July 5, 2018. Our last day at Lone Star Jellystone was July 1, a Sunday. We stayed another two days and left on Tuesday. Monday was our usual grocery shopping and then I also put stuff away. Malinda & Daniel came over Monday evening for a while to say good-bye and Debbie also stopped over again. The one person I forgot to call and see was Kathleen. She texted me on Wednesday to say “you’re gone.” So, that made me feel bad. I think I’ll get her a card to say sorry. I was really busy Monday and Tuesday trying to get ready to leave. Tuesday morning was laundry day as well. We decided to leave Tuesday because a bad rain storm was heading to Houston for Wednesday and Josh invited us to go to the Lone Star Flight Museum to tour a B-17 Flying Fortress. We were able to get a week at Green Caye RV Park, which is one of our favorites in the area.
Tuesday evening we went to Josh & Karen’s for dinner and to visit. A storm hit while we were having dinner and the lights flickered on and off a few times. This freaked out Ellie & Jason, and they did not like the storm. Jason was crying about his toys out in the yard and Ellie wanted to sleep in the closet. Karen seems to think they have PTSD from Hurricane Harvey. But by the time bedtime came the storm had passed and I was able to get Jason to sleep, rubbing his back, which put him right out.
Wednesday we went early to their house and left for the museum. It was quite interesting and touring the B-17 was fascinating. I took a picture of Jim in the top tourit where he thinks his dad stood. It rained all day Wednesday but by late afternoon the rain was gone. It soaked everything at the trailer though. The dog beds were wet and there was even water in the bucket I keep the gel coat in.
On Thursday (the 5th) I put everything out in the sun to dry. I finally got around to vacuuming and while vacuuming around the TV discovered that the carpet was wet under my rubber boots, the window and the whole carpet in the TV stand. So I pulled out everything under there and set up the fan to blow in there and dry it out. Jim felt that the rain came in around the window and when I came back from walking the dogs, showed me that the window was not closed all the way. We had put reflectix in the window, between the screen and window, but was not able to close the window all the way, so that is hopefully how all the rain came in. We played with the window trying to put the reflectix back in but it did not work. So we got the window closed and I put the reflectix on the inside.
Also discovered by viewing Facebook that Julie’s mom passed away. Don’t know the exact day, but after seeing that I immediately got on the internet and sent her a green plant with flower. It was called the Living Spirit, a sympathy plant. She was very happy to get it and called me when she got it. I’m glad to be able to do things like that, even though we are here in Texas and she’s in Florida. It’s wonderful to be able to send flowers across the country.
Jim discovered some type of growth on his shoulder, so we are going to Austin for a few days, mostly to get his trike looked at, and then we will head to Tres Rios for a couple of weeks. I made him an appointment at Dr. Barnes’ office for July 18. He will have to see the nurse practitioner, and hopefully she will be able to refer him to a dermatologist if necessary. Then we’ll see where we go after that.
July 14, 2018. Arrived in Bastrop and are staying Lost Pines RV Park. I picked this park because it’s a PA park, but I really do not like it. It is total concrete all over, and that is not even level. I had to put 2 blocks on one side to level the trailer. The only place I found to walk the dogs is a small wooded area next door with a path through it leading out to a church. We walked there early in the morning and found some interesting things in the woods behind the church.
Saturday we drove to Easy Street Recumbents in Austin so they could do some tune up on Jim’s trike. He had them do a little work, change a tire, and added shims. I wanted to go bike riding around a lake but when we arrived at the parking lot, there was a police car sitting in the shade, and some sleezy cars parked there as well. We did not get a good feel about the place and did not want to leave the car open and the dogs left in there while we went bike riding. So, we decided to blow that off and just went back to the RV park.
Jim called Kathie’s youngest brother Ian who lives north of Austin and talked with him about getting together on Sunday. I don’t know when we will as the final world cup soccer game comes on about 1pm. So, we’ll see what happens with that.
Monday is shopping and we leave Tuesday for Tres Rios.
July 16, 2018. Met with Ian Sunday afternoon for beer and pizza. I don’t remember ever meeting him but he looks just like his brother Bill. We had a nice visit and did a lot of talking. He would not let me take a picture of him and Jim together.
The weather is really hot with the Sahara dust still sitting around Texas. The temps are getting in the high 90s to 100s and this concrete jungle that we are at right now is almost unbearable. I am glad to be heading out tomorrow to Tres Rios. I hope we don’t have to stay longer than a week as it’s going to be really hot there as well. But at least there is more grass and trees and no concrete to absorb the sun’s rays.
July 19, 2018. It seems a bit cooler here at Tres Rios since we don’t have all the concrete like the last place, plus we are under a tree, which helps a bit. The dogs remember the place and looked forward to a walk up the Paluxy River like we did last time we were here. However, his part of Texas has not gotten any rain and the Paluxy is bone dry. It even has lots of plants growing up it. As we drove down Van Sandt Road I noticed the water was not running over the falls at the Rock Park and further down there is no water at all. We walked up the river a little bit but then I took the dogs back to where the Squaw Creek runs into the Brazos River. There is water there and they loved running in the river and playing.
