Wednesday 8-30-23 Camping, Hiking & Bike Ride

 

Beautiful day at Matchless

According to our weather application the temperature this morning was 42 degrees.

Last night before I went to bed I took a few cinnamon rolls out of the freezer so we could have them for breakfast. This morning I woke up to a smell of the cinnamon rolls being baked. Larry always gets up at 6:00 so he had turned on the heater and oven so when I woke up I would have fresh rolls. 

Our oven in the Minnie is great except it's very unpredictable. Sometimes it works perfect at the suggested time and temperature, other times you have to cook at a lower temperature and time. We bought a pizza stone many years ago and it helps a lot with the oven baking more evenly.  I still keep an eye on items I bake. This morning I checked the cinnamon rolls and while they should have had to bake longer they were actually done and came out perfect. Cooking with propane and changing elevations makes the oven work differently. All of our owners manuals for our propane devices indicate that if you are at too high of an elevation the device might not work. We have been lucky that all of our devices work at higher elevations. Larry has read where lots of RV'ers have troubles, sometimes as low as 7000 feet. We camp a lot at much higher elevations.

After breakfast we went on a 4.5 mile hike, this time we hiked the Rift loop trail. We started the hike at the overflow camping area where we picked up the Turquoise Lake trail for 1.25 miles to the trailhead for Rift trail. Due to a forest fire years ago Rift trail is out in the open. It gradually goes up a hillside using a switchbacks . The switchback design was terrific and and you didn't really know you were going uphill. While we hiked we hiked by a pond. We didn't see any deer but we did see a few chipmunks. While hiking the trail back we saw a deep hole with logs in it. I thought it was a sink hole. I wasn't sure if it was natural or caused by the fire. As we hiked the lake trail back we saw a group of seniors hiking the trail (10 people). They were hiking at a steady pace and doing super. We also saw people enjoying the lake. People were sitting on the rocks on the bank, walking the banks, fishing on the banks, fishing in their boats and kayaking. The hike started a little nippy but it warmed up very fast. We had a super hike. 

Sink hole

 

Fishing in the shade

 

Rift Trail

When we got back we rested for a little bit. Then we had sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch I helped Larry unload the motorcycle. He took the straps off the cover and removed the cover before I helped him. I held the motorcycle while he released the straps, that held the motorcycle in place. We rode down a gorgeous mountain road that weaved around Turquoise Lake for about 16 miles. As we rode we drove through May Queen Campground, it's located at the far end of the lake. All the water spickets were covered so they weren't available to use. It looked like you had to bring your own water, the host had a small water container. We stopped a couple of times on the loop to stretch our legs. The seat on the motorcycle isn't too comfortable so you need to stretch. As we were driving down the mountain a lady on a bicycle passed us, she looked like she had been riding a bike for a long time and she definitely knew the road. She wasn't riding an e-bike. After driving the loop we went to Leadville. It's a cute little town. We drove around Leadville and stopped at Coffee & Ice Cream to share a scoop of ice cream. The ice cream was Salted Carmel. The service was good and the ice cream was good. I thought $5.50 was a little steep for a single scoop in a cup but the store got a steady flow of customers. After having ice cream we drove towards the campground. As we drove  by the city park Larry noticed the bathrooms were decorated very cute. He turned around and went back for me to take pictures. Each side had a season theme (winter, summer, fall and spring). The murals were very well done and the artists signed them. The park also had a nice playground. Next to the park were soccer fields and the county fairgrounds. The high school is right across the street from the park. Then we went home. It was a great ride through the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

Winter 

Spring 

Fall or Autumn 

 

Summer

 

 Playground

 

 

Ice Cream

By the time we got home we were tired. While resting I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong and the event. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 42 minutes and 57 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group.

For dinner we barbecued sausage patties. Yesterday Larry had problems with the grill so today he tried another regulator and the grill worked much better. We had a delicious dinner. After dinner I walked around the campground for 45 minutes to finish my steps. I ended up doing 20,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. Larry helped me do my steps by hiking 5 miles with me in the mornings. Thank you, honey.

