Leadville,CO

Our friends, Dave and Susie Smeal, suggested that we check out Leadville while in the area. We got the bike back yesterday and the forecast was for great weather today so why not. Hit the road around 10:30, had a couple errands in Frisco, and then we started the drive to Leadville. GPS said Leadville is about an hour from Tiger Run so we arrived in Leadville at noon.

We had lunch at the Golden Burro Cafe (thanks..Dave and Susie), which has been there since 1938. Lots of wood and leaded glass and an old time feel to the place. The menu is part history lesson and part food selection and with so many choices, it was really hard to decide. Home-made pies and cakes (carrot cake and red velvet cake) were tough to say no to but necessary to maintain our weight.

Lots of neat history in Leadville….they have the most per capital museums of any town in the US. They are the “highest” incorporated town of any in the country at 10,200’. Linda and I walked from one end of town to the other….lots of cute shops and wonderful old architecture. In the one shop, I found a bracelet that I fell in love with. It was made by a Colorado artist and has something that looks like the Tree of Life that we have on our rings. Bought it and I love it !

 

 

 

 

We went inside the old hotel in town and they had all kinds of stuff on display in the lobby that is for sale. On the way out, my eye caught this  wall sconce that looks like a hot air balloon….it is gorgeous !

After lunch and our tour of town, we drove out to Turquoise Lake and took the route all the way around it. Very pretty although we could see that the water level is down quite a bit. As we drove down the one side of the lake, we could see the fish jumping and hanging really near the surface of the water.

 

 

 

Had such a great day exploring Leadville and the area around it. Got back around 4…Temps are really heating up. We rode in t-shirts and jeans today and were comfortable. This weekend, the temps in Denver are going to be around 100. Tomorrow we have to go back to Denver for our last follow-up appointment on our eyes. Will use the time in Denver to get some stuff at Sam’s Club, run some errands and have supper at the Noodle place across the street from Dr. Cutarelli…yum. Gonna be a busy day !

Bike’s Back…

The Yamaha shop in Silverthorne was awesome at keeping us apprised on our bike and its’ repair. They called yesterday and said that the parts, for the broken shifter, had arrived and they were starting work on it. Within the hour, they called again and said it was all done. We went and picked it up today and brought it back to the rig. Cost a little over $200 to get the shifter fixed and the oil changed. We are set ! The mechanic did say that the front tire was horribly low on air and we told him that it had recently been replaced with a cracked valve stem. Linda noticed that it seemed to be low the other night, while we were sitting outside, but I thought it was just the way it was sitting on the patio. Turns out she was right (but don’t tell her). Not sure what is up with it but we’ll have to keep an eye on it. He said maybe it was due to the elevation and the “potato chip bag theory” (he had to explain that one to us). I came home and checked the rig and car and they were fine so ain’t no potato chip bag problem ‘round here.

Took some pictures of the flowers that are erupting around our campsite. In spite of the lack of rain, they are flourishing and we’re really enjoying the color around us. The plants, that we put in the crock and plastic tub, are doing pretty well.

Sales are going very well….today was the deadline although we have two advertisers who I need to follow-up with for one reason or another by the end of the week. Our time here is coming to an end….enjoying every last minute.

New Things…

We bought a couple of items over the last month that add to the RV lifestyle. Linda has been missing our flower beds from back home (I’ll bet  visiting the Botanic Garden in Denver fueled that) so we bought a couple plants. We had a plant stand that we had at our apartment in Winston Salem and Linda had a crock with us that a plant was in from her dad’s funeral so we made good use of both. In the crock we put a snapdragon, mint plant and purple Osteopermum (looks like a purple daisy). In the plastic box we put two basil plants. I love the smell of the mint plant as we had them growing wild along the creek back home, on the farm, and my grandmother would pick it to make tea with. I love pesto hence the basil…The touch of color at the back door makes for a cheery entrance.

About a month ago we purchased a GPS off of E-bay. Our old Garmin died quite a while ago and we’ve been using our tablet to make sales calls. We had Co-Pilot software on our old laptop but between the screen going bad and the power cord shorting out, we laid that laptop to rest and if you recall, bought a used laptop for Linda when we were in Denver. My goal has been to get a big rig specific GPS but have not wanted to pay big bucks for one (yep, call me frugal !). I’ve been researching several different models but organizing our daily sales calls narrowed the options drastically. I think, when I went on Garmin’s site, there were a total of 4 or 5 models that are able to do that. Another feature that was important was lifetime maps as our old one got so it did not recognize many of the new roads and when making sales calls, you have to find the streets where the businesses are located. With our wish list in mind, it came down to a Garmin dezl 560 LMT which is a commercial truck GPS with tons of features. If you’re interested in what it can do, go here. There is an excellent review of all the features on this model. I used this review site to help figure out which unit might be best and which units aren’t worth the powder to blow them up. This GPS has a 5” screen which is awesome (both the passenger and driver can see the screen clearly – at least in the car)and it comes with the friction mount pad that sits on the dash. Easy to put under the seat..out of site, when going in a store and not making it tempting for someone to break in and steal. You can pay full price for them ($339 and up) but I’ve been watching and waiting and found one come up on e-bay and got it for much less. It has the lane assist, which when traveling down a four or five lane highway, tells you which lane to get in so you don’t miss your exit. It organizes our sales calls and tells you how long it will take to get to each location and total time to complete the route. For the RV profile, you program in height, weight, length, width, # axles, and any restrictions and it keeps all of that in mind as it chooses your route. When we first got it, the volume seemed really low and I had read that with some trucker GPS units, the volume isn’t loud enough for all the road noise. When we’d program in an address, the beeping from punching in the info was loud but the voice of the lady calling out the navigation wasn’t. I played around with some of the settings and the next time the lady called out a command, it made both Linda and I just about jump out of our seats….it was so loud ! Talk about hilarious….we both burst out laughing so hard cause we’d only heard it soft for the two days we’d been messing around with it. It is certainly is loud enough now. Anxious to put it to the test with the rig when we head out next Sunday. We love it in the car so we’ll see how the big rig features work.

The other recent purchase is a humidifier. We spend May through August in states that have low humidity and while that sounds good overall, it takes a toll on our skin and sinuses. Take today, the humidity here is 8%. Indoor humidity levels below 30% create dry skin and sinus passages and increase the risk of respiratory illnesses. We bought a small humidifier to put some moisture back in the air in the rig. My sinuses and skin are already saying thank you after just 48 hours of it running in the living room. Will help make the summer more enjoyable until we get to areas of the country where the humidity levels are higher and won’t need it. Until then, it’s gonna get a work out.

Not big expenditures, by most standards, but things that will make our travels less worrisome and more enjoyable. Also makes us more productive so we can work smarter and not harder…that’s worth a lot !

Can’t Let it Get Ya Down..

Saturday turned out to be a busy day for us, not by design, but just turned out that way. Last night I looked at the road atlas and found what looked to be a great route for a motorcycle ride. Weather was going to be nice today (71 degrees) and even warmer tomorrow(75). We headed out at 11 and made our way towards Vail on I-70. Just past Vail, where we made our turn onto route 24, we went through a really cute town called Minturn. Not very big but some really cute store fronts.

The cyclists were out in full force today, all over the mountains…climbing the steepest ones and whizzing down the other side.That would not be my idea of fun even though I used to ride eight miles a day for exercise, when I was in college. Riding in the mountains just seems really dangerous plus the height (and lack of guard rails) makes me a little nauseous.

 

Linda took tons of pictures, while riding on the back.

 

We stopped about 3/4 of the way up this mountain and ate some lunch. That’s what we call a tailgate lunch. The scene below us, looked like an abandoned mining town. Different colored houses all lined up, perched on the side of the mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The route ran up and over mountains, through the valleys and over the gorges. Beautiful scenery for sure !

We went through the area where the one and only mountain regiment, for the US Army, trained. Near the Tennessee Pass sign, there is a memorial to the men who lost their lives from this regiment when they fought in the northern region of Italy, against the Germans.

