Not a whole lot going on… it’s been about a week since I last posted. Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve been up to since we parked at the COS Elks Lodge again:
• We’ve visited with our daughters Jennifer and Joleen a couple/few times and showed off all the pictures of our most recent trips with the grandson.
• I washed the Coach… front , back, and drivers side… still need to do the passenger side and roof. Now if I could just get some waxing done in between rain showers.
• I went swimming with grandson Kaan in the Elks Lodge pool in between rain showers. Are you seeing the trend for rain showers here?
• I got my South Dakota plates through our mail forwarding service Americas Mailbox. I wrote about this HERE. I hope to get personalized plates; “URBNSKP” for the Coach when it’s due for renewal next year.
New plates on the Silverado – Urban Escape Vehicle 1 (UEV 1).New plate on the Harley – Urban Escape Vehicle 2 (UEV 2).
• I helped dad pick up his Coach from Pikes Peak Traveland. He had new slideout awnings put on. Dad is still recovering from surgery on his nose where the doctor’s removed some skin cancer. The surgery turned out to be a little more extensive than expected and he still has to go back this Friday for one last procedure (hopefully).
Pikes Peak Traveland didn’t complete the work the first time we went to pick up his Coach. The technician(s) forgot to put in the additional screws on the awning rail that Dad requested. So they had to keep the Coach an extra couple days to remove one of the awnings again and do the job right.
• We attended taco tuesday at the Elks Lodge with Biff & Linda.
Stilla, Linda, and Biff at Elks Lodge 309 “Taco Tuesday”. Seems like we picked up right where we left off a couple months ago before we took off…
• I attended a Drivers meeting for the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. They even had a free meal from Rudy’s BBQ. I’ve volunteered many times over the last 7 years or so that we’ve been in Colorado Springs to drive a van. I’ll be shuttling the runners back down from the top of Pikes Peak after their run, usually a half-dozen trips or more. Check back in for a recap of that event which is scheduled for this upcoming weekend (14-15 Aug).
Park Ranger discussing braking techniques at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon.Transportation directors Brett Iverson and Joe Simpich provided detailed instructions at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. (Joe is in the orange shirt)Rudy’s BBQ at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. (Transportation director, Brett is in the purple shirt on the right)
If you’re interested in volunteering for this event click HERE. They’re always looking for good drivers and when else can you drive up Pikes Peak (numerous times in a day) for free? It’s a lot of fun.
We took our time Thursday getting packed up. I wouldn’t have minded staying at the Westminster Elks Lodge for another day or two, but Kaan’s mother (our oldest daughter) was expecting him back. It’s been fun having the grandson for the summer and I think we were able to give him memories to last a lifetime, but it’s almost time for him to start another school year.
We walked over to Jim & Sally’s Coach to say our “see-ya-later’s!” We didn’t get a chance to see our neighbor Ray again, but we’d said our goodbye’s the evening prior.
Jim & Sally’s Coach at the Westminster Elks Lodge.
So eventually, we pulled in the slides, raised the jacks and moved over to the dump station to lighten our load. After taking care of the dirty deed, we hit I-25 south and braced ourselves for Denver traffic.
We rolled into Colorado Springs 75 miles later and unhooked the Silverado in the newly-resurfaced Elks Lodge parking lot. Did I mention how much we hate going through major cities with the Coach? “It’s called ‘merging’ for a reason people… you’re not supposed to just drive onto the highway and force people over… arrgh!”
Then we took the Urban Escape Vehicle over to the nearest gas station to fill up the 115 gallon fuel tank with 75 gallons of diesel. Ouch! Since we’re going to be parked for a while, it’s important to completely fill up the tank in order to minimize condensation. I also put in a fuel additive called Biobar JF that prevents microbial growth. Condensation and algae are among the two biggest killers of fuel filters, injectors, etc., Our friends Mike & Donna Kuper @ FlyingtheKoop.com turned us on to this product a while back.
Stilla already decided for us that we’d stay for the month of August here at the COS Elks Lodge. This is fine with me. At least we can save a little money on fuel and campground fees. We only have to pay $350 for a month here. We pulled into our 30 Amp spot facing the pool and I downloaded the bikes and the motorcycle.
And here we are again in our old spot. We look forward to spending time with our two daughters, our relatives and friends here in Colorado Springs.
I can use the time to get a little maintenance done on the Urban Escape Vehicle. Yesterday (Friday), I already broke out the sealant to touch up some roof seams where I noticed the old sealant was starting to crack… there’s supposed to be some rain in the forecast over the next week. I’ve got a lot of washing and waxing I’d like to get done as well.
Little “Coach” walking his squeaky toy around the Coach.
