Questa, NM

Bob and I left Pueblo, CO for Questa on Sunday morning and within minutes our GPS cord failed. The tip actually fell off. Fortunately, before it shut itself down for lack of power I was able to take screenshots of the directions. This helped immensely because as we drove south towards New Mexico we lost all cell phone service. I had to direct Bob when to turn based on the photographed instructions. Almost old-school!

Bob had his own problems. The winds picked up about a half hour after we left the campground and gusts of wind kept pushing the motorhome towards oncoming traffic. Or off the road. Neither option was a pleasant thought. It was a long four hours!

But we arrived safely and have settled in for the next eight days.  We are looking forward to exploring this area.

The view from our campsite 

Internet is poor here and cell service is as well so posts may be short but I’ll try to keep the blog updated, dear blog reader. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to tell you!

Pebble Weave, the Riverwalk, and Rosemount Museum

Bob and I spent Wednesday puttering around. Auggie got a bath and a blow dry (he loves the hair dryer) and I warped up my little Ashford Sample-It Loom with 10/2 cotton, using directions from Andean Pebble Weave on Inkle Looms by Laverne Waddington. This is a great book and well worth getting if you are interested in pickup patterns. My band is 1/4” wide and you can see my little star motifs.

It was a beautiful sunset Wednesday night.

On Thursday Bob and I returned to Pueblo to walk the Riverwalk with Retha and Mike. We had a lovely walk, not very long, but quite pleasant with temperatures in the low 70s.

After our walk we popped into Bruce’s Alehouse for a very nice lunch, then drove over to Rosemount Museum for a tour of this amazing mansion.

We were not allowed to take photographs of the inside of this magnificent home but if you want to see photos you can click here. It is well worth a visit if you are in Pueblo.

Bob and I said our goodbyes to Retha and Mike and will see them again somewhere down the road.

Bishop Castle

On Tuesday morning Bob and I drove out to meet up with friends Retha and Mike and together we took a trip to Rye, CO to see Bishop Castle.

The ride there was enjoyable and the scenery was beautiful

Bishop Castle is the creation of Jim Bishop who purchased the land at age 15 for $450, and with the help of his father at first, he began building what began as a small cabin. Jim used stones found near his cabin with which to build and the structure started to look like a castle. From there, it just continued to grow. And grow.

Portico with drawbridge

Every stone was put in place by hand

Grand ballroom 

The castle rises up out of the ground and soars 160 feet into the air, the equivalent of 16 stories. It comes complete with a dragon that breathes fire on the weekends. I climbed the steep steps to look out over the landscape. Can you see Retha waving to me? 

Bishop has been building the castle since 1969 and is famous in the area for his conflicts with local, state, and federal governments over what he feels are infringements upon his personal freedoms. We got to meet him and ask him questions about the castle.

Later, Mike, Retha, Bob and I returned to Pueblo and had a nice lunch together, making plans to het together again on Thursday.

We Arrive in Pueblo, CO

Bob and I made it safely out of the Rocky Mountains on Sunday, with Bob doing his usual great job navigating tight turns and steep hills while I focused on crocheting a pumpkin. I don’t know what other co-pilots do, but when the road gets hairy I can’t look. And I got a fall decoration out of it so all is good.

The views out the window were spectacular as we drove south to Pueblo. Colorado is a very beautiful state.

The other day I added a little something to the backpack purse I sewed up, but haven’t shown it here. I thought the sewists out there might like to see it. It’s a purse organizer with lots of pockets that rolls up and fits very nicely inside the bag I made.

I was very happy with how it improved the functionality of the bag, and it can be taken out and moved to another purse as needed. Click on the above link for directions on how to make one.

Today (Monday) Bob and I drove into the town of Pueblo, CO and met up with our good friends, Retha and Mike, who are in town for an RV rally. We ate lunch together at a nice spot called DC’s on B Street.

Later we went back with our friends to their RV and had a nice visit.

Our park in Mesa, AZ has been experiencing some rain lately. This photo was taken showing the area of the dog park and tennis courts. As you can see, it’s now a swimming hole for the dogs.

Hopefully all that water will have drained away in a few days!

A Little Sewing and Camber Brewing Company

Bob and I have been enjoying our week here in Granby, CO. Our days have been filled with visiting local antique shops, checking out a microbrewery in Fraser (about 20 minutes away,) and enjoying the local scenery. I spent one day preparing and one day sewing this backpack-style purse from Swoon patterns called Denver.

I’m very pleased with the way it came out.

We chatted with the bartender at Camber Brewing Company about what it’s like to live in this area.

She told us it’s a beautiful place to live. By the end of October they’ve typically had their first snowfall, and you still need a winter jacket on July 4, but the snow is usually gone by mid July and then it’s nice and warm for a few weeks. Ummmm....this is a great place to visit and we’ve hand a marvelous time but I wouldn’t want to live in a place with that much winter! But right now the aspens are turning gold and it’s lovely.

