Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bye, for now, to Mike and Leslie.

Today was moving day for us. This meant we had to say goodbye, for now, to Mike and Leslie. Of course it was a tearful goodbye. It is hard to leave good friends. Hopefully we will meet up with them again next month.

We took the scenic route driving over Wolf Creek Pass on our way to Lathrop State Park in Walsenburg, CO. On our drive we passed an 18 wheeler that had overturned on the side of the mountain and lost its load. There was also lots of road construction. We finally arrived at our destination around 3:50 p.m. This park is full of sticker bushes. Poor Fred got some in is paws and was not happy.

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Our site.

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The park is full of Magpies.

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The view from the rear of our site.

John cooked some brats for dinner and now we are just chilling out.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Moving the sailboat and dinner at the casino.

Today is our final day here at Navajo State Park. John fixed us all a “Firehouse Breakfast” complete with sausage gravy, biscuits and eggs. We don’t have biscuits everyday so it was a treat.

In the early afternoon John went to move a large sailboat for someone who contacted him the day before. This took the better part of the afternoon. Mike walked over to checkout what was going on with the sailboat move and Leslie and I walked down to the laundry room. While she caught up on her laundry we sat and chatted enjoying our day.

Below are pictures of the sailboat move.

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After the sailboat move John and I met up with Mike and Leslie to discuss out dinner plans. We loaded up and headed for the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio. After playing for a little while we went in search of food. The casino has a steak and shrimp dinner for $6.95 with your player’s card so we decided to give it a try. The attendant was going to seat us at a table that had a booth seat and two chairs which was crammed up next to someone else so we asked to be moved to a table. Once settled in at our table we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, John caught a worker walking by and asked if she could find our server. Within a few minutes a young lady appeared at our table and took our drink order. When the server returned she appeared to be nervous and unfortunately dumped a glass of water in Mike’s lap. By the look on her face she was mortified. Mike, being the nice person that he is, assured her it was ok that accidents happen. She apologized profusely. Then John asked about the steak and shrimp special. The server paused and then said, “you can only get the buffet here tonight” then she went on to explain that there was a problem in the kitchen. John asked her, “So are you telling us we need to go to the other restaurant.” Her answer was “yes” so off we went. To make a long story short, we had a nice dinner at the other casino restaurant. Leslie ordered the grilled cowboy pork chop with apricot chipotle sauce and Mike, John and I had the steak and shrimp special. The food and service were both great. We stayed a played in the casino a while longer then headed back to the campground and called it a night.

004 Parking lot view of Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, Colorado.

I can’t believe the time with our friends has flown by so quickly. It is always sad to say goodbye so we will say, “See you down the road” instead.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Silverton Adventure

After breakfast this morning Mike, Leslie, John and I packed a bunch of snacks and loaded up their truck and headed off to Silverton. We had all been to Silverton before but the scenery with the changing leaves and mountains never gets old. Every time you see it it feels like a brand new experience. The scenic drive is just awesome.

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Flat Clayton went along for our adventure today. Here is John with Flat Clayton at Coal Bank Pass, one of the many roadside stops.

As we entered Silverton we noticed it was time for people to board the train for their ride back to Durango. Mike and John walked down to get some pictures.

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Mike standing beside the Silverton train before it left.

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Side view of the train.

Soon lunch time was upon us so we started scouting around for a place to eat. We settled on a place called Thee Pits Again BBQ. The Food Network gave it a thumbs up so we figured it must be good. 141

Downtown Silverton.

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I think this was the catering vehicle.

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Mike and Leslie.

Now that we were tanked up on BBQ it was time to find another adventure. Mike drove us around to the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour. He and Leslie had taken the tour before and thought we would enjoy it. 157

Flat Clayton on the road to the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour.

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Leslie and I all decked out in our slickers and hard hats ready for our tram ride into the side of the mountain.

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This is how it looked as we entered the mountain side.

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Our first stop.

Next our tour guide stopped to give us a demonstration on how the drills were used. He was very humorous and kept it interesting.

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John standing next to one of the drills.

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John and Mike checking out the drill. I bet they could get into a lot of trouble with that. LOL

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The elevator. No thanks. I think I will stay on the ground. LOL

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Do you really think that elevator will fit in there?

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Detonator box.

When our gold mine tour was completed we visited a few gift shops in Silverton. John and Mike found a bench outside while Leslie and I shopped. Soon the little town was closing up so it was time to head back down the mountain. Thanks Mike and Leslie for being our tour guides today. We enjoyed it very much.

Below are a few pictures that were taken as be began our journey back down the mountain.

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By the time we reached the campground we were getting hungry. Tonight’s menu consisted of grilled green chile cheeseburgers and roasted corn. There’s nothing better than a grilled burger and fresh corn. Yum Yum.

Tomorrow will be our last day at Navajo State Park. It seems like the time just flew by.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Joe and Sherri headed home

We all got up early this morning to see Joe and Sherri off. It was a sad affair complete with tearful goodbyes. We will miss them terribly. Great friends, good food, lots of laughter and fun adventures….it just doesn’t get any better than this.

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Sherri waving goodbye to us.

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There they go.

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So sad…..this was their site.

After Joe and Sherri left Mike, Leslie, John and I started making plans for the day. We decided to venture out to the Farmington, New Mexico area again. Our first stop was Sutherland Farms in Aztec; a fresh produce market and farm. Mike and Leslie used to come here a lot when they lived in Farmington. We are so glad they took us here. After purchasing some squash, fresh corn and other items we walked over to the outdoor restaurant located on Sutherland Farms. We all ordered the green chile cheese burgers. John and I have never eaten them before and were pleasantly surprised. They were very tasty. The cook even roasted some of the fresh corn Leslie had purchased so we could eat it with our burgers.

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This is the outdoor restaurant at Sutherland Farms.

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John and Mike sitting in the swing at Sutherland Farms after lunch. John liked the green chiles so much he bought a bunch and they roasted them while he waited.

There were a few animals at Sutherland Farms.

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Our next stop was the Aztec Ruins. From the late 1000s to 1200s ancestral Pueblo people at Aztec planned and built a settlement that included large public buildings, small structures, earthworks, and ceremonial buildings. What is left now are the ruins. This was a very interesting tour. We were able to walk through some of the structures.

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John and Flat Clayton at the Aztec Ruins entrance.

Here are a few pictures from our tour.

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Notice how much taller John is than the doorway. These people must have been short or walked hunched over.

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I think this place was built for very short people. Look, I fit inside the doorway. LOL

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Our next stop was the Veteran’s War Memorial. The memorial is situated along a scenic river walk in Farmington, New Mexico. It is a fine tribute to all our veterans who fought for our country.

Each branch of the military is represented with a statue. We placed Flat Clayton on the Army statue. Clayton’s grandfather served in the Army and we felt he would like a picture of this for his project.

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The next pictures are of the monuments that represent past wars.

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This is a globe that sits in the center of the memorial. On this globe there are stars marking the spots where wars have been fought.

Our last tour stop was the Farmington Library. Their library is state of the art with everything you could possibly imagine in it. It has lots of programs for kids, large computer rooms, study areas and so much more. It is something to see.

When we made it back to the campground it was dinner time so we put together a quick meal. John grilled steaks, Leslie cooked some fresh squash and Mike roasted some of the fresh corn. It was delicious.

We miss Joe and Sherri already. We will have to plan another adventure with them.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.