Friday evening we enjoyed dinner in the lodge. But this time we were alone since the usual cast of characters that have joined us in the past here at the lodge are all otherwise occupied. My Dad is recuperating from his surgery, Biff & Linda are at a weekend campout with the FCRV Rolling Springs group, the kids are at work, etc, etc…
I’ll try to find interesting things to post about while we’re here, so stay tuned…
We enjoyed a quiet evening at our free boondocking spot in the Cavalryman Steakhouse Restaurant parking lot in Laramie WY. Thanks to the Escapees Day’s End Directory for turning us on to this spot! In the morning (Wednesday), we woke up to a herd of pronghorn antelope in the open field next to us.
The Cavalryman is located alongside US-287 just south of I-80 in Laramie. We did a GPS check and saw that we could just continue south on US-287 to Fort Collins and then get on I-25 in order to reach Colorado Springs. We’ve been to Fort Collins before, but had never been on this stretch of road… it was a good choice. It’s a much more relaxed and scenic route to get between Laramie and Fort Collins as opposed to going east on I-80 to Cheyenne and then south on I-25. And it’s 20 miles shorter.
There was a little traffic and road construction with detours to negotiate once we reached Fort Collins, but I’d take this route again.
We set our sights on the Elks Lodge in Westminster CO and plugged in the address on our GPS. We’ve heard about this lodge a few times from other Elks members and Alpiner’s. The Gidden’s and the Foster’s recently stayed here. We got on I-25 at Fort Collins and headed south into the dreaded Denver traffic.
So, 125 miles later – we pulled into the parking lot and the first thing we see is another Alpine!
We went into the lodge and asked about parking. Wow! What a nice facility with huge, beautifully-decorated dining room(s). The nice bartender called the camp host, who came down from her site in the RV park to greet us in her golf cart. Julie gave us a ride back to our Coach and set us up in site H for the night. Only $12 for 30 Amp power.
We got set up in our site right next to the other Alpine. The owner wasn’t in, so I left a card in his door handle.
The Urban Escape Vehicle at Elks Lodge 2227 in Westminster, CO.
We went back into the lodge for a nice lunch. Again, nice! What a difference this lodge is over our not not-so-good experience in Cody WY that I wrote about HERE.
After lunch, we took a walk through the RV Park and guess what we see?!? Another Alpine! And we know these guys… Jim & Sally Beswick.
We know Jim & Sally from the Quartzsite ‘Desert Rat Rally‘ we’ve attended over the past 2-3 years. As a matter-of-fact, we even linked up with them again earlier this year at Fortuna de Oro RV Resort in Yuma and again at the Cocopah Casino. (click on the links above in green-font to see those postings)
At first, they weren’t in their Coach – but we saw them come in a little later, and after hugs and greetings… we agreed to get-together for “Happy Hour” at 5 O’Clock…
(L to R) David, Daniel, Jim & Sally at Westminster Elks Lodge 2227.
We forgot to go back to the lodge for dinner we were having so much fun catching up.
We hung out at Jim & Sally’s Coach and enjoyed adult beverages along with good conversation late into the night. We even met their neighbor Daniel, who owns the Class-C next door. Again – we get to meet the nicest people in the RV community… we might have talked Daniel into trading up to an Alpine Coach in the future. Ya’ never know…
A little later into the evening, the owner of the Alpine Coach that we were parked next to, showed up. He saw the card I left in his door and Stilla brought him up to Jim & Sally’s site when she went back to our Coach briefly to check on the grandson who was playing video games. Meet Ray, (sorry, I never caught his last name), but he was a really nice guy that spent the rest of the evening with us.
And so, another Alpine Coach mini-rally comes to a close… I think as a general rule – that if there are more than two Alpine Coaches in one spot, we can call it a mini-rally. What do you think? If memory serves; I remember reading that Western RV only built around 1,700 of these fine Coaches between 1999 and 2009, so there aren’t a whole lot out here on the road.
See you next time Jim & Sally! And hopefully, we get to see Ray again down the road sometime. Nice to meet you Ray!
We’ll head on down to Colorado Springs today (Thursday) and get the grandson back to his mom, who’s looking forward to seeing him again. I called ahead to the Elks Lodge in Colorado Springs to make sure they have a spot for us. We’ll decide how long to stay once we get there. My Dad recently had some surgery to remove some skin cancer on his nose, so I’m sure he could use some help around the house.
We spent our Tuesday in the town of Cody checking out the sites. It was windy again all day, so we left all the awnings in this time – even the pull-down’s over the rear windows. The weather-guessers say it will be nice and sunny again Wednesday. We’re looking forward to hot weather again. We had to leave little “Coach” in the Coach again all day – at least it wasn’t for too long, like on Monday.
I queried my friend wikipedia® for the best description of this place; “The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is a complex of five museums and a research library featuring art and artifacts of the American West. Founded in 1917 to preserve the legacy and vision of Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the oldest and most comprehensive museum of the West.” We spent most of the day here.
