Estes Park Colorado

Friday, July 22

We've made it.

Our 2200+ mile Journey West is over because we're here.  We left Beaufort 2 weeks ago and have had a nice journey, but being here is what it's all about.

There are hundreds of wind turbines across Kansas and Colorado

The high plains of Colorado

As we drove across eastern Colorado, the Rockies began to grow.

We arrived mid-afternoon at Elk Meadow Lodge and RV Resort in Estes Park.  We were scheduled to stay in the overflow camping area, but we found on arrival that there had been a cancellation and we're on a full hook-up site.  We're surrounded by beautiful mountain in every direction.

The high temperature today was around 83 degrees here and the low tonight the low is in the 50's.  Quite a dramatic change from yesterday.  We're at an elevation of around 7,500 feet.

Our home for the next couple of days

Soon after arrival, I contacted Kent and tonight we had dinner at a local restaurant with he, Betty and their three grandchildren.  It was great to see them again.

Kent and I go back over 30 years.  We met when Slade went to a small YMCA Camp in Canton, NC (Camp Hope) and Kent was the director of the camp.  I found out that he was a former KC-135 navigator and soon he and I joined the USAF Reserve as Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officers in Asheville.  Eventually, Kent became director of Camp Chief Ouray at YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch, a part of YMCA of the Rockies.  Kent progressed from director of the camp to eventually becoming CEO of YMCA of the Rockies, which consist of Snow Mountain Ranch on the South side of Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park on the Eastern entry to the National Park.  www.ymcarockies.org

We're looking forward to an evening without having to run the air conditioners. We may even have to cut the heat on.

Saturday, July 23

Today we have started to enjoy being here.  After a comfortable night (we did not have to cut the heat on, but we really pulled the covers up), I got up early and went to the pool at Estes Park.  We're around 7,600 feet, and the air doesn't have quite enough oxygen.  I struggled a bit with swimming a mile today.

Later in the morning we took a road trip on the Peak to Peak National Scenic Byway which starts here in Estes Park.  It was a nice relaxing drive and great scenery.

We saw lots of bicycle drivers on the road.  We stayed behind the group for a few miles so that we too could enjoy the slow ride and beautiful scenery.

About 15 miles out of town, we stopped at The Old Gallery in Allenspark .  We learned that the local folks in community are doing a musical today and tomorrow, so we bought tickets for tomorrow afternoon's show.

This afternoon we went to Kent and Betty's house for a nice afternoon catching up on all that's been happening and to have dinner with them.

While there, we had a family of deer feeding in the yard.  They say this is quite common and they've also had elk strolling around the yard.

 I think he likes having the deer in the yard because they keep the grass short.  Cuts down on mowing (which there isn't a lot of done around here)

In front of their house.  Note:  Kent and Betty are now RVer's

We left their home about 1 1/2 hours before sunset, so we decided to ride up Trail Ridge Road into the Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was a great time to go.  Not only is it a great time to take pictures, there also isn't much traffic.  We stopped and watched the sunset at an overlook at 11,300 feet, then turned around and came back home.

Above the tree line in Rocky Mountain National Park

While I was on the top of the mountain taking pictures, this couple came up with what I think is their wedding photographer.  The photographer placed them on a rock and the pictures she was taking were sillowetts like this - a beautiful setting.  However, the temperature was 55 degrees and the wind blowing about 20 mph.  It was cold!!!

Quite a bit of snow on the North and Eastern slopes

Sunday, July 24

Today was moving day.  We moved from Elk Meadow about two miles to a nicer park run by the city.  As I mentioned earlier, we were lucky to get into any park this time of year.  Estes Park is filled to the brim.  I guess people down the mountain are as tired of the heat, as we were.

Our new home for three days

After moving and getting set up, we took off for the show we had bought tickets for yesterday.

