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Something New

Hello Friends and Family!

Thought you might be sick of me getting caught up on earlier travels, so here is an actual post of our current travels! (I can’t tell you how many times I am gently reminded that I should be keeping all y’all up-to-date.) I will say the Montana wi-fi has been pretty spotty up until now, so I am taking advantage of the current wi-fi situation with multiple postings this week.

First of all, we have finally made it to Glacier National Park! (We had planned to visit a couple of different times in the past few years, but life happened…) And it is spectacular!

We took a Sunday drive along Going-to-the-Sun Road. Sophie was able to come along, since we were not hiking. No dogs allowed on the trails — only along roadways and in campground areas. There are waterfalls everywhere!

View from Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park (July, 2017)
Goats near Logan’s Pass
Waterfall along Going-to-the-Sun Road (July, 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With over 700 miles of hiking trails, GNP has a lot of options. We don’t like to keep Sophie crated or alone for too long, so we chose a day hike closer to West Glacier — the McDonald Creek trail. This was a really nice hike with pretty views and not too many elevation changes (Better for Ronnie’s knees!) We chose not to buy bear spray, but the further along the trail we went, the more evidence (fur balls and a really nice paw print) of bear activity we saw. We were sure to periodically make some noise, just in case. We had very little company along the trail, and we had the cascades at the end all to ourselves. Roundtrip hike — about 5.5 miles. Perfect weather. No attack bears. And we made it back to the RV by our target ETA. Life can’t get much better than this.

Ronnie pausing to enjoy the view. (GNP, July 2017)
McDonald Creek is rushing by the trail. (GNP, July 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably a great spot for bears to come get a drink and a snack. 🙂 (GNP, July 2017)

 

A selfie at the end of the end of the McDonald Creek trail. (GNP, July 2017)
The cascading waters of McDonald Creek. (GNP, July 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June is almost over — time to get you caught up! 😎

We celebrated New Year’s Eve/Day around Santa Cruz with family, then spent a couple of days in Pacifica. Then the rains came. (If you are experiencing a drought, we’d be happy to visit. Rain seems to love us.)

Just outside our campsite in Pacifica, CA. Our slides were inches from our neighbors’, but the views are amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we headed to the deserts of Joshua Tree National Park. We loved the scenery and enjoyed the diversity of desert landscapes.

Rock formations, too! Jan 2017
A nice hike to see this oasis!
Joshua trees
Joshua Tree NP vista
Cholla cacti Jan 2017

 

 

Vintage Vegas Neon

We then headed for Vegas for the week — not the best venue for Sophie (although she did get a hike in around Lake Mead Recreational Area).

 

 

 

 

 

Then we headed to dog-friendly Lake Havasu. We stayed on the “island,” where Sophie had beach area to explore, a paved walking trail around the island and a nearby dog park by the London Bridge.

A view from the campground
Lake Havasu, AZ (Jan., 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pure watering can joy!
Sophie had room to play with her watering can in Lake Havasu, AZ!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended January in Yuma, AZ, where we visited the Yuma Territorial Prison (which was later used as a high school campus for the Yuma school system, and whose sports teams were nicknamed the Crims — short for Criminals). We discovered Yuma, the “salad bowl of America” is also known for its medjool dates.

We also took a drive into California to visit the Imperial Sand Dunes, which are amazing. Be sure to buy a permit (available from some local gas stations), if you want to drive within the park operated by the state of California. We found a few free lookouts, and the dunes are really spectacular!

Sandscapes at Imperial Dunes (Jan., 2017)
Imperial Sand Dunes sign

 

 

Imperial Sand Dunes (Jan., 2017)
Imperial Sand Dunes (Jan., 2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that’s a wrap for January!

 

So where were we?

Family and Friends,

When I last posted, I was probably doing laundry…But today, I am not! Yay! So let’s get caught up on things, shall we?

October, November and December were spent in Texas — split between the DFW, New Braunfels/Schertz and Fredericksburg areas.

