Well...we're back home.

We got to ride the train and all seemed well. That evening Chuck began having more gastric pains and was having a hard time swallowing. Some of you may not know but the week before we left Chuck got an ambulance ride very early in the morning with chest pains. It turned out to be an epi gastric problem and later that week Chuck had a upper GI which located a small obstruction in his esophogaus but both Chuck and the doctor that the trip wouldn't be a problem and they would do some more testing when we return. With the attack, pain and swallowing problems which seem to be getting worse, we decided to come back to Midland and move up the testing. Please put Chuck in your prayers that it is nothing serious and can be easily taken care of.
Ann

Durango August 23

We've arrived at beautiful and cool Durango, CO and pulled into our favorite campground on Lightner Creek where we have camped for many years. The dogs were good travelers but were glad to get out of the truck.

Each year that we came with the kids we took their pictures at this prop provided by the campground. Our two new kids had to have their picture taken there, too.

This is the view as you come into Durango. We went into town and wandered around. Lots of tourist and hippie type shops.

Chuck is standing by our trailer which is parked next to a gurgling creek. Tomorrow we ride the Durango Silverton train. It it a beautiful trip through the high country. Silverton is an old mining town which is very interesting. It takes all day. The next day we will go to Mancos to ride a stagecoach.

Albuequerque Bound

We left this morning about 6:30 and arrived in Albuequerque around 2 or so. The KOA campground is nice and has WIFI. Isn't it amazing how dependent we have become on technology the last 10 years or so. The dogs traveled very well but Ulysses took his section out of the middle. Autie, ever the good puppy, simply sat up or laid his head on Ulysses. We went to Camping World and ate dinner in town. We're looking forward to Durango tomorrow. I will come back and post pictures when I can get them loaded. It looks like their server is down.

About time to blow this place -- and we're getting help!

Well, tomorrow is the big day. The trailer's packed and attached. The last minute stuff sits in a pile in the living room. I completed by consulting job for Stanton and I'm glad it's done. Our first stop is Albequerque, New Mexico. We really enjoy the sightseeing there but will probably have very little time to see anything after driving all day. Saturday, we will head for Durango where we will stay for several days. On Sunday, we will ride the Durango and Silverton train which travel though the mountains to a small mining ghost town and back. As you can see, about the time we started to hook up the trailer and take these pictures, the West Texas wind began to blow.

Places to Go and Things to See

We're packed and beginning our countdown! Tomorrow, I present the inservice at Stanton. Hope it goes well -- with technology and the Internet it is always a toss-up. As I prepared today, the site was running extremely slow.

This is our tentative schedule. We've lists of things to see and do at each stop and will be looking for other points of interest as we go. We have mapping software and a GPS along but I imagine it will just be another way to get lost. I keep telling Chuck -- It's about the journey , not the destination and detours can lead to great things. We'll be more flexible about the trip since the only deadline we have is to be in Olympia over the weekend so we can visit with Mike.


Friday August 22 Drive to Albuquerque
Saturday August 23 Drive to Durango
Sunday August 24 Durango - Ride Train Monday
August 25 Durango - Ride Stagecoach
Tuesday August 26 Durango - Bar D Chuckwagon
Wednesday August 27 Drive to Ouray
Thursday August 28 Jeep Trip
Friday August 29 Drive to Grand Junction Dinosaur NM
Saturday August 30 Drive to Rock Springs
Sunday August 31 Rendevous at Fort Bridger
Monday September 1Museums
Tuesday September 2 Drive to Brigham City Prometory Point/Golden Spike NP
Wednesday September 3
Thursday September 4
Friday September 5 Drive to Hagerman Another Dinosaur NP
Saturday September 6 Drive to Boise, ID
Sunday September 7
Monday September 8 Drive to Pendleton, OR
Tuesday September 9 Drive to Portland
Wednesday September 10
Thursday September 11 Drive to Seaside Ft. Clatsop /Lewis and Clark sites
Friday September 12 Drive to Olympia
Saturday September 13 Olympia
Sunday September 14 Olympia
Monday September 15 Drive to Missoula
Tuesday September 16 Drive to Yellowstone Stay in the park at Fishing Bridge
Wednesday September 17 Yellowstone
Thursday September 18 Yellowstone
Friday September 19 Yellowstone
Saturday September 20 Yellowstone
Sunday September 21 Drive to Rapid City Seeing Deadwood, the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore
Monday September 22 Rapid City
Tuesday September 23 Rapid City
Wednesday September 24 Rapid City
Thursday September 25 Rapid City
Friday September 26 Drive to Ft. Laramie
Saturday September 27 Drive to Golden Co. train museum
Sunday September 28 Drive to Lamar
Monday September 29 Drive to Palo Duro
Tuesday September 30 Drive to Midland
Wednesday October 1 Midland
Thursday October 2 Drive to Abilene
Friday October 3 Abilene
Saturday October 4 Abilene
Sunday October 5 Drive to Ft. Griffin
Monday October 6 Ft. Griffin
Tuesday October 7 Ft. Griffin
Wednesday October 8 Ft. Griffin
Thursday October 9 -12Ft. Griffin
12 Drive Home

