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Two more slow days here in Boerne. It has been too hot to do much of anything around here, but it looks like it may turn a little cooler this weekend. The only thing we did on Thursday was that Stella did a little more work for her clients on the computer and Harry and Judy invited us to go eat some mexican food with them and their daughter Lisa this afternoon. Our GPS unit let us down on taking us to a restaurant so we went to a place called Sammy's that seemed to always have a lot of cars parked there. Our observations were correct because the food was exceptional and cheap! I'm sure that we'll be back here.
It was still hot on Friday but there was a nice breeze and I went for walks around the park during the day. Judy had gone home with Lisa for a girl's day out, so Harry was on his own today. I went by and visited with him for awhile this afternoon. We came back home and ate some hamburgers for supper and then went outside to sit in the cooler evening. It's still pretty warm during the day but this evening was nice with the breeze blowing. Judy came home and after they ate their supper, they came down and we all sat outside until about 9:30, when we all started getting tired. This was our first time to be able to comfortably sit out in the evening, and if this weather will hold for a while, it won't be the last.
So long.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday August 25, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
We woke to a little cooler weather today. Its a welcome change but its still pretty hot. Again we didn't do anything in the morning but this afternoon, we decided to do some shopping. I wanted to go look at and drive the new Chevrolet truck at the dealership down the highway from the park. The truck drives very well and is a nice truck, but the salesman (Earl) obviously didn't want my truck as a trade in. I had filled out the online appraisal for my truck at two different Chevy dealers on two different trucks and had gotten identical appraisals on both of them, so I had an idea what my truck was worth. When he had the truck appraised, he came in with an offer that was a little more than half what the online appraisal had been. When we began to discuss it, he immediately got an attitude and suggested that I sell the truck myself or take it to CarMax. I told him that I am not interested in doing something like that, so needless to say, I'm not buying a truck from Cavender Chevrolet in Boerne. With his attitude, I won't waste my time with them any more. Their loss!
We went to the Wal Mart this afternoon. We only had a few items that we needed and I mistakenly thought that we'd be in and out in just a few minutes. Stella wanted to replace a vase that holds a bamboo plant that Cam had won playing the games in Colorado. First of all, we shopped and shopped for just the right container. We looked at regular planter boxes, glass planters, all different sizes and shapes until she found just the right one. Then she needed some decorative rocks to fill it up. She looked at the different colors, different shapes. This is not something that should take this much decision-making. I finally drifted away and went off by myself to look elsewhere. I went to the magazine rack, read two magazines, browsed through probably a dozen more, looked at computers, computer accessories, strolled through the CD/DVD selections and she STILL hasn't made up her mind! It's a rock, for crying out loud! The bamboo plant will probably be large enough to make a fishing pole out of before Cam sees his plant again, but we have to have the right color, shape and texture of rocks to make it beautiful. I'll bet that Cam won't even notice the rocks when he does finally see his plant. But at least, I can rest assured that the rocks are exactly the right ones to set it off.
We came on back home and had a sandwich for supper and watched television for the rest of the evening. We did have another quick shower which surprised both of us. We could see blue sky out the windows, but a big 'ol black cloud was directly over us and dropped a good amount of rain for about 30 minutes. It cooled things off again, so that was a good thing.
So long.
We went to the Wal Mart this afternoon. We only had a few items that we needed and I mistakenly thought that we'd be in and out in just a few minutes. Stella wanted to replace a vase that holds a bamboo plant that Cam had won playing the games in Colorado. First of all, we shopped and shopped for just the right container. We looked at regular planter boxes, glass planters, all different sizes and shapes until she found just the right one. Then she needed some decorative rocks to fill it up. She looked at the different colors, different shapes. This is not something that should take this much decision-making. I finally drifted away and went off by myself to look elsewhere. I went to the magazine rack, read two magazines, browsed through probably a dozen more, looked at computers, computer accessories, strolled through the CD/DVD selections and she STILL hasn't made up her mind! It's a rock, for crying out loud! The bamboo plant will probably be large enough to make a fishing pole out of before Cam sees his plant again, but we have to have the right color, shape and texture of rocks to make it beautiful. I'll bet that Cam won't even notice the rocks when he does finally see his plant. But at least, I can rest assured that the rocks are exactly the right ones to set it off.
We came on back home and had a sandwich for supper and watched television for the rest of the evening. We did have another quick shower which surprised both of us. We could see blue sky out the windows, but a big 'ol black cloud was directly over us and dropped a good amount of rain for about 30 minutes. It cooled things off again, so that was a good thing.
So long.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday August 24, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
It was another hot morning here, into the 90's again early in the AM. I had intended to go out and put some wax on the trailer, but its just too hot. Stella has been working on her doctor's stuff so we just stayed inside, in the cool air conditioned comfort.
Harry called early in the afternoon, inviting us to go out to eat with them at the Hungry Horse this evening. Of course it took some doing, but I persuaded Stella to go. We were just sitting around when I heard a noise on the glass that we haven't heard in awhile...rain! It began raining about 3 o'clock and rained most of the afternoon, sometimes heavier than others. It was a welcome relief and cooled things down nicely.
It had stopped raining by the time we came back home but it was still cool, but we were all full and just went inside for the rest of the evening. It ended up being a pretty nice day.
So long.
Harry called early in the afternoon, inviting us to go out to eat with them at the Hungry Horse this evening. Of course it took some doing, but I persuaded Stella to go. We were just sitting around when I heard a noise on the glass that we haven't heard in awhile...rain! It began raining about 3 o'clock and rained most of the afternoon, sometimes heavier than others. It was a welcome relief and cooled things down nicely.
It had stopped raining by the time we came back home but it was still cool, but we were all full and just went inside for the rest of the evening. It ended up being a pretty nice day.
So long.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday August 23, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
Man, it's hot here! It was 90 degrees at 9 o'clock in the morning! Harry came over this morning and we decided to call a trailer washing service to come out today to wash our trailers. He will wash the roof and treat it, then wash down the sides for $90. As hot as it is, it's worth it. He arrived about 11 and started on Harry's rig.
I had been in contact with our friend Patti, who lives here in Boerne. She wanted us to come over to her house this afternoon, so I was sweating it out over whether the wash guy would be through with our trailer before we left. As it turned out, he just got through as we were leaving. The trailer looks great, much better without all the road grime that we picked up between Colorado Springs and here. And remember it rained on us two days while driving. On the other hand, all the work that me and the boys did on cleaning up the trailer made many of the bugs come right off in the rain, and today it cleaned up pretty quickly.
We went over to Patti's house and had a nice visit with her. She took us out to the Hungry Horse Restaurant, and as usual, it was great! We sat around talking until the restaurant started to fill with the supper crowd and we left. Patti took us for a short ride around Boerne, showing us some houses that she had looked at. We returned to her house again and after a short visit, we came on back home. We stopped off at the Chevrolet dealer and looked at the truck that I liked again, but they were closed and we didn't stay there long.
We came on back to the trailer and I went over the wash-guy's work. I noticed that the emergency brake cable was hanging down from the hitch, so I began stuffing it back up inside. In just a second, I found where the bees have gone! About 50 bees came boiling out and one of them stung me on the back of my hand. Wow, thats two bee stings in less than a week. At this rate, I'm just going back outside. No, tomorrow I'll get some bee killer and take care of those little rascals. I wanted to sit outside for awhile tonight, but after being ferociously attacked by the killer bees, I went inside and propped up my wounded hand.
I later recovered enough to call the boys to check on their first day of school. They said school was pretty good for the most part, but there had been a couple of bad calls by the school. Tyler was not given a schedule for lunch, so he had to skip lunch today and Cameron became confused about when he was supposed to have been dismissed. The teacher dismissed the bus riders, then the car riders, so Cam, knowing that he was riding in the day care van, didn't know when to leave, so he missed the van going to the karate school. Kim came to check on him and no one knew where he was. He was soon found and went home with his Momma. Kim will have to go to school and make them aware of what happened. I can't wait to hear their explanation.
So long.
I had been in contact with our friend Patti, who lives here in Boerne. She wanted us to come over to her house this afternoon, so I was sweating it out over whether the wash guy would be through with our trailer before we left. As it turned out, he just got through as we were leaving. The trailer looks great, much better without all the road grime that we picked up between Colorado Springs and here. And remember it rained on us two days while driving. On the other hand, all the work that me and the boys did on cleaning up the trailer made many of the bugs come right off in the rain, and today it cleaned up pretty quickly.
We went over to Patti's house and had a nice visit with her. She took us out to the Hungry Horse Restaurant, and as usual, it was great! We sat around talking until the restaurant started to fill with the supper crowd and we left. Patti took us for a short ride around Boerne, showing us some houses that she had looked at. We returned to her house again and after a short visit, we came on back home. We stopped off at the Chevrolet dealer and looked at the truck that I liked again, but they were closed and we didn't stay there long.
We came on back to the trailer and I went over the wash-guy's work. I noticed that the emergency brake cable was hanging down from the hitch, so I began stuffing it back up inside. In just a second, I found where the bees have gone! About 50 bees came boiling out and one of them stung me on the back of my hand. Wow, thats two bee stings in less than a week. At this rate, I'm just going back outside. No, tomorrow I'll get some bee killer and take care of those little rascals. I wanted to sit outside for awhile tonight, but after being ferociously attacked by the killer bees, I went inside and propped up my wounded hand.
