Katy Trail

As a newly retired person, I have been wanting to take a very "spur of the moment" trip, just because I can.  Well, it happened!

Wednesday, October 21: Phillip and I were drinking our coffee, discussing our schedule for the day.  We wanted to vote for President Trump around 10 to miss the morning and lunch crowds, but other than that we really had nothing planned.  However, it was a pretty day and I wanted to ride my bike.  I had just done a 15 mile ride, so I wanted to do a 20.  Suddenly, I thought about the Katy Trail.  I had not thought about the trail for some time, but probably 10 years ago I did some research on the trail.  However, I never could make the trip work since it is pretty far from Arkadelphia.

Things started happening quickly (1) Prettiest section of the trail? Rocheport to Jefferson City (2) what is the weather in that area tomorrow? Beautiful, sunny, high of 80 degrees (3) Can we find a campground nearby? Booneville, sites available (4) how quickly can we pack the RV? It stays packed with the basics, so we have to hook-up, load bikes, food, and clothes and we'll be ready.  (5) Can we do this? YES!

We were on the road by noon and in Booneville in time for a nice dinner in the RV.

Thursday, the weather is perfect!  We headed south east about 6.5 miles on the trail then turned around. This put us back in Rocheport in time for lunch at the cute little outdoor cafe next to the trail.  

After lunch we headed southwest on the trail which took us through this tunnel and about 3.5 miles out. By the time we turned around and went back to the truck we had our 20 miles (whew).

On this ride, 4 black snakes crossed the path in front of us.  I saw an eagle fly off from one of the cliffs.

Retired life

 I find myself a bit restless these days - just adjusting to retired life.  I love having time to do the things I enjoy doing.  I love being outside, so I have been riding my bike:

The water has gotten pretty cool at the lake so I didn't Kayak this past week.  However, I am thinking that I will get out and Kayak even though it is cold.  I may have to purchase some additional equipment, but I will work on it. 

I continue to walk on our country road, but I also enjoy a good "hike" for the different changes that it presents - steep hills, uneven terrain, as well as beautiful views.  Phillip and I hiked the Yellowtail Trail at Devil's Den State Park this last weekend:

Traveling to visit the Johnsons!

It has been about 4 months since we have seen Avery and about three months since we last saw Miranda - and that is too long!  Since Avery had a four-day weekend and Miranda took off as well, Phillip and I hit the road on Wednesday, October 7 for Greensboro.  

We left early and stayed at the KOA in Crossville, TN (nice place) and arrived in Greensboro around 5 pm on Thursday. 

We are wearing masks, keeping the recommended 6 foot distance, and staying outside as much as possible.  Thankfully the Johnsons have a nice covered back porch.  Friday we visited a nearby arboretum and got some good exercise.  We spent most of the afternoon at the house, playing games, playing on the swings, and playing soccer.  In the evening we enjoyed a great meal around the fire pit and later relaxed in the hot tub.

Saturday was rainy so we hit the road to the NC Zoo.  Thankfully it was not raining there and we enjoyed walking through the entire Zoo.  Sunday was a total washout!  It rained all day, but we had some good time with the Johnsons.  

Monday is another travel day.  We made it as far as the KOA in Lebanon, TN.  The fall colors were beautiful today.  It is amazing what a difference a couple of days made.  Tuesday morning we left around 7 am to avoid the rush-hour traffic.  We stopped in Carlisle and picked up BarBQ from Nicks and made it home by 4:30.  

It was great to see my North Carolina girls!!

Animals on the Yellowstone 2020 trip

 Yellowstone 2020 Overview

Our route for this trip:

Animals seen on this trip:

Wild turkeys (10+) in Missouri 

Antelope (10+) in South Dakota

Mule deer in Montana

Elk (herd of 50+) in Montana

Bison in Yellowstone. 

Elk in Yellowstone

Mule deer in Yellowstone 

Wild turkey in Yellowstone

Trout in Yellowstone

Bear in Colorado on the Highway of Legends

There is a small bear in this picture running back up the hill.  He ran into the road right in front of us, saw us, and ran back up the hill:

This big guy was by himself on a side road:

This was a group of young Bison "playing" in the mud:

Homeward Bound....

 

Wednesday, September 16.  We begin our day enjoying our coffee with a view and then head to the highway of legends.  There is no fall color, but it is still a pretty drive.   We are taking the opposite direction – going Walsenburg to Trinidad.  This is the stretch of road where we saw the bear run down a hill to our right, stop in the street and look at us, turned around and headed back up the hill.  Since we love this area of Colorado, we noted several camping places to check out before we go again.  Of course we like the state parks in Trinidad and Walsenburg - we have stayed at both multiple times.  Bear lake campground and Blue lake campground look to be either state or NFS campgrounds.  We also noticed Monument Lake Resort which is only open from mid May until mid September.  It is an Independent campground with a small lodge, some adobe cabins and full-service RV camping. 

Today, we got as far as Fort Supply in Oklahoma.  We have stayed at this state park before and it is a pretty spot, I get half price so it only costs us $12 to stay here.

 

Thursday, September 17.  We got up and hit the road, stopping at a McDonalds that was 14 miles down the road.  We got on the road at 9:00 am and arrived home at 3:00.  We had time to say hi to Mom, Melissa came by, we showered, and headed to Evans football game.

It is time to head south...

 Monday, September 14, 2020

We pack up and head out, going east then south on grand loop and then turn towards the Tetons.  The smoke is so much worse today.  It has really affected the visibility during our drive.  As we drive into the Teton National Park, you can’t even see the “Tetons” in the distance like we normally can.  We cut off on Hwy 287 just south of the park entrance and plan to get to Rawlins, Wyoming  tonight.  We are surprised at how long the smoke is hanging around – almost all the way to Rawlins.  We are staying at the KOA in Rawlins tonight.

 

Tuesday, September 15, 2020.  We are headed to Colorado, hoping to see some fall color.  Today is a travel day and we are listening to our audible book.  We arrive in Walsenburg, Colorado around 5:30.  

More Yellowstone and a lot more fishing!

 

We really haven’t gotten an early start any morning, but we got off a little earlier today and the line was still long to get into the park.  We plan on fishing a little more today. We made the entire Grand Loop heading south on the loop first.  We fished on the Firehole River and the Yellowstone River.  Phillip caught a trout on the Firehole River.  I got pretty good at fly fishing. J.  We had a nice lunch with a view of the thermal features that are a little North of Old Faithful.  We did some exploring around Yellowstone Lake and found several pretty spots on side roads.  

The traffic this trip has been so bad!  It was more crowded than we have ever seen.  Today we did not get out and walk around any of the thermal features, etc.  It is just too crowded and half the people are not wearing masks (we are).  I just decided it was too much exposure.  

There is a fire just south of Old Faithful (named the Lone Star Fire) and we notice the smoke today on the southern part of the grand loop.  We got back to the camp ground and noticed that it was still smoky in West Yellowstone.  Our eyes are burning, we are sneezing and coughing….we feel like we are getting a cold, but it is the smoke.  We decided that we should probably head out tomorrow to get away from the smoke.

Our route for this day:

Today and yesterday, Phillip fished on the Madison, Gibbons, Firehole and Yellowstone Rivers.  I fished on the Firehole and Yellowstone today.