Denver and Eagle, Colorado - All in the Family...

Thursday, June 18th

We hit the road from Wall, SD with a long drive ahead of us. Neil kind of did the math wrong, so today we actually have a 7 hour drive to get to Denver. We are parking at the Leech's house (Neil's sister's family), and it is the first time we have actually tried to park on a city street. Kristi (Neil's sister) says that they see RV's all the time parked in the neighborhood, and since we are there for only a night, we are willing to give it a try...

After a beautiful drive through Wyoming with hardly any traffic at all, we hit the city of Denver. There is a TON of traffic here! It is almost easier to drive this rig in traffic than a car, though, because you just pick a lane and stay there. People zoom in an out all around you, but keeping it steady in one lane proves the key in traffic. We arrive at the Leech's, and everyone is ready for our arrival. After a few tries, we get the rig leveled off and set up right on the street in front of the house! However, Anne notices that the tire on our towed car looks low on air. We fill it with air, but hear a hissing sound. Oh well, at least it's not the RV and we made it here safely - we will fix it in the morning. We spend the night visiting, having dinner, playing a game or 2, and get to sleep on the city streets of Denver.

The rain came right after we set up - good timing! Guess this rig does fit down the street...

Friday, June 19th

Neil wakes up pretty early with the flat tire on the Nissan on his mind. He was given the recommendation of a place called Discount Tire in Denver, and it is only about 10 minutes away. He heads over there to see what the deal is with the tire. After waiting for about 1.5 hours, it turns out there is a nail in the tire, and it can be fixed. Score. And, Discount Tire did it FOR FREE!!! I highly recommend this outfit if you need tires in Denver - amazing.

After getting back to the house, we hang out for a few hours riding skateboards, having lunch and walking the dogs. Neil has a disc golf game planned with his friend Emmo (we are also planning on moving to his house tonight), but it is looking like rain. Hopefully he can get the round in...

Hamilton's cousin Juno - of course Hamilton has to bark...

Uncle Neil skateboarding with Calvin

Look out for the car!!!

Hamilton wants in on the action, also!

Neil is able to get his disc golf game in just before the rain comes, while Anne stays back at the rig getting ready for another move. We drive the rig about 15 minutes over to Neil's friend Emmo's house. After 3 different tries, we finally decide to back the rig into their driveway for the flattest spot possible. We have a great time hanging (outside of course) with Craig (Emmo) and Kristi and their 2 awesome boys, Drewes and Chase. The Emersons suggest that we go down and play some Pickleball. Neither Anne or I had played before, but it ended up being a super fun night of playing this new game. We will have to play again sometime!

Our game of Pickleball with the Emersons - minus Kristi (she took the pic). 

Saturday, June 20th

After an amazing pancake breakfast cooked by Emmo (that we were able to eat outside - I love Denver!), we pack up and hit the road for an interesting drive today. We are headed to Eagle, Colorado, up in the Rocky Mountains, where Neil's parents live. We have both done the drive from Denver to Eagle many times, but never in a heavy rig like this with a car in tow. Neil envisions a lot of driving in the right lane, hazards on, following the trucks. Neil's sister's family is also coming up for the Father's Day weekend, so we offer to take the boys, Calvin and Dylan for a ride in Ronald Vincent Vega, and they are quite excited.

As we get going, the boys are back in the 2 recliners with their seat belts on. They are able to recline back, play on their devices and enjoy the ride. After about 45 minutes, we decide to stop for gas in Idaho Springs. After filling up, Anne decides to go to the dining area to play some games with the boys. There are actually 4 seat belts in the dinette, so they all fit with no problem - and Anne is the one who sits backwards. Up and over 2 huge mountain passes, and she really only said that she felt a little queasy as we got close to the end. We made it to Eagle over the mountains. Phew!

Is everyone strapped in? Here we go...

It's not so bad to be riding in a rig that we can play UNO!

After arriving in Eagle, we quickly (sort of) set up shop in Neil's parents driveway. We have to unhook the Tow Dolly again, but we are getting pretty good at it at this point. Other than the fact that it is quite heavy, it is a pretty easy process at this point that only takes about 15-20 minutes. Practice makes perfect I guess. After quickly setting up, it is a beautiful day, and we have a reservation for 3PM at the pool up at Frost Creek - Neil's parents' golf club. It is an awesome club in the mountains that we love to visit whenever we are here!

The parking place in Eagle in Carol and Mart's (Neil's p's) driveway. Awesome!

The boys in the pool. The most immature one is on the left.

After a full day of driving, swimming, basketball at the club, and a few cocktails, we head back to the house in Eagle and set up the bags set on the driveway. We didn't have great internet so the boys weren't able to watch Netflix on the outdoor TV (first world problems), but we threw on some music, popped the awning out, and played some bags. It was like having a camping party in the driveway - pretty fun way to end the evening.

Sunday, June 21st

As we wake up on Father's Day in Eagle, Anne and Neil have agreed to a tee time for golf up at Frost Creek at 8:10 AM! If you know us, you know that we aren't exactly early risers. However, the weather was perfect, and we set out. As you also may know, Anne is not really a golfer - but she did AMAZING! She actually even made a legitimate par on one hole! Neil's mom, Carol, also made 2 BIRDIES on the front 9 holes of the course. At their club, they have a tradition of everyone taking a shot of "birdie juice" when anyone gets a birdie. Nothing like 2 shots (they were small) of Tequila before 10 AM... Neil realizes that most of his issues must be hereditary:). His parents are always so much fun, and what a great way to spend the morning of Father's Day. After finishing 18 holes in under 4 hours, we have an awesome lunch. Anne heads to the pool with the family and Neil ventures off to the local disc golf course to play a quick 9.

Happy Father's Day to these 2 great dads!

We don't many pictures from Father's Day, but hopefully it was because we were just having too much fun. After an evening of playing games and just hanging around with family, we head to bed out in the driveway to get a good nights sleep. We have a short drive tomorrow to Thompson Springs, Utah. We are staying there because it looks like a great spot for Arches National Park. We are headed there next because of a change in our plans. 

We had planned to go pick up Calli (Neil's daughter) in Southern California. After a lot of discussion, some difficult decisions and a lot of back and forth, Neil and Anne decided that she did not have to come on the trip. She is 13, obsessed with her friends, and was not excited about #1. Being away from her friends for an entire month and #2. Living with us in an RV for a month and #3. Going on hikes and bike rides all the time. We ultimately decided that we would all probably have a better time by not "forcing" her to go. We both totally understood her position, and although we were bummed, we don't really feel the need to make anyone unhappy (including ourselves with a complaining teenager). We were compassionate because she also just went through lock downs and is just starting to have a summer vacation again. We decided to plan an extra week at the end with Calli instead, and honestly, it might be an easier way to cut her teeth on RV living. A week is much easier than a month. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY from a TEENAGE GIRL... Oh well. We love her anyway:). Time will tell if it was the right decision - she certainly likes us right now, lol. Too bad she doesn't realize what she is missing - we all know how much youth is wasted on the young!

So, after scrambling and changing some of our plans, we set a new course that is a stop at Arches, and then a beeline towards Yosemite to see if we can tour that National Park. It keeps us from heading South, and we are able to head West. We were also able to add a few nights in Bend, OR and extend our time with Anne's sister and husband in Oregon and Washington. We also get to camp with her cousin Billy and his wife, Heather for an extra night. That's how you turn lemons into lemonade, right? Anyway, we are off, and until next time...