WED. NOV. 14 UPDATE FROM BRYCE CANYON

UPDATE FROM RUBY'S INN, BRYCE CANYON WED. NOV. 14 10:30 a.m. U.T. (Picture is at the Bryce Canyon Pines Restaurant just down the road from our campsite...breakfast:))
This is coming to you from the parking lot of Ruby's Inn just a mile north of Bryce Canyon. They have a good WiFi signal here so we're going to get our internet stuff caught up. We are moving about 30 miles east to-day to Kodachrome State Park. Will stay in that area for a couple of days while we have us a look around Escalante & Capital Reef. From there we will move back this way & continue on down towards the town of Kanab near the Arizona border. From there we will do Zion Canyon & the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Everything is well except we haven't been able to get our satellite internet/TV system up & running. Will try again at Kodachrome.

I'm currently uploading ALL 155 pictures from yesterday's hike in Bryce Canyon. I haven't had a chance to edit them so I'm uploading all of them right now & will edit them down later. I haven't put any captions on them yet either. Will do that later.

Thanks to everyone for comments on the blog & pictures. Sorry if it gets boring at times but my camera & typing fingers sometimes run away with me. Motorhome is running fine & towing the car has been no problem at all. Sooooooo glad we're not doing this in our 5th wheel we had last year or our travel trailer we had a few years ago. No more trailers for us!!!!
Hope all is well with everyone & keep the emails coming folks because we always look forward to reading them whenever we have an internet connection. Got your email this morning Randy & thanks for checking on the house. Keep those daily reports coming Ingrid:))
OK, toodles from The Bayfield Bunch:))

DESCENT INTO THE CANYON

TUESDAY NOV. 13/07
Because of the higher altitude I think we have had our coldest morning so far with our outside thermometer showing 30F. A heavy frost blanketed everything & the dog's outside water dish was frozen. A brisk morning walk around our scenic little RV park got the blood flowing again. Washrooms are clean & the showers nice & hot.
Waited for the sun to get up a bit & begin it's wondrous warming ways. Headed out for Bryce Canyon about 10 & spent some time in the visitors center watching a documentary on Bryce. By 10:30 we began our descent into the canyon at the Sunrise Point viewpoint. A 1.6 mile hike to Sunset Point. Again, I cannot find the words to describe the beauty we saw for the next 3 hours as we slowly made our way along the winding pathways down into the canyon & along the canyon floor before the steep switchback incline leading us back out of the canyon to Sunset Point. I took many photos (nearly 200) which I will upload (no,not all of them) to our Picasa Web Album as soon as we get a good solid internet connection somewhere. This place is a photographer's paradise so I hope you have a look at some of the photos. Not a lot of people on the trails because of the off season but I would say that 90% of them were younger to middle age German. Decided to take a break so headed back to the campsite & let the super dogs out for a run. At 3:30 we headed back to the canyon again. Only about a 15 minute drive. There is an 18 mile road that runs along the canyon rim with viewpoints along the way so we headed to the end of that road & started to work our way back stopping at all the viewpoints. Surprised to see smatterings of snow alongside the road here & there. We were at 9,000 feet & it was quite cold. Deer alongside the roadside casually watched us drive by not concerned at all about our close proximity to them. The sun quickly dropped below the horizon & by the time we got back to Bryce's gates we were in darkness with the heater in the car maxed out. Stopped briefly at Rubys to use the washroom & then popped into a little restaurant near our campsite that specialized in soup & pie, so that's what we did, specialized ourselves with soup & pie. Super!!
Back to the motorhome by 7 & feeling good about the excellent day we had. We saw countless majestic things, got some great exercise, & finished it all off with a bowl of homemade broccoli soup & strawberry pie. Hey, how can it get any better than that:)))))))))))))