This morning we woke up to no electricity. Thought at first that a breaker blew but as we did checking, the ground faults were all OK and there was power going to the cord into the trailer. Our 30amp breaker in the trailer had not tripped either. Finally discovered that the cord was loose going into the trailer and one of the prongs on the inlet was loose, which caused a power eruption. So while I did the laundry, Jim went to Bennett’s to buy a new 30amp RV inlet. It was a pain to replace as the wires coming out were solid instead of threaded, but Jim finally got it back together. We may have A/C now but it’s taking quite a while for the trailer to cool back down.
The weather is in the 100s this week and it’s not expected to get under 100 until July 28. I had booked us here for two weeks, but I don’t want to stay that long now. Jim’s doctor appointment to have the spot on his shoulder looked at went OK. Saw Dr. Barnes’ nurse practitioner and she did not think it is anything to worry about; called it a solar keratosis and recommended Jim see a dermatologist. She referred us to Dr. Chaker, who will call me so I can set up an appointment for Jim in October when we are back.
Also went to see the jeweler who cut my rings off to talk about getting my diamond ring redone so I could wear it. Talked about different options and the best one is a clasp where I could get it over my knuckle and then tighten it to fit. My knuckle is an 8-1/2 and the base is a 7. I doubt if my knuckle is going to get any smaller, but we decided to wait until October when we are back here for a while to get the ring done. They will also have to redo the prongs which are holding the diamonds in place. The total bill for that is going to be about $400.
July 22, 2018. After talking with a neighbor about putting a heat shield window film on our windows to help keep the sun out, we bought Gila Heat Control window film (green package) that says it helps block heat & glare and rejects up to 72% of the sun’s heat; also helps reduce fading. We also put up the green sunscreens – one over the front window and over the curb side threw clothes line over the trailer and hooked the long sunscreen to help cover a couple windows. It’s covering my window and the bathroom window. I put the window film on the back window; the window above our bed; the bathroom window; my window by the table; two of the windows by the couch (I’ll have to get to the roll out windows), and the top window by the TV.
The temperature has been in the 100’s for the past week and today is supposed to be the hottest. So far at 1pm it is 105 outside and 85 in the trailer. It always seems to be about 20 degrees cooler in the trailer than outside.
Still plotting a travel itinerary. I did want to go to the 4 corners around Colorado but don’t know if 2 months will be enough time; plus the heat wave is supposed to be heading west, so I am still trying to decide.
July 24, 2018. With this 100 degree weather our A/C has been running 24/7 with the fan blowing on high as well. This A/C system was installed in 2009 and it finally bit the dust. It probably would have lasted longer had we not been in this horrid heat. I wanted to head on, but Jim wanted to stay here at Tres Rios until the 31st. So yesterday and today we are battling 90 degree temperatures inside the RV. Called Bennett’s and they can put in a new unit for us, but it won’t be until tomorrow as they do not have the heat pump / furnace in stock and have to order it. It will be there around noon on Wednesday, and they will call me when it arrives and we will head up there. They said it should take the techs about 2 hours to install the new one.
I did talk with someone at Dometic and gave them the model of the one we currently have and they gave me the replacement model. We are going to get a Penguin 15,000 BTU. We also have to replace the thermostat but not the air distribution box.
July 29, 2018. I spent a few days revising a new itinerary for us. We have two months and with some days being one-nighters, we will travel to the NRA Whittendon Center for a week, then up into Colorado and Wyoming. We will see Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons, then travel to Cody for a few days before heading back south into Utah through the Flaming Gorge. We will be in the Moab, Utah area for over a week to visit the two national parks there and some national monuments. From there east to Colorado and another National Park, then to the Great Sand Dunes National Park before heading back south to Glen Rose. I have a lot packed into these days so I hope we don’t get worn out.
We will be back at Tres Rios on October 9 for three weeks, then out a week, and then back until we head out to Houston for Thanksgiving. So, those are my plans. Let’s see if it all goes as planned as the days advance.
August 5, 2018. Left Tres Rios on July 31 and did one night stops through Texas and northeast New Mexico, with our first long stop at the NRA Whittington Center starting on August 4 through August 11. We set up and then drove around a little bit. Tried stopping at the Santa Fe Trail area and were inundated with mosquitos, so we had to leave. We then stopped at the trap and skeet shooting area and bought a box of clay targets so we could take them to a shooting area.
Our site this week is no. 26, which I don’t really care for but they said the other sites on the hill were taken. Next time we come I will have to request a site and make our reservation earlier. I did set up the wind chimes and my hummingbird feeder and am getting hummers feeding already. There are a lot of hummers here in this part of the country.