I later recovered enough to call the boys to check on their first day of school. They said school was pretty good for the most part, but there had been a couple of bad calls by the school. Tyler was not given a schedule for lunch, so he had to skip lunch today and Cameron became confused about when he was supposed to have been dismissed. The teacher dismissed the bus riders, then the car riders, so Cam, knowing that he was riding in the day care van, didn't know when to leave, so he missed the van going to the karate school. Kim came to check on him and no one knew where he was. He was soon found and went home with his Momma. Kim will have to go to school and make them aware of what happened. I can't wait to hear their explanation.
So long.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday August 22, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
We got up this morning all rested and refreshed from two days of rest and decided to get out some today. We had a good breakfast here in the trailer and after cleaning up, drove over to Kerrville to the Gibson's Discount store there. As far as I know, its the only store left in Texas. I worked at the Gibson's store in LaMarque and Seabrook back in the early 70's so going into this store brings back many memories. This store is set up like the old stores were, "stack it high and sell it low" was their motto back then. Gibson was the first large discount marketer and at one time was the second largest store chain (behind Sears), but their methods of holding up payments for suppliers finally caught up with them and the chain went under.
I wanted to go back to Kerrville to see if just driving through the town would cause the low coolant light to come back on again, but it didn't. Going up, at the beginning of our trip and coming back down, at the end of the trip, the light had come on, but we made it up and back to Boerne without a problem today.
We went to the grocery store and stocked up on some groceries and came back home to put them away. After a short time at home, we went to eat some mexican food at the El Rio Restaurant. The food was unremarkable, but after a long time without any spicy food, it tasted great to us. We came on back home for the evening, and when we turned into the park I saw a truck and trailer parked in the check-in area and guess who it was? Our good friends Harry and Judy had come in a day early. We had expected them tomorrow, but they said when they got to Ozona, about 175 miles out, they decided to just come on down. We are glad to see them and look forward to spending some time with them.
So long.
I wanted to go back to Kerrville to see if just driving through the town would cause the low coolant light to come back on again, but it didn't. Going up, at the beginning of our trip and coming back down, at the end of the trip, the light had come on, but we made it up and back to Boerne without a problem today.
We went to the grocery store and stocked up on some groceries and came back home to put them away. After a short time at home, we went to eat some mexican food at the El Rio Restaurant. The food was unremarkable, but after a long time without any spicy food, it tasted great to us. We came on back home for the evening, and when we turned into the park I saw a truck and trailer parked in the check-in area and guess who it was? Our good friends Harry and Judy had come in a day early. We had expected them tomorrow, but they said when they got to Ozona, about 175 miles out, they decided to just come on down. We are glad to see them and look forward to spending some time with them.
So long.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday August 21, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
We stayed around the trailer again today. It is so hot outside, it's hard to get anything done. I went out this morning about 11 o'clock and looked at the thermometer and it was 97 degrees! i played on the computer all day and watched television. We ate a good breakfast and had leftovers for our supper. It was nice to just sit around all day without anything pressing to do.
In the afternoon, I went outside and did some work. I put out our lights after I soaked the ground with the water hose. This ground is just like concrete when its dry and I couldn't get the little plastic lights into the ground without using a hammer and didn't want to risk breaking one of them, so I put a lot of water down and they slipped right in. Don't tell anyone, but I didn't get a permit from the office to wash my truck, but I did squirt some water on the muddy spots and cleaned them off a bit. I don't understand why I need a permit to wash it or the trailer when it doesn't take that much water to get it done, but thats the rule. I found an outfit that will come in and wash them and will likely use them.
We watched football on TV all evening. I even stayed up until after 11 o'clock to see the end of the Dallas Cowboys game. Its so nice to go into the bedroom with the air conditioner working. It is cold in there after dark, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I have some sad news to relate. We lost my good friend Bob Holley yesterday to a heart attack. He lived in a fifth wheel trailer in Willis. Bob was a retired pharmacist and the first Mayor of Dickinson. He was a good friend to me and was very instrumental in establishing the Police Dept. in Dickinson. We went to visit him at his home with Mike and Patrice about a month ago and are really glad that we got to see him. He will be missed.
So long.
In the afternoon, I went outside and did some work. I put out our lights after I soaked the ground with the water hose. This ground is just like concrete when its dry and I couldn't get the little plastic lights into the ground without using a hammer and didn't want to risk breaking one of them, so I put a lot of water down and they slipped right in. Don't tell anyone, but I didn't get a permit from the office to wash my truck, but I did squirt some water on the muddy spots and cleaned them off a bit. I don't understand why I need a permit to wash it or the trailer when it doesn't take that much water to get it done, but thats the rule. I found an outfit that will come in and wash them and will likely use them.
We watched football on TV all evening. I even stayed up until after 11 o'clock to see the end of the Dallas Cowboys game. Its so nice to go into the bedroom with the air conditioner working. It is cold in there after dark, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I have some sad news to relate. We lost my good friend Bob Holley yesterday to a heart attack. He lived in a fifth wheel trailer in Willis. Bob was a retired pharmacist and the first Mayor of Dickinson. He was a good friend to me and was very instrumental in establishing the Police Dept. in Dickinson. We went to visit him at his home with Mike and Patrice about a month ago and are really glad that we got to see him. He will be missed.
So long.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday August 20, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
We took today off. We decided that we have done enough driving, entertaining and sightseeing and we needed a day off. Of course, we did some little things around here, like puttering around outside, Stella washed the sheets off the boys bed and little things like that, but for the most part, we didn't do anything today.
Since we don't have our dish antenna with us and are using the park's cable, I explored around on the television selections to see what there was on daytime TV. Not much, let me tell you. I never got into the soaps and the reruns of Law and Order and even NCIS are getting old. I watched some History Channel today. One show that was on was about the possibility or probability of another eruption of the volcanoes under Yellowstone National Park. When I first tuned this show in, I was attracted by the scenery of Yellowstone, but I soon learned that it could be a very scary place if the right conditions exist. The ash fallout from another eruption would be devastating to the area and the entire country. I was reassured when the announcer said that this may not happen for thousands of years. We'll try to squeeze the park into one of our trips before it blows...
I took a couple of walks around the park today. I can tell you that its .90 miles around the outside perimeter of the park, using my Distance Free app for my I-Phone. This new phone has really come in handy since I got it back in Elkhart IN. I thought I just needed a phone that would allow me to get emails on the road and not much more, but I have really gotten to like this thing.
We'll try to be a little more active tomorrow after this day of rest. Who knows, we may not though.
So long.
Since we don't have our dish antenna with us and are using the park's cable, I explored around on the television selections to see what there was on daytime TV. Not much, let me tell you. I never got into the soaps and the reruns of Law and Order and even NCIS are getting old. I watched some History Channel today. One show that was on was about the possibility or probability of another eruption of the volcanoes under Yellowstone National Park. When I first tuned this show in, I was attracted by the scenery of Yellowstone, but I soon learned that it could be a very scary place if the right conditions exist. The ash fallout from another eruption would be devastating to the area and the entire country. I was reassured when the announcer said that this may not happen for thousands of years. We'll try to squeeze the park into one of our trips before it blows...
I took a couple of walks around the park today. I can tell you that its .90 miles around the outside perimeter of the park, using my Distance Free app for my I-Phone. This new phone has really come in handy since I got it back in Elkhart IN. I thought I just needed a phone that would allow me to get emails on the road and not much more, but I have really gotten to like this thing.
We'll try to be a little more active tomorrow after this day of rest. Who knows, we may not though.
So long.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday August 19, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
Today was our travel day to take the boys home. Again, they didn't want to get out of bed, but I finally got them up about 8:30. We all showered and ate breakfast and got away about a quarter 'til ten. This is more than an hour later than we wanted to leave, but we had to go over everything before we pulled out.
We drive straight through San Antonio and, surprising for me, we had no traffic problems and I didn't even get lost! I have always had a problem with getting around San Antonio but nothing went wrong today.
We made our first stop at the Buccee's store in Luling. I have been to other Buccee's stores, but frankly, this one blew me away! This place is huge and has an immense parking lot. I also noticed that there is plenty of space for a truck and trailer in the parking lot, as well as a motorhome and towed vehicle. The parking lot was full when we were there this morning and I would estimate that there were at least 100 people in the store. There is plenty to choose from in the food bars, and of course, the fuel prices weren't too bad. We were there longer than I wanted to be, but everyone got something to eat and drink and we fueled up, taking 19.3 gallons to go 233.6 miles for a 12.1 MPG average. Over half of this tank was pulling the trailer, with only about 100 miles traveling light with only the truck and all of the boy's gear stuffed into the bed and inside the truck.
We continued on toward Texas City and ran into some pretty heavy rainstorms between Sealy and Houston. It didn't slow us down very much and washed off some of the bugs from the truck.
We dropped Stella at Eric's office for a meeting with him for one of her clients and I took the boys home. Along the way, we drove past our old house and found someones car in the driveway and all the for sale signs down. Apparently the house has been sold, which only took four months. I'm glad for our buyer and hope the new owner enjoys the house as much as we did. I guess a house is the same as a boat; the two best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. We are certainly glad we sold out and wish we had done it sooner.
I waited for Stella to get done with her meeting for a couple of hours. I used my time to clean the windshield and to check the many map books Stella has in the truck. It was pretty hot and muggy, but I tried to make the most of the time. When she came out, we immediately started back to Boerne. Its about a 260 mile trip between Texas City and Boerne so we knew it was a long drive. It gave us a chance to talk without the boys interrupting or listening to our conversation.
