Boon-docking has saved much in exorbitant campground expenses, but makes for difficult blogging. When charged batteries are in high demand blogging doesn't take first priority.... think work, school, research..... I'm trying this from the phone so please bear with me. Just be thankful you don't have to read as slow as I text.
The proximity to the train tracks (consistently active in the wee hours of the night) of our current 'yard' was justified this morning with some flat pennies for all, carefully stuck to the track with left over fake blood on our walk home from Wash bar last night. Keep reading and that might make more sense. My editing skills are severely limited on this device.
We so very much enjoyed the rest of our stay in Denver. We have many dear friends there and we relished visiting with all the ones we were able to. Seeing, and in some cases meeting, their children was heart warming. We didn't get enough pictures but hopefully I'll get to share a few.
We are now exploring Ft. Collins, where, we both swear we went to school, but are having a bit of a challenge recognizing her for all the changes. Thank God for Lucky Joe's or we might have checked the gps.
Ok, so it isn't that extreme but a lot can happen in a few short years. Or maybe it has more to do with just how many of those "few short years" have passed.
The Rams were nice enough to let the kids experience a victorious first college football game. It was sunny but we do miss those Sonny days we knew.
Halloween was fun. Jamie found a recipe for fake blood which bloomed into a of vampire, a vampire bat, and a kitty cat. (Jillian wasn't quite as intrigued with the prospect of the blood.) We did what we could with what we hag and a couple choice items from the thrift store!
We walked around downtown and the kids chose ice cream cones as their treat rather than trick or treating. Jamie's rather insightful rationale behind this choice; "it is better to enjoy an ice cream than to go collect a bunch of candy that mommy won't let us eat anyway. " Hmmm.... well, ok so the girl has me.
This has taken all morning and the natives are beyond restless. Off to stock up on Odell's so that we may woo Suzy when we get to Texas.
Xoxo
Monday, November 1, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Denver
Casa Bonita! Robb thinks the manager may have been the same one as when he worked there some 20 years ago but declined to confirm this.
Sunday dinner at the Meurer's hasn't changed, thank goodness! Some very special people who helped make Robb the person he is are here and we are honored to introduce our children to them, it has been very special for us. They have fed our hearts, souls and our bellies and we are grateful.
We toured the Denver Mint yesterday.
Yes, it might have led to a word or two about fiat currencies... Oh the poor kids.
We were hoping to head up to Ft. Collins and then Sterling but the wind and bitter cold are making us yearn for southern warmth, we'll have to see....
The new refrigerator is in, to be hooked up today. My back and sanity thank Jeff, it was a bit tighter than we had anticipated, Robb might still be stuck in the bedroom if not for him.
Sorry about the jeans Jeff.
Jen is expecting their first and we got to look around their beautiful new home; so happy!!
When it's not blowing so hard we think the rig might topple over the kids love having the playground so accessible.
Off to enjoy what time we have left here!
Sunday dinner at the Meurer's hasn't changed, thank goodness! Some very special people who helped make Robb the person he is are here and we are honored to introduce our children to them, it has been very special for us. They have fed our hearts, souls and our bellies and we are grateful.
We toured the Denver Mint yesterday.
Yes, it might have led to a word or two about fiat currencies... Oh the poor kids.
We were hoping to head up to Ft. Collins and then Sterling but the wind and bitter cold are making us yearn for southern warmth, we'll have to see....
The new refrigerator is in, to be hooked up today. My back and sanity thank Jeff, it was a bit tighter than we had anticipated, Robb might still be stuck in the bedroom if not for him.
Sorry about the jeans Jeff.
Jen is expecting their first and we got to look around their beautiful new home; so happy!!
When it's not blowing so hard we think the rig might topple over the kids love having the playground so accessible.
Off to enjoy what time we have left here!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Quick Recap
Denver has been great; visiting some wonderful friends, enjoying the knowledge that we'll be here for a full week, at least, and checking out how much things have changed!?!
We spent yesterday regrouping, we have a large box of STUFF to send home and give us a little more breathing space.
We got to catch up with Erick, and meet his girlfriend Katie last night. We were a little apprehensive, as always, bringing the kids to visit people who don't have kids. We forgot to factor in the fact that we don't have a tv in the rv. The kids have had their viewing needs met for the next month. We saw them for about 10 minutes while they ravenously ate delicious steak and asparagus and not again until we carried them to the truck. Not necessarily a fair representation of the kids but quite an enjoyable evening (and a bit of a break) for us :)
I was going to post a bunch of pictures from the past few stops but I'm having trouble uploading and my time is getting short. We're at the JEFCO Fairgrounds and there is a library book exchange (opportunity to pick up a new selection of books for a bargain) and a big dog and horse training show that has Jamie convinced the stars have aligned just for her!
