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August 23, 2010, a Monday
Parker (K2) to Trinidad, Colorado, USA
— Moved down the road
We got up later than usual and I quickly got ready to go. I left by myself in the Jeep around 8:00.
I had Clif Bars while driving, and ...
Went to my storage unit to drop off things.
Then I went to the Kwik Car Wash in Parker to get the Jeep washed and to vacuum it out. It had gotten really filthy from driving on the muddy dirt roads near Red Feather Lakes and Gould.
I returned to the RV around 9:15 in time for J to take the Jeep to go to a dentist appointment to get her new crown and to run some errands. I made my second cup of coffee from the Toddy Cold Brew System coffee concentrate, and I used one (1) part concentrate and two (2) parts water. The coffee was strong but was ordinary. I must say that it's a lot faster to make the coffee, right before drinking it, using the coffee concentrate than by brewing one cup using the AeroPress coffee maker. Plus, J really likes not having to hear the coffee grinder early in the morning. And, I think my stomach likes the low acidity from the Toddy Cold Brew System. Usually, I need to drink coffee around the same time I eat something, but this cup of coffee, more than an hour after eating, didn't bother my stomach at all. J left in the Jeep by herself around 9:40. I prepped the RV to move and opened up my 20x30 poster prints to use as backgrounds for hummingbird photography. They were supposed to me matte prints, but they looked more like luster to me — ie, like a semi-gloss. I'll probably have to print my own on real matte paper some time. I worked up a blog entry. J returned at 11:30 with takeaway from IHOP. She had a Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity — another one of her birthday freebies. We finished prepping the RV to move and J left in the Jeep around 12:05 to go to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to take a shower with unlimited running water. I moved the RV so we could dump using K2's sewer clean out in the front yard. (The clean out had been clogged when we were there before.) I had to use our long dump hose, but it was still more convenient than macerating at SJ&DilK's or dumping at the Town of Castle Rock Public Works building. I left around 12:30 and ...
Went to SJ&DilK's to take on fresh water and wait for our new Galleyware 12-pc. Non-Stick Cookware Set to arrive. Before taking on fresh water, I sprayed down our Protect-A-Tow that had gotten covered with mud when we pulled into the Red Feather Lakes area. GJ (grandson J, age 5) and GS (granddaughter S, age 3) came out to the RV as I was having lunch. I started to work up a blog entry and got notified that the Mile High Wildlife Photography Club (MHWPC) entry for the Nature's Best competition has entered the semi-finals. (You may see two of my images and one of Jan's images in the club's submission.) While that is really good news, the timing wasn't too good because I'm the coordinator for the club's entry and had to get files and additional information together to send to them. J vacuumed our floors and I did a quick dusting job. UPS delivered our new cookware around 3:15 and J went inside SJ&DilK's to wash them before we got on the road to head to southern Arizona for my bat photo tour. We said goodbye to everyone, then hooked up the Jeep to tow and got underway around 4:00.
Before we got on I-25, I realized that I forgot to pick up my Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 lens from my storage unit so I could use it for my bat photo tour. Because we were in a hurry to get down the road, I decided not to swing by my storage unit, and instead I'll use my Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6. I hope it'll be as sharp as the 120-300 when it's in the 100-200mm range — my 100-400 is so soft beyond 300mm that it's practically useless. I wish Canon would get its act together and come out with a zoom that's as good as the Nikon 200-400 f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor.
Fortunately, I-25 southbound was flowing freely. In years past, it would have been slow going at that time of day. Maybe the additional lane of traffic that has been added provides enough capacity now.
We went to Ruby Tuesday in Pueblo around 6:25 after circling because our GPS didn't know how to get us there. J had a coupon for a buy-one-get-one entree — surprise, surprise. I got Chicken Fresco ("A fresh, all-natural grilled chicken breast topped with vine-ripened tomatoes, lemon-butter sauce, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette.") and J got Herb Crusted Tilapia ("Tender, mild tilapia crusted with panko garlic bread crumbs and topped with lemon-butter sauce."). The chicken was on the dry and chewy side, but the sauce was good. J liked her tilapia which is what I had on July 23, 2010.
We returned to the RV around 7:25 and went online. I took care of some Nature's Best things and J took care of some eBay things. We left around 9:00.
We went to a Conoco that was supposed to have cheap gas. The price was much higher than that listed on MSN Autos, so we went to a nearby Loaf 'N Jug. They had a good price on the sign but apparently no gas to sell — all of the pumps had yellow bags over the nozzles. :(
We went to a different Loaf N' Jug, and they had gas at a reasonable price. We filled the RV at $2.599/gal with a 10¢/gal discount and filled the Jeep at $2.669/gal with our 3¢/gal discount. We finally got underway again around 9:40!
I was really looking forward to reaching our boondocking spot near Walsenburg. J had entered the coordinates into our GPS and I got off I-25 at Exit 52 around 10:35 as Bossy (our GPS) told me to do. J was surprised because she thought the boondocking spot was east of I-25 off of Exit 56. We were both surprised to find out that the GPS coordinates were for the Visitor Center in downtown Walsenburg! We decided to keep going even though I was pooped.
We reached the WalMart in Trinidad at 11:30. J really dislikes staying at WalMarts because they're noisy and bright, but this time she thought a bad night's sleep would be better than an accident. I crawled into bed around 11:40 and was asleep shortly thereafter — I usually have no problem sleeping in a WalMart parking lot.
