Poudre Canyon Routine

We’ve been living & working in Poudre River Canyon, CO since mid May, & have settled into a comfortable routine. I’ve been taking photos, & finally got some new ones posted to Picasa (where the following photos are stored.) We run the food trailer at Archer’s Poudre Canyon Resort on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday; then, we have four glorious days off to relax & run around. We make a Wally World run to Ft Collins every Tuesday, snoop around the city, & check out new eating places using my tips from the Grill. We even found a hamburger place that has frozen custard to rival Andy’s in Branson. Yum, yum!

Yesterday we had passport photos taken at Walgreens, but the only Post Office Passport Office in town was closed (no doubt, in preparation for being closed Thursday, 4th of July). I’d like to see Canada some time, & since we spent much of the past winter close to Mexico, we’ll probably visit there too. We’re getting a Passport Card (much cheaper) which only allows visits to Canada & Mexico since I doubt I’ll ever make it overseas (can’t afford to take our trailer or the critters).

Last week was unusually hot & even slightly HUMID in the Canyon, so we spent most of our four day’s off inside with the A/C running. Friday at work was horribly warm — thought I was either gona pass out or throw up. I stuck ice cubes in a towel & tied it around my neck! But we survived to experience cooler temps from cloudy skies & several showers on Saturday, plus even cooler temps & another couple of wet spells Sunday. Another storm hit Monday evening too right after dark, starting with hail before a hard downpour. I haven’t seen hail in a long time! Thankfully our little fiberglass egg isn’t bothered much by hail.

Also, a long-time email friend from Philadelphia came for a visit this past weekend. Wanda is a very accomplished musician & teacher, & actually composed a song for us celebrating our wedding last year. Unfortunately, she had to drive thru large hail from a storm north of Denver on her way to Ft Collins. And then the Canyon Highway (#14) was closed just before her arrival, due to a mudslide on the highway from the rain pouring down last year’s burnt mountainsides. She had to return to Ft Collins to stay in a motel that night. We finally had a good but short visit. She even threatened to take Kira home with her. LOL

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I continue to think I need more regular exercise (strength & flexibility) since I’m definitely at the age of use it or loose it. However, after reading a fellow Casita owner describing making her bed snugged along three walls as “Casita Yoga”, I’ve realized I actually get A LOT of flexing exercise just making our bed each day. And then there’s the full workout required to change the sheets! So with working on a regular basis again & routine housekeeping duties, I’m not sure just how much more exercise I can stand! Plus I’ve been drinking ice coffee (by refrigerating our fresh hazelnut coffee with dry creamer dissolved in a clean glass bottle) instead of soda, so I’m loosing a little bit of tummy flab without too much effort. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We really enjoy living & working in this canyon in northern Colorado — but I am severely missing having cell phone service. I especially miss talking to my parents (mostly my dad) every day. I have a small sense of guilt for not being closer to them all the time. BUT. . . I just can’t hang around waiting for them to pass away since that could possibly be another 10 years. And after going thru cancer myself, I don’t want to waste any time waiting to work on my bucket list. . .just in case. So, we’re trying to live each day like it might be our last, & hope our friends & family understand our choices.

So, I’ve finally delved into learning to use Facebook more to stay connected with friends & family in the absence of fon service in the Canyon. I make most of my calls when in Ft Collins, or we travel a half mile up the Canyon to the Fire Station for service. I’ve been using Google Voice tho so any voice messages on my phone are transcribed & sent to me by email. At least the wifi here works pretty well. And Google Reader has been retired now, so I’m getting used to using Feedly to read all the RVing blogs I like to follow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Speaking of choices, I sometimes think about our house & property outside of Kansas City, MO & where we might like to settle in the future. Amazingly, I have no regrets or sadness about leaving the house I designed & lived in for 25 years. I think it’s because the last two years there struggling with unemployment & cancer just left such a bad bunch of memories. I definitely miss my herd of cats tho & wonder how they’re doing. And now, I shudder at the thought of yard work, house cleaning, maintenance & repair, room to accumulate unnecessary stuff, plus the cost of taxes, heating/cooling, & insuring a conventional shelter. That doesn’t keep me from viewing places we pass by as possible docking stations tho: a piece of wooded property next to a stream, river, or lake, a concrete slab, a deck or patio, electric/water/sewer hookups, & a storage shed. Oh, and cell fon service. At least we’re having fun still looking. . .

The low humidity here has let us use one loaf of bread for 3 weeks now & it still hasn’t started molding. Surprisingly, I find myself remembering our campsite on BLM land south of Ajo AZ, or the free wooded site down the mountain east of Cloudcroft NM, or the huge, gorgeous red rocks of Utah. I sort of miss the Ozark Mountains around Branson MO too. . .but I sure don’t miss the heat & humidity there this time of year.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We took a side trip yesterday up Pingree Park Road, trying to locate the area on the mountain above our campsite to view the Canyon. The road became too rough for even 4-wheel drive in our pickup since Jeff was concerned about having a place to turn around at some point. Here’s the worst road back to the “better” road.

Last week, we took Stove Prairie south to pick up Hwy 36 that goes west to Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn’t go on to the Park since I want to make sure all the snow has melted from all the roads before we visit. We did stop in Glen Haven (north of Estes Park) for homemade cinnamon buns. Yum! The Canyon going from Loveland to Estes Park is impressive. . .but not quite as dramatic as Poudre Canyon. We did see a few big horned sheep crossing the road, & then saw a herd of 12 female big horns that same evening on the north mountain slope from our campsite.

We also drove west up Poudre Canyon, over Cameron Pass at 10,500” or so,

to the high plains of Walden, & saw a young moose grazing along the road. Not a good photo due to the tall grass & trees around it.

Oh, then there’s the small black bear who cruises around here, unscrewing hummingbird feeders to drink the water before moving on. And there’s also a 300 or so pound older bear who raided the tent campers’ ice chests last week! Thankfully, no snakes around here & few flying/biting insects. I sure don’t miss chiggers either!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love being in Colorado — at least until the snow starts flying. And lilacs grow WILD around here, & range from nearly white to deep purple.

Lots of wild flowers blooming too.

 

 

  

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I feel so bad about the 19 young firefighters dying in the fire near Yarnell AZ. And we drove right thru there in January on our way from Grand Canyon & Sedona to visit Al & Kelly (of the Bayfield Bunch blog) in Congress AZ. Just another good example to live each day like it’s your last! The only constant in life is change.