Bayfield Bunch Photo Album

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

ARRIVED AT BEAUTIFUL BRYCE CANYON

Monday Nov. 12/87
Cold & cloudy morning as we rolled out of Richfield about 8 a.m. Clouds soon gave away to sunshine & we had a totally beautiful drive south on I-70 with hardly any traffic. Lingering clouds hung around the mountain tops & drifted down into some of the canyons. The rising sun played on the mountain slopes turning the clouds into hues of pink & yellow. Turned off I-70 & took highway # 89 towards Panguitch. The first 25 miles twisted & turned through the canyons following a quick flowing river. The early morning sun turned the canyon into a paradise of colors. The land soon flattened out as the canyon walls moved back on either side & formed mountain tops. Went through 2 small towns (Piute & Circleville) all decked out in American flags for Veteran's Day. By the time we reached Panguitch it had clouded over again. Picked up a few groceries & headed for Bryce Canyon via the beautiful Red Canyon. Gained altitude climbing up to Bryce & the temperatures dropped noticeably. Our destination for the morning was Ruby's Inn & a big hardy breakfast. http://www.rubysinn.com/ Ruby's Inn is a well known spot about a mile north of the gates to Bryce Canyon. I had been there once before back in 1992. Bus tours stop here. This place is BIG!! Love the big lodge & huge fireplace. Services have grown up around Ruby's & it's almost developing into a little community all by itself. Ruby's RV park was closed for the season but we found another park about 5 miles to the west on highway 12 called Bryce Canyon Pines & wouldn't you it, we were the only one's there again. How lucky can a person be. Found a nice spot in the pines & the doggy guys had lots of room to tear around.

Tried setting up our satellite internet system again but no luck. We were soooooooooooooooo frustrated that it just ruined the rest of the day. No point in me commenting anymore about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Took a drive over to Bryce Canyon ($25 to get in) & walked to Sunset Point & along the Rim trail. Bryce Canyon has to be seen to be believed. Words cannot describe the beauty. Sun was going down casting long hoodoo shadows into it's depths. Temperatures dropped so we didn't stay long because we planned to be back in the morning.

A motel just down the road had an internet connection in their lobby so I drove down after supper with the intentions of updating the blog & adding pictures, etc. Managed to tap into some emails, check the weather site & just as I was about to do the blog I lost the connection. Frustrated, I packed up the laptop & headed back to our campsite for the night. Enough was enough, the day was done!!

Bayfield Bunch Photo Album

http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

MOAB TO RICHFIELD, UTAH

SUNDAY NOV. 11/07
Crisp morning but soon warmed up when the sun came over the east canyon wall. Un-hooked electric, cable tv, water etc. Hitched up the car & we rolled out of the RV park heading north on # 191. Hope our next place will be as good as the RV park we just left.
The sunny skies soon clouded over with black clouds to the northwest as we climbed onto I-70 heading for the Salina & Richfield area. Aside from a few drops of rain on the windshield we escaped any storms. It was a long steady climb as we headed up & over the Fish Lake Forest area. The Damon was working hard on the hills as we plodded along. Good road & beautiful scenery everywhere. I took a bunch of pictures from the driver's seat & a few at a view point we stopped at. Got a heads up on the CB radio about an accident ahead in the mountains on a steep downgrade. Truck with a load of fencing had rolled over on a sharp curve. About a 15 minute delay & no idea as to the fate of the driver. Arrived in Richfield around 3. Fueled up, topped up the propane tank & found a KOA campground with a special deal. It was closed for the season but a note on the door said there were full hook-up sites available for $20 & to just go ahead & pull in. So, we did. Great, because we are the only ones here. Bonus, & thanks KOA:))







Bayfield Bunch Photo Album http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

OUR LAST DAY IN MOAB:((

FRIDAY NOV. 10/07
I think it turned out to be nicest weather day of the whole week. A smattering of cloud cover made for a beautiful sunrise behind the mountains, casting a hue of colors on the canyon walls to the west of the picturesque town of Moab. Nice doggy walk around the ponds as we settled into a relaxing day right here at our little home on wheels. We had decided earlier we would pack up & move on Sunday down into the Bryce Canyon area so our day was spent just kind of puttering at tying up some loose ends before we leave Sunday. Kelly vacuumed, cleaned up the motorhome, & did laundry while I re-organized some of the basement bins, replenished the water tank, secured the bicycles, etc. etc. Spent some time in the afternoon just soaking up some rays in our lawn chairs. Relaxing day for the doggy guys too & little Cora's sore paw is all fixed up.

Earlier in the week we had tried out some burgs & fries at a little Diner in Moab so decided to go back there to-night for super. Milt's Diner is our kind of place, nothing fancy, just a little burger joint out of the 50's that hasn't changed much over the years & we took a liking to it. Check out the photos on the web album site. Even took a picture of my Red Hot Chicago dog before I ate it:))

Leaving Moab will be sad for us. I always find it a little difficult to leave a place where you have just spent an enjoyable time creating memories that will last a lifetime. We really enjoyed our week here & we will always remember it as one of our favorite places in time.

In the morning we are heading for Kodachrome State Park east of Bryce Canyon near Cannonville. It's about a 300 mile drive so will take us most of the day to get there. (we don't move too fast) From here we'll go north up to I-70 & then west over to Aurora where we'll pick up highway 89 & head south down through Panguitch & east over to Kodachrome. We hope to set up our internet/TV system there but if you don't hear from us for awhile you will know we are having difficulties with it again.

So, from beautiful Moab Utah, we say goodnight, stay tuned, & watch for us to re-appear once again on this great & wondrous thingy they call the internet. Toodles from The Bayfield Bunch:)) Bayfield Bunch Photo Album....http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

MOONFLOWER CANYON & DEAD HORSE POINT

THURSDAY NOV. 9/07

Started out with clear morning skies but a thin high cloud cover gradually moved in as we rolled out about 8 this morning with the dogs for a walk in Moonflower Canyon. Had a little trouble finding it & our walk wasn't too long because it was a small canyon. Drove a short way down the road to the Moab Rim trail & started out with a hefty climb but soon had to turn back because of the sharp drop off along the side. We were worried about the dogs slipping over the edge. Drove to the Hidden Valley trailhead but little Cora was limping & some kids came roaring in on ATV's so we headed back to our RV park. Not our best morning!!
Around 11 Kelly & I drove the 32 miles over to Dead Horse Point Canyon State Park near Canyonlands & did a walk near the Visitor's Center. Big picturesque canyon much like the Grand Canyon, but smaller. There was a stone retaining wall near the center but we hiked out on a trail along the rim of the canyon & the drop was straight down so you had to pay attention to where you are walking & stay well back from the edge. Long way to the rocky bottom!! Saw a man's shirt hanging on a Juniper tree but nobody was around anywhere. Thought that was a bit strange.
Because of the cloudy day the canyon colors weren't quite as vibrant as what we had experienced on previous days so I didn't take quite as many pictures. All & all, despite being very tired from the previous day's hike it was still a good day. Little Cora's left paw is on the mend. We think she sprained it this morning jumping out of the car. The furry guys sure have been great. What a bunch of clowns:))

Bayfield Bunch Photo Album...http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

A WALK IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN

THURSDAY NOV. 8/07
"WOW" Another super fantabulous hiking day. We returned to the Arches National Park this morning & drove the 18 miles to the far end of the park where The Devil's Garden is located. It is the biggest hiking section in the park & has the largest number of arches in it. We were on the trails by 10:15 & once again were immediately surrounded by the awesome beauty of nature. It's pointless for me to describe in words what we saw so I will just have to let my photos try & do that. But, I know photos don't even come close to Mother Nature's handiwork. By the time we ended our 4 hour hike & made it back to the car our legs were weary but what a great weary feeling it was. This past week has been so mentally uplifting & such a welcomed break from the routines of back home. To see & do new things sure puts a positive perspective on things both mentally & physically. And to be so active again is like a magic tonic. I always liked climbing on things as a kid & to be out scrambling up & over rocks & boulders again this week has been so invigorating. Both Kelly & I have always had a great sense of adventure & a love of nature so this week has been a really great experience for us. Like I said before...we are so fortunate to have our health which allows us to have days like to-day:)) We are soooooooo happy to be here.

To-morrow morning we'll have the doggy guys out for a few hours on the Hidden Valley trail on the west side of Moab & then in the afternoon we'll take a driving tour over to Dead Horse Point in Canyonlands.

Note....When you access the Picasa Web Album, look for the little bar that says, Slideshow. Click that & the photos should take on a slide show form & the pictures will progress every few seconds. If it doesn't work automatically you can simply advance each picture manually by moving your pointer over the bottom of the screen until the control panel pops up.............

Sleep well grasshopper:)) Bayfield Bunch Photo Album...http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

NEGRO BILL CANYON & CASTLE VALLEY

WEDNESDAY NOV. 7/07

First, I have a correction to make. I added the wrong Picasa Web Album address in yesterday's blog. It should be http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

I have made the correction in Tuesday's blog.

Didn't seem quite as cold this morning but we climbed into our warm Canadian winter clothes anyway. Takes until about 10 a.m. for the sun to get high enough to start the warming process. Temps are good (70's) all day until the sun starts to go down in the late afternoon & the thermometer takes a nose dive.

The Negro Bill Canyon trail was recommended to us as a good hike for the dogs so we loaded the guys in the Santa Fe & headed out about 3 miles northeast of Moab this morning & hit the trail at 8:20 a.m. It was immediately apparent this was an extraordinarily beautiful place. A small stream runs lazily through the small canyon & that has spurred the growth of many kinds of vegetation along the banks. Max & Checkers were in the water as much as they were on the trail. I know I took waaaay too many pictures again but how can you not, when surrounded by a wonderland of nature like this whole Moab, Utah area. We spent a couple of very enjoyable hours on the trail before returning to our rig at the RV park with 2 tired people & 3 sleepy furry guys.

Grand Slammed ourselves at Denny's (breakfast) & then headed out on a driving tour of Castle Valley. It's a 64 mile loop from Moab, north to road 128 & a right turn through the valley, up & over the La Salle mountains through the Manti La Salle forest & back into Moab from the south. A very scenic & easy drive along the valley floor & then into the mountain roads with hairpin turns, steep drop offs, winding & twisting grades & never ending scenery. Took us a couple of hours & lots of pictures again. I've always enjoyed photography so I'm a very happy guy when I'm in an environment like this. And I love the exciting driving part too. Back to Moab around 4 & the rest of the day was just spent resting & getting caught up on computer things. All & all, another super great day for the Bayfield Bunch:))

IN THE PRESENCE OF MOTHER NATURE'S HANDYWORK

TUESDAY NOV. 6 Arches http://www.nps.gov/arch/
Didn't seem quite as cold this morning as we had the dogs on the local trail early. Wednesday morning we'll take them in the car & do a much longer hike with them but for to-day they will remain home for awhile as Kelly & I head for the Arches National Park. Packed up some peanut butter & jam sandwiches, a few bottles of water, best pair of hiking boots & off we went. Short 3 mile drive to the Arches north of Moab. Ten dollars to get in & the pass was good for 7 days. Thought that was very fair. The Arches is a beautiful place & shows off some of Mother Nature's handywork at it's best. We had a great time hiking the peaceful & serene trails. The huge rock formations are mind boggling & you feel greatly humbled in their royal majestic presence. Especially liked the long descending trail through a section called, Park Avenue. Not a sound in the canyon except for an occasional bird. It is one of those magical places where all time & worry stop. Every step of the way is filled with interest & wonderment. My photos don't do justice to this fantasy land but they will give you a basic idea of the awesome landscape that surrounded us. We spent 5 hours doing what we love to do best to-day & plan to go back either Thursday or Friday to do some more trails. It's days like to-day that make all the stress of traveling worthwhile & one of the reasons we love the American southwest so much. Just soooooo much to see & sooooooo much to do. We are soooooo happy to be here:))))))))))))))



For all the pics I took to-day, don't forget to go to...
PICASA WEB ALBUM http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy

HAD A GREAT DAY....WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING:))