The Buffalo Bill section was really interesting and we were able to join a free guided-tour for some extra education.
Kaan standing on the huge tile-floor ‘map’ in the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody WY.View of the huge tile-floor ‘map’ on the floor of the Buffalo Bill Museum, Cody WY. (As viewed from the upper balcony)
They had really nice life-size dioramas throughout the museum. Here’s some from the Plains Indian exhibit(s):
Kaan really enjoyed the Natural History section of the museum because they even had some fossils and dinosaur exhibits mixed in with the full-size dioramas.
Here’s a few more pics of our grandson Kaan in front of some animal exhibits: His mom really enjoys these pics – Kaan not so much 🙂
The Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West houses the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world according to their literature and website. And man, was it ever huge… our grandson Kaan got bored though, so we didn’t stay in that section as long as I would have liked.
This was a really nice museum, er, I mean center. Or is it collection of museums? It was worth the $47 entrance fee for 2 adults and 1 child after a small veteran discount ($2). Another “must-see” to put on your list if you’re in the area.
After our tour of the museum we stopped back at the campground to check on little “Coach”. We found a note on the door. Remember the other Alpine that was in this park? Well, the other Alpine driver (David) left a note on our door telling us they had stopped by while we were out. So after walking the dog, we drove over to their Coach and talked for a couple minutes… they (David and Janet?) had already been to the downtown attractions we were going to next, so we told them we’d try to be back by 8 PM, maybe we could get together then. Alas, we didn’t get to see them again, maybe next time.
We left the campground again and found a parking spot (5 minutes away) downtown and noticed we were near the local Elks Lodge. We already knew that this lodge didn’t have RV parking because we had checked online several days ago. We went inside to check it out and see if they had any menu items. The bartender opened the door for us, checked my card, and asked me to sign the guest register. There was a large crowd in one of the side rooms, I believe it was a party or service of some sort. We hung out behind the crowded bar (none of the seats were open) and waited to order a couple drinks and ask about food. There were lots of empty tables, but we figured like most lodges, that we had to order at the bar. A couple people sitting at the bar at least talked to us, exchanged pleasantries, and asked where we were from, etc., but the bartender seemed to ignore us. So we finally turned around and left after 10 minutes or so. Not our finest experience at an Elks Lodge. We would have thought the bartender could at least acknowledge our existence and say something to the effect that she’d be right with us, or we’re really busy – have a seat, or something at least… Oh well, maybe it was just bad timing on our part. Hmmm… so much for Lodge #1611. I don’t think we’ll go back, even though it seemed like a pretty nice facility.
We walked on up the street to the Irma Hotel which was our next intended destination anyway. Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel / Restaurant & Saloon was packed with tourists but we found a nice booth and had a good dinner, albeit an expensive one.
Buffalo Bill helped found Cody, Wyoming, in 1895. He also established his TE Ranch in the area. In 1902, he built an establishment which he called “just the sweetest hotel that ever was” and named it for his youngest daughter, Irma. It was built to appeal to visitors from around the world — as a staging point for sightseers headed for Yellowstone, big game hunters, summers tourists, and businessmen investigating the ranching, mining, and other business opportunities. Buffalo Bill maintained two suites and an office at the hotel for his personal use. (ref. this website)
We even got to watch a gunfight show on the street outside after dinner.
After another quick stop at the local WalMart on the way back to the campground, we relaxed for the rest of the evening and watched some TV while Kaan played MineCraft on the X-Box, and I worked on this blog.
Since Tuesday was our last night at the Ponderosa Campground, we’ll move on over this morning (Wednesday) to one of the state parks that we checked-out on our Monday trip to Yellowstone. Wish us luck…
If we can get settled at one of those state campgrounds, then we can go explore more of Yellowstone NP!
Authors note: It was a busy Friday – I split this post up into two separate entries due to lots of pictures and unrelated subject matter. This is Post 1 of 2:
Our first stop on Friday was the SD Drivers License Bureau in Rapid City.
We are now officially South Dakota residents! It was quick-in and quick-out… with no line to speak of. The hardest part was filling out the form. We showed two forms of ID, looked in the eye exam machine, and took new pictures. We were even able to get our motorcycle endorsements with no fuss.
Then we drove over to the nearby Elks Lodge to check out the RV sites. They have nice sites for $25 located right next to the golf course, but they didn’t have any openings until Sunday. We decided to wait and check out the FamCamp on nearby Ellsworth AFB later for availability and rates.
So then we checked our iPhone apps for nearby attractions and found Storybook Island which is a free (donations accepted) children’s theme park that our grandson Kaan would really enjoy. Stilla took lots of pictures – so for her, and our daughter Jennifer’s benefit… here are a bunch of grandson pics (below):
Friday’s Post 2 of 2 coming shortly… check back for pictures of our trip up to Sturgis and the surrounding area…
Day 3 (Wednesday) here at the Cam-Plex for the FCRV Campvention stayed somewhat overcast with a comfortable 72° Perfect weather for getting out and walking around, so that’s what we did.
