Currently in Douglas WY (Low 42 Currently Sunny 52)
Heading to Rozet WY (Currently 62 Sunny with an Afternoon Thunderstorm High 81)
After a short stay in Cheyenne Wyoming we departed yesterday and headed to Douglas, also in Wyoming. It was another scenic drive.
We are staying at the KOA in Douglas, this is the view from our back window of a pasture with horses.
Later on a couple of trailers came and unloaded a bunch of horses, kept us entertained.
It was approximately 140 miles, this was the route we took.
We stayed hooked up last night as we are heading to Rozet, also in Wyoming today. We have a mobile service appointment near Rapid City South Dakota on Friday that we don't want to miss.
Both of our GPS devices agreed on the route and would have taken us directly to the park had Bob not had a brain cramp during some road construction and took an exit instead of staying on the interstate. Jo saw what was happening but couldn't stop Bob in time from adding a few minutes to our travel day. Luckily it was just a couple miles the other way on the interstate and then back through the rest area we just left.
Even without a GPS we would have made it to the park as they had the best signage from the internet that we have ever seen. The office at the KOA was closed when we got here but they had our park handout in the night registration area and we found our way to our site. The pull thru was long enough that we could stay hooked up which was great since a one night layover. After we had settled in Bob walked to the office and paid.
The hookups looked convenient although all we used was electrical. We had a great line of sight for our roof mounted satellite dish as you will see in the following pictures. ATT cellular was 4 bars and 4g was 2 bars.
Lifestyle from the front.
To the right.
To the left.
From the rear.
After we got settled we did our usual of checking out local restaurants even though we were going to stay hooked up. Turns out Friendz Pizzeria, which was advertised in the KOA handout and offering delivery, has the best pizza in the state of Wyoming per Yelp. So you know we had to order some pizza. We couldn't decide on one so we got the BBQ and Brisket and the Hang Loose (Maui Pizza). Both were excellent and we both admitted we liked the one we were currently eating the best. Definitely gets added to our 'Our Favorite Things'.
We depart today for Rozet, also in Wyoming. There is a lot to see and do in Douglas and at our last stop in Cheyenne that we wished we had more time. We say we want to leave something for our next visit but with these two stops we have left a lot to see.
The End
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Cheyenne WY (Low 34 Currently Sunny 49)
Heading to Douglas WY (Currently 46 A Storm in Spots High 71)
This is one time our GPS devices were not dueling, they agreed on the route that took us right to the park. The office staff was great and we were directed to an easy pull thru on wide roads, definitely a big rig park. The hookups were fairly convenient but the sewer connection was a little elevated. Not as bad as some others where you are trying to push black water uphill even with our elevated sewer support.
As you will see we had a great line of sight with our roof mounted satellite dish. The ATT cellphone signal was generally 4-5 bars as was the 4g signal. Here is the Lifestyle from the front.
To the right.
To the left.
From the rear.
This was a very nice park and we would probably stay here again.
After a night where we didn't get much sleep since our propane detector kept going off, another thing to add to our list for the mobile service in Rapid City on Friday, we depart today for Douglas Wyoming.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Cheyenne WY (Low 44 A Thunderstorm in Spots High 59)
After 2 weeks in Aurora Colorado we departed yesterday and headed to Cheyenne Wyoming. We thought that since it was Mother's Day and a Sunday that the traffic would be light but it was heavy. Couple that with two accidents which resulted in stop and go traffic it was a longer drive than we thought. Add to that the roads in Denver and north were as bad as the roads in Oklahoma we were so glad it was a short mileage day.
It was cloudy in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming so the only picture we got was from the border.
We are staying at the KOA in Cheyenne, this is from their website.
It was approximately 120 miles, this is the route we took.
Now that Bob has finished his Be Sensitivity testing at National Jewish we are happy to be on the road heading to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the summer.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Aurora CO (Low 46 Currently Cloudy 52)
Heading to Cheyenne WY (Currently 47 An Afternoon Thunderstorm High 63)
The '5 Stages of Fulltiming', in our humble opinion are; Anticipation, Dread, Motivated, Home Town, Hang Up The Keys. We are currently in the 'Home Town' stage. What do we mean by the different stages you ask. We will use ourselves as examples where possible.
Anticipation - you've made the decision to go fulltiming and you are blown away by the potential freedom and fun that you will have. You attend RV shows, talk to friends that have an RV, join RV clubs like Escapees and Good Sam, subscribe to RV magazines and dream about life on the road.
Dread - You've started the downsizing process and realize you have a lot of "stuff". Eventually you will realize it is just "stuff" but now you begin to have doubts. You sell your house and move what belongings you can into your RV and go on your first trip. The 'Dread' stage carries over into your fulltiming life as you adjust to 300 or so sq. ft. and you also adjust to living fulltime and traveling with an occasional mechanical issue to deal with. You also begin to realize that fulltiming is not all vacations. Home is where you hookup means that you have to do regular household tasks like paying bills, laundry, taxes, cleaning, dishes, etc., although no lawn mowing, gutter cleaning or snow shoveling.
