August 27, 2008 - Kanab, UT

Don't forget to check out our itinerary at:

Bounder Across America Itinerary

We arrived in Kanab, UT on Tuesday, August 27, after a beautiful drive from Central Utah down to Southern Utah. This area is sometimes called 'The Golden Circle' because it lies, more or less, midway between Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and The Grand Canyon. We intend to explore all of these sites over the next couple of days. However, we are using today as another 'catch-up' day. Lots of things to do when you are on the road. But today's 'big' task is to update our blog on the Colorado segment of our journey!

The first thing we noticed upon entering Colorado was the huge transition form Wyoming. It was almost as if there is an unwritten rule about how many people should inhabit each of these states. Wyoming is sparsely settled, with little traffic, and few signs of civilization along long highways traveling through mountains and valleys. But as soon as the border into Colorado is crossed, there is a nearly immediate change. Signs of life dramatically appear everywhere. Traffic increases at least ten fold from the other side of the state line; and the hills and valleys are dotted with signs of life - including homes, seemingly wherever it's possible to build.

Colorado was meant to be a place for visiting family and friends - and of course, we did this. But we also were able to work in some sightseeing for places we've not previously had the opportunity to visit. It turned out to be a great (and busy) week and a half that we want to share with all of you.

But before getting into the details, there's just a note again about 'RV life'.

In some of the photos in Donna's Picasa album (linked later in this blog) you may notice Glen's left foot looks a bit odd. He's wearing a knit slipper instead of a shoe. Now this may indicate a 'ski mishap' in some of the places we visited in Colorado. (And Glen's not beyond saying just that - and although not as romantic as a ski accident, we have no doubt it was just as painful.) But in this case, the injury represents one of the hazards in an RV. RVs are built to be light, so that they are readily transportable. However, sometimes 'light' could be better translated as 'cheesy' - because 'light' is often an excuse to build components that are not exactly 'household' quality. One example of this is the refrigerators included in many RVs. Ours is primarily plastic. For the most part this isn't a problem. However, light plastic doors connected to hinges with sheet metal screws, is a recipe for disaster. Although the door is light weight - the items stuffed into the door may not be. In our case, the right-hand door of our double door fridge carries bottles of juice, salad dressing, wine, water... and sundry other items. The result is that a two pound door actually weighs in at closer to twenty pounds - which is probably more than the manufacture bargained for. In any event, the day after we arrived in Colorado, Glen was opening the right-side door when it completely broke where the hinges screw into the door, and came crashing down, pointed corner first, smack dab onto Glen's foot - directly behind the toes and in front of the ankle. Black and blue hardly describes the color of Glen's foot following this mishap (and 'blue' isn't an adequate description of Glen's language immediately after the door landed on his foot). Everything still moved the way it should (toes, ankles, etc.), but the foot was so swollen that attempting to put a shoe on it resulted in screams of pain (well... actually, mostly just more 'blue' language) from Glen. Suffice it to say that yesterday was the first day that a brief walk was attempted with a shoe. The swelling is greatly reduced, but the foot still looks painfully red - and a bit like a large sausage. Lesson learned? Even if the refrigerator door has adequate shelves - don't be fooled. They are decorative rather than functional. Place too many heavy items in them, and twenty pounds of cheesy plastic refrigerator door, fastened to metal hinges with sheet metal screws, is likely, sooner or later, to end up on the floor - and you too can have a 'sausage' foot!!!

Now - back to the blog at hand!!

We arrived at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, CO early in the afternoon of August 14; anxious to see Glen's sister (who we haven't seen for two years) and impressed with the park's layout. Most state parks we've visited are nice - but often they are 'rustic', with lots of gravel and not a lot of pavement. Chatfield is quite different. All roads are new and even asphalt, and the pads for the RV itself are actually level concrete. The hookups are easy and tidy. The only thing the park lacks is are a lot of trees. And after months of high heat and drought, the Denver area was about as brown as we've ever seen it. Even the weeds couldn't keep up with the dry climate, so most grassy areas looked a bit like a field that's just been clipped and ready to be baled.

(We apparently brought a change of luck for the region with us. The next two days were 'record setters' for Denver - with the greatest quantity of rain in history for a two day period. Fortunately, the weather did nothing to dampen our spirits - or change any plans.)

Glen's sister Karen had arrived at the park before us, and had made a clever welcome sign at the entrance to our site; and she and her dogs greeted us warmly!! Then, after we hooked up and showered, we went to Karen's house for a great dinner, and were joined by niece Liz for hours of 'catch-up' conversation.

Friday morning we had an early breakfast with Karen, and proceeded to downtown Denver to see Karen's other daughter, Jen; and to meet, for the first time, Jen's son Micah and partner Michael. (We liked Micah and Michael immediately!) The couple had brought Micah to their workplace so that we could then take him along and he could spend the day with Grandma and Great Aunt and Uncle! But first we were treated to a guided tour of Jen's and Michael's workplace. Both of them work in an extremely artistic fabricating shop, where they do beautiful neon glass blowing. Michael is one of only a few journeymen artisans in this country doing extremely specialized work; and Jen, who is a gifted artistic welder, is now learning the glass trade at Michael's side. We were able to see some of their work, and were extremely impressed with what they - and the fabricating plant - are capable of producing. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the company of Karen and Micah and with all of the animals that share Karen's house (dogs Chumbly and George, and cats Maude, Gray Kitty and Sylvester). Of course, Karen and Glen couldn't resist continuing the ongoing Rothe family cribbage rivalry; and Glen was thoroughly trounced by Karen, as he was by his brother Dale in Milwaukee. (Grandpa Rothe would roll over in his grave to see how seriously Glen's cribbage prowess has declined over the years. Of course, it isn't possible that Dale and Karen have actually improved!!) In the evening we made our way to White Fence Farm, a restaurant name we were familiar with from our years in Chicago. The Chicago area and Denver area are the only locations for these restaurants - both of which specialize in fried-chicken; Glen's favorite. YUM!!

Saturday we had no big plans, but the rain gave us the opportunity to have a relaxing day. We met Jen & Michael for lunch at a great Mexican restaurant (Karen had to return the little charmer Micah back to his folks), and then along with Karen we headed to a movie. We both enjoy seeing films in theatres, but we just haven't had much time these past couple of months to indulge ourselves. This time we enjoyed Kevin Costner's new film, Match Point, and then headed off to our favorite post-movie activity - Barnes & Noble for scanning the stacks and some Starbucks Coffee. After a few hours of reading, coffee and good conversation, we decided to make an early night of it, and returned to Chatfield State Park for a good nights sleep.

Sunday dawned clear and bright, and so after a good breakfast at Karen's, we all headed off for a driving tour of the mountains. For years Donna & Glen and our kids made an annual pilgrimage to Colorado at Thanksgiving time when Karen and family lived in Evergreen, CO... so we were anxious to see how the area had changed since our last visit - twenty years ago. Although the town has changed, we were pleased to see that it hasn't lost its charm. We then continued down the mountain a bit and stopped in at Red Rocks, a well known venue for greater and lesser rock stars. We weren't really looking for a show, but rather just wanted to walk around and enjoy the ambiance around this natural amphitheatre. Good think we didn't have our hopes up for entertainment. A line of 'teeny-boppers' were waiting to get in for Jack Johnson - a name foreign to us. We were just as happy to skip the show, but were impressed by the three Prevost motorhomes that Johnson et. al. arrived in. ($1,000,.000+ for a Prevost??) Apparently Jack Johnson is doing alright for himself!! Dinner and conversation filled the rest of the day and evening.

Monday was a day for housekeeping and other chores - while Karen attended her college classes. In the evening she showed up at The Bounder with an armload of Chinese food; and we feasted, chatted, and caught up on a bit of TV.