On Sunday we pack up and move on down to Pueblo, CO for a week. It will be a bit warmer there and at about 4700 feet in elevation it will be a lot easier to breathe!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Being originally from the East Coast, I admit that I had never heard of this park before we came to Colorado. So I was quite surprised to find out that it is number THREE in numbers of park visitors behind Great Smokey Mountains NP and the Grand Canyon NP with over 4.5 million visitors last year. Bob and I have been watching the weather forecasts every day and today looked like the best day to visit, weather-wise, so we left the campground at 8:00 am and drove to the park.
It was a beautiful morning.

We passed Shadow Mountain Lake and there was a little part of me that wished we could have a summer home here.

There are three ecosystems represented in this park. When you enter, you are in the Montane which is below 9,000 feet.

The road starts to climb and before too long you are in the Subalpine ecosystem which is from 9,000 feet above sea level to 11,400 feet.

Eventually you reach the Alpine which is above 11,400 feet and the highest spot on this road (Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuously paved road in the United States) is 12,183 feet. I got out and hiked along a trail to take some photos (Bob stayed in the car with Auggie because dogs are not allowed on the trails) and the air was cool, clean, and very thin. It was a bit hard to breathe at that altitude. We had packed bag lunches and enjoyed them while sitting in a pullout with the most amazing views.

Here are some of my favorite photos.

This was definitely the best time of year to visit this popular park.

Trip to Granby, CO

I can be a Nervous Nellie at times (no, really???) and one of the things that sets me on edge is mountain driving in the RV. So when we were planning this leg of the trip I had some reservations, to put it mildly, when we looked at Google Maps and saw this.

The dreaded switchbacks. Add them to steep grades and they are the stuff that my nightmares are made of. I called the campground Sunday morning and was given reassurance that we can make it in a 40’ motorhome that is towing a car. So off we went.

Before too long we had reached the first of many switchbacks.

The scenery was worth the drive, though, and I had fun snapping pictures. 

And I have to say that with Bob’s expert driving skills and the width of the road we made it through just fine. Of course, we’ll have to face them all again on the way out!

We are staying at a park that is brand new and still under construction, but there are some definite pluses. We were offered 30% off our campground fees because of a fall special. And for $50 we could rent a golf cart for the week. The usual cost is $50/night! So we decided to go for it, and Auggie is so happy. He thinks we should own one of those things and tries to hop in them every time we walk past one.

We tootled around looking at the amenities and I told Bob I wanted to drive the cart this week because he uses them when golfing and, like Auggie, I like the idea of golf carts, too. So I get to drive and boy, they are fun!

We saw the putting green...

...and the heated pool. There are also three hot tubs. We may take a dip later today. It’s a little chilly here, being at 8000 feet in elevation but I’d like to say I went in at least. We also have a nice view from our campsite.

We had an early supper at the resort’s grill and had a glass of beer as well. We enjoy talking with the folks here; they are very friendly. Later this week we’ll visit the Rocky Mountain National Park and I’m really looking forward to that. But I’d like to get used to this elevation before we visit because we’ll have to drive over passes that are 12000 feet in elevation and we are just getting used to 8000 feet.

Quilt Museum and Coors Tour

Bob and I have not been idle here in Golden, CO. On Friday Bob dropped me off at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum for a lovely hour while he ran errands. This museum was founded in 1990 and is dedicated to the preservation of family heirlooms, and promoting and educating the public on the importance of quilts in our culture. Their collection includes over 500 quilts.

Bashful Honu by Sue Sherman

Apple Orchard by Marianne Williamson

Colorado Dreamin’ by Amy Davis

Don’t Let People You Despise Live Rent Free in Your Head by Linda Laird

There was also an exhibit of miniature quilts that were very inspiring to me since our living quarters are small. These were all sewn by Tina M. Gravatt.

Ribbon Log Cabin with Ribbon

Amish Hexagon and Stripes, 18.75 x 23 inches

Lullaby of Birdland, 18.25 x 23.5 inches

Mariner’s Compass, 19.5 x 24.5 inches

On Saturday Bob and I drove to the Coors Beer Factory to take their tour. For $10 apiece you get a tour, three samples of beer, and a commemorative glass. Coors was started in 1873 by Adolf Coors who invested $2000, along with another investor who put up $6000. 

The factory as you drive up to it

We stood in line for about 45 minutes until a tour bus picked up our group

Inside we saw a small museum display with the history of Coors 

These are vats of mash

Quality Control

The bottling room

The Sampling Room. We sampled Colorado Native Olathe Lager and Rain Delay Hazy IPA.

Afterwards we walked two blocks and had a nice lunch at the Table Mountain Grill and Cantina. Golden is a picturesque town with lots of little shops.

We leave Sunday morning for Granby, CO. I am not sure we will have internet where we will be staying, however, so if I don’t post anything for a week you’ll know why.