There weren’t any seminars or activities scheduled today that peaked our interest, so after walking little “Coach” and finishing up yesterday’s blog post; we jumped into my Dad’s Jeep to go check out the area along with my Dad and his camera (so fair warning – extra pictures today) 🙂 Unfortunately, my stepmom Elaine was scheduled to pass out the final door prizes from 2 – 4 PM so her unswerving sense of duty and unwavering dedication to the cause prevented her from joining us 🙁
The Wyoming Center building here at the Cam-Plex Multi-Event Facility.
We drove around to the northwest corner of the Cam-Plex and stopped at the Energy Exhibit, which is a permanent collection of vehicles and equipment that represent this area, which often calls itself the ‘Energy Capital of the World‘ due to the huge low-sulfur coal mining concerns that still sustain growth and support jobs in the town of Gillette.
Grandson Kaan and I climbed aboard a Burlington Northern GE U30C locomotive.Stilla and Dad skirting along the side of a Burlington Northern GE U30C locomotive.Grandson Kaan peeking out from the front of a Burlington Northern GE U30C locomotive.
There were quite a few representative pieces of equipment from the coal mining operations of the area on display…
Stilla standing next to a huge tire commonly used on the heavy coal-mining trucks.Kaan standing inside a huge earth-moving bucket provides size perspective.
Our grandson Kaan even started a little earth moving of his own…
View from the Energy Exhibit towards the Cam-Plex; RVs in the background.
Kaan wants one of these to play with in the backyard Mom…
Kaan climbed up the back of this giant earth-moving truck to check out the massive engine, and…
of course, had to follow up with the front side…
to sit in the drivers seat…
After we had our fill (pun intended) of the earth-moving and mining equipment exhibit, we plugged the Rockpile Museum into the iPhone GPS and maneuvered our way to the north side of Gillette.
We had no trouble finding the Rockpile Museum thanks to the GPS, the sign (below), and the rock pile itself…
Don’t forget to click on this link to the museum to see more.
Not sure what this is, but it sure looks cool… an old stone age wheel maybe? 🙂 Maybe it’s a piece of petrified tree stuck in ancient sand that turned to stone with the middle of the old tree disintegrated and missing? My dad took this picture under the museum sign.
The Rockpile Museum is… you guessed it… located next to a rock pile! The rock pile is a local landmark and at one time overlooked the massive stockyards and rodeo shows. In even earlier days it was a favorite landmark that the cowboys used to find town and they often camped out under the boulders.
Additional out-building (extension) to the Rockpile Museum in Gillette, WY.Strange looking windmill at the Rockpile Musuem in Gillette, WY.
Here’s some pictures inside…
Now this is an old RV…
This old RV has all the amenities of home…
More pics from in and around the museum… enjoy…
We watched some really cool short films… I really liked the one on setting off explosives to loosen up the overburden to get to the coal…
Inside an old schoolhouse. Kaan isn’t too happy about being back in school… he thought it was still his summer break 🙂
We worked up an appetite at the Rockpile Museum, so we drove over to nearby ‘old downtown’ Gillette to find something to eat. We found the Gillette Brewing Company with a pizzeria (Pizza Carrello) located inside the old Post Office building…
where we shared a pizza and Dad had a BLT wrap… yup, I said BLT wrap… they really make those here…
Mural on old downtown Gillette building.
Since we still had a little time to kill before we had to get back to meet up for Tacos at the local Elks Lodge, we drove several miles north out of town to check out one of the mining operations we heard about; the Eagle Butte Coal Mine.
We were turned away at the entrance gate. The manned shack had a young girl inside that told us we had to make reservations in town before we could enter the main coal mine area for a tour, so we just went over to an overlook and took pictures from a distance…
My Dad’s camera can really zoom in for some quality pictures…
Giant truck being loaded at the Eagle Butte Coal Mine near Gillette, WY.
Giant truck dumping it’s load at the the Eagle Butte Coal Mine near Gillette, WY.
It was almost time to get back and pick up stepmom Elaine so we could meet up with Biff & Linda Anderson for Tacos at the local Elks Lodge. We made plans earlier in the week when we first stopped there; they need the business. This quaint Lodge performs double-duty as the local VFW post as well.
We made it back to the campground just in time to pick up Elaine and convoy over to the lodge… a whopping quarter-mile (or less) away…
(L to R) Kaan, Stilla, Elaine, Dad, Biff and Linda at Elks Lodge 2825 / VFW Post 7756 in Gillette, WY.
