Friday September 21, 2018-Moving Day-Corral RV Park to Fun Time RV Park, Winstar Casino

We were up as usual this morning, and after having a quick breakfast and coffee, we were packed up and moving about 8:30, or right on time from an overnight stop. s soon as we hit the open road it began to rain lightly and continued all the way to Thackerville. Not only did we fight the rain, we had gusty winds to deal with as well. It certainly effected the fuel mileage today! Yesterday, coming down out of the mountains, we made very good mileage, showing almost 13 miles per gallon but today was much worse, around 8-9 mpg. 

It was pouring rain when we arrived and it didn't take me long to get soaked while I got the water and electricity set up. I came inside and saw some water on the floor from an apparent leak around the kitchen slide, but it was dried up quickly. I added a small puddle where I was standing, but it too dried up well.

Our friends, Tony and Erika were coming in from Cisco, where they live, and told us to do our own thing for supper since they would be later arriving, so we ate in and relaxed until they arrived. They got here a little after 7, and after hugs and handshakes, we again split up, then to get something to eat and us to stay inside, out of the never-ending rain!

It had been a long trip, in the rain, but we were glad to be here spending time with friends. 

So long.

Thursday September 20, 2018-Moving Day-Mountain Views Resort to the Corral, Dalhart Tx.

Today was a day that I dreaded and anticipated at the same time.This was about as long as we have ever stayed in one place and I was ready to go but at the same time, we had a great summer in cool Colorado.

I got used to cool temperatures every night and nice temps during the days with no humidity! I seldom broke a sweat and when I did, it dried up quickly. I got used to great weather for walking down a pretty little trail beside a nice creek (Oxbow creek) and for the last couple of months, I've been walking 5 miles a day. I probably won't be able to do those distances when I get back to Texas, but I'll keep up the exercises.

Today's trip began right about on time, with us pulling out about 10 o'clock. Not too bad for almost no work getting done yesterday. We spent most of yesterday getting the truck out of the shop at the Town and Country Auto dealership in Alamosa. The truck had developed a serious oil leak and when we took it in, they diagnosed the problem as a rear main oil seal leaking. That required an overnight stay in the shop for the truck, but they gave us a loaner car, so we were not afoot. After keeping the truck for an extra day because of a lack of parts, we got it back yesterday and it runs like a new one now!

Back to the story of today's travels. We made a couple of short stops, soon after leaving. The first was to completely close the door-side slide, which had accidentally been left slightly ajar. No problem, but we did have to pull over to close it. We then made a routine "pit stop" at a small rest area outside of South Fork Colorado. Our last stop was at a large rest area outside of Trinidad Colorado. We have been here before and it is a handy stop for us and the dogs!

It began to rain on us soon after the final stop and it continued all the way across New Mexico. We made good time and arrived here at Dalhart about 5:30. Remember, we lost an hour when we got into Texas and the Central time zone. In no time at all, we were checked in and set up for an overnight stay, just as it began to rain in earnest. I will add some pictures when the Internet is better.

So long.

Thursday September 13, 2018-Mountain Views at Rivers Edge Resort

We made a drive up the Batchelor Loop today and as you can see below, the scenery is spectacular! I think the colors are more gold this year, but that might just be my eyes...

I hope you can blow this up enough to read about the area. 

We went all the way to the top of the loop, and as you can see, we were almost 2000 feet above Creede. 

Maybe we'll be able to see more breathtaking sights before we leave.

So long.

Friday August 31, 2018-Mountain Views at Rivers Edge Resort

The annual Creede balloon festival began this morning. A crisp, cold morning here in the mountains is a beautiful way to begin a day.

Getting started!

First liftoff

The balloons dip down into the Rio Grande River

The balloons float right over our RV park

Beautiful

Wednesday August 29, 2018-Mountain View Resort

We made a drive over to Deer Creek, just past Slumgullion Pass. As you can see below, the lake is pretty high elevation 10,442 in the parking lot. We have seen moose here before and saw a total of 5 today, a deer on the way home. I saw two beavers in the lake but they wouldn't stick around for me to take their picture.

This is Deer Lake, where we have seen moose in the past, but we saw none here today.

This Mama Moose looked kind of bad today. She looked pretty skinny and seemed to have a problem with her left rear leg or hip.I wonder if moose have arthritis?

Her baby moose.

This Mama looked much better!

This moose cow was alone, or at least her baby was not in sight. It could have been camera shy or had been hidden by Mama.

We had a nice time today and will likely return here before we leave.

So long.

Friday August 24, 2018-Mountain View RV Resort

Today we made a trip to the Big Meadow Campground that is operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This campground offers campsites with  fire ring and parking for an RV. No utilities are offered, but the meadow-like area is beautiful with a nice lake that is stocked with fish. A boat ramp is nearby as well as ample places to fish off the bank.

Our new friends Ronny and Nelda moved here after staying for some time parked beside us at Mountain View. They used to live in League City and we had several friends in common. 

I am fascinated by hummingbirds. I love to watch them flit around while they are feeding. I put out two feeders but so far, all I have attracted are bees and ants.

Here is a view of the lake below Ronny and Nelda's site. They have fished in the lake a few times since they've been here and caught a few fish.

Our other friends from Mountain View came up today to fish. Pam and Merle own a lot at Mountain View and are avid fishermen/woman. They have fished at several of the local lakes. Joe and Jan are also good at fishing but don't go as often. They all had a good day today, catching 10 fish together. They will have a nice fish fry.

Later tonight, we went with Pam and Merle to the Elks Lodge here in the park. This is the building where we have church services on Sunday, for a performance by Pauline Reese. She is a singer of some note, having been nominated for a Grammy award as was her accompanying guitar player. None of us were impressed with her "performance" and we left the show early. She was about 45 minutes late to begin with, and incessantly talked before each song that she sang. Three of the four songs that we heard were her own writing and her singing of "the Red River Valley" was nothing out of the ordinary.

There is a festival today in town that Ms. Reese is a part of, but we decided after last night not to go. I am writing this in the afternoon and it has been raining for about 30 minutes, so, unfortunately for the festival, they are getting rained out. Perhaps they will organize another one next year. We'll see...

So long.