August 7, 2018. Drove up to our Colorado property Monday morning to take pictures and try to find the two property points along the road. We found the one at the top of the hill, the southeast corner. We tried driving from there to the southeast end using tenths of a mile to get ourselves close to it. I then walked up and down the area where we thought the marker would be, but could not find it. I wanted to go back up onto the property but there was a herd of cows walking all over, plus it was pretty overgrown and without knowing where our property lines were. I think I found the line running from the southwest in at 33 degrees, and even walked past the rock outcrop that we thought was on our property. But according to what I found, the rock outcrop is just to the left of the property line. I walked the jeep trial and took some pictures, then went down to the road.
Stopped at the Ludlow Massacre on the way back to the NRA Center. We stopped there many years ago, and wanted to stop again just to view the site again. We also took a drive into Cimarron to visit the St. James Hotel, which is known for its famous guests from the 1800s.
Jim was talking to our neighbor here at the Center who now lives near Pueblo, Colorado. He was saying that the marijuana industry is taking a toll on Colorado’s water supply. There has always been a problem with water, and we heard that some of the wells have even gone dry. Marijuana is a very water intensive plant and uses a lot of energy as well. This product sounds like it is going to be a problem for this country, not only in using so much energy, but also the people smoking it turn into bums.
We are now thinking it may be a good time to sell our property. If water becomes a problem, the value may go down instead of up.
August 14, 2018. While we were at the NRA Whittington Center Jim was talking to a couple who were there for the 3 Gun Competition (as were most of the people there). He was talking to them and also to another person about Jerry Miculek. What he did not know was that the gentlemen he was talking to was Jerry Miculek himself, and he did not say anything to Jim as to who he was. (Maybe he wanted to know what people said about him without revealing who he was??) Anyway, when Jim found out who he was talking to, he asked the lady there if next time Jerry is around could we get him to sign Jason’s birthday card and get a picture with him. So, Saturday morning before they left for the competition, we were able to meet Jerry Miculek, get him to sign Jason’s birthday card, and I took some pictures of Jim with Jerry. That was pretty cool.
We left for the Great Sand Dunes Oasis Campground Saturday August 11 and spent a couple of days there. We took lots of pictures and I even ventured half way up the dunes one day. I decided that going all the way to the top would be too much, so even for an auld lady like myself, half way is pretty good. Also found an old cemetery on the upper section of the campground with three graves in it. It’s called the Urraca Cemetery. I tried to find out information on the people buried there, and found some info, but for the most part not much is known of them.
From there we drove west to Del Norte, Colorado, where we are now. Our campsite is right next to the Rio Grande River; it’s nice and shady and cool.
August 20, 2018. We arrived at Ancient Cedars RV Park on August 16, right at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. On both Friday and Saturday we went into the National Park and visited both mesas to view the ruins. Sunday we went to Dolores to see Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Museum. We did not go out to the actual ruins as it was about 45 minutes from the Visitor Center and Museum. I just took pictures of the ruins and museum. After that we went to lunch at a little restaurant along the Dolores River. It was not that great. We just came back to the RV park after that.
Monday we did our grocery shopping in Cortez and then sat in the trailer through the afternoon. We seem to be short of breath and dehydrated; the dogs even seem to be dragging. I don’t let them loose on our walks because we are close to houses and the main road. Cougars have been spotted around, and I don’t want to run into one. I have only seen Moose prints though.
September 4, 2018. From Mancos, Colorado, we headed west to Blanding, Utah where we visited the Valley of the Gods, a Dinosaur Museum, and Mexican Hat where Forrest Gump stopped running. We stayed for a few days. The RV Park was OK and I found an empty lot across the street where I let the dogs loose.
From there we drove north to Moab, Utah where we stayed from August 25-28 at an RV Park through Passport America. We visited Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park.
From Moab we went to Spanish Fork for a few days. On August 29 we went into Salt Lake City and visited the Mormon Temple. It was quite amazing and very well kept. We were approached by some of the “Sisters” and I was able to get a copy of the Book of Mormon.
August 30 we spent the night in Evanston, Wyoming at Phillips RV Park. Very nice park and I even found a way to the River Walk in the State Park. We spent one night there before heading to Boulder, Wyoming where we are spending a week at Wind River View, a Coast to Coast park. We mostly chilled here for the week, and one day drove up to the Grand Tetons National Park.
We drove into the Wyoming mountains Tuesday (4th) way up before turning around and heading back down. We stopped at Fremont Lake and let the dogs loose at a small picnic area. We then drove into a place called the CCC Ponds. We went for a walk in there and let the dogs loose again. They had a great time running back and forth in the water. While walking on the dirt path we met a person on a bike with 3 loose dogs coming the other way. Hayley decided she did not like one of the dogs ad got into a fight. Jim finally got her away after the dogs went down a hill into the water. All this at the same time that Joe had called and we were talking to him on speaker phone. From there we went back to the car and went back to the RV Park.
