Denver and the South Dakota Black Hills

We’re pretty well settled in here at the RV park in Denver. So far the motorhome is working well for us, although we’re learning a few different ways of handling things, storing things, etc. like not buying large packages of things because they’re less expensive – no room for them!! The park has a nice laundry room with dryers, but you can also hang clothes on their clotheslines and they provide the baskets and clothes pins. I prefer to hang my clothes out when I can, so that works really well. The showers are neat and clean too. They have a really nice pool, and a clubhouse that boasts 2 pool tables, exercise equipment and other amenities.

The first week we were here in Denver we had a couple of doctor appointments and then spent time at Jimmy’s house cleaning up some of the stuff we left stored there. He has really done a nice job on the renovations he’s done, although he’s not finished with everything yet. He’s started so many projects both inside and outside, bless his heart. Sara’s in-laws took her kids for that week, so she came down and Jimmy, Sara, our friends/neighbors and we went to the Cinderella Drive-In, one of the last drive-ins left (and this is their last year here). We had a great time – it’s been a long time since we’ve been to an outdoor movie.

The week of the 6th (Sturgis week), we combined business with pleasure and went to South Dakota to get our driver’s licenses. (In South Dakota, they have rotating offices for getting driver’s licenses. Custer is open on the first three Wednesdays of each month, so we had to be there by Wednesday.) Sara and the kids went with us. We picked them up about 11AM on Monday planning to stop in Lusk, Wyo. We took a route that would take us around Cheyenne, but we missed a turn and took about an hour’s unplanned tour of northeastern Colorado’s ‘beautiful’ back roads. We finally got back on track and arrived in Lusk staying the night in a nice little campground.

We drove through Custer the next day to arrive at the Rafter J RV Ranch near Hill City. The middle of Custer’s main street, for about 6 blocks, was filled with 3-4 rows of motorcycles – what a sight!! For the most part, the bikers were OK, but there are always a few who have to pass in a no pass zone, etc. to make the rest of us nervous. And a few of them were downright rude. But you wouldn’t believe the sheer numbers of bikers – it was amazing. Our site at the Rafter J was up in the hills in a really nice wooded area, with the showers close at hand. That was important having the 2 little kids with us!!

The Black Hills of South Dakota is a really beautiful area and we heartily recommend a visit for those of you who’ve never been there. We went to see Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, and took the grandkids to a petting farm near Rapid City. At Custer State Park we saw a lot of bison roaming freely, crossing the road in front of us, etc. Shannyn was really impressed with them!! The petting farm was really fun for all of us. They had goats, calves, bunnies, and chicks that the kids could touch. There were pony rides, pig races, train rides (pulled by a small John Deer tractor) and many other things to see and do.
On Friday, we headed out for Fort Robinson State Park, Neb., which we’ve visited several times before. This is a most interesting place, not far from Chadron. It uses the buildings of the original fort for a small hotel and restaurant, museums, etc. The officers quarters can be rented for families for reunions, weddings, etc. There is an indoor swimming pool, pony rides for the smaller kids, and horseback riding for the bigger kids. They also happen to have an area for RVs in a beautiful shaded area. Sara finally got her horseback riding trip here. And both kids got to ride the ponies. We also had a hayride to a chuck wagon dinner up in the hills on Saturday night.

We got back to Denver Sunday evening. Monday was spent house cleaning the motorhome, doing laundry, etc. Then Tuesday Sara and the kids came down to go to the pool. (It was Bryan’s birthday and we didn’t want Sara to spend it alone.) We had a good time and Sara brought strawberry shortcake, which was Bryan’s all time favorite, to celebrate. Wednesday we went to Brush to spend the day with Jim’s Mom – we had a nice lunch and a good visit with her. On Thursday evening Sara and Shannyn went to see The Little Mermaid in downtown Denver – just the girls – while we watched Leo. Friday we went to Jimmy’s house and loaded up a bunch of boxes for recycling, and did some more clean up. That night we went to the Model A Ford club meeting and caught up with a lot of our friends there.

Our friends from Tucson are going to be spending time in Denver next week, so we will show them some of the sights. We will be taking them up to Rocky Mountain Park, to Grand Lake, as well as showing them some of the local sights. Friday and Saturday is Jim’s 45th class reunion. Sunday I have a bridal shower to attend with Sara. The following week, we have more doctor appointments for check-ups, etc. Well that brings you up to date for now.
So until next time, take care.

Tucson to Denver

We're sitting in a Lathrop State Park campsite tonight, west of Walsenburg, Colorado. We can't believe we can send and receive email while we are out 'camping'. We do have an electric plug in, so it helps.

We started our trip Sunday, with our furry kids (our cats) in the motor home, traveling thru Globe, AZ, thru the Salt River Canyon up to Show Low, AZ in the White Mountains (about 6000'). The Salt River Canyon is very pretty, but has 6% grades on both sides. Outside Show Low, we stayed in the sister resort to where we live in Tucson (Voyager), which is built around a golf course -- very picturesque. Some of our new friends also have a site up there; we had a wonderful dinner at the Munich House in Pinetop, which was situated on Fred's Lake. Much to our surprise, there were osprey there fishing on the lake -- it was beautiful. Then on Wednesday, we headed up US77 thru Taylor and Snowflake. In Taylor, there were US flags hanging on poles all down Main Street. In Snowflake, the old-fashioned lamp posts all had beautiful flowers in flowerpots. We passed a street named Bellybutton Lane. Ah, small town Americana -- isn't it great!

At Holbrook, AZ, we got on US40 (which paved over the old Route 66) on our way into New Mexico. At every town along the way there were markers for the 'Historic Route 66' -- all the old main streets. As we got closer to Gallup, we saw petrified wood logs all along the highway -- what a sight. We passed thru Gallup on our way to Grants, the red rock buttes were beautiful as the sun highlighted the vivid reds and the clouds made shadows on them. Around Grants there are a lot of lava rocks on both sides of the highway. The El Malpais lava beds are close by. Jim and I had seen them sometime ago, so we didn't stop this time.

Wednesday night we stayed on the west side of Albuquerque in a really nice RV park with nice sites, lots of trees, a pool, and even a free continental breakfast. Thursday we got a later start than we had planned, but what the heck -- we're retired! We ran into a lot of road work and several thunder storms, so the going was slow. You wouldn't believe how green everything is. It rained so hard that water was flowing across the highway and there we puddles everywhere in the fields. We really slowed down -- the picture of a 31' motor home hydroplaning is not a pretty sight!

The Lathrop State Park was really nice and quiet, and very pretty. The next day we had a fairly uneventful drive to Denver. We had planned to park next to Jimmy's (our old) house, but there isn't really room so we set up not far away in another RV park. The cats will be happier here, because we will have A/C if we need it. (One of our travel days, Callie one of our cats got overheated and was frothing at the mouth, so we're really more conscious of the heat's affect on them.) We will be here in the Denver area for a while, taking care of some business, doing the 'doctor thing', etc. We do need to make a quick trip to South Dakota to get our driver's licenses.

So until next time, take care and be safe.

For all you RV'ers, the Albuquerque RV park is named American RV Park on US40, and we would highly recommend it. It is very pretty and very clean. The Lathrop State Park was really a find! There are loops with electricity and some without. Water is available, there are nice showers, and there is a dump station. There are a couple of hiking trails and a nice lake for swimming and boating. The park is off the highway, so it is quiet. The views are spectacular -- the Spanish Peaks look close enough to touch.