We stopped again at Buccees for our break. We were both getting hungry and we needed fuel again, so we took 18.2 gallons to go 364.5 miles for a 20.02 average. Now thats more like it!
We made it on back home without any further problems. I did miss a turn on the freeway but we only went a couple of miles before we turned off onto the 1402 Loop and made it back to I-10. We got home a little after nine, very tired, but glad the day was over. I had stopped by the storage room and picked up the small refrigerator and the shredder for Stella to use in her work, so I brought them in and plugged the fridge in outside under our table. We will put soft drinks, water and beer into it for the group coming up.
It was a good day with the boys and we are so happy that they had a good time with us. We are planning another summer trip for next year, so check back to see where we will be going.
So long.
We drive straight through San Antonio and, surprising for me, we had no traffic problems and I didn't even get lost! I have always had a problem with getting around San Antonio but nothing went wrong today.
We made our first stop at the Buccee's store in Luling. I have been to other Buccee's stores, but frankly, this one blew me away! This place is huge and has an immense parking lot. I also noticed that there is plenty of space for a truck and trailer in the parking lot, as well as a motorhome and towed vehicle. The parking lot was full when we were there this morning and I would estimate that there were at least 100 people in the store. There is plenty to choose from in the food bars, and of course, the fuel prices weren't too bad. We were there longer than I wanted to be, but everyone got something to eat and drink and we fueled up, taking 19.3 gallons to go 233.6 miles for a 12.1 MPG average. Over half of this tank was pulling the trailer, with only about 100 miles traveling light with only the truck and all of the boy's gear stuffed into the bed and inside the truck.
We continued on toward Texas City and ran into some pretty heavy rainstorms between Sealy and Houston. It didn't slow us down very much and washed off some of the bugs from the truck.
We dropped Stella at Eric's office for a meeting with him for one of her clients and I took the boys home. Along the way, we drove past our old house and found someones car in the driveway and all the for sale signs down. Apparently the house has been sold, which only took four months. I'm glad for our buyer and hope the new owner enjoys the house as much as we did. I guess a house is the same as a boat; the two best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. We are certainly glad we sold out and wish we had done it sooner.
I waited for Stella to get done with her meeting for a couple of hours. I used my time to clean the windshield and to check the many map books Stella has in the truck. It was pretty hot and muggy, but I tried to make the most of the time. When she came out, we immediately started back to Boerne. Its about a 260 mile trip between Texas City and Boerne so we knew it was a long drive. It gave us a chance to talk without the boys interrupting or listening to our conversation.
We stopped again at Buccees for our break. We were both getting hungry and we needed fuel again, so we took 18.2 gallons to go 364.5 miles for a 20.02 average. Now thats more like it!
We made it on back home without any further problems. I did miss a turn on the freeway but we only went a couple of miles before we turned off onto the 1402 Loop and made it back to I-10. We got home a little after nine, very tired, but glad the day was over. I had stopped by the storage room and picked up the small refrigerator and the shredder for Stella to use in her work, so I brought them in and plugged the fridge in outside under our table. We will put soft drinks, water and beer into it for the group coming up.
It was a good day with the boys and we are so happy that they had a good time with us. We are planning another summer trip for next year, so check back to see where we will be going.
So long.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday August 18, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort
Today is our last full day here in the park with the boys. They have to go home tomorrow for school, which starts on Monday. They decided that we weren't going to do anything today but stay home and rest up from our travels, so that is exactly what we did.
Stella fixed us a breakfast casserole using a pizza bread dough. It was very tasty and Cam and I enjoyed it a lot. Tyler wanted to sleep-in this morning, so after we ate, Cam and I went to the Chevy dealer to have the latest Low Coolant light checked out. I had called the dealership in Colorado Springs and learned that any GM dealer would honor the year warranty on the work they had done, so we went to get it looked at. The service advisor came out and looked at the overflow container and it was a little low, so he refilled it. This is the same thing that the dealer in Colo. did. He said that if there is a "bubble" in the reservoir, it will report a low coolant. He believes this will cure the problem. I'm not totally convinced, but we'll see.
Cam and I also looked at a couple of new trucks on the lot. One, a work truck, looked pretty nice to me but we later brought Stella by and she saw the 4 wheel drive control that is mounted on the floorboard and immediately didn't like it. I thought there were some features on the truck that I would like, but when Stella said no, that's it for me. I would never hear the end of it.
We came back home and hung out. It is SO HOT here in Texas at this time of the year. I noticed that the outside thermometer was at 100 degrees at 11 o'clock this morning and didn't do anything but go up during the day. Cam went for a swim in the afternoon, but no one wanted to go with him. He went down to the pool but someone on the park staff told him he couldn't swim by himself and needed an adult with him, so he came back home and made me promise to go swimming with him later.
I wanted mexican food for supper but the boys overrode me, wanting to go to Dairy Queen where they could get ice cream. I told them we could eat mexican and still stop at the DQ but they said they wanted DQ hamburgers, so guess where we went?
After finishing up the ice cream, we came back home. I could have sworn I asked for a site in this park down by the river in the shade, where the temp wouldn't get over about 80 degrees, but I guess they were all taken. I did find someone that will wash the trailer and condition the roof at a cheap price. I will get that done next week. Maybe it will cool off and I'll do it myself. Of course, there's about as much chance of that happening as my becoming an aviator next week too.
So long.
Stella fixed us a breakfast casserole using a pizza bread dough. It was very tasty and Cam and I enjoyed it a lot. Tyler wanted to sleep-in this morning, so after we ate, Cam and I went to the Chevy dealer to have the latest Low Coolant light checked out. I had called the dealership in Colorado Springs and learned that any GM dealer would honor the year warranty on the work they had done, so we went to get it looked at. The service advisor came out and looked at the overflow container and it was a little low, so he refilled it. This is the same thing that the dealer in Colo. did. He said that if there is a "bubble" in the reservoir, it will report a low coolant. He believes this will cure the problem. I'm not totally convinced, but we'll see.
Cam and I also looked at a couple of new trucks on the lot. One, a work truck, looked pretty nice to me but we later brought Stella by and she saw the 4 wheel drive control that is mounted on the floorboard and immediately didn't like it. I thought there were some features on the truck that I would like, but when Stella said no, that's it for me. I would never hear the end of it.
We came back home and hung out. It is SO HOT here in Texas at this time of the year. I noticed that the outside thermometer was at 100 degrees at 11 o'clock this morning and didn't do anything but go up during the day. Cam went for a swim in the afternoon, but no one wanted to go with him. He went down to the pool but someone on the park staff told him he couldn't swim by himself and needed an adult with him, so he came back home and made me promise to go swimming with him later.
I wanted mexican food for supper but the boys overrode me, wanting to go to Dairy Queen where they could get ice cream. I told them we could eat mexican and still stop at the DQ but they said they wanted DQ hamburgers, so guess where we went?
After finishing up the ice cream, we came back home. I could have sworn I asked for a site in this park down by the river in the shade, where the temp wouldn't get over about 80 degrees, but I guess they were all taken. I did find someone that will wash the trailer and condition the roof at a cheap price. I will get that done next week. Maybe it will cool off and I'll do it myself. Of course, there's about as much chance of that happening as my becoming an aviator next week too.
So long.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday August 17, 2010-Moving Day-Rolling Plains RV Park to Alamo Fiesta RV Resort-Boerne TX
Stella and I got up this morning but we couldn't get the boys up until 8:30. They insisted that they could sleep that late, and we could still get away on time, but after they ate their cereal and got dressed, it was 9:30 before we left the park.
We made good time down the road and stopped for a break at a little town named Menard at the Pic N Pac grocery. It had a large parking lot and was easy in and easy out. We all used the facilities and picked up something to eat, when I discovered that they had a good price on diesel fuel ($2.79). This was the best price that we had seen since we left Spring, so I pulled into the diesel lane and filled up. I took 79.3 gallons to go 727.7 miles for a 9.8 MPG average. I am concerned that my towing mileage has been going down, but we have been in the mountains and that has made a difference.
Onward we went, making good time. Until we stopped, we had been averaging over 60 miles an hour, so we kept the pace up. We hit I-10 at Junction and it seemed like we were there, although we still had a good distance to go. When we got to Kerrville, guess what happened? Yep, the Low Coolant light came back on. I thought, after two trips to the Chevy dealer in Colorado Springs, that we had this thing fixed but apparently not. We made it on into Boerne and got checked into the park with me keeping an eagle eye on the temps. Everything was still fine all the way to the park. We got checked in and the boys and I got all the utilities set up without a problem. We started setting up the porch, and while getting it set in place, we had to move the picnic table to the other end of the concrete pad. I picked up one end and Tyler got the other and we started moving the table when a huge swarm of yellow jackets came out from under the table. Tyler is terrified by bees of any sort, as is Cameron, so they both took off like someone was shooting at them. I was right in the swarm and got stung once on the back of my right knee. When I caught my breath, I went to the office with the boys to report the large bee nest under the table. The boys were very hesitant to come back over to the trailer, but I persuaded them to. We met the park attendant on our way home and watched as he sprayed the nest and the swarming bees with some bee killer. The boys wouldn't come back inside for fear that the infuriated bees would attack anything and anyone that came near them. I went inside without any further problems but boys disappeared. I later found them in the office, sitting under the large fans, cooling off. I didn't blame them for that, but they were still not coming back home. I finally got them to come back and they both ran the last 25 yards into the trailer as if they were on fire. They stayed inside because one of them saw something flying around. I didn't think they were going to go eat with us, but they finally decided that they could safely leave.
