7-30-19 - (Day - 6 - Ride to Independence Pass)

Ferny Kat beat us to the door when she saw us headed out with our coffee this morning. We all enjoy going outside at 6 am with the temperature is in the mid 50's.  Lauren had to go back inside to put on warmer clothes.  We watched a few birds fluttering around and a Doe stroll through the campground.

We had a 6 1/2 hour ride on Amber today.  We checked out several boondocking spots on our way to Independence Pass.  Independence Pass is the tallest, paved Pass in Colorado.

It is a very beautiful ride along the snow topped mountains, rivers, and water falls with steep drop offs and no guard rails.  There was evidence of a previous avalanche with trees plowed down and their trunks laying in neat piles along the slopes of the mountain..  That was some powerful snow.

About the time we got to the top of the pass, we started getting a few rain drops.  Some of the prettier  pictures of scenery I took today,  had a big ole rain drop right in the middle of the camera lens.  Oh well, stuff happens!

We had to slow our pace down when we walked up the hill to the overlook.  Us flatlanders can't walk the same pace as we usually do in these hills.

We had our picnic lunch at a roadside pullout overlooking Twin Lakes, then rode  to the quaint and touristy town of Leadville.

On our way back from Leadville, we traveled in on and off light showers.  Once we put on our rain jackets in Salida, (about 10 more miles to go), the rain stopped. I guess we should have done that sooner.

Ferny Kat came back outside with us this afternoon.  We have Amber loaded up and will relocate tomorrow.

Pictures:

7-29-19 - (Day 5 - Black Bear CG, Howard, Co.)

We went outside at 6 am to drink our coffee by the lake and enjoy this beautiful morning.  After breakfast we hiked about 3 miles, then headed to Howard, Colorado.

It took a little over 4 hours to travel 189 miles.  We went up and down on the curvy Highway 50 along the Arkansas River.  The further west we went, the prettier the scenery got.

Lauren's co-pilot, Ferny Kat, was very attentive when we got in the hills.   She would lean with the curves and press her feet hard into the console to help Lauren drive.

Ferny Kat really wanted to come out with us as when we stopped for lunch at a pull off along the Arkansas River.

We are at Black Bear RV Park on site 8.  This campground is tight.  There is nothing like a 90 degree turn driving up a steep hill pulling a 38 foot fifth wheel.  Whew!  The campground is small, but has every thing we need, full hook ups, nice views, and friendly folks.  A great place to stay for a couple of days.

We walked around for a bit and found bear scat about 50 feet from our camper.  Hence, the name,  Black Bear Campground.  Needless to say I have my bear spray handy.  I just might be a little bit,
arkoudaphobiac, aka scared of bears!  🐻🐻

Pictures:

7-28-19 - (Day 4 - Lake Hasty)

There was about 18 overnighters taking advantage of this free camping area when we woke up this morning. We took our time and lounged around getting on the road about 11 am.  We were all in need for some slow down time.  When we left the park, only one overnighter was still there.  We almost had the claim to fame of the first one's in and the last one's out.

We spent most of the morning deciding where we wanted to go today.  We chose to head toward Salida, Colorado.

It took us almost 5 hours to cover 198 miles today.  We are at John Martin Reservoir State Park Hasty Campground.  We are on site 35 on the banks of Lake Hasty.

We sat around this afternoon, bird watching, grilling, and relaxing.  After dinner, we took a 3.5 mile walk around the lake, photographing birds and stuff.

A Plains Garter Snake darted in front of me.  I hurriedly got it's picture before it slithered off.  There was a time I would have screamed and run in the opposite direction of a snake.  Life sure has changed after hanging around the refuge.

Ferny Kat rested up all evening, and was ready to prowl about dark.  We now have another Ferny Kat approved campsite.

Pictures:

7-25-19 - 7-27-19 (First 3 Days)

Thursday, Day 1
We are off!!  We're not sure where we are going, other than in a westerly direction.  It is quite enjoyable planning a vacation one day at a time.

We traveled 298 miles and are at Ajax Country Living RV Park, site 6.  It is a nice. quiet, RV park right off I-49.

When we got to Vidalia, La., we saw a bunch of cop cars, ambulances, and fire trucks near an apartment complex.  We later found out there was an active shooter in this area. Luckily, we made it through Vidalia before they shut down all lanes of traffic.

We should have made it here in about 5 hours.  We had an extra hour added when we got stopped for road construction between Jonesville and Pineville.  Our lane was dead locked to allow law officials to travel toward Vidalia.

We decided to skip our usual picnic lunch and ate junk food along the way.   We had a good ole burger with some Ezell home grown tomatoes for dinner.

We took a late afternoon stroll around the campground taking pictures of the birds and plants.

                     

Friday, Day 2
We traveled 300 miles in 6 hours today.  We stayed on country roads as much as we could avoiding the hustle and bustle of the interstate.  We stopped for lunch at a roadside picnic area and was serenaded by cicadas, aka locust.   They were so many of them that their sound drowned out the traffic noise.

We are staying at Sunshine Farm RV Park.  Our site is a new site they have recently put in at the entrance of the park.  All the other campers are in the original campground. The locust and grasshoppers are plentiful here.

We took a stroll around the park, taking pictures of critters and plants.  We sat under the shade and enjoyed the pasture view.

The reviews said this campground was pet friendly.  One of the camper residents that was walking his cat, named Black Cat, stopped by for a chat.  Another guy came by riding his bike pulling a wagon with his dog riding in it, another lady came by for us to meet her dog named Eddie. It is definitely a pet friendly campground.

The reviews also said the RV park had pretty sunsets and it did.

Saturday, Day 3
We made a long haul today, 376 miles in 7 1/2 hours.  We are at the Texoma Park at Dumas.  They have electrical hookups, water and dump station available, all for the big price of FREE!

We arrived around 4 pm and had our pick of sites.  A few more campers came in around 5 pm.  Around dark, the campers piled in.

Our usual maximum travel mileage is 300 miles in a day.  Ferny Kat got really restless when the 300 mile mark past.  She finally gave up, curled up in her bed, and slept.  We turned down the radio, silenced our phones, (just kidding), and talked in a low voice.  This is one lucky cat.

We have been in Texas for 2 days now, and the highest the temperature has gotten is 92 degrees. Every other time we have been in Texas in the summer it is above a 100 degrees.  We got lucky this time.

We sat outside under the Oak tree and took a couple of walks around and found all kind of birds.  We got several new species with iNaturalist. Tee totally amazing!

Da Pics: