Friday morning the storm was over leaving 18" on the gound in Denver. Heading south on Friday morning, the ground was clear and dry within an hour. Even though it was in the 20's, the air didn't feel that cold to us.


Devils Head, heading south on I 25 out of Denver

Morning after the storm.

Pikes Peak

I guess my pics are out of order and I'm to tired to straighten them out.

Took a couple side trips on Route 66. I am amazed that all the run down, empty inns and resturants are just left there to rot in amoung places that are still open.

to NM. Everything is brown , flat and wide open. It got down to 14degrees here last night!! I thought we left the cold behind! What's so different is that it doesn't feel cold. I guess it must be the dry air. Even at 25 degrees in the morning you couldn't see your breath and I only wore a sweater and didn't even feel cold.

As we got into NM the mountains started to flatten out, notice the difference in the left from the right.

Saw some antelope in the plains of NM. These were close to the road, they were a little skittish but didn't run when we stopped. there's a buck out in the field just out of sight.

We didn't go thru too much of TX but boy is it flat!!

The difference between TX & NM is TX is greener in some places.

We are staying in Elk City, OK tonight. notice they are already decorated for Christmas. Either that or they never take down their decorations! BTW, it's halloween! and the temps got up to 77 today. My kind of weather!

Rocky Mountain High

We took off Saturday morning to do a little sightseeing. It was a warm 63 degrees and this was the view as we headed into the mountains.

It seemed that everytime we turned a corner it was more spectacular then the last view. We saw so many log cabins nestled into little nooks and valleys, and way up on the peaks too.

Before long it was snowing, not just on the peaks but swirling around us on the roads too. We got up to almost 12,000' altitude so we were in the clouds and the temp dropped to 33 degrees. the sun was still shining and it just lit up some of those peaks.

When we thought we had reached the top of the pass, I expected to see lots of peaks and instead there were just wide open meadows. In one we saw a herd of antlelope.

So glad we took the time to take another 5 hour ride after sitting for the past 6 days. The scenery was beautiful. At one point I said to Doug the mountains are so "rocky". Well I guess that's why they are called the Rocky Mountains.

We made it!

This was our first view of the Rockies as we neared Denver. We arrived in Englewood, CO on Friday afternoon. This is Mountain time so we are now 2 hours behind home. We had to find our apartment - went to the wrong place first- and then went to get groceries and finally I laid down and put my feet up and we both rested, in fact slept 2 hours over in the morning. Felt good!

Going through KS was flat and straight. And very brown. The whole landscape was varying shades of brown, gold and rust. And no trees. When we saw a cluster of trees there was usually a house in the midst of them or sometimes there was a long row of fir trees planted as a wind break. I actually enjoyed the trip though, maybe because it was so different from what we are used to.

And just a little while later it looked like this, snow, lot too much 3-4" but the expanse of white with the sun shining on it was blinding!

BTW, I think Ohio had the prettiest fall colors.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Stayed in Greenfield, IN, just before Indianapolis on I70. Got up to a beautiful morning sunny and in the 50’s.
We discussed if we should take the time to try to view Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) when a gal from the hotel mentioned that there would be 50,000 kids from FFA here for a convention but she said the convention center was on the other side of the city so we should be ok.

We took off and saw a sign that said construction delays on the road we wanted to take so we plugged the address into TomTom and took off thru the city. Got there with no wrong turns. But we saw hundreds of kids waiting in line for tours. Well I wanted to at least see the gift shop so we made our way inside and stopped at the desk to ask if we could get tickets for a tour. She immediately recognized that we’d need a handicap bus and called out to see if one was available. But they were all already on the track. Then she called someone else and next thing we knew we were asked if we had our own handicap vehicle so she was trying to find a bus driver to take us. None were available. So she says wait one more minute we are going to get a CD you can play as you drive. We looked at each other with our mouths open. A wonderful lady named Ellen came out and said she would ride with us. (Doug had to hustle to repack the car to make room for her!) Apparently she had some pull because every time we got stopped she just said “tell them Ellen said it’s ok”

So bottom line is WE GOT TO DRIVE OURSELVES AROUND THE IMS TRACK!!!! It was very cool. We saw the winners circle, and I took a picture of the bricks at the start/finish line. The backstretch was soo long. We went down pit lane and I told Doug not to speed. (see picture) Actually we only went 20mph. There’s a lot of history there, the track is 100 years old. A lot of the stands are rusty and the track was not as wide as I expected it would be but overall it was still pretty exciting. Two other employees couldn't believe they let us do that, they said that rarely happens.

So we finished up the day just outside of St Louis, MO. Weather got up to 70 yesterday and today. Not too bad!

The colors were beautiful this year, unfortunately I never got a chance to get out and take pictures except for this one off our back deck. It seemed that every window I looked out of had gorgeous fall colors.

Well, most of the back yard is finished. We just put the deck on the back with a ramp so that I have access from both the bedroom and the sunroom. Here is Olive waiting at the bedroom doors. We have six doors in the house and she never knows which one she should use.

The patio was completed this summer but I couldn't use it till the ramp was finished. In just the last couple weeks we have enjoyed sitting out back very very much.And now I have raised planter boxes so next summer I will finally be able to garden again. We just set them down today so needs some landscaping but soon it will be ready to go.

Where did Summer go???

We finally took the motorhome out for a trial run. We drove up to a campgound in Rumney NH called River...something. It was pretty deserted this time of year but had everything we needed for our maiden voyage. Everything worked great, we did learn that we need to be very level for the lift to reach the ground. The first site we tried was a little uneven. Not a problem as far as leveling the motor home but a big problem when the lift ended about 6" off the ground. Although it is nice enough to stay inside all the time, I really enjoy the sunshine too much to do that.

I was able to use the shower with no problem. The bed was comfortable. We did cheat on meals and brought 2 microwaveable dinners. So we didn't really try out the stove.

I had hoped we'd have another opportunity to go somewhere again but with so much going on, there won't be much time. Doug was getting pretty comfortable driving. He does need to practice backing up though. I think he does OK but in case we get in a predicament, a little practice goes a long way!

I just noticed that there are a LOT of dirt pictures so I'll have to go out and take some of the grass now that it's looking nice.

Here I am using the lift. It works slick however we need to do some work on technique. for instance, neither of us can open the lift door from inside because the handle is behind the grate. This was purposely so we could reach it from outside. We also had to rig something to store the lift remote/mechanism where I could reach it. That's been accomplished and our dealer fixed it so I can pull the door closed from inside. But as it stands now, I cannot go out independently, I can go in though. So when everyone asks why we haven't gone anywhere yet, it is all these little things we are working on ironing out.

Here are some interior pictures. They custom made the dinette so I could fit at the end. The picture with the sink shows the lift on the left. That's a microwave drawer under the stove, not an oven. All the counters are corian. The sink & stove have removable covers so you get a nice counter top when not in use. They made the space next to my bed 3 feet for my wheelchair to fit. The night stand is perfect for all my supplies.

FINALLY! We picked up our new motorhome on Friday. (July 10) Doug is standing next to the lift doorway. To the left of the door you can see the slide that comes out about18"-24". (haven't measured it) and then from that is the awning that sticks out about 10feet. See all the vertical lines underneath the slide - those are all storage compartments. There is enough room to sleep several small kids in there!!

This week I got some more independence. We got an electric scooter. It's a 3-wheeler with big tires so it will go over rough ground, grass, dirt, pretty much where ever I want to go. Doug took this picture after I had picked some flowers that had been broken by the heavy rains. (I love the basket in front). I can lean way over to weed too. If my arms were only 1" longer I'd have it made. The scooter also disassembles so we can take it with us in the motorhome for me to use at campgrounds, it may even fit in the car so I can take it shopping!! Whoo hooo!!!

