Wickenburg AZ For The Winter Season 2017/18

When we left the Rocky Mountains and headed to the Northglenn Elks Lodge in Colorado.  We have been here before, its a good location, a nice lodge and we feel safe leaving the rig there.  On the 12th of September we flew back home to Wilmington to visit family and friends.

Our first stop was to see our new granddaughter Kinzie Mae and her older brother Jaxson.

There is nothing better than the smell of a newborn.

Welcome to the family baby girl.

Reed is our oldest grandson and trying to get a good picture can be tough.

I think he learned it from his Dad.

Enjoyed spending time with my best friend Tammy and my Aunt Ruthie.

My sister-in-law Susan and I planned a family reunion.  The timing worked out great as my nephew and his wife and baby were in town.  It was so nice to see everyone and have them meet the new generation.  I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures.

Hopefully we can do it again!

It was sad to leave everyone but we will be back again.

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Once back in Colorado we hitched up the rig and headed to Durango to visit our friends Linda and Greg Thompson.  Our plan was to only spend one night at Walmart in Alamosa Colorado but the wind was blowing a gale so we stayed another night.  The route on 160 takes us over Wolf Creek pass with an elevation of 10,856 and they were having 55 mph wind gusts, better to stay put.

Got to love a Walmart.

We arrived at Linda and Greg's safe and sound and mooch-docked in their driveway.

  

Downtown Durango with beautiful fall colors and as an added bonus a long hornsteer, don't see that everyday!

Our wonderful hosts took us on a colorful drive to Ouray passing through the San Juan National Forest and Silverton on the Million Dollar Highway.  You better be paying attention when driving this route, with a narrow width, S curves and a lack of guardrails, concentration is key.  The road was originally hand-carved by Russian immigrant Otto Mears in the 1880's to transport ore from Silverton to the railroad in Ouray.  There are several legends why it's called the Million Dollar Highway but one is that it's fill dirt contains a million dollars in gold ore.  

The Bear Creek Falls is a must see near Ouray!

You couldn't ask for better hosts, thank you so much Linda and Greg.

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Back on the road we spent the night at the Elks Lodge in Winslow, AZ and then arrived in Wickenburg AZ for the winter.

Once all settled in, Mark got his business up and going and I got back to silversmithing.  Boy it felt good to play with my new toys!  

I would have never dreamed there would be so many opportunities for me to be a vendor in Wickenburg!  I vended at the farmers market, friends of the library craft show, a craft show in our park, an invitational show at the Desert Caballeros Western museum and the club rock and gem show, and Gold Rush Days at the rodeo grounds.  It was a very busy season doing a show every weekend and completing several custom orders!  I greatly appreciate all my customers.

Just a few of the custom orders.

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Once a month the town had free concerts in the park that we all enjoyed.

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Bob Spears is a great pool player so we all went downtown to support him.

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In January we pulled out with our friend Doug headed to Quartzite for the big tent show.  Doug had never been so it was fun see his reaction.  We found a nice spot to boondock all by our selves.  Quartzite is an experience, you have to go at least once.  With the tent show and the rock and gem show going on there is something for everyone.  

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In February we took a road trip to San Marcos CA for our great nephews 1st birthday.  Mark's brother Lynn and sister-in-law Susan flew out for the event at my nephews in-laws.  It's always a good time to when we get together with our west coast family Christo, Alida and Andre.  

I'm always so impressed with wind turbines and Palms Springs CA doesn't disappoint.

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It's always fun to go for a ride in the desert on the 4 wheelers.  Our friend Doug bought one and gave us a key so we could use it when he was out of town, now that's a great friend!  Bob Spears knows the desert like the back of his hand and took us on an adventure.

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I'm not exactly sure how this became my job but it did.  Deoxidizing the rig, waxing and caulking.  The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to keep your rig waxed!  The white on ours is the gel coat and the color is paint.  The gel coat over time will start to oxidize and leave a powdery film.  This has to be removed with a specialized cleaner (I use Metal Lustre and get it on Amazon) and then wax it with turtle paste wax.  It took me 2 weeks to get this job done and was I ever happy when it was over!!!

I have been looking for some new colored globes for my pendant lights but couldn't find any.  So I googled painting them and discovered Krylon sea glass paint, very happy with the results.

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Mid April we loaded up Mark's work van to take it back to Wilmington NC.  Last year we left it in Wickenburg for the summer as we were returning back in the fall.  This winter we will be back on the east-coast so we had to get it back there some how.  Mark checked out different options and this plan worked for us.  

Taking turns driving, sleeping in a make shift bed in the back and only one night in a hotel, we drove 2,342 miles in 3 days!

We parked it at our son Ryan's house and he will keep an eye on it for us until we get back.  Actually we will be parked at his house when we return, it's nice having a son that has a big enough space for us!

Our daughter-in-law Mary is due in September with our 5th grandchild.  We rented a house for 10 days and had a gender reveal party.  It was her birthday a few days before we got home so I took her to the nail salon, lunch and then the doctor appointment to find out the gender of the baby.  I was so honored that she asked me to go but had to get the sex given to me in a note, as I was afraid I would give it away before the party.

It's a BOY.

  It was so nice to have the family together again.

My Aunt Ruthie drove down from VA for a visit. 

 So glad she got to meet baby girl.

A few days later we went to the aquarium at fort fisher with the kids.  So fun to see Jaxson amazed at that sights.  

All good things must come to an end and unfortunately it was time for us to head back to AZ.  We sure will miss everyone and these sweet babies weigh heavy on our hearts, but we will be back in October ready to hold our new grandson Nash.

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Once back in AZ we started the process of packing up getting ready to move.  The park had pretty much emptied out as most folks left the end of April.  It was kind of nice to have the place to ourselves, so we took advantage of it and had a going away party.  We sure will miss everyone next year but will hold the memories close and actually see some of you this summer.

Bye Doug and we will see you this summer in Washington.

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Thanks for following our travels!

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Zion National Park and Twin Lakes CO

The first of April we drove back home to NC to visit family and friends, 2,400 miles in 4 days!  It was so worth it to see everyone and especially the grand kids and my Aunt Ruthie.

 On the 21 of April we pulled out of Wickenburg headed to the Elks Lodge in Boulder City where we met our friends Linda and Allen Pencek.

We are all bowling in the Nationals in Las Vegas, so we wanted to get some practice in and found this bowling alley in town.  It first opened in 1947 with just 8 lanes and was featured on the History Channels "American Restoration" show, it's a step back in time.

It was fun experience bowling in the Nationals, thanks Linda and Allen for making us a part of your team.  Next on the agenda was a free flight to Atlanta with a free hotel room for 4 days!  Allen won the trip for 4 to the NRA convention so it was off to Atlanta, thanks for inviting us.  

Upon our return we headed to Zion National Park.

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We stayed at the Elk's Lodge in Saint George, Utah which was about 30 minutes from Zion.  Nice lodge with lots of space, water, electric and dump along with bathrooms, showers and free laundry!

Zion is absolutely stunning! 

On our first visit we hiked Weeping Rock and then did Hidden Canyon which was pretty cool.  The views are unbelievable but you are holding on to a chain as you climb the canyon, so pay attention.

Our second visit was to the Emerald Pools then we did the Riverside Walk.

The third visit was to do Angels Landing which is not a hike for anyone with a fear of heights.  It is a challenging 2.5 miles to the top.  There are chains bolted into the cliff to provide secure handholds.  You will reach a plateau before the final climb to the top.  I was determined to complete this hike and be rewarded with awesome views 1,500 feet above the canyon.

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Moving on we spent a couple of nights in Grand Junction CO at the Elks Lodge, then moved onto our summer location and job.

We accepted a job with Rocky Mountain Recreation Company to be the camp hosts at Lakeview campground.  It is located between Leadville and Buena Vista, at an elevation of 9,400 feet.

We arrived on the 23 May, got setup and it started snowing!

This view is from in front of our site looking at Mt. Elbert, which is the highest of all the 14,000 feet mountains in CO and the second highest in the lower 48.  

This is the view of Twin Peaks, the area is just stunning.

Our campground is located in the San Isabel National Forest, it has 72 sites, water on each loop and 16 pit toilets.   Our job is to keep the sites clean along with the bathrooms, keep up with reservations for 5 loops, check in folks, handle payments for sites, log every camper in, sell firewood and keep campers in check.  We have 2 days a week off in the middle of the week and work all weekends.  Our site doesn't have power (we have solar) but we have water and septic.  They pay for our propane and gas for the generator along with an hourly wage.  Don't need to worry about running the AC at these elevations!

