Category Archives: Colorado

Colorado

FCRV Rolling Springs (Colorado City KOA)

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Friday was another wash & wax day since I was so rudely interrupted by the exploding expandable hose that I talked about in my previous post.  I decided to get another pocket hose from WalMart on Friday after doing some research on-line.  It seems that no matter which version of expandable hose you choose – there are many negative reviews on each.  The pocket hose is cheaper than the x-hose and this time I saved the receipt.  Anyway, I finally got the whole coach washed… it’ll take awhile for the waxing though – one section at a time is the best approach 🙂

On Saturday, we decided to go see the folks in the camping group we belong to – the Rolling Springs Chapter (FCRV).  So we jumped into the Silverado and drove down to the KOA in Colorado City where the group is having their weekend campout.  We “crashed” the party and got caught-up with folks… especially my Dad and Stepmom.  This KOA is about 65 miles South of Colorado Springs.  We stayed here with the group once last year.  Nice campground, but of course at KOA prices…

When we arrived around noon-time, most folks were out enjoying the local sites so we hung out with Biff & Linda Anderson outside their Monaco Coach (we still had our folding chairs in the back of the Silverado) until my Dad and Stepmom Elaine got back.  It was great catching up with them… Biff & Linda were especially helpful to us before we started our trip up to the Pacific NorthWest back a couple/few months ago… they provided us invaluable tips on routes and best places to stay because they had been before.  Thanks Biff & Linda!  It was great seeing you again.

Finally, my Dad & Stepmom Elaine arrived back at the CG.  It was really good to see them again too!  We haven’t seen each other since late July when we convoyed together to Lake Tahoe and spent an awesome week together at the Sugar Pine Point CG with some cousins that live in California.

This is the first opportunity we had to see Dad’s new Jeep!  He hasn’t gotten the baseplate installed yet to tow it behind his “FRED”.  That’s short for Front Engine Diesel.  It is made  by Gulfstream and the model is the Crescendo.  Elaine drove the Jeep down from COS, following Dad in the Coach.  Next time, I’m sure he’ll have it set up to tow.

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Dad “Bill” and his new 2014 Jeep Sahara

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Nice Jeep Dad!

Of course as soon as a hood goes up, others come by to check it out too 🙂

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I got to test drive it.  We all piled in and went over to Graneros Gorge which is just minutes South of the CG.  Although we didn’t need 4-wheel drive – it was still fun hitting the dirt road to get there.  Here we parked near the edge of the gorge.

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There are the remnants of a gazebo on the edge.  At least that’s what my research determined this was.

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View down into the gorge.

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And here we are looking down into the gorge.  You can see Dad’s new jeep in the background.

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I posed for a picture near the edge… Stilla kept telling me to take one step back…

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We got back to the CG in time for happy hour with the group.

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It wasn’t long after happy hour was over and we all gathered together again inside the community room for our traditional Saturday evening potluck.  Tonight’s potluck theme was chili.  We had every sort of chili known to man and as usual there was more than enough to go around.

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Again, it was fun seeing all the great folks again in the Rolling Springs Chapter of FCRV.  C U all next time!

I started this post yesterday morning (Sunday) but just now (Monday) got it posted due to interruptions.  We picked up our son William and his girlfriend from the airport in Denver (DIA) on Sunday evening and have been running around all day today doing some sight-seeing and shopping… but I’ll do a separate post on that shortly…  I need to post this one first.

 

Colorado

Reunion with old Co-workers (Colorado Springs, CO)

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We’ve been parked at the house since my last post and I’ve been taking my time to wash and wax the Urban Escape Vehicle while Stilla is inside the house cleaning in preparation for son William’s visit from Germany this coming Sunday.  The undercarriage and especially the wheelwells got pretty muddy when we left Westley, CA in the rain as I mentioned in this earlier post:  (http://www.urbanescapevehicle.com/westley-ca/).  We also drove through a lot of rain along I-70 while hurrying back from Las Vegas.

My washing efforts got slowed down yesterday when my expandable hose burst.  I’ve been carrying around one of those “pocket hoses” that I got from WalMart which has been great for it’s storability characteristics but apparently not so great for durability.  When I went to use the hose, I noticed that water was squirting out of a pinhole.  It wasn’t long before the green outer covering split and the clear plastic inner hose oozed out… it looked like a big fat sausage skin that bloated up until it exploded in a shower of water.  This incident made me think about the commercial regarding the X-hose where they warn you not to be fooled by imitations.  Wish I saved the receipt.  Anyway, I got rid of all of my old hoses here at the house when I was down-sizing to go full-timing, so I need to go buy a new hose.  I certainly don’t want to use my drinking water hose for washing, it’s important to keep it clean and free of contamination for filling the water tank and hooking up at campgrounds.

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The Urban Escape Vehicle parked in front of the house.

