Late start after taking long hot showers in the campground. Finally on the road by 9:30 but we soon realized we were now in the eastern time zone so it was really 10:30.
Took the back roads to Bristol VA enjoying the scenery and conversations. Ricks back was bothering him so we decided to stop for a while and decide where to stop got the night. Losing that hour made for a short travel day. Campgrounds were expensive so we headed for Roanoke and hopefully a friendly Walmart. Got lucky again and we’re all tucked in a rear corner of the parking lot.
We’re starting to be concerned about Simon’s ear which we think is infected. He still has a good appetite and is as active as he can be while traveling but his ear is clearly bothering him. Keeping an eye on it and him. Poor guy. Heading for the skyline drive and Shenandoah national park tomorrow.
Day 5 – Milan to Frozen Head State Park
Started out by 8:00. Walmart parking lot was a bit noisy. Made our way through small towns along Route 70 until we got to Nashville around noon. Made the obligatory stop at the Grand Old Opry House but opted out of the 45 minute tour ($24😳). Stopped in the Opry Mill mall for a quick lunch and awesome people watching. Back on the road by 1:30 heading east towards Knoxville. Decided to stay where we could get a shower before moving on. Getting here from I-40 was some serious back roads with sharp hairpin curves and miles of wondering if Siri directed us right. It’s worth it. We are sharing the campground with just two other parties. Quiet indeed.
We were lucky enough to have lots of food in the frig and dined on our own tomatoes and other leftovers. We entered the eastern time zone just as we got in the park so it’s later than we think. We’ve not had any trouble sleeping though.
Day 4 – Bull Shoals to Milan, TN
Spent some time walking around the state park so once again did not get on the road till 11:30. Went the road less traveled and crossed the Mississippi somewhere in southern Missouri. Then into Tennessee where the trees are noticeably greener. Made it to Jackson and thought we’d stop there but too noisy so on we went to Milan. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Maybe Nashville?
Day 3 – Enid to Bull shoals state park, AR.
After Simon’s bath we headed east not sure which road to take. Decided to get off the interstate and take highway 412 towards Mountain Home, AR and the state park nearby. Lots of rolling hills and not much traffic. Have already lost track of daily miles, miles per gallon and what day of the week it is. Love these roads trips. Tomorrow we plan to cross the Mississippi just not sure where😳.
Bath Time for Simon
We never got to give Simon a bath before we left and today he needed one. Found Julie online and she let us use her grooming facility to wash him. Best $10 spent so far!! Back on the road again at 10:30 smelling much better!
Day 2 – Clayton to Enid, OK
After our look at the dinosaur tracks, we headed due east but not after a stop at Clayton’s coffee shop for breakfast and so Rick could update a couple of client websites On the road again at 11:30 and spent an uneventful day watching Oklahoma change from flat and dry to green and rolling. Tonight we are in Enid at Walmart. Nice grassy area right next to us. We were able to watch some of the presidential debate but sort of glad when our phones stopped working so we could get some sleep. Plan to get up and get going early tomorrow.
Day one – Salida to Clayton, NM
We were on the road by 11:45 on a beautiful fall day. The colors were stunning and maybe because the Broncos were playing, we encountered little traffic. We listened to the game enjoying the Broncos win.
Stopped at Raton, NM for info but visitors center was closed on Sunday. We found out that was the case in Clayton too. Picked up dinner at the local market and drove 12 miles (again with little or no traffic) to Clayton Lake State Park. There is one other camper in another loop so it’s pretty quiet. Sites are large and we are overlooking the lake (C-9). Semi-dark sky allowed us to see the Milky Way and amazing stars. Lots of wildlife very active at night. A good first day. 253 miles.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
We had such a good time in the spring at this national park that we wanted to go back. Our favorite site A-9 was already booked so we reserved site A-34. Not as nice but we made it work. Set up in the rain – white canopy and patio mat first. Good system.
We spent three nights here riding our road bikes on the rim, hiking the trail that allows dogs and checking out the diversion tunnel set up to send water to the Uncompaghre Valley. We saw a young bear on the road back from the diversion tunnel! Also went to the Montrose Aquatic Center for a short swim and showers. All in all, a fun weekend and not too far from home.
