Rise and Shine!

We spent our second night at the RV park just outside of the sand dunes. It gets cold there in the wee hours. Down in the 40's....does anyone feel bad for us? I am hunkered down in my nice warm nest and I see Tim with the covers pulled above his ears. Kylie is set because I put a heater back in her room. I wasn't sure about Ryan. I decided to be a good sport and take care of my boys and go turn on the furnace. We had to use the heater a couple of mornings in Ruidoso (I know you are all feeling really sorry for us now). I flipped it on and jumped back into my super warm and cozy nest thinking how Tim owes me for this. And then a very loud, high pitched, piercing, relentless beeping begins. I thought it was the carbon monoxide detector but it was the smoke detector - at least I know what to do about that! I wave surrender with the kitchen towel. Nothing like being woken up from a sound sleep in a small space with that noise reverberating off the walls. I'm rethinking my comment - I don't think Tim owes me!

We are in Boulder after a 5+ hour drive with no major mishaps. I must saying finding a big enough trough to feed this beast has become an issue - truck stops aren't easy to find when you need them. We did take a rather scenic detour for that reason today. We are now at 9.7 mpg for anyone keeping score - it was 9.9 for awhile but then we lost ground somewhere along the way. You may see us on the news. We drive kinda like the OJ Simpson car chase. We are doing around 60+/- or 50 and the speed limit ranges from 65-75.

Here are a few photos from our "Pig" basketball game the other night at the sand dunes RV camp.

And on a final note anyone that is not a robot can now comment on the blog. Just sign in under anonymous - and I highly recommend choosing the option to have it speak the scrambled word. All I know is that on the iPad it sounded like the teacher from Peanuts.

The GREAT Sand Dunes

We arrived in Colorado with ease - except for our attempt to try and get gas in Alamosa. There was a nice area for trucks to get diesel, which we needed but we also had to get gas for the generator. Tim waited for his opportunity for the end pump to free up and my job was to stand back and see if we could fit under the roof. I'm happy to say he gave it a good effort and we didn't manage to damage anything 'cept maybe our pride. I'm sure we made a bit of a spectacle to say the least! The photo is at the diesel pump right before we made a go for the gas. Any suggestions what to name our wee little castle on wheels?!

Good fortune smiled, once again, down on us. We took a step back in time when we arrived at our RV place that is just outside the entrance to the Sand Dunes and low and behold a pair of uncovered gas pumps!!!!

We made some new friends Traci, Ned, Bella or Izzy depending who you asked, and their huge Lab Zeus. They happen to live very close to Chatfield Park in Littleton where we will be next week so we may just see them again!

We rented some sleds for the dunes and off we went first thing this morning. Kylie loved her giant sandbox. We had a great time! I was cleaning sand from my teeth, ears and unmentionables after my first unsuccessful attempt at sledding. You don't want to go sideways is all I can tell ya!

Tim and the kids are off to the alligator park - yeah, I know, Colorado is gator country?!? I'm going to catch up on some never ending laundry and work on that sand!

My footnote is that I can't get this ap to let me arrange the photos in order - I think it's a google/iPad rivalry thing. And it's driving me nuts! Sorry about that. I may have gotten it to let people comment. I'll keep working on that if it doesn't cooperate!

Day of Feasting

We embraced the essence of Santa Fe and ate our way thru town today. We started off at our new favorite sushi restaurant and did a mighty fine job there. Then we decided to walk that off and headed for the International Folk Art Museum. We found a section of masks and we each picked out what we are going to be for Halloween next year.
We walked around the plaza. Picked out a few things from the vendors - Ryan got a really neat bow and arrow. Found a darling dress for Kylie in the cheesy General Store, after searching high and low in many stores for anything for children. Santa Fe is like Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - but no scary man catching kids, at least not that we saw.
Then we went to Kakawa, which was a really good chocolate shop - the picture is Kylie holding a cup of thick, rich hot cocoa (along with chocolate ice cream on her nose). We then had 3 1/2 hours to digest all this until we headed to El Meson, which was a Spanish restaurant. I had wine, Tim had sangria, we had tapas and then paella. The expression "we killed it" sums it all up. Oh, wait, there was dessert too - which included a homemade goat cheese cheesecake made with a pistachio crust and flambéed peaches. And some quarenta tres (an after dinner liquor) that brings back memories of Spain for Tim.
Tomorrow we head for the Sand Dunes of Colorado where there is nothing exciting to eat - phew!!!!!
And Mousse is enjoying himself too - and being a very good boy. Rarely a peep out of him! A very good traveling doggie.

