Well, the rather lazy, quiet days of June in San Carlos came to an abrupt ending when mid-month, we heard that Janet's lease at the Peloton was up in August and she would need some help planning for a new place. We began putting things away for the summer and hightailed it home early (it was getting really too hot and humid anyway).
When Janet's plans were set and she needed to quarantine for 14 days, we took about 10 days off for a birthday getaway in Maxine. We started out camping at a gorgeous Larimer State Park-Hermit's Hollow. There we stayed in a large equestrian site and even though there were no vacancies for the weekend, we tried to will one into existence- no luck! So, off we went towards the Peak to Peak highway, finding every place we knew of to be booked. Desperate, we remembered seeing a camping spot on the side of the road down a couple of miles from Julie's cabin. When we saw it, an ATVer was coming from there and we asked if we could camp down there and he thought we'd be fine. Well, we were fine but it was really a four-wheel-drive road and not exactly Maxine friendly. We did manage to drive over a dip and scraped the back end slightly BUT, we did find a great place to spend a weekend. It had some gorgeous views, lots of privacy and a great "happy hour hill". (I need to figure out where those pictures are and post them!)
We were so happy there that we talked of staying, but the sense of adventure got the better of us and we took off for one of our favorite areas-the Crystal River near Redstone and then up to Kebler Pass. First we stopped in Nederland and had a local mechanic check out our tow bar on the back of Maxine. He tightened the bolts and recommended that we get new ones when we could.
We enjoyed a drive along Peak to Peak through Rollinsville, Black Hawk and Central City, which we hadn't done in probably 30 years. Black Hawk and Central City have certainly changed since the "old days"-they are now very prosperous casino towns. You would not believe how narrow the streets are-a real challenge driving through in Maxine, towing our Honda CRV!!.
Both plans for the night were thwarted when we realized that, because of the pandemic, lots and lots of people were out camping, even late on a Sunday afternoon. The place we usually camped was overloaded with people, as were all places along the river. Undoubtedly our favorite camping spot on Kebler Pass would be loaded with campers also (and it was a long drive up that mountain to then be stuck with no place to stay!). So, onward we went past Paonia, pretty desperate for any place to stay. We saw an empty RV park on the side of the road by the river and were happy to see that we could camp there-a place we wouldn't even consider normally.
Luckily, we only had to spend the one night and we didn't even venture outside, except for walking Boo every now and then. Neither the owner nor his employee were wearing masks and they seemed to love coming up to us and chatting!
Rolling on down the road looking for a spot to get propane, we decided on calling from Paonia to see about the heat on the Blue Mesa Reservoir. I started by telling (ie whining to) a Ranger that this was my birthday camping trip, that the crowds and the heat were making me miserable and could he suggest a place where we could go that would be cool and not too crowded. He allowed that the Curecanti area was even hotter than Paonia but that we could just drive up through Cedaredge to the Grand Mesa where there was lots of available camping and a much higher altitude! BLESS HIS HEART! Up we went and found a spectacular site at Ward Lake. We stayed for a few days of hiking, painting, reading and relaxing around a fire (yes, it was that cold in the mornings and at night).
We spent the last few days at Blue Mesa at a lovely site right on the water. It was hot but there was enough shade from our awning to make our time there pleasant.
We decided not to tackle I-70 again, as my memories of dealing with it on the way here were not pleasant ones. So we chose Route 50 out of Gunnison along the Arkansas River, which was a lovely easy drive to I-25. I was a little nervous about driving over Monarch Pass pulling the car but decided to go for it. Jim talked me into how to drive it and, though I was a bit white-knuckled, I made it and felt pretty good about the experience. When we got home, we learned that they had closed down part of I-70 because of the fires in the Grand Junction area and had suggested Route 50 as a detour. Thank god we had a head start on the hordes of vehicles that must have come behind us! Little did we know the fire dangers that were soon to make records in Colorado 2020!
Despite the Pandemic, we managed to see our friends, albeit differently than usual. Many times we brought our own food and drinks to Chautauqua, Pella Crossing, Coot Lake or North Boulder Park. Other times we ate at friends' outdoor areas- 6 ft socially distanced from each other. Thankfully, most all of our friends are very, very careful of the virus.
We did manage two or three outdoor dinners at well-known restaurants where we could feel safe. We returned to podiatrist, optometrist, PCP, audiology, ortho and dentist appointments-all with good results. Sadly, we couldn't see Janet for awhile because of COVID numbers in Boulder. When we did, it was at either end of an 8 ft. table with masks on for 1/2 hour!!!!! We have not been able to take her with us during the pandemic. Assisted living facilities are having to be uber-careful!
A special dinner out with Kathleen and Tom Thorpe:
I made appointments with our local beautician in Lafayette for both Jim and I. That was really something because neither of us had had a hair cut since mid-February!!! I decided that dying my hair was getting to be too much of a chore and hadn't dyed it in months, so I am now going au natural! She stripped the color out of my hair and put in a few blonde highlights to ease the effect of the grey hair coming through. We celebrated with margaritas at a new wonderful restaurant, Teocali in Lafayette.
Jason needed a double hernia operation in early September. His girlfriend, Carol, took good care of him during the early days. When she went back to work, we moved back in to "take care of him"-mainly, he could care for himself but we were there for lifting and bending-over duties. He had tested negative both before and after the hospital. We left in mid October for Mexico with Jason recovered, Janet happy in her new surroundings and Erin and Todd busy with their respective jobs.