Around mid June we took a ride on the bike to Fairplay where Todd Hoffman's 360 mining crew was from the show Gold Rush.

  

These were taken from across the river, you can't get into the mine as they have security everywhere.

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Some really nice folks, Linda and Greg, that we met in Port St. Lucie, Florida came for a visit on their way to Michigan.  They live in Durango but had not been to this part of Colorado.

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Took a ride to St. Elmo which is one of the most intact ghost towns in the West.  The town was listed as a historic district in 1979.  It is an excellent example of wood frame commercial buildings and residences constructed in the 1880s and 1890s.  

On the way back you will pass Cascade Falls.  They were rolling with all the snow melt from the mountains, pretty impressive!

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I joined the Columbine Gem and Mineral Society and went on some awesome rock digs!  Made friends with a sweet lady Dana Mortensen and we had some great adventures.  I was unable to make jewelry as my torch wouldn't work at these elevations because of a lack of oxygen.

The first dig was in Lake George at Joe Doris's claim from the TV show Prospectors looking for amazonite.  We were on the west side of the Pike National Forest.  Once we hiked in we were able to dig in the site.  Found some gems just laying on the surface.  Didn't get any big pieces but hopefully a few that I can cab.

The best dig was at Mt. Antero!!!

Mt. Antero is prized for its gemstone deposits and has one of the highest concentrations of aquamarine in the country.  The claim we were on is owned by the Cardwells and they were on the Prospects tv show as well.  

OMG what an adrenaline rush all day.  I had to drive an hour on a serious 4x4 road to get to base camp and I mean seriously crazy road!!!  The owners Tracie and Craig let me and Dana ride to the top with the mine bosses as they knew I couldn't make it another hour and a half to the top.  The road I drove on was bad but the last half was nuts.  We were treated like VIPs by Eric and Derick.  It was a day I will never forget at an elevation of 13,600 feet.

In the bottom right photo note the red truck, he is actually stuck trying to make a hairpin turn.  The fellow at the bottom of the photo is Eric our driver.  

Finally high on top of Mt. Antero.

These pictures are just like what was represented in the the show.  You are literally on the side of the mountain holding on and digging.

The views are incredible!

We really didn't find anything to speak of but a few small pieces.  It was the experience that was so memorable all for $25.  Dana and I will never forget this day.

Went on another dig in Lake George for topaz at another claim owned my Joe Doris.

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Back at the campground you never know what will come up looking for a campsite.

The campground is located on the Colorado Trail and of course Mt. Elbert is a big destination for people as well.  This was a lady and her grandson that were hiking the trail.  The lamas were better visitors than some of the campers we had! 

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We couldn't drive down on the western side as they were doing major repairs on the road.

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On the 20th of July we had a hail storm!  We were stunned and as we watched it come down we forgot to bring in the awnings.  As a result we have small pin holes in them, note to self, always bring them in during a hail storm.

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On the 4th of August I accomplished something I said I would do when we came back to Twin Lakes.

I hiked Mt. Elbert!!!

It damn never killed me but I did it.  15 miles round trip with beautiful views.  Started at 6:30 am and returned at 6pm, I was absolutely exhausted but soooo proud of myself.  The next day I was tried but on the second day I could hardly get out of bed.  I did it but won't do it again, once was enough.

  

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Kate and Roger came for a visit and as always we had a great time.  They camped in our drive as they knew the folks in charge!

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On the 14th of August we welcomed our 4th grandchild, Kinzie May!

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One last adventure with my friend Dana.  We went to a rock dig that was just OK so we left early and headed to Canon City to a Rock shop.  She took me on Skyline drive which is a one way road on top of a mountain that has beautiful views of the cannon. 

Check out that gemstone wall.

Until we meet again, hugs Dana.

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A couple of days after Labor Day we closed the campground.  It was a fun experience in a beautiful location but won't do it again, as there are other places to see and it was too remote for us.  We still remain in contact with the friends we met and will cherish the memories that we made during our time in the Rocky Mountains.

We pulled out headed to the Eks Lodge in Northglenn Colorado.

Thanks for following our travels and be sure to check out my jewelry 

at Wandering Designs on Etsy.

www.etsy.com/shop/wanderingdesigns