Our Little Guy Travels

Apparently we arrived at the right time! All of the sites in the upper loop ( only 5) were available. We decided on site 16 which does not disappoint. We are here for two nights ($24 with our senior pass).
After we got set up, we went exploring. We are not sure how far Simon will go these days but we take him any way. We took a short (.5 mile) walk around the lower lake. Very nice, easy walk. Back at camp we have neighbors in every site! Everyone is quiet and respectful so the atmosphere is very enjoyable.
Tomorrow we’ll head out to Lost Lake (without Simon). Hoping for more dark skies tonight.

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Site 16

We were amazed at how dark it was at Cement Creek campground. We literally could not see our hands in front of our faces! And the stars and Milky Way were spectacular! We are loving being off grid with no tv! Just our imagination and good books for entertainment. Hope it’s the same on Kebler pass!


Wildfires, the high cost of gas and family visits have kept us home this summer. We finally had enough and hit the road. We have no plans, no real destination and we’re stocked up for four days. As an experiment we left our bikes behind. Stay tuned on that decision.
We started over Cottonwood Pass which has such tremendous views! Now that the smoke from the wildfires has cleared we could almost see “forever”. We took a slow drive towards Almont taking in the sights. Taylor reservoir is shockingly low. The effects of the drought were certainly evident there.
We stopped at a couple of campgrounds but decided it was too soon to stop. We talked about going to Kebler pass outside Crested Butte but then remembered Cement Creek campground near South CB. That’s where we are tonight. $9 with our senior pass.
Once the dirt bikers finished riding past us, it was amazingly quiet and warm. We took a walk around the campground and then down to the creek. Simon really wanted to go in it but we didn’t want him to get wet. He’s doing ok for his 13.5 years.
Tomorrow we’ll head to Kebler and hopefully there will be a site in the campground for us. Or we’ll be boondocking which suits us just fine. It’s really nice to be outside in nature again.

Cement Creek

Site 10

After checking the weather reports for our intended route, we decided to head home. But first we had to stop at Hobby Lobby and check out the HO slot cars and a quick stop at Pistachio Land to see the world’s largest pistachio 🙄. Simon got lots of pets and we got a bag of pistachios.
The drive was not difficult since the weather was good all the way to Colorado. Then it changed to rain and some flurries. Glad we decided not to camp.
We are home after 1440 miles, 7 nights in the camper and lots of smiles and memories. We paid $3.75 for gas in Alamogordo and $4.39 outside Santa Fe. It doesn’t appear that our economy will improve anytime soon, so we’re not sure how much traveling we will be doing as summer approaches. What a shame that one idiot can change the whole world.
Big shoutout to the New Mexico State parks! Both City of rocks and Oliver Lee were clean, well spaced sites and both had free hot showers! We could have stayed an extra night at each place but they weren’t available. Not surprised.

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We left City of Rocks after enjoying the last day of such a beautiful place. We highly recommend this place for those who like the desert without sand.
Our destination was Oliver Lee Memorial state park outside Alamogordo. On the way we stopped at White Sands National Park. What an experience! The “sand” is so white and finely grained rock. It didn’t stick to our skin or clothing. So it was fun to slide around in it. Even Simon seemed to like it.
Tonight was are in site 34. Our setup is very private and it’s also very quiet. There are showers here too! I looked into staying another night but the site isn’t available.
We are watching the weather and are hoping to find the “window “ that will get us home without getting wet. We think we will have good luck because a roadrunner wandered through our site last night.

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We started out enthusiastically to hike the Table Mountain trail near our campsite. 1.87 miles to the “summit “. No problem we thought. The pebbles on the trail tricked us. It was much harder than we thought! We didn’t want to end up like the poor coyote we saw. Rather than risk a fall or worse, we turned back. We were really tired when we got back to camp and that surprised us. Guess we need to get in shape!
To soothe our aching bodies, we booked a soak at the nearby Farwood Hot Springs. An hour in 105 degree water was all it took to loosen us up. Stopped at the campground visitor’s center for a shower and then back to camp. Where did the day go?
Tonight we enjoyed a delicious meal cooked on the Blackstone. Pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes and tomato slices. And then the sunset was amazing. And now the moon is nearly full.
We agreed that we enjoyed our stay at city of rocks even though our first few minutes of setting up in the wind were not pleasant. Tomorrow we are off to White Sands National Park and the dunes.

