When we updated last, we were going to meet up with Bob and Judy in Colorado. We pulled into the campground and about five minutes later, B&J pulled in! Great to see them again, since we had parted early May in Virginia. Traveled with them a couple of
Bison at the Terry Bison Ranch, Cheyenne, Wyoming
weeks and up into Wyoming. Terry Bison Ranch just south of Cheyenne was our destination, and we visited several interesting museums, even running into some of our buddies, Mike and Cathy, we had seen at the Winnebago Rally in Iowa! Just proves it’s a “Small World” after all! Back at the RV Park, we had taken a little train out to see the bison (thus the name) and got closer to them than we ever had before!
The great news is that John and Bob worked on our King Dome (our in-motion satellite TV dome) and were able to get it working again! Yippee!! The sad news was that we were parting again…they to New York State, for Judy to do more hiking on the North Country Trail, and we to the mountains of Colorado…and hopefully cooler climes.
Our next stop was Eleven Mile State Park at an elevation of around 9000 ft., a beautiful
11 Mile State Park, Colorado
park! I took Sassy for her usual walk after getting parked and she was her usual self, but after we got back to the RV, she more or less just collapsed! Respirations were high, and very lethargic, and very unlike her…especially when she wasn’t enthused about eating we knew something was wrong for certain! One morning at 3:30AM, I was awakened by her vomiting, and later that AM, I called a near-by vet, who told us he would call and have us bring her in that afternoon, but he never called back! John did some reading about “Altitude Sickness” in dogs, and sure enough, every symptom mentioned fit Sassy’s to a T! After two days of this “lethargy”, she seemed to be rebounding, just as other dogs had, in the information John had read, so we definitely think this was the problem! (Sassy completely recovered.)
After an overnight stop in Montrose, John drove us up the “Million Dollar Highway” to Silverton, and elevation of 9300! Jane had driven this route in 2008, so she decided John needed to have this experience! A twisty-turny road (and pretty narrow, too)! If you want to get an idea of why they call it a million dollar highway, check out this YouTube video somebody made as they drove it in a motorhome. Just
Jane and Sassy at Animas Forks, Silverton Colorado
after we got into our campground (Red Mountain RV Park) which faced the tracks of the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Train, we got to see our first train come in! Always fun to see that steam train!!
Jane’s allergies became a problem while in Silverton, but we were able to do some four-wheeling in the San Juan Mountains and enjoyed spectacular views and John did a wonderful, safe job of driving! One day Jane’s brother and his wife drove over from Telluride to spend a few hours, and it was fun seeing them and their two “boys”, Sassy’s brother Max and their nephew Frank. Bettye and Jane had several heads turn when we walked the three Corgis! While in Silverton, John and Jane celebrated their 38th anniversary with another fun day of four-wheeling, and a nice meal out at one of the local restaurants.
Cinnamon Pass, San Juan Mountains, Colorado
After a week in Silverton and morning temperatures around 40 degrees (marvelous!), we moved back North and down the “Million Dollar Highway” to Ridgeway State Park Pa- Pa-Co-Chu-Pak (or Cow Creek) Camp Ground to spend two weeks. Our cat, Trekkie really has enjoyed herself just lying out watching the world and almost having another close encounter with one of the pretty tame mule deer than wander through! The Uncompahgre river runs alongside the campground. Again, we do some four-wheeling and really enjoy our time here. Jane finished her book TomBoy Bride which is about a woman’s experience at one of the mines in the San Juan mountains back in the early 1900s…most interesting, and she would highly recommend it!
As always, we thank you for following along with us on our travels, and pray our Lord’s blessings on all of you!