we're on to Shreveport and then Dallas on Sunday!
Westward Ho!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
We're on the way!
Tom at Fence We Built Sally at GateWe Painted
The kids at play
Well, we have finished our stay at the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge and are on our way to Alaska!
We finally got to see the kids (goat kids!) and I have posted a couple of pictures here – we have many more. They are so cute.
On our last day, we also tried to compile a picture diary of work we had done at ENWR – and I posted a couple of those pictures as well.
But enough of the past – we are on our way at last. Go West, Young Retirees!
We’ll try to keep up to date on posting our itinerary and sample pictures. If you are interested in seeing more pics along the way, let us know and we’ll send you a link to the more complete set as we post them.
Hope everyone has a fine Easter and a wonderful summer, wherever you are!
Sally & Tom
We finally got to see the kids (goat kids!) and I have posted a couple of pictures here – we have many more. They are so cute.
On our last day, we also tried to compile a picture diary of work we had done at ENWR – and I posted a couple of those pictures as well.
But enough of the past – we are on our way at last. Go West, Young Retirees!
We’ll try to keep up to date on posting our itinerary and sample pictures. If you are interested in seeing more pics along the way, let us know and we’ll send you a link to the more complete set as we post them.
Hope everyone has a fine Easter and a wonderful summer, wherever you are!
Sally & Tom
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