The past 4 days have been a whirlwind! James and I decided Friday at lunch that we would just take the easy route and stay with his current job in Marshall for the next month or so. Less than one hour later James called me to say pack the trailer we’re going to Colorado! It seems the Marshall job was going to end sooner than expected and his boss suggested James go ahead with this new opportunity in Colorado. So less than 24 hours later we were loaded up and headed to colorful Colorado!
We left Marshall around 11:00 am. I will try to upload a picture of our crazy caravan, but picture a white 1-ton dually pick-up pulling a 27ft travel trailer pulling a trailer carrying a 4-wheeler. Behind that is little ole me driving James’ Jeep. We drove that way all the way to Abilene. It was actually kind of fun. We bought some Walkie Talkies before we left so we could tak along the way. My handle (radio name) is Ninja Mamma! Thank you Sara B for that name! I gave James the name Triple Threat since he had 3 vehicles. I tried to name him Mr. Frisky but he wouldn’t go for that. It sounded too much like a little foo foo dog’s name. We nearly ran the batteries out trying to be the first one to spot a DQ or Sonic. I won, of course!
About 6-1/2 hours later, we met Dustin and Ashleigh in Abilene so we could leave the 4-wheeler with Dustin. In Abilene, we (by we I mean the boys) unhitched the 4-wheeler trailer and hitched it onto Dusty’s truck and then hooked up a tow bar to the Jeep and hooked it to the back of the travel trailer. Dusty was so kind to take the 4-wheeler off our hands since James can’t use it on this job. That took FOREVER!!! Ashleigh was soooooo bored until she found our walkie talkies! Then she was quite happy. She would leave one where the guys were and say the most random things! It was funny! If the guys moved, she would somehow manage to get a walkie talkie to where they were! We laughed forever!
Finally they oops, we got the Jeep hooked up and we went to dinner with the kids and then headed to Lubbock for the night!
We arrived in Lubbock around 10:00 PM but did not make it to the hotel until nearly 11:30! The idiot at the desk sent us all the way around Lubbock. I called and asked for directions and he told us to go East on the Loop. We were maybe 2 miles from the hotel, but we should have gone west! When I asked him why he sent us that way, he said “I thought you were coming from New Mexico.” Well, that was more than this girl could stand! I said, “Why in the world would you tell anyone to go east? West is west whether you are coming from the north or the south! West never changes! It’s always west!” He did something no one hardly ever does and I’ll tell you it shut me up! He said, “Oh! I am so sorry! I feel like a complete idiot!” Well now I couldn’t very well say what I was thinking, “Yes, yes you are an idiot” so I just had him try to get us there around all the construction. The loop around Lubbock is currently CLOSED in some places and the exit takes you away from the direction you need to go! I HATE Lubbock!
We finally made it there and managed to find a spot big enough to park our crazy caravan! I tried to save us some money and did not stay at my favorite hotel in Lubbock, the Embassy Suites. I chose the Courtyard by Marriott because it was about half the price! Now we know why! The hotel is under construction! It was filthy! Our bed was concave crossways in the middle so when I laid down on my stomach, I was basically doing a back bend. Sleeping on my side was not an option and if I sleep on my back, I snore too much. Needless to say neither of us got much sleep.
We headed out the next morning after getting a full refund for our night’s stay. Most of that day was uneventful. I did drive the caravan for about an hour while James took a power nap. We had a nice picnic lunch in New Mexico at a rest stop. It was cool outside and absolutely beautiful. It was all good except for the signs that read “CAUTION! Look for snakes!” That made me quite uncomfortable especially when James made me think he saw one. I jumped out of my skin!
If you have ever driven to Colorado by way of Amarillo Texas, then you are familiar with the Raton Pass. It is a steep, up and down, crooked stretch of the highway where New Mexico and Colorado meet. Pulling that rig was quite a chore and it doesn’t slow down as easily either! Luckily James was driving then and there was really only one freaky spot. We were going downhill beside an 18-wheeler when suddenly a sharp curve came up. We tried to slow down and get behind the truck, but the car behind it wouldn’t let us over so we had to take that corner on the outside lane next to the tiny guard rail next to a huge cliff! From then on we mainly stayed in the right hand lane.
We got to Monument, Colorado around 6ish Colorado time. We spent the night with James’ sister Diana, and her family. She had cooked us a yummy dinner. It’s called Yakimash? Her daughter, Katie, calls it Yuckynasty, but we loved it. It’s a meat, vegetable, and rice dish and Diana use Elk meat! Delicious! We ate dinner on the porch and enjoyed the cool evening until it got too cool and I had to borrow a sweat shirt! Diana also baked us a chocolate cake with gooey fudge frosting!
That evening she and her husband, Don and the kids took us to their new store. You should go online and check them out! Go to www.blackfacedsheep.com. They have the most amazing and unique items! After that, we got to go to the stables to see Kamryn’s new horse, Wendy. She is beautiful! We also got to see Holister, Kennedy’s horse. Holister will beg for a peppermint candy. When Diana would hold a candy in her hand she would hold it tight until Holister would duck his head and bend his right leg. It was pretty cool! We really enjoyed our short visit with them and are so excited to be closer to them now.
Monday morning, we got up and headed for New Castle. Don and Diana both suggested we unhitch the Jeep from the trailer and both of us drive. That was good advice! The drive here took a little over 4 hours and we went through many mountain passes some worse that the Raton Pass. My favorite part of the trip was driving through Glenwood Canyon. Holy Moly it was beautiful! The highway runs along the side of the Colorado River. The canyon walls seem to go straight up forever. I read that at places the canyon walls can reach 1000 feet in height! It was amazing! The Jeep does not have a lot of power and I was amazed that James could pull the trailer uphill faster than I could crawl up with the Jeep. I spent most of the trip in 3rd gear! Finally we stopped in Glenwood Springs and I could barely pry my fingers from the steering wheel. We both got in the Jeep then and drove around looking for an RV Park.
We found one just a few minutes away from James’ office. It’s beautiful here. Our site is beside a creek. At first I kept thinking water was running somewhere but it was just the creek!
So I think this blog is long enough. If you read the whole thing I thank you. Hopefully I will figure out how to load photos so this blog will be more interesting.
Have a blessed day!
PW
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