Travels Post Balloon Fiesta

The Balloon Fiesta was everything that it was cracked up to be. At the very least, a bucket list item. At the most, it was an unbelievable experience and one that I will always remember. I am sure the same goes for Mary. It was that good. While we were camped with the Airstream Group(150 trailers for a fact), we really didn't spend that much time with them. Most of it was spent with the Boomers Group from Escapees and particularly with friends we made at Enchanted Trails RV park, who just happened to be owners of a Mobile Suites trailer. The Boomers Group was tasked with providing help for the balloonists. We became part of that help.

Here is a pic of the pilot on day 1 for the balloon Clown......

His name was Daniel and he was from Australia. That is me in the background

And finally here is what Clown looked like all inflated....

This was the group of balloons that we worked on over the 4 days that we were there...

From left: Clown, Kermie the Frog, Squirt, and the Fireman

We took hundreds, perhaps thousands of pictures. It was just totally unbelievable. Just about all are now in Picassa web albums for future viewing.

And then it was time to leave Albuquerque. The frustrating thing about leaving was that there were still 6 days left of the Fiesta, unfortunately, that was just the way it was. Next year will be a different story however.  We will definitely be there for the whole thing.

And then the adventure began. A 2400 mile adventure that would take us from Albuquerque to Jackson Center, Ohio to Chanute, KS. Jackson Center to meet up with Jerry and Paulette the purchasers of our Airstream trailer. Our travels across the country found us staying overnight in Amarillo, TX at AOK RV Park,  Oak Glenn RV Park in Chandler, OK and then to RV Express 66 in Marshfield, MO.....

Our spot at RV 66 Express

Along the way we had a few stopovers.....

One of the many rest/pit stops along the way. 

Last stop for us was New Lisbon Family Campground in New Lisbon, IN. We did 2 nights there. Mostly to catch up and rest. I did get to take advantage of the nice pond they had there and managed to catch 6 Largemouth Bass and 1 Crappie. Nothing of any size, but who cares. It was still fun.

A nice little fishing pond - and one that I took advantage of

Finally on 10/11 we got to Jackson Ctr and the Airstream Factory. Found ourselves a spot to park and hook up and then it was off to Lima, OH to pick up a U Haul trailer to load all of our stuff in to. What a job. What a project. We both never realized just how much stuff we had in that Airstream trailer. It is a good thing that we got the next size bigger trailer or we might not have fit everything. We did though and on Monday bright and early, Jerry and Paulette showed up - we signed papers, exchanged check and title and then we were off for Kansas and our new Mobile Suites trailer. The trip back was not without excitement as just after we got through St Louis, we experienced a flat on the U Haul trailer. Lucky for us it happened just as we were getting off I 70 to fuel up the truck. To U Haul's credit, from the time I called then for roadside assistance until the time we had the tire changed and were back on the road - 41 minutes. Unbelievable.

The big wrecker had to drop off correct tire for us. The van in the pic was for the guy actually doing the repairs.

And then we were back on the road. Kansas, here we come. Not as easy traveling with a U Haul trailer. We had to stay over 2 nights in motels. Molly did just fine.....

Making herself right at home

In full sleep mode

Then it was time for Kansas

aka NuWa Industries- Formerly manufacturer of Hitchhiker 5th Wheels

 We stayed at City of Chanute RV Park right in town and right down the street from where we picked up our unit. Stayed a total of 6 days there. 3 spent unpacking/packing/arranging our STUFF. And 3 days just getting used to our unit and making sure that everything worked. Our unit is awesome. We've named her Toto, as in, I don't think we're going to be in Kansas anymore either.

Us getting ready to depart Chanute, KS for Liberal, KS

Lunch and pee/poop break for Molly and lunch and fuel break for us in Goddard, KS, just west of Wichita, KS

We have to park out back with the big guys

We ended up driving just over 340 miles this day with our destination being Western Star RV Ranch in Liberal, KS. This is definitely a nice little rv park. Clean and plenty of room.

