Flying Cloud

Today was Curtis' favorite drive.  When he would lay down and we would start to roll up the windows, he'd hop back and insist we keep them down.

We passed through 6 of these tunnels, they were pretty narrow so it was a little scary

On the drive we passed through Custer State Park where we drove along the wild life viewing loop expecting to see more than this mule (thank god for the arrow or we would have missed him).  Actually we saw one buffalo and a few pronghorn antelope.

And finally, the 4 big guys.

July 31, 2005 by in south dakota | permalink | comments (2)

August 2, 1876 is when Wild Bill Hickok was shot, and the "Days of 76" is a week long celebration of those historic times.

Our timing to be here couldn't have been better, we ended up passing through here by accident!

July 31, 2005 by in south dakota | permalink | comments (1)

We're staying in Deadwood at least until Wednesday.  We're getting ANOTHER part sent to us to hopefully fix our internet problem.

Many of the houses in Deadwood sit up on a ridge overlooking the town

Last night we played $2-10 spread limit Hold 'em at Saloon #10, where the tables are right in the middle of the bar crowd.  We played for hours and pretty much broke even - the atmosphere was a LOT of fun.

There are a lot of poker games to choose from, the guy sitting next to me last night referred me to deadwoodnuts.com.

Today we're going to watch a parade (not sure what it's for yet), play some cards and drive around the forest.

July 30, 2005 by in south dakota | permalink | comments (6)

The drive last night was stunning...

through north east Wyoming...

...in to south east South Dakota. 

Not sure that we'll be able to test the satellite dish here - the pines are quite dense.  This was the most beautiful drive we've made yet.

July 29, 2005 by in south dakota | permalink | comments (0)

We received the part to try and fix the satellite internet, but it didn't work.  The next idea on this is that we just have to move locations, so tonight we're headed 2 hours north east to Deadwood, SD to a campground that has wifi (which is a better backup than the cell phone).

Pictured above is a shot of the lake out front which they're going to start filling on Saturday.  It was emptied to irrigate Nebraska.  After it is full, they say there will be thousands of people in this park!

July 28, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (0)

Our peace and tranquility was interrupted today with what sounded at first like a sonic boom, but continued in a barrage that shook the earth.  Across the lake we could see dark clouds of smoke appearing with each bomb.

There were some park services girls nearby and we asked them if this was a normal occurrence, and they said it was Air Force target practice, but usually the bombs weren't this big. 

The planes were up so high we couldn't see them.  It was pretty scary.  We decided to wait it out in town where it is a bit more populous with less of a chance getting hit by mistake.

July 27, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (2)

When we first got here, I posted a picture of where we parked. This is the view if I turned around and faced away from the trailer.

A lot of people have been asking how Curtis is doing. He's in dog heaven living leash free chasing bunnies. He stays close to the trailer during the day, usually on the mat out front or under it when the ground is dry. At night we put his bed on the floor and he sleeps inside. He only goes running when we are out with him, and even then he always looks over his shoulder to see if it's ok!

July 27, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (0)

More pictures from this past Sunday.  The Rustic Architecture movement started here with the construction of The Guernsey State Park in the 1930's.  Wood and rocks from the natural surroundings were used as the building materials.  This is an arch from a picnic area called "The Castle."

The exterior of "The Castle."

It's been storming every night here, and today is pretty rainy.  We're waiting on a delivery that MIGHT fix our internet problem.

July 26, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (0)

Yesterday we saw the Oregon Trail Ruts (pictured above) where the wagon wheels of the pioneers actually carved the stone as they made their way across the country.

We also saw Register Cliff where the pioneers would carve their names (this one faintly reads 1864).  According to the information plaques, none of the old-time travelers ever mentioned participating in this graffiti in their journals.

Above the carved names were these great nests.

PS:  We're still having satellite internet problems, but at least I worked it out with Verizon so internet via cell won't break the bank.

July 25, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (1)

Right now I'm on cell phone dial-up for .25/minute.  Brian is setting up the dish over and over again, but we can't seem to get it to transmit.  No pictures until we're back online.