We celebrated Jillian's 3rd birthday in Moab, hiking Arches NP and then to Milt's for the best fish and chips, buffalo burgers and chicken salad we've had in a LONG time, it was everything that a little burger joint should be! The banana split (a first for our family) was perfect!!
Jamie had the west swine nile fly crud while we were in Bryce but kicked it quickly, though it is her least favorite NP so far for that reason.
We loved the energy of Moab and enjoyed a perfect mountain biking trail (Jillian is hoping that Daddy gets a full suspension bike soon and is looking for a piece of foam for her seat.) We also had some great hikes and rock climbing in Arches.
The refrigerator finally went out completely so meals are going to get interesting until the new one arrives; next week sometime. But with the Colorado sunshine and fall colors and crispness there isn't much room for complaining :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
We're Back In Service Area
We have been in Bryce Canyon and Moab for the past few days, no electricity and sparse phone service! I'll do pictures and updates soon but I just wanted to let everyone know we are doing well! On our way to Grand Junction with a quick stop at a dinosaur museum. Trying to do this from the phone so we'll see......
Monday, October 11, 2010
Zion
I've thought about this post all night.
Jamie had a sore throat and felt better in my bed, so after she fell asleep I climbed into her bunk, Jillian snuck into my bed and after some unsuccessful snuggling discovered that it was not me but Jamie so I went down to Jillian's bunk so I could reach Jill's hand and calm her, that worked long enough for me to doze, until Jillian laid on Jamie which Jamie found unacceptable and found her way back to her own bunk and Jillian convinced me to come back to my bed and subject myself to her kicking and hugging for the remainder of the night.
Needless to say I had quite a bit of time to ponder the universe.
We are in the magnificent, glorious, awe-inspiring Zion National Park.
And we're more than ready to move on.
Sounds wrong, right?
It comes down to two things, crowds and rules.
Hiking should not feel like traffic.
Camping should not feel like a major downtown.
The crowds, of course, necessitate the rules; don't walk here, don't look here, don't burn this, don't touch that, don't move the picnic tables??
And that's all I'll say because we do feel so very lucky to have seen what we've seen and the kids have truly enjoyed the hiking, biking, nature, Jr. Ranger program.
I must say the s'mores were a highlight!!
Here is Jillian trying her first; I guess she's had too many wheat grass infused items to trust that this was really going to be a treat....
We've hiked the river walk and up to all three emerald pools.
We have biked the Pa'rus trail several times and attended the nightly ranger led programs, done the visitor's center, and the human museum.
We've seen a couple of these beauties. Mommy doesn't want to get any closer thank you very much. Jamie got quite a few very close up pics, she's working on her photography and plans to share it on her page soon!!
So, yes, it has been wonderful to be here, we're just ready for some 'alone time' :)
I'll have to steal the camera from Robb sometime or he's never going to make an appearance here.
Jamie had a sore throat and felt better in my bed, so after she fell asleep I climbed into her bunk, Jillian snuck into my bed and after some unsuccessful snuggling discovered that it was not me but Jamie so I went down to Jillian's bunk so I could reach Jill's hand and calm her, that worked long enough for me to doze, until Jillian laid on Jamie which Jamie found unacceptable and found her way back to her own bunk and Jillian convinced me to come back to my bed and subject myself to her kicking and hugging for the remainder of the night.
Needless to say I had quite a bit of time to ponder the universe.
We are in the magnificent, glorious, awe-inspiring Zion National Park.
And we're more than ready to move on.
Sounds wrong, right?
It comes down to two things, crowds and rules.
Hiking should not feel like traffic.
Camping should not feel like a major downtown.
The crowds, of course, necessitate the rules; don't walk here, don't look here, don't burn this, don't touch that, don't move the picnic tables??
And that's all I'll say because we do feel so very lucky to have seen what we've seen and the kids have truly enjoyed the hiking, biking, nature, Jr. Ranger program.
I must say the s'mores were a highlight!!
Here is Jillian trying her first; I guess she's had too many wheat grass infused items to trust that this was really going to be a treat....
We've hiked the river walk and up to all three emerald pools.
We have biked the Pa'rus trail several times and attended the nightly ranger led programs, done the visitor's center, and the human museum.
We've seen a couple of these beauties. Mommy doesn't want to get any closer thank you very much. Jamie got quite a few very close up pics, she's working on her photography and plans to share it on her page soon!!
So, yes, it has been wonderful to be here, we're just ready for some 'alone time' :)
I'll have to steal the camera from Robb sometime or he's never going to make an appearance here.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Yoga Babies
Having fun in Mountain View, Idaho.
We had yoga and cooking along with some computer and workbook tasks for roadschool today. Jills 'helped' with the zucchini pancake breakfast, Jamie made peanut sauce and everyone rolled their own veggie spring rolls for lunch and Bobby seasoned the beef for our stew for dinner.
