That’s *One* Way to Travel
We had a triple-threat of sorts in a recent camping trip to Chatfield State Park: Originally we booked it so we could see Gregory Alan Isakov at Red Rocks (Sunday & Monday nights!), but the timing also worked out well to finish packing up and prep our condo for sale and, while we were there, […]
The Wrong Kind of Excitement
We had a bit of a scare this spring. Anytime we ran a significant electrical load (like the microwave), we’d get wafts of that nasty electrical wiring burnt smell in the rig. When you’re in a confined space, like a boat or an RV, an electrical fire is exceedingly dangerous. On top of that, it […]
Houston We Have (Artistic) Liftoff
Since we were coming down to Texas for the total eclipse, we knew there were some places we wanted to visit. Houston wasn’t one of them (ha ha!), but alas we found ourselves there anyway thanks to the annual Art Car Parade. Unfortunately it was looong drive from Waco where our home was parked AND […]
Total Eclipse of Our Hearts
We knew it was a gamble, and we promised ourselves we wouldn’t be disappointed, but of course, we secretly held out hope that the dire news delivered by faux jovial meteorologists in the DFW area that cloudy skies would steal the show, would be wrong. And “shockingly”, they were! The morning clouds slowly dissipated and […]
What’s a little snow to kick off full-time RV living?
Well, it’s official. We moved out of our LoHi digs for the last time and reached out for, well…this. Within days of the transition, we plowed right through three 30# tanks of propane while worrying about frozen pipes and huddling next to Ellie’s furnace (which seriously puts out). Cherry Creek State Park ultimately got 17″ […]
Finding contentment in unlikely places†
I awoke about 6:30 as the morning light careened across the kitchen island, reflecting into the bedroom. Developing discipline is hard for some—it’s hard for me—so I was trying to get back into my normal morning routine. Too often while living in Ellie I’d just head straight to the coffee, and the litter box might […]
My tripod, the walking stick
Winging it works pretty well a lot of the time. I held that attitude boarding the Zion NP Canyon bus at the midnight-dark visitors center. The full(!) busses seated hikers sporting walking sticks and waders, while other adventurers just wrapped themselves in layers of dri-fit that’d make any Coloradan proud. I was part of the […]
Art imitates life
We had just arrived in Navaho Nation’s Monument Valley in Arizona when we spied this Cruise America rental parked off to the side of the KOA office. My only wish was for it to have occurred just after sunrise to match the light. Alas.
What “high-clearance required” really means
The morning after the eclipse, we talked with a ranger inside Canyonlands’ bustling visitor’s center. We were looking for some place without the crowds we could do in an afternoon. They had just the ticket. A nearby road simply marked “HIGH CLEARANCE REQUIRED” (highlighted map below) led through 7 miles of Oh. My. God. four-wheeling […]
Will the generator finally start?
Following the eclipse, while everyone else departed after lunch for the spires and buttes of Canyonlands, I unpacked the generator’s new controller, dragged the work bench (ne, picnic table) across the sand into Ellie’s shadow, and draped a large towel across to keep things as clean as possible. I had a mixture of dread and […]
Eclipses always leave you wanting more
Eclipse day at Canyonlands National Park! The run up to totality is an odd mixture of anticipation and boredom as celestial bodies prefer their slow, considered movements across our celestial view. The light starts to turn…weird. It’s hard to describe. Almost like Ra patiently held out a gray camera lens filter between us and the […]
Fall foliage in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains
Honestly, there’s not much more to say about this, so we’ll let the pictures do the talking. Gorgeous scenery, and feeling lucky to be able to spend so much time in this part of the state for fall.
(Windy) Lakeside at Eleven Mile State Park
When the season’s wound down and hardly anyone (but more than you’d expect!) is out camping, it’s a fine time to go book those spots you really wanted to stay at last time but holy cow look at that the whole calendar’s full! Such was the case with Eleven Mile State Park, housing…you guessed it…Eleven […]
Tie that shit down
If you’ve spent any time at all on a boat, like if you spent 12 years in the navy, you well know to tie shit down, lest it be launched toward you in the most unfortunate way. Normally ahead of moving campsites we’d have taken the litter box (literally, a wooden box with a cat […]
Squirrel!
Who knows what got these two to wake up and sit side-by-side looking at the window at…something. Did they want to chase it? Eat it? Let it inside? Only they know. And they’re not telling.
Was that an alarm clock? Sucks to be you!
Nothing really to narrate here. You can fill in the gaps yourself.
Fur Professional Services
If you’re ever in need of a pair of consultants with a particular point of view, Willow and Frankie are studied up and prepared to help you. Particularly if the engagement involves eating fish, sleeping in the sun, or studying the effects of simply lounging about.
A blue heron contemplates breakfast
Walking by myself downriver along the Uncompahgre River (near Ridgway State Park) this morning, I spied this rather uncommon blue heron, contemplating its breakfast.
Vast wildflower bloom in Crested Butte
The middle of summer, smack dab in July’s midsection, herald the eruption of wildflowers in Colorado. Crested Butte gets an outsized portion of this display, and Annie had planned already to be in that part of the state on the tail end of peak season. The mosquitos, on the other hand, still seemed fully peaked […]
Ellie at Dusk
It’s nice when you capture an image you end up using as your phone’s wallpaper. Lottis Creek campground (there are a few loops close to one another but at different access points) was absolutely lovely. We stayed at site 2 in the Park Cone loop for a week, with a 30a electrical connection. That was […]
Kayaking on Dillon Lake
One of the best parts of camping at Heaton Bay in the White River National Forest near Frisco is its proximity to Lake Dillon. If you can go without utility support, some of the sites have nice water views. If you’re needing electric and water, Loop C is not a far walk, and there’s a […]
Losing our dear Sadie
We’d just adopted kittens Frankie & Willow and were not looking for a 3rd. Except for Anne who feels 5 is maybe, possibly just enough. We first met Sadie during a shelter event at a local brewery. She was pretty thin and frankly looking a bit worn from nursing her first litter and it was […]
The light in our thunderstorms
One thing to note about Colorado weather, is it can be unpredictable, particularly in the mountains. It’s why if you want to hike a 14er, you need to start early in the morning so you can be off the mountain in case a (brief, yet somewhat common) afternoon thunderstorm rolls through. Rifle Gap State Park […]
I’m just going to nap here, thanks
Nothing really beats a snug, comforting space, irrespective of its original purpose.