Austin Camping

Our last stop in Texas is McKinney Falls State Park which is just a short drive from downtown Austin.  There is no easy access to the city with our bikes so we drove into town, found a parking spot and walked around, ate lunch, shopped and went back home.  MeKinney Falls is a large park so we were able to ride our bikes around to see the two different falls and an old home site.  We also hiked a circle trail.

While in New Braunfels John discovered a new system for delivery of Amazon purchases - Amazon Lockers. John orders so much stuff from Amazon that I think he was going through a withdrawal of sorts since he hadn’t been able to order anything for most of this trip.  Now with the lockers, he can order from Amazon and have it delivered while we are in the ‘wilderness’. He found one near MeKinney Falls. 

As usual we stopped in Norman for the weekend to spend time with our daughter and her family.  It’s always enjoyable to play with our grandsons and visit with their parents.

We dropped the new RV off at the dealership in Carthage MO to have several issues repaired, replaced or corrected.  John will have to drive back down next week to pick it up again.  I think we have located most of the issues to be attended to.  We should be about ready to head out for the winter in January.

Austin Waypoint

The KOA campground is about 8 miles from  downtown Austin.  We know this because we rode our bikes on a trail from near the campground to near downtown where we found a group of food trucks.  We had a choice of Thai, Greek, Italian and BBQ.  We chose the BBQ that was very good.

The bike ride was partially on the trail and part on city streets but enjoyable none the less. Our bodies let us know that we hadn’t done this for awhile so naps were in order when we got back.

Today we move to a state park that is even closer to the city.

German Experience Continues

Monday started out nice so we took a short hike down to the river and back before we moved to New Braunfels, a German community outside of San Antonio.  As predicted the weather turned nasty with temps dropping 20 degrees in two hours, the wind kicked up and then the rain fell!  We found a delightful German restaurant for dinner.

Friend and former colleague, Ray and his wife who live in a San Antonio,  joined us for lunch on Tuesday and again on Thursday.  We spent Wednesday walking the downtown of New Braunfels, shopping and viewing an art gallery.  We also walked around the small community of Gruene which is a very popular place in the summer due to its location on the Guadalupe River but was fairly quiet today with the gloomy, cold weather keeping folks at home.

Guadalupe River

We have spent the last couple of days in  the Guadalupe River State Park near San Antonio.  The once lush prairie is now covered with live oak and cedar trees which house lots of birds, coons, foxes and deer. A ranger led hike in the Honey Creek State Natural Area helped us to recognize the live oak, white oak, and persimmon trees as well as bald cypress along the river banks.  He pointed out deer and coon tracks, scat from coons and fox and other natural wonders.

Today John and I hiked almost four miles on the cliff tops overlooking the river and the forests and hills on the opposite banks of the river.  This park must be packed during the summer months as there is plenty of access to the river from the shore where kids can wade and splash around in the cool shadows of the many trees.

The weather is due to turn really nasty on Monday so we will head to the city to escape the worst of it (we hope).

Shakedown Run

On Monday, October 28 we were in Carthage MO to pick up our brand new 2020 Newmar Ventana!  She is a beauty!  Following the walk around to view and learn about her workings, we began transferring everything from the Bay Star into our new home on wheels.  It took a full two days!  We worked in rain and cold, Pam caught a cold and a few things had to be repaired right off the bat.  Pam’s cold plugged up her ear, causing severe dizziness and a trip to urgent care.  She is now well.

We tried to leave Thursday and drove a whole 12 miles only to discover that the door is misaligned and the wind whistles through it.  A temporary fix will get us through this trip until we return to Carthage for our follow up repairs visit.

Friday and Saturday we drove through Oklahoma with numerous stops to check on things rattling, whistling or moving around. Our destination for our first stay is Fredericksburg TX, a lovely German town in the heart of Texas Hill Country. We could hardly wait to walk into town to get some exercise and to see if anything had changed since our last visit to this area.  

While here we visited the Enchanted Rock State Park where we hiked in the rain around a 425 foot tall granite dome.  We only got half way around and turned back since the way was blocked by a full creek further on. We still put in 4.5 miles.  And then the sun came out!

We also drove over to the LBJ Ranch State and National Parks and Johnson City, hometown of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Again the weather did not cooperate but we still got to see the ranch and a few buildings.  The Texas Whitehouse is closed for repairs. The visitor centers presented his history as president and his life after office in very interesting formats.  

We’ve done our share of walking in town, shopping, and eating at some fine restaurants.  We are in Texas wine country but we have been reluctant to try their offerings as we are wine snobs and afraid the wine won’t reach our standards. (Ha Ha).

Miramont Castle and Broadmoor Hotel

Miramont Castle (French for “look at the mountains “) was constructed in 1895 and add to in 1897. It was built for a French Priest and his mother.  They only lived there for around eight years before returning to France.  The Sisters of Mercy purchased it and used it for a Sanitarium and later as a retreat and summer home. In 1946 it was sold to investors and turned into apartments for returning soldiers of WWII. It changed hands 11 times in the ensuing years.  In 1976 the Monitou Historical Society was formed to save the  building from condemnation and destruction.

It is built up the side is the mountain so that each of the four floors has a ground level opening.  It has 30 rooms, featuring 9 architectural styles including English Tudor, Romanesque, Moorish, and Byzantine. One room has 8 sides and another has 16 sides.  When constructed it included electricity and in-door plumbing.

There is a chapel, a great hall for the display of artwork, servants quarters, dining room, a conservatory, and a solarium.  A shoe was found in the rafters that was placed there by the builders as a charm to protect the occupants from evil demons or witches. 

We strolled through old town Manitou Springs and also visited the Broadmoor Hotel, a famous and huge hotel complex. Interesting place..

US Air Force Acadamy

The repairman called and they should have parts by 1 pm so we drove up to the US Air Force Academy for a tour.

The mission of the Academy is “To educate, train, and inspire men and women to become leaders of character, motivated to lead the US Air Force in service to our nation.”  The visitor’s center had displays that show how the academy achieves its mission through education, physical fitness, character development and extracurricular activities. 

Our tour guide was a 1963 graduate of the academy.  We got an overview of the main campus, walked around the iconic chapel (the inside is closed to visitors for 3 years for renovations), and watched all 4,000 cadets line up and march into the dining hall for lunch.  They can feed those 4,000 cadets in 25 minutes. We walked through the Honor Court and viewed the Polaris Hall tower before a light lunch in Arnold Hall.  We also got to drive around a very small portion of the 18,000 acre complex that includes the airfield, sports fields and football stadium and housing for staff and officers.  With the mountains as a backdrop, it is a very impressive place.

We’ve had a few hitches with getting the A/C replaced but it was finally finished about 6:30. 

Pikes Peak

Several weeks ago, John had contacted an RV repair service in Colorado Springs about replacing our A/C unit and fixing our generator. This morning the mobile service technician showed up without the A/C unit!  It had not come in but was expected later on Monday.  The repairman worked on the generator and determined that it needed a new fuel pump and he looked at the A/C unit and determined it only needed a new motor which they could order and have tomorrow.

Now we can enjoy the rest of day.  Back when John and I were kids, we had at some point driven up to the top of Pikes Peak and we wanted to do it again since had been so long ago. We thought about taking the Cog Railroad but found out that it was closed down for a total makeover and wouldn’t open again until 2021.  The drive up is now paved (probably has been for a long time).  The peak is at 14,115 feet above sea level. We passed Crystal Reservoir but it had been drained for repairs to the dam.  Big foot has been sighted in this area but not today.

At about the 10,000 foot mark a sign read that we were 1 mile below the peak.  The total drive on the road is 19 miles but if you hike it is about 11.5 miles.  At the 16 mile mark we had to abandon our car and ride a shuttle up to the top due to construction all around the peak.  In about 3 years they will have several new buildings, new walking paths, new view points, a new restaurant and new parking area. So finding a place to view the valley below and the horizon beyond was next to impossible.  In fact, I slipped and strained my knee trying to get to a view point.  But, despite all of that, I’m glad we made the trip.  It was awesome!

