Colorado - 2007 - Durango

We departed Canon City this morning about 8:30. The drive west on U.S. 50 followed the swift running waters of the Arkansas River. The views were beautiful and the road had numerous curves but was fairly flat. When we reached Poncha Springs we headed south on U.S. 385. As we climbed out of town we encountered our first pass through the mountains. Poncha Pass, elevation 9010 feet was a fairly easy climb, a 5% grade. Fortunately it opened up to a valley some 60 miles long and 10 miles wide and a road as straight as an arrow.

Our real challenge came on CO 160 near Pagosa Springs. Wolf Creek pass, 10850 feet, had our palms sweating and wondering if this route was a good idea. The climb up the 6% grade was over 9 miles long, but our diesel chugged away at it. The 9 mile descent with 7% grade was a little hairy. I used the pack brake all the way down the hill but at times I had to use the motorhome brakes because we began to accelerate too quickly. The runaway ramp in the photo is one of two used quite often hill by runaway trucks and campers. Fortunately we didn't need it!

Durango is a very interesting city. There is a ton of things to do. The Chamber had lots of tips and advice for us. Tomorrow we are going to Mesa Verde National Park to see the cliff dwellings. For Wednesday we purchased tickets for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trip to Silverton. There are also numerous jeep trails and bike trails we'd like to check out if time permits. Maybe we'll have to stay longer?

For those who have never seen me cook, check out the second photo.

Colorado - 2007 - The Royal Gorge

Before departing on today's adventure our camping neighbor called this area the "Royal Gouge". He said the $24 ($19 w/coupon) was a ripoff, "the area is getting to commercialized". He's probably right, there are trinket stores and rafting companies up and down the road. But the Royal Gorge is truly magnificent. The $19ea. ticket included just about everything but the Bungee Flying (too bad). The walk across the wooden plank 1/4 mile long, 1000 foot high bridge is intimidating for us flatlanders. Kathy was determined to go, with much encouragement from me. Her first try was a failure, she turned back about 500 feet out. The second try was successful as she gripped my hand and walked swiftly down the center, with sweaty palms. We took over 50 photo with our digital camera, here are a couple.

We also took the incline down to the bottom of the canyon where we watched the rafters shoot down the class 3 rapids on the Arkansas River. During lunch we listened to a musical group play memorable tunes from the 70's, Neil Young, Credence, etc. I couldn't talk Kathy into taking the aerial tram with me across the gorge, she shopped in the stores. Some of the other interesting stops were the zoo, with an albino buffalo, the western town, and a ride on the old time Merry-Go-Round.

Late afternoon we drove along the river to watch the rafters come down the rapids. Monday morning we are headed for Durango. We have two mountain passes to cross over. We'll see how good the brakes are on a 40,000 pounds of rig coming down the steep hills.

Colorado 2007

The mountains are a little intimidating for us flatlanders. After arriving in Canon City this morning we headed into the mountains with our jeep. The information center in town told us that if we really wanted to see some rugged terrain to take the Phantom Canyon road to Cripple Creek. Road, that's a joke. It started out as blacktop for the first 3 of a 30 mile trip. As soon as we began to climb, it turned to gravel for the next couple of miles. It then turned to a totally unpaved road for the remainder of the drive, compacted only by the vehicles. The road winds through the canyon with steep drop-offs, no guard rails and much of it one lane wide. Both of the tunnels we drove through were blasted from solid granite and have no support timbers. The scenery is gorgeous, pictures can't describe the area.

Tomorrow the plan is to see the Royal Gorge. Kathy is a little apprehensive about walking across the worlds highest suspension bridge. We'll see it she chickens out.

On the Road Again - Colorado-07

Here we go again! The temperatures in Des Moines for the month of August are projected to be in the mid 90's. So why stay in Iowa when the mountains are only a day's drive away and the temperatures are 20-30 degrees cooler.

A week ago we decided that rather than travel in September or October when the weather is nice in Iowa we'd head out in the heat of summer for a couple 2-3 weeks.

The current plan is to head to Canon City, then Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Gunnison, Grand Junction and maybe even Steamboat. But who knows the plan could change in a couple of days. At this point we are pretty sure we're going to Durango. There are a lot of places to take day trips around Durango.

We'll try to post each day as long as we have access to the internet.

Gary & Kathy

Key West 2007 Sunday Back in Des Moines

The Key West adventure is over. We arrived home at 4:30 Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately we couldn't find our key to the house so Kathy had to drive to our son's house to get the extra one. Tomorrow we'll start the process of unpacking. What a great trip this was. But, it's great to be home!

