Colorado - Repairs And The Insanity Of Getting Things Done

 It takes a lot of patience when dealing with things that are not in one’s control. 

If you remember in March this year we had an accident that put a dent into Lucy as well as Lou. In May the trailer (Lou) was finally labeled as ‘totaled’ which meant the insurance company came and picked her up and refunded us the money. Now we were stuck without a trailer needing to travel from Colorado to Texas. We were lucky that the Casson Family volunteered to store my car, Rosalina, for the next 2 1/2 months. 

Ron went ahead and put an order in for a new trailer to be build in Waco, Texas, and we went on to drive just Lucy to San Antonio were we spend 2 months in San Antonio mostly but also went back to Magnolia Beach as well as to Canyon Lake.

We finally got a call from the trailer place in July that the trailer was finished so we went to Waco in the beginning of August to go pick up our Lou II. From there we headed up to Colorado Springs because we also got the call that the two awnings were in and ready to be installed. 

So this past week on August 17 Lucy got her awnings repaired. That day we also found out that the parts arrived for the collision repair. That’s the good news as the parts are in but the bad news is that the collision repair place called to tell us they are understaffed as they lost some employees. This means we still don’t have a date……

All of this has been a pain for now 5 months! Crazy as this explains why we have not done yet what we originally set out to do. We did however made the best of this down time as we got to spend time with Niki, the girls as well as Connor and Alex.

The goal is that as soon as we get a repair date we have to find a one month vacation rental. We were told the repairs will take 10 to 15 working days which translates to us to 3 to 4 weeks.

Once Lucy is repaired our sights are fixed on Georgia to visit with Sam and the rest of the family. Sam, my SIL is in hospice care and her daughter Tammy and granddaughter Christina are taking care of her. So time is of the essence. 

So my hope is we get a repair schedule soon, find a good place to stay and get this whole incident behind us……

Colorado - Climbing To New Hights

 We decided to travel to Pagosa Springs and take our youngest son for a little vacation. He had a few days off and we were open as Lucy had just gotten her new awnings and we still don’t have a date for the collision repairs. But that will go into another post.

So on Thursday the 18th I went and picked up Alex at 8 am and not to long after we pulled out of the Cracker Barrel Parking lot to head south and then west.

Lucy Lou had to face two mountain passes. The first one (I admit I forgot the name) was 9000 feet high, the second one which I was more anxious about was Wolf Creek Pass at 10,300 feet high.

I am so incredible proud of how well Lucy did. I got to drive her and Alex was my co-pilot for 4 1/2 hours. We filled her up at a Loves in Pueblo and then headed west. I used the ‘mode’ selection once we started climbing as well as for the descend. Lucy climbed slow and steady at times slowing down to 35 mph but never less pushing on. All the readings and temp control were great and she descended in 3rd gear all the way down with me only tapping the breaks once. 

This was her first taller pass and I admit I was curious on how well it would go and considering how much weight Lucy is pulling I was beyond impressed. 

We arrived at The Last Resort RV Park and Campground in Pagosa Springs by 3 pm and time for Coffee and Cake. 

I love how I get to do almost all the driving now but the downside is I can’t take photos while on the move, plus of course I have to rely on my navigators to pick out places to stop for lunch etc.

The next day, Alex and I went horseback riding at the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Center which was so beautiful. I rode on Capone, Alex had Shot Gun and the lead horse was Hammer. Mine was the most feisty as he kept biting the other two horses including the guide. Silly horse. 

Colorado - Spero Winery Harvest Host Fun - finally…..

 We did it! We finally can put a check mark behind a successful Harvest Host stay.

In case I forgot to explain, Harvest Host is a membership program where a a full contained RVer can go and spend a night at a brewery, winery, distillery, farm, ranch or even at peoples properties or houses. You get a free night and the host hopes you go and visit their business. A win win for everyone is the plan here.

Now in our case we are a tad limited in using this as there is a filter to use in what different hosts are offering in regards to parking. We need to find ones that have 45’+ feet parking, allows dogs and generator usage. 

Well we did it. Two nights ago after we picked up Rosalina from the Casson Family we tried to find an overnight location close to downtown Denver. We struck out over and over until Ron reminded me to check if there is a Harvest Host we could try. Now, often it is hard to do same day reservations but we found a winery, Spero Winery that said it was Big Rig and Pet friendly and who had an opening! 

So off we went, criss crossing Denver again in rush hour traffic to move Lucy Lou towards some yummy wine 🍷.

Spero Winery in Denver did not disappoint and we found a great spot to park, plus after asking the owners we got the all clear to run the generator and move out the slides…. Heaven! I was so grateful for them to let us camp in their backyard that I brought them some German chocolate to which the owner told me was a first as they don’t get gifts for hosting but that she was thrilled as it was her favorite chocolate. Win win!

