Marlys' multiple brushes with fame

We have been out on the road again, with the camper, for the last 10 days attending a wedding in Minnesota and the NASCAR Nationwide race at Road America in Wisconsin.

During the time between the events, we visited friends in Spooner where I learned a few things about antenna's that will be the subject of another post, stopped in at the Lienenkugels brewery and the birthplace of colby cheese (in Colby, WI), but not one Mills Fleet Farm or Menards of which we passed many.

The race was our first in the camper and we had made reservations for a "just off" track side spot with electricity.

The race at Road America also known as the "national park of speed" because of its setting in the rolling hills just west of Sheboygan and the very park like setting was one of the few road races (not on a oval) on the Nationwide schedule.

This being a road race meant that location for viewing the race was a critical and much re-thought decisions during the weekend. Also this course is over 4 miles long so there was allot of walking involved in going any place.

We got into the track at noon on Thursday thinking we would be there before the crowds showed, but over half of the spaces in our area were already occupied and the rest would be filled by evening.

We were located just south of the start-finish line and across the track from the pits and paddock all in all a good spot.

Parked next to us, were a couple of guys that had been part of the Northern Tool NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series marketing team, the year before when Erik Darnell had been the driver of that Roush Fenway team. In fact, Eric showed up late in the day on Friday and we had a chance to visit with him. Although he has no permanent drive this year he is still under contract to Roush and was here setting up Carl Edward's car, who was splitting duties between Road America and Sonoma, where the NASCAR Sprint series race was going on this same weekend. A few drivers were going to be jetting back and forth between the two races all weekend.

Also there were another couple of guys from Kohler (the plumbing manufacturer) there too and they provided me with a possible solution to the leaking toilet issue and water saving that many of you know has become a obsessive past time of mine. I believe there were part of the quality testing department, but I could be wrong. This conversation too will be the subject of a future post.

By the end of the day, I had decided to take Marlys out to dinner...so we were walking down to the nearest brat stand, when we ran into a line of people. A line for what we had no idea, but it was at the entrance to the tunnel going under the track to the paddock area.

Marlys, being Marlys, walked up and asked what was going on, to find out that people were waiting to be escorted to the pits to meet with drivers and get autograph's.

Since we had no other plans, other then a brat (which we had had many of over the last week, remember we were in Wisconsin), we decided to join the crowd and meet some drivers.

Having nothing to get signed, Marlys grabbed a paper towel at the brat stand, but the woman running the stand said she needed something better then that and tore a page out of a spiral binder for her.

Standing in line lasted only a few minutes and then across we went. Between the Chicago Police Detective behind us, and the guy from Alabama who kept trying to get in front of us, Marlys had a number of people to talk to. For those of you who don't know Marlys, she very social.

When we got to the pits, the one driver I wanted to get a sig from was Jucques Villeneuve, who was the 1997 World F1 Champion and has been attempting to break into NASCAR, since leaving F1, although there are rumors that he may be going back to F1.

Marlys got into line at his table. She didn't need to have a piece of paper, as Jucques had sponsor brochures to sign.

Marlys, of course told him exactly what she wanted written and Jucques appeared to be humored by the whole encounter.

He kinda looked like a grown up Harry Potter with his glasses.

He got a few more sigs then mosied back to the encampment, where we ran in to Dan Evans who is a singer doing a concert at that track, but gained fame on the show "Biggest Loser". His tour bus was a couple down from us and had his before and after picture on the side (along with a ad for his latest album). He has lost allot weight and was a real friendly guy to talk to.

We didn't make it to his concert as it was on the other side of the track and we were walked out.

The Magic Booth Arrives

Last summer Tom J. offered me a telephone booth that was taking up space in his barn. I jumped on it although I had no idea on how to get it from Minnesota to Colorado, and once here what I would do with it.

Over the winter the use became clear.

Also once the booth was here and after looking at the information posted inside I knew this booth was meant to be here.

The use was dictated by Marlys and her natural needs which sometime required the walk up the hill to the house to eliminate.

The booth will now become the barn restroom, not a bathroom as there will only be a cassette toilet inside...along with Tom's customized, special and very appropriate toilet paper dispenser and hand cleaner rack.

The booth even has an auto on fan, if I am allowed to use it.

