Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is another one of those parks where, on a good day, you have the chance to come home with some more of those calendar like pictures.  :)
I’ve never been to this park in the autumn, and really couldn’t get enough of the fall colors.  I didn’t take all of the roads in the park because as I neared the highest portion of the park, a snow storm began.  I’m a chicken when it comes to taking a chance with snow storms in mountains, so I turned around and headed back down.
If you read yesterday’s post, you know that this was a journey of remembrance for me.  Being out to see these natural wonders refreshed my soul.
Though the aspen colors were mostly past peak, there were small groves that were just brilliantly colored.
In a meadow near West Horseshoe Park, a bull elk was keeping watch over his harem of about 20 cows.
On the periphery of this herd were two much younger bulls that were hoping to maybe steal away a cow or two.  By the size of the big bull, I’d say these two probably won’t have any luck with that!  The bugling of that big bull sent chills up and down my spine.
When I arrived at this campground on Saturday, my oldest son, Daniel, met me at the office.  He lives about 90 minutes away outside of Denver.  He’ll be moving to Los Angeles in about two weeks, so I was glad we got a chance to visit before his move.  That’s his dog, Buddy, with him.  They both stayed for the night, so we had a nice campfire while we chewed the fat.  Emma was in 7th heaven with a four footed companion to bother.  I didn’t think she’d ever call down, but finally after midnight they both collapsed.

Today was spent running errands in Loveland, CO, and tomorrow my plans are to get through Denver and head for Kansas.  Life goes on…

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

In their honor…

After hearing the tragic news about MARGIE and Bruce last evening, I was unable to write a post.  It was a very sad night for me and many others as we tried to digest and understand this horrible change of events.  The RV blog world is mired in grief. 

I can only post a few pictures tonight in their honor…  They were with me in my thoughts as I visited Rocky Mountain National Park today.  It was not my usual exuberant visit to one of my nation’s wonderful parks, but a journey of remembrance of a friend lost. 
I hope you both are soaring together over these magnificent peaks…
I am only one of many who will miss your kind and thoughtful ways…

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy  

The warning signs were correct!

Have you ever noticed how out West the road caution signs may say ‘Possible High Winds Next 5 Miles', and then when you get to the end of the 5 miles, another similar sign is posted?  Why don’t they just say Possible High Winds Next 100 Miles?  I always feel a sense of relief after having made it through the first five miles, but then a feeling of dread as another sign appears.  I’d rather know right off how many miles I need to be on guard!  That’s how the last 25 or so miles of my 200+ mile journey went today.  At least the winds were mostly a tail wind, for a change, and I stopped before they really got out of control.
I ended up in Rawlins, WY, at the Western Hills Campground.  This place is one huge gravel parking lot, but there is a dog run, it’s very level, and it’s an only slightly difficult approach because of construction from I-80.  By the time I got to this exit, I was ready to pack it in!  :)

RICK, has commented that he would like to see a lot of pictures of Wyoming since he and Paulette haven’t been to this area.  Well, I have to tell you that I didn’t have many photo opportunities today.  I’m not one of those people who can drive this big rig and take photos at the same time.  The places that I did stop to refresh weren’t exactly scenic.  :)  The first 100 miles heading East from Evanston kind of reminded me of the Badlands of South Dakota.  Not as spectacular, but austere in their own way.  After that is was a rolling terrain of sage brush and buttes.  Quite a few of those buttes had me chugging along with my warning flashers going as I slowly made it up to the summits.  I think I crossed the continental divide three times today, and am presently at an elevation that is close to 7000’.  I’m guessing that it will get a little nippy tonight.
This is the view across the street from the campground and looking to the West along I-80.
And to the East, pretty much more of the same.  The dried grasses all appear golden in the setting sun, and the hills (or mountains) retain that soft look from afar even though it is a rather harsh environment.  I don’t know if this is considered the high plains or the high desert.
Whatever it is, it makes for some long shadows of this woman and her dog.  :)  (we kind of look like pin heads, don’t we?)

