June 23, 2023
I have a lot planned for today after work. First, is replacing the door set on our bathroom door. During my hip replacement recovery the door handle also doubled as my handicap rail. Apparently it finally just gave out. I had ordered a new one from Amazon and it is a nice quality. That was job number 1. Next on my list is to replace the cabin air filter in the truck. I didn’t even know it had one. I just happened to be searching for something on YouTube and discovered the video on how to replace. one. It was very easy so I ordered an air filter from Amazon also. It took about 10 minutes to replace and it needed it badly.
With those chores out of the way were ready to head to Monument. One of the twins, Emmeline, attended a theater camp. She is a very theatrical person. Loves to dance and sing and entertain. The camp is having a musical based on The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz. Emmeline is the Mayor of Munchkinland. She did very well.
Afterward we went to Arlene’s Beans for dinner. It was very good. The specialize in New Mexican food. And after dinner we stopped in to Lollies’ for some excellent ice cream. All in all a great day!
June 21, 2023
We were supposed to work today but the load was very light and the Holmes’ gave us the day off. So we decided to take advantage of it and go to the US Olympic / Paraolympic Museum. It was very interactive and well worth the $20 entry fee for seniors. You walk in and once you pay, they give you a lanyard and a card. You now go to a bank of computers and enter your name, email address, etc. The reason for this is that this information is tied to your ID card that you are wearing. At a lot of the displays there are readers and will greet you personally. These readers will also track your scores on certain areas and will send you an email afterward. It is very cool.
After your computer entry, you move to one of several 10 feet tall screens and it will tell you about every Olympic athlete in the Hall of Fame. Of course you have the option to move from one to another. Or select by name or sport. Once an athlete is chosen, it gives you a brief bio and a brief bit about their accomplishments or reason they are in the Hall of Fame. Some contain brief videos. For me, as a youngster and teenager, I watched the Summer Olympics each time they played. I remembered so many names. It was great.
Next you went to an elevator and it takes you to the 3rd floor and you work your way down. It starts with the history of the Olympic games. I believe it is the next floor down that you encounter a very interactive area. First you can run a short dash. This is where your ID card comes in. Once you finish the race, you go to a kiosk and it will read your card and you select if you were in Lane 1 or Lane 2. It records your time. There are many other “training” activities to try. You can try your luck at a reaction area. There are five zones that you have to try and block like a soccer goalie. There are no actual balls hurtling at you but it is done with lights and sound. Not easy at all.
If you want something a little less physical, you can try and decide the best action of a Paralympic ice hockey game. Or move over to try your hand at slalom skiing or a luge. My favorite was electronic archery. They always give you pointers and how to play the game. You also have a practice round and then it keeps score. This was really cool.
There are a lot of very cool artifacts on display and a lot of great memories. The one thing I was surprised that wasn’t displayed more prominently was the 1992 Dream Team. There was a small picture and a brief blurb. At the end of the museum, you enter a theater and watch a brief video on what it means to be an Olympic athlete. When the video is over you exit through to the Gift Shop and then you exit the facility. We also found out that you can tour the Olympic Training Center. Very cool day.
One of the great things about being an RVer, especially a host, is that you meet so many nice people. We met and talked to John and Jeanne, who were in the site across from us. We decided to go to dinner tonight. We went to the Phantom Brewery. Of course I had to try a few different brews by ordering a flight. I tried the Dos Lunas (a Mexican Lager), Alpenglow Hefeweizen, Boxcar Amber Ale, and Northstar Pilsner. All were very good. For food I had the Brisket and Pimento Cheese sandwich. Nancy had a Beet Salad with Shrimp. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our food. And it was a wonderful evening with our new friends. We finally decided to leave the restaurant and it was a real good thing we did. Our timing couldn’t have been better. Just after we got inside we had a downpour! And surprise, surprise we had hail! Ironically there was nothing showing on radar. It just popped up out of nowhere. Still a wonderful evening.
June 18, 2023
Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads! We worked this morning but this afternoon, Carissa and Brian and the grands are coming down to have a cookout to celebrate not only Fathers Day but also Nancy’s birthday. Her birthday was Thursday. Carol, Brian’s aunt, and Scott, Brian’s brother also came down. We had a really nice family get together. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs over the campfire. Had lots of potato and macaroni salad. The grandchildren had a blast playing corn hole, practicing volleyball, and exploring the trails behind our site.
After dinner and some more exploring, it was time for dessert. What else could you have for dessert but s’mores! The grandchildren loved roasting the marshmallows, or maybe I should say burning the marshmallows. The graham crackers and chocolate are just icing on the cake, so to speak. I’m not sure but I think Georgeann ate the most at 5 but Lachlan, Emmeline, and Ellia each had at least 3 maybe. Ellia gave her last one to Daddy but wanted to roast more marshmallows. They enjoyed themselves enough that we are going to try and do this again sometime before we leave to go back home.
June 11, 2023
Today we are heading back to Manitou Springs to meet Carissa, Brian, and our four grandchildren, Georgeann, Lachlan, Emmeline, and Ellia. The destination is the Manitou Penny Arcade. Penny is a very gigantic misnomer. It took us both a while to find a place to park but we finally did. We met at the arcade and found an ATM and a change machine. The games take nothing but quarters. We all walked around and the kids tried a few different games, here and there. Ellia seemed to enjoy rides more than games but whatever makes them happy. The biggest hit of the day was air hockey. It started with Grandma playing Lachlan. He was really enjoying it. Grandma told Carissa that maybe they need one for their basement. She replied that Brian was already on it. Then it was time for Grandpa to play Emmeline. Then Georgeann played Ellia. Then we continued to walk around and play games. Eventually it was time to go so the kids were told to choose a last game. A couple of them wanted to play air hockey again.
They wanted to walk a block or two to the Sasquatch Sign Shop. Nancy and I had been in there a couple of days ago. They have a sign for just about anyone or anything. I’ll attach some photos here. We decided to go to Old Colorado City for an early dinner. We went to Front Range BBQ. It has appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I was really looking forward to the meal. I, of course, ordered the triple meat platter to try the various items. I had ribs, brisket (what else? :) ) and burnt ends. I had their baked beans and the Southern Side of the Day, collard greens. The meal was good but I found the ribs to be a little dry. The burnt ends were good but really charred. Nancy again opted to have a grilled cheese but we also had fried artichoke hearts as an appetizer so she had planned ahead. They were good.
As we were dining a storm pushed in. Surprise! Surprise! We are talking thunder, lightning, and heavy down pours. We finished eating and paid and did so between downpours. Since we did not get a chance to walk to a good ice cream place with the grandchildren, Nancy and I attempted to find an ice cream shop on the route home. We found a Josh and John’s Ice Cream downtown. This is the same shop we had experienced in Manitou Springs last week. We got some pre-packaged and headed home. The grandchildren had a good time and it was nice spending time with our western family.
June 10, 2023
Nancy took care of a neighbor’s dog a few days ago and today they are leaving. But they are going to move out of their site on time and stick around to do some hiking at the campground or something. So they offered to return the favor for us. Since we have Bree taken care of today we opted to go to Cripple Creek. It is about 1 1/2 hours to get to the town. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see the donkeys that will sometimes roam the streets downtown. This weekend is Rodeo Weekend. We were a little too late to see the rodeo. The other major attraction in town are casinos.
The drive enabled us to see a lot of beautiful scenery and a few angles of Pikes Peak. We had to stop a couple of times to allow the mule deer to cross the road. The town is in the Rocky Mountains and it is very hilly with steep streets. We found a place to park and walked down to the main street. Our first stop was the Brass Ass Casino. It is one of three in connected buildings and operates under an umbrella of Triple Crown Casinos. We walked around for a few minutes. We spoke with a lady and asked her some questions. The next thing you know we were signing up for our player cards and received a free gift. The gift will come in very handy here. Umbrellas. :) We set our limit and went to the Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em table. They did not have 3 card poker any longer. We played for a while and decided it was time to get something to eat. We had also played a couple of slot machines in Midnight Rose. We found a restaurant in the casino called Dynamite Dick’s. Nancy opted for the salmon and I had some excellent Brisket Mac N Cheese. It was awesome. Nancy enjoyed her salmon. The mac N cheese had brisket, BBQ sauce on top with a chili chutney and fried onion straws. Absolutely delicious. The chutney added a lot to the dish. Drinks were free in the casino so Nancy brought hers with her and I opted for water.
Nancy decided that instead of going out to a seafood restaurant for her birthday this would be her seafood dinner and the day at the casinos. After lunch we walked a little and stopped in a couple of shops. We crossed the street and went into Bronco Billy’s. We sat down at the 3 card poker table. We played until we reached our limit. Casino Del Sol in Tucson was much nicer to us than Cripple Creek. We searched for a reasonable dessert place. We decided our best option was going to be Perkins. They have great pies. We order a slice of Apple Crumb Caramel and a slice of Oreo Cookie Silk Pie. The apple pie was both of our favorites. The Oreo was okay. Another item checked off our list. Tomorrow will be a family day!
June 8, 2023
We finished work today and decided that since the weather was very nice we would venture out again after lunch. We opted to go back to the Garden of the Gods to finish our tour. We arrived and took off from where we left off. We made a few stops to see Balance Rock and the Scotsman. It is a beautiful park. As normal now, as we finished up sight seeing and was headed toward the exit, we heard thunder and felt a few drops of rain. That was our cue to exit. We made our way out of the park in a different direction today and headed home. As we were exiting the park, the rain started and then we ran into some hail. Very strange weather.
June 7, 2023
Angel and Carla made it back last night but despite our offer to work, they told us to take the day off. We relented and assured them we would work tomorrow. So we decided to do some touristy stuff. Nancy has been wanting to see cliff dwellings since Arizona. We were going to go when we went to New Mexico in April but those plans just didn’t work out. As we left the campground I spotted a white cloud behind the mountain and it was such a stark contrast, I just had to take a photo. So today we are heading to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. The site is actually an area that was chosen in 1904 to relocate some ancestral Puebloan ruins. These ruins date back to 800 to 1,000 years ago. The ruins came from McElmo Canyon in southwestern Colorado. It is located close to Mesa Verde. These ruins are much easier to explore than the ones in Mesa Verde National Park. It took them 3 years to complete the relocation.
It is a self guided tour with narration if you desire. You can listen at each stop and it explains what you are looking at and why. There are actually signs at each stop also. You can enter the structure and even climb to a second floor if you so desire. Some spots are narrow but I fit through just fine.
After walking through the dwelling we ventured to the Gift Shop/Museum. It was large and covered a few floors. As we were walking back to the truck we could hear distant thunder. This seems to be a recurring theme here.
We decided to go into Manitou Springs for lunch. Nancy had chosen a restaurant and when we got into town we found it a little difficult to find a place to park. We drove through town and then turned around to go back toward the restaurant. We found a spot on the street and took advantage of it. This was still 0.3 mile from the restaurant. We started walking and stopped in front of Manitou Brewing. We looked at the menu to see if this would be a better option. I left the decision up to Nancy. She came up with another restaurant called The Keg. As luck would have it, The Keg was directly across the street so we crossed and went in. Lunch was good. Nancy had a bison burger with blue cheese but it needed mayo. I had one of the specials, Prime Rib Grilled Cheese on Sourdough. It was very good. For me I had to try a local brew. I had an Avalanche Amber. It is a product of Breckenridge Brewing just south of Denver.
We meandered along the shops after we ate lunch. One store we ventured into was a sign shop. What ever your interest, they had a sign for it. I found a few that I found very funny. You can see the pictures and decide for yourself. Also found a few that would describe one or both of our children. Another shop that we just had to stop in was The Candy Bar. They had a wide variety of candies and what I would call “penny candy”. Penny is no longer applicable but I’m old. We did purchase a couple of items of items. They also had a wide variety of truffles. As luck would have it we were parked in front of Josh and John Ice Cream. For several years running they were voted best ice cream. We had to see for ourselves if this was true. We each got a double dipped cone. We can understand why now that it is such a great place. I have not seen such a variety of cones in one ice cream store. The selection was great. After our dessert we weighed our options. We contemplated going to Marimont Castle but as it was getting a little later in the afternoon we will leave this for another day. We opted to take a drive to another attraction in the area. We found Helen Hunt Falls in the North Cheyenne Cañon Park. After a little research I discovered that the falls are named for Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, not the actress. Helen Hunt was a poet and writer and activist for better treatment of Native Americans. We made the short walk up to the top of the Falls. It was a very neat place. Guess what, it started to rain so we headed back to the truck and headed home. I’m starting to see a weather pattern here.
June 3, 2023
We had to work this morning. Angel and Carla are on a vacation back home so Steve, Karen, Nancy and I are picking up the slack. We finished in time to grab quick showers and then off we went to see our granddaughter’s dance recital. Emmeline is a natural ham. She loves to perform and dance. So while her sisters and brother each have their thing, Emmeline has dance. It was a very cute show. It was also very long. The studio must have hundreds of children. The show lasted about 2 hours but it was very nice. Of course Emmeline was a star!
After the recital we went back to Carissa’s house so that we could celebrate Lachlan’s birthday. His birthday was a couple of days earlier but today is the day to celebrate with dinner and dessert. His choice for dinner is tacos. The boy loves his tacos. For dessert we had ice cream cake. The meal was delicious. It was great spending time with the family and gave us a chance to talk and share stories. It was a great day.
June 1, 2023
We survived the holiday weekend and found ourselves as tourist again today. One of the things I like to do is to visit local Harley stores and get poker chips. Sometimes shirts, depending on how much I like the design. I have to be very choosy now. It just so happens that we are situated between two Harley dealers. We headed south to Outpost Harley Davidson in Pueblo, Colorado. We walked around and looked at a few bikes for grins and giggles. It was interesting to see the electric Harley. Not a traditional look of a Harley but kind of neat just the same. Nancy has decided, since her fall and subsequent back issues that she will not ride 2 up with me. She will ride with me on a trike. They are very nice, comfortable, etc. but they are very pricey. Additionally I’m not sure I’m ready to give up 2 wheels. Time will tell.
Since we are in Pueblo we decided to check out the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo. It is a one mile loop of concrete walkways with shops and restaurants around a waterway. There are boat rides available if you so choose. We had Bree with us and she enjoyed the walk. The small section we did walk around was a beautiful fountain. The Pro Bull Riders (PBR) Headquarters is also right off this walkway. They had just moved from Colorado Springs.
Another statue feature was the history of the Goodnight - Loving Cattle Trail. I found this very interesting. In brief, the trail started in western Texas and the cattle were driven to Fort Sumner, New Mexico and then north to Denver, Colorado where they were shipped out by rail. In the concrete walkways you will also find imprints of horseshoes or animal tracks. Very cool park. There was a wall visible from the park but not actually on the riverwalk that was very cool also. See the pictures for the saying.
After walking a little bit we found a place to eat with a patio for Bree. It was the Brues Alehouse. The prices are a little high but the food was wonderful. Of course I had to try their various brews. Nancy opted for a grilled cheese with fruit and I opted for a Bacon Chile Burger. The grilled cheese was loaded with cheese. Nancy enjoyed her lunch. The Bacon Chile Burger is two smash burger patties, with bacon, aged white cheddar, two big jims, and mayo on a Brioche bun. I learned that big jims are chile peppers. They are very good, especially on top of bacon and a burger. For my flight of beer I got 4 - 5 ounce pours. I chose the Haus Lager, Brues Especial (Mexican Lager), Lagerhaus Wheat, and the Bruweisse Here (Hefenweizen). I enjoyed them all. They even served Bree with a bowl of water.
After lunch we walked around a little more until we felt that the weather was about to turn ugly. For our return to the truck we crossed over the waterway via the Veteran’s Bridge. On the bridge are plaques of local servicemen from all branches and all eras. It was very nice. After fueling the truck we headed home in the rain. It has been raining a lot since our arrival. Another location with unusual weather.
May 25, 2023
Today we decided to be tourists again. The morning started off by us taking out the trash. Nancy took a bag and set it on top of the truck bed and then came back to get another load while I locked the door. All of a sudden I heard her yelling “get out of here”. I thought she was yelling at Bree. No. She wasn’t. She was yelling at either a crow or raven. Both are large black birds. Apparently right after she left this bird decided to peck at the bag to see what it could get. When she came around the corner she had to yell at it to chase it away. However it did not go far. We could see it in a tree nearby. We started the truck and drove to the dumpster. The bird followed us and sat in a tree near the dumpster as we threw the trash in the dumpster. I thought it was hilarious.
After the bird incident we went to The Garden of the Gods. It is located at the base of Pike’s Peak and is totally free. The Visitor’s Center has a lot of great information and displays. They also offer an excellent 12 minute video for $6. It is well worth the cost. It explains in a very entertaining way how the formations were created and the billion years of how it came to be. After the movie we entered the park to start our tour. We got to the first parking area and got out to see the first couple of formations. We saw the White Rock, Kissing Camels, Tower of Babel, and North Gateway Rock. We started talking to a young couple about traveling. They were from the Atlanta, GA area. A very nice couple. We thoroughly enjoyed spending our time with them. But then guess what happened? You guessed it. Rain. And then let’s throw in the pea-sized hail too. We were done for the day. We are only a few minutes away and it is free so we shall return at another time to finish our exploration of the Garden of the Gods.
May 24, 2023
Today is another very busy day. It all starts at 10:00AM as we have a New Employee Orientation to attend at the Visitor’s Center. We finished up around 12:30PM. The Rangers pitched in and bought pizza and soda for lunch. It hit the spot. Afterwards, Nancy, Carla, and Karen stuck around for a class on the computer system that they will use when they work the gate on weekends. While Nancy was in her class I ran to the grocery store.
The back story is that among the hosts we usually talk a lot about food. I had mentioned about smoking a pork shoulder and they all thought it would be a good idea. One day last week when Nancy was grocery shopping she found a deal on pork shoulders. Buy one get one. So it was a great deal. She came home with two shoulders each weighing about 8 pounds. Having previous experience smoking at high altitude, I knew it was going to be 14 hours, at least. So I started the smoke first thing yesterday and completed it and pulled it by 02:30AM this morning. The nice thing is that pulled pork reheats very well. I was pleased with the results. So tonight we are hosting a dinner for the anyone from the park who wants to attend. So my grocery trip was for supplies for tonight.
The initial idea was to have the dinner hosted at our site so we could have a campfire. But again it was supposed to rain so we moved it to a room at Camper Services. We supplied pulled pork, buns, cole slaw, and my Boston Baked Beans. Carla and Angel brought a Boston Cream Cake. The hosts showed and a couple of the rangers had other commitments and could not attend. Jasmine, Patrick and Desiree did show up.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and we definitely had a good time talking. The dessert was perfect after a heavy dinner. It was nice and light and just the right sweetness.
May 22, 2023
Today was finally a nice dry day. I had emailed a local RV mobile repair service. Their quote was $370 to patch the roof and inspect the roof. Nancy decided that we could do this ourself. After a light work day she climbed onto the roof and took a couple of pictures. After looking at them we decided that we had two possible issues. One was an actual small hole in the roof. Nancy said the roof felt a little spongy in that area. The other was a tiny hole in the caulking around the vent. I was leaning more toward the roof hole as the actual culprit but just to be sure we were going to buy some caulk. The roof patch we did with some RV roof tape. This is the second time we have had to use that tape.
We went to the local Camping World for a tube of the appropriate caulk. Then we had to go to a Lowes Home Improvement for a caulk gun. Once we did all of our shopping we got home in time to go back up on the roof to make the repairs. Since this time we have had a lot more rain and we have no more leak! Yeah!!
May 18, 2023
Tonight we have two commitments. Nancy is staying at the campground to attend a campfire meeting of employees. However, they had to move it inside as it was raining. We have seen a lot of rain since we have been here. The other event is Georgeann’s Continuation Ceremony. A Continuation is also known as 8th Grade Graduation. The ceremony was held in a high school gymnasium. The ceremony was a little over an hour. Additionally it was very warm in the gym. And seating was on the bleachers. It was a neat ceremony. Afterward I took Georgeann home and sat and talked to Carissa for a while. Then it was time to head home. The drive to Monument takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the time of day. The ceremony started at 6:00 PM so I left around 4:40PM. It took me around 1 hour and 3 minutes. I was just right on my time. To get home it took me about 30 minutes. Interstate 25 is crazy with traffic. The only reason I can figure for this is just the shear volume.
It is really nice being able to attend some of these family events. We have watched Lachlan do Karate and Elia do gymnastics. Emmeline’s turn is coming up in June when she has a dance recital. The kids are active and involved and that is great. The parents just have to survive.
May 17, 2023
We decided that it was time for a host get together. Most of us like beer. So we decided that after work today the six of us was going to go to Colorado Mountain Brewing for a bite to eat and beer. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Lots of good food, good brews and good conversation. We think the next time we may have to go somewhere and play some games as well enjoy the fellowship and beverages.
May 11, 2023
We were out and about today and it started to rain. We finished our errands and headed home. Now this is not our first rain storm here. However, I went into the kitchen and saw water on the floor. After getting some towels and mopping up the water we found the source. It was coming from the kitchen stove exhaust fan. I took the four screws off the fan. More water came out. For now we put a bowl under the leak. The weather forecast for the next week or two is mostly rain.
May 6 & 7, 2023
We were supposed to be working this weekend but Karen and Steven volunteered to work for us so we can attend a family function. The family function is to watch Georgeann play volleyball. Georgeann is our second grandchild and Carissa’s eldest. She started playing volleyball when they were still in Indianapolis and proved to be quite the player. She has attended several camps and has really taken to the game. Her forte is serving. She has also proven to be a very good setter. She has been playing high completion club volleyball. We just missed seeing her play when we were in Indianapolis.
The tournament is being held in Aurora, Colorado just to the east of Denver, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center. On Saturday, we met Carissa at her house and the three of us went to the tournament. As we arrived at the venue, we were not allowed to get into the parking lot. Security was turning people away. We went out the exit road and pulled over. Carissa was on the phone with Brian. We saw several emergency vehicles in the parking lot by the hotel portion. According to Brian there was a collapse in the pool area and several people injured when the HVAC system came down. We sat for a few minutes and saw a few emergency vehicles leave the area. Then people were allowed to enter to go to the Convention Center.
We met up with Brian and found where Georgeann was going to play. We were able to see both of her games that day. Carissa usually stays home with the three littles and Brian (the sports guy) travels with Georgeann to the games. So this gave Carissa a chance to some games also. The littles were with Aunt Carol for the day.
Sunday was different. Nancy and I got up very early for us to make the 2 hour plus drive up to Aurora for an early game. Today is a bracket day. That means your performance from Saturday puts you in a bracket for Sunday. It is single elimination. You lose, you go home. They were in a bracket with some very good teams. They won their first match and advanced to the next level. They faced the team that had beaten them yesterday. They were an exceptional team. The first game was very close. They lost 23 to 25. Georgeann’s team played very well. The loss seemed to deflate them a little. They lost the second game too. Their day was over. The good news. They came in 3rd Place. It was great to be able to see Georgeann play in person. We had only seen videos. She will probably play for her high school team next year. And then do club competition again.