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Our campsite setting is nothing like we’ve ever been in before. The rock formations make a perfect private spot and even though there are a few other campers around us, we don’t see or feel them.
After a leisurely morning we headed towards Silver City but first we stopped at Faywood Hot Springs on the way. Very friendly place and a lovely peaceful setting. There are public pools for soaking and private ones too. Also ones that are clothing optional. Very respectful pricing too. We may go there tomorrow afternoon.
We went to Walmart for more supplies then met up with our friends Lois and Buz who used to live in salida. It was fun catching up with them and seeing their beautiful home.
Tomorrow we hope to take a short hike but are still wondering what to do with Simon. He can’t hike here.

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Pie Town has been on our bucket list for several years. It was just 25 miles from our campsite so we had to go! Good coffee, delicious cherry pie with a crust like a cookie. Yum 😋. The wife made all the pies. Hubby makes the coffee and hangs out to talk to people. It’s right along the continental divide and has become a stop for hikers and bikers. Friendly town. Glad we went.
Next we headed towards our destination, Silver City. Along the way we passed through some interesting places while the wind blew the dust across the road. At times zero visibility. There are cliff dwellings off the road about 10 miles. We passed. We stopped in glenwood a town known for the Cat Track recreation area. One feature is a suspension bridge across a river. It was five miles off the road and although Susan was gung-ho, Rick the driver said nope.
We got through silver city and then to city of rocks campground. The winds were gusting 50 mph and visibility was poor at times. We set up in site 15, a real challenge! There are showers at the visitor center so we took advantage of them. That sign greeted us at the bathroom doors 😬
Tomorrow we will check out silver city and have dinner with our friends. More on city of rocks tomorrow.

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We decided to leave Abiquiú even though we had another night paid for. Seems like there might be more interesting sites further south. We got so turned around in Santa Fe looking for Walmart (to replace our broken water container) and for a gas station that we lost about an hour. After Albuquerque and Socorro we headed west on Route 60.
Tonight we are in a lovely BLM campground outside Datil. The drive was a bit boring with not much to look at and pretty desolate communities. We wondered about the campground.
We passed the VLA (very large array) of radio antennas that are listening for aliens “out there.” Acres of them that are sometimes moved on a railroad track.
We are in site #9 although there really isn’t a bad site. And for $10 ( with our Senior Pass) you can’t beat it. Very quiet and clean. We wished we had arrived sooner and with more energy to explore this very interesting historic area.
Tomorrow we will be in City of Rocks outside silver city for three nights. We will be seeing friends formerly from salida and of course the sites. It will be good to be in one place for a few days.
We are traveling with our mascot, Clay the Pigeon who we found on one of our trips last year. We think he keeps us safe.

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Rather than do our usual two nighter, we are off to Silver City, NM, a trip of at least a week. Susan always likes to go “someplace I’ve never been “ so that is what we are doing.
After a bumpy start(literally) on a dirt road in the San Luis Valley, we lost our new water container and 7 gallons of water. We found this out when we were pulled over by a friendly state trooper who pointed it out for us (light bar lit up).
Tonight we are at Abiquiú lake campground settled in in site 24. It’s ok. It’s just so damn windy! Inside the T@G we are warm and cozy. Simon is in the jeep. We may stay here tomorrow night (we have a reservation) or we might move on towards Silver City. Bonus: the previous camper left a really nice lantern. It’s solar. We think they left it charging on the fire grate. Their loss; our gain.

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Took us three hours to drink coffee and soak up the warm sun. It was cold last night but we were both toasty warm. The sun hit the campsite around 8 and felt so good. It was still so quiet.
We decided to go fishing at the reservoir we stopped at a couple of years ago. We took the road we thought was the way to it but all we saw were antelope and a big valley. Maybe it was down the main road a bit further? No luck as we headed into Little Cochetopa canyon. No place to turn around easily so we kept going and decided to go to Gunnison. There we could get firewood and go fishing.
Got firewood, did our mandatory stop at Gene Taylor ( didn’t spend any money this time👍), went fishing (Rick caught one so we stopped after that), bought a picnic lunch at city market then headed back. We were both ready for a nap and did just that.
Tonight we are enjoying our fire and our last night here. Stars were stunning last night and did we mention that the aspens are in their glory? We are so lucky to live in Colorado.

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The sky last night was unbelievable. We could see the Milky Way across the entire sky. Susan believes you can see it in the photo Our fire was hot and mesmerizing. Thanks to the absent campground host for the extra firewood 👍 We are all packed up and heading home. Probably our last trip of this season.

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We’ve only been out two times this season because of yard/house projects and our hobbies so we thought we’d better get out one more time. Tonite we are at Buffalo Creek campground in site 16. It’s about an hour or so from home but it’s off the grid and amazingly quiet. There are 3 other campers tonite and no generators! Best deal around for $5😃👍
We found a portion of a clay decoy in the shape of a chicken when we got in our site. We decided to keep it as a good luck passenger. We named him Jimmie since Jimmie Kimmel is in the news alot these days over the issue of free speech.
We took a little exploration drive after we got set up and found a very cool area up Bear Creek road about a mile east of the turnoff to the campground. We scrambled around the base of these interesting cliffs and then found our way around the back to the top. It was moderately difficult and a bit scary for Susan!
While we were walking we talked about how we would survive if we were suddenly caught in a thunderstorm with lightning all around us. We decided that taking cover under the tallest tree was not the best choice. We are sorry for two hunters who died recently after being struck by lightning very near where we are. It’s best to know how to survive in that situation.
We are prepared for a cold night with plenty of blankets and a down comforter. Simon is not eating tonight 😑. He doesn’t seem to be sick or uncomfortable. Tomorrow we may go back and explore or who knows what? Stay tuned.

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Just when we were cleaning up after breakfast a huge black cloud appeared complete with thunder and lightning. And then it rained. We hunkered down in the camper to wait out wondering if it would continue for a while. About 45 minutes later the sun came out!
We headed up to Leadville and had a great ride around the Mineral Belt trail. We took our windbreakers off around the two mile mark. The wildflowers were beautiful! We got back to the car and it looked ominous again. A quick trip to Safeway and by the time we got to camp it was raining and cold 🥶. Back inside to wait it out and about an hour later it was clearing up. Rick tweaked his back getting Simon’s out of the car so we will wait till morning to start tearing down our site.

Last night’s nature show

Waiting out the rain

Storm clouds

Top of the trail.

We started out fishing and this time Rick caught a beautiful rainbow trout ( and Simon helped😉). After that we decided to head up to independence pass. We did the tourist trail and then Rick and Simon climbed down to a snow field where Simon rolled in it like it was January! He has always loved the snow.
We then went to the North fork trailhead and got as far as the creek. But only Rick and Simon could cross it. Susan didn’t want to end up in the water!
We came back to camp and had a quick lunch before we all had our afternoon nap. Life is sure good 😊 Tomorrow is bike day!

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Beautiful columbines ❤️

We’re still finishing yard/home projects so camping has taken a back seat. We finally said “enough”! Time to go camping.
Tonight we are at Lakeview campground above Twin lakes. This was after a brief trip through turquoise lake campgrounds (not for us) and the disbursed camping nearby (our favorite spot was taken).
Loops G & H are FCFS so we had fun choosing which site to take. We chose H-3. We can see both the lake and the mountains from here. Simon is bored with the whole idea.
Tomorrow we ride bikes (not sure where) and fish (not sure where). But we will certainly be doing what we like to do together. Stay tuned.

