Coddiwomple

 Coddiwomple 

Today is Veterans Day.....so 1st and foremost, our most heartfelt thanks to all who have served, especially my best friend and traveling companion Jim. I told him today I was so grateful to be honoring his service today instead of remembering his service on Memorial Day.  

Today also finds us on a wonderful road trip with Jim’s daughter Avey and our granddaughter Elena who’s 6. We flew them to Denver from Sacramento on the 3rd and drove, in the motorhome, to Hoxie, KS to visit Jim’s oldest daughter Karen and our grandchildren, Holden and Bella. Isaiah was in Kansas City. A great visit, full of reminisces and new memories. We traveled from there to Cotopaxi, CO to see our dear friends Amy and Jim at their campground. Come to find out, they have retired and are not going to open again next year, except for friends and family. Elena loved the river and the deer and chucking the ball endlessly for Sadie to chase. She and Sadie are joined at the hip, constantly together. I’m afraid Sadie is going to have a melt down when Elena goes home.  

Saturday we went to the Royal Gorge and saw the bridge and the Arkansas River at the bottom of the canyon. This didn’t hold much interest for Elena so we drove to Dino Expo down the road (dinoxp.com)  and saw some amazing dinosaur skeletons and learned all about dinosaur fossil excavating in the Canon City area..... lots of discoveries. Outside they have life sized animatronic dinosaurs and ropes courses. Very fun and lots of interesting history & factoids for the “old folks”.  

I’m 6 weeks post op on my knee replacement and can walk most of the exhibits... let’s see how the trails in the monuments and parks go...... 

Sunday we drove to Taos and stayed at a great RV park, Taos Valley RV Park. It was cold and snowy and we stayed there 2 nights to wait out the weather. We shopped in the stores around the Plaza, visited Kit Carsen House and Museum (http://www.kitcarsonmuseum.org/ ) and had pizza from Outback Pizza.  

Tuesday we drove to Bandelier NM. It is off the beaten path but worth the trip. (https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm) The indigenous people lived in Frijoles Canyon for over 400 years and the history and dwellings they left behind are incredible.  We drove as far as Milan, NM and stayed in a great, low budget rv park, Bar S RV Park. Pull thru, FHU, cable and WiFi for $20/night. Can you believe it?  

Today we went to Petrified Forest National Park. In all the years we’ve been driving I40 to Phoenix, we’ve never stopped there. When we had to change our planned route from Cortez, Hovenweep NM and driving though Monument Valley and across the reservation to Cameron because of snowstorms, Jim suggested visiting Petrified Forest NP. What a fabulous idea! It is so unusual. First you drive through part of the Painted Desert, a colorful badlands of rock formations. All of the overlooks and pull offs are RV drivable and pet friendly. We had a great time. Trees from millions of years ago were transformed into quartz and their remains are on the ground all through the park. Really beautiful.  

Tomorrow we will be in Black Canyon City, AZ where we will spend the winter. Avey’s 30th birthday is Monday the 16th and she and Elena fly  home on the 18th.  I need to edit the pictures from the trip and will post them on a separate blog soon. It has been a great trip and a wonderful time spent with Avey and Elena. Such a special time.... family! 

October update

We spent the summer working at Lake John, west of Walden, CO. It was a very busy summer, with everyone taking "staycations" especially fishing and camping in our little piece of heaven in North Park. We were there from May through the end of September. It was our 2nd summer there and we'll be going back next year but with new bosses because Josh and Nichole sold the resort! They'll be closing on the deal in the next few days. Going through the sales process and training the new owners added a whole level of craziness to the summer. That and all the fires.... we had major fires burning on all 4 sides of us, none close (40 miles away at least) but 2 highways into our area are closed and the smoke could be real bad depending on the wind. On the plus side, while the fishing was slow the fish were really big this year. Many were in the 6-7# range with some 10#ers in September. Jim was in heaven! Check out their facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Lake-John-Resort-159037897499599. Lots of great pictures.

