Archive for ‘November, 2011’

Where are the photos???

So…a first for me. The hard drive on my laptop failed. Probably my own fault for letting it ride on the dashboard of Wild Thing with no pad or cushioning.

The good news is that it gave me warning. The VERY good news is that I am a regular backer-upper – always have been. I back up to 2 external drives, keep them in separate locales…one which is the motorhome. I backed up before I left home and when I started getting warnings, I backed up the few new things.

And the VERY BEST news is that there is a wonderful tech shop here and Bryan took care of my computer toute suite and was pleasant as well. I was less than 24 hours without my laptop. He was able to clone the failing drive and as far as I can tell, nothing is lost and I have not had to reinstall anything…my work environment is intact. It is a big deal.

Meanwhile, I got Wild Thing cleaned up a bit and situated for a 10-14 day “park”, did some baking, walked with Bear and spent 24 hours without a computer. I was not really offline as my phone gets email, internet, etc. AND, my folks have computers that I could have used but I didn’t. And I lived :)! But, I’m glad to have the darn thing back. A lot of the info of my life lives on it…recipes!!, my financial information, recent photos…and oh, yes, my livelihood depends on what I do on this machine.

So…2 work days lost and 3 days of photos in the camera… eventually I’ll catch up with news and photos but for a day or so, it has to be work and family – family being why I’m here and glad to be here and enjoying every minute of both getting here and being here.

Arrived!

Arrived at my folks just after 3…got settled, walked Bear, had a wonderful dinner and first night visit.

Tired…more tomorrow with photos.

So good to be here :)!

Bear did wonderfully and this is so good for him as it is helping him learn about being around other dogs and new places. He gets a bit excited at first, but settles well.

Reports on Bob are good and as expected…he is very much enjoying being the center of attention.

Along the Front Range

Although about 33 miles shy of our original destination in Colorado Springs, CO, we are comfortably parked for the night just south of Castle Rock, CO in Jellystone RV park in Larkspur, CO…maybe 30 plus miles south of Denver.

It was the toughest driving day so far, although not horrible, just tiring. I waited until 8:30ish to leave Casper as it was 14F this morning and with the rain to snow thing I thought a little warming of the road might be in order. Bear and I had 2 nice long outings on the river walk before leaving which left me ready to do the miles with only short breaks so as to arrive Colorado Springs before dark.

At first, I thought I’d made a mistake as the road was bare and dry but about 80 miles down the road, the temperature dropped and I had about 20 miles of ice…then icy spots off and on, wind off and on although thankfully the wind was mostly hitting me from behind or on my right rear. I dearly hope that it helped my gas mileage as gas was .70/gal higher in Colorado!!!

We arrived at the Colorado Welcome center in Ft. Collins, CO about 1:30 for a break before tackling Denver.

Above…Bear with the Front Range in the distance. Blue sky, few clouds but a bit hazy.

Traffic picked up just as we approached Ft. Collins and continued until we hopped on the Denver E-470 tollway/bypass which we had mostly to ourselves. We rejoined I-25 south of Denver with 60 miles to our hoped for destination but only 25 to my fallback. I fell back and stopped at Jellystone RV Park in Larkspur, CO – was just tired and that extra 30-35 miles seemed a bit much AND would have us arriving at dusk if not full dark.

Jellystone is a kind of goofy park with questionable roads and not too level sites. I am level enough to keep the refrigerator “safe” but listing a bit to starboard and stern – I can’t get fully level without unhooking the Jeep so making do :)! AND mega $$ to boot at $50.55 but only a $7.00 break for electric only so I took full hookups so I can top water, dump tanks and arrive at my folks tomorrow ready for a 10-14 day park.

I hear tell that a turkey dinner may be in the making for my arrival… I’m ready…Bear and I just finished the last of the ribeye.

Ft. Caspar Evening

As I finished the outside rv chores, it was starting to snow lightly. The wind had dropped but the few times I looked outside it was snowing.

Bear and I walked in the snow. The city lights reflecting off the clouds and the fresh dusting of snow gave enough light to walk the river walk in “the dark”. It was beautiful.

Ft. Caspar, Casper, Wyoming

The weather forecast was for a “wintry mix” and high winds from Billings to Casper.  I planned a daybreak departure to hopefully stay ahead of the storm or at least as many miles as I could while things were good.

It was partly overcast but a LOT of sun breaks and beautiful, clear air as we headed down the road.

Snow started showing on the ground in Wyoming but skies remained mostly sunny.

Sheridan, WY rest stop which is usually windy as all get out and lots of wild rabbits…light breeze and only 1 rabbit :)!

The last 20 miles into Casper were very windy and we got tossed a bit but it was quick and then we were here at 2:15 even after stopping on the way to the park for  a nearly full tank of fuel…thankfully, gas is about .20 gallon less than MT!

So windy when we arrived that I kept slide in, but by 4:00 it had quieted down so out they went, I topped off water, dumped the gray…AND Bear and I have walked the river walk twice in daylight.

Time for supper and a relaxing evening.  It is snowing now so departure in the morning may have to be a bit later but it is supposed to be warm and sunny so the plan is to get to Colorado Springs area tomorrow and a short day to my folks on Sunday.

Almost 6 years ago, I was here at Ft. Caspar Campground on a February trip to meet my folks in Breckenridge, CO.

Yellowstone River Campground, Billings, MT

Arrived at this gorgeous campground along the Yellowstone River at 5:30ish after a brief foray to an unknown spot in town that was horrible… my confusion in thinking this place was not open this winter…but called and it was so came on down the road.

Had a walk with Bear in the dark, but there is a wonderful pet area. More later…took some photos from the road and hopefully some are worth posting.

Folks arrived back in CO after a whirlwind trip to Lake Charles, LA to get goodies and my step-Grandmama!!

More in a bit.

*** MORE :)!

Friends, Patty and Fred are at Jim and Mary’s for the winter…we had a wonderful visit and Bear fell in love…

Hee…we all took the morning walk together. Patty and I were having a cup of coffee before I left. She was sharing the couch with Bear when he decided to get a bit fresh :)!

Down the road Bear and I went about 8:30.

I LOVE Montana!

Even with grayish skies it was beautiful. I didn’t get a photo, but Bozeman Pass – GORGEOUS!!! The sun poked through and lit portions of the mountains. Some blue sky to contrast with the overcast.

I had bare, dry roads all day and although signs warned of “Serious crosswinds” between Livingstone and Big Timber, there were maybe 5 kind of tough miles wind-wise…and nothing that seemed serious as I passed.

Approaching Billings, the sun was setting behind me and it made for a bit of cloud alpenglow over Billings.

Day 2 – a great day! Bear is doing so well and is a wonderful rv companion. I miss Mr. Bob but reports are that all is well at home. Wild Thing is being a champ.

Tomorrow – pending weather…Ft. Caspar at Casper, Wyoming.

Oh, Thanksgiving dinner aboard Wild Thing??? – Ribeye steak sandwich with cheddar and jalapenos on a homemade flour tortilla, oven baked fries and some cranberry relish – a little non-traditional but hit the spot! Dessert by Patty…some decadent cookie-bar-chocolate chip-cream cheese things.