September 11, 2018. Wednesday September 5 we drove up to Grand Teton National Park. It was a 2 hour drive just to get to the entrance of the park and then we drove around the park visiting Jenny Lake and String Lake. The park is not very big for driving, and we went to the top entrance and turned back to Jackson. It still took us all day, and we did not even stop in Jackson for anything; just drove through.
From Boulder we stopped in Riverton, Wyoming for one night then arrived in Cody on Saturday. On Sunday we visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Jim especially wanted to see the gun collection and we learned that 90% of it was closed due to renovation. It won’t be open until July 2019, so I don’t know when we will get back up here to see the rest.
On Tuesday we were going to visit some other sites in the area, but I got a call from my brother Bill who informed us that Cindy passed away during the night. Evidently, she just passed in her sleep. Bill was not aware of anything and when he woke up she was already gone. He did CPR and called 911, but it was already too late.
Our time here in Cody is being cut short and luckily the owner did give me a refund for the one night. From here we are heading to Casper, then Cheyenne, then Monument, Colorado. We are booked into a Coast to Coast which won’t cost us to stay there, and I will get a flight out of Colorado Springs to Columbus. Bill says he is doing OK, but I think he’s glad I will be coming up. Wish I could get there sooner, but Saturday is the earliest since we are so far out in the boonies. He still does not know of any details yet, but I imagine he will in the next day or so. Then I will know better when to book my return flight.
September 13, 2018. We spent one night in Casper and are now at Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a pretty neat place. Working Bison ranch with lots of other animals – donkeys, horses, pigs, ostrich, turkeys, chickens, camels. They offer trail rides, train ride to feed the Bison, and ATV rides. Jim & I walked round the animal area to look at all the different ones there. There is a great restaurant so we went and had a late lunch. So much food we brought some home.
Arriving at Colorado Heights in Monument, Colorado tomorrow for two weeks. I have a flight out on Saturday morning so I can be with Bill for the funeral, and will head back to Colorado on Thursday.
September 20, 2018. Arrived back in Colorado Springs today after five days in Columbus, Ohio. Arrived there Saturday afternoon to help out my brother, Bill, after the passing of his wife, Cindy. We are all still quite shocked about the passing as she did not have anything physical wrong with her to cause it. There was no autopsy done and her mother, Kathleen, was quite upset that none was done. She really wanted to know the cause of death. Bill and the doctor talked and decided on heart failure. Cindy has been quite depressed for the past month after the death of her best friend, Mo, in February. Then there were about three other people they knew that died from motorcycle accidents.
Sunday Bill took me to Goodwill to buy a pair of black pants, which I luckily found since it was a very small Goodwill and totally unimpressive. I also found a blouse. Then back home we took the dogs for a walk in the park and I started in on his finances, working on setting up a sheet like I use with all the bills, amounts and due dates and trying to figure out which ones were paid and which ones were not. He has a lot of bills, and the crazy thing is, Bill paid some and Cindy paid some. They did not know what the other did and they had separate checking accounts. So, I set up online accounts for him. Also bought him a columnar paid like I use for a checking account book and started that for him. I hope I got him straightened out with all the bills and what he has to pay off when he gets Cindy’s life insurance check.
The viewing was Monday night from 5-8 and there was over 140 people who showed up. There were people from her work, church and the motorcycle crowd they hang with. She was very loved and did a lot for people – she had a great heart. So, it was a shock that she gave up like she did. Tuesday we had the funeral service with her pastor and quite a few people showed up for this, but not as many as Monday night. We then had family over the house for food. Mike & Kim came down Tuesday as did Pat, Kathy & Dennis.
Wednesday we drove to southern Ohio for the burial at the cemetery where her family is buried. It’s down east of Portsmouth, Ohio.
September 29, 2018. Spent another week at Colorado Heights in Monument, Colorado. While there we visited Garden of the Gods and the Money Museum. Jim got sick the day after we went to Garden of the Gods so we just stayed home. We did get to play a few games of Vegas (for money!) with Pat and Nancy, who just so happened to be at the same campground as us. What a wonderful coincidence.
I did find a great place to let the dogs run loose, but it was quite a walk from the campground. The walk was not too bad though, after huffing and puffing my way up the nature trail to the trail behind the campground. The field was at the end of the subdivision next door, and the girls had a great time searching for critters.
We left Colorado on Friday, Sept. 28 and instead of heading east we went straight south to the NRA Whittington Center, where we will be for five days. We got a nice spot up front; fairly level with a bit of grass. The only problem now are the flies – horrible and they bite. Jim is outside with his Bug A Salt shooting as many as he can. I tried sitting out there but kept getting bit, so the girls and I are now inside. The hummers are no longer here, so I guess they went south already.