July 25, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (0)

Today we arrived at Guernsey State Park in Wyoming. We are the ONLY people here. This is our first week without the support of a facility to plug into (for electric, water and sewer).

There's a thunder storm rolling in....

July 23, 2005 by in wyoming | permalink | comments (3)

We've seen this dumb billboard in New Mexico and in Colorado.  Does it really matter if girls are into you once you are dead?  (PLEASE no necrophilia jokes)

Can you believe someone was paid to come up with this?

July 21, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (3)

I received these emails from Brian reporting on Denver today while I was in Chicago:

11:15am
We have some excitement over here, The lady in #46 has been missing since 7am.   I just spent the last 30 minutes on a 4 wheeler driving the sandy paths looking for her.  Didn't find anything...the sheriff is on the way to take a report.
Will keep you posted.

11:20am
Well the mystery is over...I guess she walked into Strasburg got tired and was resting in a local business.   The owner just drove her back to the campground.
So she is fine.

July 20, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (7)

Brian dropped me off at Denver International Airport today because I had to fly to Chicago for work.  I saw this sign in the ladies room.  I really wanted to get a picture of it, but felt kind of creepy with my camera out in the bathroom!  This blurry shot was the best I could do.

July 18, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (3)

Today we drove in to Denver looking for Whole Foods without having the street address.  The first neighborhood we found was the housing projects by the Broncos Stadium.  We wondered why all projects look the same in every city.  Same architect?  Back at the trailer I googled denver housing projects and found some really nice places.  This wasn't what we saw.

We did eventually get to a nicer part of Denver (pictured above), and Whole Foods.  The chatty cashier mentioned that Colorado is a red state, however Denver is blue.  She also told us the mayor owns 3 bars and took out all of the parking meters in downtown Denver to promote the night-life.

July 17, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (1)

Today we only had a short distance to cover between Monument and Denver (Strasburg), so we decided to take the super scenic route through farm country.

July 16, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (3)

This is Robert, the owner of One Stop Cop Shop.  He has about 1,500 Christmas trees on his property.  (like a dummy I cut off his feet in this picture - but it's our favorite shot)

While they were working on the trailer it started to HAIL.  The weather is really all over the place in Colorado Springs.

Lucky for us, the trailer was inside their shop.

In addition to getting grounded (possible joke about living in Los Angeles too long?) they had to re-wire our battery bank.  The batteries were hooked up as two separate batteries rather than as one giant battery, which could have ultimately ruined our batteries.  Anyway.  All fixed and no dents from hail.

July 16, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (0)

After a day of watching the storm in the skies just south of us, it hit us directly over-night.  The wind was the scariest part.  I kept worrying that the internet dish would topple over.  It was fine, and we didn't even have to re-direct it this AM.  (see lightning on left)

July 15, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (2)

Yesterday was a scorcher.  It was only 85 degrees, but we're in this toaster without AC until we get our inverter back.  It became unbearable around 6pm, so we decided to just drive around.  I couldn't even consider cooking it was so hot in the trailer.

We drove through what appeared to be the "old town" part of Colorado Springs, and saw a mob of people (not the same run for the border crowd from lunch) at a place called The Phantom Canyon Brewing Company.

This place was great.  The menu, impossible to choose from - everything sounded incredible.  I had the steak special, and Brian had the trout and crab cakes.  4 stars.

July 14, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (1)

Today we had lunch at Taco Bell in Monument Colorado.  We have never seen so many people inside a fast food restaurant ever.  We counted 55 people in the dining area.  95% white.  Curious about the Bell phenomenon here in Monument, we went online and learned some about its history and found it quite compelling.

July 13, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (3)

We brought the trailer in to The One Stop Cop Shop yesterday, where Robert, the owner, spent quite a while trying to troubleshoot our system.

We still don't have a full report for you - but, he took the inverter and is installing the operating system upgrade.