Garden of the Gods

Even though is was only a 45 mile drive from the lake to Manitou Springs, it was a lovely drive through gorges and canyons made up of red rocks and boulders.  Our Garden of the Gods RV Resort is only one mile from the Garden of the Gods Park which is owned and run by the city of Colorado Springs and is free for all to visit.

There are numerous naturally occurring rock structures in this 3 mile long park with many walking paths weaving in an around the rocks.  Most of the roads are marked with bike lanes and there are lots of pullouts for picture taking opportunities.  We stopped at the most popular areas where we watched young folks rock climbing.  Many rocks are named like Kissing Camels, Gray Rock, Sleeping Giant, the Three Graces, and the Pulpit Rock.  The Balanced Rock was at one of the entrance/exits.

Around supper time we walked around Old Town Colorado Springs looking for a good dining place and settled on an okay Italian restaurant.

Eleven Mile Lake State Park

As we were leaving Buena Vista Friday morning, John spotted the Central Tractor store and thought they might have the parts he needed to repair our electric cable that runs from RV to Jeep. And they did have it!

We then drove over to Eleven Mile Lake State Park, a whopping 54 miles.  We have camped here before and enjoyed it then as we did this time.  It was’t too busy even though they had a fishing tournament on Saturday so we had a fairly secluded site. John then spent most of the afternoon fixing the electric cord while I walked around the loops enjoying the cool air and warm sunshine.

Saturday morning I explored an area  just up the hill from our campsite looking for wildlife and picking up sticks for our campfire.  We also walked down to the Marina but it was too early to see the fishermen coming in with their catch.

After our naps we decided to run down to Cripple Creek in hopes of taking a tour of an old gold mine.  We drove the back country gravel roads, took a wrong turn and arrived in Cripple Creek too late for a tour.  Oh, well, we still enjoyed our walk up and and down the main drag.  There must be a dozen different casinos all around the business district and it is very popular with the much-older-than-us generation. We must have passed 10 folks in wheel chairs, toting oxygen tanks.

It was a perfect evening for a campfire while watching the harvest moon rise up over the ridge.

Tin Cup Pass

John treated me to breakfast this morning at the Rooster Crow Cafe.  As we drove to the RV we decide it might be fun to drive over Cottonwood Pass and down to Taylor Lake in the Jeep and try an off road trek over Tin Cup Pass.

We were in this area about 5 years ago and the drive from the top of  Cottonwood Pass down to Taylor Lake at that time was all gravel.  Today we drove on a brand new paved road!  We wouldn’t hesitate to take an RV down this toad today.

We slowly drove through the village of Tin Cup, which hasn’t changed in 5 years, and then thought we could drive over Tin Cup Pass to get back to Buena Vista via the back roads. Even though we are pretty sure we have taken this route before we didn’t remember it being so rough.  We stopped at Mirror Lake for lunch,  the mountain goats were grazing high up on the mountain side and a couple of fishermen were catching trout.

Then the really tough part of the climb began.  In over an hour we may have traveled a couple of miles. When two Jeep Rubicons passed us coming down,  we asked about the road on up.  Both drivers suggested that our little Jeep would really struggle on some of the rocks and boulders so we wisely turned around and went back the way we had come. John thinks we may have been okay if we had been traveling with a group, but being alone on these trails is not really very smart. We would hate to get stuck up there all night!

We ended the day with a walk around Buena Vista and a nice dinner on a restaurant patio.

On the Road Again

We debated on staying in Frisco another day or two but decide it was time to move on towards Colorado Springs since we have to be there on Monday to get the AC replaced.  We pulled out of the campground around 10am and drove down to the sanitation department where they maintain a dump station for RVs.  Before dumping we decided to hitch up the car.  The last thing we do before driving off is to check the tail lights on the car and RV to make sure they work.  This time, the first time ever, they did not work!

