Sept 30 to Nov 1
We were in Kansas for 2 months but we did not do any sightseeing, imagine that. We did have good times visiting with many of our friends in the Manhattan area. Those were great times. As time goes by we cherish those times together more and more. Thanks to all of you for your friendship and hospitality. We have good reports from all of our doctor visits. We seem to be very healthy. We try to eat right and get plenty of exercise to keep us healthy. After leaving Manhattan we drove to Lebo, Kansas. Sue has a brother and wife living there with a spot for us to park and hook up to water and electricity. We had a good time there and had the opportunity to help with some projects they had going. Friday Oct 20, we flew out of Kansas City on our way to Newark, NJ to visit our grandson. Newark is just across the bay from NYC. We had some good times visiting with him and his girlfriend. He is enjoying living in the east, has a good job and is doing good. While there we did DRIVE over to NYC and walked along the streets in Time Square. It is so true, the traffic both foot and vehicles, is very heavy and electronic advertising boards covering the fronts of the buildings are an awesome sight. On a very cloudy Sunday afternoon we took a boat trip to the Statue of Liberty. We were able to walk around the island the statue sits on. We also rode up to get pictures of Ellis Island which is very close. All our pictures on that day, including those of the NYC Skyline were not real good do to the cloudy weather. We had a great time and it was so good to see our grandson. On Saturday, Oct 28 we met in Emporia with Sue’s siblings and families for a nice dinner and conversation. This has become an annual get together since we are on the road. We had a great time and enjoyed catching up on one another’s family happenings. Halloween evening we met some high friends of Gene’s from Melvern for dinner. They are RV’rs also and we had a good time reminiscing about places we have been and plans for the future. As I post this blog, we are on in Oklahoma City. It was our intention to visit Gene’s brother. He had a stroke in May and had been in a veterans hospital not far from OKC. We received word yesterday morning that he passed away so we will be going to the funeral on Saturday. Most of Gene’s side of the family will be there, many we have not seen for some time. From there we will be heading to New Mexico and hopefully warmer weather. It has become quite cool here in Kansas. We would like to spend some time in Albuquerque if it is warm enough and then take our time through NM and Arizona on our way to our trip into Mexico in January.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
July 18 to Aug 28, 2006We arrived in Colorado Springs. Our campground is right in town which makes it nice for getting around town. We stayed here for 5 weeks. We did sightseeing and just normal living. We needed to spend time in this cool climate until we could get back to Manhattan in September. Gold Camp Road is one of our favorite areas here in The Springs. It is an old railroad bed that originally ran from Cripple Creek to Colorado City to transport gold ore. It has been opened for auto traffic for many years. Just a few years ago one of the tunnels along the road caved in so it is no longer possible to travel all the way to Cripple Creek. It is a beautiful drive none the less. We did enjoy traveling on it and a couple of other roads that connect to it.
Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park with much to see and many, many walking and biking trails. It is just a great place to visit. On one of our trips we walked on several of the trails and another we just walked around the circle of rock formations. Several years ago the park was given to the city with the stipulation that it be made available to visitors at no charge. It is still free and a great place to get away. One favorite activity here is rock climbing.
Pikes Peak Highway is an awesome drive. The road is steep and very curvy and the views are just awesome. Up at the top we could see for miles and miles with gorgeous views of many other mountain ranges. It was a great trip. We were lucky to go on a day when there were very few clouds and no rain. Many of the days we were here in the Springs it was very cloudy and rainy over Pikes Peak. There is a cog rail train that goes to the top of Pikes Peak. I am sure it is a very beautiful ride but we opted to take the highway.
We also enjoyed shopping in Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs and a drive to Cripple Creek for lunch. We went to the movies several times and ate out at some very good restaurants. We do like Colorado Springs and think it might be a nice city to spend the summer months in. We left Colorado Springs on Thursday 8/24 to go to Pueblo. We stayed there until Monday morning 8/28. We enjoyed visiting our great granddaughter while there. She will 6 years old next week and quite the smart young lady. We had lots of fun with her but I must admit she kept us busy and we were tired at the end of the day. On Monday we left Colorado heading for Manhattan. For those of you in Manhattan area reading this we hope to see you while we are there. Give us a call or email us. We would love to see you.
Friday, July 14, 2006
July 14, 2006
We are in Leadville for 3 days. It is an old mining town and most of their income now is from tourists. It was a town of 1000 people in its heyday and quite risqué and wild. There is quite a history here. We enjoyed rides through the old mining districts just at the edge of the town. We also took Hiway 82 to Aspen and on to Basalt and then on Road 105 back east. We knew this turned into a gravel road but it IS on the map! When we got to it we found it was more like a jeep trail. We continued on and it was quite a ride. We made it through with no mishaps and no damage to the car.