After filling up on Tacos we decided we still needed dessert at the local Dairy Queen…
And that’s it for Day 3 here at the Cam-Plex. If you get a chance, the Rockpile Museum is definitely worth the visit and was the highlight of our day. Hope you enjoyed the pics 🙂
This morning (Thursday) it’s a little windy and overcast. Someone told me that part of the reason it’s so gray and overcast is because of forest fires up north and west of us.
Our plan is to go visit Devils Tower today since there isn’t a whole lot of activity here at the Campvention that interests us. So after my Dad goes to a 9 AM seminar that he promised to take pictures of, we’ll head out on the ~62 mile trip, (104 round-trip). Hopefully the weather holds up for us. I want to take the Harley since we have my Dad & Elaine in their Jeep to take our grandson Kaan along with them. Check back for a full report…
We moved out of our spot at the COS Elks Lodge on Wednesday evening after it finally quit raining. I had already loaded the Harley and bicycles earlier in the day. We dumped the tanks and parked at the back of the lot so we could get an early start on Thursday.
Urban Escape Vehicle ready to roll at the COS Elks Lodge.
We coordinated our morning takeoff time with my Dad/Stepmom in order to meet up on I-25 so we could convoy together to the FCRV Campvention Rally in Gillette, WY. When my stepmom (Elaine) called to say they had gotten on the highway and were nearing our exit, we took off immediately but got caught up in slow traffic before we could even get to the on-ramp. When we finally got on I-25 heading north, they were several miles ahead of us. We stayed in contact via text message and called off mile markers. They stayed around 55 mph, but with heavy traffic it took us about 40 miles before we could catch up with them.
We finally passed my Dad & Elaine near Castle Rock and took over the lead…
Dad and Elaine’s Coach with Jeep in tow on I-25 heading north to Gillette, WY.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, we have the pleasure of traveling with our grandson (Kaan) while school is out for the summer. He really enjoys the passenger seat.
We rolled through Denver without too much incident… traffic is always a challenge through there.
I only had to stand on the brakes once. Don’t you just hate it when you leave a nice gap between yourself and the cars in front… and someone always seems to want to fill that gap just as everyone ahead is braking… grrrr.
And later on, this knucklehead passed us doing about 85 mph while chunks of his flat tire littered the road in front of us. We dodged the pieces until he finally realized he had a flat and pulled over…
We finally found a rest area near Ft Collins and took a quick break. Our little dog ‘Coach’ enjoys breaks often 🙂 My dad shared one of his walkie-talkies so we could stay in touch without having to call or text on the phones.
Traffic finally thinned as we approached the Wyoming border.
My Dad & Elaine made reservations earlier in the week for the KOA in Douglas, WY. We wanted to stay on budget and didn’t make any reservations. Besides, we can easily dry-camp at a rest area for a quick overnight while traveling.
So we stopped at a rest area just south of Douglas to call the KOA to check prices and see if they had room for us there too. They did have one spot left… but they wanted about $40. Ouch! We originally planned on spending the night at a rest area near Guernsey State Park that we had frequented once before, but we already passed that one. This particular rest area in Douglas had signs posted “No Overnight Parking”. Luckily, the nice lady on the phone from the KOA told us about the city park nearby.
So after traveling ~300 miles for the day we parted ways for the evening. My Dad & Elaine went to the KOA while we found the city park…
And what a nice park it was! Plenty of room, easy access, and the best part – free 🙂
Right next to the North Platte river…
We didn’t even have to disconnect the truck.
Grandson Kaan in front of a barbed-wire deer at the Riverside Park in Douglas, WY.
We unloaded Kaan’s bike so he could get some exercise and give the computer games and our internet usage a break.
Kaan with blue popsicle tongue.
We even broke out the metal detector. Kaan had fun with it for a while until he got tired of digging up bottle caps and other metal junk.
Then we played a little “catch” with the football…
In the morning (Friday), we drove the ~2-3 miles to meet my Dad & Elaine at the KOA park for breakfast. We enjoyed Biscuits & Gravy at a picnic table in the shade.
(L to R) Elaine, Dad, Kaan and Stilla getting breakfast at the KOA in Douglas, WY.The Urban Escape Vehicle parked at the check-in line. Douglas KOA in WY.
Then we convoyed north on WY-59 for ~120 miles to arrive at the Cam-Plex Events Facility in Gillette, WY.
We were greeted by FCRV volunteers in the parking lot where we paid $50 for two nights because we arrived early. The FCRV Campvention Rally doesn’t officially start until the 6th of July. We paid in advance for the rally itself, which was $275 for six nights.
We disconnected the tow vehicles and followed the directions we were given to the Boxelder RV Park located on the east side of the complex.
I followed Dad’s coach to our designated site in the RV park…
And here we are, all set up and ready for the rally…
Elaine, Dad, and Stilla enjoying the shade between our rigs.