Our home away from home

We have always enjoyed camping and now own a pop-up type trailer called a Trail Manor. We sadly ( and happily) sold our diesel truck and large fifth wheel to a friend's husband who will use it in his oil field business. He was quite happy to get it since he will be away from Midland for the next few months and accomodations are at a premium in oil boom areas. In early July, we drove to Houston to purchase the trailer. Now that we have a light weight trailer and a gas truck we will be better able to travel. The trailer is hard sided but folds down like a pop-up. It is amazingly engineered. I could put it up by myself and it takes less time to put up than any of our other pop-ups ever did. There is a good amount of space and the inside is well designed except that the designer did take two large dogs into account. We had a shakedown cruise in mid-July and the dogs finally got used to the small abount of floor space. Ulysses, the lab puppy, was not sure he liked it at all at first but finally did settle down. He wanted to perch like a cat on the back of the couch to look out the window -- that was firmly discouraged. We had to load the area with obstacles to thwart his plans.

You can see by this picture how the trailer "pops up" and becomes a solid trailer. I think we are going to really enjoy it. We should be experts by the time we get home in October. I just wish we could take much more time for this trip. We have lots we want to see.

We would welcome your questions or comments. All you have to do is to reply to the various posts. In fact, we'd really love to hear from you. We are leaving on August 22 after I teach a seminar for a small school district near Midland.

Ready...Set...

Trip Preparations

We are slowly but surely getting things ready to hit the road. Our trailer waits patiently as we make maps and reservations. We just got our reservation at the the Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone. We plan to go to Durango, then Ouray and Grand Junction, CO. After that we will spend a few days in Green River, WY where there is a Fur Traders Rendevous being held at the Ft. Bridger Park there. We will also stop and visit with a relative who lives there. I am looking forward to meeting him and his wife. After that, it is on to Brigham City, UT to see the Golden Spike NP as well as some other local attractions. As we pass through Idaho, we will look at a dinosaur bed National Park. Pendleton, OR is our first stop in Oregon where I hope to take a tour of the Pendleton Wool factory--ah, fabric. Then, traveling along the Columbia River we will move on to Portland. In this area, we plan to visit the Pacific Ocean and some of the Lewis and Clark sites like Ft. Clatsop. Next, we will head for Lacy, WA to see our son, Mike and be treated to a whirlwind tour of what sounds like a beautiful place. This is the first leg of our trip.

I have almost finished all my projects -- making and adjusting 4 living history dresses, creating a web site for a local quarter horse assn (http://www.remuda-quarter-horse-assn.org/index.htm) and getting ready for a technology training for Region 7 in Stanton. We will leave the next day for this trip. If you are reading this blog it is because I consider you special friends who could enjoy our experience with us. I hope you will be patient when my brain gets ahead of my hands and I leave out words or my spelling is wrong. I have chosen to create this blog because it will make me keep a journal each day and organize and record each day's experience. The slide show below which is now some quilt pictures will be pictures we have taken on the trip. Many of the campgrounds we will be staying at will have wireless Internet so we should be able to keep this up.

Almost ready..