Back Home in Wisconsin

We left Kellogg RV Park in Kellogg, IA at 7:50AM on Thursday, on our last traveling day back to Wisconsin. We had planned on taking it easy and use four days to drive back to Wisconsin but John is a “driving fool” and will get us back today. John could have rested a day but there was a lot of highway noise that wasn’t conducive to relaxing so we were awake before the alarm and on the road ahead of schedule.

It was raining in Iowa but we drove out of it as we headed north on I-39 in Illinois, we had clouds the rest of the way to Chilton. We arrived back at home at 3:00PM. We unloaded our food and cloths from the motorhome, before putting it back in its home for the evening.

We brought the mothership back to the house this morning to clean it inside and out and to make a to-do list of minor maintenance and repair items. We are not sure when we will be back in the ship as our September date at Point Beach State Park is now in question due to our pending delivery of a brand new shinny Bichon Frise travel buddy!

After a refill of diesel and a good scrubbing the mothership was back in it’s house, it was kind of sad to switch off the batteries and close the door but we enjoyed our three weeks and proved to ourselves that we can enjoy this lifestyle for that long and still want to keep going. It was great to see Sandy’s father and she pleasantly surprised him by knocking on his door a day early.

Travel Day - Ogallala, NE to Kellogg, IA

We left Country View Campground in Ogallala, NE at 8:15MST; continuing our trip back to Wisconsin. Other than all the road construction in Nebraska, it was an uneventful day as we stayed on I-80 ALL day.

We made one fuel stop at the Flying J in Omaha, NE at 2:00PM CST: we are now averaging 8.15 MPG so far for this trip.

After driving 503 miles today, we pulled into our home for the night at the Kellogg RV Park in Kellogg, IA at 5:45 PM CST. The campground is nothing special, but a good place to pull off the road for the evening. I know some people don’t want to spend the money to just make a stop, but we would rather do this vs. staying in a Wally World parking lot, or a truck stop. Maybe once we are full-timing and on the road all the time we will change our opinion on this as well.

Travel Day - Montrose, CO to Ogallala, NE

We left Cedar Creek RV Park in Montrose at 8:40 this morning; beginning our trip back to Wisconsin. Our original plan was to head east on US-50 to I-25 North to Denver, but several factors influenced our decision to drive back on the same route we came out on (US-50 West to Grand Junction then I-70 East to Denver). First of all it is 40 miles longer to take US-50 East to I-25 and US-50 is primarily two lanes with some hills and sharp turns (at least the part we drove to Curecanti National Recreation Area did); along with an 11,000 + foot mountain pass that we have not seen.

The biggest factor for John was the fact that this was his first drive in the mountains with the diesel powered mothership and he had a somewhat shaky trip over the passes on I-70 on the way out. The diesel engine doesn’t have the engine braking force that a gas unit does so as the vehicle builds up speed there are only the transmission gears and wheel brakes to slow or stop you. On the first run over a high pass John was not able to downshift the transmission (he had built up to much speed), and had to rely on the exhaust and wheel brakes to slow us, we could smell the hot brake pads. Because US-50 appeared to be two lanes over the pass and we were not sure if the road down the pass was straight or had switchbacks John felt he wanted some more practice on a four lane road with a relatively straight decent before stepping into the unknown.

As it turned out we did not have any problems as we were able to crest the passes slowly and gear down the mothership before it gained to much speed. After getting to the East side of Denver John was still content to drive further. We continued eastbound and made a fuel stop at the Flying J in Julesburg, CO at 5:10 PM; we are now averaging 8.3 MPG so far for this trip.

After driving 510 miles today, we finally pulled into our home for the night at the Country View Campground in Ogallala, NE. around 6:00 PM. We stayed here on the way out to Colorado and knew it was a good overnight stop.

Ridgway State Park

We visited Ridgway State Park near Montrose today; the park has three areas Pa-Co-Chu-Puc, Dutch Charlie, and Dallas Creek and the park also features the Ridgway Reservoir. We stopped at the Visitor Center and hiked a couple of trails in the Dutch Charlie area and toured the campground loops there.