We are tightening up our “systems” for future travels, getting rid of things we really don’t use. We left the umbrella at home and will not bring the small aluminum table any more. We really like the additional space we have after taking out the air conditioner.
Weekend getaway
We camped in site #32 at Monarch Park for two nights. It’s less than 30 minutes from home so it’s an easy pack up and go. We set up on Friday night and came back to Salida on Saturday for a couple of events in town. Quick shower and back to camp! It was the first time we have left the T@G alone, locked up in camp. We were home unpacked by noon. Although the site itself was adequate, site #34 is the better site.
Crested Butte Disbursed Camping
Weekends are busy in Colorado but Crested Butte seems the busiest for us. We found this spot on the Slate river about 6 miles out of town. Very dusty and dry and nothing left in or near the trees. Price was right though! Our set up worked great and we didn’t miss having a picnic table. Next trip we will be looking for trees and shade!
Rikki took us four-wheeling over Paradise Pass. There were some wildflowers still and the views were spectacular!
img 7107
fullsizerender
fullsizerender1
New Set Up
We switched the canopies putting the white larger one over the “living space.” Gave us much more room!
Thoughts on Collegiate Peaks CG: we lucked out with this site with its large space and relative privacy. Although the CG FULL sign was out there were two available sites right near us. We call the smaller wooded sites the “inner city” since they are so crowded with lots of families and kids. We are “out in the county” here and prefer it. Doubt we will be back here this season. Too many other places to go.
Relaxing by the fire
It’s very quiet here at monarch park tonight. We are enjoying being off the grid and away from the daily news.
Our Little Guy dealer
Here’s Susan with Dana Parsons of Missouri Teardrop Trailers in Centerview, MO. What a pleasant experience dealing with this knowledgeable gentleman! We spent more than two uninterrupted hours with him as he took us through all the Ins and Outs of our new T@G trailer. Hope to stop in to see him again on one of our trips. Thanks again, Dana!
The Adventure Continues
We have very mixed feelings about letting our Silver Shadow go. We know it’s going to a great new owner who will take it to new and exciting places.
In a few days we will be heading to KC, Missouri to pick up a 2017 T@G. These last three years with our SS have taught us what we love about Teardrop trailers: easy travel, comfortable bed and so much more. Once we saw the T@G model, we wanted the additional head room, doors and windows. Also the birch wood interior which we wouldn’t do without. We’re getting the T@G Max with all the upgrades which will also be an adjustment for us. We are consumed with excitement about this new trailer and can’t wait to see it here in our driveway!
img 6939
img 6940
Chaco Canyon
img 6827
img 6831
img 6833
img 6834
img 6840
Slight detour
Looking at the map the other day, we realized that with just a little detour we could visit Lake Tahoe and Susan’s sister. We arrived mid afternoon and joined Rosemary at kings beach where her son Frank was there with his family and several friends he grew up with. They had a great barbecue going on, live music and of course the fabulous view of the lake. It’s always so nice to be here and relax in her beautiful home. Glad we stopped!
img 5825
img 5832
img 5833
img 5837
First night
We got out of Salida around 1:30 after a morning of reorganizing and packing. We realized that carrying the bikes on top of the truck would free up alot of room inside so Rick modified his ladder rack to hold the bikes. Nice job! We got to Gunnison to stop at our favorite camping store, Gene Taylor, and found our stadium chairs and a replacement skillet for the one we forgot. Back on the road we ended up at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park campground and set up in Loop C. A beautiful rainbow and yummy grilled veggies for dinner was all we needed. It rained off and on and our new umbrella worked really well – just moved it wherever we needed it to be. Simon is dealing with his new environment and will most likely get more comfortable as the days go by.
Today we are on our way to Grand Junction and Brown’s Cyclery to consign my Trek mountain bike and shop with the credit I have there for selling my Pinarello. Should be a fun day! Not sure where we will be tonight. Stay tuned.
