Monthly Archives: May 2013

Drove into Estes Park this morning.  Stopped up near the Stanley Hotel.  We were told this was the site for the filming of The Shining, but researched further to find out that was not the case.  Stephen King stayed at this hotel and was his inspiration for writing the book.  The movie was filmed at a lodge in Oregon for outside shots and a London film studio for indoor shots.

Took the opportunity with cell coverage to research camping options near Estes or within the national park.  Commercial campgrounds with full hookups, around $50!  That is insane…  Decided on the more reasonable campgrounds within the park for only $20.  Pulled in around 1pm and luckily found a few sites still available.  Looking forward to a couple days exploring the park!

A great view from our campsite

On Wednesday afternoon we got in touch with a neighbor who used to live across the street from me in chicago.  She now lives in denver and agreed to meet us in Boulder for dinner.  Found a place to camp for the night just outside of Boulder, so we setup there and got dressed for dinner before driving back down the mountain into town.

Outskirts of boulder up a steep but paved road

Met up at a fancy pizza place named Pizzeria Locale.  Only decent pizza but great to catch up with an old neighbor.  Headed back to the campsite before dark.

Woke up on Thursday to some howling winds.  Luckily the trailer was parked into the wind, so it wasn’t shaking too much.  Enjoyed a warm breakfast, sitting in the lee of the trailer, before packing up.  Drove northwest towards estes park, stopping along the way at a few forest service campgrounds to find a water spigot to fill our tank.  $20 for a site with no amenities, no thanks!  Noticed a pine tree had blown down blocking part of the exit road at the campground, but luckily our small trailer could make it out.  Mental note made to avoid parking directly under a tree in these 50 mph gusts.

No luck on the water, but were successful in finding a nice campsite on top of a hill with great scenery.  Friendly guy running an atv business gave us some advice on good spots.  Driving around on mountain dirt roads can be a nerve-racking operation.  Large rocks, ruts and steep inclines are not easy while pulling a trailer, so any local guidance to a good spot quickly is much appreciated.

We ate some lunch before throwing on a backpack to hike some trails around the area. Snow showers and strong winds had us bundled up in many layers. A dirt road would take us back to an earlier campground and looked like a decent distance.  Took a short break at the campground to eat a snack and talk with the campground host who gave us some info on upcoming destinations.  Hiked back along the highway towards our campsite and definitely got our workout for the day!

Mr. Moose chomping on a mid-day snack

A river runs through it

We made it back!

Peney was happy to see us after a 5 hour hike

Cold beer tasted great after our hike, then a delicious dinner before movie time and drifting off to sleep during the middle of it.  Real windy conditions most of the night keeping both of us up at times when it shook the trailer.  Parked perpendicular to the wind tonight to try avoiding possibility of a tree falling on us.

Forecast has the winds slowly subsiding into the weekend.  Continuing tomorrow towards estes park and rocky mountain national park.

Hard to believe it has been a year since I left CSX..

Arrived safely in Denver on Tuesday afternoon.  Another smooth flight with our cat.  We are both amazed how well she did on the airplane.  Found our truck and trailer in the airport parking lot, just as we left it.

Drove across town to restock with groceries at wally world.  We left the reefer unplugged while we were gone, so we kept no perishables.  Found this walmart in broomfield, co to be the quietest and cleanest walmart I have ever seen.  Got to be about 8pm before finishing shopping, so we checked with the store manager about overnight parking.  She gave us a recommendation on the best place to park for peace and quiet.  It worked our great!

Woke up on Wednesday to rain showers, so we relaxed in bed til about 9 and ran the generator to charge up our batteries and electronics.  Unhooked the truck and dropped it at the auto service center for a quick oil change.  Past 10k miles since the last one and good timing to take care of it here.

A friend from Chicago who lives in Denver recommended a hike called the Royal Arch in Boulder.  Once the clouds cleared we drove out to it around noon, made a light lunch and headed up the trail.  Turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for a hike.

Back at high altitudes

A Colorado arch

Beautiful view of boulder and denver

An interesting quote I came across this week:
“I still believe in paradise, but now at least I know it’s not a place you can look for.  Cause it’s not where you go, but it’s how you feel for a moment in your life.  If you find that moment, it will last forever.”

Beautiful day on the water today in Jacksonville.  Feels great to be back on a boat!

El bano

Pit stop at nippers in jax beach

It’s been beautiful in Florida since we arrived on Wednesday evening.  Rented a car at the airport and drove over to cocoa beach the first evening.  Great to see Cindy’s parents!  Hard to believe it had been since late February when we left cocoa beach.  Jalapeno was very happy to get out of the pet carrier and roam around, but she did great in the airports and on the plane!  We both took the opportunity to get a hot shower before dinner.

Slept in Thursday, catching up on sleep and a 2 hour time difference.  Packed up the car and drove up to Jax around noon.  Cindy had a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon, while I hung out in the car taking care of some phone calls and paperwork.  We had a couple month’s worth of mail waiting for us, while mostly junk with a few important items mixed in.

Met up with some friends over in Riverside that afternoon.  Nice to reminisce and be back in that neighborhood.  Cindy and I both enjoyed living there for a short time before we departed last year.  Last stop for the day was our friend’s house, where we would stay the night after a delicious grilled mahi dinner.

Ran some more errands the first half of Friday, before we packed up to drive down to St Augustine.  We had planned to do a lighthouse tour with Cindy’s parents and most of her siblings, but her mom was to be surprised with Matt and Laura flying in from Memphis to join us!  Her mom just retired from 23 years of teaching and the surprise worked out great when we all met up at 7pm.

We all really enjoyed the lighthouse tour, which included a full moon rise and a surprise rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, while sipping on champagne and sampling appetizers.

The Fam

Festivities continued that evening over a great dinner at Harry’s in downtown St Augustine before heading back to spend the night at Cindy’s brother’s condo.

Saturday was another beautiful day and we spent it relaxing on Crescent Beach with the group.  Cleaned up and drove to Cap’s restaurant for another excellent dinner with cakes and gifts to celebrate a couple birthdays and retirement.

Drove into Denver on Tuesday afternoon.  Picked out a state park near the airport, where we could stop to cook dinner and possibly camp for the night.  Didn’t take long for the park ranger to stop by and ask if we paid the $7 fee at the self serve station.  She also reminded me that no overnight parking was allowed.  We paid the day fee on the way out but would be seeing Mrs. Ranger again soon.

Sunset over a lake in Denver with the rockies in the background, gorgeous!

Discussed a couple options on where to spend the night: trying to free camp on a dirt road at the state park or drive to a walmart that allowed overnighters.  Decided to try the dirt road option, as it was just around the corner and it was already past 9pm.  An open gate and no signs on the fence or near the dirt road which stated no parking or camping, so we backed in and prepped for bed.

Around 10pm I hear the sounds of a truck slowing down and pulling onto the shoulder near us.  Look out the window and next is a knock on our door.  Ahh, Mrs. Ranger greeting us again.  She quickly reminds me that we already met earlier and that no camping is allowed at the park.  I stated my case to no avail, deciding not to push the issue any further. I sensed her lack of interest in any further discussion of the inexistence of signs and an open gate.

So we quickly packed into the truck and got on our way towards wally world.  Joined a few other truckers and RVs in the lot and re-aquainted ourselves with the bed.  Not the most interesting place to spend a night, but all was quiet the rest of the night.  Our first denial on a free camping spot, but not too bad considering the number of times it has worked for us.

Today we are joining the droves of folks travelling for memorial day weekend festivities.  Flying back to Florida for almost a week to take care of some things back home.  Leaving the truck and trailer at airport parking while we soak up some warmth and sun back east.  Skiing on Tuesday in Colorado and surfing in Florida on Thursday!

Jalapeno's first flight in her 13 years!

Our road trip, RT2013, continues on may 28th, where we plan to head further north into wyoming, idaho and montana, so stay tuned!

Both of our videos are ready, Enjoy some Moab off-road and A-Basin skiing footage!

We had a great day of skiing at Arapahoe Basin today! Day started off a bit chilly and cloudy, but turned out to be fantastically sunny in the afternoon. Just what spring skiing is supposed to be.  We timed it great, they just had 8″ of new snow in the past few days.

Smooth ride over a couple passes today, which gave the Tacoma a good workout pulling the trailer. Pulled into Breckenridge around 2pm.  Enjoyed a cold beer after walking around main street.  Interesting being here during low season, cause there is not much going on until summer season starts in June.  Bring back good memories being here, thinking about our past ski trips with friends and family.

Jalapeno's first snow experience, but forgot her kitten mittens

Booked some lift tickets at Arapahoe Basin for Tuesday.  Gonna ski in late May!  They are the only ski area still open this time of year, but they just got 6″ of new powder!

Found our free camp spot for the night. Right in between keystone and a-basin ski areas.

Conditions look good for tomorrow!