We pulled in next to friends and fellow FCRV members Biff & Linda Anderson. They arrived a day or so earlier.
Biff & Linda Anderson next to their Monaco Coach.
After getting set up and exploring the immediate area, we found… you guessed it… an Elks Lodge right next to the park. Elks Lodge 2825.
(L to R) Linda, Stilla, Elaine, Dad, and Biff at Elks Lodge 2825 in Gillette, WY.Elks Lodge 2825 in Gillette, WY.
After refreshments at the Elks Lodge, we drove through the Cam-Plex looking for fellow FCRV members (Bob & Mary McChord) who were parked in the handicapped area on the opposite side of the complex.
Bob & Mary McChord’s Coach.
Other than a recent dinner visit at the Elks Lodge in Colorado Springs, we last saw Bob and Mary McChord when they were staying in Parker, AZ at the Pirates Den Resort & Marina. I wrote about our visit with them on 12 Feb 2015 (HERE).
Mary and Bob McChord.FCRV members visiting with Bob & Mary McChord in their coach.Stilla and Kaan touring the RV park in Gillette, WY.
So here we are; (L to R) Biff & Linda, my Dad & Elaine, and the Urban Escape Vehicle in Gillette, WY 🙂
There’s supposed to be a nice 4th of July fireworks show here at the Cam-Plex along with some other activities… stay tuned…
We’ve stayed pretty busy this past week… I’ve gotten behind again with the blog postings, (my last entry was on Friday morning). To continue where I left off; On Friday morning, we said goodbye to our Alpine Coach friends, the Foster’s, who were heading up to Littleton to visit relatives. See you later, John and Lorraine! The Giddens (Jack & Linda) along with Linda’s sister (Edye) and her husband (Hugh) went out for a day of sight-seeing around Colorado Springs.
Nice to see a couple more Alpines in the Elks RV park… doing our part to increase the property values…
Meanwhile, Stilla spent time over at our daughters house while I took the motorcycle over to a nearby RV park where Ricky and Cathy Broussard are parked. Ricky mentioned that he’s had to add small amounts of antifreeze to his recovery bottle lately and is concerned he might have a coolant leak. We checked everything out but couldn’t find any evidence of leakage. The only questionable problem was with the radiator, it has a small section where the cooling fins appear to be disintegrating (pictured below). Anyone seen this before? The area is dry and doesn’t seem to be seeping antifreeze.
While checking out Ricky’s Alpine for coolant leaks… he showed me his ingenious idea for deflecting the air from the compressor pressure relief valve. I’ve got to build one of these… I think everyone hates the dust cloud that inevitably gets kicked up when the pressure relief valve blows. Way to go Ricky!
When I returned to the Elks Lodge, the camp host enlisted my help to get the tires filled on his Sportster. It’s been sitting for quite a while and the front was almost flat. After I filled the tires, I offered to wash the bike since I already had my wash bucket out. Then I ended up waxing and polishing… I just hated to see all the scuffs and scratches from the plastic tarp he’s been using to cover the bike. It gave me something to do and it turned out pretty good. If anyone’s interested, he’s trying to sell it… I’m sure he’ll make you a good deal… it would make someone a great first ‘starter’ Harley.
The Gidden’s made it back in time for the Friday dinner at the Elks Lodge. The Broussard’s also came over from their nearby RV park.
Dinner at Elks Lodge 309: Ricky and Cathy Broussard on the left… Jack and Linda Giddens on the right. Lindas sister Edye is also on the left across from Stilla.
It was a great dinner with great friends… my Dad and stepmom Elaine also came by with Biff and Linda.
Early Saturday morning, I was walking our little dog (Coach) and met Jack in the RV parking lot… we decided to go on an impromptu (somewhat) longer walk and see where Ricky and Cathy Broussard are parked at a nearby mobile home/RV park. After meeting up with Ricky in front of his Alpine (pic below), the three of us continued on down to the nearby Monument Creek trail and did a hefty ~2 mile loop.
After we returned from our little morning hike… The Gidden’s took off for the day to tour Cripple Creek and Victor with Linda’s sister Edye and her husband Hugh.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool here at the Elks Lodge.
My oldest daughter, Jennifer brought our grandson, Kaan for a day at the pool as well…
Daughter Jennifer with grandson Kaan, who demonstrated (again and again) how he can dive to the bottom of the deep end.
And then things began to liven-up around mid-afternoon… a band started setting up tents beside the pool. Before we knew it, we had good music, a keg of beer, and raffle prizes. What an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Apparently, unknown to us, the lodge was hosting this charity event to raise funds for a local school wrestling team. Here’s some pics…
Unfortunately (for us) the Gidden’s and Hugh/Edye were too worn out after their day in Cripple Creek and Victor to join us, but they could certainly hear the music from their respective spots in the RV lot.
One of the raffle prizes was this party bus (pictured below) for twenty people to take a trip up to Cripple Creek for an evening. The band had loads of raffle prizes throughout the evening and even a 50/50 drawing.
Anyone want to purchase some losing tickets? Only used once…
The lights from the band reflected off the stainless steel on this Country Coach parked next to us in the early evening… first flashing red…
then blue…
and then green…
and they played on late into the night as evidenced from this view out our Coach window…
Another great day at the Elks Lodge!
On Sunday morning we met up again with all our Alpine Coach friends; my Dad/Stepmom; and Biff/Linda for an awesome Sunday Brunch inside the Lodge. Longtime friends John and Angelika Rowe also joined us for breakfast. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pics 🙁
After our breakfast, we said our ‘farewells’ and ‘see-ya-laters’ with our Alpine friends Jack and Linda, and Hugh and Edye. They are heading north. Safe travels you guys… it was great seeing you!
Then we joined John and Angelika Rowe who rode their Ultra-Classic from Fountain for a ride downtown to the annual Tejon Street Bike Fest.
Our ’96 Heritage Softail Classic and John’s Ultra Classic at the Tejon Bike Fest.
Angelika Rowe, Stilla, and grandson Kaan.John and Angelika at the Tejon Bikefest.
All kinds and sizes of bikes were at the Tejon Bike Fest.
After checking out all the activities and vendors at the Bike Fest, we decided to take a ride into Garden of the Gods. However, the ride was short-lived for two reasons, 1) nasty rain clouds came in quickly over Pikes Peak, and 2) I forgot to switch the fuel petcock off of the ‘reserve’ position the last time I filled up… I ran out of gas just as we got to this parking lot (below).
Stilla, John and Angelika Rowe in Garden of the Gods.
John and Angelika had to ride over to a gas station to get us some fuel. They ended up having to purchase a gas can because the station didn’t do ‘loaners’.
John and Angelika “to the rescue”… fuel can in hand…Got gas?
Fill er up John.
Now I’m the proud owner of a 1 gallon fuel can. Hmmm, where am I going to find room for that in the Coach? Once I was fueled back up… John and Angelika headed straight back home because it was starting to rain. We made if halfway back to downtown Colorado Springs before it started raining real hard. It got so bad that we had to duck into a gas station to take cover under the pump island. Luckily, the gas station/convenience store also had seating inside, so we dried off inside and enjoyed a cappuccino until the rain let up.
And then the sun came out… so we went back to the Tejon Street Bike Fest to check on a cover for the Harley that I had spied earlier.
People were out and about again after the rainstorm… the smart people had just stayed parked and waited out the rain inside one of the many bars or cafes along Tejon street.
I found the vendor that I had talked to earlier and he fitted the bike with one of their new waterproof covers. I’ve been needing one of these for those days where a full cloth cover just isn’t practical.
The cover is easy to put on and protects the seat and saddlebags from the hot sun. It can even be put on immediately after riding since the cover doesn’t touch the exhaust pipes. What you can get for $100 nowadays, eh?
Later on, after we got back to the Coach, my good friend and old Army buddy, Tim Bargy stopped by on his Harley with his wife Christine for a visit. Again, I forgot to take a picture 🙁 It’s always good to see Tim. We were stationed together in Schwabach, Germany back in the early ’80s. Christine is also German, so Stilla and her jabbered while Tim and I got caught up. It started raining again shortly after they left for their home in Monument, so I gave him a call later to make sure they made it home safely. Tim told me they had to spend a half-hour or so at a gas station to wait it out. Sounds familiar right?
On Monday, I honestly can’t remember what we did… so it must not have been anything important right? I probably just cleaned something or got a few things packed up in preparation for us to leave on Thursday.
But on Tuesday, Danny and Monika Malmquist stopped by for a lunchtime visit. Monika works just around the corner from here and Danny doesn’t get a lot of free time from his trucking job, so it was good to see them.
We decided to go out for some Greek food at a little restaurant on north Nevada Ave near the Elks Lodge. It was a good choice.
And later that evening, we got back together again for… wait for it… Taco Tuesday at the Elks Lodge…
Wednesday, I spent all day getting everything packed up. I got the Harley and the bicycles back onto the pickup. We’ve been here at the Elks Lodge for two months now… a great place but it’s time to move on…
Our plan is to meet up with my Dad and stepmom Elaine this morning (Thursday) to convoy up to Gillette, WY for the FCRV Campvention Rally. We’ll be taking our grandson along since he’s on summer break.
So check back soon to see what adventure awaits… and remember you can always ‘subscribe’ to this blog to get a notification when a new post is submitted.