I have to thank Bill K. for lugging it out here and putting it back together, but then he scored a Pepsi machine from Tom, which will be loaded with adult brewed beverages for use at there place in La Porte.

When the booth had been assembled it had strange instructions relating to visiting hours and parole day usage. Turns out the booth had originally been in the a South Dakota Prison, since that is the main industry here it only seems as if it were ordained that it would end up here.

First 14er of the Season

Yesterday we bagged the first 14er of the season...and we may have started the season a little early.


Bill, Herb and I headed out to hike up Mt. Elbert at 3am, getting on the trail at 5:20am. We started so early because even though the forecast was for severe clear weather you don't wan to be above treeline when a thunderstorm pops up. Luckily the weather forecast was spot on and we didn't even spot a cloud (other then east over the front range).


The other reason for the early start was the length of this hike which would be ~9 miles with an altitude gain of ~4700'. We figured a round trip time in the 6-7 hour range, but we were pretty much off on this estimate. For reference most of the 14er's hiked so far have had a trip time of about 4 hours and an altitude gain in the 2000' range...so this was going to be about double.


Did I mention the snow. We started to run in to it in the trees near tree line and it was a pain in the ass, obscuring the trail was the major problem. Once above tree line it blocked the route up causing detours.


Herb had to stop just above tree line having fallen victim to the dreaded cold pizza breakfast he ate on the way over. For those keeping score at home, it is now Papa Murphy's Rancher Pizza- 1, Herb - 0. He took a nap in the sun and waited for Bill and I to get to the top and back.


This turned into a climb that never seemed to end. We must of though we were with easy reach of the top three times, having been fooled by false summits all along the route.


Finally, 5 hours into the hike we made it.















That stick in the background is the highest point in Colorado at 14,438'.


Getting down is always the hard part for me and of course is not optional, like getting to the top. Here the snow was a real freeway in that we headed straight down the snow field from the summit to just above the tree line, sinking in the heels of our boots. Although every once in a while we did post hole a leg all the way in to groin level. Actually I was amazed we didn't blow out a ACL when this would happen.

One guy at the top didn't want to be bothered with walking down, so he brought his skis.


We met back up with Herb at the point where the trail went into the trees. Here again we were not sure where to go other then down hill. From the looks of the packed tracks through the snow it looked like once at this point it had been "every man for himself" by the folks who had come down previously. We traded off leads each time it seemed as if one of us had lost the scent of the trail and had us going off into uncharted territory.

After 8 hours we made it back to the truck.

We will probably wait until a little more snow has melted before going after the next 14er.

Winter does not want to end.

Although it can be very beautiful, we are ready for winter to end up here. It has been snowing off and on for the last three days. Hard to believe we were out in shorts last Monday. The snow melts pretty fast and the moisture is welcome.

Derek Graduates!

Derek graduated from Western State College yesterday. He was one of 235 graduates. He graduated cum laude (with praise).

He has another 7 weeks on his commitment to the WSC Art Department, and then he needs to get going on his next stop...which started to solidify last Monday morning when he got a call to set up an interview with a Prof. Stevens at New Mexico State University.

Derek was offerred/asked/n0t sure of the actually term to use, a place in the graduate MFA program and a graduate assistant position. The actually offer letter is to follow, but it looks like his tuition will be cover and he will receive a stipend.

He will need to find a place to live and attend GA orientation and training courses this summer sometime.

This is a three year program, since as a GA he will be taking only 9 credits a semester (along with his GA responsibilities) and will be working there year round.

I understand that one of the reasons Prof, Stevens selected Derek was his contemporary sculpture portfolio. Which if you have seem any of his pieces you probably would understand. She will be his mentor during the program.

Thrift Stores & Pawn Shops

Last Friday, Marlys and I went into Canon, not for re-provisioning (feels that way when the grocery store is 35 miles away), but to hit all of the thrift, used items and swap shops in town along with the pawn shops, we know about.

This included all of the small shops along main street, but also Goodwill and the Habitat for Humanity surplus store.

Although Marlys made a number of purchases along the way the HFH store was my gold mine. If you don't know where to look for it I am not sure how you would find it, since it is located behind another store on an alley. As with most stores of this type it is piled high with "stuff", with a little organization thrown in...very little. The store was in the process of moving to a new, larger location, so everything over $5 was half off.

