Great Time in Denver, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico

 We spent five nights at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora, Colorado. This was our first time at this park, and we really enjoyed our time there. Kevin's cousin Mark and his wife Dolly came and camped for two of those nights. We hadn't seen them in a few years, so it was great to get together and catch up. 

Here's the lake formed by a dam built across Cherry Creek. There is a very nice sand beach. We saw lots of boats out on the lake.

This is our full hookup, pull through site which was huge. I love the big sites at state parks. Colorado State Parks are quite pricey, though. Cherry Creek is in the suburbs of Denver, and extremely popular. I was actually surprised to be able to get a reservation when I went online in spring. The site cost was $41 per night. We also were required to pay the $11 per day entrance pass fee. That put the total at $52 per night.

We saw this unusual tent setup in the area without hookups. A sleepwalker or restless sleeper could be in trouble up there!

On Friday we drove up over Guanella Pass to see some fall color. Colorado is known for the colorful beauty of the aspens in fall. We were not disappointed. We saw lots of amazing color on a clear day, and stopped for lunch at a scenic picnic spot.

So much beauty up here!

We stopped near the top for a bathroom break. We were around 11,000 feet which is right about where the tree line ends. Kevin and Mark enjoying a cold one.

There were some ponds up there. You can really see where the tree line ends.

Back at the campground, we were entertained by the black-billed magpies. Usually, we see pigeons or black birds as the scavenger birds in our travels. These magpies were very beautiful, but not at all afraid of the humans.

Friday Mark and Dolly treated us to a Dutch oven campfire dinner. Mark really knows his way around campfire cooking. He made a chicken stew with dumplings in the pot and corn on the cob to go with it. Delicious!!! 

On Sunday Kevin and I ran a few errands and stopped at Peak View Brewing Company. Kevin tried a flight of four beers including an Octoberfest and peanut butter porter. I had a hard cider. 

Monday we left Colorado and headed to Raton, New Mexico. We're here for four nights on the way to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. On Tuesday we went golfing at the Raton Country Club. They had a special, if you showed a lodging receipt, golf was free. Our campground receipt counted, and we each got 18 holes for free. All we had to pay was the $20 cart fee. 

The course is at the base of some mountains and has beautiful views. It is only 9 holes, but was quite challenging. Accuracy was a must. My score was not great, even the second time we played the 9 holes. Oh well, we had a great time on a spectacular day.

Wednesday we drove about 30 miles west of Raton to the Capulin Volcano National Monument. Another place to use our senior National Parks pass. We paid $80 for the pass two years ago in Alaska, and have made good use of it already. I still have quite a few National Parks on my bucket list. The admission at Capulin was $20 per carload without the pass.

Capulin Volcano erupted about 60,000 years ago and formed an outstanding example of a volcanic cinder cone. There is a visitor center at the bottom where we watched the 10 minute movie and stamped my parks passport. Then we drove up the road to the top of the volcano.

At the top was another parking lot with a one mile paved path around the rim. The elevation was over 8,000 feet with about a 350 foot increase on the path. We're not used to climbing in this elevation, and needed to take our time. We enjoyed all the amazing views as we slowly made our way around the rim. Here's a panoramic view of the rim.

And a view to the bottom of the cone.

In the distance there were lots of hills and mesas, which were all formed by volcanic activity.

Tomorrow we head to Albuquerque for the International Balloon Fiesta. I'm really looking forward to our five days there. 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Great Times with Family

We left Wisconsin on September 2nd, and headed to Cedar Falls, Iowa to visit some of Kevin's family. We were able to spend time with his brother and wife, and also their son and his family. One afternoon, we drove to Cedar Rapids to visit friends John and Janie. We were having such a good time that I totally forgot to take any pictures.

From there we traveled to Ashland, Nebraska where we spent two weeks at the camp Korey works at. This is such a beautiful place. The first weekend we were there, Cathryn's parents were also visiting from Minnesota. We hadn't seen them since the wedding eight years ago. It was great catching up with them. 

We went apple picking on Sunday. Here are Korey and Cathryn returning with their haul of apples. It drizzled a little, but Korey was prepared. The farm we went to was in Lincoln and is called Picnic Hill Orchard. This is their first year they are open for apple picking. The trees are not big yet, but there were plenty of apples on them, and they are delicious. The owners are very friendly, and its a beautiful place. If you are ever in the Lincoln, Nebraska area in late summer or fall, I highly recommend you visit them. They even let us pick blackberries for free.

We were able to golf with Korey and Cathryn on a warm afternoon at Ashland Country Club. What a great time!!

Kevin, Korey and I also golfed the last afternoon before we left. Cathryn wasn't able to get off of work. It was sure windy, but still fun.

Mostly, we just hung out together, had some laughs, played some games and ate some tasty meals. Last winter Cathryn had asked me if I could carve some Mickey Mouse door handles for their closet in the bedroom. One of the plastic handles had broken. I carved two of them, and gave them to Korey as part of his birthday present. Kevin and Korey installed them. I think they turned out nice. They have another single door closet next to this one, so I'm going to make a third matching handle this winter.

Their dog, Remy, likes to drink out of the bathtub faucet. He's such a character!!

We are spending the next five days at Cherry Creek State Park in Aurora, Colorado. Kevin's cousin Mark and his wife Dolly are coming to camp as well. It will be great seeing them again.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

A Sad Summer

 It's been over two months since I posted. During that time a lot has happened. Saddest of all is that my mother passed away on my birthday, August 17th. She had been diagnosed with interstitial lung disease about four years ago. Over the past year, I had noticed her health was definitely declining. However, she was a fighter; and was still able to be living independently in her home. On July 13th she was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a car accident. She suffered broken ribs, and went to the hospital. Little did we expect, she would never come home again. She developed pneumonia, and her lungs just couldn't recover from that. We were able to have her funeral, and get her house ready for an estate sale before leaving Wisconsin. It was a very busy and stressful two weeks. 

My computer crashed at the beginning of the summer, so I had to get a new one. Unfortunately, my photos are all digital, so I don't have one of my mom to share. I have them all backed up on a hard drive, but it's in Yuma. Instead, I will share a picture of her casket with a beautiful flower arrangement featuring sunflowers. She loved gardening, and I believe she would have loved these flowers.

The weekend after my mom passed, I needed a break. We drove to Amherst, Wisconsin which is not too far from Almond, where we were camped. There is a farm there with 30 acres of sunflowers. They were beautiful, and just what my soul needed.

In July we purchased a lot at Fountain Lak RV Park where we've been staying the last few summers. Decent campgrounds are not to be found near where our son Eric lives, so we've been staying about a two hour drive away. We weren't really looking to buy a lot, but the perfect opportunity presented itself; so we jumped on it. Here is a picture from the back of the lot. The lots are very large, and ours came with a shed. Fountain Lake is a membership park, and included in the membership is access to mowers, equipment and tools. So, Kevin is back to mowing grass.

This is the view from the front of the lot. We had to buy a cell phone booster because Verizon service is terrible in central Wisconsin. 

In July we attended a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game with Eric, Erin and Tyler. It was super hot and humid, but at least the Brewers won. In fact, they are playing super well this season. Do I dare hope there is a World Series win in the future???? As you can see, Eric was sporting long hair and a full beard. That leads to the picture below.

My mom always told Eric how handsome he was with short hair and no beard. In her honor, he got a haircut and shaved his beard for her funeral. This may be the last time I see him like that, so I had to have a photo to commemorate the occasion.

Months ago, we had planned a family reunion in Wisconsin the second weekend in August. Korey and Cathryn drove up from Nebraska for the weekend, and stayed with us. Eric and Erin rented a Airbnb near us, and we all went tubing on the Wolf River. Erin's daughter Mady, and her boyfriend Ryan also joined us. When our kids were younger, we went tubing there every summer, so they had fun reminiscing about the "good old days". 

Unfortunately, due to Covid restrictions, the kids were not able to visit grandma in the hospital that weekend. Two weeks later, Korey and Cathryn drove back to Wisconsin for her funeral. So sad!!

Our friend Wanda from Arkansas came to Wisconsin for part of the summer. We had a great time golfing with her and her son Joel at Camelot Golf Course in Lomira. Wanda's dad was the founder of that course. They have a plaque in his honor below the sword in the stone.

We were also able to meet up with friends Mike and Joni from Yuma for lunch one Sunday. They are traveling throughout the country this summer, and visiting with lots of Yumans.

Today we arrived in Waterloo, Iowa for the holiday weekend. We'll be visiting with Kevin's brother and family and our friends, John and Janie. We won't be back to Yuma until about October 7th. We'll be quite busy between now and then, so I'll be posting more often.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!