Adventures in Colorado and Utah

We have enjoyed so much visiting with our family during our summer vacation. My sister, Helen and her husband, Einor took us out to Oatman Arizona. It is a wonderful Ghost Town that is now inhabited by wild donkeys and tourists.

On our drive to Arizona we passed through ski country. Funny how those runs look without snow.

Land formations were amazing! We never tired of the splendor.

Destination Deadwood

Leaving North Dakota behind after a wonderful visit with Cindy's parents we hit the road and head for Deadwood South Dakota.

Deadwood sure has changed since Cindy last visited after High School Graduation! Gaming is everywhere and it is so commercial. Tho' we did enjoy dinner and a musical show dedicated to "Wild Bill" and Calamity Jane.

First thing the following morning it was up to Mt. Moriah to the grave sites of "Wild Bill" and Calamity Jane. We spend a good hour and a half wandering around the cemetery and locating all the famous and infamous buried there. The morning was cool and we had a small rain shower just as we were ready to leave.

The next site was the Adam's House. A lovely Victorian that was at the social epicenter of old Deadwood. Unfortunately they did not allow photos inside the house.

Ace's and Eight's or the Deadman's Hand. Just a sample of the the offerings and "Wild Bill's" grave.

Heading west to Wyoming we stopped at Devil's Tower. We hiked the base and enjoyed the mountains and the cool air. We watched the climers on the Tower and marveled at their climb.

Now we are in Denver for a couple of days visiting Cindy's brother, Joe and his partner, Alejandro. They live in a beautiful home that was built in 1900!

Iowa

Mary, Michael, and Ted...

We had a blast and ate way too much in Ames. Sweet Corn was for sale on every corner and then there was the Farmer's Market with fresh veggies and pies and bread and wine and cheese and well you get the picture.

We got a bottle of wine, some cinnamon rolls and the all important Rhubarb pie. If you are not from the Mid-West then you might not be familiar with rhubarb. It is tart and tangy and grows on a stalk similar to celery. The pie is long gone but the memory is alive and well. My hips are evidence to the goodness. We also had Iowa Corn Fed Beef. Yes, Michael now has had his steak fix and is so very happy. We also had Iowa pork chops that rivaled the ones at the Cayuco Club.

We had plenty of time to sit and talk and catch up and then Mary and Ted had to go back to WORK! We had to hit the road and head to North Dakota.

Busted Flat in Fort Stockton

And On To San Antonio....


If you have to add air to your tire every other time you fill-up with fuel then may-be there is something wrong with the tire. We know we have proven this little known fact.


Yes, the morning when we went down to the car in Fort Stockton we had a flat tire. OK unpack the trunk and get out the spare. Then try and find a tire place and get it fixed. Hey we aren't in a hurry we are cruisers.

The good news is it only cost a $80 USD. That is the price of a good steak dinner for 3 so we felt like we got a deal!

One of the many windmill farms on the mesas of New Mexico. Wish we had one for the boat!

All our Kids with partners and their kids! We had such a great time with everyone. The little guys are Jake and Chance. Lilly is in Front of David. Sarah in the white is in front of Michael and Kelly is behind Michael and me. Cynthia is beside Tine and Jason stands next to Tina. The Chinese Buffet didn't know what hit them!

It seems that we can't get away from Karaoke. Sarah and me singing together. We managed to downsize the storage shed but the tropical rain kept us from unloading everything that we wanted to. It's ok we always have next year.

Tina and me and Michael and Erin. Kelly and her dog, Scrappy.

We can't thank Gloria enough for her hospitality and throwing one great party for us and our kids.

So we have to pack up the car and head to Iowa to see Michael's sister and her husband, Ted.

Meteor Crater

The great thing about this trip is that we are driving by some really incredible scenery and we stop when something catches our eye. The SIRUS radio is fantastic and we are singing along to James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend" it is kind of like karaoke on wheels.

So here we are driving along and we see the signs for Meteor Crater. This is a must stop. Who knows they may have some Indian jewelry that we haven't already purchased in one of the numerous Gift Shops or Trading Posts that lure unwary traveler in all along the hi-way.

A piece of the actual meteor that hit 50,000 years ago.

Our astronauts train at Meteor Crater so that they are better prepared to work in craters on the Moon and planets.

One of the first scientists that investigated Meteor Crater upon NOT discovering the meteor under that ground (where he thought it should be) decided that it was a volcano. Wrong! We have Mr. Shoemaker to thank along with Mr. Barringer for the correct answer: METEOR! Mr. Shoemaker was the first US Citizen to be buried on the Moon. It was his dream to be the first geologist to go to the Moon. That was not to be. NASA though did honor him by taking his ashes to the Moon.

The hole left in the ground. Some of the rocks that were thrown into the air on impact were the size of houses! The dimensions of the impact site are: 1.5 miles across, 500 feet deep or a 20 story building could stand in it and the diameter is 1.186 km.

The crater as seen from the air. This is a must see stop. The geology is fasinating and the gift shop has great geodes.

And don't forget to stop at the Subway Sandwich Shoppe for your free cookie!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Or Does Every Meal Cost $30?

We landed in LAX and it only took 2 hours to get our luggage. Yes, they managed to not only misplace one of our two bags but to lose an entire cart of luggage. 15 people lined up in front of United is not a pretty sight. We were happy about our lay-over.

Arriving in the Las Vegas Airport after a 6 hour lay-over in Los Angeles was a little different. We thought that we had landed in an oven! No Sh-t! It was so hot and dry that we couldn't breath. Thank God the truck had air conditioning. I seriously thought that my eyes were sucked dry of all their fluids. It was so bad that I had to introduce a foreign fluid to my system, yes, water was drank in large quantities.

Helen and Einor put us up and took us to Wal-Mart for just a few things. Did I forget to tell you about the Mexican food? The Serrano beans were to die for and I had several conversations with my waiter entirely in Spanish. I did beg for the recipe for the beans but he gave me some crap about a secret family recipe and having to kill me if he told me. Sorry, Jim, no new recipe for the Cayuco Club.

Heading for the Grand Canyon....

The car is packed and we are on the road. Suffering from the altitude, the heat and the incredible dryness we are ready for our drugs and water to kick in. Finally we start to feel normal and the cameras are around our necks and we have had our first $30 lunch soon to be followed by the $80 dinner, the $30 breakfast and back to the $30 lunch. This will be a continuing cycle of meals.

There are not enough words to describe the Grand Canyon. The pictures do NOT do it justice, but we will try. There are some great shots of rain coming down the canyon. The lightening was awesome and a little frightening. For a brief minute we thought we were back in Guatemala.

Biltmoore Express

Sitting on the beds and watching TV and getting ready to fly to States. Such mixed emotions...we are ready to see everyone, but a little concerned about all the driving. We haven't done a lot of driving lately.

We day before we left the Rio we wanted to run the engine and fully charge up the batteries. Much to our dismay...yes there was talk of scuttling the boat, we discovered the the fuel tank was full of water! How did that happen you ask? It appears the the deck mounted fill port was not quite closed and with all the rain that we have had it virtually rained right into the tank.

Michael spend until 2am polishing the fuel and getting the water out. At 5:30 am on the day we were to leave we finally got the engine running!! We couldn't leave the engine with water in it so we were very relieved that it all worked out.

So now our bags are packed and were ready to go and we are looking forward to seeing friends and family and the USA. We hope to add pictures along the way so stay tuned.