Meanwhile, without an inverter we can't use the internet or computers from the trailer.  So we think.  While we're getting ready for our 3rd trip to a coffee shop for internet, Brian realizes we could just run a long extension cord to a power strip inside the trailer. 

Some solutions are just too simple.

July 13, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (0)

This morning Dale the RV Repair guy came, and he helped us isolate the problem some more.  We had power going into our inverter but not coming out.

I went to a coffee shop to work while Brian worked on the inverter problem.  He called Xantrex support and was referred to a local repair place called The One Stop Cop Shop (they service and install the electrical systems for RV's, cop cars and fire trucks).  He had to drive there because their phone was busy.  The owner confirmed that our problem is definitely due to not having a transfer switch installed.  Meanwhile to get us up and running off of shore power, he told Brian to disconnect the positive power supply into the inverter until it completely drained of all power.  It worked.

Tomorrow AM, we're bringing the trailer in to have the entire electrical system evaluated and to get that GD transfer switch.

July 11, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (3)

Yesterday we arrived in Mosca Colorado to this beautiful view of Great Sand Dunes National Park.  We weren't able to enjoy it however, because our inverter wouldn't turn on.  So today we moved on to a more populous location just north of Colorado Springs in search of an RV Electrician.  We were referred to Dale, and he's coming tomorrow at 8am.

You guys crack us up.

July 10, 2005 by in colorado | permalink | comments (2)

For the past few weeks we have been enjoying the wonderful view surrounding the airstream, especially the large flat-topped Mount Pedernal which was a subject in many paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe. 

Take a look at my pics from our exhausting hike to the ruins yesterday.  We are packing up and heading to Colorado today after stopping in Taos for lunch with Julia.

-B

July 9, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (2)

July 8, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (6)

Last night we went to see some local ladies we've met play softball, however, we arrived right when it ended! (they won)

July 8, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (0)

Tonight we played the No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament.  Out of 44 players, Brian came in 1st and I came in 2nd.   Unfortunately they wouldn't let us go heads up cuz I would have kicked his A.

Funny thing.  The Wednesday following the 4th of July last year, Brian won 1st in a casino tournament.  1st place 2 years in a row, next year WSOP?

July 6, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (2)

Tonight we played in the No Limit Crazy Pineapple Tournament at Cities of Gold Casino near Santa Fe.  Brian placed 3rd, and I placed 15th.

highlights:

• 18+ poker room
• microwave available
• jackpots awarded (avg. $40)
• crowd gathers with ice cream to watch final 3
• no heads up play - 1st and 2nd place determined by stack size
• handi-wipes at cashier

July 5, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (5)

We visited the home of a local resident yesterday and saw some of their animals.  They raise all of their meat.  These pigs cost $30 each as piglets and will supply the family for a year

Keeping in subject, these poor pups recently had their tails "docked" (with a pocket knife) so they would appear more purebred.

Read more on docking.  Políticos - have at it!

July 5, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (2)

Brian and my dad lighting bottle rockets.
New Mexico is rather lawless, you can buy firecrackers on every corner, there's a lot of drinking and driving, but seatbelts, that's "our law." (we'll try and get a picture of the sign)

July 4, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (0)

This is an old mill we saw on our hike this morning.

July 4, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (2)

We came home to the trailer last night, as part of our normal evening routine, vacuumed the bugs from the ceiling (they're attracted to the light when we open the door) - anyway - usually we do a quick ceiling vacuum and that's it.  Last night - they kept coming back so we had to just shut off the lights.  It was bad!  Good thing they weren't biting bugs, they were just little flea flies.  Still yucky.

July 3, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (1)

Today on the way through "town" this herd of sheep came charging over the hillside and into the road.

July 2, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (3)

PS:  Your comments crack us up and make it seem like we never left!  Aaron - that gallup comment was what we were fishing for, Jen, ok that excuse will work!  JB, priceless.  Lonnie lonnie lonnie.  Mainstream - where've you been?

July 1, 2005 by in new mexico | permalink | comments (2)