Jim spotted a dent on the upper front of the trailer near the window. Can’t imagine how that happened – looks like something pretty hard hit the trailer to dent it like that.
I am still looking for new carpeting for the trailer so I can get rid of these blue patterned rugs. I really like the way these are made and are holding up but I just cannot find any similar to these with no pattern. I spend hours on the computer looking at different sites. Hopefully I’ll find some soon.
Back to Daily Journal 2018
Tuesday evening we went to Josh & Karen’s for dinner and to visit. A storm hit while we were having dinner and the lights flickered on and off a few times. This freaked out Ellie & Jason, and they did not like the storm. Jason was crying about his toys out in the yard and Ellie wanted to sleep in the closet. Karen seems to think they have PTSD from Hurricane Harvey. But by the time bedtime came the storm had passed and I was able to get Jason to sleep, rubbing his back, which put him right out.
Wednesday we went early to their house and left for the museum. It was quite interesting and touring the B-17 was fascinating. I took a picture of Jim in the top tourit where he thinks his dad stood. It rained all day Wednesday but by late afternoon the rain was gone. It soaked everything at the trailer though. The dog beds were wet and there was even water in the bucket I keep the gel coat in.
On Thursday (the 5th) I put everything out in the sun to dry. I finally got around to vacuuming and while vacuuming around the TV discovered that the carpet was wet under my rubber boots, the window and the whole carpet in the TV stand. So I pulled out everything under there and set up the fan to blow in there and dry it out. Jim felt that the rain came in around the window and when I came back from walking the dogs, showed me that the window was not closed all the way. We had put reflectix in the window, between the screen and window, but was not able to close the window all the way, so that is hopefully how all the rain came in. We played with the window trying to put the reflectix back in but it did not work. So we got the window closed and I put the reflectix on the inside.
Also discovered by viewing Facebook that Julie’s mom passed away. Don’t know the exact day, but after seeing that I immediately got on the internet and sent her a green plant with flower. It was called the Living Spirit, a sympathy plant. She was very happy to get it and called me when she got it. I’m glad to be able to do things like that, even though we are here in Texas and she’s in Florida. It’s wonderful to be able to send flowers across the country.
Jim discovered some type of growth on his shoulder, so we are going to Austin for a few days, mostly to get his trike looked at, and then we will head to Tres Rios for a couple of weeks. I made him an appointment at Dr. Barnes’ office for July 18. He will have to see the nurse practitioner, and hopefully she will be able to refer him to a dermatologist if necessary. Then we’ll see where we go after that.
July 14, 2018. Arrived in Bastrop and are staying Lost Pines RV Park. I picked this park because it’s a PA park, but I really do not like it. It is total concrete all over, and that is not even level. I had to put 2 blocks on one side to level the trailer. The only place I found to walk the dogs is a small wooded area next door with a path through it leading out to a church. We walked there early in the morning and found some interesting things in the woods behind the church.
Saturday we drove to Easy Street Recumbents in Austin so they could do some tune up on Jim’s trike. He had them do a little work, change a tire, and added shims. I wanted to go bike riding around a lake but when we arrived at the parking lot, there was a police car sitting in the shade, and some sleezy cars parked there as well. We did not get a good feel about the place and did not want to leave the car open and the dogs left in there while we went bike riding. So, we decided to blow that off and just went back to the RV park.
Jim called Kathie’s youngest brother Ian who lives north of Austin and talked with him about getting together on Sunday. I don’t know when we will as the final world cup soccer game comes on about 1pm. So, we’ll see what happens with that.
Monday is shopping and we leave Tuesday for Tres Rios.
July 16, 2018. Met with Ian Sunday afternoon for beer and pizza. I don’t remember ever meeting him but he looks just like his brother Bill. We had a nice visit and did a lot of talking. He would not let me take a picture of him and Jim together.
The weather is really hot with the Sahara dust still sitting around Texas. The temps are getting in the high 90s to 100s and this concrete jungle that we are at right now is almost unbearable. I am glad to be heading out tomorrow to Tres Rios. I hope we don’t have to stay longer than a week as it’s going to be really hot there as well. But at least there is more grass and trees and no concrete to absorb the sun’s rays.
July 19, 2018. It seems a bit cooler here at Tres Rios since we don’t have all the concrete like the last place, plus we are under a tree, which helps a bit. The dogs remember the place and looked forward to a walk up the Paluxy River like we did last time we were here. However, his part of Texas has not gotten any rain and the Paluxy is bone dry. It even has lots of plants growing up it. As we drove down Van Sandt Road I noticed the water was not running over the falls at the Rock Park and further down there is no water at all. We walked up the river a little bit but then I took the dogs back to where the Squaw Creek runs into the Brazos River. There is water there and they loved running in the river and playing.
This morning we woke up to no electricity. Thought at first that a breaker blew but as we did checking, the ground faults were all OK and there was power going to the cord into the trailer. Our 30amp breaker in the trailer had not tripped either. Finally discovered that the cord was loose going into the trailer and one of the prongs on the inlet was loose, which caused a power eruption. So while I did the laundry, Jim went to Bennett’s to buy a new 30amp RV inlet. It was a pain to replace as the wires coming out were solid instead of threaded, but Jim finally got it back together. We may have A/C now but it’s taking quite a while for the trailer to cool back down.
The weather is in the 100s this week and it’s not expected to get under 100 until July 28. I had booked us here for two weeks, but I don’t want to stay that long now. Jim’s doctor appointment to have the spot on his shoulder looked at went OK. Saw Dr. Barnes’ nurse practitioner and she did not think it is anything to worry about; called it a solar keratosis and recommended Jim see a dermatologist. She referred us to Dr. Chaker, who will call me so I can set up an appointment for Jim in October when we are back.
Also went to see the jeweler who cut my rings off to talk about getting my diamond ring redone so I could wear it. Talked about different options and the best one is a clasp where I could get it over my knuckle and then tighten it to fit. My knuckle is an 8-1/2 and the base is a 7. I doubt if my knuckle is going to get any smaller, but we decided to wait until October when we are back here for a while to get the ring done. They will also have to redo the prongs which are holding the diamonds in place. The total bill for that is going to be about $400.
July 22, 2018. After talking with a neighbor about putting a heat shield window film on our windows to help keep the sun out, we bought Gila Heat Control window film (green package) that says it helps block heat & glare and rejects up to 72% of the sun’s heat; also helps reduce fading. We also put up the green sunscreens – one over the front window and over the curb side threw clothes line over the trailer and hooked the long sunscreen to help cover a couple windows. It’s covering my window and the bathroom window. I put the window film on the back window; the window above our bed; the bathroom window; my window by the table; two of the windows by the couch (I’ll have to get to the roll out windows), and the top window by the TV.
The temperature has been in the 100’s for the past week and today is supposed to be the hottest. So far at 1pm it is 105 outside and 85 in the trailer. It always seems to be about 20 degrees cooler in the trailer than outside.
Still plotting a travel itinerary. I did want to go to the 4 corners around Colorado but don’t know if 2 months will be enough time; plus the heat wave is supposed to be heading west, so I am still trying to decide.
July 24, 2018. With this 100 degree weather our A/C has been running 24/7 with the fan blowing on high as well. This A/C system was installed in 2009 and it finally bit the dust. It probably would have lasted longer had we not been in this horrid heat. I wanted to head on, but Jim wanted to stay here at Tres Rios until the 31st. So yesterday and today we are battling 90 degree temperatures inside the RV. Called Bennett’s and they can put in a new unit for us, but it won’t be until tomorrow as they do not have the heat pump / furnace in stock and have to order it. It will be there around noon on Wednesday, and they will call me when it arrives and we will head up there. They said it should take the techs about 2 hours to install the new one.
I did talk with someone at Dometic and gave them the model of the one we currently have and they gave me the replacement model. We are going to get a Penguin 15,000 BTU. We also have to replace the thermostat but not the air distribution box.
July 29, 2018. I spent a few days revising a new itinerary for us. We have two months and with some days being one-nighters, we will travel to the NRA Whittendon Center for a week, then up into Colorado and Wyoming. We will see Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons, then travel to Cody for a few days before heading back south into Utah through the Flaming Gorge. We will be in the Moab, Utah area for over a week to visit the two national parks there and some national monuments. From there east to Colorado and another National Park, then to the Great Sand Dunes National Park before heading back south to Glen Rose. I have a lot packed into these days so I hope we don’t get worn out.
We will be back at Tres Rios on October 9 for three weeks, then out a week, and then back until we head out to Houston for Thanksgiving. So, those are my plans. Let’s see if it all goes as planned as the days advance.
August 5, 2018. Left Tres Rios on July 31 and did one night stops through Texas and northeast New Mexico, with our first long stop at the NRA Whittington Center starting on August 4 through August 11. We set up and then drove around a little bit. Tried stopping at the Santa Fe Trail area and were inundated with mosquitos, so we had to leave. We then stopped at the trap and skeet shooting area and bought a box of clay targets so we could take them to a shooting area.
Our site this week is no. 26, which I don’t really care for but they said the other sites on the hill were taken. Next time we come I will have to request a site and make our reservation earlier. I did set up the wind chimes and my hummingbird feeder and am getting hummers feeding already. There are a lot of hummers here in this part of the country.
August 7, 2018. Drove up to our Colorado property Monday morning to take pictures and try to find the two property points along the road. We found the one at the top of the hill, the southeast corner. We tried driving from there to the southeast end using tenths of a mile to get ourselves close to it. I then walked up and down the area where we thought the marker would be, but could not find it. I wanted to go back up onto the property but there was a herd of cows walking all over, plus it was pretty overgrown and without knowing where our property lines were. I think I found the line running from the southwest in at 33 degrees, and even walked past the rock outcrop that we thought was on our property. But according to what I found, the rock outcrop is just to the left of the property line. I walked the jeep trial and took some pictures, then went down to the road.