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We took another drive around the area looking for places to ride our bikes but didn’t like anything we saw. Headed back to the reservoir to try our luck at fishing. Rick caught a beautiful big rainbow trout and Simon “helped.” He ended up slipping and swimming back to the action. The video is fun to watch but can’t be posted here.
We walked over to the dam and tried again for one more hit. Came up short. We were whipped by the time we got back so took turns napping and just hanging out. Lovely.
After dinner we took another drive and found a very cool road that seems like it’s used mostly for horseback riding. Lots of trailers along the road. It dead ended at Poison Park trailhead. We will look it up when we get home. We really like it here at Williams Creek campground. Very quiet and relaxing.

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We took a drive down the road from our campground and found a lovely lake as part of the Teal campground. Smaller than Williams Creek but a little more expensive. Rick (and Simon) fished for a while but no bites. The birds were fun to watch as they swooped over the water.
We continued down the road to two more campgrounds and one at the of the road for campers with horses only. We decided that Teal was the only one we would consider staying at.
We enjoyed some quiet time around camp but by 3 it was time for a bike ride. We took turns riding the road we drove since we did not feel right about leaving Simon alone in camp (frowned upon).
Tomorrow we will take another drive to find the reservoir and more places to ride. Why didn’t we know about this place before now?

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First trip of the year! We had family commitments and have been working around the house/yard/garden so we are getting a late start. We are 23 miles north of Pagosa Springs in a USFS campground (so half price for us seniors 👏) for three nights. Lovely views from our site although we didn’t explore the whole campground yet. The sites are well spaced out and private. Everyone in this loop is quiet and we didn’t hear any generators!
We got rained on at home while packing up, dumped on heavily in the San Luis valley and a little rain after dark. The camper has some mud splash on it so we will clean it off today.
Plan on going to the nearby reservoir to check out the fishing and the gravel riding trails as well. No cell service (😊).

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We made it home today after 25 days on the road, 16 states and 5300 miles. It was a trip full of memories and family. Not going to forget this one for a long time.

We called the number online for the state park but no one answered. Thinking it was closed, we called the Lawrence KS Chamber of Commerce and were told it was in fact open. We were given two numbers to call. When we called the new number, the message said to make camping reservations at recreation.gov. We tried the first number again and the message told us to make reservations at reserveAmerica.com. What? When we called recreation.gov we were told there were no available sites. We decided just to go to the park and check it out for ourselves (after trying to maneuver Lawrence with a trailer attached-not a good idea.).
We found the state park and that’s when we realized that they are in fact two different places physically in the same area. We found the campground at the state park (plenty available), found a suitable site and called it good. By this time it was nearly dark and not wanting to go back to Lawrence, we pulled out all our survival provisions and had “dinner.”
Lights out at 8:30 with a plan to hit the road early and avoid the campground host and paying for our site. We didn’t feel bad about that since we didn’t use any of the services there.
On the road by 6:00 seeing another large full moon and bright sunrise. We are excited to make it home today.

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Not much to say after we left the Flight 93
Memorial other than we decided to see how far we could get. We made it with no surprises to Dayton Ohio where we spent the night at a comfort inn. Got a shower and a good nights sleep (even though Simon had to stay outside due to the No Pets policy). He slept half the night in the trailer (a first). We were up early and on the road to see a spectacular full moon set and the sunrise at our backs. Our destination goal today is Lawrence KS (a bit ambitious). We can make it to Salida from there.

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We saw the sign for this memorial and decided to go there. Brought back a lot of memories about that day. Glad we saw it. Never forget.

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We are definitely in a conservative part of Pennsylvania. The guy behind us read the Bible the whole time he was there. And a group that looked just like the Proud Boys were gathered at a large table. We had a huge meal and are very ready to be in Colorado or at least a blue state.

