Because it’s not home, if I’m not baking!
Month: October 2016
Photo Summary of Previous Post
(Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
New Day…Still Doing Laundry
Doing laundry is a never-ending job around here — the price we pay for socially acceptable hygiene practices! Since I’m waiting for the towels to dry, I thought I’d check in for a moment.
I last posted through Montrose, CO…From there, we continued north to Grand Junction, CO, which has a lovely downtown. (Colorado has some beautiful public art installations in its cities and towns.) We managed to stop in at Main Street Bagels for breakfast, just before a massive line formed. We watched many people approach the storefront (including some gentleman walking his parrot!) see customers queued to the door, then turn off to find somewhere else to get their morning fix. Our bagel breakfast sandwiches were very good, as were the bagels, muffins and cookies we ordered to go. Good thing there are hiking opportunities in Colorado! 🙂
Then we were heading east to meet up with friends in Breckenridge, CO. After getting set up in our RV site at Tiger Run RV Resort, we headed in to town for a beer at the Breckenridge Brewery, where I had my required fix of Avalanche Ale.
Other highlights of our time in Breckenridge included:
McCullough Gulch Hike to mountain lake – This was more challenging than we expected, but it did offer some nice views of some waterfalls. What makes it challenging? Altitude, uneven terrain and no clear trail at some points along the “trail.”
Valleygirl boutique – Lucky for me I had already gotten rid of a few pieces of clothing, so I was able to get something from this shop. Their clothing mix was what I will term Modern Mountain, and what’s not to love about flannel and sweaters as fall temperatures settle in?
Duck Race – The annual rubber duck race is quite an event for everyone in town. What a production for people of all ages. There was a definite carnival atmosphere at the finish line!
Art Show – This was a nice collection of artists. Would you believe it was jewelry makers from Paoli, WI that caught my eye? But I resisted…for now anyway. I have them filed away for future reference!
Market Day – Not really a farmer’s market, but I did buy some fabulous peaches from a vendor. This was more like an arts and craft market.
La Francaise French bakery (@ 411 S. Main St.) – Spent a small fortune on breakfast and pastries & a boule to go. May I say, though, that nothing went to waste?!
Highlight? Well, maybe not so much…But one night Sophie and I nearly had an incident with porcupine. Fortunately, I had my little flashlight and spotted it before Sophie did. (And despite what I thought, porcupines do not “throw” quills – Go research! – so we were out of range) Anyway, I was able to safely direct Sophie to a different area to do her business, while I kept an eye on the porcupine waddling itself across the open dog walk area. I was definitely more vigilant from then on.
We happened to find out some other friends were staying nearby in Dillon, CO, so we drove over one night. After watching the end of the Wisconsin-LSU football game (Go Badgers!), we went to see the free concert at the Dillon Amphitheater where Dead Horses, an Americana band from Milwaukee, WI, were playing. We had a good time, until a thunderstorm rolled in and the show ended a bit early.
We were having a great time in Breckenridge, but we had a date with the Dixie Chicks in Little Rock, AR, which is a bit of a drive from Breckenridge. We spent one day Fort Smith (2 more breweries) and arrived near Little Rock a day ahead of schedule. We spent 1 night at the North Little Rock KOA before moving to the city’s RV Park along the river, which is located within walking distance to the event center. We hit 2 more brewpubs before the show: Rebel Kettle and Lost Forty Brewing
After a great night with Elle King and the Dixie Chicks (despite a few technical difficulties with the sound system), we got ready to head back to DFW area to take care of a few remaining items…
Time Flies (continued)
From Cortez, we travelled on to Durango, which is a nice little city. We sampled a few local brews (Carver’s and Ska, too)…
Then we went north through Silverton, CO to Montrose.
We visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, just outside of Montrose, which is (so far) the most dog-friendly National Park we’ve visited. Sophie was able to walk along the rim trail (which leads from a campground to the Visitor’s Center), as well as the trails at each of the scenic lookout spots! Fortunately, she tends to be well-behaved on walking trails.
At the Montrose KOA, we fit right into the row at the campground…all Texas RVs towing Jeeps. Evidently, the area is good for Jeeping!
We also highly recommend the Cascade Bicycle shop, where we had a quick routine service and new handlebars put on one of our bikes for a fair price.
It’s been fun chatting, but laundry calls. I’ll continue next post.
How Time Flies!
So we’ve been living in the RV for nearly 9 weeks now, and it still just feels like a regular road trip. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been diligent about posting about our whereabouts…nah, I’ve just been lazy. That being said I have finished a knitting project, 2.5 books, done way more loads of laundry than 2 adults and 1 dog should have produced in 9 weeks, etc. Speaking of household chores, living in the RV seems to create more housework than previous road trips in the RV, but I’m not sure why. I don’t think I am cooking any more than prior road trips, and we’re not spending our RV time much differently than prior travels. It’s a mystery to me.
In any case, here’s what we’ve been doing…
After a quick trip to Wisconsin to pass along some items to family members,
we drove straight to Moab, UT for a meet-up with fellow family travelers. We’ve been to Moab before, and it did not disappoint. The weather was hot, but not humid (It’s a dry heat!?), and it was not too crowded, which is always a bonus for an introvert like me. 🙂 Arches National Park is always evolving and while some arches collapse or get bigger, new windows and arches are forming in other areas. Some of the trails to the arches are a bit primitive, so cairns, which look like little rock towers, help mark the correct path.
From Moab, we drove to Cortez, CO, where Sophie loved the KOA campground, conveniently adjacent to the city dog park! The local dogs and their owners were very welcoming. We visited Mesa Verde National Park and the Anasazi Heritage Center to check out the Pueblo ruins. We chose self-guided trails, but Mesa Verde National Park does offer guided tours that allow you to walk (and climb) in a cliff dwelling. Our hiking in the national park was cut a bit short by intermittent hail and thunderstorms in the area.
We had a nice hike outside the Anasazi Heritage Center, and Sophie was allowed on the trail, too!
Well, that’s enough typing for today…
Thanks for checking in!