With everything fixed, we were free to explore wherever our hearts desired. We thought we’d spend some time in Twin Falls, ID, and headed that direction. First stop, Eddie World in Yermo, CA. This gas station just off the 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas has multiple food choices and more snacks than I have ever seen in a travel stop. We’d passed by many times but never stopped. So glad we added it to our list this trip. Next stop, Seven Magic Mountains in Jean, NV. Fun fact: M’s middle name is Jean. Seven Magic Mountains is an art installation created by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. The exhibition opened in 2016 and has been more popular than imagined. On our way from Seven Magic Mountains to the Bonneville Salts Flats, we saw a sign for Great Basin National Park. We decided to execute a drive-by visit since we had the dog.
Great Basin National Park
We found a spot to eat inside a casino in Ely, NV (pronounced ee-lee by the locals). There was a parking spot large enough for us, so we parked and went in. While waiting for our dinner, I was looking on their website, and it said they had an RV park. When Tom inquired at the front desk, the woman had no idea what he was talking about. She did tell him that we were welcome to park in the back lot, where we were parked. After a good night of sleep, we woke up and set off for Great Basin National Park. As we were driving along the road to the entrance, I swore my mind was seeing things when I saw a leg sticking out of the dirt. When we saw fence poles with clothes, I knew my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. After being treated to an unexpected art show the locals created along their fences, we made it into Great Basin National Park.
We drove the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive without hiking. We had the dog, and National Parks are not very dog friendly. After our scenic drive, we went back to Ely, hooked the car back up, and headed to the KOA in West Wendover, NV. After getting settled in, we searched for food. West Wendover is not a child-friendly city. The restaurants are in casinos, and children are not allowed. We went to the Bonneville Salt Flats at sunset. Being on the Salt Flats is like being in another world. The salt changes from location to location. In some places, it’s like sand; in others, it’s hard as a rock. We woke up for sunrise at the Salt Flats, then went after 10 PM when it was pitch black out in the middle of nowhere. At one point, we had our car up to 115 MPH before Tom slowed down. After having a couple days of fun in the Salt Flats, we moved on. Craters of the Moon National Monument had never been on our radar before, but when we saw it, we knew we had to go. We decided to drive through Twin Falls and onto Picabo, ID, to stay at the Picabo Angler RV Park. On our way, we stopped for breakfast in a great restaurant, Bella’s Restaurant & Espresso in Wells, NV. While there, another RV family came in and asked the server about the Salt Flats because it was on the husband’s bucket list. The server talked about how boring it was and not worth the trip. After she walked away, we told them they should do it because we didn’t grow up there like the server did, and we went 3 times in 48 hours or less.
Collapsed lava tube at Craters of the Moon National Monument
On Tuesday, June 22nd, we explored Craters of the Moon National Monument and were awed by the landscape. We went from one other-worldly landscape to another. Have you ever stopped and just marveled at how amazeballs Mother Earth is? Within 1 day of driving, we went from the Salt Flats to hardened lava covering the Earth. A beautiful lake on one side and blackened lava fields on the other. Wednesday, we went early to get our pass to explore the lava tube caves, then we went back home to work and school before actually exploring the caves. You must obtain a pass, and to receive a pass, you must not have worn anything you are wearing in any other caves. White Nose Disease is a disease carried by bats. It causes them to wake up from hibernation early, burn too many calories, and die. There has never been a case of this in Craters, and they would like to keep it that way. According to the ranger, this disease can live on clothing and shoes for 15 years. One woman in the group trying to receive a pass could not obtain one because she had worn her shoes underground and didn’t have another pair to change into.
You can’t, but we could see our breath in this lava tube cave at Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Liv was the most excited to start exploring underground, and Craters of the Moon quickly became her favorite National Park/Monument. There are 4 caves to explore, and we explored all 4. Boy Scout was Liv’s favorite while Beauty was my favorite. It was my first time in a cave, and it was a super cool experience that I am thrilled we experienced. On June 24th, it was time to move on. We had reservations at Flaming Gorge for June 27th, which gave us 3 nights on the road. We left Picabo and started down the road with a plan to overnight near Montpelier, ID. While driving, I found Bear Lake on the map, and it wasn’t too far off our path. Away we went. We unhooked the car and went searching for a spot of BLM land we could boondock on. We found one and set up camp, then went out to explore. We found Rainbow Cove campground and went in to see what it was like. There, we found one last campsite that could have fit 5 or 6 of our RVs. We paid for the site, left the girls and the dog, and went to get our home. We spent the next 3 nights on the shore of Bear Lake, the Caribbean of the Rockies.
A mountain lake swim at Flaming Gorge.
Bear Lake was amazing. It was hard to leave after 3 nights, but we had more Earth to explore and reservations to keep. Away to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, we drove. Our campsite there was not on the water, but it was close. A short hike down a trail that ran next to our camp. Monday, June 28th, we rented a party boat and floated on Flaming Gorge Lake for the day. M and Tom braved the cold mountain water and jumped off the back of the boat. Had it been a hot, sunny day, the water would have felt good. We got a cloudy, overcast day that was kind of chilly. We saw a mama bighorn sheep with two babies, a great blue heron, and an osprey. Flaming Gorge is enormous, and we barely explored any of it. You could spend weeks traveling up and down the lake and still not see all of it.
Gondola at Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.
Leaving Flaming Gorge, I made a Harvest Host reservation at El Rancho Brewing in Evergreen, CO. Our first and only experience. We invited the adult children, their girlfriends, and another friend out for dinner at the restaurant. We pulled into the parking lot, checked in, then went inside to enjoy an ice-cold beer. A friend met us, then the adult children showed up, and we sat down to dinner for 8. It was a strange experience, and we have no reason to ever go back. The parking lot was quiet, and we got a good night’s sleep before getting up early to wash laundry and get on the road. After completing our laundry, we headed for the Royal Gorge/Canon City KOA. We dumped our tanks, filled our water, and went to the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park the next day. The Royal Gorge is the most dog-friendly park we have visited. We took Coco everywhere with us, including the gondola. By the time she made it back to the coach, she was barely moving. For the next three days, she only walked in circles to the left. When we left the Royal Gorge, we had to find somewhere to live. We parked the RV on the side of the road in Lake George, CO, and went searching down the dirt forest roads. We found the perfect spot and went back for the RV.
Petrified redwoods at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.
We spent the 4th of July weekend, and my 42nd birthday, boondocking in the National Forest near Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. On July 3rd, we started exploring Florissant Fossil Beds, but in true Colorado fashion, an afternoon storm rolled in and canceled our plans. We went back on the 4th and were able to hike for a while. We were sitting atop a hill, on a bench, watching lightning and a storm rolling in when we decided to head back to safety. Florissant Fossil Beds was a fun learning experience. Like, who knew there were giant redwoods in Colorado at one time? My favorite was the sign that put the Earth’s timeline into 1 year because that is a time frame we can understand. January 1st was the beginning of the Earth, and we came into the picture at 5 minutes to midnight on December 31st. Crazy when you think about it like that. On Tuesday, July 6th, we headed back to Oceanside for our monthly commitment.
Getting towed. Again.
We arrived in Oceanside and parked at our friend’s house, then met him for breakfast. When we got back to our home to go check-in, it wouldn’t start. We called a tow truck and had it towed to Oceanside Truck, where they discovered we had 4 – 8-volt batteries running a 12-volt system. Or not running the system as the case may be. We had a couple of other things done and booked a room at Harry Belafonte Spa & Resort in Escondido. The vibe was weird, then we met our friend, and he told us about an article he read about it being a rehab that got in trouble and is now a hotel. The room was decent, the pool was relaxing, and nothing terrible happened. Overall it was just weird, without being able to pinpoint what exactly was strange. It was a vibe.
Saturday, May 1st, we were finally leaving Auburn, IL, with our partially remodeled home. We completed the floors, replaced kitchen and bathroom sinks and faucets, bricked the walls, and wallpapered the toilet room. Tom also built the girls’ beds and installed my shelf for storage. We had breakfast with his brother and sister-in-law then we wandered off to a part of the original brick section of Route 66. We couldn’t think of a more fitting place to start our adventure.
Tom & Kim with our new car.
Deb, M, and Kim when we met for the first time ever.
We found the car we wanted, which was not easy with the computer chip shortage. A dealership in Joliet, IL, would have it ready to leave with as we passed through. We stopped and completed the paperwork for a 2021 Chevrolet Equinox we could flat tow. Tom and Liv took off in the RV while M and I cruised down the highways in our new car. We didn’t have a way to tow yet, so I had to drive across the country again. M and I stopped in Colona, IL, to visit another one of my friends, Deb. She is another friend from the Facebook group from years past. The visit was too short, but it was so lovely to finally meet her. We left Colona and headed for Tom and Liv, who’d stopped at the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Iowa, aptly named Iowa 80. It’s in Iowa and it’s on I-80. If you’ve never been to Iowa 80, you must stop as you pass. It’s like a department store. They have an entire semi-truck inside the store. And, it’s like 6 stores in one. It’s crazy large. We walked across the street for dinner at Gramma’s Kitchen and decided to tuck in for the night. In a whole large parking lot just for RVs. A lot of RV delivery drivers were staying overnight, also.
The Archway in Kearney, NE.
While heading across Iowa, that screeching that told us to stop, that was supposed to be fixed? Yea. It wasn’t fixed. It started screaming at Tom and Liv again. Luckily, Iowa, Eastern Colorado, and Nebraska are primarily flat. We stopped at The Archway in Kearney, NE, and explored the museum on our way through Nebraska. I was born in Iowa and moved to Colorado when I was 7. We made a lot of road trips back and forth, then as an adult, I made multiple. Until this stop, I had no idea the archway was a museum. A visually appealing, informative museum. The Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail all crossed paths in Kearney. The museum holds unique exhibits regarding the travelers of each trail. It explores the different eras in the area and is overall a fun and informative stop. We left the museum and headed over to S.A.M.Que for a BBQ dinner before getting back on the road. Shortly after dinner and heading into the sunset, it started to rain. It would intermittently pour sheets of water then barely rain at all. Not seeing very well at dusk and even worse after dark, I no longer felt comfortable driving, so we pulled off in a rest area for the night. We awoke next to a field of cows the following day, took a family selfie with the cows, and drove toward Denver.
Bear Creek Lake State Park
We checked in to Bear Creek Lake Park, and Tom got on the phone with the local Cummins shop. We arrived in Denver on Monday, May 3rd, and Cummins was able to take a look at our home on Thursday, May 6th. Bear Creek Lake Campground was a great campground in the foothills of Denver. We were close enough to visit the adult children, do laundry, and shop without driving too far. We enjoyed wandering the trails in the park. Thursday morning, we packed up the RV and dropped her off at the Cummins shop. We booked 2 rooms at Woolley’s Classic Suites, enjoyed room service and the bathtub. Cummins called Friday morning to let us know that when CIT replaced the fuel system part, they should have replaced a couple of other parts as well. They didn’t, the parts were bad, and the shop ordered them. They were hoping to have them Monday or Tuesday. The girls and I planned a road trip when the parts didn’t come in on Monday. Tom stayed behind in Denver while the girls and I drove back to Oceanside. Tom would follow whenever Cummins was done with our home.
Liv, M, and Kim in Denver at the start of their road trip to Oceanside.
Again, there was rain in the forecast, and it was raining when we left, so we took the southern route to get out of the storm. We pulled into La Quinta Inn & Suites in Holbrook, AZ, to find a room for the night. We settled in then went down the street to Bienvenidos Restaurant for dinner before turning in for the night. We barely got half a mile down the road before stopping at a Route 66 roadside attraction the next day. On our way out of town, there was a closed shop full of ginormous dinosaur sculptures. If they’d been open, we would’ve stopped. They weren’t, so we headed for Oceanside. We checked into the Marina Inn & Suites in the Oceanside Harbor when we got there. My favorite hotel in Oceanside. We were going to have dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack, but we went somewhere else after waiting for an hour. Just as we were getting our food from Rockin’ Baja, Joe’s was texting that our table was ready.
Thursday morning, the girls slept in while I attended my golf committee meeting. Thursday afternoon, we just hung around schooling and working. Cummins was finished with our home in Denver, and Tom was on his way to Oceanside. By the time we woke up Friday morning, Tom was sleeping in the park n’ ride off of the 15 and the 76. We met him at Guajome Park and set up our home. We had fun working the food distribution at VANC Friday afternoon and enjoyed a BBQ with friends that evening. Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Orfila Winery in Escondido to celebrate our friend David’s birthday.
We spent the next month in North County San Diego, Anza Borrego State Park, and Lake Moreno. We completed projects in the RV, including putting the TV on an electric lift and creating a lid. After the June food distribution, we were on our way to adventure.
We finally had our home back and could begin remodeling. With it closing in on the second week of April, I needed to be back in Oceanside, CA, for my volunteer commitment. There was no way we were taking our home back to Oceanside, so we’d made the decision to purchase a plane ticket for me. That gave us a few days to get started. We started taking out the seats and couches, then the flooring. Before we got too far in ripping out the flooring, it was time for our trip to Chicago. I booked us a room at the 21c Museum Hotel for Tuesday, April 6th, and Wednesday, April 7th, for Tom and the girls. A four-ish hour drive typically leaves us hungry and ready to refresh so, after checking in, we went in search of a snack. We found the Rock Bottom Brewery with a rooftop deck nearby. Later, we met my friend Jen and her children for dinner and enjoyed visiting.
Kim and Jen in Chicago after dinner.
Knowing we would be in Chicago, I made dinner plans with my friend, Jen. I met Jen in the same Facebook group as my Galveston friend, 10-ish years ago. A group of about 10 of us grew close and have remained in contact through the years. We met at a time in our lives we needed the support each other gave, and we were in a small, private group that allowed us to get deeper. To share things we couldn’t share on our personal Facebook page. I hope to meet more of the women I love from this group as we travel. Lauri, near Galveston, TX is on the list still since we never made it in February.
The family at The Bean
After breakfast, the family dropped me off at the airport and headed out for some of their own adventures. (M’s POV here. Liv’s POV here.) I sat in O’Hare International Airport, waiting to board my flight. Finally, we were boarded and on our way to San Diego. Our friend, Richard, picked me up, and we discussed dinner. Before we made it back to his place, his daughter called and invited us to dinner with her and her kids. After dinner, we went back to Richard’s to get my car and head to the hotel. Moments after arriving, I locked my keys in the trunk and had to call AAA. One hour, one lovely AAA guy, and a few good laughs later, I was on my way. Luckily, the rest of my night was uneventful. I checked in to my hotel then went to bed after calling the family.
Kim and David at Pacific Coast Spirits.
Thursday morning, I made it to my golf committee meeting, then went and got my hair did. Staying beautifully pink requires a lot of time, and since my hair looked so good after, it was time to meet our friend David for a drink at Pacific Coast Spirits. I love that Pacific Coast Spirits has a cocktail of the month. Part of the proceeds from the cocktail sale is donated to a local Oceanside charity. April’s was Earth Day colors and a slushie. How could I pass that up? It was an early night to bed, where I read and enjoyed the silence.
Packed boxes at Operation America Cares.
Friday brought food distribution and an afternoon of serving our military. Then a night spent relaxing in the bathtub and reading in bed. Saturday morning, I was up early for box packing with Operation America Cares. Since I was in Escondido, I had breakfast with David. Then I picked up breakable chocolate Easter eggs from DaniGirl Cake Pops, and discovered I had locked myself out of storage. I broke in via a locksmith then spent another evening relaxing. Sunday, I met our friend, Buggs, for a drink before heading back to the hotel to pack up for Monday’s departure. Richard had stored our 2008 Jetta, and I was driving it back to Illinois. Alone.
Leaving Las Vegas…I mean…Oceanside.
Initially, I thought I would stop in St George, Grand Junction, and Denver, then decide if I was stopping again or heading straight through to Illinois. After getting started, I decided to forego the stop in St. George, UT, and head straight for Grand Junction, CO. Partway through Utah, on I-70, my car started making a strange noise and freaked me out. I was in the middle of nowhere, and there was no traffic. It was the strangest thing I’d ever experienced. I drove miles and miles and never saw another human. I did see a donkey. I pulled off at an exit and climbed under the car to see if I could figure out the problem. There was a piece of plastic flapping and scraping. I went on down the road, and I stayed the night in Grand Junction, CO, then met one of my son’s old friends for coffee. In a previous life, the children and I lived in Grand Junction, and the two of them had gone to school together, and his family had lived just a couple of blocks away. It was great catching up with him, and he followed me over to Grease Monkey, where they fixed my scary noise problem. The skid plate had lost screws, so they screwed it back in, didn’t charge me anything, and sent me on my way a much happier camper. I hugged Patrick goodbye and pointed the car toward Denver.
Glenwood Canyon, just outside Glenwood Springs, CO, is one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever driven. I stopped along the river for a few peaceful moments of rushing water, taking my time getting to Denver. I found an adorable hotel on the Booking.com app and was excited to check-in. I made it into Denver, checked in to Woolley’s Classic Suites, and drew a bath. When I climbed in, it was even bigger than it looked. Being as short as I am, I had difficulty not floating to the top. The bath was still amazing. The bathtub alone was worth the price of the room. I was up at o’dark thirty and on the road to Auburn. I’d made the decision to drive straight through. Because I was out so early, I didn’t get a chance to stop and see my friend, Doreen, whom I hadn’t seen in years. It was 11 hours to Auburn, and I’d rather get up early than arrive later. I arrived in Auburn, IL, about 9 PM after a long, grueling day of driving in one of the world’s most uncomfortable cars. During that drive, I decided we were replacing it.
Bricking the walls.
Tom and the girls had been hard at work on the RV remodel between work and school. We continued the remodel until May 1st, 2021 when we set back off for Oceanside. We would continue to remodel while we were living in it. The big things were done.
The continuous shrill beep from the RV dash while the STOP light lit up until we slowed down was an annoying way to travel. Every time we hit a slight incline, we would have to drastically decrease our speed to keep the dash from screeching. And when you turn on your flashers, they beep. Add the road noise, and there was some major sensory overload going on. Our drive to Illinois was uneventful, for the most part. Then, we were just outside St. Louis, MO; it was about 6:00 PM on the evening of Friday, March 19th, 2021. The road noise became deafening, then it was silent. We pulled to the side of I-44, where Tom discovered a large hole in one of our tires. Weird, since we’d had our good friend who owns Richard’s Mobile Tire Service in Oceanside, CA, check them out just before leaving. We got him on the phone, and he told us to find someone like him in St. Louis. When we turned the RV back on to limp it down the off-ramp and off the interstate, it wouldn’t move. It was in gear, but the engine just revved each time Tom depressed the gas.
Us with Mark Miner, the owner of Miner Towing.
We called a tow truck then proceeded to sit and wait. On the side of the interstate, staring at the sign for exit 274A on I-44 East. It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate people can be. We are a 38′ long shoebox, and the lane next to us is exit-only. People flew by in the lane closest to us, rocking the motorhome. There were three other lanes to use. Safety first, people. A small tow truck pulled up, and we laughed, knowing there was no way that thing was towing our home. The driver was the owner of the towing company, Miner’s Towing. He came to check on us and make sure we were okay while waiting for his big tow truck capable of towing us.
They are working on the traffic side, and people are using the lane closest. Richard is our mobile tire friend in Oceanside, CA.
After a while, the heavy truck showed up, and they got to work loading our home. They towed us to CIT, a local Cummins authorized repair shop that would also fix our fuel system issue. Tom grabbed an Uber to the airport to pick up a rental car while the girls and I stayed behind at the shop packing up what we thought we would need for an indefinite amount of time. We were hopeful for less than a week but always prepared for more. Luckily, the shop was open until midnight and wouldn’t kick us out on the curb to wait for Tom. Tom arrived with a Ford Escape, and away we went to Auburn, IL. Without our home.
Driveshaft from Powertrain Industries in Springfield, MO, referred by someone in Oceanside, CA.
On Monday, the shop manager called to let us know he was trying to source a drive shaft. By Friday, his only available option was a $5,000 driveshaft. He was trying to talk to someone else but getting the cold shoulder. He supposedly spent all week sourcing a part and was coming up empty-handed. After wasting an entire week and nowhere closer to getting our home back, I reached out to our friend in Oceanside and let him know what was going on. He reached out to some people he knew and came back with a guy’s name in Springfield, MO. We called him, and he discovered that a yoke from Spartan chassis would take 70 days to receive. I don’t know what he was able to do, but he had a drive shaft for us to pick up the very next day. Tom and I drove to Springfield, MO, picked up the custom-built driveshaft, and dropped it off at CIT in Fenton, MO, around 5:30 PM on Thursday, April 1st. They still hadn’t touched the fuel system problem, they’d only had it for two weeks, and it’s our home. No rush. After sourcing the driveshaft and delivering it ourselves, we were able to drive our home back to Auburn mid-afternoon on Friday, April 2nd.
Angad Arts Hotel – red room clawfoot bathtub at sunset.
Since we had to pick up and deliver the part for the fastest service, we left the girls behind with Tom’s brother, Latham, and his wife, Ruth, and had ourselves a night out in St. Louis, MO. We had the red room at the Angad Arts Hotel, and it did not disappoint. After checking in, we climbed the stairs to the rooftop bar to take in the scenery and enjoy a cocktail. It was a bit chilly for our Southern California blood, so we sat indoors, but I saw them taking a blanket to a couple who dared sit outside. We walked practically next door to The Best Steakhouse, recommended by the woman who checked us in. We took our steak back to the room where we ate then enjoyed a soak in the red, clawfoot tub.
Gateway Arch National Park
The following morning we checked in with the shop that had our home and was told they would be done sometime that afternoon. With time to kill after checking out of our hotel room, we searched for lunch. Being in St. Louis, BBQ was a must. We found Pappy’s Smokehouse on the map and made a beeline for the restaurant, where we had the best ribs I have ever eaten in my life. I don’t even like ribs because I am always disappointed by them. Not this time. We drove by Gateway Arch National Park. This may be an unpopular opinion, but we will probably never visit this National Park. I have zero interest, and the girls are not begging to visit.
Lincoln as a young man in the cabin he lived in.
During the two weeks our home was in the shop, we had time to spare since we were not spending every extra moment remodeling, and we could get out and see a few things. Tom was born and raised in Springfield, IL. Did you know Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, Illinois (IL), when he was elected president? Springfield is home to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, so away we went for a field trip. After a quick health screening of “do, you have any COVID symptoms in the last 14 days? Have you been around someone COVID positive in the last 14 days? Are you experiencing shortness of breath?” And inside wrist temperature checks, we were permitted entrance. Liv was on crutches, and thankfully they have complimentary wheelchairs (and strollers) on a first-come, first-served basis.
M and Liv with the Lincoln family.
We were greeted by a lovely gentleman who explained the best way to enjoy the museum as we entered the central courtyard area. We started with a creepy photo of the girls posing with Lincoln’s family. Then explored Lincoln’s Treasures room before entertaining ourselves with the first of their 2 shows, ‘Ghosts of the Library.’ Fascinating show with an actor and holographic effects. It was a short 9 minutes, then we moved to the next theater for a showing of ‘Lincoln’s Eyes.’ This one was a bit longer and very intriguing. The seats vibrated with gunshots and thunder while strobes acted like lightning. We went backward, as our family told us. Really we were trying to not get caught up in the small child field trip. We started in the White House and moved backward in Lincoln’s life to the log cabin he grew up in. It was a great museum, and they did an excellent job presenting the information. My favorite exhibits were Mary’s dresses in the White House and Abraham’s children playing baseball with the ink in the newspaper office Abraham Lincoln owned before becoming president.
The tomb where Abraham Lincoln was first interred in 1865.
After wandering through the open parts of the museum, our family members headed home. At the same time, we took a rainy detour through the cemetery Lincoln was first buried in and is still buried in. Tom’s parents are buried in the same cemetery, but we didn’t find them. It’s an extensive cemetery, and all he remembered was a hill. The cemetery has lots of hills. Then we drove around checking out Tom’s old haunts before heading back to Auburn for a family dinner.
Oak Ridge Cemetery
We were excited to start remodeling our RV and woke up Saturday morning ready to put in the work.
Disco Floor at The Curtis Hotel in Downtown Denver
After deciding Galveston wasn’t in the cards at the time, we re-routed to Denver. We booked a room at The Curtis Hotel and made reservations at Maggiano’s for dinner. We finally got to M’s choice for dinner after they got angry at me for choosing on their actual birthday. The adult children joined us for a pleasant dinner. The Curtis Hotel is a funky artsy hotel, which is why we booked it. They have themed rooms that look super cool. We stayed on the disco floor. Sadly, we didn’t fit in any of the hyper-themed rooms with the four of us. We still enjoyed our room and our stay.
Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs, CO
After accomplishing our work to-do lists, we checked out of The Curtis Hotel and made our way toward Grand Lake. We went the long way to stop at the outlets in Silverthorne. First, we stopped at Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs for a delicious lunch. We’d visited their location in Denver a few times, but this is their original location. After a finger-licking good meal, we saw bighorn sheep on the rocks above their place.
Sign in the Bathroom at Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs, CO
Next, we stopped at the Columbia Sportswear outlet store in Silverthorne, CO, for our winter gear. We each picked out a pair of boots, gloves, ear warmers, and a few other items. When the cashier slid four large boot boxes across the counter at us, Tom mentioned the boxes would not fit in the car. “Can we leave the boxes?” I asked. “If you do, you can’t return the boots,” she answered. “That’s ok. We’re just going to wear them. We’re kinda living out of our car right now, and those boxes won’t fit.” She removes all of the boots from their boxes, slides each pair across to us, and as she is handing us our bag, she says, “I hope things get better for you!” It took a few moments for what she said to register, and I chuckled as I reached the door. We’d just spent $500 in their store, and she thought we were down on our luck. Bless her heart. It was very nice of her. We got a good laugh. In our minds, it seems silly to spend that much money on Columbia wear if we were genuinely unhoused.
Our drive up to the Airbnb condo in Grand Lake, CO.
We pulled up to our Airbnb condo, and there was a lot of snow. Everywhere. There were not many cars in the cute condominium complex. We traipsed upstairs and into the warmth of the condo. After settling in, Tom and the girls went to the store for food and firewood. My fibromyalgia doesn’t get along with cold weather, the entire reason we moved out of Colorado. I changed into sweats, pulled out my computer, and waited for the extra coziness of a fire in the fireplace. We built a fire that crackled as we worked, schooled, and read.
Tubing at Colorado Adventure Park in Winter Park, CO
We spent two weeks in the mountain condo looking over the town of Grand Lake. On our way to the grocery store in Granby, we saw the largest herd of elk any of us have ever seen. There were hundreds in a large field just off the highway. We spent a lot of time working and schooling, but we couldn’t only work and school. One morning, we completed our work and school and headed out to Colorado Adventure Park for an afternoon of tubing. I didn’t tube. With the fibro, I am always afraid of taking a spill. I never do well with falls, no matter how minor. And I was miserable enough.
Hot Sulphur Springs, CO
Late one afternoon, we headed over to Hot Sulphur Springs to take advantage of their natural hot springs. Is there anything better than sitting in hot springs while the air around you is chilled? It’s the best time for a hot spring. We visited four or five different springs at different temps. We even found an extra warm cave in one of the pools. Am I the only one who gets a little freaked out by that kinda thing? I know nothing will happen, but my irrational brain kicks in that a ginormous, blind shark is going to come get me. Just me? Ok.
View of Grand Lake from the Condo we Rented
Grand Lake, CO, was not a horrible place to call home for a couple of weeks. Even if there was snow on the ground. I hoped for a good snowstorm while we were there, but I didn’t get my wish. I was hoping to get snowed in with a fire. Maybe next time. On March 5, 2021, it was time to pick up our home. We could finally start moving in. For real. We drove back to Denver and the body shop who fixed our roof, then we checked into Casey’s RV Hideaway in Elizabeth, CO.
The storm cell we outran. We only ran into a bit of heavy rain.
We checked out of Casey’s on March 9, 2021, with plans to stay at a state park in Mack, CO. Just outside of Denver, the RV started screaming at us to stop again. We were still limited to 25 MPH up hills. Apparently, our best friend Jack didn’t repair the problem like he said he did. We stopped for dinner in Grand Junction and checked the weather. It appeared we would be waking up to snow in Mack. That was not our ideal, so we continued on and took the Moab, UT exit heading South. For a couple of hours, we had rain. Heavy rain at times. We made it out of the storm and had nice weather for the rest of our non-stop drive.
Liv with her crutches waiting for her friends to come back to the tent and keep her company.
We limped into Oceanside, where we camped at Oceanside Harbor for a couple of different birthday parties the girls planned at the beach. Camping at the Oceanside Harbor is not a cheap place to lay your head for a few nights considering it is a parking space in a parking lot, and you can’t put your slide out. It is cheaper off-season than it is during tourist season. Either season you must purchase a day parking pass and a night parking pass for each parking spot. But it is right on the beach, and the harbor is on the other side. You really can’t get a better location unless you are on the beach, which is not allowed in Oceanside. We arrived Wednesday, and the girls had a party planned for Saturday and Sunday. Friday night, while riding skateboards in the harbor parking lot, I heard a scream of pain, and when I looked out, Liv was lying on the ground holding her leg, crying. Liv is not a crier, so I knew something was wrong. I turned down the ambulance a woman had called, got her inside, iced, and discovered she had sprained her ankle. Having crutches on the beach for two birthday parties was not fun for her. Neither was the next 6-8 weeks.
Sunset from Oceanside Harbor Camping
We made an appointment at Oceanside Truck to look into the screaming and our airbags. We were informed that there was something wrong with the fuel system, and only a Cummins authorized repair shop could fix our issue. They said there was no problem with our airbags. The Southern California Cummins repair shops were months out, and we needed it fixed sooner than that. Oceanside Truck said we could limp the RV across the country to Illinois, where we were headed to remodel, and the fuel system issue shouldn’t be a big issue. We finished with our commitments in Oceanside and hit the road for Central Illinois.
Can I color my hair pink? Can I color mine purple? M and Liv asked, respectively. My answer had always been no, but I booked them an appointment when I was in my first golf tournament committee meeting. It was for their birthday, after all. Friday, we dropped them off with an old neighbor who said she would take them every second Friday while we ran the front gate at the VANC Food Distribution. We showed up to pick them up with food leftover from our food distribution and handed it out to some of our old neighbors from the driveway of our old home.
Hotel McCoy entrance and Lundeen Inn of the Arts entrance.
We had a condo booked on the beach on Galveston Island to visit a friend I’ve never met. We met in a Facebook group 10-ish years ago, and are part of a small group of us who built a deeper friendship. We headed out on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. If you lived in Texas then, you probably remember that date. It was the day the Winter Storm of 2021 ended, and the hard work began. We are not TV watchers or news listeners and had no idea there was some big storm in Texas when we headed out. I had booked Hotel McCoy in Tucson, AZ, for a night. Lundeen Inn of the Arts in Las Cruces, NM, for a night. A room in Fort Stockton, TX, and the condo on Galveston Island, TX. When we discovered the storm, we extended our stay at Hotel McCoy by a night, then added an additional night at Lundeen Inn of the Arts.
I Visited the Center of the World Certificates. Can you see Liv’s excitement?
First stop, The Center of the World in Felicity, CA. This is one of those unique roadside attractions one should not miss if they have the time. Liv hates it and thinks it was the most enormous waste of time. The other three of us appreciate it for what it is and had a good time wandering around the grounds. There weren’t many signs indicating where to go, so we weren’t quite sure what the deal was when we first got there and started wandering around the ginormous slabs of granite. This was the Museum of History in Granite that I didn’t even realize was there. Bonus for us. The granite museum is made of ginormous slabs of granite with a different piece of history engraved on them. There is artwork, facts, and stories. The history part is cool, but so was the fact they etched the past into the granite. Sitting atop a hill looking down over the Museum of History in Granite was an adorable one-room church.
Maze of Honor
We also found The Maze of Honor, which was not completed at the time. We haven’t been back, so I’m not sure of the status now. Near The Maze of Honor, we figured out tickets to see the Center of the World were sold in the gift shop. The tickets were $8 per person, and a tour guide would take us into the pyramid that houses the Center of the World. First, we watched a video giving us the history, then the tour guide took us into the pyramid. Our guide took a gazillion pictures of us, and we had a great conversation. After a fun visit, we headed for Hotel McCoy and Tucson, AZ.
Hotel McCoy chalkboard on the back of the door.
Hotel McCoy checked all of our boxes. It is artsy; they support local and seem to have a chill vibe. When we showed up, it was much better than I even imagined. There is art EVERYWHERE. Hanging on the walls in the lobby, painted on the walls outside, hanging in each room. The vibe is definitely chill; the bar is stocked with local beer and wine. Breakfast was an oatmeal bar or frozen burritos. They delivered breakfast to your door because of COVID, not sure if that is still the case. Our room had a framed Chutes and Ladders game board above the desk and a chalkboard painted on the back of the door. The girls loved that feature and immediately set to work on their own art. The room also had a bunk bed, so we didn’t have to listen to them complain about sharing a bed. The best part for us. The following day, we booked the same room for another night and set off for Saguaro National Park (West).
Saguaro
Saguaro National Park is a cactus forest. We have never seen anything like it. We’d never thought of the animals that use a cactus as a home, or food. A cactus seems like the most uninviting plant. Do you know how long it takes a saguaro to grow? It can take up to 10 years for one to grow ONE INCH. By 70 years old they can be over 6 feet tall and flower for the first time. Protect the saguaros. Those things are like Joshua trees and don’t grow fast.
Donuts and swimming
Friday, February 19, 2021, found us celebrating the girls’ thirteenth birthday with donuts the size of their heads and a dip in the saltwater pool at Hotel McCoy. After rinsing from our swim, we headed off toward Las Cruces, NM, with a side trip to the other part of Saguaro National park (East). We arrived in Las Cruces, NM, and checked into Lundeen Inn of the Arts. A charming bed and breakfast run by a mother and her daughter. The daughter checked us in, then the mother called us in our room shortly after we’d arrived to welcome us. She recommended La Posta De Mesilla for dinner, and away we went. The girls are still a little miffed that I chose where to have their birthday dinner since the tradition has always been you get to choose dinner on your birthday. They still sometimes complain about it. The food was delicious, though, so they can complain all they want. They have birds in the lobby, too. How can you hate that?
White Sands National Park
Saturday morning, we traipsed downstairs and joined another couple for breakfast served by the daughter. The mother joined us and filled our heads with stories and information. When we talked about checking out White Sands National Park, she mentioned they had sleds we could borrow, and she would leave them out for us. The other couple at the table had their interest piqued and wanted sleds too. There were enough for everyone. She also mentioned the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site not too far from White Sands, so we added that to our list. Also on our list, the World’s Largest Pistachio. We had to see that. And it just happened to be on the way to Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
Sledding at White Sands was so much better than snow sledding! I am not a cold-weather girl, and I never enjoyed sledding. I enjoyed sledding. It was chilly, but I wasn’t getting wet to add to the chill, and I didn’t have to bundle up, barely able to move. Once the girls had their fill of sledding, we ventured off to the World’s Largest Pistachio and Three Rivers Petroglyph Site.
The World’s Largest Pistachio
The World’s Largest Pistachio resides in Alamogordo, NM, at McGinn’s Pistachioland. We were taking a selfie because we always do, when a guy standing nearby asked if we would like him to take our picture. We agreed, and as soon as I handed over my phone, his buddy told him to run. Luckily, he didn’t listen to his friend and took a lovely picture of us. As he handed my phone back, Liv thanked him for not running off with my phone. He chuckled as he walked away.
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
With over 21,000 petroglyphs, this site is fantastic. We didn’t see all of them, but we were pleased with the ones we did see. The things they left behind, the hints at their past and culture. This is a self-guided hike with a book you may pick up at the trailhead with facts and locations.
Birthday Dinner choice at Olive Garden.
We made it back to Las Cruces, NM, in time for dinner. Liv got to choose, so we ended up at Olive Garden. We enjoyed our dinner with a birthday song and dessert before ending our day reading in bed. Galveston was not going to happen. Texas was just getting water and electricity back. We didn’t feel right going down and taking what they needed, so we pivoted, canceled our condo on the beach, and booked a condo in Grand Lake, CO.
