Enjoying Colorado - Visit to Mueller State Park

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 42 degrees, blue skies, patchy clouds, snow flurries later in the day

Sawatch Mountain Range (Continental Divide)

Yesterday afternoon we met with our bosses (Jimmy & Pam) and they went over some of the campground policies.  We also watched a video on cleaning, and filled out our W4's.  I called H&R Block to get some advice on filling out the form and they were very helpful.  The state tax in Colorado is 4.63%. 

Afterwards we went to the Cripple Creek Elks Club to see their comedy club show.  The Elks Club has been there for over 100 years and the building was beautiful inside.  There are three floors with  lovely woodwork and tin ceilings.  It is a great place to meet local folks and we were welcomed by several members including the lady who give tours at a local whore house.  She is 83 years old and sharp as a tack.  Don't get too excited - it's a museum now.  The comedy show was a little disappointing but we had a good time and will go back again soon.  John joined the Elks before we left Indiana.  Many of the Elks clubs have camping facilities and it a good place to meet locals and learn more about an area. 

Today is our last day of "rest" before we start work at KOA.  We decided to visit Mueller State Park.  It is only about 30 minutes from the campground.  Initially we paid $7.00 for admission for the day.  However, after stopping at the visitors center and learning more about the park we decided to buy an annual state park pass for $70.  There are over 50 miles of trails in this park and it will be a great place for picnics.  Colorado has 42 state parks and several that are nearby us.  Hopefully we will get our monies worth out it. 

It started off to be a beautiful day and the smell of the ponderosa pines was wonderful.  The one mile nature trail was a good way to learn a little about the habitat.  The trail was well groomed and we picked up a guide book that had 14 points of interest.   

Sangre de Cristo Range

The continental divide goes through the Sawatch Range.  To the east the water flows to the Arkansas River and flow to the west into the Colorado River. 

Aspen grove over looking pink granite boulders

There are huge aspen groves.  The trees have not budded yet and there were very few wildflowers In a few weeks we will go back and see what is happening. We took a picnic lunch but the weather suddenly changed and we ended up eating it in the car.

Snow storm brewing in the distance

There is a very nice campground of around 100 sites.  The sites are $22/night with 20/30 amp service.  Many are pull through and can accommodate big rigs.  There are lots of trees and everything looked immaculate.  The ranger recommended reservations (6 months in advance) especially on weekends.  There are also plenty of tent sites. 

Site #2 Mueller State Park

We drove back to our campground and look what happened shortly after we got home. 

The weather is a little bit unpredictable right now...blue skies one moment and snow the next.  Our bird feeders are attracting more varieties.  Here is a Cooper's Hawk who scared off a few of them. 

Cooper's Hawk (he looks a little cold)

Tomorrow we will start our workamping jobs.  Check back for all the details. 

More Snow In The Forecast Tonight - Good Grief!

(Cripple Creek, Colorado) 24 degrees, snow, gusts of wind, occasional hail

Who would have thought - a snowstorm in May!  Most of our friends have enjoyed telling us about their spring and almost summer like temperatures.   Here we sit in the middle of a snow storm.  Oh, and did I mention gusts of wind around 40 mph and some hail.  We knew it would be cooler here in Cripple Creek but not this cold.  :) A few more inches are predicted tonight and hopefully that will be it. 

So, we decided to stay inside.  We are keeping warm and have been watching the storm come up over the valley.  Good thing we get propane at cost  We are also using an electric heater. 

We put a couple of bird feeders outside a couple of days ago and today a few birds decided to check them out.  These are new birds to us. 

Black Eyed Junko

White Crowned Sparrow

The sparrow looks about as happy as I am about this weather.  It was fun to watch them at the bird feeders. 

Update on the leak:  John was convinced it was the Splendide washing machine.  He took everything out of the closet and moved the washer partially out of the closet.  He found that the water seemed to be under the filter.  This filter is located in the lower right hand corner of the front panel.   It screws out and needs to be cleaned frequently. It is a messy job and one I have probably not done as often as needed. 

He found a tiny fuse had worked its way into the filter and was not allowing it to close tightly.  It probably was in his pocket.  I've ran several loads of wash since the "fix" and no leak.  What a weird thing to happen but he did a great job figuring it out.  We also found another filter in the back of the washing machine.  Who knew?  RVing life has its learning curves!

We are researching workamping options for next summer.  John's sister is going to be Vermont teaching at a local college.  She would like for us to find something in this area.  The Hudson Valley area would be ideal.  If anyone has suggestions for us, please let us know. 

It seemed like a good day to cook.  At the FMCA rally in Perry I attended a class on convection cooking.  The instructor (Janet Sadlack)  talked about using the microwave/convection oven setting for

cooking meals in less time.  I had not tried it yet and had purchased one of her cookbooks-Easy Microwave Convection Cooking.  I decided to try her meatloaf and oven browned new potatoes recipes. They both came out really well.   John called them a "keeper". 

The most important thing to remember is to remove your metal rack and to cook in glass or silicon baking dishes.  The microwave runs part of the time so its important to not use any metal type materials.  If you would like the recipe just send me an email. 

Hopefully we will have better weather tomorrow.  I don't think we will have any campers this weekend.