No trip reports for a couple days

 

 

We’re staying in places with no connectivity.  Golden Gate Canyon State Park last night.

 

 

Mueller State Park tonight.  High Country.  Golden Gate is at 9,000 feet.  Mueller will be high as well.

 

And the beat goes on

 

 

 

St Vrain State Park

 

 

Test driving the equipment again.

 

 

It’s getting better and better.  This will be a hot weather sleeping test.

 

 

Would we?

 

 

Would we come to Southern California and not stop at Angelo’s for a hot pastrami sandwich?

 

I don’t think so.

 

 

Meanwhile,

 

The cactus exploded.

 

 

Now we’re back to Becky and Brian’s in Colorado to resume our previously scheduled trip.

 

Southern California hillside landscaping.

 

 

 

At least one of everything!

 

When we were kids

 

 

Vista was right on the way to Lake Wohlford where Mom and Dad had a vacation trailer.  From Long Beach we would drive down Pacific Coast Highway (small towns and stoplights all the way) and turn left at Oceanside and past the bird sanctuary on our way through Vista to Escondido.  The bird sanctuary was one of our landmarks to know we were getting close to being there, answering that ever-recurrent question “are we there yet?”

 

A nice backyard for sitting and visiting at Barbara’s.

 

 

Barbara’s House

 

 

I neglected to mention where in California.  Vista.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.1952873,-117.2662029,12.46z?entry=ttu

 

Just inland from Oceanside and Carlsbad.

 

 

The view out the back window.

 

Momma dove on a nest.

 

The view out front.

 

We’re not in Kansas anymore

 

 

We’re not in Colorado either.  We’re in California for a few days.  Flew out here for a visit with Barbara Shockley, Judy’s sister-in-law.  A lot like a sister.

 

Here is the approach to her house from the street.  The driveway on the right.

 

The kids will remember this from our trips out here in the VW Bus on Spring Breaks when they were little.  Farther up.

 

At the top.

 

And the look back out.

 

Dude. Nice Marmot!

 

 

 

We have a new rider.  A black-footed ferret.

 

Colorado Rapids

 

 

Nice day for a soccer match.

 

 

The Rapids hosted that team from Utah as the announcer called them.  The Salt Lake Real.  The Rapids fell behind early but came back with two goals before the end of the first half.  Then the rain came.

 

Then the severe thunderstorm warning.

 

Then it got worse.  After over an hour of rain, Becky, Judy, and I bailed and headed home.  Brian and the girls stayed to wait it out.  We had a good time.  Brian, Teigan, and Elise are probably still having a good time.

 

The yellow dot in that tree

 

 

 

Yellow-breasted chat.

 

Singing.

 

The van is back

 

 

We dropped it off at a shop in Arvada for some modifications.  We got the ceiling exhaust fan put in.  It doesn’t add much to the profile on the roof, but should help us cool off fast in hot weather.

 

Ten speeds, remote control.

 

The fan is wired to the van batteries with a battery protector cut-off that will prevent it from draining too much power from the batteries overnight.

 

We got a 12 volt outlet put in behind the driver’s seat so it will be close to the power sources for recharging while we’re driving.

 

It’s that round fixture in the middle between the cup holders and the USB outlets.

 

We got a shore power hookup so when we’re in state parks and there is a power post, we can plug in to shore power and have a normal household outlet inside.  That’s our shore power outlet in the middle near the floor.  Here is what the outside plug-in looks like.  A spot to connect a normal outdoor gauge extension cord.

 

We got swivels installed on both the driver and passenger seats so when we’re parked we can turn them to face the room.  Here it is with the passenger seat turned around.

 

 

That’s every modification we want to make except for the most important one, the couch/bed in the back.  We’ve still got the temporary bed that folds out onto the floor.

 

We’ve bought the couch/bed, but it hasn’t been delivered yet.  We have a tentative shipping date of July 23^rd.  The fold-out couch will go in the same position the floor bed is in now.

 

Stay tuned.

 

Judy’s flowers on the deck

 

 

 

To make sure the flowering pots remain at their finest, Judy arranged some artificial flowers so they will look fresh the whole time we’re gone.

 

A few flowers in the yard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There

 

 

 

Back in the bushes.

 

Way back.

 

It’s Puff!

 

Puff started out in our yard in the 1990s.  When we left town, puff found his way to Becky and Brian’s yard.

 

A walk in the park

 

 

Anne White Trail.

 

 

Flagstaff Mountain.

 

 

6,000 and 7.000 feet elevation, respectively.  Being careful with the heat, and gradually reacclimating ourselves to the altitude.