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The drive to Altoona PA was so beautiful. It’s hard to capture the beauty and it seemed that another spectacular scene was around every corner.
We decided to stop for the night and after checking out the local Walmart and the prices at the Hampden, we opted for Cracker Barrel. We were the only ones in the lot until 5 am when the trash truck came by. Good thing we went to bed early! Ready to roll just before 6. Heading west!

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It was too cold, too windy and too damp for even these two diehards to ride bikes today. Instead we visited with Michael, Rick’s army buddy from the Mountain Skills Survival Training Team. He has a myriad of history facts from cycling to biathlon (he still competes). We both thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with him. Rick showed him his model motoring cars and gravel bike. He was impressed with our hitch/ bike rack setup.👍
We decided to keep traveling west and south. Not sure where we will end up tonight.

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The drive through NY although mostly cloudy was spectacular. The leaves were really showing off!
We made it to Elmira about 30 minutes from Watkins Glen but with all the state parks closed we opted out for the local Walmart. Simon hunkered down on his bed and we settled in for the night. We all stayed warm even though it was chilly outside – 36 when we woke up 😳. We had neighbors this morning but they were quiet and respectful. An oldie for sure! On to Watkins Glen and some cycling for Rick with Michael.

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We traveled the back roads to Stockbridge, MA. The fall colors were so pretty as was the quaintness of the area. There were alot of “wows” and “look at that” from both of us. The camera cannot capture the beauty of it all.
The Norman Rockwell museum was showing was a special exhibit on MAD magazine. After we viewed the Rockwell section ( fun to see the old magazine covers) we launched into MAD magazine. We chuckled along with everyone else at the satire and wittiness of the writers and artists. At times there were loud outbursts of laughter. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and the museum store too.
We are now on our way to Watkins Glen and to visit Rick’s army buddy Michael. Not sure we’ll make it that far tonight.

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We crossed the Hudson going over the Mario Cuomo bridge and could see NYC when we did. This was a new route for us.
We arrived at Rick’s mom’s house to the usual warm welcome. Even Simon settled in quickly. It was non stop visits from his sisters, cousins and nieces and nephews. We did manage a couple of bike rides on the nearby Rails to Trails system. We really enjoyed those rides. And we even went to the movies (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice). Time went by pretty fast since it was filled with so many commitments. And the trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit with cousin Mike who is also into slot cars. Rick even got a new car from him for his birthday. We departed with lots of memories and food for our return trip to Colorado.

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There is a cycling velodrome here that Rick’s daughter raced on years ago. He knew the area and knew we could spend the night on the grounds. After date night at Applebees 😂, we settled in and had a restful night. Up early to make the drive to Connecticut.

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We spent over three hours visiting the battlefields on a self-guided audio tour. There are more than 1300 monuments to the soldiers who fought there. Some are quite elaborate especially the one for Pennsylvania. It was sobering to see the places and listen to the stories of what actually happened right there. 750,000 people died fighting the Civil war. It’s clear that some are still fighting it.

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The drive from Petersburg towards Washington DC was not ideal. So much traffic in such tight lanes. Looking at the map, Susan thought she saw Bull Run battlefield park in Leesburg and we got off the main interstate and headed in that direction. When we got there, Rick was fried from driving and needed a break. We pulled into the local hospital parking lot and while he rested, Susan researched the area. No Bull Run here but there is a Balls Bluff 😂. By the time he woke up it was too late to head to Harper’s ferry and Antietam and mostly because there was no place we’d like to stay. Susan did find Catoctin Mountain Park on the way to Gettysburg and that’s where we are tonight. National park so 50% off the price of the site. Only 7 of the 50 sites are being used so it’s really quiet and very dark. The sky is filled with stars but the trees are so thick it’s not easy to take it all in. Not like Colorado! There was a huge pile of firewood for campers and after several attempts we finally got it going.
We saw this sign along our route – a “no mow zone” because it was a breeding field for monarch butterflies! Way to go, Virginia!!
Tomorrow we will take in Gettysburg and then continue east to Connecticut. We’ve been on the road for two weeks and still like each other! And Simon is living his best life too ❤️

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Mostly stayed on the interstate but did take one detour to Wilson, NC and saw this awesome guy along the way. Nice town but not enough to want to stop.
We did stop for the night just outside Petersburg at the South 40 Campground. Our site was under construction due to recent rains and had just been loaded up with soft sand. We made the best of it trying to keep our things and Simon free of dirt. To bed early. Tomorrow Harpers ferry and Antietam.
There was an interesting collection of toys and artifacts on the site. Looked like kids had made some sort of shrine or something. Glad to be on our way.