When Linda took that picture above on the right, we were coming down the mountain towards the village of Copper Mountain. I pulled off the road, at a pull off area to get a drink and stretch. As I pulled off the road, and went to down shift, I realized that the shifter had broken and I couldn’t downshift. At this point, I was in high gear. Linda tried to check for cell phone signal…research on our tablet for any close bike shops (but we had no idea where we even were at this point) and make a plan. I looked through our saddle bags for some tools or something to try and piece it together to make it work. I thought I might have a “MacGyver” solution but since it needed to push down on the shifter to downshift, that wasn’t as easy a solution as shifting up. We decided to just keep going and hope that we hit a town, where there might be a service station. Starting out in high gear was a little tricky but luckily we were headed down the mountain so it only stalled once before we picked up enough speed to keep it running. It was only about another five miles and we came upon a gas station, but more of the convenience store variety. Long story short…even after enlisting the help of several bikers who stopped in the station, there wasn’t really a fix for it. I got a large screwdriver from the clerk in the store and tried to get it into 4th gear and didn’t think I was successful but I was. Once we got headed down the road, I could tell that it was in 4th and wasn’t so hard to start from a standstill and get it going. We made it to a Yamaha shop in Silverthorne and left it there to be repaired. Right across the street, from the bike shop, was the “Summit Stage” bus stop. This is a free bus that runs between several towns in the area and we found out what a wonderful asset that is to the community. After 50 minutes of riding and changing buses, we made it home. A free bus that took us right to the bus stop outside Tiger Run Resort….how cool is that. Yeah, it was a little stressful to deal with the break down but the ride was amazing and there was no way we were going to let that ruin our day. The shop will work on the bike on Tuesday, when they re-open from being closed Sunday and Monday and we’ll get it back in time for our departure next weekend. Our little angel was riding on our shoulder, guiding us to the best possible outcome after an awesome day of exploration in the Rocky Mountains. Our explorations tomorrow will have to be by car, if we do any. There is a BBQ festival going on in Frisco and some sort of event in Breckenridge. Do tell, I think the outhouse races are tomorrow in Breck…..might be something to see (or not). We’ll see what tomorrow brings….Hope your weekend is full of excitement and exploration too !

Vail

   Yesterday afternoon we went to Vail, which is about forty minutes from Tiger Run. Pretty drive up over a mountain and the town of Vail is nestled in the valley below. Having seen the pictures my dad took in Europe, it feels like it could be a Swiss village. Lots of pretty flowers and cobbled type streets and walk ways. Fancy shops line the streets and there was a beautiful hotel in the middle of town.

The mountain serves as the backdrop to the village and a river “runs through it”. Quite picturesque by most standards ! This is the place we’ve heard about where the rich go to ski and hang out. I tried to imagine what the village would look like with a fresh coat of snow, the shop lights come on and people are milling about. I bet it’s really pretty. It seemed as though summer is a time to get store renovations done as there were construction vehicles about and the sound of power tools in the air. Can say we’ve “been there and done that” !

Checking out the area….

I forgot to mention that mid week we traveled to Fairplay, over Hoosier Pass, to see what was over there (sort of like the “bear that went over the mountain”). Took an hour to get there…you climb to over 11,000 feet and then descend into the valley below where the town of Alma sits. Fairplay is a little ways past Alma. Look at this guy riding his bicycle up the mountain. We were stopped for road construction up near the top of the mountain and he passed us. He must have a lot of gears on his bike cause we never saw him get off and push it. Not much in either Alma or Fairplay but there were a couple of cute buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

  Look at the Alma Fire House and Mining Museum…

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday, we were looking for some businesses up near the ski lodges so we drove up close to the base of the mountain. We had a great view of the town of Breckenridge and the ski lifts that are downtown and go up the mountain. So pretty !

I also met with a woman, who has opened a frozen yogurt shop in Frisco…called Cameez. Such a neat and funky place ! The frozen yogurt only has 8 calories per ounce so it gives you plenty of leeway to top if with any of the yummy toppings. We went there last night and today to create a masterpiece . My favorite toppings are cookie dough bites, hot fudge, peanut butter sauce and dark chocolate covered raspberry bites. All of these I put over peanut butter and dulce le leche ice cream. With 50 toppings and 15 ice cream flavors, you can create some pretty nifty concoctions. All of the tables, at Cameez, have games like hangman, suduko, and other fun games that you can play with special markers. They also have smoothies and coffee drinks like lattes and espresso. Two large TV’s, fireplace and couch area complete the space to make for a neat hangout for kids and adults alike. They’re not a franchise but an idea that the owner created and named after her youngest daughter. I had a great chat with Tina, the owner, about her concept and design elements. A great place that Linda and I will make many more trips to while we are here !

We stopped at Cameez after our bike ride today around Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne. We went to the outlet stores in Silverthorne, then drove the road above the dam in Dillon. We counted 33 sailboats in the lake above Dillon. A beautiful day for sailing and bike riding (2 or 3 wheeled). Lots of bicyclists out on the trails. There’s a bike path from Dillon to Breckenridge and I think they are connecting everything over the mountain to Fairplay. That’s like 35 miles of bike trails ! Linda asked me today, while watching all the cyclists, how far I thought we could make it on the two wheeled variety of bike. I just laughed…

Really bad wild fire that started this morning, up near Ft. Collins, and has already covered a whole lot of acreage. As of right now, it’s only 25 miles from Ft. Collins and has been a big thing in the news all day around here. Hopefully they can get a handle on it and bring it under control.

Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne

Today we had some sales calls in three towns close to Tiger Run. What a beautiful area ! A little different than Breckenridge, which is wedged in between the mountains and seems a little closed in. With Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne the mountains surround them but are more like a picture frame, capturing the natural beauty of the area. All I can say is Wow ! The water in Dillon Reservoir and Frisco Bay just glistened. There are marinas on each body of water so there were sailboats out and powerboats. So beautiful !

In light of all the wild fires that have been in the news, there was some interesting plaques at the top of the one lake that talked about Lodgepole Pine trees and fire. I took a pic of each and it makes for interesting reading. Mountain pine beetles have had a devastating effect on the forests around here, with lots of dead pine trees as you drive the highways. So sad to see…

 

Looking forward to spending more time in the area, exploring the different towns. Today we drove a short distance around the dam and it was gorgeous. I see a motorcycle ride in our future around the rest of it. There are also a whole bunch of outlet stores in Silverthorne that would make for some great exploration. In Frisco, the town has created an amazing adventure park that has all sorts of bike ramps and jumps and courses. It’s free and what a wonderful resource for daredevils in the area. We’ve seen some skateboard parks and such in our travels but this place is huge ! Sure would be a fun time for kids while mom and dad hit the outlets and shops downtown.

Sunday

Yesterday we drove around the area to check out the nearby towns of Frisco and Breckenridge. Tiger Run is positioned between the two towns. Had a great lunch at a little pizza shop in Frisco. It started to rain as we left the restaurant and got in the car. We were driving up through town and saw a dog trotting up the street and what appeared to be the owner running up the sidewalk, trying to catch up. This dog didn’t break his stride at all and was weaving from the sidewalk to the street, then back to the sidewalk. We attempted to catch up to the dog so I could jump out and try to corner him but we lost sight of him. We came around a corner on a side street and saw the “owner” running our way. We pulled over and yelled for her to get in and we’d try to catch up to her dog. She was pretty winded from running but managed to tell us that it’s her boyfriend’s dog and he’s a husky who loves to run (oh great). Someone left the door open at the house and the dog made a run for it. She said that trying to call him just makes him run more, cause he thinks it’s a game. We drove back towards town, where we met up with her boyfriend and she got out to join him in the dog hunt. Sounds like they had their work cut out for them !

The rain continued and it gave all the plants a good drink. The grass is pretty brown in the resort, due to lack of rain. Since there wasn’t much snow this year, they aren’t allowed to use the sprinkler system so when Mother Nature turns on her sprinklers, I’m sure all of the lot owners are happy. Today it’s gorgeous, with temps in the low 70’s and a nice breeze blowing. I got up on top of the roof and took some pictures of the area around our site.

Tomorrow we start selling in the area. It appears that it is still early in the season for some of the shops as many seem to be closed. The resort has been very busy with rigs coming and going.

Breckenridge,CO

We left Brighton this morning around 9:45 and started up to Breckenridge. What a pretty day to drive. The elevation is about double what it was in Brighton so we’re taking it easy and not overexerting ourselves and making sure we drink lots of water. Plus with our eye surgery, although today is the last day for our medicated drops, we need to be vigilant with the artificial tears. It will aid in the healing.

I was a little nervous about the mountain driving but there really isn’t anything to it. With the tow/haul mode on, the rig takes care of braking and downshifting when going down the mountain and it shifts when the rig bogs down to go up the hill. All I have to do is keep the pedal to the floor going up and off the gas when going down. There was a six mile downhill area right before you got to Tiger Run, where we’re staying and using these principles made it a piece of cake.

Tiger Run is gorgeous ! We have a beautiful view of the mountains from our site. The sites are great…paved with room for the rig, car, trike and a large area for sitting plus there's a storage shed on site. The site we’re staying on is up for sale. We are right across from the clubhouse where there’s a hot tub, indoor pool, weight room, laundry, game room and business center. Just down the road from us is a huge community fire pit which looks it would be fun for get togethers. We walked over and checked everything out at the clubhouse. The sad thing is that we can’t use the pool or hot tub for another week yet, due to our eye surgery. It’s close enough that we can use the hot tub in the evening. Boy,we’re going to be roughin it for the next three weeks !

 

We have our meeting with the resort manager in the morning and then we’ll probably take the trike and go check out the area. Stay tuned…