Got it turned in....a Great evening with my cousin....looking at palm trees again!

After my geocahing I slept great Thur nite. Friday morning I was up working as usual. Today was return day for my little humble home. I only worked 1/2 day and then finished closing up things on the rig. I had to dump the black and gray tanks, un-hook from the water and electric pull in the slide, check the tires and around the rig and roll. I wanted to ride the Cog Railway up to Pike's Peak on the way up to Aurora to return the rig. I had to drive through Manitou Springs to get there and then up the mountain a short distance. The further I got the more I knew this was a bad decision...the roads were narrow and the parking lot was awful, but I made it. Note to self....don't do something like this again without asking if it is big rig friendly. I kept seeing buses going up there, so I thought I could make it, and I did, but it was tight. Those bus drivers are GOOD, and better than me!!! I got parked, paid my $5 and headed to the train station....it is advised that you make reservations ahead of time but I went to the ticket window and ask if I could get a ticket for 1. The answer was yes, but it took 3hrs to do this. 1hr 15min ride up......30-45min on top, then the ride down. I didn't have that much time....I had to have the rig returned by 230p and it was about a 1.5hr drive plus I had to stop and gas up before returning...this would have to be for a return trip. I took a few pics and headed back to the rig.

Really cool train cars.....love trains.

You can't see Pike's Peak, but it is around the corner and way up!

I wanted to go so bad....but, I'll be back!

Now it was time to head north....up 25N and as an added pleasure I got to fight more wind!! Seems for some reason it's been very windy in Colorado for a few days, not normally so, lucky me!! I hit a little traffic, and was cutting it close but I made it.....1401.9 miles...I drove all but 10 of these miles, not bad for my first adventure!!! I got parked and they came out to check me in pretty quick. All that went well and I was on my way. 

My cousin Russell and his family live in Denver. He had graciously offered for me to spend the night with them, so pretty soon he came to get me. He had his adorable daughter Lila with him...she's a cutie. We made a few stops and then went to Hoss's BBQ for dinner...a terrific local place. We were in no hurry and just kinda chilled. ...at slow and visited with folks, was a great evening. It was time for Lila's bath and bedtime so we headed home. They live in an adorable older restored home across the street from a park. I walked outside about sunset to take a few pics. If you look close you can see Russell sitting inside the left window at his desk. 

His few from his home office.....not bad!!!

It's a 3 mile walk around the lake, the other side was coming alive with lights!!

He said they will often put Lila in her wagon and go for a stroll around the lake, maybe stop for dinner or coffee....what a great neighborhood.

Look at those mountains!!!

We then sat inside and chatted, and looked at old family pictures.....we laughed a LOT at some of those. Amber, his wife, had previous plan and was not there which is fine I was kind of last minute. I had a bottle of wine left from the week, Russell had his Coors and we had a blast. Was a wonderful evening, thank you guys so much for having me. Morning came early, I had to be at the airport by 7a....I had a short visit with Amber and Russell and I headed out. Flights were tight but I made it all the way back to FL. Was a long day and I was tired, but I was back home. Denny picked me up and we went to my favorite restaurant for oyster happy hour....$8/dz raw...yum!! I got my fix and we headed home. 

It had been a wonderful trip, I've learned A LOT, and can't wait to do it again. 

Hope you enjoyed following along.....now, back to my reality for now.....beaching it and riding my bike!!!

Not a bad life!!!

A bike rack....and Geocaching!!!

I woke up to cool again, but not as cool as it has been....was really nice. Work day as usual...nothing special. As soon as I could logoff, I was headed to town with my rental car. I thought I might get in one more site before I had to turn it in. However, the timing for the the guy that was picking me up didn't allow for that. So, I just drove it straight back to Enterprise and was grateful for the day I did get. I only drove the car 60mi and I didn't even have to put any gas in it...cool!!! It did allow me a nice afternoon yesterday. Got back to the campground and did a little personal email, then I decided to go chat with a neighbor. A couple pulled in 2 days ago in a Winnebago Journey (a rig I strongly considered), but I wanted to ask them about their bike rack. I'm about to buy one and I really like theirs....so I knocked on their door. They were very nice and showed me all about the rack, we put the bikes back on the rack...it's cool. I think I have my answer on that problem. They invited me in and it was sooooo nice to be in a rig like I will be in one day....it's really nice, and much bigger than what I've been in all week. We chatted about an hour and the topic of geocaching  came up....they do this and have had a ball. I've read about others doing it, and know something about it but not much. They said this campground had 3...they had found 2, but the other one was way up the hill....then they asked if I wanted to go do it.....SURE!!! So off we went......and up the hill it was. It was about twice as far up the hill I had gone up on Tues.....OMG it got steep sometimes, and there were lots of cactus.....

He had a hand-held GPS with him so we could find this cache. On the screen it showed arrows for your direction and told u how close you were. It was a rather steep walk and at this altitude was....WOW!! But we did it, and then came across this teepee looking thing. The cache was telling him that it was behind a natural made structure. Well, we were struggling with that, this was made out of natural stuff, but was very man-made.

But we looked behind it, and sure enough there it was, under a rock...

see the plastic tube???

We got it out....

and it was a plastic tube filled with all these random things....

There was a small journal that he signed and dated, and we put it all back in the tube, hid it again, and headed back down the hill. Before we left, they had shown me "traveling animals"...like a frog, that they had picked up. They had a "dog tag" on them that had a number on it. You logged onto the site, and looked up the traveling history of the animal, and you could see if there was a specific place the owner wished for the animal to go....(sorry forgot to take a pic of them)....it is all rather well thought out, and provides much fun....it's like a scavenger hunt anywhere you go, and you don't have to hide anything, just go hunt!! They said they'd gone places they would have never known about and seen some cool stuff because of this....hummmm, something for me to think about for the future. Is good exercise too...bonus!

We made our way down the hill and I stopped for one pic over looking the camp ground, I'm much higher than on Tuesday when I came up this way...you can see much more of the campground...very cool.

once back down on level ground we watched a deer and some humming birds...there is certainly evidence there is lots of wildlife here, but have not seen a lot. One couple was telling me that several yrs ago a doe came to their site and she was hurt. She looked like a mountain lion got her, her ear was split and she was badly scratched up. They nursed her back to health and now, every year when they return (they live here 6mth and Arizona 6mths), she comes to visit and brings her babies. They told me, they can now see 3 generations when she comes to visit....too cool. Reminded me of the movie Elsa...about the lion.

Well, was time to say thanks and good-night, I needed a shower and had to pack...this is my last night, have to return this little house to Aurora tomorrow. This is only about 80mi, so won't take too long and I'd like to be able to go ride the Pike's Peak RR.....but we'll see. I will work 1/2 day and then have to close down and hit the road. 

It's been an amazing adventure. No classroom could have taught me the things I've learned. There are many things you just have to experience, no one can explain them, this is one of them. Time for bed....I have to start early....my last cool campfire aroma nite.....but I"ll be back one day!

The Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs.....

It started out as another typical work day, but somewhere around 10a, I decided I had to get a rental car and go see a few things. I REALLY didn't want to unhook the rig, so I asked in the office if they had a car rental they recommended .....Enterprise, cause they had to come get me. So they gave me the number, I called, but was told I was too far away for them to come get me....great. The owner, David, said...you make the reservation, I'm leaving at 4p I'll take you. Then tomorrow we will figure out how to reverse it....WOW...how nice was that....these folks are awesome.....if you are in this area you MUST check it out...
www.campground1.com Mountaindale Cabins and Resort....it is amazing.

So...I got my car $38 and as promised David took me....I was only 6mi from the Garden of the Gods which is where I really wanted to go....it was a gorgeous day and the drive was great. It did feel a little odd to be in a small car after having driven the rig so far.

There were several pull-offs on the way....gorgeous snow-capped mountains....Pike's Peak

I didn't know Pike's Peak had been the inspiration for America the Beautiful...did you??

Yep it was a little breezy, but had to get this shot with the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak...wow!

The Kissing Camel's....one of the most famous of the rock formations.

Pretty interesting stuff.

The entrance sign....when u pass this it turns into a one-way road with many small parking lots along the drive to allow you to park and walk the gardens. But I went to the Visitor's Center first, looked around watched a 14min film and took some pics...then I went for my drive and walk....it was gorgeous.

Now for some gorgeous pictures of the rocks from my walk in the gardens:

The Gardens were donated to the city....pretty cool.

I loved the perfect placement of this sign about Pike's Peak....with it looming in the background:

Here is a closer shot you might can read it better....

A few more formations.....see the kids climbing the rocks....there were several doing it.

One last shot from the road as I was leaving the Gardens

Another famous formation....Balanced Rock.....amazing!

Now it was time to head to Manitou Springs...it's a small town, one main street, shops, restaurants.

I walked it for  about an hour and decided to head back.

Some of the town was built up the side of the mountain

This sign was on the wall of a building as I went by....this place goes back a few years....

I was headed back until I saw this sign.....it totally sucked me in:

Rudy's BBQ...and gas station....how can you not try a place where you can get BBQ and gas at the same spot....woohoo!!

