California here we come 2

Well,  we just crossed the border coming back into Colorado….what a great trip!

The 2nd night going to California we got as far as Reno because it was snowing in the Sierras and Donner pass was a mess. So Jim treated me to a night at the Boomtown Casino. In all my years of travels I’ve never spent the night in such a fancy place.(I”ve always had a Motel 6 budget)  Boomtown looks like an old mining town. It was a lot of fun and we had a $10 steak dinner and I lost $3 in the slot machines …$1 at a time, which is how Jim gave them to me. Since I’ve never played the slots before, I really didn’t know what what I was doing. I wanted to play the penny slots, but Jim steered me the the quarter machines so those dollars went quick. Boomtown

The rest of the trip was beautiful with all the snow in the mountains. The California mountains are a lot different from Colorado as the roads up the passes are not as steep. The climb up and over was a long one, but it seemed more gradual. The landscape is different too, pine trees at the top but lots of hardwoods at the lower elevations and not as rocky.

We got to our daughter Avey’s and got to see Elena again after 9 months! I have to brag on this baby just a bit….she’s been walking since she was 9 months and now runs everywhere, climbs the stairs and talks, talks, talks. Of course only a few of her jabberings are recognizable words but she obviously has something to say! And she understands you when you’re talking to her and sometimes she even listens. Very independent and fearless. She caused us much anxiety climbing on things. She has lots of hair and looks completely different from last June. Not so much a baby anymore at 13 months.  Pictures of Elena

We took a side trip to visit dear friends from Jim’s time in Mexico. Marvin and Carlene have bought a trawler and have it docked in a marina in the Sacramento River delta. They have RV spaces there so we want to come back next April and spend a couple of weeks and go cruising. I hear its pretty amazing to watch the big cargo ships and tankers go by. About the river delta , About the deep water channel.  We’ve heard descriptions of how amazing it is to be standing alongside a field or road and see a huge tanker float by, seemingly on dry land!

We had a wonderful visit with them and on a whim drove up to the wine country. We wanted to see some wineries and taste some wines. We got a late start so most of the vineyards were closed so we went on into Sonoma and visited the town square where there are a lot of wine shops. Jim and Marvin cut us off after 2 rounds of tastings (flights) as we had to drive home and our wallets were quite a bit lighter! It was amazing to see all the roses in bloom, the vines growing in such straight rows and California poppies growing by the side of the road Pictures of Sonoma

On Friday we drove south to Atwater to visit Karen, and grand kids Holden and Bella. Karen is Jim’s oldest daughter. We came out last June for grandson Isaiah’s high school graduation. He was gone for spring break so we missed seeing him but had a really nice visit nonetheless. We just wish they lived closer...it seems to take forever to drive there and back! Visit with Karen

On Saturday Avey and I went to the farmers market close to her house. OMG the strawberries! We had an enjoyable morning walking around all the stalls. It was a good thing we were leaving Sunday or I would have bought a lot more produce. As it was we ate strawberries all the way home and still have some left.

We’d have liked to stay an extra day but there is another major snow storm happening and they are predicting very high winds before it hits.

Addendum: I’m finishing this on Saturday the 18th. Taxes and motorhome maintenance delayed the completion of it. There were very high winds and  a mini tornado touched down outside of Salt Lake City…. horrible accidents all over the place. Then the snow hit Wyoming and I-80 was closed with massive accidents and then it hit Estes Park and they got 3 FEET of snow and all the ski areas are staying open another week ,,,,,AMAZING! I’m so glad we came back from California early…….

Addendum 2: I’m sending this out on the 27th, see above

We're Back !

It’s been a long time!

When last we wrote we were leaving Mexico and heading back to Arizona for a short visit and then on to Golden to spend Christmas with everyone in Colorado.