Tuesday we had the chance to meet up with our brother-in-law Dan (Karen's ex) in Georgetown, CO where Karen, Jen and Micah joined us for breakfast at The Happy Cooker - a restaurant quite a bit more sophisticated than the name! Then we all headed over to Georgetown's train station for a ride to Silver Plume on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. (Georgetown is a quaint little mountain town in an idyllic setting nestled in a canyon/valley, high in the Rockies. The railroad was built, prior to the turn of the century, to carry ore out of the mountains and back to civilization. 'Loop Railroad' refers to the way in which this narrow gauge railway tackles the mountains. Hills too steep to climb required that the tracks loop around at a reasonable grade in order to make their way to higher altitudes. This innovation in Georgetown led the way to numerous 'loop' railroads around the world.) The day was beautiful, and the ride was a lot of fun. We later made our way back to Chatfield, where Liz and Michael joined us for a barbecue at The Bounder.

On Wednesday Donna caught up on some chores while Glen met his old friend John for lunch. John, from Denver, spent nearly a year in Chicago back in the early eighties for a special project when they both worked at United Airlines. As these things happen, they later fell out of touch. But John recently contacted Glen via e-mail, and the timing was perfect for the two of them to meet and catch up on old times when the Bounder Across America tour passed through Denver. In the evening Karen dropped over, and we finished the leftover Chinese dishes from Monday. And then it was time to say good-bye. The week went by so fast that we could hardly believe it was over.

Thursday morning, bright and early, we pointed the Bounder west again, and made our way to Glenwood Springs, CO, where we were looking forward to meeting up with Donna's cousin Carol and husband Don. Since becoming adults, Donna and Carol have had few opportunities to see each other. We have fond memories, however, of the trip to England in 1973 when we were able to spend some time with Don and Carol while they were doing a job stint abroad. (Glen was probably influenced to the point that when the opportunity came for a couple of year consulting engagement in London - we jumped at the opportunity!) Thursday evening Don and Carol came to see The Bounder, and then we retired to their mountain retreat for a wonderful evening of food, drink and conversation.

Friday we were again picked up by Carol, and enjoyed a breakfast at their home before setting out on a tour of the area. Glenwood Springs is known world-wide for the hot springs, and has the largest mineral spring pool west of the Mississippi. Across from the pool is the famous Colorado Hotel (an institution that enjoys basking in the fame for being the location where the ubiquitous 'Teddy Bear' got it's start from a longtime association with President Teddy Roosevelt). Then it was off to Aspen and Snowmass and Buttermilk... and other haunts of the rich and famous. We enjoyed a great (if a little pricey) lunch at Little Annies well-known cafe in Vail. Then on to one of the most scenic landscapes either of us have ever seen. The Three Maroon Bells are a set of mountains, framed by a 'saddle' ridged valley with a lake in the forefront. The photo op was magnificent. (Don't miss the 'panorama' picture in Donna's Picasa album - linked later in this post.) Quite frankly, Disney and all of the CGI in the world couldn't have produced a more magnificent view!! Finally, tired but enervated by all we'd seen, we returned to the mountain retreat for a light dinner, whipped up by Don & Carol.

Saturday we meandered through hills and valleys surrounding Glenwood Springs; finally making a stop for snacks at the scenic village of Redstone, high in the hills. Coming down, we had a fine dinner at a 'Modern' BBQ restaurant (none of us could really figure out what made this BBQ modern - but it was great anyway) and then returned to Carol & Dons for a nightcap and 'good-byes'. It was great to spend this time with them, and they certainly were fine tour guides for this area we'd not seen before.

Then on Sunday it was time to head west again - to Utah and the wonderful national parks! But that's the topic of our next blog posting... so don't miss it!! In the meantime, why not visit Donna's Picasa album of our Colorado adventures at:

ColoradoAugust, 2008

Sure hope you've enjoyed this installment of our Bounder Across America journey. Drop us a comment to let us know you've been here. Take care, and come back soon... Y'all hear!!

Donna & Glen