Home Again- But the Pictures are from 4 Days Ago

This is Fancy Pig... she was a gift from Kamryn. She is surveying the campsite in Estes Park.

Gosh and SheNayNay surveying the campsite, as well.

The view from our campsite was beautiful!

Our morning walk revealed some really pretty flowers!

Not as easy to capture with a pocket digital camera, but we tried.

Anyone looking for property in CO? Beautiful view...

THIS was supposed to be the better picture of me... o well. The start of the ride through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Gosh contemplating his boyhood journeys through the park.

SheNayNay contemplating the wind gusts on the way to the peak. She definitely needs a pedicure... Here she still has toes on each foot but by the end of the journey, she only has 3 toes on one foot! 

The peak! What a view!

Kewpie wants so badly to run through the snow! Can't get her this excited about snow in the winter, I tell you!

More view from the peak.

And more...

Yep- it's deep snow!

Still more from the peak. Crazy how much it changes as you look around...

More views... Also, did I mention that it's really quite chilly?

Good thing we brought our chaps... 

So there were these people and cars are flocked around on the side of the road. There are signs expressly prohibiting stopping anywhere that is not really a stop, so we figured there must be something good. Look! The Elk Boys gathered for breakfast!

Gosh thought about joining them, but he'd already had his breakfast, so he just gave them all the thumbs up!

Aren't they something?

This is actually a picture of the Washington DC license plate we were stuck behind at a road construction site. It says, "Taxation Without Representation" at the bottom and in the corners it says to "see front window for sticker". Gosh thinks it's not real. I told him to ask the guy, but we didn't. We DID end up seeing him again on our way through the salt flats in UT! Is it possible he's making a statement? We SO should have asked him...

Just chillin at the road construction...

Yep- chillin...

Well, it's been a journey! I'll take more time to share but I thought that after the past few days of having limited access to the internet, I'd just post some pictures for now...

July 8

A big, brown bear digging in a tipped-over dumpster in Estes Park;
Frozen tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park;
Snow deeper than I am tall;
Being over 2 miles above sea level;
The elk boys chillin' with their new, fuzzy antlers in Rocky Mountain National Park;
The friendly guy who stopped to talk to us as we photographed the elk boys;
The sudden wind that gusts up under my helmet and makes me a feel a bit like Mary Poppins;
Knowing we are about to head into a storm and looking over to see blue skies:
A deluge of hail on Highway 40 over Rabbit Ear Pass (I caught some in my mouth! Well, I had to!);
Riding through and out of at least 3 rain cells (or the same one? skirting in and out of it);
The guy who lost his friend but joined us on our final 30 miles for the day;
An antelope grazing with his new, black fuzzy antlers;
A rainbow (as seen in CO after passing into UT and out of the rain);

Yep, CO is indeed a colorful state- just like the sign says...

We are in a bad spot to add pictures- stay tuned for a few tomorrow... at least a couple of the Park and the elk boys!

A Few Pictures

Kewpie loved the park in Ft. Morgan so much, she tangled Gosh to try to get him to take her there again before we left.

See? She's trying to pull him!

SheNayNay and I realized not everyone knows what the KOA cabins look like so we decided to take you on a tour. They are all the same. This is the second room of a 2 room cabin.

This is the first room which looks the same as the smaller, one room cabins.

The first room on the other side.

The front... not bad, eh?

July 7

Well, we finally rode through the rain that has been threatening us since we embarked on this trip. We were following the Big Thompson River on highway 34 to our KOA in Estes Park, CO when we hit the deluge we managed to avoid on motorcycles but hit on our walk yesterday. We were soaked! I mean, it pooled in my seat and in my boots- SOAKED! We pulled into the KOA and it had pretty much stopped ( it all happened in not more than 15 minutes) and the KOA staffer said we must hate riding right now. Had he been outside a minute earlier, he'd have heard me exclaim, "That was AWESOME!!" to Gosh.