    

    

 

 

    

Tuesday 8-29-23 Hiking Bod Fish and Turquoise Lake Trails & Camping

 

Camping at Matchless Campground

We're still camping at Matchless Campground and will be here until after Labor Day. This morning we moved from campsite #6 to campsite #7. This new site is on an end ensuring we will only have other campers on one side of us, it's also bigger, has more privacy, has a view of the lake and we get more solar. It's farther from the bathroom, public water and trails but I need the steps. It gorgeous with a lot of pine trees. So far there have only been about four campers in our campground but the host says it should be full by Wednesday night.

We woke up to weather in the high 40s and it got into the low 70s. We had a beautiful day with a lot of sunshine.

I slept until 7:30. Larry said good morning and I decided to get up. I made pancakes for breakfast. Then we moved the Minnie. Afterwards we went on a 5 mile hike. We started from the campground and walked the road about .5 mile and picked up the multi-purpose trail (bikers, hikers and horseback riders). We hiked this section to the trailhead sign for Bod Fish trail and Fallen Trees trail. We did Bod Fish trail, it was a 3 mile loop. The trail was mainly in the open but we did hike through the forest now and then. We saw deer (three Does and one fawn). They kept their distances but they did stop to look at us. I took a picture of one of them. It was hard to take pictures because they were in the trees. The doe and fawn ran across the trail in front of us. I guess I should say they hopped across the trail to the trees. We were the only hikers but we did see a couple of bicyclists. They were coming the opposite direction, which was very nice because we could see them and get off the trail. They came upon a rock and the guy went around it but the lady went off it. She made a very smooth landing. We said hi to them. We saw some chipmunks and squirrels. We rested now and then. We had a great hike.

We are at a very high elevation, almost 10,000 feet. This makes hiking and breathing a bit more challenging. We have to make sure to take rest stops and Larry keeps reminding me I should be drinking more water. De-hydration can be a real concern at these elevations. 

Pike-San Isabel National Forest

 

Chipmunk enjoy breakfast

View of the mountains from the trail

 

 Deer checking us out at the beginning of the hike

When we got back to our site we setup the solar panels. They are doing an excellent job of keeping everything charged. Then we had sandwiches for lunch. 

I changed my mind, I will play some of the Solitaire games. I played the Daily Challenges and the Event, which was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 54 minutes and 24 seconds, which put me in 23rd place in my group. I played Daily Challenge from today and yesterday. I played the Daily Challenge of Mahjong from today and yesterday.

My game playing was a bit interrupted. We lost the internet for quite a few hours. It is not unusual for it to disappear for 20 to 30 minutes but this time it must have been out for 5 or 6 hours.

Larry enjoyed the sunshine and read in his chair.

Larry barbecued Hatch sausage burgers for dinner. We hadn't had them in a long time because we don't shop at HEB that often. I also think the Hatch chilies are seasonal. It took Larry a long time to barbecue them because the grill kept going out, he thinks it's because of the elevation. I warmed up a couple of tortillas on the stove to put the patties on. Dinner was delicious. 

After dinner we went on another hike, this one was on Turquoise Lake trail to the dam. The hike was 2 miles round trip. It was a beautiful hike through the trees with a little elevation change. As we hiked we saw a lot of people on the trail. They were riding bicycles (some were e-bikes), jogging with their dogs and alone and hiking like us. We hiked by the day use area, which was very nice because it was on the mountainside and in the trees. We saw people enjoying the lake. They were floating in their tubes, paddle boarding, swimming, kayaking and fishing. It was a wonderful hike.

Paddle Boarding on the lake

Enjoying the lake

Dog and masters enjoying a nice swim

When we got home I did a water run. While doing so I stopped to visited with some of our neighbors. I ended up doing 19,500 steps, which put me in 5th in my group. I did most of the steps with Larry. 

We had a super day.   

     

Monday 8-28-23 Hiking Turquoise Lake Trail & Camping

Camping in a National Forest

We woke up to the temperature in mid 40s and it got into the mid 60s. This is great camping weather for us. 

We setup the Wave3 heater when we got to Matchless so it would be ready if we needed it. When Larry woke up at 6:00 he turned it on to take the nippiness out of the Minnie. We slept perfect without it but it's nice for me to wake up with a little heat at 7:00. 

I made pancakes for breakfast, which heated the Minnie even more. After breakfast we decided to go for a hike.

A rain storm came in about midnight and stayed around until 7:00. We weren't sure if the trails would be too muddy to hike. If they were too muddy we were going to walk the roads. We picked up the Turquoise Lake trail at the overflow campground. It wasn't bad at all. We did have to hike around a couple of puddles. We hiked 2.25 miles of the trail and rested. Then hiked it back. At the end of the hike we had hiked 4.5 miles. 

During our hike we hiked along the lake and by a few other campgrounds. People were walking along the shore of the lake and some of them had their dogs with them. Two campgrounds are reservations only and were busy, one was tents only it had a few campers, the other one was Tabor and it had a few campers. The trail went through a beautiful pine forest and was easy to hike. It was flat. We had to be careful because there were roots and rocks in the trail. The lake was flat and had a couple of people kayaking on it. While we were resting a few people hiked by us and we said hello. We stopped a couple of places where the trail Y'd off and had a trail map. Larry likes to check the trail maps to see where each trail went, how far the trails go and to plan our next hike. It was a very peaceful hike. 

Trail Map

  

Low clouds on the mountains around Turquoise Lake 

 

Camping on the lake

We hung around the campground the rest of the day. 

After lunch Larry and I setup the solar panels. He was very happy he had changed out the connectors on the wires because it made it so much easier and faster. They did a super job of charging the batteries. 

After setting up the solar panels Larry setup our chairs and decided to enjoy the campground by reading. By the end of the day he finished a book he started yesterday. I stayed inside and played the event, which was Event: Spider Adventure of 20 games. I only completed 16 of them because I wanted to give the charging system a break. I probably won't play my daily challenges until we get power. I worked on solving the Super Sudoku but didn't finish.

In the afternoon Mother Nature was messing with us. The clouds blew in, it got dark and there was thunder and we thought we were going to get rain. Larry took down the solar panels and put them in the house. He also disconnected the wiring and brought it in the house. 

We were going to barbecue sausage patties for dinner but because of the weather I made tortellini with meat sauce. It didn't rain so after dinner Larry and I went for a 45 minute walk. We walked to another nearby campground. This campgrounds accepts reservations, there were a lot of openings but every site was reserved for the weekend. We had a pleasant walk. 

For dessert we had Marketside Coconut Creme pie. It was delicious. 

Coconut Creme Pie

By the end of the day I had gotten 20,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group. This is a great beginning for the week challenge of 125,000 steps.  

    

Sunday 8-27-23 Matchless Campground

 New campground

We woke up to a brisk 51 degrees in Salida and the sprinkler spraying the Minnie. We had a great night of sleeping at Walmart. It was very quiet. Larry got cold and discovered I had taken all of the quilt (a patch work quilt Larry's mother made). He was able to get some of it back. We had an easy breakfast of chocolate Zingers, one of my favorites. Then we got ready to go. We weren't in any hurry because our next destination was only 65 miles away. We were ready to go by 7:30.

We stopped in Buena Vista at their city park to take showers. You have to use quarters, you get 2 minutes for a dollar. The park is beautiful with a playground, trail along the river, skill track for bicycles, tennis courts, skate board course and a walkway around the park. Larry went over and took a shower. When he came back I went over to take a shower but the women's shower was out of order. The sign recommend a laundromat or the wellness center. 

Buena Vista Outpost 

Afterwards we continued on to Matchless Campground on Turquoise Lake. It's in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Along the way we checked out Tabo campground which is 1.5 miles from Matchless. We decided we liked Matchless better because the sites are larger. Both campgrounds are parking lot sites with no power or water and the bathrooms are vault toilets. We are in site #4. Our site is in the trees where there is a picnic table and fire ring. It is a beautiful site. There is an end site we would prefer and if the folks leave we might move. There is also an overflow campground but they're not as nice and the sites are smaller and your site is the parking lot. Our site is $26.00 per night and the overflow is $22.00 but we have the senior pass so it is half price. We love our passes.

At noon a small hail storm came through. It only lasted a few minutes and the hail was pea size. The rain stayed around the rest of the afternoon. It sprinkled on and off. While it sprinkled I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong from today and yesterday. I also did the event, which was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 15 games. It took me 53 minutes and 43 seconds, which put me in 21st place in my group. I may not be able to do my games everyday because our internet comes and go. But that's ok I'm happy.