We had a quick but nice visit with friends and family in Phoenix and did one of those non-stop marathon drives north…….trying to beat a snowstorm and not wanting to unload the jeep of a LOT of stuff and a cat and dog. The trip north

The trip reinforced our thoughts to see if we could trade in the jeep and get a newer one that has cruise control! We decided if we could get a high enough trade-in we would. Long story short, Jim got a brand new shiny black Jeep Wrangler Rubicon for Christmas. We are thinking of getting a vanity plate that says “BADNBLK” It’s gorgeous and has cruise control, an awesome stereo system, Sirius radio and a half removable roof  should we decide to go topless! It still has all the off-road bells and whistles but needless to say we are a little bit more concerned about body damage now. The only thing it does not have is 4 doors but we wanted to keep the towing weight down for the motorhome.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and started our job up in Estes Park the 1st of January. We feel so blessed to have found this job! We work for 3 months then we get to play for 3 months.. It is situated in such a beautiful location that we have to pinch ourselves every once in awhile to make sure we aren’t dreaming. (www.riverspruce.com).

Alisha, Billy, Jeremy and Brandy (Yes...he is in a “relationship”...we love her) and all the kids came up in January for Becky’s birthday (she turned the big 60 this year) and we went sledding and had a blast. Family fun

We’ve just finished our three months at River Spruce and  it was a very busy time! It seemed like we had more reservations this year, especially during the week and we had lots of projects to do in between. Becky made new tab curtains for all the cabins and Jim had lots of “honey do” maintenance projects to keep him busy. He also made new headboards out of beetle-kill pine planks for 1 cabin and aspen curtain rods and hangers for several of the cabins. He and Michelle (our housekeeper) also painted 6 cabins’ kitchen cabinets. River Spruce projects

This year we had many of elk encounters along with mountain sheep, owls and turkeys. Wildlife encounters at River Spruce

We tried out a lot of new restaurants and even went to deep water aerobics at the community pool. Becky’s done water aerobics before but never in deep water (10 feet ) and the whole concept was new to Jim. Imagine doing your workout while standing or sitting on a pool noodle or pushing foam barbells through the water without drowning in the process and you get the idea! Lots of fun and great exercise. Kinda kicked Jim’s butt though. He decided shoveling lots of snow was all the workout he needed. The snow came down thick and fast when it stormed and we worried that we would run out of space to put it all. But it all melted by the 1st of April and then it snowed a foot just in time for Wendye and Shelley’s homecoming and it was their turn to shovel snow.

Spring snows

The highlight of our time there was when Chainsaw Mama came to carve a totem out of an aspen tree that died. Chainsaw carving It was incredible watching her work. She uses 4 chainsaws, a drill with a couple of attachments along with a small torch. With a tree you have to get it right the first time….there aren’t any do-overs. She’s an amazing artist. Check out pictures of her work. www.chainsawmama.com  

Alisha and our grandkids came up over Spring Break. We spent a couple of whirlwind days playing including going to the rock climbing room at the Mountain Shop. Becky and the kids all put on harnesses and ropes and climbed the walls! Then they went to the rock shop, the glass blowing studio, the taffy shop and of course the T-shirt shop. They ran out of time before they could play mini golf but we had a great UNO tournament! Spring break at River Spruce

We went to Golden for Easter. Billy got a new smoker and we had smoked ham….it was sooooo good. An intense Easter egg hunt and lots of fun….the whole family was there.

Now we are on our way to Sacramento to visit Avey and Albert and love on little Elena...she turned a year old in February so we have some serious grandbaby holding to do. We are also going to see Karen and Holden and Bella in Merced and visit with old friends Marvin and Carlene up on the delta.

The trip has been pretty uneventful so far. We did stop and get gas next to the Bonneville Salt Flats Speedway. Then we stopped for lunch at a Burger King in Elko, Nevada and they had the coolest coke dispenser. It is touch screen and you can choose from all drinks OR low/no calorie OR caffeine free OR fruit flavored. They advertise over 500 choices and the machine is smaller than a regular soda dispenser…...what will they think of next? California trip part 1