On top of all that, while my right knee rehabbed great over the summer my left knee really broke down and I scheduled that replacement surgery for Oct 5th. I had my surgery last Monday and I'm doing great! I was up walking 5 hours post op and went home the next day. We're staying at daughter Alisha's in Golden for 3 weeks then heading todaughter  Avey's in Sacramento as part of an extended road trip before spending the winter in Arizona. 

We’re all in this together

We’re all in this together

Many of you are probably isolating at home during this difficult time. We hope that you are all well and have not contracted this horrid virus.  My sympathies go out to all of you who are trying to entertain and occupy children at home while maintaining your sanity. I would suggest a large straw inserted into a box of wine……….

Jim and I are doing well. I’m a month post op and my knee is healing very quickly. I’ve been walking without a cane for about 3 weeks. We were going to visit grandchildren and friends during my recovery but chose to stay in Denver an extra 2 weeks then go to Cotopaxi, CO at the KOA where we have worked on several occasions. The campground won’t open until May 1st so we are all alone here along with the owners. We’ll help them get the campground ready to open.

It's an amazing place to self isolate, on the Arkansas river. Sadie gets to be off the leash, chasing balls to her hearts content. Jim is looking forward to fishing for small mouth bass as the ice is off Lake DeWeese. I'm working hard at getting my knee healed.

Stay safe and healthy.

Hugs

Jim and Becky

A winter to remember!

This year has been exciting so far to say the least! We had a wonderful time in Black Canyon City, AZ spending time with friends and family, especially our amazing grandchildren in Phoenix; Harvey, Jack, Judah and Daisy. That's not to say that the rest of our grandchildren aren't amazing.....they are just elsewhere. Jim's daughter Avey and grandaughter Elena came out from Sacramento the week after Christmas for a nice long visit. Both Elena and Harvey are in kindergarten this year and are growing up so fast!

We got in 1 jeep trip in between rain storms and had a blast. We went on the same road we'd been on before but the road was a lot more challenging this time due to debris and rocks getting washed downstream during several flash floods. The rest of our time was spent getting in shape for my knee replacement surgery in March.

Feb 4 was a horrible day when my brother Steve passed away due to complications from an infection following his Leukemia treatment. I was at the airport in Phoenix, on my way to see him, when I got the news. 

Feb 12 we packed everything up and headed north to Denver. We had all kinds of pre-op lab tests and doctor visits to complete along with routine annual physicals. We were fortunate in finding an RV park to stay in for a month. The cost is prohibitive but you don't have much choice. It is close to my daughter's house and the hospital and has a handicap shower. Yay! For the same price in Arizona we could have a golf course, heated swimming pool, jacuzzi, a clubhouse and paved roads. After we got here the temperatures took a nose dive and we've had many nights in the single digits..... and some days too! 

March 2nd was my total knee replacement surgery at Ortho Colorado Hospital. Can't say enough about the staff and the facility. Absolutely beautiful building and amazing nurses! And believe it or not the food was excellant. On the day of discharge you get to order from the Celebration menu and your caregiver gets a meal, too. I had a petit sirloin and roasted asparagus. Jim had pan fried walleye! Also the best oatmeal raisen cookies I've put in my mouth. I'm 3 days post-op today and came home yesterday. The 1 good thing about recuperating in the motorhome is that it's only about 10 steps front to back. The worst thing is the amount of time it takes you to pee. I have to drink lots of fluid so I have to pee more. (Ladies, you will sympathise with me).  In order to get to the main event I have to take off my blankets, detach the hoses from my "Cold Machine", lower my leg to the ground with a strap, stand up, walk to the bathroom with my cane, get everything out of the way, sit down on the toidy, do the deed and repeat the process in reverse order. OMG! Thank goodness Jim is here to help. The most painful part is lowering your leg down and sitting down. The rest is a piece of cake. But, God forbid, don't  wait to the last minute! 

Jim is taking wonderful care of me and I go to my 1st physical therepy session tomorrow. We'll be staying here for another 2 weeks, have my follow-up doctor visit and head to Hoxie, KS to spend time with Jim's oldest daughter Karen, and grandkids Holden and Bella. We're going to plug in at their house for a couple of weeks. I'll post follow-ups as events unfold.