I still got my steps in in between the sprinkles. Larry walked with me for a little bit. After dinner I walked around for an hour and rested. Then I walked another 45 minutes to get my steps of 17,000 steps. I ended up coming in 6th place in my group for the week. I ended up doing 123,634. I didn't get the challenge of 125,000 but I'm happy. Next week I will.  

Lake Turquoise from overflow campground

Larry finished a book and started a new one.

 

 

Saturday 8-26-23 Happy Birthday Larry & Driving to Colorado

 

Sunrise in Dumas, Texas

Happy Birthday Larry. He said he had a great birthday. It was a special birthday because he turned 65. His mother (Shirley) and Louise called and wish him a happy birthday.

Larry celebrated his birthday by driving 335 miles. We started in Texas and ended up in Colorado. 

We woke up to a brisk 67 degrees at 6:00. I got up a little later 6:15. We had English muffins for breakfast because it was quick and easy. This was the last day we're going to have power for a long time. On the way out we stopped at the dumpster and pay station. At Dumas camping is free but they have a donation box. We gave them $10.00. This is cheap considering we ran the air conditioner all night. We slept very well.

Today's drive was two and four lane highways through towns, ranches, farms and mountain ranges. We started in Texas and drove trough New Mexico. We saw a lot of cattle and a couple of men on horseback. We didn't see any Pronghorns, which was a little surprising because we usually see some. The scenery was plains with some hill and an occasionally a mountain range. Once we hit Colorado the time zone changed to Mountain, which means we gain an hour. We reset all the clocks.

A mountain in New Mexico

Living on top of the mountain in Colorado

Beautiful rock formation

 

River flowing along the highway and campgrounds

Sunrise in Texas

We have taken these roads many times and at some point there is always construction going on. Today was no exception. What's scary about the construction is you're down to two narrow lanes and you're going through a mountain pass. We had a five minute delay because there was an accident. It looked very bad because the car was totaled and had flipped on its roof. 

A car accident

The drive through the mountains were very pretty with pine trees and other greenery. Larry saw three turkeys I missed them because I was sleeping and didn't wake up in time. The highway through the mountain was curvy and at places tight. It would be a great motorcycle ride. There were campgrounds along the highway and a river ran next them. We saw some people rafting. I couldn't take pictures because there was no place to stop and we were going too fast. Larry really doesn't drive too fast, he was driving 45 mph. The drive was outstanding.

We stopped a few times, we filled the Minnie a couple of times, had lunch,  stretched our legs and went to the restroom. It's so nice to have your own bathroom you don't have to worry about finding a rest area.

We arrived at Salina around 1:00 and there were already a lot of RVs parked. You're allowed to stay for 24 hours. We had no problems finding a spot. After setting up for the night we walked over to Walmart and picked up a birthday cake for Larry. Larry chose a carrot cake and coconut cream pie. We also ended up picking up a couple other items. When we were checking out we were surprised there were no plastic bags. Colorado passed a law banning single use plastic bags. Not a problem since we only had a few items we simply carried them. Next time we will know to take in our reusable bags.

Carrot Cake

Coconut Cream Pie

We had a small rain shower, which last about a half hour. It was nice to see considering we hadn't seen rain in over two months.

When it was over I walked the Salida Spur Trail. The trail goes for miles through town, neighborhoods and ranches. I walked the trail for a mile and a half and turned around and came back to Walmart. I walked farther then I expected and Larry got worried so he started looking for me because it was starting to get dark. I met up with him at Walmart and he was upset because he had been looking for me for a half hour. I don't blame him. I have done this a lot to him and I should know better. The trail is a wide sidewalk so bikes, hikers and walkers can pass each other easily. I also walked around Walmart. By the end of the day I did 17,000 steps, which put me in 5th place. During my walk I saw people walking and biking and I saw horses and cow. It was a great trail to walk.

Salida Monarch Spur Trail

Horses

 

Warning not to feed the animals

 

Bald Eagle and her chicks

 

Donkey at the beginning of the trail

 LIFE IS GOOD.

Friday 6/25/23 Still in Texas

Hot Day

Today in Dumas TX the high was 97 degrees. We are thankful for the air conditioner in the Minnie, it keeps us very comfortable.