We went to our favorite restaurant in Boerne, the Hungry Horse. We were all stuffed when we left, but man, was it good! I'm certain that you'll see that name many times while we are here for the next three weeks. I called my good friend Harry and he actually called me a dirty name when I told him where we were eating. He will be here next week, and it will be good to see them. More to come.
So long.
We made good time down the road and stopped for a break at a little town named Menard at the Pic N Pac grocery. It had a large parking lot and was easy in and easy out. We all used the facilities and picked up something to eat, when I discovered that they had a good price on diesel fuel ($2.79). This was the best price that we had seen since we left Spring, so I pulled into the diesel lane and filled up. I took 79.3 gallons to go 727.7 miles for a 9.8 MPG average. I am concerned that my towing mileage has been going down, but we have been in the mountains and that has made a difference.
Onward we went, making good time. Until we stopped, we had been averaging over 60 miles an hour, so we kept the pace up. We hit I-10 at Junction and it seemed like we were there, although we still had a good distance to go. When we got to Kerrville, guess what happened? Yep, the Low Coolant light came back on. I thought, after two trips to the Chevy dealer in Colorado Springs, that we had this thing fixed but apparently not. We made it on into Boerne and got checked into the park with me keeping an eagle eye on the temps. Everything was still fine all the way to the park. We got checked in and the boys and I got all the utilities set up without a problem. We started setting up the porch, and while getting it set in place, we had to move the picnic table to the other end of the concrete pad. I picked up one end and Tyler got the other and we started moving the table when a huge swarm of yellow jackets came out from under the table. Tyler is terrified by bees of any sort, as is Cameron, so they both took off like someone was shooting at them. I was right in the swarm and got stung once on the back of my right knee. When I caught my breath, I went to the office with the boys to report the large bee nest under the table. The boys were very hesitant to come back over to the trailer, but I persuaded them to. We met the park attendant on our way home and watched as he sprayed the nest and the swarming bees with some bee killer. The boys wouldn't come back inside for fear that the infuriated bees would attack anything and anyone that came near them. I went inside without any further problems but boys disappeared. I later found them in the office, sitting under the large fans, cooling off. I didn't blame them for that, but they were still not coming back home. I finally got them to come back and they both ran the last 25 yards into the trailer as if they were on fire. They stayed inside because one of them saw something flying around. I didn't think they were going to go eat with us, but they finally decided that they could safely leave.
We went to our favorite restaurant in Boerne, the Hungry Horse. We were all stuffed when we left, but man, was it good! I'm certain that you'll see that name many times while we are here for the next three weeks. I called my good friend Harry and he actually called me a dirty name when I told him where we were eating. He will be here next week, and it will be good to see them. More to come.
So long.
Monday August 16, 2010-Moving Day-Corral RV Park to Rolling Plains RV Park, Sweetwater
Today began with rain, which started around 5 o'clock in the morning. It rained a lot, at times really hard and then a soft drizzle. It was nice to sit in the recliner, reading the news on the computer with the sound of rain hitting the trailer. It was nice and cool both inside the trailer and outside, when we went out to make our preparations to leave.
I did something a little different this morning. At the top of my blog, as well as everyone that uses Blogger, is a button for the next blog. I have seen this for a long time but had never explored these other blogs. I figured, what the heck, they're out there for public view and I don't have anything better to do this morning, so I did it. There are many cooking and recipe blogs, several foreign language blogs, a couple of athletics blogs and only a few travel blogs as this one is. There are some that travel by boat, and a couple that travel in a trailer or motorhome. I just kept hitting next blog, next blog and seeing what others write about. It was very interesting.
Stella fixed us breakfast this morning and during a small lull in the rain, the boys and I went outside and took down the outside utilities in preparation for leaving. It wasn't too bad because the rain had slacked up and the boys are getting pretty good at helping me out. Tyler and I transferred fuel this morning. My boy is certainly growing up! It seems like only yesterday that the guys at work were kidding me about having a child's car seat in my police car on the days I had to pick Tyler up at day care.
We didn't get away until 9:45 this morning but we made good time across the plains of Texas. Stella decided that we didn't really want to stop at Post for the night. Since shes the navigator, I let her set the next destination and she decided that we could make it to Sweetwater to stop. We have never been here before, and neither of us could remember if we have even driven through this town, but it's where we decided to stop. She found the Rolling Plains RV Park in one of her books and called ahead and made us reservations. When we got here, we learned that someone new has just bought this place and a new couple are running the park. We had a nice conversation with the new manager and later, the boys and I ran into him and his wife in the pool. We talked about our travels and what we have been doing and they seemed interested. Who knows, we may run into them again somewhere on the road.
Tomorrow's drive will only be about 240 miles and we will be in Boerne. We will be staying there for about a month but sadly the boys have to go home on Thursday. That will certainly be an adventurous day! We will drive over 500 miles that day! We're trying to work out some details for the trip and I will let you know what we decide.
So long.
I did something a little different this morning. At the top of my blog, as well as everyone that uses Blogger, is a button for the next blog. I have seen this for a long time but had never explored these other blogs. I figured, what the heck, they're out there for public view and I don't have anything better to do this morning, so I did it. There are many cooking and recipe blogs, several foreign language blogs, a couple of athletics blogs and only a few travel blogs as this one is. There are some that travel by boat, and a couple that travel in a trailer or motorhome. I just kept hitting next blog, next blog and seeing what others write about. It was very interesting.
Stella fixed us breakfast this morning and during a small lull in the rain, the boys and I went outside and took down the outside utilities in preparation for leaving. It wasn't too bad because the rain had slacked up and the boys are getting pretty good at helping me out. Tyler and I transferred fuel this morning. My boy is certainly growing up! It seems like only yesterday that the guys at work were kidding me about having a child's car seat in my police car on the days I had to pick Tyler up at day care.
We didn't get away until 9:45 this morning but we made good time across the plains of Texas. Stella decided that we didn't really want to stop at Post for the night. Since shes the navigator, I let her set the next destination and she decided that we could make it to Sweetwater to stop. We have never been here before, and neither of us could remember if we have even driven through this town, but it's where we decided to stop. She found the Rolling Plains RV Park in one of her books and called ahead and made us reservations. When we got here, we learned that someone new has just bought this place and a new couple are running the park. We had a nice conversation with the new manager and later, the boys and I ran into him and his wife in the pool. We talked about our travels and what we have been doing and they seemed interested. Who knows, we may run into them again somewhere on the road.
Tomorrow's drive will only be about 240 miles and we will be in Boerne. We will be staying there for about a month but sadly the boys have to go home on Thursday. That will certainly be an adventurous day! We will drive over 500 miles that day! We're trying to work out some details for the trip and I will let you know what we decide.
So long.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sunday August 15, 2010-Moving Day-Garden of the Gods Campground to Corral RV Park, Dalhart
Today was the day we had been dreading since we got here, moving day from Colorado Springs back to Texas. We have all enjoyed the sites and attractions of the area, and especially the weather. It was delightfully cool this morning, about 57 degrees, cold enough that both the boys went back inside to get a jacket while working with me outside. I woke the boys at 7 as I had told them I would be doing, so that we could go have breakfast and still be able to get away early. We went out about 7:30 to do the last things before we left, while Stella worked on the inside. We all went down to eat the pancake breakfast that the park furnished. When we got through eating, we went back to the trailer and finished up the loading. We pulled out of the park at five minutes 'til 9, a pretty good time for us.
We made our only stop of the day at the rest area at Trinidad CO where we had stopped on our way down. I noticed a slight discharge on the alternator circuit, but when we took off, it recovered and began charging. I don't know if something is going out with the alternator or if it is some glitch in the charging system. I will watch it to see if I can figure it out.
We made it into the Corral RV Park in Dalhart a few minutes after 2, with no further problems. The temperature here was only 79 when we arrived, but it felt much hotter. We turned both a/c's on but the trailer just seemed to stay warm to me. I laid down on the couch and took a short nap and woke up when we ate our sandwiches. We all just sat around the trailer. There is little to do here for the boys except a kids playground that they aren't interested in. We will probably turn in pretty early tonight and get another early start tomorrow.
So long.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Saturday August 14, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Today was our last full day here in Manitou Springs. The weather has been delightfully cool in the morning and this morning it was a brisk 57. Even during the day, we don't break a sweat when outside. It is a far cry from the hot and muggy Gulf Coast of Texas.
We got up early this morning and went to the Manitou Breakfast Buffet for a huge breakfast this morning. We all enjoyed this place and decided to come here again today. When we finished breakfast, we drove over to Cascade for their cheap fuel but when we got there, they had raised their prices, so we returned to Manitou to the Loaf N Jug gas station/convenience store to fill up. We set a personal record here with a total of $306.50 to totally fill up for the trip home. We burned a total of 157.4 gallons for the entire trip to travel 1953.6 for a 12.4 MPG average. With the trailer off the truck, we filled up twice in Carlsbad and twice here in Colorado Springs. I'm still satisfied with this mileage, but I'm sure a new truck is on the horizon.