You go through a line and order, and since I was a newbie I got to sample before ordering. I tasted the turkey, the brisket, and the pork loin. The also had baby back ribs and sausage but I couldn't sample those. You order by weight, so I got 2 ribs (1/4 lb) and 1/4 lb of the pork loin, corn on the cob and tea. Your food is given to you in a plastic drink crate. Too funny....then you go get your drink and help yourself to a relish bar, which was no big deal. It cost me about $10 and was pretty good.....woohoo, no cooking tonight. 

Would I go back.....sure. 

Now it really was time to head home. It was dark and I intended to be back before dark because of all the wildlife and I was not anxious to hit anything or have it hit me in this rental car. I had to drive 20mi south (following the GPS Dee and Jim gave me...thanks guys it has saved me), away from the city lites....it was a nice ride and I arrived home safely. Another great day....time for bed, have to get up early to work.

Hope you enjoyed my little side trip, I sure did....Good Night!

A work day ....some laundry and a hike!!

Last night was quiet....I could never make myself do much of anything. I had some baked potato soup for dinner, took a shower and decided to finally try the TV....well....I scanned for channels...nada. As I expected, some sites have a cable hook-up, I don't, but matters not, I don't have a cable. So, I'm glad I rescued some magazines from Susan's toss pile. I turned on some tunes from my PC and climbed into bed and read a while...the nites are always cool and great sleeping with the windows open.
Here's a few pics of my humble home....

Yes, you could sit on the bed and wash the dishes....but the bed is a pillow top and sleeps really good.
The door goes to the potty and shower...very small
See the frig on the right...it works pretty well, but is also small.

My office!!! I have a way to fix this in the future so my dining room does not double as my office.

I slept wonderfully until the 530a alarm...you see I am 2hrs behind ATL and I need to stay on the same work sched, so I'm up early. It was chilly, so I put on a sweat suit and started to work. I turned on the heat for a little bit, but because the heater, stove, oven and the hot water heater all pull off the propane tank and it's at the 1/2 mark I didn't want to use a lot, and I was ok. I could go buy more, but that's a hassle that's not worth it to me. It's only cool for a little bit, then it warms up nicely and the nice breeze is back. You see my rules are, bring the rig back with black and gray tanks empty and gas full. Propane matters not...so I"m trying to have enough for hot water and cooking and be done.
I'm hooked to water and electric, however, I couldn't hook to sewage because they didn't give me connector piece that this campground requires so I'm hoping my tanks can hold out so I"m being careful. My showers are off/on with the water and otherwise careful. Most campgrounds will allow you to just push the hose down the hole, but it seems this place creates such a suction you have to connect to the hole, not just shove the tube down.....the really nice workamper that lead me to the site told me to just not hook up, and he'd help me on Fri morning. Otherwise, I'd of had  to leave and go buy this and come back....they are all so nice here. So, I'm being careful cause my gray tank is getting full, my black tank is fine....thankfully.
During lunch break I did a little laundry...at $1.50/washer and  $1.25/dryer, I think the washer/dryer I plan to buy for my rig will more than pay for themselves!!!
Since I logon early...I logoff early.....so at 230p I headed out, it was time for some walking hiking...it's beautiful around here

Can you see the blue house in the distance....I walked over to there, it's a llama farm

I hiked to the top of a ridge, see the campground below??

Wanted to go higher, but the road  stopped and with these little babies everywhere I decided to  head down.
This is all up a hill they hope to also turn into sites one day. I'd gone as far as I could go, so it was time to head out the back of the campground. I went past my rig and out the back road....the road leads to some gorgeous property with a few houses and then if u keep taking lefts you ended up back on the road where the campground is. Was a nice walk/hike, I prob went about 2-3 mi....at 6700 elevation that was good.

This was one of the last places I passed before getting back to the  campground.....a llama farm, in the picture above it is a blue house you can see in the distance. Was a great walk and was good to get out a bit.
Then I sat outside for happy hour....was delightful, the cool night air is coming in. I came in and it was time to cook for the first time. Lighting the stove was easy, so I had a small steak and some broccoli cooked in the microwave....not bad.
About time to take a shower and hit the hay....I start early again tomorrow. I want very much to go to The Garden of the Gods but that means I have to unhook and drive there, so I'm debating that...we'll see.
Good night.....

Time for some Pictures.....

I'm just learning to add pics but was a good day to learn...as you will see they are a bit out of order, but they are there.....sorry, I will get better!!!

My destination.....great place

My rig next to Susan's min-cooper...just a little bit of difference

Ready to roll......my home for 7 days! 

My 2nd night with the trucker's...can u find me??

Montana Mike's bar....was a great lunch!

Windmills in Kansas...as far as I could see

Not sure you can see them well, but windmills in Colorado, even though wind was not as bad for me

Felt good to drive under this sign!!

The mountains were getting closer!

First glimpse of the mountains....was awesome

In my campsite and hooked-up.....didn't do much else all day!!