We had planned to spend one night, then visit Connor the next day for lunch, followed with a trip down to CSorings to a campground Ron found for us. However that night we realized it would be a big rush to unload Rosalina, drive to downtown Denver to see Connor at 1 pm, then head back to Lucy at the winery, load Rosi back up and drive 2 hours south to make the cutoff time of 6 pm for the rv park. Ron called the RV Park and asked if we could move our checkin day to Sunday instead of Saturday which they told us was not a problem (after all they still got payed 😉).

So we now had time to relax and enjoy our time with our oldest son. We got to see his apartment which was nice and I picked us up some Chipotle for lunch. When we got back to the winery we went over and did the wine tasting which was impressive. This winery only opens their sale and tasting room on Saturdays from 1 pm to 5 pm. However the tasting is free and the selection extensive. Ron and I managed each just about 3 samples. Ron sampled red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon (yummy), Cabernet Franc (okay) and Pinot Noir (nope). I sampled the Riesling (yummy), Dry Muscat (nope) and Raspberry Red (to sweet).

Now on the sample list was a wine, a dessert wine, that got me excited ♥️ It was a Vino Ghiacciato or as I would compare it to an Ice Wine. When we went to check out and buy some wine I asked her about the ‘ice wine’ and she told me I had to sample it as they are very proud if their version. They use red grapes which was new to me and they use dry ice to get the sugar content up to par. I was explained that usually you aim to 30 and that theirs comes in at 28. The sample was very delicious plus I got to chit chat to the owner about Heidelberg as they have been there and even recognized the Ice Wine I so love that is served in the cellar at the castle. I remembered to ask her if it was okay to spend one more night and she said we could stay as long as we wanted. Super nice couple!

 So, in the end we walked out with 4 bottles of wine. And we only had to walk about 20 years to our Lucy. Talk about the perfect setup. 

We had two free nights at the Spero Winery in Denver, we had a nice visit with Connor and we drove away with four yummy bottles of wine. This is what I picture our gypsy life to be like and I know there will be more to come.

This Harvest Host experience was wonderful and a success. 

Texas - Killing preconceived ideas one mile at a time…..

 

Ah how many of you know me and my activism? Some call me opinionated and set in my ways. I actually always saw myself as very flexible as my approach has always been that given a great argument and facts my mind can be approachable. My political leanings were always simple and nothing complicated about it:

Freedom and equality for ALL. Live and let live. Laws could be replaced if common sense prevailed. I root for intellect instead of physical attributes. I don’t care about peoples looks or backgrounds, not their bank accounts or what they own or don’t own. I want to see in others and live myself with integrity, kindness, compassion and empathy. 

So of course I knew when we set out on being gypsies and full time travelers that some of the areas and states we want to explore are not exactly leaning into my political spectrum. This said I grew up admiring Peter Jennings and when he coauthored the book ‘In Search of America’ in 2002 I was in love with the story. To travel and talk to fellow Americans and to connect on a deeper level then our political leanings which more often then not separate us.

This is what I discovered in full force during our time in Texas. I can’t count on how many incredible humans we crossed paths with. We laughed, we had fun but also had deep conversations with fellow travelers and locals that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Texas has turned out to be very beautiful and welcoming in our drive along the southern border, the hill country from Fredericksburg to Canyon Lake. 

Canyon Lake was the first lake in Texas I ever swam in! Plus we got to ride our bikes a lot in the COE campground (Potters Creek Campground). Then Magnolia Beach which we have a soft spot for. Up to Schulenburg (a town that almost has more churches then people 😉). Very friendly German/Czech community with a yummy bakery, a very yummy Mexican restaurant and a beautiful family run RV Park that hosts three ducks in their pond named Mod, Curly and Larry. We actually wouldn’t mind staying a week there. Did I mention they have a Dairy Queen right next to the RV Park? Cookie Dough Blizzard heaven.

San Antonio of course has a lot to offer for any interest but our focus was on family while we stayed at the two military campgrounds, JBSA Lackland and Fort Sam Houston. There we met a lot of different characters. An older retired Air-force Couple who is making the transition to being fulltime travelers, a young military family who both retired due to medical issues that is now traveling with their kids and working at the campground as hosts. We met a restless retired general who was there in his A-Class MH and who was a restless soul trying to keep everything orderly on the campground. No parking on the grass!!! 😉 I got to enjoy the water park on the base with my grand daughters several times, plus thanks to them I got to roller skate again as well as visit a snake farm, got locked into a bunker (escape room), went through a mirror maze and survived a 4D movie. We went to a couple of movies, Jurassic Park and Top Gun. Both of these reminded me of my age more then even the water slides and roller skating. Darn time flies…..