We came on back home and Stella washed our clothes before we left and the boys and I relaxed until the middle of the afternoon when we went out to get some things done before we leave. We dumped all the tanks and cleaned out the black water tank, cleaned the front of the trailer and put on some fresh wax, took the sewer hose down and packed it up and took down the porch and steps and put it away in the truck. The outside of the trailer is as ready as we can get it.
Although none of us are ready to leave this great weather, I think the boys miss their Mom and Jeremy and just maybe, they're ready to go back to school, although they would never admit it. We love them as much as anyone, but it is, in fact, time for them to go back home. Stella and I have gotten used to being by ourselves and its hard to get used to two more people in the trailer with us. We will cherish these times with them and hope to be able to take them again. We have certainly made some memories for all of us these past couple of weeks.
So long.
We got up early this morning and went to the Manitou Breakfast Buffet for a huge breakfast this morning. We all enjoyed this place and decided to come here again today. When we finished breakfast, we drove over to Cascade for their cheap fuel but when we got there, they had raised their prices, so we returned to Manitou to the Loaf N Jug gas station/convenience store to fill up. We set a personal record here with a total of $306.50 to totally fill up for the trip home. We burned a total of 157.4 gallons for the entire trip to travel 1953.6 for a 12.4 MPG average. With the trailer off the truck, we filled up twice in Carlsbad and twice here in Colorado Springs. I'm still satisfied with this mileage, but I'm sure a new truck is on the horizon.
We came on back home and Stella washed our clothes before we left and the boys and I relaxed until the middle of the afternoon when we went out to get some things done before we leave. We dumped all the tanks and cleaned out the black water tank, cleaned the front of the trailer and put on some fresh wax, took the sewer hose down and packed it up and took down the porch and steps and put it away in the truck. The outside of the trailer is as ready as we can get it.
Although none of us are ready to leave this great weather, I think the boys miss their Mom and Jeremy and just maybe, they're ready to go back to school, although they would never admit it. We love them as much as anyone, but it is, in fact, time for them to go back home. Stella and I have gotten used to being by ourselves and its hard to get used to two more people in the trailer with us. We will cherish these times with them and hope to be able to take them again. We have certainly made some memories for all of us these past couple of weeks.
So long.
Friday August 13, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
We got up "early" this morning (early to the boys means 9-9:30) to go to the Peterson Air Museum in Colorado Springs. We had learned yesterday that they require an entry pass to get onto the air force base, so we intended to go by the west gate to get the pass this morning. I called first to see what we might need to bring with us and didn't get a call back until after 11, so I guess it wasn't such a bad thing that Tyler stayed in bed late. When the Sergeant called me back, he told me that it was not possible to get the pass on the day it was applied for, and since it was Friday, he said he might be able to get us into a Saturday entry. I asked the boys what they wanted to do and Tyler said he didn't really want to go that bad after all, so I told him that we would pass this time. I should have called earlier in the week to find out about this and didn't, so I guess it's on me for not getting to go.
Since we were up and ready to go, we decided to ride back up to Woodland Park for the nice ride. We turned off at Cascade Colorado at a sign to the highway up Pikes Peak and attractions at the North Pole and Santa's Workshop. We have never been there, so we decided to go check it out. When we got there, we found that it cost $17.95 per person for each of us, which seemed to be kind of spendy. We decided to just look around first, and I am glad we did. The rides there seem to be for younger children, although there were a couple of rides we would have been interested in, so we decided not to spend the money to go in. We did look around the gift shop and Cam and I found some shirts we liked, so it wasn't a wasted trip. No smarty, we didn't leave Tyler out, he just didn't see anything he liked so he didn't get anything. Thanks for not buying something you didn't want Scoot.
We came on back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Stella made us some spaghetti and meat sauce for supper that was very tasty. We sat around outside and met our new neighbor, a Heartland owner (Sundance fifth wheel). He and his son soon went to the pool where Tyler and Cameron were, so the three boys got to swim and play together. I walked around the park after going down to check on the boys at the pool. It is so cool here and we will miss the low humidity.
So long.
Since we were up and ready to go, we decided to ride back up to Woodland Park for the nice ride. We turned off at Cascade Colorado at a sign to the highway up Pikes Peak and attractions at the North Pole and Santa's Workshop. We have never been there, so we decided to go check it out. When we got there, we found that it cost $17.95 per person for each of us, which seemed to be kind of spendy. We decided to just look around first, and I am glad we did. The rides there seem to be for younger children, although there were a couple of rides we would have been interested in, so we decided not to spend the money to go in. We did look around the gift shop and Cam and I found some shirts we liked, so it wasn't a wasted trip. No smarty, we didn't leave Tyler out, he just didn't see anything he liked so he didn't get anything. Thanks for not buying something you didn't want Scoot.
We came on back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Stella made us some spaghetti and meat sauce for supper that was very tasty. We sat around outside and met our new neighbor, a Heartland owner (Sundance fifth wheel). He and his son soon went to the pool where Tyler and Cameron were, so the three boys got to swim and play together. I walked around the park after going down to check on the boys at the pool. It is so cool here and we will miss the low humidity.
So long.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday August 12, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Today we planned to make our last museum trips so that we could have Friday and Saturday to just lay around and get ready to leave on Sunday morning. The first thing we did was to take the truck back to the Chevrolet dealer because the low coolant light had come back on. Our friendly service advisor, Kevin, was off this week but one of the others took our information and the keys to the truck and we went into the lounge to wait. After about an hour, he came back and said they had found the problem, an apparent "bubble" in the coolant reservoir. When the bubble burst, it showed a low coolant level which was easily corrected.
We returned to the trailer and found that Tyler was already up and ready to go! That was a surprise. I figured he would still be piled up in the bed, but he fooled me. We piddled around the trailer for awhile, but left right after noon for the Peterson Air Force Museum on the Air Force base of the same name. It is all the way across town, and when we got there, it was just beginning to rain. We had been watching the rainstorm come across the mountains and it got here about the time we got here. When we finally got to the gate, we learned that we would need a pass to go to the museum. We had visited the Wright Patterson Air Force Base last year to see the large museum there and had not been required to get a pass, but I forgot that this is the home of the NORAD and a working air base. We also learned that most of the museum displays are outside, so with rain imminent, we decided to try the last museum in our bucket list, the May Natural History Museum.
We drove to the opposite side of town for this museum through the rain most of the way. When we got there, we learned that it is at the May RV Park, out in the boonies above Manitou Springs. The park is remote and has signs posted to beware of the bears, and I noticed the bear-proof dumpsters that are surrounded by barbed wire. I suppose that if you wanted to actually see bears and other wildlife right in the RV park, this would be the place to go. The park is in pretty bad shape, with washed out roads and limited amenities. They do have pull through, full hook up sites, but no wifi or cable TV available. We might change our mind about staying here I guess when you live in your trailer, you can't call it camping any more, can you?) but they will have to improve the park some before we do.
The museum was a huge collection of insects that were collected throughout the world by the campground owner's great grandfather. There were thousands of insects from tiny tsetse flies to gigantic 17 inch stick insect that looks like a pile of sticks until it moves. There were several varieties of deadly insects and a couple of tarantulas with hummingbirds clutched in their grasp. Almost as amazing as the thousands of perfectly preserved insects was the perfectly handwritten identification tags written in tiny script. The earliest date that I noticed was 1916, and after reading a bit about the displays, there are likely some with earlier dates. I'll be honest, after looking for about 30 minutes, I got tired of looking at bugs. Cam and I went out to the lobby area to wait on MeMaw and Tyler. When they got done, we went over into the Space Museum, which is a large collection of documents, newspaper clippings and models of the space exploration from the earliest times. The museum is in a ratty old building but the information was interesting and I am glad we went.
We didn't map this trip out very well because we went all the way back to where the AFB was to the boy's favorite restaurant here, the Ultimate Buffet. We had our last nice supper out (as of this writing. I can be outvoted about eating out) and returned home. The boys went out to ride their ripsticks and Stella and I chilled out here.
We should finish up our museums tomorrow, so stay tuned.
So long.
We returned to the trailer and found that Tyler was already up and ready to go! That was a surprise. I figured he would still be piled up in the bed, but he fooled me. We piddled around the trailer for awhile, but left right after noon for the Peterson Air Force Museum on the Air Force base of the same name. It is all the way across town, and when we got there, it was just beginning to rain. We had been watching the rainstorm come across the mountains and it got here about the time we got here. When we finally got to the gate, we learned that we would need a pass to go to the museum. We had visited the Wright Patterson Air Force Base last year to see the large museum there and had not been required to get a pass, but I forgot that this is the home of the NORAD and a working air base. We also learned that most of the museum displays are outside, so with rain imminent, we decided to try the last museum in our bucket list, the May Natural History Museum.
We drove to the opposite side of town for this museum through the rain most of the way. When we got there, we learned that it is at the May RV Park, out in the boonies above Manitou Springs. The park is remote and has signs posted to beware of the bears, and I noticed the bear-proof dumpsters that are surrounded by barbed wire. I suppose that if you wanted to actually see bears and other wildlife right in the RV park, this would be the place to go. The park is in pretty bad shape, with washed out roads and limited amenities. They do have pull through, full hook up sites, but no wifi or cable TV available. We might change our mind about staying here I guess when you live in your trailer, you can't call it camping any more, can you?) but they will have to improve the park some before we do.