The first trail was an easy 1.5 mile loop which included an overlook of the reservoir; this was recommended by the person in the visitor center and did offer a nice view of the reservoir and dam. This is an image of John and Sandy at the lookout.


This is an image of the reservoir and the San Juan Mountains taken from the overlook



We have been having a problem starting the car this week so after grinding away on the starter for a while we did a slow tour of the campgrounds and marina areas of Dutch Charlie to recharge the battery. We then stopped at the Visitor Center to walk the 2 mile Cookie Tree Trail from Dutch Charlie around part of the reservoir to the Dallas Creek area. We stopped along the way to have a snack and do some bird watching. The trail was named for the Cookie Tree Ranch which was flooded by the reservoir.

This is an image of the San Juan Mountains taken from the Cookie Tree Trail.


This is an image of the reservoir taken from the trail.


Today is our last day in Montrose, we will pack up today and start the long drive to Wisconsin. We have enjoyed our time in Colorado but all good things come to an end. At least we can look forward to seeing friends and family back home again.

A Day of Rest

Today was a day off from the tourist thing; we stayed at home (in the mothership), did some laundry and other cleaning, and worked on our campground rating system. This morning we did take about a 3.5 to 4 mile walk on the Montrose city trail system to knock the dust off and keep the rust away.

Our campground rating system has been very subjective and we wanted to go to a more objective evaluation system to keep things fair and avoid the fault of giving a low overall rating when there was only one thing that pissed us off about a place. We started by listing the things we like to see in a campground, we sorted these items into categories, then assigned a value to each category and item. We kept our system to a 1 – 10 rating and we will still list our pros and cons of each campground.

After working out an evaluation system we went back and rated some of the campgrounds we have stayed in recently and some of our favorite and least favorite campgrounds to see how the system worked. Of course we found an item or two we wanted to add and we made a few minor adjustments to our numbers to get something we felt was fair and unbiased. The system is still based on the things that John and Sandy Byrnes look for in a campground; we do not rate things that we don’t use like bathroom/shower cleanliness or laundry facilities as we seldom use them.

Our system is heavily weighted on the site we receive with up to 5.5 points available. The site is where we live and so it is the most important aspect of the campground to us. We rate the utilities provided (electric, water and sewer service), the surface (dirt, gravel or paved), the size (length and width), of the site, and the privacy of the location.

The campground facility as a whole is rated with up to 2.5 points available. Although our rating system is weighted on the site we received we have had some OK sites in campgrounds we will never go back to because of noise, lack of security or owners/employees who demonstrate they are not concerned about the reputation of their business. Our system evaluates the location of the campground (ease of access by local roads), the facilities ability to accommodate our motorhome and tow (interior roadways), noise (interior and exterior), the amenities available (pool, hot tub, games/activity centers) and the appearance and condition of the facility.

We also award one point based upon the campground’s location relative to activities we are interested in and if there is local shopping available for food, and supplies. This will always affect where we choose to stay but some sites are central to many more fun/interesting activities and shopping opportunities than other campgrounds.

After considering all of the above we will award up to one point based upon the value of the site and services. Campgrounds that we feel are overpriced based on the factors we evaluate will not receive a point, campgrounds that we feel are priced fairly or are a bargain will receive a point.

Curecanti National Recreation Area

We slept in today so we didn’t leave the mothership until 1030; we were a little stiff and could tell we had been in a good fight yesterday. We decided to drive Hwy 50 east from Montrose to the Curecanti National Recreation area; there were several short hikes along with the Blue Mesa Reservoir that we wanted to see.

Our first stop was the Elk Creek Visitor Center and campground. We drove thru the campground to look at the sites and checked out the marina. The wind came up which brought up the white caps on the reservoir and brought a lot of boats into the marina.

We then turned west and drove back along the reservoir, this is an image and a stitched image of the Blue Mesa area.



We stopped at the Pine Creek parking lot to take our first hike, the Pine Creek Trail is a two mile trail along the Gunnison River below the Blue Mesa Dam. After descending 235 steps along Pine Creek the trail leveled out as it followed the river downstream. We stopped and put our hands in the river water that we didn’t reach yesterday but we felt the muscles we worked trying. This is an image taken along the trail.



Our last stop was at East Cimarron where we walked the 1.6 mile Mesa Creek Trail which follows the Gunnison below the impressive Morrow Point Dam. The trail was not as level or straight as the Pine Creek Trail but it had fewer steps down along Mesa Creek; our legs were grateful! Here is an image taken along the trail.


We then returned to Montrose and the mothership at the Cedar Creek RV Park.

Black Canyon - Inner Canyon Hike

We left the mothership around 8:30 and headed back to the Black Canyon for an adventurous hike. Neither one of us had hiked a back country route, so we thought we would give it a try. The website said the “Gunnison route” was a good route for “beginners” or persons attempting their first inner-canyon hike. It also said it is the most popular route, but it is still very strenuous. Well we thought we would give it a shot, and if it got to difficult we could turn around and come back.

We went to the Visitor Center to get the required “back country permit”. This registered us and provided the Park with “In Case Of Emergency” information if we did not return and they had to search for us. We headed out on the Oak Flat Trail, which then took us to the “River Access” route we were looking for. Our goal was to reach the river, rest and return, a one way distance of only one mile but a1800 foot vertical drop. We met a ranger on the trail who told us that many think it is the easiest route because it is only one mile but it is also the most strenuous route. He stressed to us as did the young lady at the Visitor Center that the “trail” continues to get more strenuous as you get closer to the bottom, so if you don’t feel comfortable don’t continue.

Well we made it to the chain section and thought that wasn’t too bad, but as we were told it continued to get more strenuous. We made it about 2/3 of the way to the river and decided it was time to start heading back. John felt that the climb out may take some time and he did not want to be “climbing up on my hands and knees at 6pm”. We had decided to give ourselves until noon to make it to the river but as we continued to pick our way thru the loose rocks our time ran out. The climb down had taken over 2 hours and the climb up took us about an hour and one half. The trail is strenuous and although we did not reach our goal it was an adventure.

Sandy shows good form descending the chain.


John picks his was down the “trail”.


We watched for these rock markers (cairn) which were located along the route.


This was our view of the river at the point where we turned around.


A look up a small portion of the return route, most of the rocks were loose which required careful consideration as you picked your steps and planned where you would be 20 feet up the trail.

John “enjoys” the climb up the chain.

Ouray, CO and Million Dollar Highway

For today’s adventure we drove 32 miles to Ouray which is an old mining city (as many historic cities in the Rockies are), but we were there to see two waterfalls which are located within city parks. After a picnic lunch we drove a portion of the “million dollar highway” towards Silverton.

Our first stop was Box Canyon Falls which as you might guess is located at the end of a box canyon. A steel walkway hangs from the side of the canyon for viewing, when you near the falls you can descend some steps to the river. You feel the cool air as you enter the canyon and at river level you can enjoy the cool spray from the falls. There is also a trail that ascends the side of the canyon to a platform located above the falls and you can continue hiking thru a tunnel as this trail is part of the trail system which circles the city.

These are photos of the falls from the walkway.



At river level you see and feel the spray, it is hard to hear anything but the sound of the falls within this confining canyon.


The river flows out of the canyon away from the falls.



We crossed the platform located above of the canyon and walked thru the tunnel to take this image of Cascade Falls located across the narrow valley where Ouray is located.


After exploring the Box Canyon park we drove to Cascade Falls, it is a short but steep hike to the base.

We then drove up the valley toward Red Mountain Pass on the “Million Dollar Highway”; there are several theories about how this road got its name but we cannot imagine there would be any argument that it is a thrill to drive on this highway.





After driving over the pass we returned to Montrose and the mothership for the night.

Black Canyon of Gunnison NP Tour

We left the mothership this morning around 9:30 and drove to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We read in one of the blog’s we follow that it is best to begin at the far end of the park road (High Point) as the morning light is best to see that area. So we drove to High Point and took the Warner Point Nature Trail. We had Warner Point to ourselves but it was slightly overcast as we waited for the sporadic sunlight to take our photos. After finishing up at the Nature Trail we moved on down the road and stopped at various view points. Many of the view points require a walk of anywhere from 100 to 600 yards to the canyon edge.

