Hello from Evergreen, CO

Hello from Evergreen, CO

Tuesday morning October 12, 2010 (fifth travelogue of this trip).

In our last post, I said that the travelogue for this trip was complete. As I drove yesterday, I thought of a couple of things that I had forgotten to say or wanted to add to this travelogue.

For our route home, I chose to go mostly two lane across Kansas and Colorado. Part of the decision was that we have traveled I-70 many times and I wanted to see new scenery. Secondly, this route was more direct. Lastly, I wanted to avoid the Kansas Turnpike (can you say cheap?). We chose to hook up with US 400 and US 50 for most of the trip.

We took most of that route when we traveled in September 2009 to an Eagle Bus Rally in Afton, Kansas in the service truck (blog link). On that trip we enjoyed the small farming communities and the huge feedlots in Kansas. On this trip, it was not quite as much fun, as we had a deadline to be back in Evergreen. Having said that, the small towns are fun to see, no matter what the situation.

We left Garden City at about 7:00 Evergreen time and got home about 2:30. I feel kind of bad that we cheated another towing company out of income {grin}. The bus did very well on the trip and we did not have to come home behind the hook.

The weather for the drive home was not ideal. It rained quite a bit in Kansas, and we had a pretty strong cross wind in CO. Guess I should not complain, as it is spitting snow as I type this.

As I had noted, we needed to be in Evergreen yesterday to be help our daughter's family while she has surgery today. She has had severe back problems for several years, and they are going to do a bit of a touchy surgery on her. She has a great blog that details her crazy life in Bailey, CO.   Her blog yesterday details the surgery (blog link). Obviously we are nervous, but taking care of the grandkids will keep our mind busy. Her husband will stay with her tonight in the hospital.

Every so often, I publish the statistics of our bus travels. We bought the bus in late 2000 and planned to do a quick conversion. We finally got it on the road for its maiden voyage on March 6, 2006. The bus is fully functional, but still has a lot of finish work that will get done someday. I have detailed the bus project (here). The project pages are in sad need of updating, but you can get a general feel for what the conversion project involved. I have not kept my time log up to date, but I can document at least 3,000 hours on the project.

The maiden voyage was a trip to California. We can't believe that I finished basic bus conversion (including a huge engine conversion project) and we headed out on a long trip. I was not bloging in those days, but I do have a lengthy travelogue that I might post someday.

Since our maiden voyage, we have driven the bus close to 61K miles and have spent 635 wonderful nights in it. At times it has been a love/hate relationship, but we can look back on some fun times in this crazy vehicle.

That is all for this trip (for sure this time).

Hello from the Wal Mart in Trinidad, CO

Hello from the Wal Mart in Trinidad, CO

Wednesday evening; March 12, 2008 (Seventh and final travelogue of this trip)

We are currently located here. We have stayed at this Wal Mart several times. One time it got down to one degree, but we were cozy in the bus.

After two 400 plus mile days, we decided to split the final 400 plus mile leg into two parts. That would also let us do some much needed shopping so that we would have food when we get home. Pat also got some Easter goodies for the grandkids.

Some of you are new to our blog and travelogue. On our travels we often stay at Wal Marts. Most permit overnight stays. We always try to get some supplies since it is convenient and it is a nice way to say thanks. Some Wal Marts do not permit overnight stays, but that is generally a local ordinance (often written in behalf of local campgrounds). Tonight there are just two RVs, but often we will see 10-20 rigs. Most are careful not to abuse the privilege, but sometimes we see folks who think they are in a campground with their chairs and awnings out.

Last night we stayed at the Hollywood Casino in Algodones, NM (here). If you look at the map, it shows that historic route 66 overlays I-25. I was sure that was incorrect, because I had understood that route 66 generally parallels I-40 through NM. After a bit of research, it turns out that prior to 1937 route 66 turned north west of Santa Rosa and went up to close to Las Vegas, NM and then generally followed what is now I-25 south to I-40. From the satellite image, you can clearly see the casino and car race track. We have never been there when they ran the races, unfortunately.

We like to stay at the Hollywood casino. The campground costs $10 and Pat can do her thing (she came out over $100 ahead this time). They have an OK buffet. We can top off the water and dump in preparation for the next trip. We also often fuel up, as it is convenient and the price is competitive.

We will be home tomorrow (3/13). I will probably not post to the blog until our next trip later this month. Check back in about two weeks.