You may notice the green grass behind me. This is the first grass he planted between the garages. It looks great here but is very sporadic up close, it will be a bit longer before it fills in enough to mow but in the meantime it looks a whole lot better then dirt.

June 11

So a few days later, when we got another break in the rain we hired a gal to do the planting. Man could she work! She dug up some of my existing plants that we had saved and planted the entire 60" of garden in front of the house in one afternoon. A lot of green right now but there will be more color soon and in the meantime I'll plant some annuals for immediate color - if it ever stops raining

Once that was done Doug was finally able to start seeding the front now that the planting is done. He has put so much work into rototilling, raking, fertilizing and then seeding and raking again.

Front landscaping

Ok, I'm back again, this was June 5, we had one morning without rain and 3 guys came and planted this "island" in our front lawn. (I mean what will become our front lawn.) Doug thinks it's stupid but I like it. I always wanted a crabapple (on the left) a fir in the middle (a christmas tree) and an amur maple on the right. I really like the shape of this one. It should look nice as it grows. The shrubs will flower eventually.

Next step was the front walk way. We chose a cement walk that is stamped and colored to look like stone. First he had to add a colored powder on it and here are the stamps being laid out. The final steps included a seal that also makes it non skid. So hopefully no accidents.

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We think it came out great. The first time I tried it I felt like on a carnival ride. It was bumpy but also banked a little to the right then to the left and I gathered speed at the end. We'll have to make sure there are no cars parked at the end of the walk. You can see in the middle picture that the cement goes right up to the deck so I have a straight shot out the door.

All Doug wants to do is get the lawn planted. This is between the 2 garages. It is a hugh area and I kept saying you will never be able to keep it watered enough for the seed to sprout. Well luckily, I guess, it has been raining for 3 days so it will probably be enough to germinate. Unfortunately the water wanted to wash out all his work so he spent one rainy morning digging a ditch to divert the rain. So far it's working. He keeps telling me not to plant so many flowers but I can't seem to stop him from planting grass!

The garage looks nice now that it is the same color. If it ever stops raining I still want to take some pictures from the front.


BTW if anyone knows how I can move my typing to the top of the page, I'd love to know!

We have had painters working on painting the old garage to match the house so it's going from blue to green. They've been painting all the house trim too. The garage is almost done now; looks great!

Next step is landscaping the front yard. We are planting some flowering trees and shrubs in the front yard. Larry just shook his head when the landscaper asked him to 'plant' a couple of boulders. Unfortunately everyone decided - much to my dismay- that the hemlock I made them save is dying so it has to go now rather then later. Wouldn't do to make a mess after we seed the lawn. It was such a beautiful shade tree and the only one we had left near to the house.

Well now that spring is here we can get geared up for the yard work. Today we had the driveway paved by Twin State Paving. They did a great job and it's going to be wonderful for me to get outside now. Before I was stuck because there was such a drop from the garage floor that I didn't dare go out by myself and even if I did it was soft dirt to get stuck in. It will be much easier to take care of in the winter too - if we're even here to take care of anything! No more broken ankles. Oh, maybe you didn't know that Doug slipped on the ice in the back yard the end of March and broke his right ankle. Yes the driving foot of course. Luckily we had the hand controls on my car so he could still drive. He's healing well but still is "supposed" to be wearing the walking cast for 2 more weeks. We also had a pad paved where we can park the motorhome when it arrives hopefully by end of June. It's off to the right side of the house (when looking at it). When I can get out I will take some pictures of the front

Sunroom

Well, now that we've moved in, there isn't so much going on here. I did want to show you the inside of the sun room. We used it over Christmas and put the tree out there, with the heater we were able to leave the doors wide open and really utilize the extra room. I am so going to love it when it warms up. We aren't bothering to heat it in this zero degree weather, the heater runs constantly to keep up but on sunny days, it's almost warm enough.