We thought this picture best sums up the beauty of our trip to Key West. There were beautiful sunsets, ideal weather with plenty of wind and a quaint town to explore. But certainly the best part of the trip was the time we spent with friends who joined us during our stay.

A special thanks to Keith and Betty Gordon for luring us to Key West with their stories from previous visits.

Key West 2007 Mt. Vernon Walmart

When we awoke this morning at 7:30 the temperature at McKinney campground was in the mid 20's. That's about 25 degrees colder than their average temperatures this time of year in the Atlanta area. When we arrived here we thought about staying fir an extra day since we had heard it was so cold up north. Unfortunately the cold front dipped all the way into the south.

(No, the photo is not from Mt. Vernon, just another pretty shot in Key West)

So we continued our trek north to Des Moines. We drove about 450 miles today and arrived in Mt Vernon, Ill. about 4:15. We stopped here on our way to Key West in February and found a Walmart with a nice flat lot in which to spend the night.

Since Sunday was Easter we found a Catholic church to attend Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. It was an extremely long service that started at 7:15 and wasn't over till past 9pm. When we arrived back at the motorhome Kathy watch a movie as I dosed off for the night.

Tomorrow, Des Moines and the cold!

Key West 2007 Hot to Cold

Last night when we arrived home from Universal Studios the temperature was still in the mid 70's, having reached 80 earlier in the day. Early this morning the temperature dropped to the low 50's. The forecast for today was for a high in the low 60's so we decided we had better look for our long pants and sweatshirts.

Our goal for the day was to drive to McKinney State Park, northwest of Atlanta, about 435 mi. We made pretty good time until we got to Macon. Then the slowdown began. First the traffic built until we could only run about 50 mph. Then about 30 miles from Atlanta the real backup began. It was stop and go for the next hour and one-half. As we approached the bypass a traffic sign said I-285 was backed up due to an accident. So Kathy suggested we take I-75 straight through Atlanta. Aside from a slow down through the center of town it turned out to be a good call. We drove our 60 ft. rolling rig in the far left carpool lane right through the city. We received some funny looks but not any tickets.

We arrived at McKinney Park about 5pm and got the last campsite. This is a beautiful park about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta. I read some glowing reports about it on the Internet. The sites are humongous and totally surrounded by trees. Tomorrow we'll decided whether to stay another evening or continue north into the cold.

Key West 2007 Marilyn Leaves Me

I met a cute young gal today named Marilyn and fell instantly for her. We visited a number of attractions at Universal Studios. In all, we saw at least ten different shows but the 2 best were "The Mummy" and "Terminator". In order to avoid the long lines I bought each of us an Express Pass. They sell a limited number of these passes and it allows the holder to bypass the long lines. It's spring break and there are a lot of families making for long lines and waits. Some of the attractions had more than a 1 hour wait.

Marilyn and I had pizza together and watched a great Rock'n Roll group at Mel's 50's style diner. Unfortunately at the end of the day she dumped me for a younger man.


But as luck would have it I met another gal. Her name is Kathy. We jumped into a time machine at "Back to the Future" and the next thing I new, we were married for 38 years, had 3 children and 7 grandchildren. Boy time goes fast when you're having fun.

Tomorrow we head for Atlanta.

Key West 2007 Monaco Regional Center

There are a couple of things on our motorhome that are not working properly so I thought we would stop by Monaco's Regional Service Center in Wildwood, Florida. This is quite a facility. They have an RV park with 50 full hookup campsites and room for an additional 20 in overflow. There is no charge for use of the campsites while your coach is awaiting or undergoing repair.

Our fuel gauge has been working sporadically, our main slide does not fully extend and the ice maker has quit functioning. We thought we would have the problems checked out since the facility was only 10 miles from our route and we had a couple of extra days before we headed north to Des Moines. Appointments are usually made 2-3 months in advance, but they have emergency repair for those with problems traveling through the area. Unfortunately it may take a couple of days before they can find an opening.

Today we drove down to Orlando, about 39 miles, and checked out all of the attractions. Tomorrow we plan on going to Universal Studios. It will probably be crowded so we will by the "Fast Track" pass that will let us by-pass the long lines.

Key West 2007 A Visit with Tom & Marilyn

We had a good nights sleep. Tom stopped by with breakfast from Dunkin Donuts. Tom is an real estate agent and gave us an excellent tour of the surrounding area. We visited a number of new developments with furnished model homes. They ranged in price from $300,000 to $5 million. Several of the communities were on waterways and had a boat hoist. It's easy to see why so many people move here.