This photo of the Canyon was taken at the Dragon Point overview


These photos are of the “Painted Wall”. At 2300 feet, Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. If the Empire State Building stood on the canyon floor, it would reach slightly more than halfway to the top of the cliff.



Here is a photo of us at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP


After stopping at all of the view points, we ended our day at the Visitor Center where we looked at the displays and viewed an informative movie about the history of the canyon.

We were back at the mothership around 3:00 so we sat outside and read for a while.

Travel Day to Montrose, CO

We packed up and left Ami’s Acres around 9:00 this morning; today we will be driving to Montrose. We took I-70 West toward Grand Junction, then I-70 Business/141 to US 50. The weather was great, not a lot of traffic, and overall a pretty easy 145 mile drive. We made one fuel stop about 2.5 miles from our campground, so when we leave next week we are all ready to go. So far this trip we have averaged 8.10 mpg.

We arrived at Cedar Creek RV Park in Montrose around noon. John then began his normal setup process outside for our extended stay, while Sandy worked on cleaning the inside of the mothership, laundry, and inside setup.

Our cable cord was a bit too short, so we drove to Wal-Mart to get a longer one and a few other items. Other than that we just took a walk around the campground, and watched some of the Olympics.

Hanging Lake Hiking Trail

Jim and Val stopped at the mothership around 11:30 for a brief tour; we then drove together to the Hanging Lake trailhead. The trailhead is located in Glenwood Canyon, seven miles east of Glenwood Springs.

The trail is a difficult two mile round trip hike but is worth the effort if you are capable. We saw one young lady carried off the trail by mountain rescue personnel after she apparently injured her knee.

The trail follows this stream up the steep valley



It was a beautiful day


Our effort was rewarded with this view of Hanging Lake and its waterfalls




There appeared to be a number of trout in the lake, we took this picture of a small herd (Val we spelled it correctly this time, even though it’s a school).


The four of us took a short break before returning to the trailhead, before we left we got these photos.



We got back to the mothership at 3:30, and said our Good-byes to Jim and Val as we will be leaving Glenwood Springs tomorrow. Thanks Jim and Val for a wonderful time!

Frying Pan Valley

We met Jim in Basalt at noon and he took us up the “Frying Pan Valley” located in the White River National Forest. We drove along the Frying Pan River and stopped and watch several people fly fishing.

We then stopped at the John Ruedi reservoir where we watched the start of an Aspen Yacht Club sailboat race


We continued up to the Hagerman Pass road, which is an unpaved but well graded road that is built on an old railroad bed


Near an area called Hells Gate we stopped and looked at the remains of a train wrecked that occurred many years ago


Near the top of the pass we stopped at Ivanhoe Lake where the old railroad bed was still visible along the edge of the lake


At the far end of Ivanhoe Lake Jim showed us the old railroad tunnel which went under Hagerman Pass where the old rail line made its way to Leadville


After visiting Ivanhoe Lake we return to the Aspen Yacht club where we met some of Jim’s friends and looked at a few of the sailboats located in the marina.

We then met Val in downtown Basalt where we had an excellent dinner at the Riverside Grill.

Rafting on the Roaring Fork and Colorado River

This morning we got up and took a walk around the campground and did a few chores in the mothership. We then got prepared for a rafting adventure. We met Jim at 12:30 in Glenwood Springs; he had already dropped off Val and the raft at the launching point. We followed Jim to our exit point to drop off his truck and trailer. This is where we would exit the river at the end of day. The three of us then drove to our launch point on the Roaring Fork River where Valerie was waiting with the raft.


Captain Jim guided the raft for us


This is a photo of the Roaring Fork River, which is generally calm


However we did have a few minor rapids


Along the way we saw some wildlife, including a bald eagle


After about two hours of rafting the Roaring Fork joined the Colorado River


We took a short break and continued our rafting adventure on the Colorado River


On the Colorado we also encountered some larger rapids


We arrived at our exit point around 6:30, after loading the raft Jim and Val dropped us off at the launching point where we picked up our car. Today was the first time we had ever gone rafting and it was a blast! Thanks Jim and Val, and especially to our Captain for not getting us totally wet.