Motivated - Once the 'Dread' stage is over and you have adjusted you enter probably the best stage, 'Motivated'. But no matter what stage you are in there will always be something to fix or improve upon in your RV. You now take the longest trips you will ever take as a fulltimer. You have places from your bucket list and other sources that you visit, sometimes 2 or 3 of them in one day. You stay a few days at each stop and then move on. You quickly begin to realize that there is so much to see and that you will never to able to see it all.
Home Town - as the miles and years accumulate and the realization that you cannot see it all you start to slow down. The trips become shorter, we are now at 100-120 miles instead of 250-300 that we started with, and the stays become longer. You begin to 'save things for the next time' instead of cramming them all into one visit. We always manage to find good things to see and good food no matter where we are but just like your 'Home Town' there will always be some sightseeing that you never visit.
Hang Up The Keys - as the miles and years further accumulate it becomes a little tougher to be on the road fulltime. During this stage your trips become even shorter and your stays even longer. There can be many phases within this stage as you establish a home base and become part-timers. We think that is what we will do before we hang up the keys for good. Pick a home base in the Kansas City area, or Kerrville Texas or Arizona and then only travel a few months a year. Basically 6 months traveling 6 months at the home base. Eventually there will come a day when we will have to 'Hang Up The Keys' for good.
The length you spend in each stage is unique to each situation but we think this covers the stages of fulltiming. When we do hang up the keys for good we know we will look back fondly on all the fun we had and the new friends we made on the road. Here are some of the great photos we have taken.
We depart today for Cheyenne Wyoming.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Aurora CO (Low 51 Some Sun Some Clouds High 79)
While working at the Kansas City Division, known throughout the years as Bendix then AlliedSignal and finally Honeywell, Bob was exposed to Beryllium. His body reacted to it which puts him in the Beryllium Sensitization (BeS) stage. Since 2003 he has been visiting National Jewish Health in Denver every 2-3 years, a recognized expert in lung issues.
His last visit was in the fall of 2014 so it was like he was a new patient again. Plus the doctor he has been seeing for a number of years has moved on. His first day consisted of bloodwork, chest CT, pulmonary function test (basically spirometer testing on steroids), riding a bicyle exercise tolerance test, and a visit with his new doctor. Here is where the pulmonary function test was conducted.
On the second day he was scheduled to have a bronchoscopy with biopsies and a lung lavage (saline pumped into the lungs and then sucked out). It is a little embarrassing to admit but Bob screwed up and drank a few more sips of water than he should have before the procedure. Here is where we have a good news/bad news scenario plays out. It was bad news that they had to cancel the procedure but the good news is the doctor looked over what results were available and said she thought they wouldn't find anything anyway so the procedure could wait until his next visit in 2 years.
Since then more results have been posted on the portal and except for not riding as long as they expected on the bike Bob came through the testing. The good news on the bike is that his leg strength was the cause for ending the exercise tolerance test and not his breathing. It looks like Bob has not progressed to Chronic Beryllium Disease yet.
Let's just say Bob is happy that is over for at least a couple of years
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Aurora CO (Low 45 Mostly Sunny and Pleasant High 75)
Subtitled: We don't like city driving anymore
After a few days of rain we finally got a sunny day yesterday so we decided to head to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Denver Museum. On our way out near the entry gate we saw some deer.
Also on the way out we got a good shot of the snow capped mountains without the cloud cover, this is such a pretty park.
We guess Friday is not the day to try and see the Dead Sea Scrolls. There must have been 50 school busses in the parking lot and not a parking spot in sight so we punted.
For some unknown reason we decided to go downtown for lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Road construction everywhere and traffic, both foot and cars, everywhere. When we got closer to the OSF there was no street parking and we saw a parking garage that was full. That was the final straw so we punted again.
Another place we like in the Denver area is the Black-Eyed Pea so we then headed there and after a lot more traffic we had a great lunch. More driving to a couple of shopping stops and guess what, more traffic on city streets and interstates. By now we had enough, almost 5 hours just driving around, eating and shopping at the Container Store and Wal-Mart.
Back in the park we liked the quiet and then we had more visitors real close to our RV.
We've been at this park before and have never seen so many deer so close. Another great day in a great park away from the all of the traffic.
The End.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Aurora CO (Low 42 Showers High 54)
It's a rainy day here at Cherry Creek State Park Campground in Aurora Colorado so we are staying inside. We missed a Kodak moment when some deer ran through the park near our living room side windows. The rain broke for a few minutes and we took a short walk. We were surprised that the deer returned and we got a some good pictures, some from the windows on the kitchen side.