I (and Ronnie & Sophie, too by default) participated in my first yarn crawl. We put quite a few miles on the Jeep visiting local yarn shops from Round Rock to Comfort and many places in between. (This may have been when Ronnie decided to buy a new automatic Jeep. 🙂 )

Another Niece’s birthday poncho
Texas Twilight (Amanda Hope) dyed yarn
Niece’s birthday poncho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Fredericksburg we walked in Lady Bird Municipal Park…

Walking the nature trail at Lady Bird Municipal Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophie made some new friends with the goats adjacent to the RV park.

Goats!

 

We went to songwriter’s night at Hondo’s on

Main.

Songwriters on the stage at Hondo’s on Main

 

 

 

 

 

We celebrated Thanksgiving with family.

 

 

Even Sophie went to see the Christmas Lights in the park…

Light display in Fredericksburg, TX

 

 

 

 

 

I borrowed Will & Teresa’s kitchen to bake a few cookies in New Braunfels.

Christmas cookies!

 

 

Then we headed back to the DFW Metroplex to share some Christmas cheer with family and friends there. Sophie got her shots. The RV got new tires. Ronnie got a fitness tracker. The weather turned bitter cold — temps below freezing for 36 hours. The water on the RV froze, but we didn’t bust any hoses or spring any leaks, so we were lucky. It was time to find warmer weather, though. We headed west toward California to meet up with family there over New Year’s.

Getting new tires for the RV

 

Teepees

 

 

Snow-capped mountains

Season’s Greetings!

Christmas display in a Texas neighborhood
Christmas display in a Texas neighborhood

Hello! 2017 is quickly approaching and my better half has been gently reminding me to UPDATE THE WEBSITE! 😉 So here is a quick post to let you know we are preparing to freeze in the Arctic blast that is covering most of America at the moment and looking forward to moving on to sunnier (and hopefully warmer) conditions south and west of Texas.

Photo Summary of Previous Post

Trailhead instructions (>5miles round-trip)
Trailhead instructions (>5miles round-trip)
Trailhead Parking (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
Trailhead Parking (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
McCullopugh Gulch trail (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
McCullough Gulch trail
(Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
Waterfall along the trail (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
Waterfall along the trail (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
Sweet wildflowers (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
Sweet wildflowers (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
The mountain lake at the end of the trail (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
The mountain lake at the end of the trail (Breckenridge, CO, Sept./2016)
We're not in Colorado any more. (overnight in Kansas, Sept./2016)
We’re not in Colorado any more. (overnight in Kansas, Sept./2016)
At the Core Brewing Co. Tap Room in Fort Smith, AR (Sept./2016)
At the Core Brewing Co. Tap Room in Fort Smith, AR (Sept./2016)
Downtown Riverside RV Park (North Little Rock, AR, Sept./2016)
Downtown Riverside RV Park (North Little Rock, AR, Sept./2016)
Dixie Chicks! (North Little Rock, AR, Sept./2016)
Dixie Chicks! (North Little Rock, AR, Sept./2016)
Dixie Chicks (North Little Rock, AR, Sept./2016)
Dixie Chicks (North Little Rock, AR, 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)

 

Not all sunny skies...
Not all sunny skies…

From Cortez, we travelled on to Durango, which is a nice little city. We sampled a few local brews (Carver’s and Ska, too)…

view from the Animas Brewing Co. deck
Located near the “riverwalk” and within view of the narrow gauge railroad track (See the smoke from the train passing through?), the Animas Brewing Company has a great deck.
Steamworks Brewing
The Steamworks Brewing Company was the busiest of the breweries we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Aug/2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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,

Our home base in Moab, UT (Aug/2016)
Our home base in Moab, UT (Aug/2016)

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.

cairn
Cairns like these mark the trails.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park (Moab, UT – Aug/2016)
Looking up at the arch
Arches National Park (Moab, UT – Aug/2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arches National Park
Arches National Park (Moab, UT – Aug/2016)

 

 

 

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.

cliffside dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park
Cliffside dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park (Cortez, CO – Aug/2016)

We had a nice hike outside the Anasazi Heritage Center, and Sophie was allowed on the trail, too!

man and dog posing near ruins
Ruins near the Anasazi Heritage Center (Cortez, CO – Aug/2016)
Anasazi Heritage Center
Anasazi Heritage Center (Cortez, CO – Aug/2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s enough typing for today…

Thanks for checking in!