Today was REALLY mellow. I don't think we rode 100 miles. We stopped at Thunder Mountain Harley Davidson in Loveland, CO for Gosh to have the oil changed on Thor. That was about 50 miles from Ft. Morgan. They got everything squared away while we had lunch. Perfect!

We were riding through the high plains and could see the mountains and thunderhead in front of us. Well, we could hit or miss it, really. The roads got twistier, the river was gushing, and we saw plenty of riders coming through unscathed. Then a few drops- big, fat ones. Then a few more... and then the onslaught! We pulled over to add raincoats to our gear before being completely drenched but it was weird- the calf part of my legs got soaked, but my thighs stayed dry. My face actually got a bit wet, which doesn't really happen, either.

Like I said, we pulled in to KOA and the rain had about stopped and in the time it took to finalize our registration, the sun was burning off the streets- literally, we were watching steam come off the road surfaces! The view was spectacular! Before the deluge, we passed the Devil's Backbone- awesome! Sorry there's no picture of that. What can I say- it is really beautiful in the Rocky Mountains- you should consider a visit!

We got settled in, Gosh went to the store for dinner- (mmmm steak! I think going through all those stockyards (there were more today) made me hungry for some steak- is that wrong?) and we headed to the Estes Lake to walk the Kew... We felt like the beauty couldn't be captured in photographs, so I took a quick video that may do a better job but probably not as great as what we were seeing.

OH! And we picked up a copy of the local Thunder Roads and read a great article about protesting the Westboro Baptist Church who protests veteran funerals and when veteran remains are returned. We are bringing it home to share with Don and Laurie.

AND there is an outdoor supply store across the street from the KOA so while Gosh fixed dinner, I looked for new shoes- those Keens were shot! They didn't have Keens but I did find a sweet pair of Merrills.

Dinner is finished, Gosh is doing dishes as I type this and it has started the evening steady rain... Happy trails, everyone!

Pictures are not working... could be the storm? Stay tuned... they will be on their way.
 

July 6 and a little bit of 7

I think it must take me at least a day to process what's going on... I think there should be something more to write by way of explanation but I don't know what it is. That will have to be enough...

We got back on route 30 yesterday- it hadn't been open due to flooding. I-29 was still closed when we came to the exchange between I-680, I-29 and RTE 30. After stopping in Missouri Valley, NE for food and fuel, we headed out to cross a very flooded Missouri River. I don't know what it normally looks like, but it was about 3" below the road surface on either side of the bridge that normally spans the river. And the smell? I feel horrible for the folks living there because the sewage must be all kinds of backed up!

Also in NE, high octane fuel is less expensive because it contains ethanol! We saw all kinds of signs about using green energy- if they are accurate, NE is on the ball and maybe we should look into investing.

This morning started off as a haul-ass kinda day but after we looked into it, we decided to take highway 34 to Yuma, CO. There were supposed to be thunderstorms, so we didn't want to be hauling butt on the interstate nor did we want to push 400 miles so we settled on Yuma with the idea that it would only be another hour to the interstate if we couldn't find a place to stay. (There are no KOAs on the eastern side of CO!) 270 miles to Yuma with a few stops for road construction and we fueled up and decided to push to Ft. Morgan- not much happening in Yuma.

NE was all kinds of corn until we hit the western side, then we came up on a grip of stockyards. The eastern side of CO also had a grip of stockyards with a few cornfields thrown in. It's like they wanted to blur the state line and leave us confused. I will say that about 50 miles from the CO border, the landscape changed- it looked more high-deserty and we could tell we were getting close.

And staying out of the rain? The bikes and Paco Loco Llama have been out in the rain but we have been ridiculously lucky! We hit some rain for about 15 minutes today but managed to stay out of it, otherwise. We got in to our room at the Super 8 in Ft. Morgan, unpacked and left to take the Kew outside... within minutes there was a total deluge! We got soaked and Kewpie couldn't get back to the room quickly enough. Fifteen minutes later it was over and the sun was out. We headed out again. After we got back to the room, it settled on a steady rain for a bit.Welcome to summer monsoon, right? Gosh and I high-fived a couple times about our luck!