Stopped at the Ludlow Massacre on the way back to the NRA Center. We stopped there many years ago, and wanted to stop again just to view the site again. We also took a drive into Cimarron to visit the St. James Hotel, which is known for its famous guests from the 1800s.
Jim was talking to our neighbor here at the Center who now lives near Pueblo, Colorado. He was saying that the marijuana industry is taking a toll on Colorado’s water supply. There has always been a problem with water, and we heard that some of the wells have even gone dry. Marijuana is a very water intensive plant and uses a lot of energy as well. This product sounds like it is going to be a problem for this country, not only in using so much energy, but also the people smoking it turn into bums.
We are now thinking it may be a good time to sell our property. If water becomes a problem, the value may go down instead of up.
August 14, 2018. While we were at the NRA Whittington Center Jim was talking to a couple who were there for the 3 Gun Competition (as were most of the people there). He was talking to them and also to another person about Jerry Miculek. What he did not know was that the gentlemen he was talking to was Jerry Miculek himself, and he did not say anything to Jim as to who he was. (Maybe he wanted to know what people said about him without revealing who he was??) Anyway, when Jim found out who he was talking to, he asked the lady there if next time Jerry is around could we get him to sign Jason’s birthday card and get a picture with him. So, Saturday morning before they left for the competition, we were able to meet Jerry Miculek, get him to sign Jason’s birthday card, and I took some pictures of Jim with Jerry. That was pretty cool.
We left for the Great Sand Dunes Oasis Campground Saturday August 11 and spent a couple of days there. We took lots of pictures and I even ventured half way up the dunes one day. I decided that going all the way to the top would be too much, so even for an auld lady like myself, half way is pretty good. Also found an old cemetery on the upper section of the campground with three graves in it. It’s called the Urraca Cemetery. I tried to find out information on the people buried there, and found some info, but for the most part not much is known of them.
From there we drove west to Del Norte, Colorado, where we are now. Our campsite is right next to the Rio Grande River; it’s nice and shady and cool.
August 20, 2018. We arrived at Ancient Cedars RV Park on August 16, right at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park. On both Friday and Saturday we went into the National Park and visited both mesas to view the ruins. Sunday we went to Dolores to see Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Museum. We did not go out to the actual ruins as it was about 45 minutes from the Visitor Center and Museum. I just took pictures of the ruins and museum. After that we went to lunch at a little restaurant along the Dolores River. It was not that great. We just came back to the RV park after that.
Monday we did our grocery shopping in Cortez and then sat in the trailer through the afternoon. We seem to be short of breath and dehydrated; the dogs even seem to be dragging. I don’t let them loose on our walks because we are close to houses and the main road. Cougars have been spotted around, and I don’t want to run into one. I have only seen Moose prints though.
September 4, 2018. From Mancos, Colorado, we headed west to Blanding, Utah where we visited the Valley of the Gods, a Dinosaur Museum, and Mexican Hat where Forrest Gump stopped running. We stayed for a few days. The RV Park was OK and I found an empty lot across the street where I let the dogs loose.
From there we drove north to Moab, Utah where we stayed from August 25-28 at an RV Park through Passport America. We visited Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park.
From Moab we went to Spanish Fork for a few days. On August 29 we went into Salt Lake City and visited the Mormon Temple. It was quite amazing and very well kept. We were approached by some of the “Sisters” and I was able to get a copy of the Book of Mormon.
August 30 we spent the night in Evanston, Wyoming at Phillips RV Park. Very nice park and I even found a way to the River Walk in the State Park. We spent one night there before heading to Boulder, Wyoming where we are spending a week at Wind River View, a Coast to Coast park. We mostly chilled here for the week, and one day drove up to the Grand Tetons National Park.
We drove into the Wyoming mountains Tuesday (4th) way up before turning around and heading back down. We stopped at Fremont Lake and let the dogs loose at a small picnic area. We then drove into a place called the CCC Ponds. We went for a walk in there and let the dogs loose again. They had a great time running back and forth in the water. While walking on the dirt path we met a person on a bike with 3 loose dogs coming the other way. Hayley decided she did not like one of the dogs ad got into a fight. Jim finally got her away after the dogs went down a hill into the water. All this at the same time that Joe had called and we were talking to him on speaker phone. From there we went back to the car and went back to the RV Park.
September 11, 2018. Wednesday September 5 we drove up to Grand Teton National Park. It was a 2 hour drive just to get to the entrance of the park and then we drove around the park visiting Jenny Lake and String Lake. The park is not very big for driving, and we went to the top entrance and turned back to Jackson. It still took us all day, and we did not even stop in Jackson for anything; just drove through.