Tips:
- Bikes don’t go well inside the pickup topper because we need that storage space for camping gear and they are too hard to get out. Bikes are better outside.
- Square frying pan works better on a propane stove with wind guards.
Traveling with Siri
There were times on this trip we used Siri (the information assistant on Iphones) for help with directions etc. We found her (or him since I changed the voice to “male” on my phone) pretty helpful and then sometimes, not so much. If we were looking for a town, he or she would direct us to the mid point of that town. We followed the directions right into a neighborhood once wondering why we were going there. If we were looking for Walmart or Cracker Barrel or a state park, we were directed right into the parking lot. So we had to pay attention up to a point and then turn Siri off when we got close to our destination or we would end up not where we wanted to be. Oh yeah, and if we decided to stop before the destination, Siri sort of freaked out and started demanding that we turn around, make u-turns or do something to get back on the course. Pretty funny and we had a few laughs “messing” with Siri.
Rainy night
It started raining just as we climbed in the LG for the night and it rained hard all night. Being from Colorado we don’t usually get that much rain all at once. It stopped by morning but it was still pretty wet.
We are traveling on Highway 50 and drive through interesting small towns along this route. We thought this one had an unusual name, Rosebud.
The rolling hills and farmland are very scenic. The drive today was stress free compared to yesterday and the confusion of St. Louis. Tonight we are in Hutchinson, KS which will most likely be the last night on the road for this trip.
Highway 50 west
The Versailles state park campground was very pretty in the day light. We both took showers after a very restful night. Simon slept in with us all night with no barking. We took a short walk through the woods before leaving. Nice place, recommend it if you are in eastern Indiana.
We are heading west towards St. Louis today on highway 50. A lot of small towns through the farmland. We drove 20 miles for a cup of coffee though.
photo 117
photo 217
My own posts?
We just realized that Rick has been getting credit for all my posts. We are here at the Global Libations Internet cafe in Kutztown chatting with these locals. Rick changed my “role” on this blog so I’m posting this to see if it worked.
My old stomping grounds
Just passed into my home state. Tomorrow I will show Rick where I grew up and maybe introduce him to my younger brother in Cleveland. Should be an interesting day!
Minnesota Mike
![IMG_1283[1]](https://ourlittleguytravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/img_12831.jpg)
![IMG_1282[1]](https://ourlittleguytravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/img_12821.jpg)
This was the scene at our campsite in Grand Mesa. After the rain stopped on Saturday night, the setting was beautiful and serene. Sometime late Saturday, a large SUV pulled into the site two over from us. The camper started pulling everything out of his car, made a fire using old pizza boxes and other burnable items (not firewood) and then put everything back into his car. He was apparently car camping since he started his car several times during the night, probably to keep warm.
On Sunday morning, while just waking up and starting to make coffee, our campsite neighbor paid us a visit. He loudly came into our site asking if we had seen a gray cat. Really?? We said we had not and that’s why we kept our dog tied up. He said, “He always does this, just when I need to leave. So, where are you guys from?” REALLY?? “I’m from Minnesota and I really like it here, I think I’ll stay.” We we’re not in chat mode and pretty much ignored him as he wandered off to our campsite neighbor across the road. Heard him give the same intro about the cat, but when the “So where are you from” question was asked, he got trapped. Several minutes later he finally left the poor guy alone and went back to calling “Gabriel” and trying to reason with Gabe that it was time to go and to get into the car. He started to play loud pop music as if that would alert Gabe to come. He also made several passes back and forth along the road as if he were leaving and Gabe better come out of the trees or he would be left behind. Still no Gabe.
After about two hours of this, he told our neighbor that he was “running to Walmart” (Really? The nearest one is several hours away) and was he going to be there in case Gabe showed up. Not sure what our neighbor said. We were packing up and apparently got the message that we were not sympathetic to his situation so he didn’t come back to us. We never got his real name but nicknamed him Michael since his cat was Gabriel and they made a good pair of archangels.
Map of Ridgeway-Grand Mesa trip
This is a map of our trip to Ridgeway and Grand Mesa. We went 426 miles which was a little further than we had anticipated. The Subie averaged 22.2 mpg this time which was better than last trip but we only went over Monarch Pass and up and down the Grand Mesa. Bet we do really well on flat terrain.