We ordered dinner from Acapulco Bay- chilis relleno and a stuffed sopapilla- and devoured it in mere moments and spent the evening watching the clouds from our window. Our bellies fat and happy after a great day of riding!

BUT WAIT! This morning Kewpie and I ventured out in the other direction and came upon the most FABULOUS park! On the South Platte River, we found baseball fields, a pond full of ducks, geese and swans, campsites, and a wonderful river path. Kewpie says we can come back ANY time.

A final note- we saw yesterday morning that our Phoenix friends survived and even laughed at the haboob that hit. What a crazy thing to see! Shouts out to Phoenix desert rats and their ability to laugh at the title of the crazy weather thing they got to see. Haboob?

Kewpie's morning hunt in Grand Island

Happy Puppy!

Lissy stopped for road construction

Gosh adjusting ear buds(volume is not working right on the stereo)

SheNayNay and Fancy Pig (the itty bitty blue dot) chiilin' in the room in Fort Morgan, CO

Cool bridge over the South Platte River

Lissy self portrait at the park in Fort Morgan, CO

OH! AND there I was trying to take care of some banking and i couldn't! My bank changed hands and everything has to be re-entered! Talk about frustrating! Poor Gosh got an earful about how angry I am. Thanks to this blog, I have let go and realize no matter how angry I am at the inconvenience, there is nothing I can do until I get home. Ha!

July 5

We rode over 400 miles yesterday and with stops, it took us nine hours. The first part of the ride was easygoing... Slower speeds through Amish country. We saw horse and buggy riders, bicycle riders, families tending to their farms, laundry- colorful dresses hanging everywhere, even a man working  gas powered mower with his horse. Interesting to me where the line gets drawn- no driving a gas powered motor but it's okay to have things brought to you by a gas powered motor and it's okay to re-use a gas powered motor pulled by a horse. Very interesting.

Then came the freeway. LOTS of freeway. And corn and soybeans. How much is for food to feed humans and how much is for corn syrup, ethanol, that new plastic, food for our food (like for the cows and pigs...) and things like that... These are the thinks you think when traveling 70 MPH staring at a world of corn and soybeans...

The highlights...

1. The police insignia in IN is a wheel with wings.
2. There is no helmet law in IN but I did see a sign with a full helmet that said, "Get it on!"when we entered the freeway from a rest area.
3. We stopped for fuel outside Chicago and happened to be across the street from White Castle at lunch time... YUM!
4. Kewpie continues to draw attention as the biker dog and I think she is really having a good time with it!
5. Kay at the Newton, IA. KOA greeted us with locally made bleu cheese and riesling wine.

Our KOA was fabulous! Nestled in Newton, we have a pond for the Kew to run amuck around and she was in HEAVEN! We were warned of a large snapping turtle but we didn't see it... Instead I almost stepped on a snake and we were hounded by little black birds- again! What is that about? I think we are too close to their home but still...

Oh, and I almost forgot about St. Mary of the Assumption Church... assumption of what?

SheNayNay considering the White Castle feast

MMMMMM- yum! We give it a thumbs UP!

Kewpie at the pond at the Newton KOA

You should have seen her give that rabbit chase~!

This picture does no justice... there is SO MUCH CORN! But in this picture, it just looks flat...

Gosh got me good beer... with the trailer, it's reminiscent of Reno eNVy, dontcha think?

They look like motorcycles, but they are also clotheslines!

Or maybe a motorcycle Westfalia?

This is in Missouri Valley... we saw this was before we crossed the river. Once we crossed the river, this made much more sense!  

Kewpie hunting in Grand Island, IA. You know how she digs?

Well, this is who she found! She gently pulled him out to make friends... it was pretty crazy! Poor thing is probably STILL trying to figure out what happened!