Oh So Good Dinner In Santa Fe!

Before I talk about our unbelievably fabulous meal we had I need to mention the beauty of Highway 54. We spent several hours taking in the scenery. It was interesting but the most memorable part of it for Tim was the quality of the road. I'm not sure how long we had been on this magnificent stretch when Tim suddenly asks how much longer are we going to be on this road?! Oh, only another 110 miles....he didn't really say much after that. Have you ever seen the weights that vibrate back and forth when you shake them? I think Tim had a 3 hour upper body workout this afternoon with the steering wheel.

We got in a little after 6:00, had to get set up, which we did in record time and off we went for dinner. As many of you may know, Santa Fe is famous for their restaurants. Well everyone also knows that you need to go where the locals eat. So we picked a place that wasn't too far and was a bit of a "hole in the wall" kind of place. And everyone really knows if you're going to Santa Fe you've got to have their local fare, the food they are most famous for, their sushi! Yes folks, we had sushi for dinner. My parents are completely disgusted with me now, but Dad we are up to 9.4 mpg does that help? Back to the sushi. It was incredible! Seriously! We will redeem ourselves tomorrow night and go somewhere more Santa Fe style but we may just be having sushi again for lunch ;)

Santa Fe Here We Come!

Ok, we've got this....check out time is noon and we have hours. Bacon, omelets and coco krispies (for Kylie). A TRX workout in my gym/garage/laundry room/Kylie's bedroom - I LOVE this RV! A shower for me and what?!?! It's 11:30. How does that happen? I finish up my stuff while Tim does his. It's about noon but we are just about ready. I'm fixing sandwiches for the road. Tim does a really good job hooking the RV up to the truck - by that I mean he did not send his unaware family flying! And then I hear "that can't be good". Followed by "Bets come look at this". The underbelly of the RV is made of a heavy duty plastic shield to keep the rain from splashing in. Well it looks like a bloated, dead fish belly with water spurting out of a couple of holes. Tim is concerned and starts trouble shooting with our neighbors. What do I do? Well I go grab my camera - I have new material for the blog!
As he and our experienced friends are scratching their heads I call the RV dealership service department. I'm sure they will be sick of me by the end of this trip. Hmmm I should probably send them some brownies or something to stay on their good side! My good buddy Jim says it is either a leak or we let the grey water tank overfill. Now which do you think it could be?! Yes, you are correct if you picked option #2. Turns out it's not that big of a deal since its waterproof inside - but boy it was a good thing it was the shower water and not the toilet!!!!

Recap of Events

Well we have had a really good time the last few days. Tim was very proud that he had hooked up the RV all by himself when we left Carlsbad - he wanted me to be sure and mention that.

I have to agree with Ryan on The Roswell Museum. It was boring - I was having flashbacks from the old days! Good people watching tho :)

Now Ruidoso is a different story! We've had a blast here and wish we could stay another day or 2.
We've been mining for gemstones, feeding the gigantic trout at the RV park, gone hiking, have made some new friends, had a snail race, bought a used kayak from the sweet lady that runs the RV park and took it for a spin today, went to the Hubbard Museum which wasn't quite as boring as Roswell, and now my 3 children are wondering up a stream catching minnows.
Bryce and Tanner may be sad to see that Kylie has a new boyfriend!

Kylie's Dictation

I've had fun with Mousse, Daddy, Ryan and Mommy. I love feeding the fish. I love looking at the mountains. I loved kayaking on the lake with Mommy. I love our new RV.