Following a nice lunch at a Bradenton Marina we headed to Wildwood, Florida. Monaco Motorhomes has a regional facility here. We have a couple of items on our motorhome that we would like them to checkout for us. This facility is equipped with 50 full hook-up sites in which you can stay while they are working on your motorhome.

Key West 2007 Monday Another Skyline Chili

I know it's hard to believe but we found another Skyline Chili Parlor, (Cincinnati's favorite), in Naples, Florida. You'll recall that early in our trip we found a Skyline in Ft. Myers. Kathy and I are crazy about their chili, our kids are too. Finding a parking spot was the toughest part. There is no parking on the streets near the restaurant and the lot was full of cars. We ended up pulling our 60 ft rig onto the grass on a side street. We gambled that we could eat before the police showed up to ticket us. We were successful!

Following lunch we drove to Bradenton to visit Kathy's brother Tom Moeddel. He lives in a beautiful gated community west of town. Since RVs are not permitted in his complex we parked in a lot near the guard house over looking a beautiful pond. It was one of the most peaceful and pretty sites we've had on this trip. Tomorrow, Tom is going to show us around the area.

Key West 2007 Dolphin Stadium

We headed out today at 8am because we wanted to go to the Dania Marine Flea Market. I hear it's the largest in the country. It's held at Dolphin Stadium parking lot, Thursday to Sunday at the end of March. There were about 500 exhibitors. They have everything you can think of for boats. Some of the items are salvage from hurricane boats and misc stock overruns. About half the stuff is new and half used. Our goal for the day was to find a new inverter for our boat. Kathy would like to be able to use our microwave when we are anchored. We found a 1200 watt continuous duty Coleman for $80. They typically run about $200. We think we got a good deal. Time will tell. We also bought a new life ring for our boat for about 30% of new.

We headed for Naples around 3:30 with tired feet and a lighter wallet. We found a nice campground about a mile off I-75, Club Naples RV Resort. Following a swim in the pool, Kathy made dinner and we tuned in the satellite TV. Tomorrow we head to Bradenton to visit Kathy's brother Tom and family.

Key West 2007 Last Day in Paradise

Our last day in paradise was rather uneventful. Saturday morning Kathy and I decided we needed some exercise so went for a bicycle ride on a small key east of Stock Island. It was primarily a residential with canals behind each of the homes. There were several for sale so we picked up the flyer's in front of several of the homes. The nicer homes started at $1 million and went up to $3 million. We saw a fixer upper for $785,000. Most of the homes are 1800 to 2500 sq. ft. Clearly, paradise comes at a price if you want to live there.

The remainder of the day I spent getting the motorhome ready for our departure on Sunday. Kathy spent the afternoon getting ready for our evening dinner party with Keith, Betty, Greg and Sandy. We thought it would be fun to get together once last time before we each departed on Sunday. Keith and Betty are sailing back to Ft. Myers to store their boat up river for the summer. Greg and Sandy are headed to the Bahamas for a couple of weeks before they begin their trip back to St. Louis.

Key West 2007 A Little Shopping

We are down to our last 2 days in paradise. It's been a wonderful adventure. Spending a month here has enabled us to see all of Key West at a leisurely pace. We've gotten off the beaten path and gone many places that most tourist never see. I'd recommend it to everyone.

Today we did a little last minute shopping. Kathy picked up some local plants she is going to try at home, indoors of course. I had a couple of items to pick up at the local West Marine store. This evening we watched the sunset at Mallory Square and had cocktails with Keith and Betty before turning in for the evening.

Key West 2007 Thursday Sailing to Sand Key

The winds in Key West have been quite strong for the entire month of March. I don't believe we had any days with a wind of less than 15 to 20 mph. Now on our lake in Iowa that wouldn't be much of a problem. But, here in Key West, a chain of islands with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf on the other, the waves build considerably. The snorkeling is reported to be excellent all along the keys. But to have good snorkeling you need calm seas.


We have set out several times to go snorkeling, but the winds have whipped the seas to 3 to 5 feet, making for poor snorkeling conditions. Today was no exception. We headed out to Sand Key on "Bar Hopper" about 10 am. Sand Key as you see in the photo is no longer above sea level. The hurricanes and strong seas have taken their toll on this sand bar over the years.

It was a great sail out to Key, about 9 miles south of Key West. We hooked up to a mooring about noon. It was immediately apparent that the seas were to large to attempt to snorkel. After feeding the fish and taking photos we headed back to Key West. I guess we'll have to store the snorkel gear until we return once again.

