Our home for the week, North Sterling State Park. No WiFi or Cell, HEAVEN!Our Spot O’ Heaven; lake view, no one around us!
During the week, very empty. Some of the time we were the only ones there!Our own private beach; that little dot is Jan!Looking down the beach.Many white Pelicans! Maybe the same Santee visitors in the fall?
Steve brought their toy to the lake; lots of fun! Unfortunately my camera’s not waterproof or I’d have more action pics!Mary speeding in.And Steve speeding in!Mary relaxing after her ride!Steve pushing off for their final voyage to take the SeaDoo home.A strange visitor while we were at the beach; what the heck is it?!?Another day’s adventure; target shooting with Steve, Mary and Neil!Neil, Mary & Jan; we all had our turns. Great fun!I even got my chance to shoot Steve’s AR15, how cool!After our great times with the Bergman’s, now off to Nebraska and on to South Dakota! Bon Voyage Colorado!
Downtown Golden, beautiful town!Great restaurant I guess, we ate there 3 times! There with Aneka this time.GREAT Bloody Mary’s too! (This was a previous morning visit, before Aneka was there.)A fly fisherman , one of the many sculptures around downtown.Our camp spot in Clear Creek RV Park, a Golden city park.Our view of the rushing river
The city park playground which Reeve loved.Reeve visiting our campsite. Perfect shirt for his age don’t you think?
But the biggest hit for Reeve? The indoor waterpark and GIANT slide!Jan rode it with him once.
Then it was mom’s turn; she went an incredible 50 times per his request!
As you can see, he loved it every time!The rest of the pool was fun too!Then it was dad’s turn.
Rich and Aneka went too. “I can do this dad!”
We had fun in the rest of the pool too!
Jan teaching Reeve water safety; how to swim to the side to get out after jumping in. He had a blast!
Barb and Zach came too and made use of the lap pool.
Reeve apparently didn’t get enough exercise at the pool!First with Aneka was a visit to the Golden Mountaineering MuseumNext up we took her to Buffalo Bills Museum.
Just can’t keep her off the horses!
Ice cream is always good!
After the museum we took her to Walt and Carries for dinner and to meet their “zoo”. Aneka loved the baby goats (12 weeks old!)!
Joni came to visit while we were there and of course Reeve got her to playing with him drawing tractors.Mary also stopped by so we all went over to the park across the street from Bryce and Laura’s new home. Laura’s twin sister Monica and her daughter Autumn joined us as well; they live only a block and a half away. The kids loved the water features!ALL the “kids”!
The playground was fun too!
Bryce took us to Unser indoor Kart Racing. Bryce and I raced while Jan was the official photographer. We won’t talk about my lap times! Thats me in front with Bryce right behind (just about to lap me!)
Our first stop was the Heritage Center to get ideas about what to visitThe view down the main drag- obviously rush hour doesn’t exist here (I stood in the middle of the street to get this shot!)!
We rode the narrow gauge train; really a blast! A real steam engine, you could probably walk faster!
Lots of coal smoke and steam; loved it!
We visited the Cripple CreekJail Museum; it was an operating jail until 1992!The plush accommodations; one bathroom per floor!The opulent bathroom facility!
Some interesting past guests too!
There’s also a small herd of resident donkeys in town who have free reign wherever they want to wander; good beggars too but we had no carrots or apples.
House for sale; fixer-upper, cheap!Colorful motel in town.
We unfortunately could not fit our rig on Vince and Kristin’s property so we stayed overnight at the Walmart until we figured out what to do- interesting experience!The Goodwill outlet next door took some of our un-needed items; that was convenient!
Mary and Russell convinced us our rig wold fit nicely in their driveway, so we stayed with them (in the house) for our time in the Springs. Thanks so much Mary & Russell, we had a blast (even though I never got to drive your tractor)!
Aneka Horse Event- Day 1
Our first experience watching Aneka’s horse events; day 1 of 2; Aneka, Dolly and Rich!One of the many previous awards she’s won!In competition!Aneka, Kristin, Vince and Dolly.Kristin and Aneka during a break in the action.Proud parents!This dog LOVES his butt scratches!
