Fri. May 30, 2014 - Lake Paradise Resort and Kansas City

We arrived at our 2 night layover - Lake Paradise Resort

last evening about 7:30 and by the time we were plugged in and set up outside, it was dark, so here is the daytime picture of our site in the not-very crowded but lovely park.

Bad news is there is only one bar of cell reception, so we could not stream the ball-game or surf the internet which we do all the tie to plan ad educate ourselves about the area.  Therefore, we spent no daytime hours at the site, but went in to the Oak Grove Mid-Continental Library in the morning

then drove in to Kansas City to Best Buy because Mike has been having trouble with his laptop power cord.  All fixed now!  We spent the late afternoon hours working in Panera, then went home through a rainstorm ( yes, they actually have WEATHER here) and made dinner - vege-eggplant stir-fry with quinoa.  

Thurs. May 29, 2014 - Junction City KS to Lone Jack MO 160 miles

This morning we moved to the other end of the Walmart parking lot

and held a morning work session at Courtyard by Marriott - Junction City

and a lunch stop at the nearby Cracker Barrel

before hitting the road on I-70 East from Junction City to just east of Kansas City MO

where we passed the KC Royals stadium

 that we went to in 2001 on our first major road trip with the motor home and the boys on our quest to visit all 50 states.  That year we drove to Michigan for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration, and picked up about 13 new states, including the "crown jewel" West Virginia :)

Wed. May 28, 2014 - Colby KS to Junction City, KS 240 miles

This morning we did Chatty office work before we started driving from the rest area. Then we spent the balance of the morning driving to Salina, KS.  

Our days are always interesting because of the variety of eating  

and working venues.

We spent the afternoon in the Salina, KS Courtyard by Marriott.

It takes a lot of effort to figure out our next move, and we are currently planning the return trip from Michigan.  We made contact with a former co-worker of Mike's, Nancy Nipper, and are planning the route to see her in Milwaukee later in June.

We hit a Dillon's grocery store where we were able to use our customer loyalty card from Fred Meyers in Oregon because they are under common ownership with Kroger.  Small world!  Final stop, Walmart parking lot in Junction City KS - a 250 mile trek from where we started this morning.

 

 

Tues. May 27, 2014 - Ft. Collins to Colby, 290 miles

This morning we packed our things into Chatty which has been parked on the street for three nights.  We really enjoyed the road break - thanks to Holley an Dan for a comfortable and enjoyable visit.
                                             

We hit the road after Holley left for work, but before Dan was gone. 

The view of the front range on the road to Denver was beautiful

 

We stopped in Denver for some supplies and had a little trouble in unfamiliar territory.  We ended up having to unhook the jeep to get out of a too tight corner - that has only happened twice before since we left Woodhaven in Jan 2013.

Finally on the road out of town

 

, we made a stop for lunch and office work at a truck stop  where we finished up the pizza leftovers from Beaujo's.

We ended up driving 290 miles east on I-70 to Colby KS

where we stopped in a rest area for the night. 

Sun - Mon, May 25-6, 2014 - reconnecting with Holley

We had a very nice weekend visiting with Holley and Dan in their home in Ft. Collins.  On Sunday we went to Old Town and had lunch to Beaujo's

along with thousands of motorcyclists who had gathered for a weekend bike rally.

The bikes were so loud we had to move inside to finish lunch.

On Monday we took a drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park where we looked for wildlife on the roadside

and enjoyed the view on the way up to the top

and were amazed at the clean-up work being done to repair

the September 2013 flood damage along the canyon up to RMNP from Ft. Collins

We had 13 years to catch up on and made a good first installment these three nights and two days.  We learned that Holley's three boys still have a lot in common with my two - currently they are all working a seasonal job in Alaska - just like Curt has done in the past. And we confirmed that although we have lived 1000 miles apart for much of the kids growing up years, we are still fast friends.

 

Sat. May 24, 2014 - Colorado Springs - Ft. Collins 125 miles

We found a Chevy dealer who would change the oil on Chatty this morning

then we drove the 150 miles to Ft. Collins, stopping first at a 24hr fitness for Mike to exercise and get cleaned up while  got a short walk myself and made the green salad to share for dinner.

 

We arrived at Holley's house about 6:00 and had phase one of a three day reunion.

with a delicious salmon dinner and Holley's famous peach cobble for dessert.

Fri. May 23, 2014 - Santa Fe - Colorado Springs 330 miles

We left early this morning - no check out required - we just drove away from the alpacas.  Our first visit to the Harvest Hosts program was positive - I wonder where the next one will be?

