Two roads diverged..

And I took both!

We're out of here

We love Jim and Ellie. They couldn’t be more hospitable. Their house couldn’t be more wonderful. But we’re out of here. Three more weeks before we can have the coach done? We want to go home. We have two homes. One of them is disabled. We can’t go to our coach home? We’re going to our Valley home in Texas.

We packed up the Jeep and drove to Denver this morning. We dropped more stuff off at Matt’s house to lighten the load for our drive south. Judy made Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Tomorrow morning we’ll drive to the Jeep shop in Longmont for four new tires (The Jeep shop in Longmont doesn’t know this part of the plan yet. We hope they’ll be on board when we call them first thing in the morning.) A quick visit with Becky and Brian, and off we go. South.

In the meantime, a nice place to walk today in Ken Caryl Valley just behind the hogback from Denver.

Motorhome update

 

The engine is done.  Reinstallation has begun.

 

There is a catch though.  Way back at the start of this, there was some tow-damage.  A few things got squashed and bounced.  A piece of fiberglass in the front got torn.  No big deal.  Nothing that can’t be fixed.  But one more thing has come to light that we haven’t been anticipating.  There is a delay between when the paint work is done and when the plastic rock-chip barrier that goes on top of everything can be reapplied.  Can’t put it there until the paint has had a chance to cure.  So once the engine work is done, the coach goes to the body shop.  Once the body work is done, the paint has to dry for two weeks before the plastic bra can be put back on the front.  We’ve been counting down to an approximate date when we will get our house back.  That date, whatever it is, just got extended two weeks.

 

 

Junipers

Mature junipers add their own character to the look of a forest.






Dirty Henry.

In the last two days

 

It hasn’t rained at all.  No afternoon thunderstorms.

 

Summer mountain weather.  Highs of 80 degrees each day, but at this altitude, the mid-day heat doesn’t last very long.  It cools right down at night for open door and open window sleeping.

 

In an earlier email I complained about how hard it was to get a good picture of the house.  Here it is in a panorama shot, starting from the attached guest house and finishing with Annie, Henry, and Judy playing in the creek.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hljM9_Lmxt4

 

 

Along the way

Momma Merganser with her brood on the South Platte River at Chatfield State Park.

More turkeys

 

This time, a pair of turkeys trying to coax their little ones across the creek to melt into the brush with them.  They’re there, walking around in the open, then with just a few quiet steps they’re gone.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wskuatecWQ

 

Several more turkey chicks dashing up the bank.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeIhJlIpsb0&feature=related