The museum was a huge collection of insects that were collected throughout the world by the campground owner's great grandfather. There were thousands of insects from tiny tsetse flies to gigantic 17 inch stick insect that looks like a pile of sticks until it moves. There were several varieties of deadly insects and a couple of tarantulas with hummingbirds clutched in their grasp. Almost as amazing as the thousands of perfectly preserved insects was the perfectly handwritten identification tags written in tiny script. The earliest date that I noticed was 1916, and after reading a bit about the displays, there are likely some with earlier dates. I'll be honest, after looking for about 30 minutes, I got tired of looking at bugs. Cam and I went out to the lobby area to wait on MeMaw and Tyler. When they got done, we went over into the Space Museum, which is a large collection of documents, newspaper clippings and models of the space exploration from the earliest times. The museum is in a ratty old building but the information was interesting and I am glad we went.
We didn't map this trip out very well because we went all the way back to where the AFB was to the boy's favorite restaurant here, the Ultimate Buffet. We had our last nice supper out (as of this writing. I can be outvoted about eating out) and returned home. The boys went out to ride their ripsticks and Stella and I chilled out here.
We should finish up our museums tomorrow, so stay tuned.
So long.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday August 11, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
We heard of a rock fall on the highway near us. It is on the highway between the Cave of the Winds and the Cave Dwellings. We have probably passed this way a half dozen times since we've been here. Luckily we never got hit by one of these rocks!
Today we visited the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park CO. I didn't think all that much about it, but the boys seemed to enjoy it. Maybe they were wondering if MeMaw and I were born when the dinosaurs roamed the earth...
Here is one of the huge skeletons of a dinosaur.
Another one with the boys standing in front of it. When Tyler was very young he liked to look at books of dinosaurs, but wouldn't go near one, even in the toy aisle in Wal Mart. He would scream and refused to even go into the aisle. It seems funny that hes standing right in front of one.
Here everyone is sitting on the rock wall getting ready to go into the Seven Falls. We lucked out because we got there just after the rainbow trout had been fed, so were able to see many of the fish as they snapped up the food floating on the surface of the water. I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of any of the fish eating.
Here are the Indian dancers performing one of their nightly dances for the crowd. 
Here she is performing the famous eagle dance. I also took photos of the hoop dance, but the Indian that was dancing moved so fast that I only recorded a blur, so I didn't show them.
Here are the boys posing in front of the sign showing each of the seven falls and their individual names. I didn't remember that from our previous visits here, but it's only been 20 years since we've been here.We are growing to a close on our Colorado trip. I know the boys have enjoyed themselves and we will all have memories of our trip.
So long.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday August 10, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Here are Tyler and Cameron at the entrance to the Miramont Castle. The castle was built in the 1890's for a French priest named Father Francolon, son of a wealthy and aristocratic family. He came to Manitou Springs because of the "healing waters" here in hopes of restoring his health. He was known as a loner and was reportedly unpopular with the local residents. Fr. Francolon asked a group of nuns to come to the home to establish a sanatorium, primarily for the treatment of tuberculosis. The nuns also offered lessons in piano, violin, guitar, mandolin and banjo according to an advertisement in the 1896 Manitou Springs Journal. The castle sat vacant from 1928 to 1946 when it was sold to private owners. The property was acquired by the Manitou Springs Historical Society and they immediately began the restoration of the property.
Here is Cameron demonstrating the 2 foot thick walls of native sandstone. Miramont, which means "look at the mountains", was built with indoor plumbing and electricity, which was available in the late 1880's.
This is an anchor that is placed in one of the walls that is holding the castle against the mountain. Both Cameron and I tried to move it but we were unable to...LOL.
This is one of the suits of armor displayed in the castle. What was surprising to us was how skinny the wearers of this were. They were pretty tall, but thin.
One of the long rooms, probably a dining room, on the third floor of the castle. The hardwood floors squeak a lot when you walk across the room.
This is one of the bedrooms in the castle, showing examples of the dresses worn at the time. Many of the furnishings were loaned to the Historical Society for display here.
This is the same bedroom, showing the other furnishings of the room and the leaded glass windows in the room.
This is one of the bathrooms in the castle. Notice the clawfoot tub? I've seen reproductions of these in some very expensive homes today so this style hasn't gone out of style.
This could have been a sitting room or another bedroom. I believe there were 48 rooms in the castle, so there may have been even other uses for this room at one time. We were told that when the nuns operated this as a sanatorium, this could have been used as a medical procedure room. It is very well lit and a very nice-sized room.
This is a better photo of the lead glass windows. There are several stained glass windows on the lower floors, some modern and some old.
This was a living room/sitting room on, I believe, the third floor.
This is a dining room on the third floor. The upper floors were served by a rear, very narrow stairway that was used by servants. There are also two chair lifts, but they have been installed fairly recently and were not a part of the original construction.
This is a kitchen, showing the old coal-fired stove. Many of the old kitchen "appliances" and furniture is in this room. It is quite interesting to see how things were over a hundred years ago. See the photo below for more kitchen furnishings
The black and silver appliance is a water warmer. The other appliance is a clothes washing machine. 
When we left the castle, we cruised through a neighborhood and saw a large mule deer walking around in someones front yard, eating their trees and grass. I was out of the truck when I took this photo and the deer seems to be saying "I wonder what the heck he's doing, looking at me like that".
"Well, he doesn't seem to be bothering me, so I'm gonna eat some more. This grass is delicious!"
"I've got better places to be, so I'm leaving"We continued on with our museum visits this afternoon. We went to the American Numismatic Museum (say that a few times!) or the money museum as it is better known. There is a very interesting history of money including paper, coins, tokens, medals and other forms of currency used all over the world. There is a large exhibit of money from the Civil War era into modern times. Unfortunately, I became ill during this visit and did not take any photos. Some of the coins are very intricate in their design and VERY valuable. I met a very friendly security guard while I sat while the rest of the family visited the museum.
After leaving the money museum, I began to feel a little better, so we decided to visit a motorcycle museum that is in the same general area of Colorado Springs. When we arrived at the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum, we found that it is being moved into a nearby Harley Davidson building. We went into the original location which is still open, but none of the motorcycles were marked. There was a man in one of the offices who told us that the museum was moving, so we went to the Harley store to see more. When we got there, a very surly clerk told us that the museum wasn't open yet. I guess that since we were just looking for the museum, two senior and their grandchildren weren't going to buy a bike, so she was very unhelpful. If I were in the market for a motorcycle, I certainly wouldn't buy one here.
We returned home and ate supper. The boys went outside and rode their ripsticks, enjoying the cool weather. I like it because I can walk around the park, even during the middle of the day, and not break into a sweat. I can see why exercise is so popular here.
So long.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday August 9, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Stella, Cam and I got up this morning and took the truck to the Daniels-Long Chevrolet dealership near us to have the low coolant light checked out. Tyler elected to stay home in bed, and told us when we returned that he had slept until 11:30. He is his mother's son!
If you remember, I had it checked in Carlsbad but we couldn't find anything after flushing the radiator. I thought there might be a problem with the sensor, but I wanted a professional to check it. I didn't really want to get back out on the road with a service problem that may have gotten worse. After a short time, we were told that they had found a very tiny coolant leak at a cooling line to the turbo. We quickly authorized the work to be done. While waiting, one of the salesmen came in trying his best to peddle a new car to the folks waiting for their cars and trucks to be repaired. His off was to put us into a new Chevrolet and lower our payment. I should have taken him up non his offer. Our truck is paid for, so I guess to lower the payment, he would have had to pay us a monthly note....not!
I did go in and talk with him after a few minutes. I soon learned that he is a new salesman, trying to get started in a very tough business, especially right now. I soon learned that he didn't know the answers to any of my questions, but instead of giving me misinformation, he went and found someone who should have known. He introduced me to the fleet manager, who knew more about the products, but still couldn't answer my question about the new DEF (Diesel Emission Fluid). They admitted that they had just had a meeting with someone from the factory who had told them about this new fluid, which must be added to a tank for use as an additive to the exhaust to burn off any hydrocarbons remaining in the exhaust instead of diesel fuel that has been used in the past to "regenerate" the exhaust. They didn't know the size of the DEF tank, how often it should be refilled or the cost of the fluid. Not much help, but at least they didn't lie to me. We did have a nice discussion of the new trucks and he told me that Chevy will soon be coming out with a new 4500 series truck, possibly in a few months. That might be something I may want to look at when they come out. He told me that the new trucks will be on the same body style as the 3500 series of trucks but have heavier running gear to tow more. I guess we'll see when they come out.
We went to the grocery store on the way back home and picked up enough for the rest of the week. It was threatening rain again, so we decided not to do anything else today and just hung out at home. We will do more exploring tomorrow and the rest of the week.
So long.
If you remember, I had it checked in Carlsbad but we couldn't find anything after flushing the radiator. I thought there might be a problem with the sensor, but I wanted a professional to check it. I didn't really want to get back out on the road with a service problem that may have gotten worse. After a short time, we were told that they had found a very tiny coolant leak at a cooling line to the turbo. We quickly authorized the work to be done. While waiting, one of the salesmen came in trying his best to peddle a new car to the folks waiting for their cars and trucks to be repaired. His off was to put us into a new Chevrolet and lower our payment. I should have taken him up non his offer. Our truck is paid for, so I guess to lower the payment, he would have had to pay us a monthly note....not!