MONDAY NOV. 5/07
Although our days are warmer than back home in southern Ontario Canada, our nights are definitely much colder. We were up into the low 70's to-day under sunny skies but at 4 a.m. this morning we were down into the mid to high 20's as evidenced by the photo I took about 8 this morning of a water tap near our site. I still find it easier to talk in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius too!!
We had planned on going to the Arches National Park to-day but as the morning slowly unfolded we thought it better to just take some time & give ourselves a break from the hectic pace of the past week. Re- organized some bins, washed the front of the motorhome including the windshield. Many, many, bugs. Took a drive into the artsy & trendy little town of Moab. http://www.moab-utah.com/ Actually our RV site is right in Moab but at the north end. Browsed a few shops, picked up some dog food, washed the car & drove around the town a bit to familiarize ourselves with it. Back to our Portal RV park, http://www.portalrvresort.com/ broke out the lawn chairs, & soaked up some warm Utah sun. And, that was about it. Just a great do nothing day:))

Hey, it's a fellow Canadian

AT LAST, AN EXCITING DRIVE TO MOAB, UTAH:))

SUNDAY NOV. 4/07

Forgot to turn the clocks back last night so our day started super early & we were out walking the doggy guys in the cold early morning dawn. We had to bundle up in our Canadian winter clothes as the water in the dog's dish outside was hard enough to skate on. It was a short hike to the 3 small waterfalls that give Rifle Falls it's name. Took some pics but they were in low light so not too spectacular. I've included them in our Picasa Web Album anyway.

Left Rifle Falls around 7 a.m. & made our way south west along the narrow winding road leading back to the town of Rifle & I-70. Beautiful morning drive as the sun climbed over the canyon walls to the east & lit the magnificent golden Aspen trees which dot the landscape. We are constantly reminded how truly fortunate we are to have this opportunity to travel through such a picturesque land.

Picked up a few groceries at Wal-Mart in Rifle climbed aboard I-70 & we were west bound once again. Got all tangled up in another small town when we rolled off I-70 for gas. From now on, if I can't physically see a gas station from an Interstate, I'm not getting off!!!! We get ourselves into some pretty tight spots but I'm constantly amazed at the flexibility we have even with the car on behind.

Moderate traffic on I-70 as we crossed the Utah State line. Because I had been this way once before in the early 90's I decided to get off the interstate & head down highway 128 through Cisco because I remembered what a beautiful & scenic drive it was. What I failed to remember was that last time I was driving a small Mazda pick up truck. The road was extremely narrow & rough but there was no turning back....literally!! In fact the road was so narrow with no shoulders that when the occasional car came up behind us, I slowed to a near stop, put on my right turn signal & waited for the guy to squeeze by on the left. Moab was another 50 or so miles but the scenery just kept getting better & better so we plugged on & luckily the traffic was almost nil. I think word must have got out that some dummy with a Canadian flag on a motorhome was heading down the narrow twisting canyon road towards Moab. I had my fingers crossed all the way that we wouldn't meet another dummy in a big motorhome coming the other way. It was a lot more stressful for Kelly because she was sitting on the side that dropped down into the Colorado river which parallels the road all the way to Moab. She had nothing to do but sit there & contemplate her swimming abilities. Always different for the driver though because he's always too busy drawing on his years of driving experience, & besides, I hate cold water!! But, all that aside, the drive on 128 to Moab is nothing less than totally exciting & spectacular. However, I don't recommend anyone do it in a motorhome:((

With great relief we rolled into Moab around 3 in the afternoon, headed for the tourist information center, picked up as much literature about the area we could & then sought out an RV park. Had we arrived a week earlier we might not have found a spot but the tourist season just ended & we were in luck to find a superb RV park with internet, laundry, cable tv, hiking trails & a big pond for the dogs, if they feel so inclined to go swimming. A nice journey's end to a great day filled with nature's beauty all around us. Moab was our first destination after leaving home & we will stay here now for as long as it takes us to see everything we can in the area with day trips in the car. To-morrow we head 5 miles north of Moab to the Arches National Park......

In each blog I include a few pictures of the day's events but to see all the pictures just click on the link, "Picasa Web Album" & it will take you to our web album for the days events. The photos in the album have captions as well. Rather than put all the pics in one huge album I'm going to start numbering the albums with dates or something. Not sure but will work on that next................................

Please excuse the spelling & grammer mistakes. I don't always have time to re-write things.