Since we’re less than 150 miles from Cheyenne, I’m thinking of maybe pressing on to the Denver area tomorrow.  You know how fulltimer’s plans are though…wiggly like Jell-O!  The winds have calmed some as the sun has gone down, so maybe I won’t pull in my big slide tonight as I thought I might.  We’ll see.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy 

Finally out of Idaho…

and just in the nick of time.  I drove about 220 miles today and ended up in Evanston, Wyoming.
When I arrived at the park there was a sign on the door that said the office wouldn’t open until 3:00, and that they had shut the water off.  As I briefly walked around to find a site, I noticed that several of the areas had been cordoned off. 
I picked a site on the end of a row so I could leave the toad attached.  This is just a one night stop.  When the office opened, I went in to pay, and found out that by next week this place will be closed for the season.  I also found out there were larger sites available in the back.  :(  It’s obvious this park of the park was built before the advent of big rigs.  I just barely squeezed into this site, and I mentioned to the owner that if someone parked in the site in front of me tonight I would have a problem getting out in the morning. 

So far, he’s parked everyone that’s come in off the road in the back section, so I’m happy about that.  No matter where you park here, you will have to deal with road sounds.  Being in the front, at least I’m a little further away from I-80.  At least they haven’t turned off the water supply to the laundry room, so I did get that chore accomplished this afternoon. 
This park is old, but clean as a whistle.  There are also lots of Halloween decorations around the entrance and office.  There is another wicked witch near the office door that pops out of a caldron and then sinks back inside.  As Emma and I walked past that one, she went into orbit!  Lots of barking and hair on end.  :)  “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too!”

As many of you know, Wyoming is a pretty wide state, so it will take me two days to get across it.  I’m thinking after four days of travel, I may take a break for a day this weekend once I reach Cheyenne.  I remember reading about a fellow blogger stopping at Terry Bison Ranch RV outside of Cheyenne, but I can’t remember who for the life of me.  If whoever it is reads this, could you let me know how you liked the place, or just let me know who you are so I can check in your blog archives.

Since my present journey to Anahuac NWR is at a speeded up pace, I’m not always able to check all the blogs I follow, and certainly will be limited on the number of comments I have time to make.  Just know, that I’m trying to keep up with you all, but won’t be very verbal about it until I’m settled outside of Houston.  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Highways and Horse Apples

I was up in the darkness of predawn because I was anxious to get on my way.  I had to deal with finalizing the bill first, and I have to say it was a shock to pay a C note for my portion of the bill!  Most of that was the overnight shipping costs for the levelers.  As I said yesterday, a ridiculous amount.  Well, in less than five months, the cost of my extended warranty has paid for itself, and I have 4-1/2 years to go!  I just would really not prefer to have to use it again.

As I got on the road at 9:30, I was a little skittish driving down the road.  I kept watching the engine temp gauge, kind of expecting it to go too high.  As I went up and down the hills, it remained in the safe range, and eventually I settled down.  The trip was really uneventful, and I arrived at Village of Trees RV Park about 2:00.
It was only a trip of about 175 miles, but I was exhausted after I got the rig set up.  I guess it’s all the stress of the last couple of weeks catching up with me.  :(  I had planned to do laundry at this park, but I just didn’t have the oomph.

Instead, Emma and I sat outside for awhile, and then I took her for a good long walk.
There’s a trail at the end of the campground that leads down to the Snake River.  We took that, and enjoyed a view of the river that wasn’t as dramatic as the views where all the raptors nest in the cliff sides.  The land is fairly flat in this valley.
Once we returned to the rig, Emma was on patrol duty keeping all the squirrels in line.  :)
They were all over the place, and kept Emma’s heart racing for several hours.  A good cardio workout for her?  :)

Tomorrow, I’m hoping to make it through the rest of Idaho, then the NE corner of Utah, and end up in the SW corner of Wyoming for the night.  Oh yeah, as Emma and I made our way down to the Snake River, I noticed that horses often use this path.  As I was taking a shot of the river, I turned and noticed Emma beginning to chow down on a horse apple!  Yuck!  Dogs can be so disgusting at times!  :P

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Time to blow this Popsicle Stand!