From Boulder we stopped in Riverton, Wyoming for one night then arrived in Cody on Saturday. On Sunday we visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Jim especially wanted to see the gun collection and we learned that 90% of it was closed due to renovation. It won’t be open until July 2019, so I don’t know when we will get back up here to see the rest.
On Tuesday we were going to visit some other sites in the area, but I got a call from my brother Bill who informed us that Cindy passed away during the night. Evidently, she just passed in her sleep. Bill was not aware of anything and when he woke up she was already gone. He did CPR and called 911, but it was already too late.
Our time here in Cody is being cut short and luckily the owner did give me a refund for the one night. From here we are heading to Casper, then Cheyenne, then Monument, Colorado. We are booked into a Coast to Coast which won’t cost us to stay there, and I will get a flight out of Colorado Springs to Columbus. Bill says he is doing OK, but I think he’s glad I will be coming up. Wish I could get there sooner, but Saturday is the earliest since we are so far out in the boonies. He still does not know of any details yet, but I imagine he will in the next day or so. Then I will know better when to book my return flight.
September 13, 2018. We spent one night in Casper and are now at Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This is a pretty neat place. Working Bison ranch with lots of other animals – donkeys, horses, pigs, ostrich, turkeys, chickens, camels. They offer trail rides, train ride to feed the Bison, and ATV rides. Jim & I walked round the animal area to look at all the different ones there. There is a great restaurant so we went and had a late lunch. So much food we brought some home.
Arriving at Colorado Heights in Monument, Colorado tomorrow for two weeks. I have a flight out on Saturday morning so I can be with Bill for the funeral, and will head back to Colorado on Thursday.
September 20, 2018. Arrived back in Colorado Springs today after five days in Columbus, Ohio. Arrived there Saturday afternoon to help out my brother, Bill, after the passing of his wife, Cindy. We are all still quite shocked about the passing as she did not have anything physical wrong with her to cause it. There was no autopsy done and her mother, Kathleen, was quite upset that none was done. She really wanted to know the cause of death. Bill and the doctor talked and decided on heart failure. Cindy has been quite depressed for the past month after the death of her best friend, Mo, in February. Then there were about three other people they knew that died from motorcycle accidents.
Sunday Bill took me to Goodwill to buy a pair of black pants, which I luckily found since it was a very small Goodwill and totally unimpressive. I also found a blouse. Then back home we took the dogs for a walk in the park and I started in on his finances, working on setting up a sheet like I use with all the bills, amounts and due dates and trying to figure out which ones were paid and which ones were not. He has a lot of bills, and the crazy thing is, Bill paid some and Cindy paid some. They did not know what the other did and they had separate checking accounts. So, I set up online accounts for him. Also bought him a columnar paid like I use for a checking account book and started that for him. I hope I got him straightened out with all the bills and what he has to pay off when he gets Cindy’s life insurance check.
The viewing was Monday night from 5-8 and there was over 140 people who showed up. There were people from her work, church and the motorcycle crowd they hang with. She was very loved and did a lot for people – she had a great heart. So, it was a shock that she gave up like she did. Tuesday we had the funeral service with her pastor and quite a few people showed up for this, but not as many as Monday night. We then had family over the house for food. Mike & Kim came down Tuesday as did Pat, Kathy & Dennis.
Wednesday we drove to southern Ohio for the burial at the cemetery where her family is buried. It’s down east of Portsmouth, Ohio.
September 29, 2018. Spent another week at Colorado Heights in Monument, Colorado. While there we visited Garden of the Gods and the Money Museum. Jim got sick the day after we went to Garden of the Gods so we just stayed home. We did get to play a few games of Vegas (for money!) with Pat and Nancy, who just so happened to be at the same campground as us. What a wonderful coincidence.
I did find a great place to let the dogs run loose, but it was quite a walk from the campground. The walk was not too bad though, after huffing and puffing my way up the nature trail to the trail behind the campground. The field was at the end of the subdivision next door, and the girls had a great time searching for critters.
We left Colorado on Friday, Sept. 28 and instead of heading east we went straight south to the NRA Whittington Center, where we will be for five days. We got a nice spot up front; fairly level with a bit of grass. The only problem now are the flies – horrible and they bite. Jim is outside with his Bug A Salt shooting as many as he can. I tried sitting out there but kept getting bit, so the girls and I are now inside. The hummers are no longer here, so I guess they went south already.
Jim spotted a dent on the upper front of the trailer near the window. Can’t imagine how that happened – looks like something pretty hard hit the trailer to dent it like that.
I am still looking for new carpeting for the trailer so I can get rid of these blue patterned rugs. I really like the way these are made and are holding up but I just cannot find any similar to these with no pattern. I spend hours on the computer looking at different sites. Hopefully I’ll find some soon.
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