While in Liberal, we made a trip in to town and had breakfast at the local "hot spot" The Pancake House(yes it was a busy place) and then did a trip down Yellow Brick Road

and there we found Dorothy's house....and coincidentally, Mary found her own Yellow Brick Road

Back at the RV Park, we made acquaintances with neighbors - Real South Dakotans - Loren and Bonnie from Sioux Falls. They and their friends are heading out tomorrow and going to the same RV park that we are headed to - Enchanted Trails in Albuquerque. We'll meet them there and talk about Yuma, which is where they spend the winter, and where we will be in January. Their park is right next door to the one we will be staying at. Definitely a small world. All 3 of us it turns out, stayed at this park an extra day because of bad weather. Amarillo, TX was looking at potential for 5" of rain.

Our neighbors from South Dakota

Tomorrow morning we will pack up and head out early. But first tonight, we are headed in to town to the Liberal Inn for a steak dinner and to celebrate the new trailer. Looking forward to that.

Sturgis to Bayfield

On 9/21/2015 we departed Sturgis to begin another new journey in areas that we have never travelled in before. Our trip this day  was going to take us to Deadwood where we would pick up RT 85 and travel south through Lead and on into Wyoming. It was a very beautiful ride. To say the least. And finally we hit Wyoming.

Our first rest stop of the day. In Wyoming.

Our destination for the day was Terry Bison Ranch Resort, just south of Cheyenne, WY.  Cheyenne is most noted for it's annual Frontier Days. Definitely a big thing in this area. We arrived at Terry Bison Ranch Resort around 2:30 and got settled in.

Exit 2 in Wyoming.

As you can see, we had plenty of things to do.

They had pens with plenty of animals, including llamas, donkeys, goats, pigs, hogs, horses. Out in enclosed fields were camels(5) and a herd of buffalo.

On the second day there, I went out for a walk and came across an incident. Apparently an older couple had opted in for a horseback ride, that did not end well. From what I could tell, someone on the ridge above the trail they were riding on, had loose dogs which apparently spooked the horses. The older gentleman was thrown from his horse.

they kept him on the ground while they called Rescue

And then Rescue showed up.....and there was a happy ending to the story. The gentleman was ok. Just shook up.

One of the highlights of our stay here was the Restaurant and the food......

One of the menu specialties was Bison. Mary had a dinner of Short Ribs(which she described as the best she ever had) and I had Bison Meat Loaf. Which was probably some of the best meatloaf that I have ever had. Meals here were pricey, but then again, most things about the place were pricey. It is definitely a "touristy" type of place.  However, as far as going back again to this place - probably not. With the exception of the restaurant. It was that good.

We spent 2 nights here and then it was time to move on. Our destination from here was going to be Alamosa, CO. Since we were at exit 2 of Interstate 25 in Wyoming, it didn't take long before we were in Colorado. And then we hit Denver.......

Sports Authority Field -formerly Mile High Stadium - home of the Denver Broncos

Not bad getting through Denver - we've seen worse cities to get through, especially Chicago. Next scenic area on our trip was Colorado Springs, south of Denver.

Looking out towards the Air Force Academy

Looking back to the vicinity of the Air Force Academy. This from rest area on I 25

Beautiful view along I 25

The rest area that we stopped at was one of the worst kept up areas that we have ever come across. There was trash and garbage just everywhere. Guess they could use a good old fashioned Vermont Green-Up day. Or two. Or three. It was really that messy and definitely detracted from my opinion of Colorado. While we were there, these 2 characters pulled in with a ratty old beat up truck. Both of the characters were shirtless, covered in tattoos, and one had a 1 1/2 ' knife dangling from his belt. While one of them was rearranging some of their crap which was falling out all over the place, the other was spray painting the truck. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. Still don't know what they were up to, nor do I care, now.

And then it was on to Alamosa and our stay for the night.

We shared our spot with a number of campers.

