Full Time RV Living–We’ve Made the Decision to Leave Estes Park

For those of you who follow us on FaceBook, you already know the story. . .this is for the rest of you.

 

We have decided to leave our volunteer position in Estes Park.  Having never left a workamping job early. . .this makes us very, very sad. . .but we were promised 30 amp service for our RV. . .and only had 20 amp. . .

 

Now for those of you who RV that means something. . .for everyone else. . .imagine every time you turned on the microwave, you tripped the breaker for the entire house. . .that’s about what it equates to.  Because we monitor our electrical usage with a voltage meter. . .we knew right away, ten weeks ago, that there was a problem. . .but we were assured repeatedly that it was going to be solved. . .and that they were working on it.

 

Here was the final resolution. . .and the final straw that broke the camel’s back. . .so to speak. . .a 10 gauge wire strung 200 feet across the ground. . .after this “fix” we determined that we could not continue to put our home, our electrical system in our rig, and our safety in jeopardy. . .without going into a lot of electrical gobbledy gook. . .let me just say. . .this is NOT up to any kind of code. . .

So. . .here’s our home base in lovely Loveland, Colorado for the next month. . .and while it’s not the fabulous location and view we had in Estes Park, we do have great service. . .and is a great central location to enjoy the area. . .especially when Curtis and Brenda come to spend some time with us in a couple of weeks.

 

Not sure where we will head to next. . .we know it will be south. . .maybe Santa FE NM. . .we’ll see. . .

 

Leave us a comment, or send us a note. . .we miss you guys, and love to hear from you. . .

 

Hugs,

Janice & David

Full Time RV Travel–A Visit from the Family

Here we are in an amazing destination spot. . .

we invited all of our family to come, visit, and stay . . .

but, only a couple of them have taken us up on our invitation. . .

 

Anyway. . .one of the smart ones showed up this week. . .

my beautiful niece Andrea, and her hubby Bryan. . .

Since Bryan lived in Colorado for a few years. . .

and since they visit family in Denver quite regularly. . .

I was sure they must have been to Rocky Mountain National Park numerous times. . .

but they said they hadn’t. . .and definitely wanted to go. . .yaaaa. . .

we got an early start. . .8 a.m. is very, very early for me to be out the door. . .geez!  LOL. . .

Bryan generously offered to drive. . .which Uncle David loved. . .

and all was going very well until after lunch when the clouds rolled in. . .

driving through the clouds at the summit, 12,167 feet elevation felt like being on an airplane. . .

Shortly past the summit. . .

on the western side of the mountains is the Continental Divide. . .

where we went for a short hike and Bryan took the camera

and played photographer for awhile. . .

any guess as to why they are called mule deer?

Look at those ears. . .

as recommended by our favorite local. . .

and the clerk at our campground office. . .

we had lunch at the Grand Lake Lodge

in Grand Lake Colorado. . .

This was the view of Shadow Mountain Lake

from the glassed in porch. . . really lovely!

any time you see all the traffic stopping. . .

you know there’s going to be a treat. . .

and here was ours for the day. . .

made me very, very happy!

 

What a wonderful, fabulous day spent with family. . .

the only thing that would have made it better,

is if they could have stayed longer. . .

but we are very, very glad they came. . .

and we enjoyed every minute. . .

Love you guys!

 

Wishing you all safe travels. . .and lots of memories!

Fire. . .Fire. . .Everywhere. . .A Wild and Crazy Weekend

If you’ve seen or heard the National News at all. . .

you’ve heard about the massive wildfire in High Park Colorado. . .

81,000 acres burned so far. . .and no end in sight. . .

This is how it looks from Estes Park. . .

 

As if that wasn’t bad enough. . .Saturday afternoon,

a house fire sparked a massive crisis in Estes Park. . .

On our way back to the campground from the

Scandanavian Festival  in downtown Estes. . .this was our view. . .

and as we turned the corner onto Hwy 34. . .this was the scene. . .

Can you believe all these looky loos pulled off on the side of the road. . .crazy!

a closer view. . .three homes totally engulfed. . .and no end in sight!

This is the view we had after we arrived back at the campground. . .I told Dave as we turned onto

Tunnel Road. . . you know there’s no other way out. . .if it comes our direction we are trapped. . .

All the combined fire services did a fantastic job. . .

Not exactly sure of all the agencies involved. . .

but I do know that Estes Park’s Volunteer Fire Department

and Rocky Mountain National Park’s Fire Department

were on the ground. . .

along with the awesome Larimer County Deputies. . .

and I am sure, several other law enforcement agencies,

who were manning the roadblocks and doing traffic patrol. . .

 

We also heard that because the High Point fire

was in such close proximity. . .

Colorado Fire Services were able to provide air support. . .

Hat’s off to the awesome job they all did. . .

This is one of the fire service helicopters

flying over the YMCA Campus. . .

which is the next property down from our campground. . .

Dave and I can see this building from the back of our RV. . .

This plane loaded with fire retardent was in the vicinity. . .

but thanks to the fabulous

job by all the fire crews. . .was not needed.

For that we are very thankful. . .

 

If you are planning a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. . .

there is absolutely no need to change your plans. . .

yes there is a little haze obscuring the view. . .

but nothing significant to be concerned about. . .you will love this place.

 

If you would like to see pics of the fire crew helicopters

scooping water out of Mary’s Lake. . .

check out our fellow camp hosts blog: Travels of Dick and Judy Mott

 

Check in often to see the amazing wildlife. . .

Full Time RV Travel - Nothing like a Street Festival

There's nothing we love better than a good street festival. . .

especially street fair food. . .

so on Saturday we headed out to enjoy the 

Scandanavian Midsummer Festival in downtown Estes Park. . .

Here is an idea of the type of food available from the vendors. . . since we had breakfast about two hours before we arrived. . . Swedish Meatballs and Sauerkraut didn’t really really appeal. . . plus the line was really long. . . so we headed for what we knew we would love. . .

the pastry tent. . .yum. . .lots and lots of pastries.  
Give me an apple and apricot strudel. . .full size please. . .
oh, and a cinnamon crisp and also an apple something or other. . . now we’re talking. . .deee. . .lish. . .us!

We shared the apple strudel with our friends at the campground. . . and saved all the rest for ourselves. . .LOL!

But my very favorite thing were the kids who were 
participating in the demonstrations. . .so adorable. . .
(for privacy reasons, I’ve blurred out their faces). . .
just because I wouldn’t really want  anyone
 pasting pics of my grands  

First, there was this little girl and boy 
using the spinning wheel. . .very, very cute. . .

and then these two were helping 
what I assume  was their grandmother make Lefse. . .
that little one with the green shirt was very, 
very serious about his job. . .
they were both doing great. . .
lefse reminded me of a tortilla. . .
warm with a cream cheese powdered sugar mix spread on. . .
folded over into a triangle. . .yum!

It was a fun time. . .
but we were very thankful we decided 
to head home when we did. . .
a house fire had started a chain reaction  further down the canyon towards the National Park. . .
right where we turn off to go to our campground. . .
very, very scary. . .

Still getting my fire pics loaded. . .will post them ASAP. . .

Full Time RV Travel–Cheyenne Wyoming–My Quest to Collect State Capitol Building Pics

Oh my goodness. . .our internet connection has been incredibly slow.  I guess since there is only one tower in Estes Park. . .it must get jammed. . .so while email and facebook function fairly well. . .posting pictures to a blog is a study in patience. . .we’ll see how this one goes!

Anytime there is a tour available, we love to take advantage. . .and for only $10. . .wow.

Yeah. . .you get what you pay for!  So the problem wasn’t really the tour itself. . .

the problem was that most of Down Town Cheyenne burned at one point or another in the course of history. . .and there’s not that much left to show.  Kinda sad really. . .but if we were to go back, I would probably do the Historic Walking Tour which I think might get you up close and personal to the history that remains. . .

As with many large cities in the United States. . .Cheyenne has adopted an art theme of cowboy boots. . .we enjoyed viewing those around town.

The Union Pacific Train Station and Railroad played a huge part in Cheyenne and Wyoming’s history. . .

at the other end of Capitol Ave was the real attraction. . .what I came to see. . .

the Wyoming State Capitol Building. . .

Since the entire State of Wyoming only has a population of about half a million. . .

the complete State Legislature functions out of this one building. . .

Bottom line is. . .we had a great day trip. . .and I added another State Capitol Building pic to my collection. . .a very successful day!

For more great pics and info about Cheyenne. . .

check out this post written by fellow RV'ers

The Roadrunner Chronicles - Wyoming State Capitol

Full Time RV Travel–Picture of the Week–Wyoming State Capitol - Cheyenne

One more State Capitol to add to our collection – Cheyenne Wyoming

 

Check back later this week to discover what else we saw in Cheyenne. . .

Full Time RV Living–Photo of the Week–Dave’s Awesome Photography

This big bull elk wanders through the East Portal Campground at least once a week. . .

and often beds down behind the campsites. . .which thrills the visitors to no end.