Something Old......Something New

We picked up my parents at the airport on the 10th and began their 2 week adventure traveling with us as we made our way back to Lake Mead. This is the first time in 45 years since they've been out west. In 1967 they bought a new Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon....just like the one on 'The 70's Show'. They loaded the car with camping equipment, my sister and I and headed out for a 3-week trip out west. Our stops along the way included the Astrodome, Juarez and Del Rio (Mexico), Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, Las Vegas, Los Angelas, Yosemite, Sequoia NP, Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore and St Louis Memorial Arch. I remember many a night sleeping in the back of the car while dad kept driving to our next destination.


We didn't make that many stops on our way from Denver to Lake Mead, but we did show them some things they'd never seen before. Joan and I had set up in St Vrain State Park just off I-25 in Longmont about 25 miles north of Denver. It had been raining since Monday, but not so bad that we couldn't enjoy the park. If you get the chance, check out St Vrain. On Wednesday we drove about 40 miles to  Estes Park to take in Rocky Mountain NP. It was overcast and rainy but we persevered and drove into the park. We saw a few Big Horn sheep as we began our climb into the mountains. It didn't take long before we were completely encompassed by the clouds and visibility was down to a few hundred feet.
We only had 1 day to see the park so we kept driving hoping to get above the cloud cover. We made it all the way to the top but never got out of the clouds. So we turned around and headed down. Just as we drove out of the clouds at the base of the mountain we saw a few cars pulled to the side of the road. We looked and sure enough it was an elk. We pulled over and got to watch him for about 30 minutes while he grazed, wallowed in the mud, scraped/rubbed his rack in the bushes and actually got him on video 'bugling' several times. All in all it was a good day.

We went to bed that night to the rain on the roof serenading us. And we woke up Thursday the same way. It had been raining since Monday and there were numerous puddles all throughout the campground. We were about 20 minutes from pulling in the slides and heading out when we heard a knock on the door. The park rangers were going door to door in the CG advising campers that the St Vrain river (which runs through the park) was overflowing its banks and they were evacuating the park. Our timing was spot on so we quickly finished packing and drove out of the park along with many of our fellow campers. We headed south on I-25, then west on I-70 towards Utah. It rained on us all the way to the Eisenhower Tunnel, then it cleared up with only a few sprinkles as we drove across western Colorado. We arrived in Moab, Utah that afternoon and set up in Portal RV Park. We got set up and turned on the TV news to get a weather forecast (it had been raining in Moab the past few days). What we saw surprised us......The St Vrain River had flooded parts of Longmont; both I-25 and I-70 had sections that were closed due to flooding and/or mudslides; the entire Denver area was experiencing record rainfall and flooding. I guess our timing was really good for us to have escaped that before we were caught up in it.

Moab was great. We took ma & pa to Arches and Canyonlands NP; Dead Horse State Park; and we took a couple of scenic tours; one through the La Salle Mountains; the other off-road through Long Canyon. They both had a great time and really enjoyed being off-road and seeing some of the back country sights you just can't see from the pavement. I don't think there's a jeep in their future, but they'll be ready to go again whenever invited.

View from La Salle Mountains

Kolob Canyon

We stayed in Moab for 4 nights and left Monday headed to Zion. Joan found a 'new' Utah State Park called Sand Hollow just outside of Hurricane. It's the newest state park in Utah with paved drives, full hook ups and pull through sites that were able to take our 40' MH with the trailer attached. There is a reservoir and the park has a focus on fishing. The sites are spaced out and the views are nice.




The next day we drove through Zion on our way to Bryce Canyon. We got lots of "ooohhss" and "aahhhhhsss" from ma and pa; and my dad's arms got tired from holding up the camera and taking so many pictures. We drove back through Zion that afternoon and saw several different light conditions and angles on the scenes we'd seen that morning.




The next day Joan downloaded several geocaches and we elected to drive Kolob Terrace Road. Joan and I had discovered this 18 mile scenic drive on our motorcycles when we visited Utah in 2007. The road climbs 3000' along the way and contains several different types of terrain; from desert to forest to high mountain valley. And you can actually see many of the mountains in Zion from this road. My mom was right with Joan as she exited the car at several locations to search out geocaches. I think we found 7 in all that day. While we were in Hurricane we also visited Kolob Canyons; a part of Zion NP, but with a separate entrance to Kolob just off I-15.

Sand Hollow SP

We packed up on Thursday and headed towards Nevada. Along the way we passed through the Virgin River Gorge on I-15. It's a spectacular drive through the gorge near the Utah/Arizona state line. My dad was disappointed that he was driving our car because he couldn't take pictures. We drove into and set up camp in Valley of Fire State Park at the north entrance to Lake Mead NRA about 50 miles north of Vegas. Again we had 50amp/water hook ups; pull through sites (that are actually designed to park 2 40' MH's in each site); completely surrounded by 'fire-red' canyon walls; out of sight of the road through the park or any other man-made structures. We had red canyon walls on our left lit up by the morning sun and red canyon walls on our right lit up by the afternoon sun. Everyday campers were up very early and right at sunset to take pictures of the canyon walls surrounding us. No street lights or car lights at night; we sat in almost total darkness as we counted stars each night and watched as the full moon rose over the mountains. It was really nice. Joan hit 4 home runs with her campsite selections during this move.

We called our new boss Dara while we were here and she invited us to set up in the VIP campground near Boulder Beach on Sunday. VIP stands for Volunteers In the Park; our job this fall will be a volunteer position for the National Park service; road monitoring. The park service will provide us with a 4-wheel drive truck and our job will be to drive the remote back country roads throughout Lake Mead checking road usage, looking for signs of misuse or driving off of the designated roads; sign repair; plant or road damage restoration, etc. What a job! We relocated Sunday to our 'winter home' and set up the MH so it looks like home. All the stained glass, pictures and knick knacks that don't travel well were unpacked and put in place. My parents treated us to dinner at Outback as this was their last night with us. We dropped them at the airport in Vegas Monday morning and they headed back to North Carolina. Bye Ma...Bye Pa....we'll miss you and our games of Hand & Foot. But we have to make room for Joan's uncle Jimmy who arrives Tuesday. He'll be with us for 2 weeks. Feast or famine. Last year in Oregon we were gone from Florida for 10 months and our only visitors were Jim & Debbie. This year in Colorado we've had Richey drive from Florida on his motorcycle; my son Chris fly out for a week; Joan's niece from Virginia stay with us 3 days; our friends Susan and Richard from Raleigh out for a quick visit; my parents for 13 days and Joan's uncle Jimmy....and we've still got 3 months left! Who's next?




Ta-ta-da-dah!!!!!!!! (imagine horns blowing) SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT....Do not touch that dial...do not attempt to adjust your settings....you will not want to miss what comes next! Any guesses? No, not that......un uh...not that either......OK I'll tell you...As of 9/20/2013 I am a grandfather. My oldest son Doug and his wife Erin have presented me (yes it is all about me this time) with my first grandchild.....Tristyn Claire was born on Friday 6'14" and 19" long. She's a beauty. Takes after her mom.











And according to my youngest son Chris she has her father's mouth....open! If you notice closely you'll see she's 100%. A chip off the old block. Congrats son. Proud of ya!











That's it for now. We start our new job next Monday.

From left....Dad Sean, brother Ryan and
Birthday Boy Bradley

PS...Happy Birthday to Joan's grandson..Bradley....11 years old.














Stay Tuned. More to Come.

Words and Pics Just Can't Do It Justice

It's been 2 weeks since my 60th birthday and 2-month wedding anniversary. And just in case you're wondering, being old and married is going OK!

*****Editor's Note***** After 'proofing the blog, Joan looks at me and says "So it's just OK?" Now I know I put an exclamation point after OK, but evidently that's not enough....so....

The first 2  months of married life have been unbelievable. It's hard to describe what it's been like. Words just can't express what I've been feeling. I'm not sure it's possible to accurately communicate the emotional and personal feelings I've experienced. And in the immortal words of Forest Gump....."that's all I have to say about that!"







As the workamping season is drawing to a close in central Colorado we got together with our fellow workampers for a little Putt Putt Golf.









We all had a great time and decided the evening wouldn't be complete without a little ice cream after our evening on the links.

From the left - Joan, Steve, Steve, Teresa, Joyce, Jack, Sandi, Joe

We had 4 workamper couples and the owners working at Chalk Creek this season. Jack and Joyce finished on 9/3; Joan and I worked thru 9/7; Steve and Teresa finish on 9/13; while Joe and Sandi will be staying on until the campground closes end of October or until they wear out-whichever comes first! This was the owners, Lars and Tamara's first full year managing the park on their own (they bought the campground March 2012). Next year may be a challenge for them as all 4 workamper couples have decided to pursue different opportunities next year. They'll be recruiting all new workampers and having to train them on all phases of park operations. Not a task I would want to undertake.