A quick trip to Walmart for a new plug, then rewiring the cable (with a slight slip of the knife and a cut hand), and John got it fixed so we were off after a 3 hour delay. We got as far as Buena Vista, unhitched the Jeep so we could explore some National Forest campgrounds, and then decided to stay at a commercial park before moving on.  The forest campgrounds were either to far down a washboard road or just plain not good for our class A coach. The good part of a commercial campground is long hot showers!

Long Stay in Frisco

Following a lazy Saturday morning we rode our bikes into Frisco to participate in their annual Food Tasting and Arts Show.  They blocked off about two blocks for the food , beer and wine tasting and the arts tents were set up on the lawn of the History Museum.  We dined on Cajun food and enjoyed going through the arts and crafts displays.  One artist had beautiful paintings on the back side of glass create neat three dimensional picture.  If one would have fit in our house we would have purchased a piece, but not. I found a nice pottery tray that is going home with me.

Sunday’s weather forecast called for rain so I made John drive us up to Breckenridge for their annual October Fest rather than ride our bikes.  It did rain but we could have missed the wet drops on a bike ride. We enjoyed the German foods and beer while doing some major people watching and listening to polkas played by different bands on two different stages.  

Monday and Tuesday were bike riding days.  Monday was the 21.7 mile ride up to Keystone and back and Tuesday was the 6 mile ride up hill to Copper Mountain with an easy cruise back down.  

Enjoying Summit County

Wednesday we rode our bikes up the hill/mountain to Breckenridge where we shopped and had lunch before cruising back down to Pine Cove.

On Thursday we hiked the Shoreline Trail around the peninsula where we are camped then drove back up to Breckenridge for a half price happy hour dinner starting at 4:30!  We sat at the community table and enjoyed visiting with a young couple from England. 

Today my best friend from high school, Mona, drove up from Denver and we had a great visit and went to the Dillon Farmer’s Market for Palisades peaches and tomatos.  John rode his bike over there and discovered the seafood booths so we now have crab cakes and salmon in the freezer.

Time to Head South

We pulled out of the Bighorn Mountains and headed south toward Colorado.  It was a long hot drive down to Casper, WY where we stayed for the night so I could do the laundry and fill the cupboards and frig with supplies.

Then on Tuesday morning we continued our trek to Frisco CO, arriving mid afternoon with hopes of snagging a place in Heaton Bay campground.  We had no luck there so we ended up on the Dillon Lake shore at the Pine Cove Campgroud which is really just a parking lot made into camping slots for RVs. But - we are right on the lake with a great view of the mountains.  We’ll hang out here through the weekend and then decide where to go next.

South Tongue River

John was tired of me dragging him up mountains and down steep trails only to have to come back up the steep trail so he planned a day trip where we hiked some easy paths and drove on some easy and some difficult trails.

Near the Dead Swede Campground we found a wonderful path along the South Tongue River that led us through quiet forest, along soft pine covered trails and past interesting boulder strewn hills.  I imagined that my grandchildren would have had a great time climbing over all the rocks and wading in the river.

As we traveled the gravel road we enjoyed the scenery and kept an eye out for moose or mule deep, neither of which were spotted.  We did stop at an historic Splash Dam where tie hacks would build a temporary dam to hold back the spring snow melt to be released when conditions were right in order to ease the movement of  railroad ties from the forest to the sawmills in the valley.

We then found a rugged four wheel drive road that led to Groundhog Gap.  It was so slow going that we turned around after just 3 miles and headed back to the gravel road.  There was a short road that we took up a hill so we could hike up to Calvin Lake, a small mountain lake that was a refreshing change from the ruff roads and mountains.

To cap off this lovely day, John took me out to dinner for a great hamburger and fries.

Quiet Day of Fishing

John spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon fishing in Prune Creek with a little luck catching the small fry trout.  According to John the water is too shallow to grow big fish.

While John was fishing Pam hiked in the area where they had been logging and collected firewood, startled mule deer and admired the huge machinery used to cut down a forest and pile up the logs.

All in all it was a quiet day.

