Pilgrimage day two

So after getting off the train it was about 2pm, so we just headed for our destination for the evening, Hays Kansas with a few stops for lunch, potty, caches and just because I needed to stretch! We have our "Spot" along so if you wish to see where we have been follow this link.          Here

The Annual Pilgrimage to Jayson and Shay's

Well here it is , that time of year again and we are at Jayson and Shay's home in Missouri. We started on Sept. 7th about 8 am and reached the destination Friday evening around 5:30. On the way we saw a lot of beautiful country, this was a first for me, I have not been this way before past Green River and the Junction where we went through Moab on the way home last year. Dendra had gone with Saddie a few months before and had some things to recommend for us to do along the way. Of course we did do a few GeoCaches along the way but mostly when we had stopped for other things first, such as .... a dinosaur museum in Fruita Colorado then on to spend the night in Dillon Colorado, we had a real nice room there and also a very nice meal, Dendra seemed to like the barbequed ribs there. The next morning we stopped to ride the train at Silver Plume Colorado. I really enjoyed the ride, but when we got there it was a bit chilly and it was then I realized I had not thought of bringing a Jacket. We set about looking for a store to get one but the Gift shop was still closed so we went to the nearby town of Georgetown and was not able to find anything there but we looked at lots of neat old homes and buildings there, we found a Jacket at the Gift shop and had a great ride on the train. I took lots of photos but here are just a few. Here is a link for the Museum       Dino Museum

Indian Peaks Geocaching

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Well, last week we took a trip out to Indian Peaks with my brother Brent and His Wife Evelyn. We started out by going out the Lund Highway to the Railroad tracks then out the dirt roads. we set about following a geo trail I had mapped out and of course saw all sorts of beautiful country and even some Antelope and Wild Horses too and some neat landmarks such as an old school bus set up for a storage trailer I guess. We made it to Indian Peaks the first day and decided to camp at a nice little spot we found for the night. The next morning we continued to cache our way to Milford, we wound our way up and down and all around, through a mighty wind storm and made it back home again . this was the first time we had actually slept in the tent or even used the van for what I had tried to set it up for and I was very pleased with the performance. I really liked the All Wheel Drive and limited slip differential it made for a smooth trouble free ride without stopping to lock hubs and such, it just kicked in and done it's job then back out again when not needed smooth as silk! We did have a couple of minor issues which are being taken care of now, a slight overheating tendency and squealing front brakes. Brents Vanagon of course performed flawlessly and seemed to be able to go anywhere whereas my astro seemed to be limited by the operator! I am looking forward to our next excursion, hopefully with Brent and Evelyn again, they were a lot of fun to travel with and the were good sports about stopping every few miles for another cache.

A DaY aT tHe PoOl!

We spent the last two days playing at the pool. After buying swimming suits and thongs. We were all set to spend time in the YMCA pool. With a family fee of $12.00, we found an activity that was fun for every age group. Most of the children had not had the opportunities to play much less learn to swim in a large pool.

The first day everyone was excited even though some were very afraid of so much water. It did not take long for everyone to start having fun. This film was taken the second day of swimming. What a difference! Everyone had learned some new skill.

We are hoping to be able to have at least one more day swimming before I head home.

Taylor and Jayson had hay to cut for a neighbor so they miss the fun. They have not been able to go swimming with us yet. We really missed them.

Ami the wonder dog

Colt and his room mates recently got new Corgi puppy, her name is Ami (ahh me) they were over visiting today and we took a minute to catch her in action. She is a sweet little thing and is learning quite quickly, the thing I thought was cute was her way of asking for things, she says aroo a little modified like howl.

Free Park Day!!

We were able to tag along with the kids for a fun day at Zion Park Friday. We met up at Farmers Market in LaVerkin and convoyed up to the park, we were fortunate enough to find a good parking spot in the overflow spot, Man there was a lot of people!! After a shuttle ride we hiked up to Emerald pool then down the KoKopelli trail back to the Grotto, then a shuttle ride back to the cars. The shuttle back was FULL but a fun ride, I got to play Peek a Boo with a little girl in front of us, all in all a very fun experience. After the hike we went to a park in Springdale for a picnic, then home to visit for a while. Photos courtesy of Grandma!

I Looked out the window and what did I see....

HEY Its snowing out there! I woke up this morning and thought I had died and gone to Salt Lake, this is April right!! I then heard a Meeeeow and looked down to see the cat who seemed to enjoy the snow as much as I but hunger forced him out of his warm sanctuary and into the snow.

Out caching on the Mesa's Edge

We had a great day out caching with a new Geo Friend and his family, Stevens 8  (Cory, Serena three of their girls) and we wanted to go and try the new "Mesa's Edge" series put out by our good friend Coach Steve. We met up in Hurricane and proceeded to head toward Colorado City, then out to Lost Spring Mesa. The day was beautiful while a bit cloudy and the Mesa was absolutely beautiful, the roads were a bit rocky but very manageable, the only "problem" was my planning as I had not done a very good job of mapping so was wandering around a bit  but you can be assured we will be back to finish the series and do some camping in this neat spot, Thanks to Coach Steve for showing us yet another neat spot we have not seen before!!

We folded it up today!

Well we decided to fold it up and put the cover on the Roof Top Tent this afternoon, it went well but it looks like we will have to use a ladder because it is soooooo tall, but hey that's what I wanted. we took it out for  a little spin and even a token Geocache to break it in. I'm very happy with it so far, I'm looking forward to all the places this should open up for us, now we just need to get out and get camping!!

How it works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otm50oCCgRI

More fun!!!!

We got out and made some more progress tonight, we got the ladder attached and set it up roughly to see how it went. The only amusing part is that it is so tall we had to actually have Dendra open the windows and lean out to help put the rods in the rain flys, great fun for the neighbors watching I'm sure.

A little more progress today

Well it stopped blowing and snowing and raining so we decided to try and put the tent up on the van, all the kids were gone back to work/ school/home so the only one left to volunteer was Dendra! we had brought the tent into the living room and unpacked it to check it out and assemble part of it in preparation for installation on the van. We were amazed with the quality and size of this thing, it looks like it should work great. Next thing we got it put it up on the roof with Dendra's help, then came the fun part, trying to put bolts in a place you can't even get your fingers let alone your hands. tomorrow more fun!

Look what showed up in my driveway!

So after a wait of about a week the big day arrived, a big truck backed up to our driveway and unloaded our new Roof Top Tent. the big challenge now of course is to get it up on the top of the Van and get it bolted down. I have a feeling it's gonna take quite a little effort but I'm excited to unpack it and get on with the fun!