The high in Dumas today

At home in Belton it is suppose to continue being above 100 degrees for the foreseeable future but for Larry and I things are about to be cooler. During the month of June we had 14 days of temperatures at 100+,  July had 29 days of 100+ and so far August has had 24 days of 100+.   

Sunrise in Hamlin Texas

It seems that most towns of a decent size in Texas have a donut store and even though Hamlin is quite small they also have a donut store, this made breakfast an easy choice. Outside of Texas donut places can be difficult to find.

Larry drove 280 miles from Hamlin to Dumas, TX. We were on the road by 7:00 and stopped at 1:00. Todays drive was on two and four lane highways. We drove through quite a few small and large towns passing by ranches and farms. I slept most of the way. Occasionally, Larry would wake me to see something. While driving through Childress we saw a crop duster flying overhead and over the crops. It was amazing to watch the pilot and how steeply he would bank the plane as he made his turns. Further down the highway right outside of Claude we saw a lot of turbine windmills in various stages of assembly. Some of them had their tower and rotor up and other pieces were on the ground getting ready for assembly. I have seen them many times and I'm still amazed at the size of the blades. Along the way we stopped to fill the Minnie with gas and to have lunch.   

Crop duster

 

 Setting the towers and rotors

Windmills getting assembled

 

One of the windmill blades

In the afternoon I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event today was Event: Pyramid Mini of 5 games. It took me 15 minutes and 4 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. Then I started another Sudoku puzzle from Loren, it was Super Sudoku. It had numbers and letters.

Super Sudoku

Larry started another book and finished it.

After dinner I walked around the park for an hour and 45 minutes to get my steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

 As I walked around I talked to a few people. There was a lot of kids and parents playing on the swings and merry-go-round. Other people we sitting around the table and visiting. It nice to see people enjoying the city park. 

Texhoma City Park in Dumas

   

 

Thursday 8/24/23 Fall Trip Begins

 

I'm so excited

Today we started our fall trip. We have not yet escaped the heat, in Hamlin it was 101 degrees.

We left the house at 7:00 am and stopped for the night in Hamlin, TX.  It was 230 miles from the house, we arrived before noon. We stopped a couple of times along the way. First stop was at 317 Donuts for breakfast. Second stop was to fill the Minnie with gas. 

Most of the drive was two lane highways, they are far less stressful than interstates. We drove through quite a few small towns passing by ranches and farms. I slept most of the way. Texas needs rain, the tanks the cattle drink from are almost dry. We drove over the long bridge at the far end of Lake Belton, we have never seen the lake this low, at this point it was almost empty, no boats can go up there. 

While we were driving by the prison in Gatesville there were prisoners removing the brush along the fence line and one lady was driving a tractor. They were being guarded by guards on horseback. We have driven by this prison many times and have never seen prisoners in the yard. I guess they were removing the brush to prevent fires.

As we drove through Comanche we saw a statue of a Native-American and a bison in front of the county courthouse, in front of a gas station we saw bison and on a hill we saw a couple of cowboys herding cattle. The statues were very  nice.

We have camped in Hamlin a few times so we knew what to expect. Hamlin is a very nice park with running water bathrooms, power and water and a ramada over the picnic tables. The first night is free and the rest of the nights are $15.00 per night. You pay for camping at the city hall. There's a school right there with a very nice track which I used to get my steps. The road into the park is gravel. It takes you to the camping area that is in a grass field. The park is well maintained. This year the grass is a little crunchy because we haven't had a lot of rain.

Camping at Hamlin City Park

In the afternoon I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event today was Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 1 hour, 6 minutes and 2 seconds to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group. I won't be playing Angry Birds during our trip because the two games aren't loaded on the machine.

For the rest of the day I played one of the Sudoku games Loren Smith sent to me, which was Kamikaze Sudoku. Larry started a book and finished it. 

I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group. I walked around the park. 

As I walked I talked to a couple of the locals. It's nice to see the locals using the facility. I noticed that there was a football game going on. One of the locals, who was a mother said that the junior varsity football team was playing Stanford. Tomorrow the varsity team will play Stafford at their school. I started to talk to her because one of her dogs came behind me while I was walking and scared me. When I came around the loop her poodle came up to me to say hi but kept her distance. The owner said she wasn't too friendly but the other dog was very friendly. I had a wonderful walk.