Bighorn Mountain Landmarks

The Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark has been on Medicine Mountain for over 10,000 years and is a sacred place for not only the Shoshone, Crow and other local tribes but today is a sacred spot for over 85 different tribes from all over the US.  The wheel is a circle with a circumference of 245 feet and has 28 spokes made of rock running from a small inner circle to the outer edge. Outside the main circle are three smaller circles where sacrifices and amulets are placed. The park service requires the Native Americans to show proof of their heritage and tribe before allowing them to perform their sacred ceremonies.

We drove on back country gravel roads to get to Medicine Mountain and enjoyed the scenery, the cows, and mule deer.  Many, many people pull their 5th wheels and trailers up here and camp in the back country, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  It’s something we sometimes think of doing ourselves.

After lunch we stopped at Porcupine Falls.  The trail down to the bottom of this 60 foot waterfall is very steep but you don’t realize how steep until you try to walk back up it.  There were 153 wood steps and 88 steps carved from rock and a whole long way of just dirt paths.  But the half mile walk down was well worth the effort as the falls and the surrounding canyons were magnificent.

On our way back to the RV we had to stop suddenly for a male and female Moose to cross the road in front of us.  The picture is not the best but you get an idea of how tall these creatures stand.  We were very lucky to see them.

We also got rained on and some hail fell as well.  More rain came while we napped and then it cleared up.  The bad part is that the rain brought cold weather.  It’s been chilly all day - 52 -63 degrees. Where are my gloves?!

Black Mountain Lookout

John spent most of the morning trout fishing in Prune Creek with some luck but nothing to brag about.  I sat by the creek with my watercolors and pretended to be a Pleinair artist. The ‘real’ artists make it look so easy but I find this a bit challenging with getting a three demensional look.  I achieved it with the creek but my trees are horrible!!

We decided to take a drive and a short hike later in the afternoon. The lady at the visitor center, who sold us a $22 map, said the hike up to the Black Mountain Lookout was only about a mile long but the views were spectacular because we could see the Tetons to the west and two states to the east.

First we had to find the right road - that took two tries.  Then we had to find the trail. The road we needed to take to the trailhead was blocked by a pickup truck.  The driver appeared from the right, across the creek and sauntered back to the truck, turned it around and left.  We crossed the creek, looking right where the man came from and saw a trail, looking left were two 5th-wheels parked along the creek, blocking our view up the hill, so we assumed the trail was to the right.  We walked for about 15 minutes up hill and then back down and came to a road.  On reflection, we realized that the road must have run by the 5th-wheels so we walked back to the car and drove up the left side up to the real trailhead. 

That drive was truly made for our Jeep.  It was very rutted and rocky and gave us an opportunity to do a little off-road travel.  Then came the 1-mile hike to the top.  It was steep walk up 800 foot of elevation.  The one mile was actually 1.5 miles and the last leg felt like rock climbing as it was very steep, shale in places and so narrow I was hugging the boulders on the inside edge.  But we made it to the 9,500 ft. summit and the views were as expected.  The CCC constructed several watch towers in the Bighorn Mountains and this is one of three still standing and still in use during the wildfire season.  They even had to put in rocks and cut a way through rocks to make it to the very tip top of  Black Mountain.  We didn’t stay long and the trek down was much easier. 

The last part of the hike started up this shale walkway up through the rocks to the lookout building at the arrow.

Bighorn Mountains and National Forest

It’s only a 105 mile drive to where we are camped now but it took us 3 hours to get here.  From Cody we drove across flat scrub land to Greybull and then started climbing up into the Bighorn Mountains and National Forest.

We stopped briefly in Shell to view the Shell Waterfall, although not a very tall fall it was impressive how much water runs through its canyon.  Speaking of canyons, we had a beautiful drive through steep canyons on the way to Granite Pass at 9033 feet. The way was very narrow and quite curvy but thankfully there was not a lot of traffic so John could drive slower and also take in the views.  We stopped to look at the canyon walls several times but there is just no way to convey the massiveness of the canyon with photographs.