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH TACKLES THE ROCKIES

SUNDAY NOV. 4/07 UPDATING FROM FRUITA, COLORADO. 11:10 COLORADO TIME.

FRIDAY NOV. 3 A crispy cold morning but no wind so it didn't seem too bad as we left Limon, Colorado. No symptoms in the night from any kidney stone or tick problems so we packed up camp & launched ourselves up onto I-70 & headed west about 8 a.m.. Traffic was very light again under sunny skies as we rolled across the golden Colorado plains. Mountains on the far horizon & no trees for as far as the eye could see sometimes. Can't imagine living somewhere like this but there was the occasional old farmstead here & there. We woke up Garmin Gertie, our GPS system & programmed her to take us through Denver. Made a couple of "Rest Area" stops & about 11 o'clock we were right smack dab into the Denver traffic doing battle with the locals. Surprisingly, we just kind of rolled right through town without any major dilemmas. That is nice when that happens. By the time we reached Denver's west side we were climbing into the snow capped mountains already. Hills & grades increased significantly & the Damon began earning her due. I was immediately thankful we had decided on this I-70 route instead of the Colorado Springs way because on the long uphill grades we were definitely in the slower minority. Had we gone the other way on the 2 lane highway we would have had miles & miles of traffic backed up behind us in no time. Coming out of Denver it's 6 lanes quite a ways before dropping to a 4 lane highway with 2 in each direction. The scenery was of course nothing short of spectacular. Just like pictures you see on post cards. A long climb up to the Eisenhower tunnel & then a really steep 6 mile drop down the other side. A lot of gearing down in order to stay off the brakes & at times I was down into the lowest gear we had. Winding roads & tight curves every step of the way. The Chevy Vortec engine & Allison transmission were working some major overtime & both performed superbly but I could see where in this situation, the diesel engined rigs with their superior power probably had a big advantage over gas powered rigs. We made one pit stop in Silverthorn just to give ourselves & the motorhome a rest. Later in the afternoon we got tangled up in a couple small towns just off of I-70 looking for a place to park for the night but eventually got out of them & back onto the interstate. Glenwood Springs was one I re-call. Kelly found some State Parks near Rifle, Colorado & one of them had hydro so we decided on Rifle Falls S.P. It was a long winding & narrow 15 mile road that finally landed us in a picturesque valley far off the beaten path at Rifle Falls. Only 14 campsites with 3 pull-thrus & they were tight. Before we knew it we rounded a bend & the road ended. Only a very small area to turn around & we couldn't make it because some cars were parked where they shouldn't have been parked. Had to shut er down & unhook the car, back up the motorhome & wiggle around a tight squeeze putting one of the dual wheels up over a curb!! By this point I was tooooo tired to bother with even thinking about getting mad so we just made the couple hundred yards back to one of the pull-thru sites & shut er all down for another day about 5 o'clock. It sure had been a long grind with added stress in the mountains for sure, but here we were, safe & sound with the toughest mountain driving behind us, & the Bayfield Bunch had made it through another day:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

AL ENDS UP IN THE HOSPITAL:((

It's Kelly, our resident ace technician working on a broken coffee pot this afternoon.


FRIDAY NOV. 2/07

It was about 3 a.m. Friday morning when the first stirrings of pain in my lower abdomen woke me. It radiated from my lower back around my right side to the front. I had a similar pain a few days back but it wasn't as bad as this & only lasted about an hour & it was gone so figured it was something I ate & would go away shortly, but, it didn't go away. It got worse!! About 8 a.m. the pain was too much to take anymore so Kelly got on the computer & looked up the nearest hospital. Fortunately there was one nearby in the little town of Hugo about 15 miles southwest of Limon. I was able to un-hook the car, (did I mention the high winds & totally freezing temperatures) climbed inside, & Kelly drove me quickly to the hospital. The pain by now was extreme & I figured it was my appendix for sure....it wasn't. Also thought more about food poisoning....but nope, it wasn't that either. My Dad died of a large abdominal cancerous tumor in his late 60's so I had that on my mind as well as we rolled up to the emergency room. They had me on the table right away. No forms to fill out, no silly questions & no delays. What a relief it was when they put the IV in (ouch!!) & got some morphine started. Wasn't long & the pain was gone & I floated off briefly to some nice green valley's far away. A complete blood work-up later showed elevated white blood cell counts. Blood in the urine as well. The Doctor (nice fellow) was stumped though at the total absence of pain all of a sudden even after the morphine wore off. The only thing they could figure was that I had a kidney stone & it had passed at the hospital. I sure hope so because I wouldn't want to have to go through that pain again. The Doctor prescribed some meds & we headed back to the motorhome around noon. The rest of the day I spent resting. We'll see how things are in the morning & then make a decision whether to head off for Denver & the Rocky mountains or wait for a bit.

P.S. Too complicate all this, I had discovered Thursday afternoon that I had a tick imbedded in my left leg behind my knee. Leg had been really sore in that area for a couple of days & Thursday we spotted the tick. He was alive because I saw his legs moving & he had his jaws into me pretty good because I had to really pull hard to detach him. Grabbed my camera & took a picture of it & also the wound it left just in case someone out there runs across the same thing sometime. Doctor said to keep an eye on the bite & watch for symptoms of Lime disease...... Geeezzzz, it's been quite a trip so far!!

A GOOD DRIVING DAY

THURSDAY NOV. 1/07
A nippy start to the day with a bit of frost on everything as we took the dogs for an early morning walk around the RV park. Scenic sunrise over the catfish creek beside us. We would highly recommend this park to anyone traveling through this area. It's easy to get to from I-70 & has 14 pull-thru sites that can accomadate those 40 foot plus rigs.
Ellis was quite a railroad town in it's hayday with the likes of Wyatt Erp & Buffalo Bill Cody hanging out here. The old railroad buildings are still being used by the towns works department.
After a short walk uptown we had the Damon packed up & the big wheels rolling west on I-70 by 8 o'clock. Big bright sunny day & no wind!!!! Traffic was very light in both directions. Caught our first sight of the Rocky mountains as we crested a hill about 10 miles east of Limon, Colorado. So nice to see after seemingly endless miles of the rolling flat lands of Kansas.
Kelly had found a KOA campground on the map beside I-70 in Limon that had internet, laundry, water, etc so we decided to pull in there about 4 p.m. & call it a day. Always sooooooo nice to find a good campsite after long hours on the road. This KOA is very clean & well organized. Only 2 other rigs in the whole place so there was lots of room for the doggy guys to go flying around.
To-morrow morning we'll do laundry & then head for Denver around 9. We are about 80 miles east of Denver right now so we're going to try & slide through the city sometime between the morning & afternoon rush. I-70 goes right through it.
Up until this morning we were planning on going to Colorado Springs & slip over the mountains there but after thinking on it a bit more we decided it would probably be better for us to take the more popular I-70 route because of the extra lanes & rest areas. Just figured it was the safer way for us to go because of our limited motorhome & towing experience plus this will be out first experience with the mountains....Doggies are all fine, we're doing ok ourselves, & the motorhome has been purring along like a fine tuned top.
Thanks to Bob from Kitchener, Dianne from Bayfield, Jim from the 5 Seasons, Helen from Woodstock, our neighbor Inge & Don & Louise from Brandon, Manitoba for your encouraging words. Much appreciated y'all:))

(You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them)

BIG KANSAS WINDS...LOST PART OF OUR AWNING

(UPDATE...THURS NOV 1/07 JUST ACROSS THE COLORADO STATE LINE AT A WELCOME CENTER. SUNNY & 60F. 2 P.M. ONTARIO TIME, HIGH NOON HERE. ROUTE CHANGE...NOW GOING THROUGH DENVER EITHER TO-NIGHT OR MID MORNING TO-MORROW....A GOOD DAY....SO FAR!!)

