April/May Recap

 RIGHT NOW

I'm listening to a very quiet home.   Maybe too quiet.   Hubby is puttering in the garage. Thing 1 is in his Pat-Cave and Thing 2 is sleeping as she has work later tonight.  

 Yep- that's right- one big event during the past two months is the return of Thing 2 to the nest.    A few "adjusting to a full house" experiences- but overall, we are very happy to have her home and give her a chance to get back on her feet financially as life in the metro Denver area is out of control expensive for those trying to get their adulting life started.

I'm loving- that we are home for a stretch.  

The first part of April was spent with Hubby making some repairs on Thing 2's truck.   As reported in the last update to my blog- a tango in her truck on ice, with the tree claiming victory.  

With the vehicle deemed "good enough" and road-safe...

it was time for us to pack up and hit the dusty trail.  

We left April 14th- with no set itinerary.   That alone made me happy- as our last trip was pretty structured in terms of people we wanted to see and places we needed to be.

This trip was all about "we will see where the road takes us"

It started with us safely navigating the I-70 corridor on a picture perfect day

And ended with us missing a pretty significant hail storm

 just north of downtown Colorado Spring

And in between well..

We went to a park...

and then to another park..

With another park snuck in between..

(Capitol Reef NP-missed the obligatory sign opportunity

 so the trail head sign will have to suffice)

Where in addition to lovely rocks- they sell pie

Photo not included- I inhaled my slice before thinking to snap a pic

Hubby took me to Vegas, Baby!

where I was in awe of the Bellagio's interpretation of 

Tea and Tulips

We ran into some favorite friends..

and some that we've known since childhood..

and even made some new acquaintances..

as Hubby helped out a Harley rider who had run low on gas

This couple was spending a month traveling Route 66-visiting from Slovenia

Speaking of Route 66..

We too got our kicks...in Williams, AZ

and lunched at an icon in Kingman, AZ

We further explored the Arizona Highways..

from the curiosities that are Jerome

to the scenic views of Sedona...

and Sedonuts..

We hiked

and hiked

and hiked

until we found ourselves pretty much "rocked" out...

Time to head back home...

so with a stop 

or two along the way..

We made it home..

I'm feeling content

With a pretty open calendar- I am finding myself content with accomplishing just a few little tasks each day- and am  taking time to  tinker, putter, take a little siesta and just be content with myself and my surroundings.    I also hope to resume some regular exercise practices that fall by the wayside when I'm on the road.  

As for where to next...well, each RV adventure leaves us acknowledging a few new truths.  

 For Texas- we were reminded of the challenges that present when we prefer to dry camp on "free" land (National forest, BLM) but that those types of opportunities are not nearly as plentiful as you wander eastward. 

For this trip- my take-away is that while I'd love to extend our range beyond the UT/AZ/NM/CO/WY/MT regions...the truth is that the further we wander from  home- the longer those drive days end up being.  Either coming or going- you are going to have a lot of windshield time and that isn't nearly as fun or easy as it was when we started RVng nearly 8 years ago.  

So for now- the plan is to explore some areas here in CO that haven't been explored due to limitations in cell coverage.   We recently bit the bullet and bought a Starlink system- which should allow for us to try some spots that haven't made the cut in the past.

Until next time...

Remove what appears to be stuck...

purge what is not being used...

and be grateful for those who wait for you back at home...