Key West 2007 Let's Try Tennis

Well Betty and I headed out to play tennis once again this morning. You may recall that two weeks ago I injured a tendon in my calf. It slowed me down for a couple of days, but today I felt great. I was ready to play again. We were having a great match. We each had a couple of winners and were even in games. Following a good serve I rushed the net. Betty, like a good player, lobed her return over my head towards the back corner. I immediately reversed direction and was about 3 steps into my sprint when I felt a snap in my thigh, another tendon gave way. It's hell getting old. Kathy returned fro her shopping for the grand kids presents to find me limping once again. The remainder of the day I limped around cursing my old age.

Following a great pizza lunch at a local pizzeria and a couple of hours at the pool we headed to the Gordon's boat (photo) for a great pasta dinner. Betty's home made sauce was excellent. Following dinner we played 2 rounds of 3-13. Kathy won the first game, Betty the second. While skill is necessary to win at this game, good cards can make or break you. For those who have played with Betty before you know what an excellent player she is. That's why it was unbelievable that the first game she accumulated 228 points. By the way, low points are good, high are bad. Of course the second game she turned around and whipped us both.

Key West 2007 A Lay Day

After taking Denny and Paula to the airport, Kathy and I decided that the order of the day was to do nothing. We have been having a great time with all the visiting friends. Vacations are lots of fun and they are even better when you can share it with friends. For the next couple of days we are going to rest, do a little shopping, catch a couple of sites not yet seen and get ready for the trip back home. We'll be departing hear the end of the month and heading to Bradenton to visit Kathy's brother Tom. We'll probably take in a couple of other tourist attractions as we head back to Iowa.

Key West 2007 Bike Ride & Cuban Restaurant

We headed out on a bike ride around Key West on Monday morning. Betty was our tour guide as we visited all the tourist traps. The photo to the left is the lighthouse built in 1847 and was in use until 1969. The lens cost over $1 million when it was built in the 1800's. Kathy couldn't ascend the spiral staircase but she zoomed in for this photo of us at the top. From left to right is Denny, Paula, Gary and Betty. For lunch Betty took us to a Cuban restaurant frequented by the locals. We all liked our meals and didn't think it all that unusual. The Cuban bread was delicious.

We had evening cocktails and appetizers at Alonzo's before heading to Duval St. for the evening's entertainment. For those of you who have been reading the blog you'll remember the 2 posts regarding Sallie's show at the Bull. Our friends Denny (left) and Keith became part of the evening show. The place filled up quickly as our two entertainers wow'd the audience. By the time we left, Sallie had struck again.

Key West 2007 Tennis & Sunday Pizza

It was windy once again as Denny and Betty met to play tennis on Sunday. Like me, it had been at least 20 years since Denny had played tennis. Betty, who had played in previous years, started playing again last year. For those that know her, she plays tennis just like Ping Pong. She an excellent defensive player, she returns just about everything you hit to her. Denny started strong and was up 5 to 3 before Betty reached her peak and won out in the end. Both players were ready for an afternoon nap.

There is a tradition in the Gordon house, it's Sunday Pizza. I'm not sure when it started but I know it's been around for more than 20 years. Keith's first cruiser, a Catalina 22, in the early 80's was christened Sunday Pizza. Kathy and I and Denny and Paula were treated to an excellent Sunday Pizza prepared by Betty on their boat Sunday evening. The crust from scratch was the best I have ever tasted. Following dinner, Kathy served us a scrumptious apple cake.

Key West 2007 Kite Surfing

The beach is getting to be a habit with us. Saturday Kathy and I met Denny and Paula at Smathers Beach, our favorite. Besides great eye candy there is always something different going on. This photo of a kite surfer was one of 20 that we took. There was a group of 8 kite surfers putting on quite a show for us right off the beach. This guy was doing jumps 15 to 20 feet in the air. His speed looked like 20 to 30 mph. He would approach the beach within 10 feet before he would turn away and leap into the air. It was great! Later we watched two cops with all their gear on play volleyball with a group of guys and gals. They asked Denny not to publish the photo he snapped in the local paper. We applauded them for interacting with the beachers.

Later that evening we were all treated to a wonderful seafood dinner by Denny and Paula at Turtle Craw on the wharf. I had the seafood sampler with scallops, shrimp and mahi mahi. Kathy, who isn't a big seafood eater, was delighted by some of the best crab cakes in town. She wanted this photo for Al Reiff who is on a quest to make the best crab cakes. Earlier in our trip Terri Walker had shared crab cakes with Kathy at the Conch Restaurant. This evenings cakes were certainly a rival.