I made two purchases. Windows that will be installed in the shop doors this summer. Although I had standard barn sashes in mind, these vinyl double glazed and with perlons(?) ones more then fit the bill. It is amazing how heavy they actually are, but they will let in more natural light and allow the view on Waugh, even in the middle of winter.

My second find were heavy duty shelf brackets. I had built some shelves during the shop re-model using leftover OSB, but they were not the strongest or best looking. These are the same type of movable shelf brackets that hold up the +200# red Snap-On tool box (in the last picture) in the shop now. They should hold up to the growing assortment of screws, bolt, nails and coffee cans full of other items that are accumulating in the shop. Since we are so far away from town, very little gets throw away as items are deconstructed (torn apart). I have literally spent several afternoon sorting fasteners.

The dish on the shop is now all hooked up and working, although the only thing I really use it for is playing music through the stereo off of Directv. I did mount a TV, if I actually want to watch something, but so far it is turned off. DTV seems to have changed from simulcasting XM radio to there own programing in similar genres, but I do miss Dusty Street on Classic Vinyl and the tidbits she would add on certain song from her experiences back in the era, as part of the scene.

You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned Marlys' purchases, but she probably wouldn't want me to tell, so you will need to guess or ask her when you see her wearing them.

BTW: I did pickup a brand new spray gun for the HVLP system at City Wide Pawn for $15 bucks.

YouTube - Hang gliding whack onto lake ice

YouTube - Hang gliding whack onto lake ice

This is a flight I had in Duluth, MN mid-January sometime in the early 90's. We are flying on the ice and being pulled up by a snowmobile on the St. Louis river where it empties into Lake Superior.

This was a target landing competion, which you will see I didn't do too good at on this flight.

John Eiden, another pilot some how kept a copy of this video it is at least 3 copies from the original, but still good.

Thanks, John for keeping the moment alive!

Caught Commando...again!

This time it was Marty our UPS delivery man caught us sitting in the hot tub commando.

As he got out of the truck he said "Marlys you sure are hugging the side close."

So it goes when every evening is a Friday night.

This weekend we start Marlys dresser for the bedroom, by going out and cutting down a beetle kill Ponderosa Pine. We are going to mill it and set it out to dry, so hopefully by fall I can start work on it. It is already pretty dry since it has been standing as a dead tree for two years.

Pat

It's a slow day

Pinon Rock has now moved into the Y2K. We now have high definition TV in the house and satellite service in the shop.

These dishes are getting larger every day.

Even though it has been nice all week it snowed last night and is attempting to today.

We picked up a few more pairs of skis during our trip.

After we made a stop at a local thrift shop in Gunnison, we were lucky that there were no more stops on the way home as there was absolutely no room left in the camper .


We only needed four pairs for a project, but when going up to pay I noticed a sign that said "all skis and ski boots are free". I asked, and the manager said "take them all", so we did.

Along with one butt ugly snowboard in a faux ostrich skin finish.

Adding to the inventory of 4 pairs already in the shop, put us at 26 pairs of skis...and one butt ugly snowboard.


It also appears, from looking at these, that there once was a very purple era in ski color, probably toward the end of the last century.


What to do?


Any suggestions?

Sweet Home Colorado

We made it back to Pinon Rock yesterday afternoon.

Thought the trip was great, it is always nice to be home.

Even Dusty is very pleased, I tink the surprise of what would be outside the door every morning was wearing on him.

Saying Quartzite is the epicenter of RVing didn't do it justice.

After walking around town this morning, I think that I can arguably say that there are more RV parks and RV stores then anywhere else (no per capita qualifier) , and this is the low season. I find it hard to imagine what this place is like in January (high season).



The building code also seems pretty liberal here. In fact, it appears that the code requires that an RV be integrated into every residence somehow.



I also talked to a couple of city works spraying for weeds growing in the pavement and when I asked if they were using "roundup" they said no turpentine. It is a natural product after all.

The Naked Book Seller and Coprolites

Since leaving Sierra Vista we spent some time at Picacho Peak State Park in Arizona. This park is closing in June to due state budget issues, which is too bad because it is one of the nicer we have stayed at.

We attempted to hike to the top of the peak, but 2 miles in at what could only be called a crux we decided to turn around. not only did we not have enough water, but the the hike turned into a real climb and anticipating what it would take to get back down, we turned around.