We are always amazed at the talent that we see in shows like this one as we travel around the country.  The actors/singers in this performance were as good as any we've ever seen.  And many of them are from the local area around Allenspark, Colorado.  (I'd never heard of the place, and I'm not sure that it even exists.  If it does, it must be pretty small because we couldn't find it).

The performance today was entitled "Some Enchanted Evening", the songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.  And it was great!!

These two young girls were the hit of the show.

And "The Old Gallery" is hard to describe.  Per their own story:  "The Old Gallery's mission is to provide the resources and opportunities to enrich our mountain communities.  The mission is achieved through our diverse programs:  Basic Human Services for people in need, Visual and Performing Arts; Wellness activities; Community Events, Education, and Visitor information".

Some of the activities include twice-monthly food bank distribution, a dedicated for the Community Clothes Closet (for needy families), an art gallery with art and crafts by local artists for sale, counseling, massage therapy, yoga and exercise classes and more.

And it's all operated by a non-profit group.  www.theoldgallery.org.

After the 20 mile drive back to Estes Park, we strolled main street and then went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant (the kind we should have gone to for our 50th wedding anniversary.  But, seeing as we're going to be celebrating for the next month, this one counts.)

The views from the grounds of the restaurant are breath taking.

Monday, July 25

Tonight Kent and Betty came over to have dinner with us.  We fed them some good Carteret County shrimp we had bought with us.  I'd bet that not much Carteret County shrimp makes to Estes Park.

It's always great to be able to spend some time with Kent and Betty.  As we rehash the"old" days from the 1980's and the things and circumstances that we went through together, I begin to think I might be getting old.  We've known them since Slade was a teenager.

Tuesday, July 26

Clara was rarin' to go this morning, so after a swim at the Y, we took off for some hiking.  We picked a beautiful trail around Lily Lake a few miles from here.  That's the first hiking we've done in a long time, and we did pretty doggone good to be hiking up and down mountains at 8,000 feet.  It is an overcast day and the temperatures were perfect for the hike.

We took the Lily Ridge Trail

Clara became fascinated by the weathered old wood laying around the trail.  She found a small stump that just had to be hers.  I told her that we were in a National Park and I didn't think we should be taking wood out of the park.  But she insisted (I wasn't going to jail with her).  Well, we made it back to the car with the wood with no problem, and now I'll be taking a piece of a stump with me for the next 3 or 4 thousand miles.  I'm sure it's worth it!!!!

8843 feet above sea level - the oxygen gets a little thin!

Our hike started beside the lake way down there!

Someone had taken the time to stack a lot of rocks (which would normally symbolize a trail marking) 

This afternoon I got caught up on the details for the rest of the trip.  After some checking, I found that I had not received a confirmation of reservations for our night in Silverton, Colorado.  A couple of phone calls and I found that the RV parks reservation system wasn't working when I made my reservations back in March.  A moment of panic!!  But they worked us in.  Thankfully.  Otherwise I don't know where we would have stayed.

Clara and I have come to the conclusion that we won't be making any more trips of this nature in the summer months.  Everywhere we go it is crowded (because we're going to the best places).  We're not use to the big crowds because we've only traveled out West in the off season.  I guess we're spoiled.  But having our family with us will make it worthwhile.

A Journey West - Phase 2

Sunday, July 17, 2016

From Beaufort NC to Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs Ark to Estes Park, Colorado

Fort Chaffee, Arkansas to Keystone, Oklahoma

Happy 50th wedding anniversary!!  50 years ago today, we were married in Beaufort, North Carolina.

Today, we officially celebrate, but we're really going to celebrate after the whole family gets together later this month out West somewhere.  That way, it will be more of a celebration.

Today we drove into Oklahoma and are staying at Keystone State Park a few miles West of Tulsa.  There isn't much close by, especially for celebrating.  However, we did manage to find a Mexican restaurant about 15 minutes away.  And besides, Clara really like Mexican food.