Slowly but surely you'll get to see all of the rv.... Here is the living room, starboard side.
We have been doing some projects around the rv for a couple days, I've tweaked the wise words of Big Uncle Ted to express:
"Nothing works on an old motorhome except it's owner."
We are heading out today, we have no idea where, have to see where the wind blows us~
We had yoga and cooking along with some computer and workbook tasks for roadschool today. Jills 'helped' with the zucchini pancake breakfast, Jamie made peanut sauce and everyone rolled their own veggie spring rolls for lunch and Bobby seasoned the beef for our stew for dinner.
Slowly but surely you'll get to see all of the rv.... Here is the living room, starboard side.
We have been doing some projects around the rv for a couple days, I've tweaked the wise words of Big Uncle Ted to express:
"Nothing works on an old motorhome except it's owner."
We are heading out today, we have no idea where, have to see where the wind blows us~
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Salmon River
We are back in communication after a week of camping on the beautiful Salmon River.
Our friend was a river guide for years on the Salmon and told us that we would find pristine camping with virtually no other people this time of year and we could easily maneuver the road as long as we didn't try to cross a certain bridge which was hairy even in the vans they used to take the rafts up in.
So we drove past a few camps that had one or two other rvs, kept going, past a few empty campsites, kept going, past a pretty small bridge, kept going, onto a gravel winding road, kept going.... and finally all the way up to said bridge, which sure enough, we could not attempt to cross. So turn around you say? Well not so easy in a 40 ft. rv towing a truck. Our fearless driver, who has asked to remain nameless, had to unhook the truck and back the rv up for over a mile (yes, it is still a windy dirt road.) He had me looking out the back window with instructions to yell if he was going to hit something or go off the side, which I had to do twice.
I quite enjoyed my jog back to get the truck, I guess I had a little nervous energy to burn.
We finally did find a beautiful campsite and thoroughly enjoyed the experience; we swam, biked, hiked, build forts and fairy houses, had campfires...
The kids learned all about light pollution and saw why our galaxy is called the Milky Way. It was the first time in years that we were outside and it was truly dark, even the moon was hidden by the canyon walls.
Robb faced off with a skunk and luckily walked away without any additional odor (we were camping after all.) We spotted a family of mountain goats and got to watch a brown bear out for an afternoon walk, he came within 10 feet of the truck and gave the kids quite a thrill.
Our friends packed a 'survival bag' for us before we left with instructions to open only when we were 100 miles out of CdA. It was possibly the most thoughtful assortment of items we have ever received. One example, a 'pig sticker' for Robb with the original handle removed and replaced with one carved from deer antlers our friend had hunted. Jamie joined the ranks with her own pocket knife and the kids honed their skills by carving spears. (No, Jillian did not do her own, but I think she has the warrior face down best!)
I'd go through each item as they were all so special to each of us but suffice it to say we were each deeply touched.
Our friend was a river guide for years on the Salmon and told us that we would find pristine camping with virtually no other people this time of year and we could easily maneuver the road as long as we didn't try to cross a certain bridge which was hairy even in the vans they used to take the rafts up in.
So we drove past a few camps that had one or two other rvs, kept going, past a few empty campsites, kept going, past a pretty small bridge, kept going, onto a gravel winding road, kept going.... and finally all the way up to said bridge, which sure enough, we could not attempt to cross. So turn around you say? Well not so easy in a 40 ft. rv towing a truck. Our fearless driver, who has asked to remain nameless, had to unhook the truck and back the rv up for over a mile (yes, it is still a windy dirt road.) He had me looking out the back window with instructions to yell if he was going to hit something or go off the side, which I had to do twice.
I quite enjoyed my jog back to get the truck, I guess I had a little nervous energy to burn.
We finally did find a beautiful campsite and thoroughly enjoyed the experience; we swam, biked, hiked, build forts and fairy houses, had campfires...
The kids learned all about light pollution and saw why our galaxy is called the Milky Way. It was the first time in years that we were outside and it was truly dark, even the moon was hidden by the canyon walls.
Robb faced off with a skunk and luckily walked away without any additional odor (we were camping after all.) We spotted a family of mountain goats and got to watch a brown bear out for an afternoon walk, he came within 10 feet of the truck and gave the kids quite a thrill.
Our friends packed a 'survival bag' for us before we left with instructions to open only when we were 100 miles out of CdA. It was possibly the most thoughtful assortment of items we have ever received. One example, a 'pig sticker' for Robb with the original handle removed and replaced with one carved from deer antlers our friend had hunted. Jamie joined the ranks with her own pocket knife and the kids honed their skills by carving spears. (No, Jillian did not do her own, but I think she has the warrior face down best!)
I'd go through each item as they were all so special to each of us but suffice it to say we were each deeply touched.
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