Wednesday Oct 31/07

Up about 5:30 a.m. hooked up the car, said good-bye to our scenic Pawnee campsite & we were on the road heading west on I-80 by 6:30. The buffeting Kansas winds were hitting us nearly head on from the northwest so we quickly pulled into a rest area & I tied some rope around the awning arms just in case. Turned off I-70 onto highway # 81 heading south for Kansas. This was a great 4 lane highway with hardly any traffic on it & was the nicest drive we had since leaving home. Very relaxing in a gently rolling countryside & a beautiful sunrise to boot. Because the big winds were behind us I figure we must have been getting about 351.2 miles to the gallon:)) At Salina, Kansas we picked up I-70 heading west for Colorado Springs & it immediately became apparent that the winds had greatly increased & swung into the north hitting us full force...broadside!! Felt like we were on a midway ride at times as the wind gusts had their way with us. Made for some mighty exciting driving to say the least. We had only gone about 10 miles when we heard a "pop" sound like a parachute opening somewhere behind us. Kelly quickly looked back out her window & hollered, "stop, stop!!!!" Quickly got the rig off onto the narrow shoulder out of the way of the huge trucks coming up behind us. Our worst fears had materialized.....about a third of the awning had been pulled out & was flapping fiercely over the top of the motorhome. Quickly got our ladder & some rope out & went up the side but could not get the rope around anything because the wind had the awning totally out of control. Climbed up the ladder on the back of the rig & got myself onto the roof but didn't dare stand up because the wind was just ripping across there. Glanced to the northwest & could swear I saw Dorothy & Toto go flying by. Kelly came up the ladder at the side of the motorhome & between the two of us we were able to get some rope around one end of the awning but it was futile jesture. The awning was already ripped & I was afraid the wind gusts would pull more of it out at any second & blow me off the roof onto the dual lanes of I-70. Lots of big trucks going by causing a secondary whoosh of air complicating things as well. Kelly got me a knife & I proceeded to cut the whipping awning off. The wind was cold as well & only an hour before we had stopped at a Wal-Mart for some groceries & I had picked myself up a winter togue. (warm winter hat) That was a lucky break for me. I had taken a length of rope up onto the roof so I cut short 15 inch pieces & worked my way along the awning securing it with about a dozen pieces of rope. Kelly grabbed a camera in the meantime & took a bunch of pictures. What a relief it was to get the last piece of rope tied into place. Carefully lowered the big chunk of awning down to Kelly & she crumpled it into the back of the car for later disposal somewhere. Didn't want it blowing out across the freeway onto somebody's windshield. Finally got down off the roof & back inside to the warmth of the motorhome. Whewwwwww!! We'll see about getting a new awning when we get to Quartzite, Arizona later in January. All & all we were very fortunate because had we not heard the "pop" of the awning opening & not got pulled over so fast, the wind would have quickly pulled out the rest of the awning which in turn would have acted like a fully inflated parachute & ripped the awning arms off the motorhome causing damage to the coach itself. We never did open that awning since the day we bought the motorhome back in the spring so what caused it to open like that, we have no idea. Glad we weren't pulling the fifth wheel because we never would have heard the awning go & would never have got pulled over right away. Also, on the fifth wheel we had last year there was no ladder to get onto the roof so we would have been in a big heap more trouble for sure 10-4!!
The rest of the day went ok, the sun came out, winds dropped a bit, overdosed ourselves at a McDonald's & we even found an internet connection while getting fuel in a little town called Russell. Managed to check our email, send a few, & do a fast update on the website.
We have an excellent book with us called, The Next Exit, & Kelly was able to use it & find an RV friendly municipal park in a little town called Ellis just south of I-70. Rolled into Ellis around 4 & were so happy to find a really great scenic little park alongside a river right in the little town itself. They had electricity, water, & the best part......we are the only ones here. It's only 2 blocks to uptown so we'll walk up in the morning & see if they have a computer friendly library.
Hopefully we won't be bothered by any trick or treaters to-night. We only have 2 Halloween candies which the greeter at Wal-Mart handed us this morning as we exited the store. All & all, despite our awning dilemma, it was an ok day & we're happy to have a good campsite for the night. Feeling a little tired & battered, but feeling fine, & glad to be here. The Bayfield Bunch has survived another day & it still beats sitting at home looking out the window all winter with nothing to do:)) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz