Corn, Corn, Corny

Hi all: 

I haven't written in a few days because I've been so busy planting corn!!!  You saw pictures of the trailer packed with sod we removed from Gerry's and Mom's yard.  Then we got the rototiller out of the barn and it's the slowest piece of equipment I've ever seen!  It took two days to do a plot 30 x 30, and another day to do a plot 10 x 20 in Mom's yard.  We soaked the corn seeds overnight.  This morning we were all up at 8 am planting seeds before the hot sun came around.   Don't we look like a bunch of vagrant workers?

I planted this plot all by myself!!

Why didn't we have any hot water?  Check this out!  A main component in the circuit breaker panel overheated due to a loose screw.  This caused several other wires to over heat and fail.  Thanks to Jim we saved ourselves mucho bucks for repairs.  

  

Site Seeing To Tiny Town

Jim, Tom (Jim's brother) and I took an all-day trip to see where Tom grew up after his siblings left home.  We drove up this beautiful canyon and entered the city of Morrison.  Very quint and laid back town.  We passed through Tiny Town on the way which is a tourist spot for kids.  There is a riding, minature train and a town of small buildings.  Tom remembered how he helped build the railroad tracks when he was a teen.  We visited the house where Tom grew up, then drove further up the canyon to a 10 acrea meadow that Tom has always wanted to own.  The three of us trespassed onto the property to look around.  Oh, oh!!  The roof of the metal barn was gone, but inside there was a 1958 Jaguire, 1955 pickup truck, a 1962 VW bug, some canoes, and a small boat.  Amazing!!  The 100 year-old log house of about 300 sq feet was leaning, worse than the Barthaven cabin used to be. There were two 1930s pickup trucks parked out back, all rusted out.  Can't you just picture this place in it's prime?  The folks that owned the land passed away, and Tom thinks the property passed down to the kids.  He is researching the ownership to see if they would like to sell the property.

We drove approximately 2 miles up a dirt road to see the Lindo Cemetary. This cemetary is unique in that it is located at approximately 8,000 feet elevation and people are buried in crypts either in the ground or above ground all over the mountain top. A VERY large, lighted cross on the mountain side can be seen from 

 downtown Denver. No grass, just the natural mountain scenery. It was unlike any cemetary I've seen.

We left there and drove along the mountain route to Pine City. In the 1800s, the Denver and South Park Railroad wound its way along the Platte River from Denver eventually through South Park to Breckenridge. We stopped for lunch at the Buck Snort Saloon, which used to be the Sphinx Park Mercantile way back when. Rustic log cabins still remain perched precariously on granate rock outcroppings. This place was definitely a Colorado mountain experience!

All in all, it was a fun-filled day.

Today is Raea's birthday and she's 4 years old.  Happy Birthday Raea!!!

The Sunshine Is Back!

Taco Soup - Umm!!

55 degrees, rain, thunderstorms, and hail.....that's we we've had the last couple of days!  We feel like we're back in WA!!!  Consequently, I got the urge to make taco soup for the gang.  Hope they like it! 

I found a wonderful used clothing store called ARC and have been there twice, so far.  Lot's of treasurers to be had, including bathrobe and slippers, like new!  The prices are right!!  Found Jim brand new Trader Joe tan shorts for when the weather decides to cooperate. 

Thank goodness for our new GPS because I'd be lost without it!  If I need to go to the closest Ace Hardware, I enter the name and.....voila!........Navagail takes me right to the door!  I'd be lost without her. 

Mom's 94 Birthday

We celebrated Jim's mom's 94 birthday yesterday with her favorite meal; fried chicken, mashed potatoes and country gravy, corn on the cob (cut off the cob for her), fresh fruit salad, and angel food cake with strawberries and home made icecream.  Umm!  Good thing we don't eat that way every day!!!  Jim's two sisters and brother were there on Mom'e beautiful deck celebrating with us.  Two night ago, we had cousins, wifes, and the Allen family at Gerry's house for a BBQ of salmon. 
 

The weather is still remaining in the 80s.  You can't beat it!  We are surrounded by acres of horse ranches.  In fact, the next door neighbor is a professional wildlife photographer, and she and her husband drive hundreds of miles looking for wild horses to photograph.  Didn't know wide horses still existed, did you?  Her work is amazing and sells on eBay.  If you like horses, Arvada, CO is the place.  Maybe I'll go riding one day.

Got out my oil paints and plan to see if I still have the ability to capture flowers and scenery on canvas.

Well, today is Friday, June 4, our first full day in Denver.  It is hot at 84 degrees, but we are enjoying the beautiful blue skies and fluffy clouds. 

Jim's been busy running back and forth to Home Depot and Camping World buying electrical and plumbing gagets to connect to his Mom's house for ongoing sufficient services. I kept busy transplanting some ground cover for his Mom.  Jim's sister Charlotte has a long list of stuff I can help her with around the yard.  She never stops!!  I won't be bored, but most of the work will need to be done early morning or evening as it's too hot mid-day.

Stayed a comfortable night in the Walmart parking lot in Rock Spring, WY.  Had to be there to appreciate it!  We shared the lot with several other RVs and trucks that appreciate it as well.

This morning we left Rock Springs and drove across the entire width of Wyoming, and the "great basin".  It was a beautiful drive through red rock mountains.  The average altitude was 7,000 feet.  Finally reached Laramie and drove south to Fort Collins and down to Denver. 

Arrive about 5 pm just in time for a family reunion, cocktails, and dinner.  We are settle in Mom's back yard, all leveled with the awning out.  It was a beautiful, star-filled night, filled with travel stories, and catching up on the latest happenings with all the Allen family.  When we arrived it was about 80 degrees.  We had to turn on the air conditioning in BAM as it was quite warm.   

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin, keep those doggies rollin, roll on........ The rain from Seattle finally made it to Boise this morning.  As we left there, we waived goodbye and finally found blue skies and beautiful scenery in eastern ID, Utah and western Wyoming.  We didn't get as far as we hoped.  Took I-84 via Twin Falls and Ogden.  Enjoyed driving along the Snake River and the Wasatch Mountain range.  The scenery was so beautiful so I took a bunch of photos.  However, when I stuck the disc into the computer and browsed, all the photos I took today were done.  In addition, the photo I took of Rebecca and Raea before we left is gone!  I'm sick!!!!  There will be many more photos though, so stay tuned.

    

We heard an occasional faint peeping noise in BAM we couldn't identify and finally discovered the security alarm in the Subaru had been set off by the rough construction roads.  Despite all the rolling hills of Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming, and pulling the Subaru, we're getting 8 miles per gallon.  Maybe it was just a tail wind.  Temperatures were mid 70s today and we actually had to turn on the air conditioner.  

Here we are again in the Walmart parking lot along with several other campers.  As long as we don't have to dump or get water, dry camping is fine with us, and cheap!   Denver, here we come!      

First day on the road and everything went well.  Kept up with all the big dogs on the highway.  Just as we hoped for, the weather got better on the other side of Snoqualmie Pass.  Headed down southeast on Hwy 84 and made Boise around 9 p.m.  Walmart is not a pad place to park free overnight, when permission is granted, of course.  Alan and Kate picked us up in the Walmart parking lot close to their house and took us to dinner.  We enjoyed the smooth and noise free ride in the "BAM" (Big Ass Motorhome - hehe).  We expect to be somewhere in eastern Wyoming tonight.