Hubby's Bad Day...

Well, it was bound to happen sometime....."we" banged up the RV a bit.  After checking into Portal RV Resort in Moab, Utah, George was to follow me to the site but, for some reason, he took a different road and ended up on a boulder.  Yep, a boulder!  He cut a corner a little too short and somehow ended up on a boulder.  Fortunately, the only damage was to a basement door, door insert and flooring.  Bless his heart.....he feels awful about it and I feel bad for him.  First time he has asked me for a shot of whiskey!

 

Rut Row

After all that, he ended up with a huge scrape on his leg....poor baby.  I've now confined him to the couch until bedtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up until then, we had a beautiful drive from Montrose, CO to Moab, UT.  Here are a few pictures:

 

Colorado River



 

Jeep adventures are underrated...

"Necessary" Bag

It's Saturday and our first real JEEP adventure begins...the one in Canon City was just a preview to the real thing.  George purchased several Guide Books before leaving home which are mandatory for rookies like us.  So, since he is the driver, I get to be the navigator - YIPPEE! 

In the guide book, Jeep trails are rated Paved, Unpaved, Easy, Moderate, Difficult and More Trails.

I packed a few "necessities" and we were on our way!





 

Our first Trail is Last Dollar Road in the Uncompahgre National Forest.  It's 20.8 miles long, rated easy and the elevation is 10,600 feet.  Easy means rutted dirt roads and driving through a small creek and, by all accounts, it was very accurate.  The scenery was spectacular and there were thousands of beautiful birch trees and fields of wildflowers.  We came across multitudes of ranches, a cowboy and cowgirl out riding horses with their dog tagging along.  This 20.8 mile trail took us an hour and a half to complete and we ended up in Telluride.

Heath Ranch

Wildflowers

 

 



Downtown Telluride



 

 

There was a "techno-music fest"going on in Telluride and absolutely no place to park so we just drove through town and back then headed on our way.

 

Beautiful town but a bit touristy.....

Telluride, CO

 




Ophir Pass, Moderate Shelf Road

From there, it was a short drive to our next Trail, Ophir Pass in the San Juan and Uncompahgre NF.  This trail is rates half easy and half moderate.  The moderate part was the drive up the Pass and consisted of a narrow, rocky shelf road which dropped straight down on the right side...it  was a nail biter at times, but we saw the BEST scenery on this trail.  The most spectacular mountain views I've ever seen.  This trail is 9.9 miles long and took us about 45 minutes and a trip to the bathroom!



Ophir Pass Shelf Road - YIKES!

 

Ophir Pass, Moderate

The Top of Ophir Pass

 

Orange Mountains

View from the top of Ophir Pass



 

High Noon Hamburgers

The trail ended near Silverton and we stopped for lunch at High Noon Hamburgers and that much needed bathroom break.  Silverton is a smaller town than we expected and is a rustic, cowboy town.  Only the main road through town is paved, otherwise, the roads are gravel.  You really get the feeling that you are in the old west.

Stagecoach ride thru Silverton



"Chemical" Creek

We were very close to the area where the recent mining accident occurred.  The River is clear but the chemicals were evident in the Valley where the land is flat and the water has settled.






   

Avalanche/Snow Shelter

After our Big Adventure, we headed home through Ouray.  More spectacular scenery and an avalanche/snow shelter.  We also saw a deer in the road drinking from a puddle. Ouray is another wonderful little western town and we spied several campgrounds in the area....maybe we'll stay here next time.

 



Deer in the Headlights



Ouray, CO



Ouray Brewery

 

 

 

 

The Devil's Thumb

Devil's Thumb GC

George's schedule is crazy.  He is trying to work EST hours so he is getting up at 4:00 AM and is finished by 12:00 or 1:00.  Then, of course, he collapses on the couch in the early evening...bless his heart. 

 

Anyway, we went golfing this afternoon at Devil's Thumb GC in Delta, CO about 40 minutes away.  It's an absolutely gorgeous course out in the middle of nowhere.  Very challenging course and, sometimes, it was just a wild guess as to where to hit the ball and how to get to the next tee box.

 

George played from the Blue Tees stretching 6,190 yards (67.6 course rating/122 slope rating) and I played from the Green Tees with a hefty 5,180 yards (68.9 course rating/120 slope rating).  After we got going, I discovered that there were Red Tees but no course rating so I stuck with the Green Tees and struggled to finish toward the end of the round.  Some of the holes were also very mountainous. 

 

 

Frank, a local player, caught up with us on #7 so we asked him to join us.  Thank goodness!  Someone to guide us around the course.  Frank was also very entertaining and we had a blast with him.  George had a birdie on a hole that had split fairways, one of the most challenging holes on the golf course.  One fairway went straight down and one straight out.  George took the low road and Frank and I took the high road.  It was so much fun.

 

I thought Frank was going to have a coronary!

 

On the back 9, we finally saw the mamma Antelope and her two calves that Frank has been talking about....adorable!

 

Afterward, we all had a burger together and talked about our travels.  Frank has a motorhome also but doesn't travel that much anymore...he is 78 years old and lost his wife a few years ago.   Very nice man, glad we got to spend time with him.

 

Uh oh, George searching for his ball...