John had researched the campgrounds in Bighorn so we knew where to look for a site.  The first campground was all reserved for Labor Day weekend but the second one, Prune Creek, had 3 walk-in sites so we grabbed one right on the creek.  It is a pretty creek and area with numerous opportunities to hike and off-road in the Jeep.  The really bad part is there is zero cell service.  That is why you are seeing this post so late.  Oh, well.  

Buffalo BIll Center of the West and Dam

The biggest draw in Cody, besides the nightly rodeo and its proximity to Yellowstone National Park, is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museum.  We spent over 3 hours in this building and still didn’t see it all.

One two story wing was the natural history of the land that Bill Cody called home.  There were some amazing dioramas of animals in their natural habitat, the geology of the area and the lives of the American Indians who lived here before the white man pushed them out.  

One wing was the life and times of Buffalo Bill Cody, his relationships with the Indians, his Wild West Show staring Annie Oakley, his family and his connections to and the establishment of the town of Cody.  

There were two Wild West art galleries but we only made it through one of these and then the world’s largest collection of guns.  Display after display, drawer after drawer, room after room of nothing but guns.  What a collection!

Since we had the time we decided to drive the short distance to the Historic Buffalo Bill Dam. Col. Cody wanted to help the ranchers and farmers use the water from the Shoshone River to irrigate their lands but they needed a storage reservoir.  Long story short, after starting the project in 1903 the dam was completed in 1910.  At that time it was the highest dam in the world at 325 feet.  It was also one of the first high concrete arch dams.  The base of the dam is 70 wide but the top is 200 feet wide.  Another 25 feet was added to the top of the dam in 1993. Along with irrational the dam provides hydroelectric power and provides some flood control for downstream communities as well as drinking water.

Hanging Out in Cody

John and I desperately needed haircuts, we picked up our mail and some prescriptions, did a few chores around the RV and then shopped some before eating a huge hamburger for lunch.  We had a quiet afternoon and watched a movie.  Not a very exciting day.

Buffalo Bill Cody

We left Thermopolis and had a leisurely drive up to Cody with a short stop in historic Meeteetse. This western town still has wooden boardwalks in front of buildings dating to the turn of the century.  Butch Cassidy once lived in the area (where hasn’t he lived?) and they are proud of the fact that Amelia Earhart visited the town and planned to build a home here until her fateful flight. Also the black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct was found here and its population is now growing.  But it is Sunday and we learned all this from bill boards since all the museums and stores were closed.

We parked at the Ponderosa Campground and walked into town for a quick tour of the main street then headed to Bubba’s for BBQ.

Thermopolis

The town of Thermopolis is not as interesting as the thermal/mineral hot springs and the surrounding area.  We did find a nice place to have pancakes and then we shopped the farmer’s market across the street.  We walked the downtown area and learned that the streets are wide enough to handle a 16 mule team wagon train turning around for its return trip.

About 21 miles north of town we toured the Legend Rock State Archaeological Site where petroglyphs from up to 10,000 years ago are etched into the rock walls.  Some picture animals such as the thunderbird, buffalo, and elk.   Others are thought to be men with horned headdresses or peace pipe.  Most are thought to be from visionary experiences or reaching into the spirit world of the stone.  Nearby we drove through the Hamilton Dome Oil Field. 

After lunch we drove to Kirby, and town of 97, where the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery is located.  It is out in the middle of nowhere but this is where the owners’ ranch is located.  We got a private tour and then a tasting of 4 of the 7 types of bourbon they produce. As much as I wanted to like their product, I still don’t like bourbon. They started in 2009, sold its first bottle in 2012 and today they have over 9,000 barrels and distribute to 38 states and Mexico.

Now it’s time to try the hot springs.  The Hot Springs State Park covers 10 square miles inside Indian territory.  The Indians agreed to the state park with the stipulation that they offer free use of  the hot springs.  There are other places we could have tried like hotels and an RV park as well as two pay-to-swim parks inside the state park but we chose the free soak at 104 degrees.  It’s a hot tub, what can I say?  Also in the park are the actual springs, mineral terraces, a swinging bridge over the Bighorn River, playground and picnic areas.