This afternoon I swam for about 45 minutes in the lake.  All the lakes I have swam in before have been greenish, but this one is reddish-green, and the visibility in the water is about 6 inches.  But the water was refreshing and I really needed the workout.

Two ducks leaving a wake

The park we're staying in is right next to a huge marina.  I guess there are at least 300-400 boats in the covered docks.  This would be a good place for anyone looking to buy a used freshwater boat.

This is about 1/3 of the boat docks at the marina

Monday, July 18 - Wednesday, July 20

North to Wichita, Kansas.

We're dropping by Wichita to see Tony and Jill.  They've sold their home here and are in the process of packing up to move to Florida.

Oh! It's hot here.

It's starting to cool off a little

We had dinner with Jill (Tony is out of town and returns tonight) and as usual, Clara and Jill are talking a lot.

We've had three great days here visiting with Tony and Jill.  This is the last time we'll be visiting them in Wichita.

McConnell Air Force Base is a very active place, with refueling tankers, KC 135's and KC-10's taking off and landing all times of day and night.

Thursday, July 21

Today (actually, you could say tomorrow), we end our Journey West.  We'll be there!!  Tomorrow night if all goes as planned, we'll be in Estes Park Colorado.

As I started looking for a place to stay when we got to Colorado this weekend, I found that every RV Park is full.  Must be a weekend!!!!  Anyway, I finally found an overflow spot in a campground in Estes Park, and seeing as we already had reservations there for Sunday until Wednesday, I decided a couple of extra days in Estes Park wouldn't be too bad.

Tonight we're in Goodland, Kansas at a commercial campground (KOA).  This is only the second commercial campground we've been in since we left home.  This one is okay, but it's not as good as the State Parks and Military bases.  At least it has 50 amp electric service, so all three air conditioners are running hard.  It was 102 degrees here today.

After arrival, I took the bike off the rack and rode around town a bit.  There's a museum down the street and I found it interesting.

High Plains Museum (and a buffalo)

As I was riding around town, I found a parking lot on main street filled with these old cars.  I guess someone is planning to restore them, or maybe they're for sale.  This is only half of them.

This 80 foot high painting is at the town entry.  It is a copy of a van Gogh painting.  This is a Rotary Club project.

A Journey West- Phase 1

Friday, July 8

Anna and Evan spent the week with us.

Anna spent the week recovering from 3 weeks at Camp Don Lee, where she became a very experienced sailor and learned a lot about herself.

Evan has spent two weeks with us and we've enjoyed every minute.  He turned 13 years old on July 3.  He is taller than Anna and almost as tall as Papa.  In another few weeks, he'll probably be looking down at me.

Yesterday, we essentially finished packing the motor home for our forthcoming 3 month trip out West.  Everything on the motor home is working good.

On Belle Air Street ready to head West.

Today we drove the motor home to Lake Jordan State Park and took the kids home.  We had a nice visit for a couple of hours and then went back to the motor home to start reacquainting ourselves with all the nuances of living on the move.

Saturday, July 9

We drove about 5 hours to a new area of the mountains for us.  I had seen an ad in a magazine for Mountain Falls Luxury Motorcoach Resort near Lake Toxaway.

This is by far the nicest place we've ever stayed.  Some of the lots (with a small coach house) on it can cost over $700,000.  Quite a bit above our means.  But it's nice to dream.

Quite a view

Sunday, July 10

Bill and Jan came over and spent the day.  We all ohed and ahhed again at the beautiful location and the "very" expensive motor homes.  Our 40 foot Tiffin is definitely on the low range of the motor homes here.  Lots of very expensive motor homes!

Monday, July 11

We're beginning to feel like we are really heading West now.  After nearly 400 miles and 3 days traveling across North Carolina, we are in Tennessee.