After 15 nights in this parking lot, I’m ready to go!  I had a knock on my door this morning as I was preparing to head out on another scenic byway.  The new levelers had just been delivered from Wisconsin.  To heck with the scenic byway!  I told them I’d have the rig packed up and ready to move to the repair bay in half an hour, and I did it!  That was not an easy feat, as I’d been here for two weeks and had quite a lot of stuff to stow.  Emma looked befuddled as I rushed around pulling in slides, and getting everything road ready.  I hadn’t expected the parts to come in for another couple of days, so you know how that goes.  I had stuff scattered all over.  I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten everything ready to go, both inside and out.  :)  I didn’t have time to do the dishes, so I just crammed them in under the sink cover.
As they worked on the rig, Emma and I spent a good portion of the day, once again, out at the picnic table.  It was a little brisk to begin with as we had a frost last night, but at least the sun was shining, and I was pretty well bundled up. 

It took them well into the afternoon to get things done, and as I tried leveling the rig after they returned it, there was still a problem.  :(  I went back to get the technician to come to the rig, and after some time everything was resolved.  To make a long story short, it turned out that I knew a few things about the levelers and the fluids that the the technician did not.  Imagine that!  I made sure to point that out as they began to work on my bill.  Since it was about 3:00 by that time, I decided to remain for one more night, and head out tomorrow morning. 
My plan is to pull out of here by 9:00 tomorrow morning, so I hope they have the paperwork done by then! 
The overnight shipping charge for the new levelers that they told me about was ridiculous, so I’ll see if that can be resolved tomorrow.
Emma and I took one last evening stroll around the parking lot tonight, and noticed the changes in the foliage during our stay here.  It’s definitely time to move on!

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Yellow fever?

Even though the sun was shining when I got up today, I decided to spend the day at the rig.  That was a good decision, as it turned out, because my intestinal fortitude wasn’t up to snuff.  :(  (I know, TMI!)  So, I spent most of my time today on the computer. 

One of the things I did was download the Guest Ticket Booklet for my upcoming repositioning cruise from Barcelona, Spain, to Galveston, Texas.  That little booklet was 26 pages long!  I haven’t read all of it yet, but as it was printing, I noticed something about immunizations.  They suggested possibly getting a yellow fever shot.  I know I’ve never had one of those.  I remember having a small pox vaccination before I went to college that was very unpleasant, but yellow fever?  I’ve never been on a cruise before or gone to Europe.  Does anyone know if this is a real danger?  I asked the person setting everything up for the cruise, but her only comment was to check with my physician.  My doctor is in Minnesota, I’m stuck in Boise, and will be heading for Texas soon, I hope.  What a dilemma. 
Get a load of the problems with this rig that has been here for about a week.  It left today, but with the front looking the same.  Kind of makes me glad I’m just waiting for levelers!  I don’t know what it is they fixed, but it sure wasn’t cosmetic surgery.  :)

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time lately mulling over my future plans.  Everything’s taken care of for this winter, but what about next summer?  I’ve been volunteering pretty solidly since I hit the road in 2006, but this summer outside of Yellowstone made me appreciate the fact that I am retired!  I’ve also felt a tug inside to become better acquainted with my five grandchildren.  They’re all under the age of five, but growing up, I remember how important my grandmothers were to me.  They were both gone by the time I was 12, but I still cherish their memory.  So, I’ve just about decided to purchase a site at the Woodhaven Lakes RV Resort in Sublette, Il.  That would put me fairly close to all of them during the summers, and within two hours of my sister and brothers.  I’ve been offered a pretty sweet deal on a site thanks to my daughter Robyn’s in-laws.  So I spent this afternoon surfing the web about what there is to see and do in Northwest Illinois.  I’m thinking this could be a good plan for me, and if it doesn’t work out, I can always sell the site and move on.  :)
I’m not sure this plant or bug will be around tomorrow, as the forecast is for a frost tonight.  I just hope I get out of here before that white stuff starts falling down out of the skies!  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy