Travel

The end is here!

Published on by Casey

Hey guys! I did it! I FINALLY finished graduate school and completed my Master’s Degree! This has been a long and slow process! I’m so glad I did it but even happier that it’s done! To honor all of my hard work, we flew to Indiana to attend the ceremony. What an experience! I’m so happy we went! I couldn’t have done it without Noah and Logan supporting me the entire way! Of course, our trip couldn’t be simple, though. I had booked a mid-day direct flight from Denver to Indianapolis. However, Frontier decided instead to send us on a red-eye to Orland, Florida, where we then got to enjoy a FIVE HOUR layover! To make things worse, I ended up with some intestinal discomfort during the flight and subsequent stay at the airport. Nothing like adding pain onto extreme fatigue. Did I mention Noah and I worked a full day before our flight?! Thankfully, we had plenty of time to relax at our hotel before heading to the ceremony the following day. On the way home, Frontier’s pre-flight email instructed us to arrive at the airport three-hours ahead of our flight, so we did. Then we discovered that no one actually mans the check-in station until two-hours prior to departure. So we got to hang out at the head of the line for an hour. Good times! Travel woes aside, the experience of attending the graduation ceremony was worth it all!

 

Total Eclipse of the Sun!

Published on by Casey

One thing that’s always been on my bucket list is to see a total solar eclipse, complete with the coronal flares. I’ve seen pictures of this event online, but it never seems to occur in North America, let alone where I live! Growing up in California, I’ve seen more than my share of partial eclipses, but it’s not the same. Finally, there’s going to be a total solar eclipse in North America, in the States, and the direct path is only about three hours from my home! Decision made. Come hell, or high water, we would be there! I booked a campsite for the event about nine-months prior to eclipse. My sister, Gretna, who has always had the same bucket list item,flew in to join us.

We drove up to Wyoming ahead of the eclipse and stayed at a very nice KOA. I’ve never stayed at a KOA before because I’ve always heard they were cramped. Word of advice, get the deluxe site. We did. Worth it! We had a nice patio and decent separation between us and the neighbors. This KOA also bordered a small creek (complete with snakes and fish), had a pool, videos/books/games to borrow, and a store. If RV camping isn’t your thing, they also had cabins! Gretna and I had fun walking around and noting from where everyone had traveled. Because we knew, the majority were in town for the eclipse, just like us. There were visitors from all over the country and several who came down from Canada!

Since we came north early, we played tourist and traveled to some historic sights. If you know me, you know my penchant for all things American history related. Our first stop was Fort Phil Kearney. I had recently read the book The Heart of Everything that Is and the events that folded around this Fort were fresh in my mind. Of course, it’s also slightly disappointing when the buildings of a fort, or other historic site have faded into the past, and all that’s left is an outline of where they once stood. That’s how it is at Fort P.K. That didn’t distract from it’s charms and history, however. Following our visit to the Fort, we traveled to the nearby sites of the Fetterman Massacre and the Wagon Box Fight before returning back to camp to relax and head to bed early.

Up before the sun, we headed south to Casper to stake our claim at Fort Caspar. This is where we planned to watch the eclipse and visit another historical site. This fort had rebuilt or preserved many buildings and artifacts. So much history at this museum! It’s a must visit, in my opinion. Part of the Fort grounds included a park with a playground, which made it an idea spot of sun gazing (with specialty glasses, of course, which were purchased MONTHS ahead of the eclipse). With our early arrive, we procured optimal parking and a coveted picnic table. As for the eclipse itself, it was spectacular and breath taking. All of the watch-fors were accurate, too. As the light faded from the sky, the street lights came on. The birds went to roost. Mosquitoes came out to play. Our shadows changed texture. And when the sun was completely obscured, we were able to observe the corona without the dark glasses. I’m not sure there are words that can accurately describe just how amazing is that sight! Our God is awesome! If you ever have the chance to see a total solar eclipse in person – DO IT! You won’t regret it! In 2045 there will be another solar eclipse, this time with the path running through Colorado. Assuming we’re still here then, you can find us hanging out at our mountain property, avoiding the crowds, and enjoying the spectacular sight!

Post eclipse – Casper, WY is about three hours north of Denver. We, like everyone else, headed home shortly after the end of totality. I would have preferred to stay another night and come back the next day, but work commitments and my sister’s flight disagreed with that objective. So we hung out with two-million other drivers and shuffled our way south for THIRTEEN HOURS!! Of course we planned ahead and anticipated this. 1) We brought extra fuel with us so no need to stop for gas, 2) we had the camper so access to food and bathrooms was no problem, and 3) we had ways to manage our time. Electronics, books, knitting, you name it. I even managed to finish a scarf whilst we poked our way south. Hindsight, would’ve told work to suck it and taking another day off. As it was, I called in late. Another hindsight thought was of an alternate route that was more out of the way but probably quicker. Alas, even with the worse traffic in the history of cars, WORTH IT. I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

The following picture is a panorama I took during totality. There are so many pictures from this trip. If you’re so inclined, you can sort through them all here.