I did go in and talk with him after a few minutes. I soon learned that he is a new salesman, trying to get started in a very tough business, especially right now. I soon learned that he didn't know the answers to any of my questions, but instead of giving me misinformation, he went and found someone who should have known. He introduced me to the fleet manager, who knew more about the products, but still couldn't answer my question about the new DEF (Diesel Emission Fluid). They admitted that they had just had a meeting with someone from the factory who had told them about this new fluid, which must be added to a tank for use as an additive to the exhaust to burn off any hydrocarbons remaining in the exhaust instead of diesel fuel that has been used in the past to "regenerate" the exhaust. They didn't know the size of the DEF tank, how often it should be refilled or the cost of the fluid. Not much help, but at least they didn't lie to me. We did have a nice discussion of the new trucks and he told me that Chevy will soon be coming out with a new 4500 series truck, possibly in a few months. That might be something I may want to look at when they come out. He told me that the new trucks will be on the same body style as the 3500 series of trucks but have heavier running gear to tow more. I guess we'll see when they come out.
We went to the grocery store on the way back home and picked up enough for the rest of the week. It was threatening rain again, so we decided not to do anything else today and just hung out at home. We will do more exploring tomorrow and the rest of the week.
So long.
Sunday August 8, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Today was the day that Mike, Patrice and Ryan left for home. Stella and I went out and talked to them as they loaded up but it was a good thing that Tyler and Cameron had told them goodbye last night because they didn't get up in time to see them off. They got away about 8:15 and lucked out because a motorhome across the street had just left prior to their leaving, so they had plenty of room to swing out and leave.
I want to take some time to tell you about this park. I already mentioned about the difficulties in backing into our site. Unless there is a lot of room to swing in, a straight site is very hard to get into. Then we couldn't get onto the park wifi, but since we have our own network, we just used it. I was a little leery of using our system with both Tyler and Cameron using the internet but neither one has downloaded very much, so we are good at this point. Tyler is thrilled by his Facebook account and is up to over 70 friends already. I have also noticed that many of the guests here don't speak and act as though they are avoiding making contact with anyone. They seem surprised when we speak to them and only mumble a hello back. We noticed this same phenomenon at a seniors park in the Rio Grande Valley. So much for my rant on this park.
We stayed around the trailer and did maintenance today. While Stella did a weeks worth of laundry for the four of us, the boys and I cleaned the inside and outside of the trailer. We swept, dusted and scrubbed the interior and washed down the outside, washing away all the dirt and grime that we had picked up on the way up here. It was a lot of work, but we got it done. I then scrubbed the front cap, using a new cleaner/wax that I bought when we went to the flea market in Shipshewanna Indiana. It worked very well, taking the bugs off, even thought they have been baking on the front for two weeks. I don't know about the wax product but I guess time will tell.
We ate the last of Stella's goulash tonight. I think it is better after a few days of blending together, and I wasn't disappointed. We were all tired after all the work we did, and we got our evening rain. It rained very hard and the thunder terrified Cassie, but since we were all inside, she had a lot of love from all of us.
It was a hard day's work, but it was necessary. I think we all felt better after getting it done.
So long.
I want to take some time to tell you about this park. I already mentioned about the difficulties in backing into our site. Unless there is a lot of room to swing in, a straight site is very hard to get into. Then we couldn't get onto the park wifi, but since we have our own network, we just used it. I was a little leery of using our system with both Tyler and Cameron using the internet but neither one has downloaded very much, so we are good at this point. Tyler is thrilled by his Facebook account and is up to over 70 friends already. I have also noticed that many of the guests here don't speak and act as though they are avoiding making contact with anyone. They seem surprised when we speak to them and only mumble a hello back. We noticed this same phenomenon at a seniors park in the Rio Grande Valley. So much for my rant on this park.
We stayed around the trailer and did maintenance today. While Stella did a weeks worth of laundry for the four of us, the boys and I cleaned the inside and outside of the trailer. We swept, dusted and scrubbed the interior and washed down the outside, washing away all the dirt and grime that we had picked up on the way up here. It was a lot of work, but we got it done. I then scrubbed the front cap, using a new cleaner/wax that I bought when we went to the flea market in Shipshewanna Indiana. It worked very well, taking the bugs off, even thought they have been baking on the front for two weeks. I don't know about the wax product but I guess time will tell.
We ate the last of Stella's goulash tonight. I think it is better after a few days of blending together, and I wasn't disappointed. We were all tired after all the work we did, and we got our evening rain. It rained very hard and the thunder terrified Cassie, but since we were all inside, she had a lot of love from all of us.
It was a hard day's work, but it was necessary. I think we all felt better after getting it done.
So long.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday August 7, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Today we slowed down a little bit. This is Mike and Patrice's (and of course, their grandson Ryan's) last full day here in Colorado Springs so we decided to go to the Manitou Pancake and Steakhouse for their breakfast buffet. Stella and I had been to it many years ago on one of our previous trips, so we were confident that it would be good. It was... We all had plenty to eat, but that was the plan because while Stella and I took all three boys to the zoo, Mike and Patrice were going to start packing up to leave tomorrow and then we were all going to go back to the Ultimate Buffet for supper again.
We made our way to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, only one of two mountain zoos in the United States. It covers 70 acres of gently sloped walkways up onto the side of Cheyenne Mountain, and I think we walked every square foot of it. As I said, the walks are gentle slopes but Stella's bad knees limited her mobility and she took an elevator when she could. The boys enjoyed the zoo and the animals there. Tyler liked the many chipmunks that ran all over the park and Cameron liked the grizzly bear best. The grizzles enclosure had a small pool that is right next to the viewing area, so when one of the grizzlies got into the water, they were within an arm's length of the visitors, but of course safely behind a heavy piece of glass or Plexiglas, so there was no danger. the bears are very large and intimidating, with huge paws and claws. It is easy to see how deadly they could be. The chipmunks were very cute and begged for treats all over the park.
The giraffes were also unusual in that they are the largest herd of reticulated giraffes in the United States. Visitors are able to feed them with specially-made giraffe crackers in inside or outside viewing areas. The giraffes come right up to be hand-fed and seem to be very gentle. Many of the small children were frightened by the large animals.
We returned home and I took a very-much needed nap to rest from the 150 mile march-uphill-that I was forced to do this afternoon. After an hour or so of recuperating, we took the boys back to their favorite restaurant, the Ultimate Buffet oriental food buffet restaurant. The boys found some sort of fruit that looked like an eyeball, but although everyone else tried it, I was chicken and wouldn't experiment with one. They said it tasted faintly like a pear but had a different flavor. We all ate more than we needed, but we had promised the boys that we would bring them back here, so we enjoyed out meal.
We returned home and went over to Mike and Patrice's site which is directly behind ours and across a drainage ditch that we called "the river". Every time it rained, the rainwater filled the river with a rushing stream and the boys all wanted to walk across it, but we wouldn't let them. Careful grandparents! We sat outside and chatted about their trip home. Patrice had bought ingredients to make S'mores for the boys. Even after eating at a delicious buffet, they managed to put away an amazing number of the chocolate/marshmallow treats.
Tyler and Cameron told everyone goodbye in case they didn't get up in time to see them off in the morning and it turned out to be a good thing... We enjoyed our time with them, and talking about our past adventures and dreams of the future.
So long.
We made our way to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, only one of two mountain zoos in the United States. It covers 70 acres of gently sloped walkways up onto the side of Cheyenne Mountain, and I think we walked every square foot of it. As I said, the walks are gentle slopes but Stella's bad knees limited her mobility and she took an elevator when she could. The boys enjoyed the zoo and the animals there. Tyler liked the many chipmunks that ran all over the park and Cameron liked the grizzly bear best. The grizzles enclosure had a small pool that is right next to the viewing area, so when one of the grizzlies got into the water, they were within an arm's length of the visitors, but of course safely behind a heavy piece of glass or Plexiglas, so there was no danger. the bears are very large and intimidating, with huge paws and claws. It is easy to see how deadly they could be. The chipmunks were very cute and begged for treats all over the park.
The giraffes were also unusual in that they are the largest herd of reticulated giraffes in the United States. Visitors are able to feed them with specially-made giraffe crackers in inside or outside viewing areas. The giraffes come right up to be hand-fed and seem to be very gentle. Many of the small children were frightened by the large animals.
We returned home and I took a very-much needed nap to rest from the 150 mile march-uphill-that I was forced to do this afternoon. After an hour or so of recuperating, we took the boys back to their favorite restaurant, the Ultimate Buffet oriental food buffet restaurant. The boys found some sort of fruit that looked like an eyeball, but although everyone else tried it, I was chicken and wouldn't experiment with one. They said it tasted faintly like a pear but had a different flavor. We all ate more than we needed, but we had promised the boys that we would bring them back here, so we enjoyed out meal.
We returned home and went over to Mike and Patrice's site which is directly behind ours and across a drainage ditch that we called "the river". Every time it rained, the rainwater filled the river with a rushing stream and the boys all wanted to walk across it, but we wouldn't let them. Careful grandparents! We sat outside and chatted about their trip home. Patrice had bought ingredients to make S'mores for the boys. Even after eating at a delicious buffet, they managed to put away an amazing number of the chocolate/marshmallow treats.
Tyler and Cameron told everyone goodbye in case they didn't get up in time to see them off in the morning and it turned out to be a good thing... We enjoyed our time with them, and talking about our past adventures and dreams of the future.
