Heading home

This was written en route to Golden, Co. traveling across southwestern Kansas. We haven't been this way before but decided to give it a try. Most of the route is two lane passing thru lots of small towns. Definitely a more scenic route than the interstate and while a bit longer we hope to avoid the snow and ice predicted further north along I-70. Riding along the discussion turns to our time in Coffeyville (imagine that). While there was a lot not to like we found there were some really good things too.... although not what one might expect. To begin with for a small community the library was excellent. Equally as good or better than the ones around Denver. There's a great selection of books and no (that's right...NO) waiting list ona lot of new releases (amazing). There was the usual variety of restaurants including one of best "authentic" Mexican restaurants we've found north of the border called Cielito Lindo. Their Molcajetes are as good as Toro's in San Carlos and the Carnitas and Tacos are the real deal (corn tortillas por favor). Really good BBQ at Hog Heaven where you'll find fried bologna on the menu. They were the only restaurant in town serving Thanksgiving dinner late enough for us to eat since working nights we didn't arise until early afternoon. Turky dinner with all the trimmings including real mashed potatoes and down home green bean casserole all for around $8.00 a plate. You can't beat that and cheese cake to die for although not too hard (get it Die Hard Fans). There were only two bars in town and only one was open on Sunday.  Apparently Coffeyville has a quite colorful past involving the prohibition era when liquor was made just over the line in Oklahoma and smuggled through a tunnel into Kansas then on to the bigger cities up north.
But hands down the best thing about this whole adventure is the new friends we've made. Randy and Evelyn, John and Wendy, Duane and Debbie along with so many others. Thanks so much for your friendship and an especially big hug goes out to a young man named Chris for taking such good care of our four legged family members....Lucy and Yaqui. Vaya con Dios mi amigos and remember there will always be a place at our campfire for you. 

So we started out this past Friday morning after 4 hours sleep and drove west through Wichita, Ks. It's located on the banks of the Arkansas River although the river is more like a creek here than the wild torrent we're used to in Colorado. Lots of restored historical buildings and homes along the way. We passed through towns with names like Cimarron and Dodge City where the beef packing houses dominate the skyline as they have since the great cattle drives arrived at the railhead in old west days. Too tired to push on, we decided to spend the night in Garden City, Ks. Luckily we were able to find an RV Park open as most were closed for the season (something to consider fellow full timers when traveling the northern latitudes in winter). As we proceeded to blow by our turn in the dark and were looking for a place to turn around we spotted a mexican restaurant on wheels or what's commonly called a catering truck. Since there was nothing else in sight and the neon sign was flashing "OPEN" we figured what the heck. So Becky wandered over and found to her delight that the menu was hand written in Spanish....tortas, burritos and tacos.... carnitas, al pastor, asada along with chopped onions,
cilantro and "volcanic" salsa on the side.... heaven! Never missing out on an opportunity to practice her Spanish she ordered accordingly and the proprietor was so impressed he gave her a free taco.  This morning we stopped at the truck stop west of town for breakfast. We had homemade corned beef hash with green peppers, onion and cheddar cheese...WOW. Needless to say you'll probably never see these places on Diners/Drive-Ins/ and Dives but we truly covered all three D's.   

We passed through Lamar,Co. then headed north to pick up I-70. Having successfully skirted the winter weather we'll take the interstate for the last leg into Denver. We'll be driving by the Sand Creek Massacre N.H.S. (Link) which we had no idea was in Colorado. Just goes to show how much we still have to learn about our home state let alone the rest of the world. 

So we've got the hammer down cruisin' to the music of Steve Earle which seems appropriate as we turn the page on our mid-west adventure and begin a new chapter. Hasta luego compadres......Jim and Becky 
            
"I got a job but it ain't nearly enough
A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck
Belongs to me and the bank and some funny talkin' man from Iran
I left the service and got a G.I. loan
I got married bought myself a home
Now I hang around this one horse town and do the best than I can
Gettin' tough
Just my luck
I was born in the land of plenty now there ain't enough............ (SO TRUE)
Gettin' cold
I've been told
Nowadays it just don't pay to be a good ol' boy".  

Life in Amazonia

Well, here we go again. Except that now we are finishing up here at Amazon. Next week is our last week and then we are off to Golden to spend Christmas with the kids. In spite of the long hours and the physical work it has been pretty uneventful.  Can't wait to be done with this job and go home!We have a lot of sympathy for the people that live here and are thankful to have this job...or any job. It is so sad to see where our country has come to. 

We've met some great new friends and had a chance to visit some old ones. We took a long weekend to go to and see friends from Denver that now live in Eufaula Lake in Oklahoma, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eufaula_Lake) only about 1 1/2 hours drive, south through Tulsa and Muskogee  It was a great weekend....lots of catching up and some siteseeing of the fall colors.  We took a drive on the Talimena Scenic Byway. (www.talimenascenicdrive.com) This road goes from SE Oklahoma into NW Arkansas and crosses the Ouachita Mountains, one of the highest mountain ranges between the Appalachians and the Rockies. Imagine a road sign at the start of the drive stating that the road ahead consists of 14% grades! The fall leaves were beautiful and we found this little piece of history in the form of an old pioneer cemetary. Our friends house on Eufaula Lake has some great views, too. Here is the link to pictures  (Talimena and Eufaula Lake) 

In January we are going to work for 6 weeks in Estes Park, close to Rocky Mountain National Park. We are managing a small resort, River Spruce (http://www.riverspruce.com/) while the owners go on vacation. We are really excited. Anyone wanting a wonderful winter getaway should come and see us! Homemade muffins every morning and hot tubs for the star gazing at night. Then on to Mexico the end of February.