 

Happy Place

Published on by Casey

One perk of working at a school is summer breaks. These breaks provide ample opportunity to camp. This past week we visited my happy place: Steamboat Lake. If I could afford it, I would buy property up here in Route County. This is God’s country. Seriously gorgeous! This trip, we were joined by some friends, which always adds to the fun. We were also able to take our canoe out on the lake! The weather was hot enough for the kids to enjoy the swim beach, too. I also had opportunities to play around with my camera features (now if only I could memorize how to take cool pictures).

 

Memorial Day Camping!

Published on by Casey

We love to camp (or glamp as we traded tent camping for a camper)! Colorado has so many options and what better way is there to spend a holiday weekend? This year, we went to Eleven Mile State Park. The weather was a bit chilly and damp at times, but we had an electric site and could enjoy the amenities of heat, light, and indoor cooking! We have camped at this park multiple times. The fishing is good and the rangers put on great programs for kids. Logan was sworn in as a Junior Ranger (again). In fact, he was the only one at the ceremony! The lady who ran the education programs was amazing and really knew her stuff!

 

 

Mother’s Day Camping

Published on by Casey

Normally, Mother’s Day weather is the crap here in Colorado. Last year is actually snowed. Thankfully, this year the weather was hot (80s) and sunny! So, I decided to start a new trend – Mother’s Day camping! This year we didn’t go too far but stayed at a small campground in Larimer county on a little reservoir. No fishing or boating allowed as the water ebbs and flows constantly throughout the day, based on water needs in town. But it still makes for a pretty view. Plus, we saw a family of geese and evidence of elk (although none of them came for a visit).

It’s a Beach Birthday!

Published on by Casey

For his birthday this year, Logan really wanted to go to California. So we did! Unfortunately, Noah had to work the week, so he stayed home. Yet, I survived taking a 6/7 year old through the airports solo. Both of our families still live in CA, and the grandparents are only about 30-min apart. We stayed with Noah’s parents as my family worked during the week. However, we had a beach day, where we saw many crabs on the shore, spent the day at the Santa Barbara Zoo (I haven’t been there since I was probably Logan’s age!), and of course, a party for the birthday boy! My sister spear-headed the party, with multiple contributions. It was at a favorite park and featured pink (Logan’s current favorite color), carrot cake, subs, a jolly jump, and many friends and their kids. The only thing missing was Noah

We Love Canada!

Published on by Casey

Seriously, what’s not to like? We enjoyed it so much last year that we returned this summer! We gave Logan the choice of which province between Saskatchewan or Manitoba. He chose Manitoba, so off to Winnipeg we went! We actually stayed at a small Provincial Park about 45 minutes away from Winnipeg, which provided enough distance from the city to feel like we were among nature, but close enough to do day trip excursions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our travel to Canada, did not go as planned, however. Shortly after crossing into North Dakota, our truck started having issues. We made a quick trip to Minnesota to run the check engine code and get an idea of what was going on (sure we could have visited an auto parts store in Fargo, but by driving into Minnesota, I was able to cross another state off my list). The code wasn’t very helpful. Thankfully, we were still able to drive and tow, just at a reduced RPM. After getting settled at our campsite, the next day we dropped the truck off at a Ford dealership and headed to the Assinboine Zoo (the dealership shuttle dropped us off). Turns out the high-pressure fuel pump went out on the truck and would take days to fix! Days! Oh and about $4,000 USD! Our trip just got a lot more expensive and now we were stranded sans vehicle. To save me the headache of trying to find a rental vehicle on my own, I gave AAA a call and let them figure everything out for us. Thank you, AAA! Because of this fiasco, we didn’t get a change to go to the Assiniboine Park, next door to the zoo and see the Winnie the Pooh statue. Bummer. But the zoo did have a really cool animatronic dinosaur exhibit and polar bears!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manitoba has a long history of Mennonite and eastern-European settlers, so one of our day trips took us to a Mennonite village.