May 4, 2023
After work today we went up to Monument to celebrate Carissa’s birthday. Her husband Brian prepared a wonderful meal. We had a delicious meal. Not to mention we were able to spend time with four of our six grandchildren.
May 3, 2023
First, Happy Birthday to our daughter, Carissa. We met Karen and Steve in the morning and Steve showed me how to access the sites to be done. However, my tablet was not working correctly. I was going to have to take it to the rangers to see how to get signed on or something. The computer system is relatively new to the parks system, January 1, 2023 actually. Not all of the bugs or processes are worked out. We followed Karen and Steve around for about an hour. The process to cleaning a site is to rake the rocks and gravel and sweep the concrete pads and check the electrical box to ensure the breakers are turned off. After doing a few sites, we split the work. Nancy and I headed off to do a few sites on our own. We finished the day by around noon.
Karen and Steve also arranged a party for the hosts to get to meet each other and socialize, no work talk. The rangers were also invited. It was a pitch-in. We opted to go to King Soopers, a Kroger owned grocery store, and bring some mini cupcakes. After working and with no idea of timing, we took the easy way out this time. It was a very nice gathering. We met Carla and Angel Amen, the other hosts and Rangers Jasmine and Patrick and Desiree. The rangers left early but the hosts stuck around and talked and shared some beer and tequila. Angel is from Mexico and is a US citizen and Air Force veteran. He is a very interesting individual. We are going to have some fun here in Colorado.
May 2, 2023
Sometime in the morning we were told that our site, Site 50, was ready for us to move into. So we hooked up and moved down to our site. We spent the rest of the morning setting up. Unpacking our smoker and table, chairs, etc., setting up our outdoor carpet, etc. After lunch we headed down to the Visitor’s Center and met with Michael. He gave us a tote full of information, a radio, a cashbox, a tablet, necessary keys, etc. We were scheduled to start working tomorrow and shadow Steve and Karen Holmes.
We were then ushered into a room and told to pick out our uniforms. There was a lot of items to choose from. We each chose a boonie hat, a couple of short sleeve t-shirts, and a long sleeve t-shirt, Whatever they had, if they didn’t have our size Michael was going to order it. Nancy found a nice golf shirt. I thought they would be nice when working in the gate house. I had to put one on order. We also had to order a hooded zip-up for Nancy and a vest for me. We also got our name plates but we had to return them as our name was misspelled. Michael apologized and said he would reorder them.
We took our items home to wash them so we can wear them this week at work. Later in the afternoon, they delivered our brand new gas powered “golf cart” with our broom and leaf rake to clean the sites. We decided to venture up to introduce ourselves to Karen and Steve as we were going to work together tomorrow. As we almost reached their site, we noticed them heading down to see us. We were closer to their site so we went there. While Nancy and Karen talked, Steve took me on a little tour of the campground and the location of Maintenance and the various codes we would know. It was a nice evening.
May 1, 2023
We arrived today at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The park is about a mile from Colorado State Road 115 and sits across the street from the main entrance to Fort Carson. Once you climb the mountain to the park and the campground areas you are just down the mountain from NORAD and USNORTHCOM. If you are a movie buff, Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD should be familiar from “Wargames” with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheddy. The park is absolutely beautiful and very clean. While driving in we did notice a prairie dog town on either side of the entrance. We love to see the wildlife.
We pulled into the Visitor’s Center to find out where we were supposed to go. We met Michael Ivis, the Senior Ranger. He is the number 2 ranger at the park but the hosts and general operations are his responsibilities. He put us into Site 19, a pull through full hook up as a temporary site as the hosts we are replacing have not left yet. Michael told us to just chill today and not worry about anything. Tomorrow we should be moving to our more permanent site and when we can go “shopping” for our uniforms.