And WOW!  What a drive it was today.  We headed west from Lake Toxaway on Hwy 64.  I keep thinking I've already traveled some of the curviest roads in the country (i.e.  The million dollar highway in Colorado and the Dragons Tail in Western NC), but I do believe that today, we reached a new level of narrow, winding, up and down roads.  There was a stretch of the road where the cliff (rock walls) we less that 2 feet from the road and rose to well above our motor home.  Besides not having any shoulder on the road, the road was unusually narrow.  We literally had to stop in some of the curves when meeting on-coming traffic.

For obvious reasons, we have to pictures - it was about all we could do just to drive.

But, it turned out to be a memorable (and beautiful) drive.  And quite frankly, one I'd do again in the motor home if the chance ever comes.

We just Northeast of Chattanooga, TN in an absolutely wonderful state park - Harrison Lake State Park.  There's a fantastic swimming pool (which happened to be closed on Monday), beautiful facilities and a huge marina.

Although we really enjoyed staying at Mountain Falls, we both prefer something like this state park over the luxury RV Resorts.

Although the pool was closed, I did get in a good swim in the lake.  Tonight we had a fine dinner at the restaurant at the marina.

As we head West through Tennessee, we're going to try and stay at state parks. Tennessee has some of the best in the country.

Tuesday, July 12

A very pleasant drive across Eastern Tennessee.   We are at the David Crockett State Park.  We stayed here last year on our trip from Dayton, Ohio to Red Bay, Alabama.  As is the case with all the Tennessee State Parks we've visited, this one is outstanding.  It is very obvious that the state takes a lot of pride in their state parks.  Everyone we have visited is first class.

David Crockett State Park was dedicated in 1959, in honor of one of Tennessee's most famous native sons.  

In 1817 David Crockett move into this area and established a homestead.  As the community was quickly developing, he stepped in as a founding member of Lawrence County.  He served terms as a Justice of the Peace and a County Commissioner.  In 1819, he established diversified business ventures consisting of a gristmill, powder mill and distillery along the bank of Shoal Creek.

Moving from local politics into the state legislature, he began serving his first term as State Representative in 1821.  During this time a flood washed all three business operations away.  Financial difficulties from this loss caused him to sell of his land and holding to pay off his debts, and moved to West Tennessee where he was elected to Congress. 

He died at the Alamo Mission in 1836 while aiding the Texans in their fight for independence from Mexico.

Crockett Falls.  Although small, it is beautiful

We've heard from Anna several times.  She is in Beaufort this week, along with her mother, Candace, Candace's mother, Beth, and one of her friends along with Evan and one of his friends.  They're staying at the house and as Anna states it, "we're playing tourist in Beaufort" because Mimi and Papa aren't here.  

Wednesday July 13

Two down!  We’ve left behind North Carolina and Tennessee and are in Arkansas (just a little ways).  We’ve got Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana and I don’t know what else.

We’ve stumbled into a beautiful State Park just East of Memphis, Village Creek State Park.  It is truly amazing some of the State Parks we’ve come across in our travels – some equaling or exceeding some of the finest resorts we’ve visited, just not as crowded.  Maybe they don’t have all the fancy amenities (that that doesn’t really appeal to us).  This 7,000 acre park has two nice lakes, and equestrian center with stables (for those who like horses), kayaks, boats, fishing, 33 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking, a 27 hole golf course, grocery store, museum, 10 1, 2 and 3 bedroom cabins fully furnished, tennis courts, and 96 RV sites.

There are three sets of stables for horses

Village Creek State Park is located in east-central Arkansas just 50 miles west of Memphis.  Pioneer settlers moved into the area during the early 1800’s.  In 1821, Congress authorized construction of the Old Military Road.  Completed in 1929, it provided the first real access to the area for settlers.  It became a major route for Indian Removal for Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and 600 Cherokees between 1832 and 1850. 

The 7,000 acres comprising the park are situated entirely upon an unusual geologic formation called Crowley’s Ridge.  Covering most of this rugged terrain is a mixed hardwood forest, which differs distinctly from any other area of Arkansas.