Steve and Teresa are interviewing for a job in Buffalo, Wyoming; Jack and Joyce are staying in the Nathrop area but both have lined up jobs in the local community-Jack at a hardware store and Joyce as a nurse for a local physician; Joe and Sandi as well as Joan and I have submitted resumes and held interviews to work at Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer, South Dakota. Our friends Phil and Rudee (Workin' RVers) are working there this summer and after reading their blog and speaking with them we decided South Dakota could be a lot of fun. We'll know more in November.

We took a couple of 'last drives' before we left; one on the bike and one in the car. The scenery is spectacular anywhere you go and we just wanted to make sure we took it all in before we left. Here's a pic overlooking Browns Canyon.

And another when we drove through 11 Mile Canyon. Pics just don't do them justice.











We left Nathrop Sunday morning and are currently just north of Denver to have the MH serviced. We pick up my parents at Denver International this week and they will be traveling with us in the MH as we meander our way back towards Lake Mead. We're hoping to show them Rocky Mountain NP, Moab, Bryce and Zion along the way. And we've just found out that our friends Larry and Jean may join us in Moab and travel with us for a few days as they commute from Garden of the Gods campground in Colorado Springs to their winter job at Leaf Verde CG outside of Phoenix.

On the Road Again

PS....only 2 weeks until I become a grandpa! Wish us luck.

That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come

I've Still Got It Baby!

I woke up Saturday, turned on the radio and what was playing? Hot Rod Lincoln. Yeah baby! It's my 60th birthday and most of the time I feel like a hot rod Lincoln. I can still remember when I thought about my parents or my grandparents in their 50's and thought to myself "that's old". But that's not how I feel as I turn 60. Joan and I are blessed with good health and positive attitudes that contribute to feeling 'younger'. Maybe not younger, but I certainly don't feel as old as I used to think 60 was. I opened some presents and Joan stated she was going to keep me for another 10 years! Yahoo!

Last week we had a young man, Scott, pedal into the campground for 1 night's stay. As I escorted him to his site I asked where he was from and found out he lived about 5 miles from where we lived in Florida. He had just graduated from FSU (GO NOLES!) and was helping his sister move from Atlanta to Denver. He had traveled from Denver to Buena Vista before renting a bike to explore the local area. His plans included horseback riding and white water rafting before he had to head back home. He was also considering his future career plans.....a great desire to become a Fish & Game officer or Park Ranger; or use his degree in environmental engineering to develop/build habitat-friendly communities. Good Luck Scott.

A couple of weeks ago Joan stayed home while I drove to one of my softball games. When the game finished I walked out to the car only to remember I'd left the key in my ball bag inside the car. OH NO! Maybe just maybe it's not locked. I don't remember locking it. So I tried the door. BEEP BEEP BEEP. Dang! It is locked. BEEP BEEP BEEP. And the car alarm is going off. BEEP BEEP BEEP. And I'm 9 miles from another key. BEEP BEEP BEEP. So I made a command decision. BEEP BEEP BEEP. I quickly walked away from the car. BEEP BEEP BEEP. To the other side of the ball field. BEEP BEEP BEEP. Way far away from the car. BEEP BEEP BEEP. "Hey guys, anybody got a cell phone I can borrow?" BEEP BEEP BEEP. I quickly called Joan and requested that she bring me a key to the car. "How am I going to get there? Ride the motorcycle?" she said. BEEP BEEP BEEP. "I don't know. I just need a key" I replied. BEEP BEEP BEEP. So for the next 15 minutes.....BEEP BEEP BEEP.....I talked with my buddies......BEEP BEEP BEEP...."would the owner of the white Grand Cherokee please turn off the car alarm" someone announced over the PA system...BEEP BEEP BEEP......well you get the picture. Joan hitched a ride from our neighbor and showed up about 5 minutes after the alarm finally reset itself. I casually and inconspicuously meandered back to the car and quickly left the scene. We both pledged we would be going to the hardware store to have a hide-a-key made and hidden on the car the next day.

The scenery is great...
But the situation sucks!

Fast forward to yesterday, 8am. We get a page from our boss stating we didn't have to start work until 1pm. Hey Joan, we've got 5 hours to explore. Where should we go? "Let's go towards Leadville, I love that drive" she replied. So off we go north to a little turnoff towards Clear Creek Reservoir. We drove about 4 miles until we saw a sign indicating 8 miles to the abandoned historic mining town of Winfield. Let's Go! Up the mountain we go until we arrive at Winfield . Numerous late 1800/early 1900 cabins on both sides of the road with small information signs. Looks like a neat place to explore. Out of the car, lock the door. "I need the camera from the back seat" says Joan. "You've got the keys" says I. "No I put them in the cup holder" says Joan. "We are so screwed" says I. No....we had not gotten the hide-a-key yet. So....12 miles up the mountain, no cell signal, with no signs of civilization......we are so screwed. About that time a 4-wheel drive drives past us up the hill, travels about another 100 yards before turning off road and into a small cabin set back into the woods. Maybe just maybe they’ve got a coat hanger or hacksaw blade that I can use to try and open the door lock. I walk up to the cabin and yes, they have a coat hanger. After 30 minutes of pushing the wire through the gap between the door and door frame; and trying to push the unlock button, we scrap that idea. If I had a longer wire maybe I could hook the keys in the center console cup holder. So it’s back to the cabin and would you have another hanger and pair of pliers I could borrow? Sure, no problem. 

Emergency Key...or
Hide A Key
Which would you prefer?

So I twist the hangers together to get a 5’ length of wire, bend a small hook in one end and start fishing for keys. Joan’s laying on the hood and across the windshield so she can see the keys in the bottom of the cup holder which I can’t see from the door; directing me “little to the left, turn the hook, up, down, missed it. More to the front, down, forward, more to the right. Right there….you’ve got it……easy…..up……don’t drop it…….yeah!” So now I’ve got the keys on the end of a 5’ piece of wire that we’ve got to pull through the door gaskets. We used the handle of the pliers to pry the door open about a ½ inch from the door jam and slipped the keys out. “We are so not screwed anymore” 2 hours after we arrived we’re on our way home. YEAH! And I’m proud to announce that as of today we have a spare hide-a-key on the jeep. Who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick. Not as dumb as I look am I? Wait, don’t answer that.

 Back to my birthday. Before we head out to Denver to pick up Joan’s niece who is flying in from Raleigh, NC to spend a couple days with us, we go out for breakfast. After breakfast we’re walking to the car when Joan says she’ll drive because I have one more present to open and it will take a while. ????? That’s curious. She hands me the gift and I open the box to find 62 birthday cards….from friends and family across the country that Joan had been secretly collecting for over a month. What a surprise. I spend the next hour opening cards and reading them. What fun. Thanks everyone. What a great surprise.

 Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!

Time Flies

Colorado 

Less than 3 weeks left in Colorado. Working in a private campgound is different from the previous workamper jobs we've held during the last 2 years......(Yes, October will be 2 years since Joan and I moved into our MH fulltime!). Our job responsibilities are generally the same each day with the exception of a special project or odd-job every once in a while. When we go to work Joan knows that she will be registering guests, working in the store and/or house cleaning. I know I will be cleaning sites, trash and recycling pickup, and escorting/parking campers. The weather here is great, our co-workers are fun and entertaining to work with, and our work schedule is not overtaxing. For workampers that prefer routine, working in a private campground is the way to go.

Mt Hood - Oregon

That being said, the jobs Joan and I held in Mt Hood National Forest last year and Lake Mead NRA earlier this year were always varying and our schedule was always flexible and changing.

Lake Mead NRA

We really enjoyed the variety of places we were going, people we were seeing and things we were doing. Which one is better? Joan and I agree.....we like the variety.




We have our next job lined up for this fall back in Lake Mead....and no, it's not the same one we had last year. We will be located in a different CG; working for a different boss; and we'll have different job responsibilities. We will be road monitoring. "What is road monitoring?" you ask. Is it like being a Hall Monitor in school? Kinda' sounds like sitting beside the highway ensuring everyone has a pass and is being quiet! The answer is "No"

Lake Mead NRA encompasses nearly 3000 square miles of land and was the 5th most visited National Park in 2009. And while there are only a few hundred miles of paved roads within the park, there are over a thousand miles of unpaved and back country roads throughout the park for off-road and 4x4 vehicles. Joan and I will be given a 4-wheel drive truck and we will be driving the back country roads throughout the park monitoring the use of the roads, checking to ensure off-roaders are staying on the designated roadways and trails, and restoring any signs of misuse. And if we like the job (don't get bounced around too much), we've told our supervisor that we would return in January for another few months.

Last month I was invited to play in a softball tournament in Gunnison. A few weeks later I was invited to play in the Leadville Boom Days tournament with the same team. That made me feel good. After all I'm at least 15 years older than anyone on the team and probably closer to 25 years older than most of the players. I know I'm 40 years older than our 3 youngest team members. We finished 4-2 again. I pitched all 6 games we played and didn't make more than 1 out in any game...even went 5-5 in one of them. In our Salida league, our team finished in first place and won the post season tournament. In Buena Vista we finished 2nd in the league and 2nd in the post season (got beat by a walk off grand slam in the bottom of the last inning). I was not pitching at the time. More on that later. I didn't realize how much I missed competitive softball until after the tournaments were over. Last year I only got to play for about 7 weeks on a coed team in Oregon. It was fun at the time and I will do it again if given the chance. However playing on competitive teams in tournaments and/or competitive leagues still gives me a charge. I only hope I can continue to find teams in the communities we live in so that I can play . Shout out to the Cardiac Kids back home in Florida....miss you guys. Hope to see you when we return to Florida for Christmas.

Flowers Adjacent to the Softball Field

Our friends from NC, Richard and Susan, flew into Denver and we spent several days with them showing them around Colorado. We saw a Rockies game, drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, Breckenridge, Colorado Springs and took them to the top of Pikes Peak. We also got to take a gondola/ski lift ride. They managed to get in a little shopping while they were here and stayed in a nice Denver B&B their last night here. Maybe we'll get to see them again next year wherever we are!

I mentioned that I wasn't pitching when we lost the post season tourney in BV. That's because I was recovering from a visit to the ER earlier in the morning. The day before the tourney I was plagued with lower abdominal pain, headache and fatigue. I was only able to sleep a couple of hours that night and decided I needed to see a doctor the next morning. That visit resulted in a visit to the ER for blood work and a CT scan. They were prepping me for a worst case scenario (surgery) until they got the test results back. They were concerned I may have needed an appendectomy but to everyone's relief it turned out to be diverticulitis......an infection of the colon. I was sent on my way with a couple of prescriptions and assurances that the medications would have me back to normal within a few days. Well...as normal as I can be!

Today, 8/20 is my son and his wife's 3rd wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary to Doug and Erin. And on a more somber note, please keep my bride Joan in your thoughts. Next week she'll be sleeping with a 60 year old! And in September she'll be sleeping with a grandpa! Yep, next Saturday is my 60th birthday. And next month Doug and Erin are expecting their first child and my first grandchild. Yahoo! Poor Joan.

Stay tuned. More to Come.

The Honeymoon Is NOT Over!

Can You Tell How Happy We Are?

The month of July has flown by......and boy have we been busy! And the time has been spent in marital bliss.











My cousin Tim lives in Breckenridge so Joan and I decided to take a ride up to visit. We traveled thru South Park, past Fairplay to Como before turning towards Boreas Pass. The views are absolutely fantastic. As you can see there is still snow on the peaks in and around Breckenridge.

While we were there Joan introduced Tim to Geocaching and we looked up a couple of caches around town.

A few days later we decided to drive across Cottonwood Pass towards Taylor Reservoir and Crested Butte. Flowers, flowers and more flowers.

The team captain on my Salida softball team called me and asked if I would be interested in playing a tournament in Gunnison. There is a semi-pro baseball league in Denver and several of the players from the Denver Browns put together a team each year to play.....they had everything covered except pitching....I said yes! We had a great time and finished 4-2. We fell into the B bracket with an early loss and ended up playing 4 games back to back to back to back! I was whipped by the time we finished.

Jenna, Baylee, Blake & Karrena

We had a young family staying at the campground off and on for a couple of weeks and Joan got to know the kids as we saw them in and around the park. The oldest, Blake expressed an interest in Geocaching so we invited him to join us one morning. We took him to find/see 'Peek a Boo Alien', 'Eagle's View' and 'Mt Princeton Schoolhouse'. Joan also spent some time with the crew as they created some Duct Tape crafts. A few weeks after they returned home Joan got an email from Blake stating that he had already found several additional caches near his home.

Last week my youngest son Chris flew into Colorado Springs to spend a week with Joan and I. And we didn't waste a minute of his time. He de-boarded the plane at 2:16pm and before it was dark we had visited Garden of the Gods park, driven to the top of Pikes Peak and met friends in the Springs for dinner at their favorite restaurant.  The next day we drove to Estes Park and drove into Rocky Mountain National Park. We explored the park again the next day before returning home to Nathrop. The rest of the week included observing some young bull moose, 4-wheeling up towards Hancock Pass, shopping for some souvenirs in Salida, lunch overlooking the Arkansas River, a drive over Independence Pass to Aspen, white-water rafting, a visit to Bishop's Castle and spotting a brown bear about 30 yards off the road while driving back towards the Colorado Springs. It was Chris' first trip outside the southeastern US and we all had a great time. I'm hoping when I ask him what he wants for Christmas this year he'll say..."How about another plane ticket to visit you next summer!"

Saturday and Sunday of this week was the beginning of the Triple Crown of Burro Racing in Colorado. On 3 consecutive weekends there are Burrro Days in 3 different cities; Fairplay, Leadville and Buena Vista. On Satuday there are llama races followed by burro races on Sunday. The llamas race about 3 miles, while the burros race 30 miles. We were in Fairplay for the llama races and it was a treat. The first group of llamas are the serious racers. The race begins with the llamas and their human runner racing about 100 yards through town before being 'saddled' with a standard pack. Then the runner and llama team run the 3 mile cross country course including ups and downs and a water crossing. Soon after the 'racers' come the themed teams where the handlers and llama are usually 'dressed' alike....some of the themes included Wizard of Oz, ballerinas, doctors and the Lollipop Guild. We're planning on seeing the burro race in Leadville next week.


I'ts hard to believe we only have 6 weeks left here at Chalk Creek. In 2 weeks our friends Richard and Susan are flying into Denver for a few days. We're planning a Rockie's game and several other site-seeing adventures while they're here. Joan's niece Mary will be here on my birthday (the 24th) to stay with us a couple of days. And we will wrap up our jobs around 9/8 and pick up my parents in Denver where they will spend 2 weeks with us while we travel in the MH back towards Lake Mead and our fall/winter job. We're hoping to show them many of the places we've been able to visit over the last 18 months.

That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.

PS.....Shout out to Joan's granddaughter Emily....Happy 15th Birthday

For Better or Worse......We Do!!

After seven years together we finally did it! Joan and I were married June 24th at Free the Monkey in Colorado. Our families are as excited as we are......their only question has been "what took so long".

The last seven years have brought a lot of change into our lives. We look forward to many happy  years together.

Christmas 2007

New Smyrna Beach

Softball Game Winter Haven

Atlanta Braves Game

June 2007

Gaylord Palms Ice Display

Vermont 2008

Utah 2007

May 2006

North Carolina 2006

End of a ride 2011 Gotha

Thanksgiving Mt Dora

Halloween Party

And just so you know it's all Bob's fault!

Stay Tuned. More to Come

Now You See It.....Now You Don't

Yeah, yeah, I know it's been 3 weeks since we last posted. It's not that we don't care....just that we don't want to bore you with repetitive posts that all look and sound the same. Joan reminds me every so often that I haven't posted but I keep reminding her that I'll post as long as it's fun and interesting for our readers....not if it becomes a chore.

Judy in the Sky with Diamonds!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago while we were strolling in downtown Salida Joan and I met Judy. Judy is an independent woman who owns her own business, rides a 2003 Anniversary Harley Davidson and drives a BMW Z3 convertible.

Judy and Joan on Top of Independence Pass

We hit it off immediately and a couple of days later we joined Judy for a ride over Independence Pass into Aspen.






We stopped in Aspen at a place called Woody's Canyon Grill for lunch before returning home. The ride was great as was the company.







A few days later we took the jeep off-road again. The views and vistas we experience while driving through the valleys and across the mountain passes is something that always impresses Joan and I.


I'm in the 3rd week of softball season and starting to get back into shape. I'm playing on 2 teams, one in Salida(6-0) and one in Buena Vista (2-0). I'm the oldest on the BV team by 11 years; and the oldest on the Salida team by 30 years. I keep telling them not to put the fast runners behind me but they just don't listen. I really hate it when those young whipper-snappers keep bumping into me between the bases.

Joan and I have been trying to think of ways to keep our readers interested in the blog so we decided to give our readers a puzzle to figure out. I'm sure most of you have seen the magazines with 2 nearly identical pictures where the readers try to find the differences...well that's what we decided to try. Below are 2 pics with several small differences. Check them out and see if you can pick out the discrepancies.

You can 'Comment' on the blog; email us; or call us directly with your guesses. We'll blog the correct answers later this week.

June 24th....a day to remember.....Happy 81st Birthday to Joan's Dad Tommy.

Stay Tuned. More to Come.