Dusty was tired and looking for shade. He drank as much water as I did.

It felt good to get back and sit in the shade drinking a beer and contemplating the desert layed out in front of us. This is a real nice State Park.

We have started to set a time to return to Pinon Rock, mainly driven by a need to help Derek move sculptures. We will be back before the end of the week.

But being n no rush we headed to Quartzite, AZ. This is the epicenter of RVing...in January. This time 0f the year most of the road side vendors are shut down, but the ones that were open were memorable.

Our first stop was Oasis Books. They sell used and new books and can be a real treasure. I picked up a number of old road maps (will bec0me more rare with the adoption of car GPS's), some old wood working mags...oh ya also so Marlys could meet the "Naked Bookseller" . It was cloudy and cool so he was semi-dressed...he had on a fleece pullover. His junk is contained in a tied pouch, no thong for this guy. He is a great guy, knows his inventory. Picture a 70 something skinny, very tan man with a cowboy hat, big mustache and of course the junk pouch. What a great marketing idea for drawing people into the store.

We asked about places to buy turquoise and Bob told us to try T-Rocks. We picked up a number of different rocks that I will attempt to crush for furniture inlays.

I also bought a 20# coprolite for the patio.

Coprolite is dinosaur poop.

Marlys decided to call it Dino's Dung.

Sonoran Hot Dog

After visiting family in Sierra Vista Arizona, we were able (I was able) to stop at a stand in Tucson and get a few (more then two) Sonoran ((Mexican) Hotdog's.

This has been another item on the bucket list.

A Sonoran Hotdog is a lightly spiced hotdog wrapped in bacon with beans, relish, mustard and mayo served in a steamed bun.

It was very good. I had to have another.

The bill for three dogs and two Diet Cokes was just over $5.

After spotting our first stand, we now saw them all over.

Try one, if you get a chance.

RV Latte

Cool Whip in cup, then pour coffee over surprisingly good.

Back In New Mexico

Much has happened since the last update. After about 10 days in Texas we are now in Las Crues, NM.

When it is said that Texas is big, it is hard to get a handle on that statement until you drive around it. We

Stayed in many of the state parks which we recommend, a few RV parks, a National park, but so far no Walmarts.

A week ago we were in San Antonio. It was HOT and the Women's Final Four was in town. We found a RV park just south of downtown and jumped on a city bus to head to the Alamo and the Riverwalk.

The Alamo was enlightening in that I had no idea that people from so many different countries were there, even a soldier from Denmark during Santa Anna's attack.

Also the independence of the Texas region (which included our part of Colorado, if I read the map right) really came to the forefront.

The Alamo was one of a chain of Mission's during the mid-180's, but more on that later.

The Riverwalk was jammed with soldiers and there families from Lackland AFB and Final Four'rs. We walked the entire length (actually 3/4 quarters) on both sides. By then we were pretty crapped out and got a bus back to the RV park. BTW this was a nice park, except that we have never seen rigs parked so close together, but it was only for one night.

The next morning we visited another one of the Missions, This one named Mission San Jose. It was located just south of the RV Park about 3 miles from the Alamo.

These Missions are different from the one seen in California in that they were more fortified against attach and closer together (3 miles vs. 35) to provide support to one another.

Mission San Jose was the largest mission and is still and operating Catholic Parish today.

We finally got on the road to the coast. We were in search of a place called Magnolia Beach, that we knew the general where abouts of, but the directions were more of the go down this road make a right then drive until you can go no further....

We headed for a near by town called Port Lavaca and while out in the middle of no where saw a sign that said Magnolia and found the beach official name is Indianola County Park). There were a few hundred RV's parked along the shore, so we just found a place and plopped down.

It was humid, hot everyone around us spoke french and there were four oyster boats combing the sea bottom about 1000 feet off shore.

The price was right in that it was free.

On Sunday we headed for another shore front location at Goose Island State Park. We found that in the coastal areas it would be overcast and gloomy until mid afternoon then the sun would break through it would clear up and the temperature would soar.

At Goose Island we parked about 40 feet from the seawall. The wind was blowing 20+ the whole time.

