We're Home!

Aug. 6th, 2011
Keith and I rolled into Central Texas mid Saturday morning.  We left Pagosa Springs, Colorado around 5 p.m. after spending most of the day fishing.  Keith caught 100% more fish than I did. 

Many thanks go to my wife, who helped us find some places to stay at along the way.  Also for putting up with all my dropped cell phone calls.  For future reference, AT&T is really inadequate when driving through the western states.  I did manage to call her just about every day though.  Ronda Rocks! 

Even though we had lots of fun, I think I can speak for both of us that we were glad to be home.

Georgetown is really hot, but I guess you already know that. I spent some time this morning cleaning out junk from the truck and cleaning the inside. By noon I was done. Not done, but done because of the heat.  I've got the rest of the week to get things back in order so I'm just going to take it slow.

We traveled over 7,500 miles and visited New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.

Of all the places we saw, we were least impressed with Yellowstone and most impressed with the Going to the Sun highway in Glacier National Park.

The best RV Park was the Durango Resort in Red Bluff, CA.  The worst RV Park was in Vaugh, NM.  The cheapest gas was found in New Mexico ($3.29).  The most expensive gas was on I-15 just inside the California State line ($4.30).
The worst breakdown was nothing more than a blown fuse for the trailer brakes.  My F-150 did a good job of pulling Pancho around but a 3/4 ton diesel would have done the job a lot easier.  Diesel was typically $4/gal., so I don't think I would have saved any fuel costs if I did have a diesel.
The stitching was starting to come apart on both of the camper's bed pullouts.  I sewed up one side with fishing line but still have to fix the other side.  The threading starts to rot over time due to moisture from the mornings.

 Here's one of the first pictures we took.  I know Keith had no idea, all the stuff I was going to fill his ears with along the trip.  
Keith, thanks for driving all those miles you did and for for putting up with so many ham sandwiches on the road.  Adios Folks!



Mount Democrat

Aug. 03, 2011

Woke up this morning and headed for Alma, Colorado where we would take a dirt road up to Kite Lake. From Kite Lake you can hike/climb to four different peaks over 14,000 feet in one day but you have to start early.

Keith and I didn't get started until around 11 a.m.  After we were maybe 20% of the way up, Keith decided it was nearly as much fun and I had made it out to be.  We started at about 12,000' and as you might expect, air is pretty thin up there.  He decided I could have enough fun for both of us, so I went on and he went back down.

I was really impressed with the people I saw on the trail coming down from the peak.  Many were overweight and older than I was, so that kind of kept pushing me.  I wish I could say it was easy, but it wasn't but it was easier than the hikes I take with a full pack hunting elk.  I know Alton can recall a few exceptional moments (i.e.Carbondale).

The view from the top is AMAZING! The road we drove in on is at the bottom of the valley.  To think that during the Great Flood all of this was under water, is just really beyond comprehension.  From the peak you can see 360 degrees and the view is great in every direction.

My exertion on the hike was keeping me just above being cold. The sweat was really cold on my back.

The trail to the top looked like this in a lot of places, actually too many places.

It took 2 hours to climb up and 1.5 hours to climb down.  It was sleeting part of the way down.  You can see storms building in the background.

I met this little fella on the way down.  I'm not sure what it's called. I think I'd like to tackle all four mountains someday before I get too old.

Rocky Mountain National Park

This picture was taken on Mount Evan's Highway in Rocky Mountain National Park. When it's sunny it's about 70 degrees, then it turns cloudy and the temp drops 20 degrees. 

A little bit later down the road we saw a bunch of cars park along the side.  There were a bunch of elk in the distance; maybe 100 or so.  There were also two smaller bulls alot closer to the road.  Keith and I walked over a little closer and took this pic. I've got some HD video of the heard but I can't post that here.  It's way to large of a file.

Here's another picture of the elk. If you click on these pictures you can see them full size.  You can then see the elk herd in the background.

Typical scenery in Rocky Mountain National Park

We finished touring the park and headed south to find an RV park.  We stopped in a convenience store and asked the local help.  This woman said there was a USFS campground just before Kenshoshee Pass.  About 30 minutes away.  Well it was more like 1 hour away.  As I said earlier, we were the only visitors in that campground.  That was a first.

Camped at a usfs campground last nite. No one else was there. It was up at 10,100'. On the way up to Kite Lake. Will try hiking to top of a 14k mountain.

Spending the night in Craig, Colorado.

Left Yellowstone National Park this morning.  Forgot to try jumping that fence again.  Darn.
We got here (Craig) late, but never the less we're here.  Will head for Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow.  Will drive the U.S.'s highest highway up to Mount Evans.
Currently the plan is to be back in Georgetown late Sunday night.
We're hoping to get some good leads on where to try our luck fishing in Colorado.  So that's probably on the schedule for Friday.
This next pic is from Yellowstone. This bull started walking across a field about 100 yds away and it walked right behind the truck.  Keith took a pretty good shot!

Grand Teton National Park

Fishing on the Flathead River (Glacier Natl Park). 

Didn't know how to catch BIG ONES. I'll have to learn fly fishing.

Excuse me. Thats actually 6,000.

Just completed our 5,000th mile. Getting close to Colorado.