In honor of Judy, the bird lady of blog land
The End
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Aurora CO (Low 44 Pleasant with Clouds and Sun High 76)
We departed Colorado City, Colorado yesterday and headed to Aurora, also in Colorado. Pikes Peak looked neat with a snow cover.
We are staying at Cherry Creek State Park.
It was approximately 130 miles, this is the route we took.
We will be here almost two weeks as Bob has medical tests related to his exposure to Beryllium while working at Bendix/AlliedSignal/Honeywell in Kansas City. Jo is also getting a haircut today so wish us both good luck 😅
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Colorado City CO (Low 50 Clouds and Sun Currently 62)
Heading to Aurora CO (Currently 63 Mostly Sunny High 82)
The KOA in Colorado City, just south of Pueblo, is a very scenic park. We had some nice sunsets out our back window while we were here.
This park is right off of I-25 so both of our GPS did a good job getting us here. The office people were great during our wind delays and during our checkin. We got a great couple of restaurant recommendations, Max's for breakfast Three Sisters for lunch/supper, and that lead to great meals and desserts, one of which was the best blueberry pie we have ever had. The way our pull thru was laid out made it the easiest pull thru ever.
The pull thru was long enough that if we wanted to stay hooked up we could have. The 50amp full hookups were convenient. As you can see in the pictures we had a great line of sight for our roof mounted dish. We had great signal strength for both ATT cellular and 4g. The park had free wifi but the 40mb/sec for 4g ATT was faster.
Here is the Lifestyle from the front.
To the right.
To the left.
From the rear.
Here is the view out our back window during the day. Surprised to see a small amount of snow this late in the year.
Finally here is a sunrise picture, which we usually do not take very often 😀
We would stay here again for the scenery and good food.
We depart today for Aurora Colorado in the Denver metroplex.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Colorado City CO (Low 34 Sunny, Pleasant and Warmer High 75)
After an overnight stay in Springer New Mexico we were dealing with high winds yesterday morning with gusts up to 50mph. The high wind advisory ended in the afternoon so we were unsure what to do. Kudos to the owner of Santa Fe Trails RV Park because when Bob called and asked about a late departure she told him not to worry about when we leave, she was more concerned about our safety. If we stay the night then we can walk up to the office and pay. If not staying then leave when we feel comfortable leaving.
We had lunch and the winds died down so we left about 130p and headed to Colorado City Colorado which is just south of Pueblo. There was some wind but it was way below the 50mph gusts. A neat rock formation cut out for the interstate along the way.
We are staying at the Pueblo South/Colorado City KOA.
It was approximately 120 miles to the Colorado City KOA, this is the route we took.
We plan on staying here 3 nights as we continue our trek to the Denver area for Bob's medical testing.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
Currently in Springer NM (Low 34 Cloudy and Breezy Currently 52)
May be heading to Colorado City CO (Currently 51 Mostly Cloudy High 60)
We departed Santa Fe New Mexico yesterday and headed to Springer, also in New Mexico. Hard to believe but we saw snow capped mountains in the distance during our drive.
We are staying at The Old Santa Fe Trail RV Park.
It was approximately 140 miles, this is the route we took.
We are staying one night so we stayed hooked up. Our GPS devices had a little trouble finding the park before the trip so Bob manually entered the park's latitude/longitude. Once on the road the Rand McNally GPS device worked great. The Garmin GPS has been flaky ever since the last update. Google maps agreed with the Rand McNally so it broke the tie.
We were in a pull thru and the full hookups looked convenient although all we used was electrical and we were in backwards trying our best to get a satellite signal. The office was closed when we got there so we started setting up. We were in a 30amp site for $18 which didn't bother us as the temperature was in the 60s so we wouldn't need air conditioning, much less two air conditioners. As Bob was digging around trying to find our 30amp extension cord the office lady came and said we could pull forward enough for our power cord to reach.
That seemed to make a difference for our roof mounted dish, although at first glance we didn't think we would be getting much of a signal.
Here is a closeup of the dish showing the trees.
Turns out we got great signal strength.We were also surprised how good our ATT signals were, 3 bars for cellular and 1-2 bars for 4g. The park does not offer wifi so we were very thankful for whatever signal we got.
Here is the Lifestyle from the front.
To the right.
To the left.
From the rear.
As we mentioned before the office lady was great. She is a fellow foodie cause she started talking about a place we could walk to and eat if we wanted. We had leftover ribs, bbq beans and potato salad so we were set. There also is another restaurant she recommends and the town has a travel info center and a museum. We might stay here again and check out some of the sites of the town.
We planned to leave today for Colorado City, Colorado just south of Pueblo but the high winds prevalent this time of year have kicked up again. When we called the office about potentially a late checkout since the winds were supposed to die down by 3p she said stay as long as we need to, she wants us to be safe. If we stay the night then we can pay. Stay tuned to our blog to find out if we leave today.
Till next time,
Bob and Jo
