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May 2007: Tom's in Iowa; Kay Goes to VA and Returns to the Mid-West; Utah Rocks!

31 May 07: We have ventured into Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. In between those road trips, we took a UNIMOG ride on Hell's Revenge, an extremely tough 4-wheel trail over slickrock. Read about Unimogs. Today, we're just plain tired so the men foraged for food and I'm doing laundry. My nephew and I may venture back out to Arches NP this evening. We have all adjusted to the altitude. We're heading back into southwest Colorado on Tuesday. Tom wants to continue north into the Rocky Mountains after that heading for shade and cooler temperatures.

27 May 07: We drove through canyons and admired red rocky cliffs as we arrived in Moab, Utah yesterday. We'll be here for 10 days so we have time to explore this unique landscape. Nephew Phil has gone fishin' ...

26 May 07: We're still suffering headaches and muscle aches from altitude sickness. Nephew Phil is also unable to sleep. Time to travel down to lower altitudes. We'll be in Moab, Utah this afternoon which sits at 4,000 feet, about 2,600 feet lower than where we are now. Tom and I ventured into downtown Aspen yesterday. We ate lunch at Little Annie's Eating House. We were not impressed with the food or the town. Perhaps we would be more impressed during the ski season, or not. And, you gotta be rich to live here which makes me feel like "trailer park trash," not a good feeling. I do enjoy seeing the houses here which vary in architecture and hug the sides of the mountains.

24 May 07: We have traveled through western Kansas and eastern Colorado on our way to the national parks in Utah. Before I forget, I want to comment on Ernie, Glenwood Canyon, and the wild coyote. Ernie was our camphost at Milford Lake State Park. He is a friendly gentleman 85-years-young who makes "tramp art." He made us a parting gift of a wooden matchbox which he chip carved to decorate the wood.

Glenwood Canyon was a tough 16-mile drive with awesome cliffs. At one point along the canyon, I read a sign: Beware of wildlife and falling rocks. Immediately after, a wild coyote ran across the highway. I braked and screamed and scared the poop out of Tom and Phil. We reached just over 11,000 feet in that canyon! As we left the canyon, we ooed and awed at the snow-capped Rocky Mountains ahead.

We have stopped for two days to rest in Aspen-Basalt Campground, the nearest campground to Aspen. This campground has been a big disappointment as it is is lacking in most ways described as "great" on their website. Tomorrow, we'll do lunch in the town of Aspen, just because I want to. And, we're all suffering a bit from altitude sickness with headaches, dizziness, and mild nausea in our tummies. We'll get over it in a day or two.

19 May 07: Where does the time go? After spending a few more days visiting with Lisa and Chris, we traveled back to Junction City, Kansas, to the New Horizons RV Factory to get the cabinetry work done. A three-hour task took three days! We hitched up and unhitched every day this week to travel from our campsite in Milford Lake State Park to the factory. We had a meeting with the owner, Phil, to share our tale of woe. He was very understanding and his son Drew worked some magic to make things right. They are good people who need more and better skilled workers. They are building a new factory and plan to expand their labor force in hopes of offering more efficient, quality service to their customers.

We have extended our stay at Milford Lake SP to have two days of R&R. Phil is enjoying the fishing here and we have a site with a great view of the lake and the dam. The weather has been sunny and warm, but occasionally the wind whips up some white caps on the lake. On Monday, we continue our trek into the Wild, Wild West.

10 May 2007: There and back again ... We spent the weekend at my sister's farm in Shenandoah enjoying some family time. The great-grandkids are very active. TJ is 6; Kendall is 4 and currently has a broken leg; and, Peyton is 2. They are quite an exhausting handful for Mom Leanne. I flew back to Iowa yesterday with my nephew Phil who will be traveling with us for awhile.

Bird-watch: I saw a rose-breasted grosbeak and a blue grosbeak this afternoon! I did not have my camera set-up, but I will try to capture some images to share tomorrow. Correction: The "blue grosbeak" was really a male indigo bunting.

04 May 2007: The weather has been cool, rainy, and gray this first week of May in southwest VA. The young gardens are getting some healthy spring rain and should grow fast when the sun shines again. I've spent most of this week getting my folks' internet service working again. I did get to have a "play-date" with my friend Becky today. I was able to get a dental appointment when someone canceled and I also got another great haircut by Morrisa. I have spent some quality time with both Mom and Dad. It has been a productive week. We are going to my sister's farm/orchard for the weekend in Shenandoah. We will have a muddy Saturday, but a sunny Sunday. Tom and Harry and Sadie miss me, as do my wildbirds. I'll be flying back to join them on Wednesday. My nephew will be joining us to travel through the Rockies and the great national parks in the West.