We decided that we needed to get back to more arrid conditions on Monday morning, but we wanted to drive down some of the barrier islands outside of Corpus Cristie. To do that we needed to load the camper on a ferry at Aransas Pass for a short trip to Mustang Island which turned out to be much like Coco Beach in Florida, e.g. bright colors and t-shirt shops.

We ended the day in Loredo in a state park that when rated against what we had been in was at the bottom of the scale. It was a mess from the Easter revelers with confetti and broken plastic eggs everywhere. It was also located under the glide path to the airport. We were glad to get out of there the next day.

The next day up along the Rio Grande river we pulled into Seminole Canyon State Park, which by far was out favorite. We made a 6 hike down to the River to view some pictographs on the canyon wall. There was no one on the trail so Dusty got to run around a little, but as the sign said going in we had to be on the look out for rattlers.

This is Pecos River county and we had to stop in Langtry to visit Judge Roy Beans courthouse and bar. This is the original building (historical site). I was surprised it was still able to stand up, as there are not many trees in the area so when it was built in the late 1800's the framing practices were what I would call just enough to keep the roof up/

If you have seen the movie with Paul Newman, reading the materials on Judge Bean would indicate that he played him pretty true to the history.

Our last stop in Texas would be Big Bend National Park. Let me start by saying I didn't know that Texas had mountains, but this area would convince you otherwise. It had been 104 here the day before, but it was down to the mid-80s when we arrived.

The escarpments over the Rio Grande were gigantic. In looking at this picture everything to the right of the river is Mexico, actually this area is part of the Sonoran desert.

We took a eight mile hike out to a hot springs along the river. We did not have enough water, so by the time we got back, be b-lined it to the camp store bought a couple of beers and slammed them down.

From here up to El Paso and beyond in to New Mexico it seems much more Arizona like. I can also say that the US Border Patrol seems to be everywhere and watching them patrol is interesting in that they are looking at disrupted dirt roads along the fences, manholes and some time just walking in a field looking at signs.

There are chained up tires in places along the road that are towed behind their trucks to smooth the surface so that tracks become more apparent. The Air Force even had a radar blimp tethered out near Alpine Texas.

Enough for now, we are off to a hummingbird canyon in southern Arizona.

The accidential antique sale visitor and the bucket list.

Thursday started with a single purpose, get a piece of Royer's pie. Along the way we would hit Monument Hill and the Kreische Brewery. We planned to spend the night at Lake Sommerville State Park.

Monument hill is dedicated to the 17 soldiers executed by Santa Anna in the legendary "black bean" incident.

The brewery came into play when a German stonemason named Heinrich Kreische immigrated to Texas and maintained the Monument, over time he built the brewery to utilize the water on the site.

We left Monument Hill just after lunch and the drive to Round Top for pie was about 20 miles in length.

Little did we know....

As we came into a very small town called Warrenton. The lighted sign to be ware of pedestrians should have been a tip off.

As we came around the corner into town we were confronted by thousands of people and traffic backed up going both ways. There were booths and circus size tents set up on both sides of the road a couple of blocks deep selling antique.

We had stumbled on the annual 10 day long Warrenton Antique Festival. Only it went beyond Warrenton and all the way past Round Top. About 6 miles.

We of course had to stop, but with less then a week to spend here we could do no damage.

We did though find Royer's, and because of the Festival the Cafe was closed.

Lucky for us (me) they had a booth set up with an assortment of pies. The people there could not believe we had come only for the pie and did even know about the festival.

BTW, the pie is close to a 10, if it had been warm it would have been. Check it off the bucket list.

Next we head for San Antonio.

We made it to Inks Lake

By Sunday afternoon we had made it to Inks Lake State Park in Texas. Tom and Joy are Hosting there this season.

If it wasn't for the cactus this place could be c0nfused for Minnesota.

The wind finally stopped blowing on Monday and we went to a cookout that evening with all of the Camp Hosts. We may have to look into this for future years.

On Tuesday we went into a "off the main drag" catfish grill, which since Bart introed me to catfish it appears I can eat. The Texans down here swear it tastes just like walleye.

The happening though was going for pie happy hour at the Blue Bonnet Cafe, which is noted for its pies. They were excellent. I had two pieces, German Chocolate and Apple. On a scale of 1-10, they are a definite 8.5.

It was real nice to spend a few days in one place and our time at Inks Lake ended on Wednesday when we left for Austin.

Our plan was to get into a RV Park do laundry, wash the rig and get ready for the next loop to areas east of Austin.

BTW if you haven't heard this before the wildflowers blooming down here are pretty amazing. We heard it is due to the efforts made by Lady Bird Johnson back in the 60's. It seems as if every ditch and fields covered in color..

What pie rates a 10? Stay tuned as crossed an item of my bucket list on Thursday.

When last we left you.....

We had just left "The Hermitage" in Fort Garland.

The next episode saw us heading toward Santa Fe in New Mexico...during a wind storm.

The camper managed the side wind well and we were able to stop at the targets for the day.

Our first stop was Taos, only to find that the only place open in the old town square before 10am was the coffee shops. After walking around and noticing that there were only two types of shops there, tourist crap and high-end galleries, we headed out to Chimayo.

We had only one stop in Chimayo which was Ortega Weaving. This is where Molesworth got the cloth used in his furniture upholstery. I picked up a blanket that will be part of the Club Chair project slated for later this year and Marlys got a purse. If you have an interest in Indian weaving this is place not to miss.

By this time, it was pass noon and the only place left on the way to Santa Fe was "The Black Hole" in Los Alamos. I had heard and read about this place for a number of years, and now with time to meander we could make what thought of a a pilgrimage. TBH is a surplus shop stocked with items from the Los Alamos National Laboratories, i.e. nuclear etc.

By the time we got the wind was really ramping up and Los Alamos is situated on the side of a mountain. The airport is one of those out of a James Bond movie in that it looks like you can only land and take-off in one direction as there is a mountain range at the other end.

I will make this short and sweet, ""The Black Hole" was a disappointment. I would rather spend time in Axeman Surplus. After the obligatory walk through we left for Santa Fe with nothing to show for our efforts.

In Santa Fe we stopped at our first official RV park of the trip and it was real nice other then being on top of a hill south of town. The wind was incredible.

The next morning we headed out for Roswell, another one of the obligatory stops when in New Mexico.

As with the day before we were rasil'en with a side wind all the way down.

The UFO Museum in Roswell appears to be in an old downtown theater. If had the requisite crowd and there was a notice on the door that two film crews were in attendance, so if you didn't want to chance appearing on TV, probably best not to visit.

It took us about an hour to make the circuit and the story does raise the question as to what happened here. I don't know if it was a UFO or not, but something seems have impacted a lot of people....and of course made for a great tourist attraction.

Leaving Roswell we were now heading east, a 90 degree turn which should have put the side wind now at our backs. Guess what the wind turned too and was still at our side.

We ended the day in Big Springs, TX at another RV Park. The office was closed so we paid via an envelope put into a slot in the door. These folks never saw us arrive or leave the next morning at 7am. A nice way to make $32 bucks.

So far this trip we have only been on a Interstate for 10 miles in Santa Fe.

Next stop Inks Lake State Park in Texas, but that will need to wait until tomorrow.

The Journey Begins

Yesterday we hit the road for the first camper trip.

Of course, it snowed the day before and the first stop was Gunnison for Dereks Art Exhibit. It was bright on top of Monarch Pass and the road wasn't too bad.

Derek's, exhibit was his senior show to complete the requirements for a BFA degree.

To actually see Derek in pants pulled up to his waist was a treat also.

We had three of his professors talk to us about what a future he will have especially if he gets into the right masters program.

His Art History Professor mentioned she wanted his Digi Man sculpture, but couldn't afford it. She may get a deal as he gets closer to needing to crate them up and ship them to PR.

We are being totally objective.

As a parent we were very proud of him.He had to give a short presentation to a packed auditorium on the exhibit. He seemed the most relaxed and has his grandfathers speaking voice.

Also in the gallery afterward, and being very objective his pieces got the most interest from the attendees and other students.

We of course got the proud parent picture.

Mid-afternoon we head out for Fort Garland and "The Hermitage", which would be our stop for the night. Leland was a very gracious host and answered my non-stop questions on building and living off grid.

We did see and experience the blue bottle wall. The LED lights in the bottle are a real treat.

We would like to copy the idea, but I am concerned that with the high altitude airway overPR that we may be mistaken for a airport taxiway. Maybe green bottles?

Leland's power system though is something we may need to consider though.