Deviation can bring lovely surprises

We will meet our friends, Lori and Lynn, the Barksmore sisters, at our rendezvous point in Fort Collins Colorado. Lori and Lynn are their actual first names, but Barksmore is a cute little handle that derives from the fact that they have 4 dogs (n'uff said).  Everything is going as planned. Before they arrive a late snow storm hits the plains and the rockies. We wake to a white blanket which quickly disappears with the warmer winds. Our son and family have recently relocated to this beautiful area where the rockies meet the prairies. Fort Collins, along with the rest of Colorado, is an outdoor-thinking area so there are well used bike paths and walking paths EVERYWHERE! So as we wait for

Sometimes Sweethearts can be Heroes

A hero is someone who, through skill, intelligence, fortitude or some other neat attribute saves the the day. Now if you're one of the Avengers and have those superduper type skills like throwing big hammers across football fields, or turning into an angry, very angry big green man, well then they make movies about your deeds.  But even us mere mortals can be heroes by excelling in tough situations.  Ok, so, I'd like to nominate my wife for getting us out of a tough situation.

Today we're driving in the high country above Boulder Colorado, looking for a

Curtains!

Curtains......Afraid of the dark? I think not! But I've come to a conclusion that most of America is. Everywhere you go, there's light. Neon lights, street lights, security lights, porch lights, and I can't forget the cute little solar butterfly lights that brighten the path in my backyard. I get it. I do. Security, safety, and attempting

Paranoia and mudflaps

A story of rumors and quandary

This is a blurb about mud flaps, well fear too. Yeah, mud flaps and fear, but first let me preface my tale by telling you that we're a couple of weeks away from lift off to Alaska and points north. Because, we're going to share this little excursion of Northern

Casita on the Casa for the Casita

 We had the guys from  Chaparral Steel Supply put up this little metal roof awning (we call it a techo here in the border area) 20' X 12' to protect the Casita.  Great! So what now? Top's protected, but the sides look naked.  We decide that we can put up a side and a back ourselves. So it's off to the local salvage lot (Yes, it's a junk yard, because we're responsible, green, and, of course cheap), Used 3/4 inch plywood sheets at 5 bucks a piece with a whole lot of nails to pull. But, hey, did I say we were cheap?

So now, we're cleaning, cutting and painting a base coat and I'm thinking maybe we'll paint stars, or symbols, or how about a fire breathing dragon, (Dragons are cool). But Kamala says it's a Casa for

Sweet anticipation

Ah, the sweet feeling of anticipatory planning for a trip--well, actually two trips (there be more on the second trip later). Right now, we're in between trips. I'm in limbo. With launch date set at the beginning of May and lots of to-dos to check off, I find that while I 'gotta' live in my house to prepare for the trip, I 'gotta' pack also. 

Usually we leave the house with a general idea, general direction, and general timeline. We adopted this overall idea while riding our recumbent tandem on our first long 2,800 mile bicycle tour from El

Perception, Such a Narrow View of Life

See the Elk?There's actually more than one. It's all about perception.

Sunshine streaming in the window, jump out of bed, fling open the window and I'm treated to colors of a beautiful sunrise, so full, so magnificent and to complete the perception, a cool breeze and a cacophony of birds, dogs, and morning sounds. So big, so filling, so complete...well not quite, but, damn, it sure seems like it from a perceptual point of view. And, for the most part, we walk around

Taking leaps

It's difficult to get away if you work at a job that only gives you two to three weeks off per year. When I was a CPA, that was all I was given for vacation. I started to take time off during slow periods without pay. Weekends were precious and we would take many mini-vacations to surrounding areas by taking off Friday after work and returning home on Sunday. 

Personal time is worth so much. What were we working for

Birds of a Feather

I find it very curious the almost instant bond created by commonness. 

I can remember very clearly my first few hours of hours after arriving at Marine Corps boot camp. We had our heads shaved, we were relieved of our "civilian" clothing and handed boots, olive green pants and a yellow sweatshirt. In other words we had been stripped of our old identity (they were going to build us a brand new one, yeah sure!).  But standing there, everyone having the same dorky bald canary look, we talked and the first groups that

10 Reasons why I don't like my Casita Travel Trailer

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