My Texas Heart

Back in the day when I was in the army, I lived in San Angelo, TX for 4 months.  I don't think that makes me much of a Texan, but my grandparents grew up in Texas.  So while I may not be a Texan, I decided to play one for the day.

Lisa and I had BBQ in a hole in the wall, Hodie's Bar-B-Q.  (It was REALLY good and I can't wait to eat BBQ and Tex-Mex for the next couple of months.)  Anyway, we then stopped off at the liquor store for some Shiner Bock.  I proceeded to drink those while watching the Texas game.  They lost, so when it was over, in honor of my ancestor that fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, I gave a quick, "Remember the Alamo!"

Not sure if I succeeded, but I feel a bit more Texan today.

Raton New Mexico

We stayed at a KOA in Raton NM this past week. While most KOA's are just fine this particular KOA left much to be desired. The camp was really like a big parking lot. There were no trees, no grass and no dog run for Buddy Girl. The camp store had very few items, so we had to go to the grocery store in town. Most people who stopped thru were there for one night and moved on. There were a few nice things we did while we were there.

1. We went to the Capulin Volcano.
   I did not know what to expect from a dormant volcano as I have never seen one. It really looked like a big hole in the ground with a bunch of rocks :). The views from the top of the mountain were very nice and you could see forever.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. We played golf at Raton NM Country Club. 
   
   
   (Todd had his own post about this course and you can read about it  here:  http://friggingreat.blogspot.com/2015/09/course-review-raton-country-club.html)
   
   
   The golf course was so pretty, and full of wild life. Deer were everywhere and we could get so close you could almost feed them. The view of the mountains was spectacular and the eagles flying above were a beautiful sight to see.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. We visited Sugarite Canyon State Park.  
   We were able to go on a little hike after exploring the park by car. Sugarite was an old Coal mine town that over time was swallowed back into nature after the mine closed and everyone moved away. It is now a small state park.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

History

The name Sugarite derives from either the Comanche and Ute name for a bird found in the Canyon or the Spanish name, Chicarica, for chicory, a plant found here. Sugarite Canyon was used as a water supply for Raton as early as 1891. The lakes continue to be used for that purpose. Coal mining in the canyon began in 1894 and the town of Sugarite was established as a coal-mining town in 1912. Sugarite had a population of nearly one thousand at its peak. The mines began to shut down in 1941 and in 1944 the post office and railroad were shut down.[4] Sugarite Canyon State Park was established in 1985 and now receives about 125,000 visitors per years. (wikipedia.org)

I am not sure if we will ever visit Raton again. It is one of those places you can say you have been thru.

We were in Colorado Springs

We were in Colorado Springs.  The picture was of Cheyenne Mountain (Want to play a game? How about Global Thermonuclear War? ) and Pikes Peak.  I know, I know, I need a better camera.  :)

So the winner was Heidi Bennett.  Her reward is a warm place in our heart.   So we have moved on to the south.  We have officially started our adventure as homeless people!

Where Are We? September 17, 2015

Last week we spent our time at St. Vrain State campground near Longmont, CO.  The pictures (again, we need a better camera) were of Long's Peak.  Nice little campground.  Nice views and some nice ponds to teach the kids to fish.  There were no guesses, so no winners this week.  A guess of "America" would have won.

So on with this week's photos.  The first one is a nice view from the entrance to the campground:

The second photo is of a creek that runs behind the campground.  As I make the loop around the campground to get my steps in, this is a nice little stop:

So, where are we?

Flashback: Ooops!

Fortunately, this is one of those stories where we had the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.  It happened back in June when Lisa and I had just arrived at the campground outside of Pittsburgh.  Granted, it was 70 miles away, but that was as close as we could get. 

I was settling in for the night and Lisa was inspecting the outside of the rig. (Subtext:  I was playing Candy Crush and she was having a cigarette.)  There was a loud crushing sound.  Lisa ran and in and was concerned that someone had pulled in after dark and had scratched up their rig on some overhead branches.  And who doesn't love a little drama, so Lisa wanted to go help.

Now, I'm not the guy to rush over and help.  Probably, because of my Wyoming roots, I would prefer to be left alone and try to figure it out and resolve it on my own. That fence is there for a reason.  If I need help, I will ask for it.  Slowly, begrudgingly, and with resistance, but I will eventually ask for it.  But only if I need it.  My assumption is that everyone is the same way, so my first instinct is to to give people space.


That is not how Lisa operates.  She really wants to get in there and help.  So while I resisted, she really wanted me to go help.  The tone in her voice led me to believe this is one of those times when it might be best to listen to my wife.  So I sauntered over.

A young couple had taken a sharp right turn and the back end of their loooong motorhome had gone over a 6 foot bush and had landed the body of the rig on a large boulder.  It was large enough that the rear tire was just off the ground.  It was something to behold.  I wish I had a picture, but I wasn't quite sure how it would go over.  "Excuse me, can we pause for 30 seconds to take a picture of your pain?  No? Okay, that's cool."  Maybe not the conversation I wanted to have.

My first impression was that we needed a jack to lift the rig.  Oh yeah, duh...the leveling jacks!  It was a new rig (read:  fancy and expensive) and they had only used the self-leveling jacks.  They did not know how to manually engage the right rear jack and were looking to me for guidance.  I had only had mine for 6 weeks.  But I have been a consultant now for almost 20 years.  I know how to fake that sh**.

So we went into the rig like we knew what we were doing.  (You know, the confident man stroll.)  Luckily for our egos, we figured it out and lifted the rig.  The next issue was how to move a rock which was a tad bit heavy.  A German and his son were now also on the scene.  We tried to move it, but not much luck.  So we are standing there trying to figure out how to proceed.  (Maybe pull it out with our Jeep?)  When young guy, full of adrenaline (and maybe steroids), decides to give it a try.  Success!  (So glad I did not take the picture earlier.  Good guy to have on your side.)

A few scratches, but the rig was fine.  Lots of handshakes and promises of beers were made.  I never got a beer, but I did get a valuable lesson about avoiding driving at night.

Where Are We?

This is where we spent September 7 - 13, 2015.  A nice little mountain in the background, first thing in the morning:

This highlights how much we need to buy a good camera and not rely on  our phones.  Here is the same view in the evening:

So, any guesses?

Dirty, Dirty

The Steel Cowboy was a bit dirty.  It needed some help.  It needed a good spraying and a bit of brushing.  Which actually sounds fun since it has been in the 90's around here.  But most campgrounds don't allow it and this is not the type of vehicle that you can just pull into the car wash and hose down. 

So we did our research, and found that the Blue Beacon was popular.  It is a truck wash, usually co-located with a truck stop.  This seemed like another opportunity to step outside our comfort zone, broaden our horizons, and try something new.  So with some trepidation, we pulled into line:

Turns out, it was as easy as can be.  We pulled in, payed the cashier, and watched them wash it down.  Easy-peasy.  I gotta stop overthinking every new experience.  What could go wrong?

Where Are We?

As we trek around, we thought it would be fun to post a picture and have some crowd participation.  Last week is fairly easy.  So, where were we on September 4, 2015?  (Bonus points for accuracy.)