Wes and Jan see the US Wanderings and Side Trips

Dillon, Colorado Oct 24, 2007

We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise early Sunday morning. And it was cold!! About 30 degrees. The wind blew strong from the north all day. We went to church and then got back home to pack up about 1pm. It started to sleet and was gray and cloudy all afternoon. We said our good byes to Willie and Padraic and pulled out about 4pm. We were prepared for a stormy trip to Aurora, CO, but by the time we were 20 miles north of Tribune, the sky cleared and the rain/sleet stopped, although we could tell all the way there had been storms before us. We made good time and arrived at our daughter's home about 8pm. We had a short visit with them before turning in. Monday morning, we ran some errands and took care of some business in Aurora and then headed south to Parker to have lunch with our friends, Bill and Ilene Hawkins, at their home. After a visit and hamburgers, we headed toward Dillon, arriving about 4pm. There had been plenty of snow as we drove through the mountains, but the roads were dry.

We are staying in a condo owned by our friends, Bob and Marty Klotz. We have known them for many years and they have been gracious in sharing their condo with us. We have spent some memorable times here. It is an absolutely perfect location right across the street from Dillon Lake. We just walk out the front door, cross the street and we are on the lake shore and on the bike/hike path. Dillon is a great little mountain town and we love it here. As a matter of fact, it was the "other" choice when we chose RVing. If we didn't want to travel like we do, we would have bought a place here and another in south Texas and just moved between the two. But, we both wanted to see the entire US, so we chose RVing.

The views are breath taking and I find myself just standing/sitting and soaking in the beauty of the mountains and the lake. It is peaceful and replenishes the spirit. This definitely has the "it" qualification that we search for.

We have certainly noticed the altitude this trip. Since we have lived in western Kansas, we have lost some of our "high altitude" fitness. When we lived in Aurora at 5280 feet, it was no problem to come up to the condo at 9184 feet. Since we are coming up from 3500 feet in Kansas, we will have to take some time to aclimate ourselves. Our ears started "popping" a lot sooner as we drove up and we are feeling a little light headed. Hopefully it will only take a day or two.

We are just taking it easy and looking forward to our family arriving on Thursday and Friday. We will be celebrating birthdays - Wes, Zoe, and Sunny.

As we drove into the grocery store yesterday, a fire truck was right behind us with its lights on - no siren. We found a parking spot and they pulled right up to the store and stopped and they all jumped out and put on their gear. They were evacuating the store and we overheard some of the employees say something about a gas leak. We waited a while and they finally gave the all clear to enter. They are remodeling the store here and so it was probably just a small leak someone encountered. On the up side, it was great to shop in a really nice, big grocery store again. Lots of choices and lots of fresh veggies and fruit, a great deli and salad bar. Never thought I would be excited about a grocery store.:-)

Better get out for my walk. More to come.