Vince and Kristin’s Petting Farm
Vince new “Bull” grill/smokerDo cowgirls live here?!?TitanSheba is still kicking too!A couple of the goatsReeve loved the animals!!! His words when we ran out of treats, “I’m SORRY Goats!”
and, of course, a mini-cow named Norman!Reeve found the slide!
Aneka Horse Event- Day 2
Day 2 of horse events; looking sharp!Studying for her written test which was part of the events!Aneka and Stitch; Ready!
Reeve was mesmerized with his cousin and her horse (of course)!And he even got a ride (although according to him, not fast enough!)
He even rode a stage coach (until the quarters ran out!)Laurie(Grandma), Kristin, the support crew , Stitch and Aneka; beautiful family!
Our Day Out with aneka
Breakfast with fancy coffee and cocoa!Next up- Miniature golf!A cruise through Garden of the Gods
Downtown Creede. The main street leads right up to the Bulldog Mine and the Bachelors Loop (later in this Blog)Many old buildings are still being used, very well preserved (probably the freezing cold winters!)
The Visitor’s Information Center got two new chainsaw sculptures just before we arrived.
The Hagerty Silver Summit Classic Car Adventure came through town that day; cool cars!
The town center park display; an old mine engine from the Bulldog Mine.One of the local business owners was a dog friend with a sense of humor!Kip’s Bar and Grill and Laundromat! Great Elk Burger and other yummy dishes too!Laundromat behind the bar.Flying Pigs are real!
our “home”; mountain views resort & rv park
The grand entranceOur spot. early in the season so very empty. Week before Memorial Day weekend.
Some great landscaping and beautiful sculptures throughout!
day trips from creede
North Clear Creek Falls. A short walk from the parking lot; beautiful falls!
Lake City
Beautiful drive towards Lake City
The lake at Lake City
Locals!Another local!Lunch at the Packer Saloon and Cannibal Grill; named after Alfred Packer who supposedly ate his crew on a wilderness expedition.
our”home” for the month; enchanted trails rv park & trading post
In case you’re lost!Their maintenance buildingThey even have a few vintage RV’s you can rent
The interior of the office/trading post is pretty nostalgic as well!We’re not sure if this really works but it’s pretty cool anyway!
Our spot for the month; we even got our own little tree!There was another Grand Design family member next door in a Reflection!
first stop(s), the weddings!
First we flew out for the the San Diego wedding; Danielle and Christian.
They had a beautiful wedding at Christian’s parents home in Crest. We had a great time at the event and reconnecting with our many friends and family over the 5 days we were there. After all, I had to support my “brother” Tom with his youngest daughter getting hitched!
Flew home, then 2 days later drove to Colorado.
First stop Thursday was Colorado Springs where we stayed overnight with Rich and Aneka. Friday morning (April 22nd!!) we woke up to this! I realized this was the first time my truck has ever had snow on it since we bought it in 2003!Rich’s back porchLove the t-shirt!Look at that gorgeous smile!Reeve hard at work sporting his new miners hardhat we got him in Bisbee at the copper mine.Reeve multi-tasking as usual!
next, Bruce and Ellen’s beautiful wedding!
Ellen and Bruce, the lovely couple at their wedding in downtown Denver.
then Drove back to Albuquerque to continue our journey.
First was our tour of the TURQUOISE trail
First stop; TINKERTOWN MUSEUM! This is the front entrance to Tinkertown, the most “Unique” Museum you’ll ever encounter!The bottle wall! They had the entire town bringing their recycled bottles to them for years to build this feature!Our first taste for what awaited us inside!The inside of the front bottle wall.
Old west scene; check out all the amazing detail!
Unique use for old license plates and metal signs don’t you think?Our new motto to live by!The coolest thing here; a working one-man-band machine!
Even an outdoor fireplace made from bottles!And, of course, a full size 1936 sail boat!
Next was the Mine Shaft Tavern and Museum for lunch. (Coal miners in this case.)
The front entrance; notice the huge gear inset into the steps!One of the locals I’m guessing! all the waitresses came over and hugged him and he never ordered; they already knew what he wanted (besides the hugs of young women that is!)The “not so locals”!Too funny!
Unique use for heavy chain!I’m thinking her right boob is much bigger than the left; but a donkey with boobs is kinda creepy anyway!Entrance to the museum; you go into the theater, across the engine stage and through a green curtain, stage right!They have live music and shows here during the summer.The rest of the engine outside; weird!A few old rusting antique cars, trucks and tractors.