A view to the north from our spot. The open spots were occupied by a huge Toy Hauler RV that spent the night there and got on the road very first thing.

Another couple that were staying just behind us, I got to talk to. They were from Nashville, TN.

After doing our patriotic duty(buying stuff at Walmart), we were off to Bayfield, CO - via Wolf Creek Pass and Pagosa Springs. The scenery on this trip was unbelievable.....

Approaching Wolf Creek Pass

Note the hair pin turn sign up ahead. Then look up - that is the road that we just came down.

Wolf Creek Pass is definitely an experience. And then we arrived in Bayfield. Got there around noon and met our hosts, Dick & Patti who guided us to their home in the mountains. At an elevation of 7800'. We spent an enjoyable 5 days with them. We put our trailer in their yard with all the conveniences of an RV Park. We had full hookups and a very convenient doggy yard for Molly. Happy hours happened every afternoon at 3:30. I don't think we will ever find a couple that were nicer to us than Dick & Patti.

Our new home

We did take a couple of day trips to explore the area.....

Day trip to Lake Valecito

Lake Valecito

Saturday was Mesa Verde day. Something that Mary has looked forward to forever. And she wasn't disappointed. It was definitely an experience.

She finally got here!

Our first stop was the visitors center. It just so happens that today was a free day in the National Park System, so don't know if that had anything to do with the crowds, but the place was packed. We did our thing in the gift shop, i.e., souvenirs, and then we were off  - electing to do our tour from the front seat of The Beast. This was a good decision as it allowed to take Molly along with us. The sights were unbelievable. To give you an idea of the immensity of the park, our first destination for a 1 day trip was the Museum - 23 miles away. Speed limit - tops- in the park is 35, and in most places 20-25. Along the way there we saw some really neat things and views.....

The Museum was a really special place. While inside and looking around, it was hard not to notice that the majority of the visitors to the place were foreigners. We noted one large group from French Canada and another group of Germans. Probably why all of the brochures you can purchase in the Gift Shops are in various languages. I bought 2 and never bothered to look. One was in German and the other in French. The German one is going to my grandson Peter - so he can practice up on his German. The displays in the museum were truly fabulous. One could learn a lot just spending a day(or 2) right here. A whole bunch of history involved here. When done, we of course had to hit the gift shop again and became acquainted with the National Park Passbook. Which we purchased. Along with the usual post cards, etc.  Done here, we got back in the truck and headed out for the road tour.....

check out the snake

Mary in 7th Heaven

Our last stop on the way out was Park View Overlook.

Check out the elevation

Views were unbelievable

And then our day at Mesa Verde was over. And yes, according to Mary, it was everything she thought it would be. Definitely a good day.


On sunday, we took a ride. We traveled through Durango to Silverton, CO. One of the most amazing rides, with some of the most unbelievable views - EVER.

That is Silverton down there in the valley. The Animas River flows through the valley. This the same river that made National Headlines a few weeks prior when it turned yellow with pollution.

The Aspens were at peak color. The roadway to Silverton was crowded with traffic. I would love to have had a penny for every picture that was taken that day on that road. And then we were in Silverton.

One of the reasons we came here, other than the beautiful scenery, was to take Dick & Patti to Grumpy's and treat them to lunch.

And a good lunch and a good time was had by all.

We left Silverton and headed back to Bayfield to be there in time to go to their neighbors, Jimmy and Loretta, for happy hour. Definitely a pleasant experience.

Mary and Loretta, Dick and Patti

And this was Jimmy

Their house was something else......

As you can tell, Jimmy is a hunter. All of the mounts are trophies/Boone-Crocket qualified. During our happy hour, Loretta had to show me a pic she took a few weeks prior. It was a mountain lion - in their back yard.

On the 29th it was time to leave Bayfield and our very good friends. We can't thank them enough for their hospitality, happy hours, good times, and great meals. I didn't mention that we were required to have dinner with them each night. Can't wait to get back together with them in Benson this winter.

And then we were off for Albuquerque and the Balloon Fiesta.