August was a month chock full of adventures!
My first overnight stop as I headed north through Texas was Palo Duro State Park. But, although the humidity decreased as I traveled north, the temperature did not. At 118 degrees it was not ideal for hiking, biking or whatever so I cut my stay short and kept going north.
On August 2nd I entered Colorado and what a relief from the heat it was!!
Lake Pueblo State Park (southern entrance) was beautiful and a very pleasant temperature both day and night. But I had my sights set on a place I had read about online – Phantom Canyon BLM land. It was absolutely everything it was said to be, and more. Definitely a place I would like to return to with Joel!
I had been to the Garden of the Gods many years previously but thought it would be a great place to do some hiking anyway and it was a very convenient stop on my drive through Colorado toward Denver & Boulder.
Not just rocks to see….critters too!!
My next adventure was completely unexpected. I was booked at a HipCamp for the night in area just northeast of Denver. But as I was driving there, I received a tornado warning on my phone – wait, what??? It advised all people in the area to take cover immediately. Whoa! When I got to the next turn on my route there was an officer blocking the road. I asked him what was going on and he pointed to the dark sky just in front of us and told me that a tornado had just touched down in two places around Denver and that I should turn around and drive in the opposite direction as quickly and safely as I could! He said there would be roads blocked as I went and to just go in the opposite direction of the blocked roads until I got to an area with no storm activity, then wait it out. I did exactly that!! About two hours later than planned I finally arrived at my HipCamp for the night. A bit more excitement than I had planned on!!
My next stop was at the trailhead of the Sulpher Gulch Bike Trail in Palmer, Colorado. It was a great morning ride which I completed just before the afternoon rain began.
Now it was time for my monthly medical trip back to California. It happened to coincide with the best weekend for viewing the Perseids Meteor Shower, so Joel and I decided to sneak away for the night to somewhere we thought would be better for viewing it. Unfortunately we still had a lot of light pollution, but we still managed to see about 16 beautiful displays!
Even after returning from California I still had to time my arrival in Boulder, Colorado with the return of my brother and his wife from Hawaii, so a few days at Cherry Creek State Park and a few hours in a Home Depot parking lot completing an RV project were just about right to fill up some more time.
I had to get power to my fridge fan….voila!
Saturday morning I checked out my old tennis park – Bear Valley near Sheridan, Colorado – but none of my old tennis buddies were there. (They were all in their 70’s & 80’s when I played with them a decade ago, so not a big surprise, duh!) All the courts had been beautifully re done and pickleball courts added, but nobody with whom to play. So I got on my Meetup app (that’s how I had found the Bear Valley group 10 years ago) and found a pickup tennis group about to start in Longmont, Colorado. (Longmont is right next door to Boulder.) Although they were mostly inexperienced players, it was still a fun morning, and I got some good exercise.
When done playing, I showered and changed into new clothes in my RV right in the parking lot – how convenient!!
Sunday morning I found a pickleball group right there in Longmont as well. From there I went to my last adventure before heading to my brother’s home in Boulder – St.Vrain State Park, also in the Longmont area.
I arrived in Boulder Monday afternoon and stayed until the following Sunday. My brother, Doug, and his wife, Leilani, were great hosts and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them! Except for a little bit of rain, the weather was fantastic as well. I love how my RV fits perfectly in their driveway!
Cycling with my brother
Hiking with my brother
She found MY bed a comfortable place to hang out.
While staying at another HipCamp on my travels, I had discovered the Colorado Wildlife Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. It is where they rescue wild animals from all kinds of horrible circumstances around the world and give them safe haven for the rest of their lives in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible. I suggested to Doug & Leilani that it would be a great place to see with them, so that’s where we went on Saturday before I left. We were not disappointed!! In fact, we were blown away by its awesomeness!!
Cats of every kind
Next stop – Rocky Mountain National Park
I did not realize how big this park is! It was actually 11 miles to my campground once I entered the park. It was late in the and I was pretty tired when I got there so I went straight to my campground and planned on siteseeing the next day.
Every view was so awesome! I lost track of what the names of each spot were and just enjoyed the incredible scenery at every stop 😄
(Oh, and it is AUGUST 22, 2023 not SEPTEMBER 22 as I state in the video!)
My next goal was to travel through Wyoming, stopping at Grand Teton NP, and then through Idaho as I slowly moved toward California. I stopped for the night in Riverton, Wyoming, about halfway to Dubois where I had booked another HipCamp. I parked at a city park and hoped on my bike for a much needed “unwinding”.
The following day I could not check in to my HipCamp until later in the afternoon, so I hung out in downtown Dubois for a few hours.
Grand Teton National Park – I had been there before but I wanted a day of hiking and relaxing and I thought this would be a better choice than Yellowstone. But it was still so crowded that it took me the entire day to find a “less” crowded place to hike! But what I eventually found was absolutely beautiful. I hiked through Lupine Meadows to the Lake Jenny trail and eventually ended up at Hidden Falls. And of course I got slightly lost on my way back to the RV for a total of about 8 miles.
And so ended the month of August, but the adventures continued into September……….
Meandering Momma / Annie's Journey 