Our Route Home From Bayfield, CO
Our First Trip
We picked up Shadow in Bayfield, CO and headed west for Durango not sure where we would stop for the night. It was raining pretty hard so at the first USFS campground sign we saw, we turned in. This was Lake Haviland and we got lucky! Cost for the night with our Golden Age Pass was $9.50. Site 30 was in the trees close to water and the bathroom. We set up quickly – Shadow was easy to turn to where we wanted him so we positioned it with the kitchen facing the picnic table just on the edge of the tarp. Setting up the tarp was a real challenge so first thing on our Needs List is a gazebo shelter.
We had stopped in Durango for food and ate a delicious meal of chicken with rice and veggies cooked on our stove . Easy cleanup with the counter tops and water handy. Simon was a happy camper too since we could let him roam a bit. The rain let up for a while and dried everything up. Simon is happier not sleeping in Shadow so Rick rigged up a tie-out for him and set him up under the camper. Sometime in the night he was asking to come inside and then the skies opened up again. Lightning and thunder and soaking rain. We were so glad to be off the ground, warm and dry.
Next morning we had our coffee and breakfast then headed out to the lake for a look-see. We went around the lake as far as we could go which was about a mile or so. So quiet and serene – we felt like whispering or just being with our own thoughts. Simon was having so much fun running off leash through the rocks and tall grass. We are so enjoying his spirit and energy.
We packed up at checkout (noon) and headed towards Silverton over Coal Bank Pass. The Subie did great with the elevation and steepness. We find it nice to have the Sport feature which allows us to use manual shifting to hold the speed with the transmission rather than the brakes. We got to Silverton a little tired so we found a spot in the shade and rested for a while. Simon barked every time the horse drawn buggy came by so we didn’t really sleep. Gotta get him to get used to horses.
Left there around 4 and headed over the Million Dollar Highway into Ouray, one of our favorite places. No stopping this time but we did stop in Ridgeway Town Park for a late lunch of leftovers from dinner the night before. We headed to Montrose and stopped in Walmart to see if they had a stove that would fit on the countertop and maybe buy some dinner. We did neither and decided to go home.
As we continued toward Gunnison, it was getting dark and we realized we would be home after 10 so we scoped out a couple of campsites and decided to stay at Stevens Creek along Blue Mesa Reservoir, another USFS area. Not much of a setting but it was $6 for the spot. We backed Shadow in, snacked on whatever was in the cooler, took a short walk with Simon and hit the bed again. So nice to be able to stop like that! Simon got some sort of burrs in him from running in the weeds so we spent some time getting those out. Again, he slept under the trailer until morning.
We had coffee and a snack in the morning in Gunnison, stopped at Gene Taylor Sporting Goods in our continued search for a gazebo, a stove and now a percolator. No luck there or at the local Walmart. So we headed home arriving around 11. Total mileage from Bayfield was 256 miles and we got 20.7 mpg even going over all those mountain passes. We were happy with that.
Little Guy Customer Service
Once we decided to pursue Little Guy rather than other similar types of teardrop trailers and after watching all the online videos, we had questions that needed answers from Headquarters in Ohio. Of course, it was a Friday afternoon and they are 2 hours ahead of us, but as Chris says in the videos on their golittleguy.com website, “Text me anytime!” So we did – at 6:30 Mountain Time. We really did not expect to hear back that evening, but sure enough, he did! We went back and forth with him on a couple of issues and he answered them to our satisfaction so we could sleep easy that night. It’s reassuring to know that he did what he said he would, even after 9 pm on a Friday. We feel very good about this company and are hoping all works out when we meet our Little Guy Silver Shadow in two days. We are even thinking of making a trip east and taking a side trip to World HQ in Canton, Ohio on the way.
On the local level, we have been dealing with Dena at Rich’s Performance Marine in Bayfield, Colorado and have been similarly impressed with her followup and assistance. Really looking forward to meeting her on Wednesday!
Our Little Guy Travels 