Thursday, July 14

I had picked Hot Springs National Park some time back as a potential stopping point, and today we are here.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The park is actually partially located in downtown Hot Springs, which in itself is rather unusual for a National Park.  It’s also a rather small Park (one of the rangers told me it is the smallest land mass of any park in the county).

Hot Springs Downtown

Hot Springs has been a destination for tourists and those seeking the benefits of the warm waters for hundreds of years.  In the late 1800’s, it became a rather posh resort, bringing many who were looking for the health benefits of the mineral laden water.  Bathhouses sprouted and became very opulent.  Today, many of the remaining bathhouses are a part of the National Park and are used as museums, park headquarter, a couple of functioning bathhouses, and a craft beer brewery (extremely unusual in a National Park.  In fact, according to one of the docents, it is the only one in the system)  - and they have good beer – I tried it.  May go back for more.

 This bath house (6 of them in a row) are part of Hot Springs National Park

Yep! I tried several of the beers.  The brewing vats are in the background

 The bath houses are truly opulent

Late this afternoon we had a horrific thunderstorm with strong winds and lightening.  We arrived back from downtown about 1 minute before it hit.  Just after we got the awnings retracted (Lesson:  Never leave the awning out when we are gone), it hit with 50+ mph winds and driving rain.  As we started to pull the slides in, a big gust hit and messed up one of our canvas slide toppers.

After the storm

Almost immediately, the power in the RV Park (Catherine’s Landing RV Resort) went out, along with our battery charging system.

 A river runs by the park and the water source comes from the bottom of a reservoir upstream a mile or so.  The water temperature is around 69 degrees.  The cold water combined with 90+ degree temperatures creates a fog on the river

 A fishing boat emerges from the fog

So, we spent the night without power.   Thankfully it was cool - and the 10,000 watt generator on the motor home works perfectly.

Friday, July 15

This morning we were up early trying to figure out what had happened to our charging system.  After fretting for a while, Clara suggested I check the electric circuit breakers, and sure enough, apparently the lightening had caused a surge and the breakers controlling the electric system were tripped. 

Then I start on the slide topper.  Eventually, I am able to manually get it in, but this isn’t satisfactory.  After a few calls, I find an independent RV Technician who lives about 30 miles away who says he can fix it – next Tuesday.  His truck is broke down and he won’t be able to drive over until then.  I suggest that I come and pick him up – and he agrees.  So after two 60 mile round-trips, the awning is fixed.  A long day recovering from last nights storm.

We decide it is time to begin celebrating our upcoming 50^th wedding anniversary by going to a great restaurant – which serves seafood.   I got catfish.  It was good.

Saturday, July 16

We had considered staying one more day in Hot Springs because we had lost yesterday to storm recovery.  However, there still is no power at the RV Park and I'm tired of having to run the generator to keep the motor home cool.

So we head North to Fort Smith, Arkansas and Fort Chaffee.  Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith. Established as Camp Chaffee in 1941, renamed to Fort Chaffee in 1956, Fort Chaffee has served as a United States Army base, training camp, prisoner-of-war camp, and refugee camp. The base was closed following the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission round. Since that time, the Arkansas National Guard has been using 66,000 acres as a training facility. The State of Arkansas received 6000 acres, about half of which have been redeveloped as of 2014. 

Our GPS systems (we generally have two set for our destination when traveling) were not in agreement for the entire trip.  They were set on the same destination, but there was 45 minutes difference between the arrival times.  That should have been a clue of some sort.  We followed Google Maps GPS - right to a street that dead ended at a wire fence.  We had to disconnect the car to get turned around.  Then for about thirty minutes we drove around in the car trying to find the base entry.  In fact at one point we could see the RV's in the RV Park, but couldn't figure out how to get to it.  Finally, we found the right place to get on base and to the RV Park.  The Park is located on a hill in the middle of the base.  A nice park, but not much around.  I did go to the gym for a mild workout, but no pool.