First stop was for breakfast at Las Vegas, NM where we split an order of huevos rancheros

 

We drove through a thunderstorm with heavy rain and almost hail for a short while this afternoon, then arrived at our afternoon stop in Pueblo, CO where we parked at the Convention Center

and spent the late afternoon working on this blog and other things

in the lovely lobby at Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Pueblo.

The remaining drive to Colorado Springs uneventful, and we arrived just in time to get settled before the evening's entertainment -

 a heavy rainstorm with thunder and lightening which was really cool for us Californians

 who never see such a thing back home.

Thurs. May 22, 2014 - Albuquerque to Sante Fe 55 miles

Lest you think it is all glamorous, this morning was mundane - , so we worked in the home office then packed for the road.   This park was very quiet, and by check out time at 11:00AM, we were nearly alone in the park.  We finished the pack, then took a shower and were off for the next thing....

Which was a drive north toward Santa Fe along the Turquoise Trail where we found a nice place to stop for lunch in Madrid, NM

Then drove on to our first visit to a Harvest Host overnight at the Blue Mesa Alpaca farm,

Hosted by Bob and Louise Hazen

who enjoyed showing us their alpacas, horses and fiber products for sale.

Those grey clouds in the distance turned into a Wizard of Oz type wind storm with a bit of rain, so we hunkered down in our home and had baked chicken for dinner and popcorn for dessert before bedtime.

 

Wed. May 21, 2014 - Business in Albuquerque

Today we stayed at the RV park until after lunch, then drove in to Burk for the afternoon and evening. Mike had a professional head shot taken at a local photographer and I worked at another Courtyard by Marriott.  Not a great picture of Courtyard, but the surrounding mountains are nice.

We took a break for dinner at a good Thai restaurant, then returned to Courtyard to watch the final night of American Idol season XIII. Caleb Johnson wins it all, it was a great season finale show.

We both enjoyed the ride, thanks to Mary's introduction.  I traded texts with her as we watched - we got to see it first due to crazy early TV programming in mountain  standard time zone

Tues. MAY 20, 2014 - Winslow, AZ to Albuquerque, NM 270 miles

We left Winslow before breakfast and drove a short distance to Holbrook AZ where we got gas, breakfast and a short work session at a truck stop. On to Gallup for an unfortunate lunch choice at a local pizza restaurant, then on to Albuquerque and our first visit to an RPI park - Hidden Valley Mountain Resort in Tijeras, NM.

We did a quick unhook the jeep and set up camp for a couple nights,

then drove the 15 miles back to Albuquerque to visit and have dinner with Kristin,

one of Mike's business associates. We had a nice dinner out a at local Italian restaurant within walking distance from Kristin's house to the Nob Hill district.

Monday, May 19, 2014 - Las Vegas to Winslow AZ 300 Miles

We packed up last night expect for the dump and hooking up the jeep. We drove out of Thousand Trails about 9:00 AM and crossed over Hoover dam into Arizona.

 

First stop was for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Kingman, AZ

where we also found a nice library to work for a couple hours.  Then we took turns driving and sleeping as we made our way east past Flagstaff and stopped at a pretty desert rest stop

at sunset

 

then continued on to our overnight resting spot - a Walmart parking lot in Winslow AZ. We had crock pot tacos I made yesterday for this very occasion - easy dinner after dark, then to sleep.

Fri - Sun., May 16 - 18, 2014 Laying low in Las Vegas

We spent the next three days getting some rest and relaxation in Las Vegas during a heat wave at the Thousand Trails RV Park.  we had a nice spot with no neighbors on our door side, and a good tree to keep Chatty cool as possible.

Saturday night we grilled dinner at the pool and ate there.

We decided to stay put and enjoy the pool , hot tub and rec room air conditioning for a few days while we planned our next move - decided it was too hot to drive off into the desert with no reservations. Instead we studied up about along the road accommodations. We added Resort Parks International (RPI) and Harvest Host memberships to our travel tool box and will be staying in one of these parks shortly on the way to Michigan.

Mike went to 24 hour fitness a couple times and we enjoyed the wind storm for a couple days, and on Sunday night did laundry and got road ready.

Tues. - Thurs. May 13 - 15, 2014 - Super Seminar

I attended the CSEA (California Society of Enrolled Agents) Super Seminar

 

at Planet Hollywood

And learned about LLC, the IRS, sale of business property and business, Social Security, etc.  Fun?

Well, the pool and hot tub at our park helped in the evenings, and we got to watch the final 3 get paired down to the two finalists on American Idol in the recreation room on Thursday night. 

 Tough call, Caleb or Jena?