Logan sitting in a Mennonite school room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also drove to Lake Winnipeg, which is the largest lake in North America! We visited the lake in the town of Gimli, which is near the Southern tip and the narrow section. And yet, we still couldn’t see across the lake! Amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, if you’re ever in the town of Gimli, eat here. They have the best pierogies and cabbage rolls I have ever eaten! I wish they would open a branch in Colorado! But alas, there are no Ukrainian restaurants anywhere in the state!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another great aspect of the trip was we met some awesome locals who happened to be camping in the site next to us. Our trip coincided with the first week of the Olympic games, and I had been streaming the games online during our trip to make sure we didn’t miss any of the action. Our last night in Canada, our new aforementioned neighbors invited us over to their camper to watch the Olympics with them. Their camper had the ability to mount a TV on the outside. So we all pulled up some chairs, shared some beers and popcorn and jointly cheered on our respective teams. It was awesome! People in Canada (and those from MB, especially, are some of the nicest people we’ve ever met)!

Even with the vehicle troubles, we loved our Canadian vacation and will be back again, probably in 2017. Which province shall we visit this time?

On the 4th we will go…

Published on by Casey

If you guessed camping, you would be correct! If you haven’t figured it out yet, our family loves to camp (or go campering). Even my colleagues have figured this out. Anytime there is a long weekend, I will be asked by several coworkers if I am going camping and where. Some have even sought out my opinion on places to go camping. This year my work extended our Independence Day holiday by giving us the whole week off! We didn’t go camping for the full week, but we did extend our trip a bit longer than normal (this also cuts down on sitting in holiday traffic). We continued our tradition of camping with friends, and going to a new location. This year, we went to State Forest State Park, which is known for it’s moose population!

More so than ever before was I thankful to have a camper on this trip! The second night I came down with a GI plague. Oh so glad was I to have an indoor bathroom to see to my needs! Just imagine how awful it would be to sit in a cold vault toilet with the pukes and poops! Ugh, no thanks! I’m also thankful that although I felt pretty miserable the follow day, everything was out of my system pretty quick. The other downside to this trip was that the day after I was sick, Noah biked pulling a kid on a tag along and gave himself altitude sickness. Not nearly as serious, but not fun either, but an easier recovery.

Illnesses aside, we still managed to hike and see a plethora of wild flora and fauna. For the animal count we saw: many deer, a fox, a beaver, several moose, voles and one porcupine!

Steamboat Lake

Published on by Casey

If I could (afford to) live anywhere in the world, I’m pretty sure it would be Routt County, Colorado. Man that is God’s country, right there. I’m pretty sure Steamboat Lake is my happy place. It’s far removed from the hustle bustle of Steamboat Springs, and nestled in a picturesque river valley. We first discovered Steamboat Lake when we went camping there last year over Memorial Day weekend. As beautiful as it was, it was cold and wet. But then again, you can’t go camping in Colorado’s high country at the end of May and not expect either rain or snow. I am thankful that we had a camper with a heater for that trip. The few neighbors we had in tents froze out after struggling to get a fire going with damp wood. This year we returned during June and had beautifully sunny weather with daytime times in the 80s. It wouldn’t be camping in Colorado though without a little rain in the form of an afternoon storm. Luckily those that went through were short in duration.

This year we also had a new camper to take with! Much larger both is length and width, more luxuries, a full kitchen. Haha! No more roughing it! Not only did our site have electric hookups but it had a lovely view of the lake! An added bonus is that for one night, our trip overlapped with some friends, so we were able to let the kids romp around and enjoy a meal together. The own downside to the trip was the recent hatching of mayflies! Walking on the trail by the lake shore was akin to running away from tracker jackers in the Hunger Games. Granted, mayflies don’t bite but they sure are annoying! It probably also didn’t help that I also had a bag of dog poop in my hands!

We can’t wait to go back next year!

How can you not love this view?!

Some evening visitors near our campsite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This kid was made for camping!

Camping Season Has Returned!

Published on by Casey

My favorite time of year, camping season! For Colorado that starts Memorial Day weekend (unless you’re really hardcore and like to camp in snow caves — no thanks). But even that close to summer, we always expect snow when we camp that weekend. This year, we camped along Turquoise Lake, near Leadville, around 10,000-ft elevation. On the way up, it snowed. I think we ended up with about an inch of snow that first day, but then it melted. The campground where we stayed had a great system for keeping sites dry and creating small retention ponds for runoff. Logan loved “fishing” in the pond behind our site. He’s such a Colorado kid, that he was out there in shorts, despite the cold weather and snow on the ground. If you went to the lake at the right time of the day, the water was like glass, clearly reflecting the nearby mountain peaks. The campground was also tucked back into a copse of ponderosa trees. Very serene. This trip was also our inaugural camping vacation with the new camper! So much more luxurious than our little TrailManor!