On our way up north (3 hours) we got to spend three nights in Waco to visit with our friend Kim and to pick up our new custom build trailer (Lou II). The three nights turned into 4 nights due to issues in getting the trailer as it turned out it wasn’t all finished yet. This however gave us more time with Kim and even getting to visit a bit with her boys. Now this is why we do this! The joy that comes by spending time with wonderful friends is the best medicine in a world that seems to go off its rails. Kim and I went to our favorite brewery, Bare Arms, which has trivia night every Wednesday. Should you find yourself in Waco on a Wednesday don’t miss this fun event. We did not win this time around (Kim won last time we went there in October of 2021), but we still got lots of laughs in and the locals at this brewery are fun! Then we also got to take Ron to his first visit to George’s which is always a treat. I on the other hand got to stock up on chocolate thanks to Kim and also got spoiled by an egg and half and half delivery. Now the campground we stayed in is a different story. Flat Creek Farm RV Park looked and sounded perfect on paper/screen. Here are the filters I use when we look up campgrounds: it needs to be ‘big rig friendly’, full hookups with 50 amp, pet friendly. Well it said it was good in all these, except it was attached to a working sheep farm! Now don’t get me wrong, I love animals and I love farms but these cute sheep came with three large, very protective dogs. No not sheep herding dogs but protectors. Our campsite was separated from the sheep and their dogs by a creek. That creek however was not an obstacle for those pups and these pups did not take a liking to Keetna, Oliver and I. So here was that scenario I was faced starting on day 1:

Keetna, Oliver and I ‘like’ to get up at 6:30 am to go for a fun morning walk. We stepped out into the fresh air and started walking up the trail along the creek. Within 3 minutes two large dogs came running up on the opposite site of the creek barking like crazy at us. I was confused as the sheep weren’t visible but I guess now they heard us when we stepped out of the RV. Anyway, they barked for a bit and then they took of running full speed along the creek at which moment I decided to run full speed back to the RV pulling poor Keetna and Oliver behind me (who had not finished their business yet). I pulled them into the RV with literally seconds to spare. As soon as we got in I looked out the window and saw those dogs ruining again full speed up to our RV. That’s when I realized they have a path across the creek. The next incident happened the next morning when I tried to walk in the field away from the creek and the sheep. On my way back I see one of the three dogs, luckily the younger pup which looked about 1 year old, running towards us. By then there was no running for us as he was in between us and the RV. So I stopped and yelled at him to stop which shockingly he did. With 20 feet between us I slowly retreated and was happy that both Keetna and Oliver were quiet during all this as not to attracted the two older more seasoned dogs. Finally the younger pup decided to cross the creek again so we could run back to Lucy.  From that moment on, for the next 4 days, we only stepped out with our pups for about 5 minutes each time under the protection of Ron with his walking stick which made him look like a shepherd. Well he kept guard for us so our two could at least pee and poop even if no more walks were possible. So long story short this RV park will not be on our list to return to. I might actually stay clear of any working animal farm from now on.

So once everything got cleared with our new trailer we moved 1 1/2 hours north again to the Ft. Worth area for three nights. This time we are staying at Silver Creek RV Resort. We were suppose to visit with our beloved friends, the Tossell Family, but sadly they got sidelined by covid. The RV park however is really a treasure find and it is making up for the last park we stayed at. There are two dog parks here for our babes to run and play. It was fairly easy to park Lucy Lou II and everything is super clean and new looking. The bathhouse and even the laundry room are incredible. I am doing laundry now while relaxing in a large air conditioned room that has recliners to relax on. Oh and the bathrooms all have old Hollywood Actor names as in Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy), James Dean, Marylin Monroe, John Wayne and so on. Last night we had dinner at the rv park which had live entertainment at the restaurant. The Texas twinkies were awesome! I even tried a Fireball shot and the Filet Mignon was perfect. Again people here are super nice and accommodating as we had to change our reservation short notice.

Tomorrow we will be leaving Texas. We are planning on spending a couple of nights north of Oklahoma City at Pioneer RV Park in Guthrie, OK.

Sorry this was such a long post as I admit I have been slacking off. One would think I have much more time now but honestly days fly by. I still have my normal housekeeping duties as in cleaning, making our bed, laundry, cooking etc. Then of course me having to walk the dogs frequently I am also on the move more. I also love taking bike rides when I am not walking the dogs and I realized Keetna likes eating blankets so I am back to crocheting blankets 😉

What I really want to get across on this blog post is that in order to experience what is good about humanity one has to get out and meet other humans and interact without putting on filters. We have to build bridges not walls and travel more. So turn off the news and go to your local corner pup and have a beer at the bar and start chatting, or walk your pup in the park. You might be surprised how good that will make you feel. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone that I created these last three years and it feels good to push the boundaries.