Couldn’t resist taking a picture of this real street sign; gave me a chuckle! DON’T go to the OLD Hospital!Colors galore!Soda Dam; a natural rock formation “dam”. you could smell the suphur in the water!
A close-up view of the interesting rock formations.A picture Jan took with her iPhone shows how huge these rock formations are compared to me!
Our short 1/4 mile hike to Jemez Falls.
A closer view, but not as good. I wasn’t willing to go any further out on the ledge for the shot!On down the road to find the Gilman Tunnels. The girl who owned the local general store told us about them.The road to the tunnels. Narrow and eventually is dirt!First view; they were blasted out in the 1920’s for access while building a logging railroad.
On our way, Jan spotted this interesting large pine tree; growing right out of the cliff ahead!It’s at least a 40-50 feet tall tree and the same distance above the road!!
sandia crest and sandia peak tramway ride (yes she talked me into riding the tram!)
Views were spectacular as you could imagine.Vast array of microwave and other antennas up there.YES, that is snow; 40 degrees cooler than down below.
sandia peak tram ride (the highest one in the country)
They just replaced the gondolas last week; these on the ground are the old ones.
Our chariot arrives.The view back as we went up. Boy does that building look tiny!The middle tower to take us over the first smaller peak. The entire trip is 2.7 miles one way!
They said you can see 11,000 square miles of New Mexico from the top!Made it to the top; here are a few views from there. Spectacular!The ski run on the other side of the peak.
Good advice!
These hoses are used to add or remove water used as ballast when needed.Seems you can see forever!
Views on our return trip down.
Almost there!Safe landing!Would NOT want to do this in winter. This thing runs year round though!When we left the tram we had to drive by this; recognize it Breaking Bad fans? It’s the car wash Walt and his wife owned. Was Octopus Car Wash but bought out by Mr. Car Wash, a huge chain.We also had lunch at Blake’s Lotaburger because they’re everywhere in NM; wasn’t really impressed with the burgers, one step up from McDonalds I guess!
my highlight of the albuquerque trip- the unser racing museum!
for my harley friends!
Al Unser Senior’s personal Cobra.Rear view; notice the hitch receiver? Al said “I need to get my ski mobiles to the mountain somehow!”Unser’s dirt racers he used on the Pike Peak Hillclimb race.Bobby Unser’s hillclimb race car.One of Al Sr.’s race cars for Indy.Where it all began!
Al Jr.’s custom motorcycle gifted to himself for a win at Indy.A custom rifle given to Al Sr. for an Indy win; check out the etchings; beautiful gun!
Al Senior was there that day and agreed to a photo Opp! Very nice down to earth man!Shirts that Al Unser Senior’s parents had made when they watched Al Sr. and Al Jr. race against each other at Indy. One was sponsored by Goodyear and the other by Firestone!They had a driving simulator too! You start out dead last in 10th and have to work your way through the pack in 5 laps.My results: I came in FIRST by nearly 2 seconds!A Leroy Neiman painting of Al Sr. at his Indy win.
the nuclear science & history museum
A race car sponsored by Nuclear Clean air & Energy; part of the Paul Neuman team.The Delores from Back to the FutureThe Flux Capacitor 🙂
One of their hands on exhibits; very interesting. It separates the hydrogen from the water by a hand cranked electrical generator to make a small explosion to shoot the ping pong ball up the tube.
Butter casing of the Fat Boy bomb dropped in Japan.The main lobby has the Periodic Table embedded as part of the floor.Outside they had some historic planes including a similar plane the the one that dropped the bomb in Hiroshima (the original one is in the Smithsonian in D.C.)
Our Home for the time there; Manzano’s RV ParkFlurry Lane, yes ist’s a dirt road!Our campsite, nice trees, although if you’ll notice the layout is backwards; the table and chair area is on the service side! No matter, it’s still a beautiful spot!
View from our dining room window.
downtown silver city
Entrance to Main Street in “Old” Silver CityAnita Scott Coleman’s house
Jan’s cousin Harry’s house. He’s in the process of building the wall of bottles; pretty cool! The house is a historical landmark in the area.
Harry’s wife Chris, Harry, Avery and Willy(Sp?)Jan with Aunt Fran and Harry when they visited our home.
I even found a really good Bloody Mary at Toad Creek Bar & Grill
City of Rocks State Park & Campground
Many interesting rock formations. Very massive as you can see in the following pictures!
Cactus Flowers were in bloom too
gila cliff dwellings national monument
Jan on the first of many bridges along the trail leading to the Cliff DwellingsThe “Official” greeter?
First view of the caves.Steps up to the cavesGOOD ADVICE!
Our new friend!Notice the black ceiling from the fires they built for warmth and cooking.Jan in there to give it some scale and quiet those who complain we’re not in the pictures!
Our only exit (Not really, but we took it anyway; shorter distance)Local Residents.
So sad (and stupid); this fire was caused by careless campers who left their campfire unattended according to the Rangers.
pino altos, right next to silver city
The Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House. It looks abandoned, doesn’t it?
Front of the Opera House, it also looks abandoned!
Nice spots but a little tricky getting out though; had to back all the way out!The first fire we’ve had in the entire adventure! Nice!Nice clear warm weather!I actually got up early enough to get a sunrise picture!
Blue Bonnets Everywhere in TexasBlue Bonnets and other colorful flowers on the roadsideAnd in front of Palmetto National Park
japanese botanical gardens-san antonio
The entrance, as you’ll notice, says “Chinese”. This was changed during WWII but was later, after the war, reverted back. Only this sign remains.Building at the entranceThe main building with wonderful stone work.View over the ponds from the main building.Pond residents, along with Koi fish of course.Beautiful Stone Bridge.Gorgeous lush waterfall.Beautiful Stonework Throughout.Resident Squirrel posing for his picture!
Kiln from the quarry that was on this site.History of the site and the kiln.
our return to san antonio botanical gardens to see the new blooms
Entrance to the gardens looking much more lush!I didn’t bother taking a picture of this Wisteria arbor before; it was bare!Bird mansion!Vegetable Garden, can’t get chard this nice at the grocery!The blooming Rose garden.
palmetto state park near austin
The scenic road into the park.View just inside the park of the valley below.Stone event center built by the CCC in the 1930’s, beautiful!
One of the many beautiful trail walks.VERY lush and green!Very deep grass and nice flowers too!This winters damage along the river. I discovered after I took this photo that I was standing over a deep undercut!
caverns of sonora texas (this time i was allowed to take my camera:-)
Caverns of Sonora is a privately owned working ranch that just happens to have these amazing caverns under it. Family owned and operated for generations.SAM the greeter! A very large, slightly dirty (ranch dog) Pyrenees Mountain dog. What a lover!
The store and offices for the caverns.The resident male Peacock.And his Herem.
They had an automatic deer feeder. We saw deer late one night but during the day the birds and squirrels make use of the corn too.They treat the local birds pretty well I’d say; a massive bird condo complex and a self filling watering trough.
Our pull-thru camp spot; pretty straight shot I’d say! It wasn’t so spacious once the sites filled up later though. Still a nice spot.Our guide Bill took us into the caverns. The tour required doing 360+ steps plus steep inclines so Jan decided to just enjoy the pictures I took.
a few pictures inside the caverns of sonora, breathtaking!
Tossing money into the natural pools is forbidden, but they installed this cement bottomed one for that purpose. All the money collected is given to local charities.
Saint Patricks Day celebration picnic hosted by the park. Food, live music and fun!
St. Patrick’s Day park celebration with a bandOne of the many “characters”Participants plus the EZ Go parking lot
mustang island state park
Our one picture of Mustang Island State Park- Closed due to the previous night’s storm, BUMMER!
GOOSE ISLAND state park
One night in overflow parking before the beach spotOur spot on the beach, nice!Up the beach view.
View from the beach. Nice shelter!View down the beach. (No pics of the storm surge coming over the wall; before we left.Oyster House Happy Hour oyster plate; $7.50/dozen! YUM!!Oyster House “after” picture, about 5 minutes later!Sunset over the bay.
Our very noisy neighbors! (mine,mine,mine)Egret in front of our camp spot!
HUGE Egret! Over 4 feet tall!Ferry terminal to Port Aransas where we took the Dolphin tour.
Artsy planterA boat for our real estate friends!HUGE oil drilling rig. For sale, only $1.1B!!Massive cargo ship; aka dolphin surfing partner!