I got a surprise message from my good friend, old co-worker, and former roommate, Maile Unten, who follows the blog and noted that we were back in town.  She kindly invited me on behalf of the agency that I used to work for, the Missile Defense Agency Integration & Operations Center (Schriever AFB), to come to their “end of fiscal year” celebration to be held at Cheddars on the North end of town.  The end of the fiscal year (FY) is a big deal for the Contracting Directorate that I used to work for… a lot of long hours and hard work is put into getting all the funds obligated and contracts awarded before the end of the FY when funds expire.

I went alone since Stilla was in the middle of cleaning the house as I mentioned earlier.  It sure was great seeing most of my old co-workers again.  There were a couple new faces too.

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The MDIOC “Contracting Directorate” crew. Maile Unten is at the bottom left.
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The MDIOC “Contracting Directorate” crew. The director (Bob) is at the head of the table.

We caught up on things while we passed around appetizer dishes between folks.  Bob, the “Contracting Directorate” Director, graciously showed his appreciation for everyone’s hard work and dedication by paying for the first round of drinks.  Thanks Bob!

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And Maile surprised me by paying for my appetizer and drinks… Thanks Maile!  You didn’t have to do that.  And thanks for the invitation!  It was nice seeing everyone again, I just wish that my old boss, Sandra Yaden, had been there as well… I was told that she is on a well-deserved vacation.  Take care Sandy – hope all is well with you.

I was told that the group’s annual Christmas Party is already scheduled for Dec 10th at the EdelWeiss restaurant here on the South side of COS.  Our current plan calls for us to be far South by then to stay ahead of the freezing weather, but you never know…

I made it back home in time to watch the sun go down behind Pikes Peak from our front porch.  Our house is situated at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we get a nice unobstructed view of the mountains up the street from the front of the house.  The back of the house overlooks downtown COS.

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Stilla, oldest daughter Jennifer, and grandson Kaan on the front porch.

In other news – the camping group we belong to along with my Dad and Stepmom; the Rolling Springs Chapter of the Family Campers & RV’ers – is holding the last group campout of the year this weekend.  It is down in Colorado City at the KOA.  Unfortunately, we won’t be able to attend since William is coming in on Sunday and we have to drive to Denver to pick him up along with his new girlfriend.  If time permits, we plan on maybe driving down in the Silverado on Saturday to visit with folks.  My dad already went down a day early on Thursday to get the most out of the weekend.  Hope you guys are having fun Rolling Springs FCRV!

Welp… I have to go find a new waterhose, so that’s all for now.

Stay tuned…

 

Colorado

6000 miles later – Back at the House (Colorado Springs, CO)

On Monday we left the Elks Lodge in Saint George, UT early in the morning.  I really would have liked to stay here, what a nice lodge and RV park area!  The lodge had brats and nachos for donations in the bar area, so that was our dinner.

We needed to get back home to prepare for our son William’s visit from Germany.  He’ll be here the 5th of October and he’s bringing his girlfriend that we haven’t met yet.  So we made a bee line straight for our house in Colorado Springs.  Sorry, no pictures today… I know you’re disappointed, but with the fast pace and often rainy windshield, the pics wouldn’t have turned out very good anyway.

We continued North on 1-15 until we hit I-70.  We made it all the way to Grand Junction, CO by Monday evening.  A grand total of 392 miles!  If you’ve never seen the San Rafael Swell along I-70, it’s definitely worth stopping at the rest areas to view.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Rafael_Swell

We researched the Elks.org website and found a lodge in downtown Grand Junction that claimed to have 4 electrical hook-up sites.  I didn’t call ahead figuring that since it was Monday, they were sure to have a spot.  Sure enough, they had 4 electrical hook-ups all on the same pole in the middle of their empty parking lot.  The lodge was closed so I called the number listed on the website, which was the same as the number posted on the door, and got no answer.  There was a box on the pole with empty envelopes in it, so I put $10 along with our business card in it and slipped it under the lodge door.  We hooked up to the 30 amp, watched a little TV and went to bed so we could get another early start in the morning.

On Tuesday, we continued on I-70 and drove through the rain at times.  It sure was beautiful near Vail with all the aspen leaves changing colors and snow on the mountains around us.  I was a little worried about the rain turning into snow on the Eisenhower Tunnel Pass so I researched a “short-cut” over Hoosier Pass and the weather outlook said it was dry.  So, we turned South at Dillon Reservoir and took 9 through Breckenridge and then over Hoosier Pass.  Sure enough, it was dry and easy going.  The weather even cleared up nicely the closer we got to I-24 and then home.

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So, after another 290 miles for the day, here we are in Colorado Springs again.  We’ve put a grand total of 6,100 miles on the Urban Escape Vehicle since we started full-timing in May.  It’s good to be back for a short time and see daughter’s Jennifer and Joleen again.

I’ll post again soon to keep you apprised of our status… hopefully we can get back on the road again soon.  Maybe, I can use this “downtime” while son William is visiting, to update the blog with the places we visited before I started the blog… I’ve got some great pics of our time at such places as: Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, the RV Rallies in Portland and Redmond OR, Mt Rainier, and Mt Saint Helens, etc.,

So stay tuned…