Visiting Friends In the Mile High City - Denver Colorado

Denver, Colorado (86 degrees, clear blue skies)

There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger, and live just a little better

                                                           Unknown author

Linda and Alan 

Jann with her grand daughter Zoe (Barry is not present)

We had a great time checking in with some friends while visiting Denver Colorado for a few days. One of the many great things about fulltiming is being able to catch up with friends as you travel. 

Our friends Linda and Alan from J. N. Ding Darling were staying at Estes Park for a couple of weeks. They came down specially just to see us for the day. We packed a picnic lunch and met at Cherry Creek State Park. 

Cherry Creek State Park

It's a huge and very scenic state park. We had a little bit of trouble finding each other. The weather was perfect. Afterwards we took them out to the Buckley Air Force Base military campground where we are staying in Aurora. This is a relatively new, well maintained campground. It has  well space sites on concrete pads with full hook ups.  There is not very much shade but we liked it very much . An added bonus was a free MYFI given to each camper with a refundable deposit of $50. It had unlimited GB's which is simply unheard of in a campground. Sweet! I managed to update everything including my Garmin. 

Our site at Buckley AFB (Jimmy is in the foreground)

Linda and Alan with their dogs Zoe and Pheadra

Buckley Air Force Base represents a joint Task Force which has "air operation, space-based missile warning capabilities, space surveillance operation, space communications operation, and support functions". Check out the huge satellite domes. They were located all around the base. 

We were treated to a spectacular sunset on our second night. A storm was coming in and lightening flashed through the clouds. What a sight.

We also met up with our friends Barry and Jann. They belong to our FMCA camping club Cuatro Estados (Four Corners) and we have met up numerous times. Last summer we visited Newfoundland with them and two other couples. They are staying for a while with their daughter in Denver. This time we also got to met their grand daughter Zoe, Jann's Mom and sister in law. 

We went downtown to the Aquarium. It was interesting but very crowded and way too loud. They did see some really cool fish and sea life.. We also had a nice lunch together downtown. 

Great place to cool off

We would love to return to Denver again soon for a longer visit. Our next stop is the Great Sands National Park. We will also get to see some friends we worked with at Grand Teton National Park. Check back soon. Some hot springs will soon be in our future. 

Thanks again to our friends for taking the time to get together with us. It was priceless! We look forward to seeing you again soon. Happy Trails!

Prairie Dogs, Wild Flowers, Wide Open Spaces, And A Big Ball Of Twine - Road Trip Into Kansas

Nebraska/Kansas road trip (78 degrees, slightly windy, endless blue skies and pretty clouds)

"...the land wanted to be let alone, to preserve its own fierce strength, its peculiar, savage kind of beauty, its uninterrupted mournfulness"

Willa Cather

We find ourselves in south central Nebraska and are staying at another Corp of Engineer Park. There is not much to do here but relax, listen to the wind, and perhaps go on a road trip. John studied the map and found a couple of interesting landmarks which only make sense in a place like this. Across the border into Kansas is a landmark which is the geographical center of our 48 states and not far from there is the Worlds Largest Ball of Twine. I said ..."Lets go!!!".

Willa Cather Memorial Prairie 

We drove past strikingly beautiful prairie land. and stopped often to take it all in. There are endless grassy fields and newly planted ones with huge irrigation devices.. The roads are often planted with hay  and after mowing it someone bales it up. What a great idea. 

We could hear lots of song birds but only identified a few. If you looked carefully you  can find lots of pretty wildflowers in the tall grasses.

Arriving at the geographical center of the U.S we found it over run with many friendly bicyclists who were on a six day tour across Kansas. It was their second day at this point and we all took turns getting our pictures taken in front of the "spot"

Geographical center of our 48 states

There is a small chapel for weddings..who knew and remnants of what used to be a hotel. After wishing everyone a safe journey we were off to find the twine in Cawker Kansas.. 

We found it and initially were the only ones there. However,  after looking at the "guest book" it appeared many had stopped that day. On the website there is lots of information about this oddity and it mentioned it was possible to add a piece of twine if you went to see Lottie. Well, just as we were getting ready to leave out came Lottie from somewhere with this gigantic roll of twine and asked if anyone was interested. Well, of coarse I signed up and Lottie and I were soon revolving around it. I couldn't stop laughing. It was a crazy fun time. She is a very dedication ambassador for this ball of twine and has met people from all over the world. As we were talking to her two folks  from Denmark arrived. Lottie was a very nice lady and I'm sure she would have told us many more stories but she had to take off for an appointment.  As she was leaving she said many wedding are held here too..."you know...to tie the knot". What a hoot!

Worlds Largest Ball of Twine with John, Jimmy and me

Lottie and me adding some twine

As we headed back to our campsite we made a quick stop at Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge. It is very remote and quiet. We were welcomed by the Refuge Manager and he seemed very proud of this refuge. 

We came across a little prairie dog town. Ranchers do not exactly like them very much but they sure were fun to watch.

Little bird peaking his head out wondering what was going on

What a great road trip. I hope you enjoyed coming along too. 

We spent three nights at the Hunter Cove COE campground near Republican City. This one was not nearly as well cared for and unusual for a COE. There is a long dusty road which leads up to it. Our site had lots of tall thistles and many of the sites by the water looked very worn out. Some new ones have been added but with little shade and very little grass. If you are willing to boomdock there are nice sites by the  water/ We checked out another nearby COE  called Methodist Cove in Alma which was much nicer and where we hope to stay in the future. 

Our site (50 amp) near the entrance

We are very excited because our next month will be in the beautiful  Colorado. We will be staying in several areas over the next month. Until then...happy trails!