The "Thumb"

 

Mighty Montrose

San Isabel National Forest

We left Canon City Wednesday late morning and drove through San Isabel National Forest and the beautiful Monarch Pass to Montrose, CO.   Part of the road was one lane only due to road work.  I don't know how he does it....I just stay relaxed and knit.

 

Road Work

 



Once at the top of Monarch Pass, it's also the Continental Divide.  We stopped here to take a short break and fix sandwiches for lunch.

Drive through Monarch Pass

Drive through Monarch Pass



Drive through Monarch Pass

We ran into a little rain but it stopped by the time we got to our KOA Campground.  We seem to have arrived in Jeep Country as there are 5 Jeeps in a row on our street.  After we got set up, we joined our next door neighbors and two other couples outside for cocktails and conversation.  All of them are experienced Jeep-ers and gave us the low-down on trails in the area.  This group, and a few others, either travel together or meet in various places to go Jeep-ing.  One couple has been here since April and not leaving until mid-September.  Serious Jeep-ers!  Our next door neighbors are also golfers and gave us some local knowledge on golfing in the area.

 

 

 

I just got up to get something to drink and HEY YOU, get outta my chair!

 

I took off Thursday morning to explore historic downtown Montrose which is very quaint and loaded with cute shops and restaurants.  My first stop was Tiffany, Etc., a local home décor shop with a large variety of absolutely beautiful things.  Next was CJ's Fly Shop and Yarn Store...yep, that's right, one stop shopping - get your rods, reels and yarn right here.  Very nice man owned the shop and he gave me a "badge" with a waterfall on it and welcomed me to Montrose...I think I like this town.  SheShe Boutique was next door so, why not?  Very nice, over-priced women's clothing, purses and jewelry.  Lastly, I stopped for lunch at Daily Bread Cafe' on the corner then headed home.  

 

Black Canyon NP

George was finishing up work so we went to Black Mountain National Park and drove along the South Rim.  We stopped in the Visitor's Center to get our National Park Passport book stamped and get a map of the park. 

 

NP PASSPORT

 

First stop was Pulpit Rock Overlook where the view was the best....until we got to Painted Wall then we thought that was the best.  Overall, we were pleasantly surprised at the grandness of this park...glad we got to see it.  We walked a lot today and I, of course, got winded as we were at or above 8,000 feet in elevation plus some of the points of interest were either up or down dirt trails.  I'll be so glad when I get my energy back.

 

Painted Wall

 

My Yarn Fix and Zip Line Update...

Monday:  My adventure today is a trip to visit yarn shops in Colorado Springs. First stop is Ewe and Me, A Yarn Shop which was a rather upscale shop with all the latest yarns.  They had a baby jacket on display made with some really nice soft yarn, however, they didn't have the pattern for it.  Apparently someone made it for the store but failed to give them the pattern.  This was rather disappointing so I left with nothing.

 

Next stop was the Holly Berry House in a quaint old section of town where all the wonderful old brick buildings were revitalized with gift shops and restaurants.  This was a small shop but they had a scarf on display which I liked but - you guessed it - no pattern.  So, I left there with nothing.  Getting to see a "pattern" here (or lack thereof).

 

Scarf with no pattern

 

Yarn Outlet

Since this shop was close to Manitou Springs, I decided to stop and browse a bit.  Got lucky and found a good parking space so I lit out on foot to check it out.  As cute as this town is, it's basically one souvenir shop after the next with a lot of restaurants in between.  Maybe I just wasn't in the mood...really?  Not in the mood to shop?  Wow!  But then I haven't made one purchase yet, hmmm...

 

 

Last stop was the Yarn Outlet on the way home.  Bingo!  Found some yarn I liked plus her prices were fantastic.  This is a big outlet store so everything is a couple of bucks cheaper than a traditional yarn shop plus she had some of the latest yarns.  She helped me pick out some yarn for a Bandana Cowl that I want to make.  Nice lady and nice shop.  She invited me back to a "Knit-In" tomorrow but I really don't want to drive the 50 miles back up this way.  She also told me that there was a yarn shop in Canon City in the back of a bookstore, hmmm....I must find it.

Tuesday:  I made a Walmart run to pick up a prescription refill then into downtown Canon City in search of the yarn shop in the back of a bookstore.  Found it!  Just mention yarn and I'll find it.  Met Ann, the owner, very nice lady and she invited me in to knit with her and Sheila..  They have their share of characters just as our yarn shop does and I had the best time!  Sheila is a hoot!  She is from England, came to America when she was 22 with the Ice Capades.....what an adventurer!  We talked, laughed, told stories and knitted the afternoon away.  Now that I have a friend here, I don't want to leave, however, tomorrow is mooo-ving day. 

The ladies here are knitting little Christmas ornaments for a charity...here are some of the ornaments:





Sheila made this one

I left the yarn shop  around 2:30 and George finished work at 3:00 so we took off for the Royal Gorge.  We bought  tickets to ride the Gondola over the gorge, then walked the Suspension Bridge back.  There was a plaque and flag for each State on the bridge.  George is holding up the Florida flag.

So, did we or did we not do the zip line?  We did not....reason being that we couldn't take the ride on the side-by-side zip lines as they were not staffed to run both at the same time.  Maybe next time. 

The Gondola

Suspension Bridge

View from the Suspension Bridge



George with Florida flag

Beautiful Sun Flowers