I had Clif Bars while driving, and ...
Went to my storage unit to drop off things.
Then I went to the Kwik Car Wash in Parker to get the Jeep washed and to vacuum it out. It had gotten really filthy from driving on the muddy dirt roads near Red Feather Lakes and Gould.
I returned to the RV around 9:15 in time for J to take the Jeep to go to a dentist appointment to get her new crown and to run some errands. I made my second cup of coffee from the Toddy Cold Brew System coffee concentrate, and I used one (1) part concentrate and two (2) parts water. The coffee was strong but was ordinary. I must say that it's a lot faster to make the coffee, right before drinking it, using the coffee concentrate than by brewing one cup using the AeroPress coffee maker. Plus, J really likes not having to hear the coffee grinder early in the morning. And, I think my stomach likes the low acidity from the Toddy Cold Brew System. Usually, I need to drink coffee around the same time I eat something, but this cup of coffee, more than an hour after eating, didn't bother my stomach at all. J left in the Jeep by herself around 9:40. I prepped the RV to move and opened up my 20x30 poster prints to use as backgrounds for hummingbird photography. They were supposed to me matte prints, but they looked more like luster to me — ie, like a semi-gloss. I'll probably have to print my own on real matte paper some time. I worked up a blog entry. J returned at 11:30 with takeaway from IHOP. She had a Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity — another one of her birthday freebies. We finished prepping the RV to move and J left in the Jeep around 12:05 to go to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to take a shower with unlimited running water. I moved the RV so we could dump using K2's sewer clean out in the front yard. (The clean out had been clogged when we were there before.) I had to use our long dump hose, but it was still more convenient than macerating at SJ&DilK's or dumping at the Town of Castle Rock Public Works building. I left around 12:30 and ...
Went to SJ&DilK's to take on fresh water and wait for our new Galleyware 12-pc. Non-Stick Cookware Set to arrive. Before taking on fresh water, I sprayed down our Protect-A-Tow that had gotten covered with mud when we pulled into the Red Feather Lakes area. GJ (grandson J, age 5) and GS (granddaughter S, age 3) came out to the RV as I was having lunch. I started to work up a blog entry and got notified that the Mile High Wildlife Photography Club (MHWPC) entry for the Nature's Best competition has entered the semi-finals. (You may see two of my images and one of Jan's images in the club's submission.) While that is really good news, the timing wasn't too good because I'm the coordinator for the club's entry and had to get files and additional information together to send to them. J vacuumed our floors and I did a quick dusting job. UPS delivered our new cookware around 3:15 and J went inside SJ&DilK's to wash them before we got on the road to head to southern Arizona for my bat photo tour. We said goodbye to everyone, then hooked up the Jeep to tow and got underway around 4:00.
Before we got on I-25, I realized that I forgot to pick up my Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 lens from my storage unit so I could use it for my bat photo tour. Because we were in a hurry to get down the road, I decided not to swing by my storage unit, and instead I'll use my Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6. I hope it'll be as sharp as the 120-300 when it's in the 100-200mm range — my 100-400 is so soft beyond 300mm that it's practically useless. I wish Canon would get its act together and come out with a zoom that's as good as the Nikon 200-400 f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor.
Fortunately, I-25 southbound was flowing freely. In years past, it would have been slow going at that time of day. Maybe the additional lane of traffic that has been added provides enough capacity now.
We went to Ruby Tuesday in Pueblo around 6:25 after circling because our GPS didn't know how to get us there. J had a coupon for a buy-one-get-one entree — surprise, surprise. I got Chicken Fresco ("A fresh, all-natural grilled chicken breast topped with vine-ripened tomatoes, lemon-butter sauce, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette.") and J got Herb Crusted Tilapia ("Tender, mild tilapia crusted with panko garlic bread crumbs and topped with lemon-butter sauce."). The chicken was on the dry and chewy side, but the sauce was good. J liked her tilapia which is what I had on July 23, 2010.
We returned to the RV around 7:25 and went online. I took care of some Nature's Best things and J took care of some eBay things. We left around 9:00.
We went to a Conoco that was supposed to have cheap gas. The price was much higher than that listed on MSN Autos, so we went to a nearby Loaf 'N Jug. They had a good price on the sign but apparently no gas to sell — all of the pumps had yellow bags over the nozzles. :(
We went to a different Loaf N' Jug, and they had gas at a reasonable price. We filled the RV at $2.599/gal with a 10¢/gal discount and filled the Jeep at $2.669/gal with our 3¢/gal discount. We finally got underway again around 9:40!
I was really looking forward to reaching our boondocking spot near Walsenburg. J had entered the coordinates into our GPS and I got off I-25 at Exit 52 around 10:35 as Bossy (our GPS) told me to do. J was surprised because she thought the boondocking spot was east of I-25 off of Exit 56. We were both surprised to find out that the GPS coordinates were for the Visitor Center in downtown Walsenburg! We decided to keep going even though I was pooped.
We reached the WalMart in Trinidad at 11:30. J really dislikes staying at WalMarts because they're noisy and bright, but this time she thought a bad night's sleep would be better than an accident. I crawled into bed around 11:40 and was asleep shortly thereafter — I usually have no problem sleeping in a WalMart parking lot.