Fun times here at the Colorado Springs Elks Lodge! We started off our Wednesday by going out to lunch with our neighbors Robert and Faye. They have been parked next to us here at the RV park for the last few weeks. They invited us, along with our other RV park neighbor; Barney to the Hu Hot Mongolian Grill. Barney is a long time resident of the Elks Lodge and was even the camp host at one time. Robert and Faye are full-timers that manage and maintain a metal art sculpture business to support their lifestyle on the road.
Good food and good conversation. Thanks for the invite Robert and Faye!
Elks Lodge RV Park neighbors; Barney, Robert and Faye. At Hu Hot Mongolian Grill in Colorado Springs.
We returned to the Elks Lodge after lunch and were happy to see Jack and Linda Giddens had arrived in their Alpine Coach. They are members of the Alpine Coach Association SoCal group that we belong to. Linda corresponded with us yesterday, so we knew they were coming in. I spoke to the camp host to reserve a couple spots for them that had just opened up the day before.
The Giddens’ are traveling with Linda’s sister and her husband, Hugh. They parked their 5th Wheel in the last open spot.
We were also surprised to see John and Lorraine Foster’s Alpine Coach in the RV park! They are also part of the Alpine SoCal group. We weren’t expecting them. Another rig had apparently just departed so they (luckily) were able to score a spot with hook ups as well. It’s starting to look like a mini-Alpine Coach Rally here at the COS Elks Lodge 🙂
And it just keeps getting better… Ricky and Cathy Broussard, who are also Alpine Coach owners, showed up to visit. They are parked at a nearby RV park and just happened by today. We met Ricky and Cathy at our first Alpine Coach Association Rally in St. George, UT a few years ago when we first joined the Alpine SoCal group.
So we all went into the Elks Lodge bar to enjoy some adult beverages. However, John and Lorraine were still out and about, so we didn’t get to meet up with them until later.
(L to R) Stilla, Cathy Broussard, Linda Giddens. Moose antler on table in foreground, courtesy of Ricky Broussard.(L to R) Ricky Broussard, Stilla, Cathy Broussard, Linda Giddens, Linda’s sister and husband Hugh, and Jack Giddens.(L to R) Myself, Ricky, Stilla, Cathy, Linda, Linda’s sister and Hugh.
Great people and great fun! We had a good time catching up on each other’s travels. Ricky showed off a moose antler they recently picked up during a shed hunt. There’s probably something inherently wrong with having a moose antler in an Elks Lodge… lucky he wasn’t kicked out 🙂
After “Happy Hour” was over we said our fond farewells and made plans to meet up again later.
On the way out, we met up with Alpine Coach Owners; John and Lorraine Foster who had just gotten back from a quick day trip to Denver.
John and Lorraine Foster
So we went back into the lodge to enjoy another adult beverage and some more conversation. We got caught up on their fun travels. It sounds like they’re having a great time. Hopefully we’ll be able to see more of John and Lorraine before they depart again on Friday. The others will be around until Sunday.
Any more Alpines out there that want to stop by?
Stay tuned… today (Thursday) I get to attend the retirement ceremony of an old co-worker from the Missile Defense Agency… I’ll report back later…
Still not a whole lot going on lately… we’re just killing time here at the Elks Lodge in Colorado Springs since we already paid for the month of June.
It’s been good spending time here with friends and family. Our next planned trip is to the FCRV Rally (Campvention) in Gillette, WY around the 1st of July. We will convoy with my Dad/Stepmom and meet up with other friends once we get there.
Our spot here at the COS Elks Lodge across from the pool.
Meanwhile… we’ve been attending events here at the lodge and hanging out by the pool…
Hanging out at the Urban Escape Vehicle with (old) neighbor Tricia after a day at the pool.Hanging out after Spaghetti Dinner night at the COS Elks Lodge.Father’s Day BBQ at the Elks Lodge. Happy Father’s Day Dad!COS Elks Lodge Pool.Grilling on the deck at the COS Elks Lodge.COS Elks Lodge Pool.COS Elks Lodge Pool.Hanging out under the awning at the COS Elks Lodge.Enjoying Steak Dinner night with friends at the COS Elks Lodge.Enjoying Steak Dinner night with friends at the COS Elks Lodge.Enjoying Steak Dinner night with friends at the COS Elks Lodge. (John and Angelika)Newly inducted ‘Elk Member’ and fellow RV’er (Gary Abbs)
We even made it over to the Pikes Peak Harley dealer on a recent Saturday for some “Casino Day” fun…
It hasn’t been all “playtime” though… I’ve spent some time detailing the generator bay recently…
I cleaned and touched up the paint on the inside of the front clip. It cleaned up nice 🙂
The frame rails have a little surface rust that I still need to take care of. I plan on getting back in there and taking care of that. Hopefully, I remember to post some “after” pics once I get it done.
And here’s a picture of little “Coach” since you haven’t seen him lately…