We are in Leadville for 3 days. It is an old mining town and most of their income now is from tourists. It was a town of 1000 people in its heyday and quite risqué and wild. There is quite a history here. We enjoyed rides through the old mining districts just at the edge of the town. We also took Hiway 82 to Aspen and on to Basalt and then on Road 105 back east. We knew this turned into a gravel road but it IS on the map! When we got to it we found it was more like a jeep trail. We continued on and it was quite a ride. We made it through with no mishaps and no damage to the car.
Monday, July 10, 2006
July 4, thru July 10, 2006
John and Neva left early in the morning. By noon here it was raining. It let up for a while about dinner time so we went to town thinking we would go to the July 4th festivities and then see the fireworks show. But by 6 pm it was raining again. We went home and decided to forget the fireworks this year even though it did appear to clear up about dusk. It rained off and on every day since. We couldn’t even get to the grocery store without being rained on when we came out of the store. On Monday July 10 we had reservations to go on a boat ride Morrow Dam portion of the Gunnison River. It was a beautiful sunny day in the morning as we made our way to the boat dock. We had to walk down a trail 232 steps and a walk on level ground for ¾ mile. The canyon was beautiful with high rock bluffs. The trip was quite nice. It clouded up just after we started our ride and was sprinkling by time we arrived back. Just after we got back to our car from the walk back up the trail, it started raining and was still raining when we got home about an hour later. We are tired of rain but they need it very badly here.
John and Neva left early in the morning. By noon here it was raining. It let up for a while about dinner time so we went to town thinking we would go to the July 4th festivities and then see the fireworks show. But by 6 pm it was raining again. We went home and decided to forget the fireworks this year even though it did appear to clear up about dusk. It rained off and on every day since. We couldn’t even get to the grocery store without being rained on when we came out of the store. On Monday July 10 we had reservations to go on a boat ride Morrow Dam portion of the Gunnison River. It was a beautiful sunny day in the morning as we made our way to the boat dock. We had to walk down a trail 232 steps and a walk on level ground for ¾ mile. The canyon was beautiful with high rock bluffs. The trip was quite nice. It clouded up just after we started our ride and was sprinkling by time we arrived back. Just after we got back to our car from the walk back up the trail, it started raining and was still raining when we got home about an hour later. We are tired of rain but they need it very badly here.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
June 30 through July 3
Sue’s brother, John and his wife Neva came to visit us. We had a great time just being together and also saw some beautiful scenery. On Saturday we took them to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Even though we had been there earlier it is such an awesome site you can enjoy it over and over. We also drove down the East Portal where the 6 mile tunnel was dug through the mountain for irrigation to the Montrose area. The project was started in 1901 and completed in 1909. Some interesting information about this project can be found at: http://www.nps.gov/blca/webvc/gtunnel.htm.
Sue’s brother, John and his wife Neva came to visit us. We had a great time just being together and also saw some beautiful scenery. On Saturday we took them to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Even though we had been there earlier it is such an awesome site you can enjoy it over and over. We also drove down the East Portal where the 6 mile tunnel was dug through the mountain for irrigation to the Montrose area. The project was started in 1901 and completed in 1909. Some interesting information about this project can be found at: http://www.nps.gov/blca/webvc/gtunnel.htm.
Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879. The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year. By July of 1882 (amazingly, only 9 months after construction began) the tracks to Silverton were completed, and the train began hauling both freight and passengers. The line was constructed to haul silver & gold ore from the San Juan Mountains, but passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious. This historic train has been in continuous operation for 125 years, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives. The town of Silverton caters to tourists exclusively as near as we can tell. We left Durango at 9:45 am for a 3 and 1 ½ hour ride, had a 2 hour layover to eat and shop and then rode back to Durango arriving at 7 pm. It was a long day. Then we had a 2 ½ hour (normally) trip back to Montrose. However about 8:45 we came upon a traffic stop. We were stopped there for a little over an hour before we found out there at been a huge mud slide on the verrrrrrrrry curvy mountain road. The road crews were just finishing the clearing and we made it home safely. Apparently rock slides and mud slides are very common in this area.
Monday we drove to Telluride. It was a pretty drive there and the town is quite unique. The homes are very attractively painted and landscaped. The downtown has many stores and restaurants that cater to tourists. We ate at a very nice upscale Mexican restaurant and then walked around town for a short time before taking a gondola ride that leads to a very ritzy town, Mountain Village, which is up the mountain above Telluride. It seems to be mainly second homes and ski shops, restaurants, hotels etc. for the wealthy. Someone told us Oprah had been there the week before. In a weekly Telluride I saw prices for houses for sale mostly well over a million dollars, some as high as 4 + million for both Telluride and Mountain Village. We had fun looking around, riding the gondola and seeing the beautiful views.
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