So long.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday August 6, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Here are the boys, Cameron and Tyler, ready to explore the Cave of the Winds. They are standing at the main display as you enter the park. You will see where the water that flows behind them goes in a few pictures.
Looking down into the valley below the observation platform. I forgot to check the altitude of this location, but it's pretty high. The thing about Colorado is that there is so much beauty here, almost every step is a different view and for sure, every turn is another photo op.
A view down the valley with the mountains in the background.
Here is the whole crew panning for gemstones. There were several large "rocks" and stones found, and everyone had a good time panning.
Looking straight down from the observation platform to the valley below. As I said before, I don't know how far down it is, but looking straight down like this, it looks like a mile.
This is the road leading to the cliff dwellings that are located below the cave. We didn't tour this attraction and the boys didn't seem too interested in doing so at another time, so we'll hold this one for next time we come.
Cam made a new friend as we were leaving. Actually, we did see a live bear when we were going to Pikes Peak. It had apparently come down into the residential area from the mountain and couldn't find it's way out. It looked very frightened, but of course, by the time we went up and down the mountain it was gone. The three boys made the tour of the cave while the adults hung out in the waiting area. Patrice found some very nice jackets in the gift shop and both she and Mike got one. Stella bought me a shirt but other than that, nothing else was bought.
While the boys were in the cave, our regular afternoon shower came in. It rained very hard and even small hail fell. The thunder in the mountains is awesome! It is much louder than what we experience along the coast. The lightning seems closer, but the thunder is unbelievable.
We came back home and fixed hamburgers on Mike's new grill. We had a nice meal and sat around outside until about 9:30 when the bugs started to bite and we all turned in. Our time with Mike and Patrice is nearing a close as they have to return to Texas on Sunday. Patrice has to go back to work....ugh! That nasty word.
So long.
So long.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday August 5, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Here are Cameron and Tyler all dressed up in their warm clothes, ready to climb Pikes Peak on the cog railway. This, to me, was the high point of the week, but the boys were a little less than enthusiastic because this was the second day in a row that they had to get our of their warm bed very early to take a trip.
This is a view of one of the rock slide areas that our conductor and guide referred to as Colorado sand. If you look behind the tree line, you can see that we are above the clouds, and probably at an altitude of well over 10,000 feet. The height of the mountain at the peak is 14,115 feet. I know that it makes me ill when we get to the top.
Here is a shot from the peak of the mountain. As I said before, I was ill as soon as I stood up on the railcar, so I didn't spend much time outside.
Here is another shot of the grandeur of the mountains. It is said that you can see all the way to Kansas here. The only time we have been in Kansas, all I saw was fields of grain and corn, and I can't see them from here. I'll just take our guide's word for it.
This is an interesting photo for me and my family. When we were much younger, our Dad took us to Manitou Springs every summer for several years and we always stayed in the same place. If you climb these stairs and then walk up a steeply inclined walkway, you will find a large group of tiny little houses, which used to be a motel, which is where we stayed. The boys and I climbed up to the old motel site, which is still there, and looked around. It appears that the old houses have either been sold or are rentals. Other than :Keep Out, Private Property" signs, there was nothing to tell us. I brought Stella up here in 1990 when we first came to Manitou Springs and there were signs posted that said that the property was student housing.When we came back from the train ride, we all rested up a bit before we went into downtown Manitou to an arcade/shopping area which is in the same area where the above picture was taken. Stella and Patrice shopped in some of the small "tourist trap" shops and the boys went to the arcade to play. Mike and I stayed near the arcade,but we weren't there too long before one of the afternoon rainstorms came through and rained us out. We had ridden a city bus up here from our RV park because parking is very difficult, especially for large trucks, so we had to go find shelter from the rain while waiting for our bus.
There must be some kind of discourteousness test given to applicants for bus drivers here. Neither driver was helpful to us at all, but the ride-home driver was better than the first one. If it had not been for other bus passengers telling us where to get off, we might have missed our stop and had to walk in the rain back to the park. It is much more convenient to not have to find a parking space or pay $5.00 to park to ride the bus, but find out where you want to be let off before going on a bus ride in Manitou Springs Colorado.
It had stopped raining by the time we got home, so everyone was hungry and the boys wanted to eat at an oriental buffet. Stella and Patrice got on the internet and found one for us called the Ultimate Oriental Buffet. After a loooong drive, we found it and, believe me, it is the ultimate buffet! I think each of the boys went back three or four times, so we all left there stuffed! We made our way back home and all went in, since it was still wet outside from the rain. Another great day in Colorado.
So long.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday August 4, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Here is Cameron and Tyler standing in front of one of the old trains on display at the train ride through the Royal Gorge. You can't tell it from this picture, but I think they're pretty excited about it.
Here you see Mike, Patrice, Ryan with his head turned, Tyler and Cameron sitting at a table while we wait to board the train.
Here you can see how sheer the cliff walls are down to the river. Up high in the photo is the Royal Gorge bridge over the canyon. The gorge is approximately 50 feet wide at the bottom and a few hundred feet wide at the top. The gorge is approximately 1250 feet deep. I believe that it is still illegal to fish from the bridge...
There is a helicopter that takes patrons for a ride over the gorge and frequently buzzes down into the gorge. It looks like a very exciting ride but we didn't have time to take the flight.
You can see how rough and muddy the water was today. The recent rains have stirred up a lot of dirt in the river.
Its kind of difficult to see, but if you look closely, you can see the remnants of the old water line into Canon City. I'm not certain when the line was put in but it was used up until the 1970's.
Here is a group of rafters that are jumping into a deep spot in the river. They climb up on the rocks and jump into the river.
Here are some rafters floating down the river. Mike and Patrice agreed to take all three boys on this float this afternoon. We all went to eat at the White Water Bar and Grill before they had to change and get ready for the raft float. The food was terrible and I can't recommend it to anyone. The meat was tasteless and even though they furnished condiments, the whole sandwich was dry and hard to eat. Stella and I drove back to Colorado Springs and rested for the afternoon. We started out to come back through Victor, which is a sister city to Cripple Creek but doesn't have the gambling and is reportedly almost a ghost town, but the road we started out on turned into a gravel road and we decided not to go that way. We came on back on a back road instead of the freeway we had gone up on and found it a prettier drive but longer in time.
Stella fixed some of her goulash for supper for everyone and we sat around visiting, listening to the rain. It has rained every night since we've been here, but it cools things off and makes it nice. It was 59 degrees this morning, so its a welcome change from the Houston area. We're going to enjoy it as long as we can.
So long.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday August 3, 2010-Garden of the Gods Campground
Here we are, getting ready to leave on another narrow-gauge railroad ride around the Cripple Creek Colorado area. As soon as this man, the conductor, gets aboard, we will leave.
The town of Cripple Creek. We were told that less than 2000 live here now, but around the turn of the 20th century, Cripple Creek was one of the largest cities in Colorado and only lost the vote to become the state's capitol by 4 votes to Denver. Imagine that, the Cripple Creek Broncos. The Colorado Rockies baseball team playing in Coors field in Cripple Creek. The city came very close to becoming a ghost town in the 1970's and 1980's however the state allowed gambling to come into Cripple Creek, which has increased the population and caused new buildings to be built as well as remodeling many of the old buildings.
A view up into the hills above Cripple Creek showing some of the old mines and tailings from the mines. The ride was very interesting with the history of Cripple Creek and the mines. The original name for the area was Poverty Gulch. It was renamed Cripple Creek by one of the cattlemen of the area when he lost some of his animals due to broken legs trying to cross the creek. A miner named Bob Womack made the first gold find in the Cripple Creek area and his claim started the last of the gold rushes in Colorado. Old Bob loved to drink and it is told that he went on a three day drinking binge and when he woke, he learned that he had sold his claim for $500 and a case of whiskey. About five million dollars worth of gold was removed from that claim, so he didn't do too well in the sale. Ol' Bob died penniless. Approximately $500,000,000 in gold ore was removed from the hills and valley around Cripple Creek, and this figure was at the going rate of gold at the time of $20-25 per ounce. Gold now sells for about $1,200 per ounce.
I knew I should have bought some land there...
This is Echo Canyon near Cripple Creek. The railroad train engineer demonstrated it by blowing his horn a few times and letting us listen to the echo. It was a very impressive display.
This is the old blacksmith shop that remains standing. Most of the old town burned down in the late 1890's, but this and a few other buildings remain.
The road is laid on the old rail lines. Behind the road are more old mines and buildings that remain there. The land now belongs to a new company that has been strip mining for gold.
We are on the siding, waiting for this train to go by so we can back into the station. Our ride is almost over.
Here is our happy group, Patrice, Tyler, Cameron and Ryan. Mike's arm can be seen taking a photo on the left side of the picture.
Here is little smarty Cameron, standing just inside the doorway to one of the casinos, in violation of the law of no one under the age of 21 being allowed to enter a casino. Actually, I told him he could do this, so don't get mad at Cameron for being a lawbreaker. His PePaw put him up to it. After our trip to Cripple Creek, we returned to town, intending to go to the Cave of the Winds today. We stopped off at Wal Mart to pick up a few items, and while there, the afternoon rains came, so we decided not to go to the cave today. We will do that one later in the week when the weather cooperates better.
We all came back home and watched the rain for the afternoon. We have big plans for the next two days, so check back here for more fun.
So long.
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