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There’s no photos of the two dogs together because we had to keep them separated. We tried taking them for a walk together. It was ok until it wasn’t and we didn’t have enough time to get them to tolerate each other. Simon did get introduced to Lexi’s food and loved it so much we bought some for the rest of the trip. We’ll see if he continues to like it now that we’ve left. Stay tuned.

We arrived at Rick’s sister’s house and enjoyed three full days in the area. We rode our bikes the full length of Holden Beach (17 miles) gawking at the beach houses that are mostly vacation rentals. We had wonderful seafood at Swains with Dee and Steve and their friends Bear and Myra. Dee cooked an amazing dinner using fresh caught shrimp and clams. We wanted seafood and we got it! The weather was perfect with temperatures in the low 80’s with manageable humidity. We learned that there are flights into Wilmington just 45 minutes away. Maybe we do that next time.

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We started today at the Stones River Battlefield in Murfreesboro. A major battle was fought here that changed the course of the civil war. It was surprising to learn about this battle and the numbers of soldiers lost on both sides. It was humbling to walk on the ground that so many men died on.
We stayed off the interstate and traveled the back roads through towns with names like Peeled Chestnut and Prices Switch. Beautiful countryside side and a stress free drive.
Once back on the interstate, we saw signs for Buc ees, a chain where you can get gas ($2.42/gallon) and just about anything else you need (or don’t need). Neither of us had been to one so of course we had to stop and check it out. Amazing slice of Americana in Hobart, TN.
And that’s when we realized that hurricane Helene has caused so many roads to be closed that we have to take a long detour into Virginia and then back south to NC to proceed with our plan to see Rick’s sister. Probably will add an extra day to our travels.
Tonight we are in Warriors Path State Park in a nice quiet spot. Maybe ride our bikes tomorrow!

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We ended up in Murfreesboro, TN tonight after driving most of the day. We decided to stay in a motel rather than deal with trying to find a campground or perhaps a Walmart.
So tonight we are in a low budget Econolodge. We walked to dinner at the Farmers Friendly restaurant after we learned that the Outback Steakhouse was closed 😠.
Tomorrow we will visit the Stones River civil war battlefield before heading towards Knoxville.

It took us some driving around to figure out where everything was but we finally did! We decided to forego Graceland due to the $82 entry fee and we’re not really Elvis fans. Instead we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. It did not disappoint. There was so much history there (it’s located on the site of the hotel where MLK was assassinated.). We went through a range of emotions from awe to anger to sadness. Highly recommend going there if you are in Memphis.
Afterwards we had a huge slab of ribs and all the fixins then enjoyed the downtown Tom Lee Park along the Mississippi. We were surprised at how much litter was thrown on the roads everywhere we went. Even at the park food was left on the grass apparently for someone else to pick up. Overall that tainted our impression of Memphis.
We are having to avoid Asheville and a visit to our friend’s home but hurricane Helene has made that impossible. We are detouring to Knoxville then south and east to Rick’s sister near oak island, NC.

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We are outside Memphis in this lovely state park. Bathhouse with showers, electricity, water for $15 (with our senior discount.). We plan to visit the Civil Rights Museum and Graceland while we are here. And do some biking. Not sure how long we’ll stay. Hurricane Helene hit Asheville hard and our route to the coast of NC is now in question. This is not a bad place to be while we figure it out. Hope our friends outside Asheville are safe.