July 4

We left on my parents' house a bit later than planned. It's hard to leave my parents, you know? I think it's hard for them, too. Am I coming in for winter break? How long before we get to see each other next time? This and some other things put us behind and by the end of the day, Gosh was a  bit thin-lipped...

But that's later. The day was beautiful and riding across route 6 was stunning! Lots of green, rolling Endless Mountains. A real joy to ride! Nothing too technical, just lots of sweeping curves. We saw lots of trucks carrying water and stuff for fracking oil. I don't get it but I know the oil companies that have moved in are pretty happy in the area from Hop Bottom through Mansfield. Part of me thinks Gosh would be perfect working around here but then I remember WINTER and remind myself that as a desert rat I would not be happy if we got stuck.

We finally pull into the KOA in Erie after missing the exit. They were full... this started us on a path of near destruction- finding a room in Erie, PA that allows dogs and is reasonably priced during a holiday weekend. One place would require us to backtrack again and was priced over $300! They should GIVE you a puppy!We finally hit upon a run-down room where the owners recently changed hands (and assured us they were renovating- as if that was any consolation...) on highway 5 for $130, including the pet fee. The air conditioner worked and we walked to the market for a salad kit and potato salad to go along with the leftover ribs (thanks, Joanna and Steve!).

Gosh and I kept trying to stop, but we bickered until we went to sleep. Some days are like that.

Kewpie and I took our morning walk and I completely forgot the camera! Erie must have a love of frogs because there are huge frog statues decorated in from of an elementary school, shopping plaza, and veterinary clinic. The elementary school was a perfect place to let the Kew run amuck! From there, we found a park and watched two raccoons duke it out. I think they were raccoons... they weren't cats...

Lunch was at the Thirsty Pony in Sandusky, OH. Lobster bisque and personal deep dish gets 2 thumbs up!

On July third, we headed out for route 6 again. We followed it along PA and into OH. You could tell we were close to water but we couldn't really see it until Cleveland. Whoa! We stopped in Edgewater and there was a snack stand where we got a chocolate malt and nachos and I stuck my tootsies into the ginormous lake. Really cool! We read how there used to be bathhouses until the '50s because the population was so large and without running water. Interesting to look at those photos of large tent-looking things and know that people were in there to clean up.

From there, we hit the 'burbs. The architecture was stunning! Stone and brick apartment buildings with balconies and and porches for each... then huge homes along the lake. Some were a bit smaller and some were even for sale and I thought of Toby and Mom and how much they would enjoy living with a view of the lake.

Still, from PA to OH, it flattened out considerably. Green! But flat. Gosh pointed out the nuclear power plants along the lake... at least 5. Crazy! And the speed limit... from 35 to 45... we did not make the time we thought. TOTALLY worth it but when we stopped for lunch we decided to head for the freeway.

Lunch along the Allegheny River in Smethport, PA

SheNayNay, Kewpie and Kashi...Our hotel in Erie, PA

Riding along highway 20 in OH along Lake Erie

Enjoying a snack and the view at Edgewater, OH

Dipping our tootsies in Lake Erie

Guarding the boots but enjoying the view

Yep, that's Cleveland in the background

Thirsty Pony in Sandusky, OH

We met some Motor Maids on their way to a convention... SheNayNay made friends with their companions. I am certain they talked about all the cool places they've been.

Middlebury, IN is Amish country. 

You see alot of things driving across the country. Some of them you file away to save. At least you THINK you do... there I am soaking up landscape, architecture, smells, people, automobiles... and thinking I am filing it away. Like a Rolodex... I see a Volkswagen bug for sale somewhere, for instance. I file it's appearance, location and cost into the CAR file of the Rolodex. It must be the same file I've been using since I was a kid riding around with my dad looking at old Chevy's, Fords, and Olds... it's pretty thorough if it's a '67 GTO... that bug? Nada! I know I saw a bug for sale somewhere today between. The rest is gone. I thought I filed it into "CAR" but when I opened the file to drop it in, it just went into a black hole of "not-necessary-to-remember" and I realize that having the experience is more important even then remembering the experience.