Gypsy Tour…Colorado – Round Two

There are times you can’t avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. We were getting ready to leave Utah (which I loved) when Dan told me he was concerned about the injectors in the truck. Now, if Dan’s worried, it’s time to get on board with him. So, we had to make the tough decision. We could either continue west 500 miles to Reno to see my son and family or go 500 miles east and get the truck up to snuff for the rest of our travels this year. As much as I hated to do it, we made the sensible decision and postponed our Reno stop. If we don’t take care of our ride, well, the cost of towing a truck and travel trailer could put a lot of traveling on hold.

Once we were back in Colorado, we pushed forward to have the truck checked out. Dan needed to change out a few things, but thankfully he’s got that mechanical talent. We also had some medical items to take care of…not fun, but having your driver, i.e. my husband, sick isn’t either. Needless to say, the amount of time in doctors offices, mechanic garages and auto shops has pretty much gobbled up this past month. The bad news is the truck, and my husband, are getting older…the good news is both are fixable. Just takes time, patience, and a whole lot of TLC.

It wasn’t all “not-so-fun” stuff. I did get to spend some time with my favorite 8-year-old granddaughter, Ember. As luck would have it Noodles & Co. is also one of her favorite lunch spots. It didn’t take us long to agree on where to eat that day. 

The best way to get a little R&R from life’s little issues is to head for the mountains, and that is just what we did. A few days at Henderson Mines in Clear Creek County, Colorado is just the place. The mine is a large underground molybdenum mine. I had to look it up, so here is what molybdenum is – “the chemical element of atomic number 42, a brittle silver-gray metal of the transition series, used in some alloy steels” – so there you have it. It is an old haunt of ours that Dan introduced me to when we got married.  We’ve camped there in the summer, hunted there in the fall, and snowshoed there in the winter. Even our new road companion, Wally, loved the camping trip. Such a goof, he decided he not only wants to be a cowboy, but he needed a feather in his cap. 

Colorado feels like a second home to me. Between family and so many good friends, we stay very busy and love every minute of it. The weather keeps us indoors a lot right now because of the heat, but the evenings are cool enough to enjoy hanging out on the patio while you listen to the rumbling of thunder from the lighting that fills the sky. There has been a few really good soakings, but it turned what was brown and drab in April when we were here last to a lush green beautiful state.

We will wrap up this trip with an evening of movie and dinner, our treat, for my stepdaughter, Shannon’s, 33rd birthday celebration. Then in the morning, we are heading west for a long-awaited visit with my son and family. I’ll post some shots from our camping trip over the weekend, too. Again, we didn’t get to see everyone, but we’ll be back through on our way to Michigan in July.