Down the Open Road ~ Destination Colorado

 

Our months spent in the Midwest did finally come to an end.  The last weeks spent in Minnesota with family were busy to say the least with daily visits to see Jeff’s Mom and time with the Minnesota grand kids when we could.

An early 97th Birthday celebration for Dorothy before we were to leave

After leaving Lake Independence in Maple Plain, Minnesota where we were camped at Baker Park Preserve for a good many weeks it was time to move the coach.  Our maximum number of days that you could stay here was met, although we were not quite ready to leave the Gopher State.



Colorful trees in the background.  Can you see the geese on the lake?

We did have some good fires this time around

After having to move a couple of times, we settled in amongst the trees

Grandpa's little helper getting ready to make a fire for S'mores!

Time spent at the playground at Baker Park

Julia & Grandpa busy in the kitchen

Abby took advantage of the empty shoe box.

Next stops were ~

Cabela’s in Rogers, MN– We were able to stay in the parking lot, stretching an overnight into two nights without any problems.

St. Louis Park, MN – Kay’s daughter, Jill, lives in this suburb west of Minneapolis with two of our grand kids, Julia and Joseph.  With new highway construction recently completed we are now able to park on her side street for at least 48 hours.  This was perfect as we had plenty of room to maneuver the coach with a nice size cul de sac nearby.



How nice is this?  Curbside parking at Kay's daughter's home

Maplewood, MN – It was in this northeast suburb of St. Paul that we had an appointment for the coach at Mike’s LP & RV Repair to check a few things for us.  We have had work in past years with our 2000 Dutchstar and Wayne has taken good care of us.  

Owatonna, MN - Kay is reminded of the TV series with Ty Pennington that did remodeling remakes for families in need.  When they were ready to have the family see the finished product, the crowd assembled would shout out, “Move that bus!”   Well, it is now our turn to move our bus headed toward what seems to be our annual overnighter in the Cabela’s parking lot here.  It is always a good visit since we get to go into the store and shop!

Sioux Falls, SD – We needed an overnight stay at Tower Campground (a great pull-thru was available for us) as part of our out-of-state driver’s license renewal.  Everything went very well with us getting out of their office in less than one hour.  After that we picked up our mail at Dakota Post (our mail forwarding carrier) and then returned to the campground to chat with our neighbors, Jean and Denny Peterson who are also originally from Minnesota.  Due to inclement weather moving into Wyoming, our travel plans for that next morning changed, taking us take the route through Nebraska/Iowa to keep us a little warmer with dry roads ahead.  Overall, it was a good plan.

Jean & Denny Peterson at Tower Campground

 

 


TheArchway at Fort Kearny, Nebraska

Pueblo, CO – It was good to finally be here after traveling almost 1,200 miles from Baker Park Campground in Minnesota.  Our original plans were to spend only 2-3 days but it stretched out a few more days as we had to take care of our toilet problem before heading any further.   So, if any of our Colorado friends read this, please know that we just didn’t have time (or peace of mind at the time) to visit with you this go-around.  We will return next spring and catch up.

We did however take some pictures that we want to share, as we always enjoy our stay at Haggard’s RV Campground west of Pueblo with the owners, Nancy and Matt Fetty.  The weather was unseasonably warm for this area and for that we are so grateful.  We had just a few mornings that were cool, but nothing that our catalytic heater couldn’t take the morning chill off.

Jeff getting some tips on gold panning techniques

A beautiful sunrise to start another day !!!



A view of Florence on one of our Jeep trips in the mountains



Some nice color on this mini rainbow



We were given a great site with a view!



Junkin Fire in the distance

Green Chili Slopper with some Stella's

We definitely are beginning to gravitate to this state as we realize that there is so much more to see.  We definitely like the green, mountains and water in the spring through fall months.   Could Colorado be a possibly base for us in the future?

Right now our sights are set for winter warmth so we will be leaving shortly heading into New Mexico on our way to northern Arizona – destination Bullhead City, near Laughlin, Nevada. 

Travel Blessings to those of you that are taking journeys on the open road.  We’ll be checking in with you on our next update.

Hugs!