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Alamosa Colorado

September 2018

While resting up in Blanca for a month, I visited www.volunteer.gov and put in my application to volunteer. And it looks like I will be going to White Sands in November but first I need to be fingerprinted, and that happens once a week in Alamosa. I arrived early and parked right in front of the police department when I got done I asked about parking and was told to leave it where it was. And that is how it is, friendly and accommodating and a great little town to take a walk.

Below is the artwork on the side of the building that houses the Museum.

 

Which sadly was closed the day I was in town.

You can enjoy art on every corner.

Downtown has shops and eats and a great thrift store.

And heading west out of town is all the big box and grocery stores you could ever want.

There are plenty of camping options in the area.

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Great Sand Dunes

September 2018

I love the San Luis Valley of Colorado and the ride to The Great Sand Dunes National Park from Blanca is below Mt Blanca and as you approach the Park you begin to see the Dunes off in the distance.

I did not stay at the Pinon Flats campground but I did check it out and the views are stupendous.

The visitor center has a film and exhibits and a great deck.

You can walk among the dunes and at certain times of the year there is water from Medano Creek to wade in.

Definitely worth it if you are anywhere near.

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Blanca Co part two

This charming town has a grocery/liquor store, homemade fudge, Ice cream parlor, Lou’s Restaurant with great food that serves beer, wine and liquor.

My first trip to the store

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of Pierogi and pickled vegetables.

This is my favorite way to have Pierogi.

Pierogi for one.

I have a 6″ enamel coated cast iron frying pan that is perfect of this kind of meal.

1/2 medium onion, sliced.

1 tbsp Butter

4 frozen Pierogi

1/4 water or broth

1/2 cup of frozen peas

Sour Cream and/or grated cheese to taste.

Saute the onion in the butter till it just begins to soften place the pierogi on the onion and add 1/4 water or broth. Cover and simmer on low for 5 mins. Add the peas and cover and simmer for another five to seven mins until the pierogi are tender.

I like a little grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. If you are using a pierogi with  a thick dough just adjust your first cooking time.

This method works well with frozen Chinese Dumplings. Just a little water and a low flame and a lid.

I have learned over the last 35 years of RVing how easy it is to prepare my favorite recipes with less water and less pans. At some point in the future I will publish a list of my essential cooking tools and pans.

Another highlight of Blanca is it’s Art Gallery.  Forest Tango Art Works owned by Joyce and Terry Henrie  go take a look at their amazing work.

http://www.foresttango.com

Joyce has many talents but her fiber art is where my heart is and she put me on to Sprang finger-weaving. Now I have another outlet for my mass amounts of yarn.

I have one more picture to share, this is what I found on one of my wanderings around town.

A fence of snow Skis.

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Blanca Colorado

On the way to Blanca, Co. back roads, of course, I came across the memorial to the Texas Cattle Drives on RT. 71 plenty of room to pull off and rest.

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I stopped off in Limon at the KOA to do laundry and dump and fill and then on down to LaJunta KOA which is right next to a Walmart Supercenter to stock up on groceries. I know what to expect at KOA when I need to get things done.

The drive from Lajunta to Walsenburg on Rt.10 is scenic, mostly ranch land.

Lathrop State Park on Hwy160 just outside Walsenburg is a great place to stop. E/W hookups and great views.

The mountain pass on Rt.160 is a gradual rise and descent and Matilda, I finally decided on a name for my bounder, had no problems at all.

The Blanca RV Park wound up being my home for a month and I enjoyed every day in this charming  little town. My view out my front window was Mt.Blanca.

Be sure to put Blanca RV Park on your list if in the area. Full hookups are $30 a night also weekly and monthly rates available. Great WIFI and helpful managers. The owner is hands-on and is working on an expansion of 50/30 amp sites. Convenience store, propane and gas on site. Noisy during the day from Rt160 and a railroad track in the back but quiet at night.

 

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Back to Cheyenne WY

July 2018

For most travelers this is a one day drive, but not me. A two-day trip gives me time to go slow and take in the scenery, traveling without a co-driver means I have to stop to get a good look.

This trip to Cheyenne I am staying at  AB Camping Park, a good sam park with a wonderful BBQ Restaurant. Even if you don’t park here, you have to come to eat.

While waiting for a decision to be made on my toad, my insurance policy gives me a rental so it’s off to Rocky Mountain National Park for the day.

One thing that I learned on this drive is that I would not like to drive the Ridge Road in my RV, it is narrow, it is high, and I wouldn’t fit in every pull off which I could in my rental car.  I also had altitude problems at the Alpine Station.

I did get to capture some nice pics though. This beautiful valley.

And this overlook.

I went back to Cheyenne through the Roosevelt National Forest.

One high point of the day is seeing Elk. I didn’t get to stop to take a pic because the Rangers were herding them away from the highway but it was the first elk I have seen that wasn’t behind a high fence in Texas.

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Still not out of Texas

June 2018

From Bandera, I had to stop in Robert Lee  (where my late husband and I bought a small ranch in the middle of nowhere) to take care of some business.

If you are ever passing through from Abilene to San Angelo take a drive down route 158 from US HWY 277 to US HWY 87 and enjoy the view.

Then on to Post and the Post View RV Park which is an older park but still has good full hookups. Post is the Garza county seat and was established by CW Post the cereal guy in 1907. Neat Museum and Old Mill Trade Days https://www.oldmilltradedays.com/on the second weekend of the month from March – December. I have done this market with merchandise and with food and it is always a good market with lots of variety.

One night in Amarillo and then out of Texas.

I love the plains so I always go straight up from Amarillo on US Hwy 87 to 287 to 385. Just make sure everything is secured it’s rough going through OK.

And I like to stay outside Lamar at Sportsmans RV Park and Horse Motel  http://www.rvandhorses.com, another older park with reasonable rates and good hookups.

Leaving Lamar heading to Denver I had to stop twice because of wind, remember to slow down or pull over on the plains the winds are vicious.

Denver is busy and in the summer it is hard to find a space without far in advance reservations, I was lucky enough to secure 2 nights at Prospect RV Park  http://www.prospectrv.com . Right off I-70 and fairly close where my sister lives.

She took me on a road tour of Lookout Mountain and Central City and on to lunch in Nederland.

 

My sister takes photography seriously and is very good at it.

Next Stop Cheyenne, Wyoming.