Monthly Archives: July 2022

182-Buena Vista, CO, About Us

We’ve both got Covid!

A few days into our stay at Buena Vista CO Jeff started feeling bad. He thought it was a cold and the next day I got a scratchy throat. I scheduled a Covid test for Jeff just to be sure, and it came up positive! Ugh! So we both went to a walk in clinic in Buena Vista so I could also get a test (also positive!) and we could both get treated.

The folks at the clinic were very nice. Covid infections had been on the rise in the area and we found we both also had strep throat. We got medicines for both illnesses and were told to isolate for 5 days and wear a mask and be careful for at least five days after that.

This was on Wednesday. Thursday Jeff felt a little better and I felt worse. We were supposed to travel to Loveland on Friday! We both felt a bit better on Friday and went ahead and traveled. I made lunch so we wouldn’t have to stop and we made it on. I lost my voice for most of Friday and could only sqeak. We were very careful checking in, wearing masks and disinfecting our hands and we only stayed in the office for a few minutes.

Saturday we both felt worse, coughing a lot and absolutely no energy. Sunday we had to get some groceries and pick up a refill for Jeff but luckily Walmart had curbside for both with no contact. Were still very fatigued and coughing.

Monday we still were very fatigued. It’s awful! I would do a little bit, then have to rest. If I did too much I got light headed. Also was short of breath. We are at the “Gateway to the Rockies” but may not get to drive to higher elevation if this doesn’t get better real soon.

Now it’s Wednesday, a week from diagnoses and we’re both getting better. My fatigue is much less. Jeff says he feels fine except for the constant coughing and hawking up phlegm (yuck!)

182-Buena Vista, CO

Buena Vista CO – views of several mountains

We stayed for a week in Buena Vista CO, which is known for the closeness of several 14,000 ft mountains as well as the Arkansas River with lots of rapids.  We took a drive up to Cottonwood Pass one day, which is at the continental divide at 12,126ft.  Wow, I could barely breathe!

The drive up was beautiful, lots of fir and aspens and several lakes.  Lots of people have cabins up there and they looked just like you would imagine!

We also drove along the Arkansas River on the outskirts of town.  There is a dirt road with several campgrounds and places to launch river rafts.  We saw some people rafting down the river which has several rapids.  We also drove through a series of tunnels that were wide enough for one vehicle at a time only.

The whole area is beautiful!  Here are some pictures:

181-Cortez, CO

Mesa Verde 2022

Although we had visited Mesa Verde before, we were  back in the area and wanted to see it again.  From Cortez, CO it’s just a few minutes to the entrance of the National Park, although once past the entrance it’s about a half hour to get to any of the sites.

Unfortunately, the loop road that includes the Cliff Palace and the Balcony House was closed for road work while we were there.  And, other ruins that are accessible through a guided tour had limited people per tour and we were unable to get tickets to any of them.  Jeff visited both during our previous visit but I did not, partly because of the hike up and back and also the Balcony House access is through a 12-foot long small tunnel that you have to crawl on your hands and knees to get through.  With my claustrophobia I didn’t even want to attempt!

But, there is one set of ruins, the Step House, that can be viewed on a self-guided tour.  We hiked almost a mile to get to the ruins. It was downhill the whole way, which means it was uphill the whole way back!  As it is at about 8,000ft I had trouble going uphill and we stopped several times to catch our breath.

But, it was really nice to be able to see some ruins up close!

We also drove on a loop road that provides the best vantage point to see the Cliff Palace.  Near that viewpoint there is a small structure called the Sun Temple that we were able to walk around and see as well.

Here is the blog entry from our last visit, and here are pictures of this visit:

181-Cortez, CO

Hovenweep 2022

Hovenweep is the name for a collection of ancentral Puebloan ruins in an area of Utah and Colorado near the four corners area.  The people who lived here approx. 1,000 years ago grew crops and hunted, and lived in round or square structures mostly built right on ravine walls or large boulders.

We visited Hovenweep a few years ago and saw some of the ruins.  This trip we saw some different ruins.  All are similar in design and structure.

It’s amazing how these people lived and thrived in a desolate region.  Theories that the area was not so desolate when they were here hope to explain why the people just left around 1,300AD.

Dogs are allowed on the trails around Hovenweep but Chloe is so excitable we left her in the car when we hiked down a short trail to see some of the ruins.

Here is our blog entry of our previous visit, and here are some pictures of this visit:

180-Victorville, CA

An unexpected stop in Victorville CA

Well, plans changed once again.  About an hour into our drive to Flagstaff the check engine light came on.  It had come on a few days ago and Jeff took it to the dealer in Bakersfield.  They said it was a DEF problem but everything was in the normal range so they thought it was some bad DEF and adding quality DEF would let it “clean up”.

This time it said it would reduce our speed. First to 65, if we keep driving down to 35, then 15, then the engine will stop running. Yipes! So we diverted to Victorville where there is a GMC dealer. We found one campground (one! ) in Victorville- they only do long term but made an exception for us and said they will tell the owner we got towed in.  They asked for cash only. This place was very low class and not maintained at all, but I figured it would only be for 1-2 nights.  At least it had some shade and 50amp full hookup as it was real hot.

Well, 1-2 days became longer!  Our catalytic converter needed to be replaced and the dealer ordered parts and said it would be a few more days.  Then the wrong parts arrived and it became 2 weeks plus the holiday weekend so we ended up there for 3 weeks and a day.  The RV park let us stay a longer term which was real good,  but as we stayed I got more and more uncomfortable there.  The park had mostly long term tenants and many looked like drug users or dealers and “trailer trash”. There was trash everywhere and nothing got cleaned.  I stopped taking walks because there were a couple of aggressive big dogs that were not kept on leash and they went after Chloe one day.  And, it hit 80 by 8am and got hotter  from there, several times exceeding 100.  All around UGH!

This whole time we were without the truck, so I had learn how to use Uber and Grubhub as it’s cheaper than a rental car.  But it was real hard for me to be there and every day sitting in a darkened rig trying to stay cool. Jeff didn’t seem bothered by any of it. I was so happy when we finally got the truck back and got our of there!

About Us

My Painted Rocks

After a few years of retirement and doing knitting and cross stitch as hobbies I developed arthritis in my thumbs. It made knitting difficult so I looked around for other hobbies. At one RV park I found a little painted rock and thought it was cute. Maybe I can paint rocks! I’ve really enjoyed making rock pictures, most I’ve placed around RV parks we’ve stayed at, and I made one for everyone in my family for Christmas. Here are my rocks: