Cheryl:
Yesterday we rode the Million Dollar Highway through bright, hot sunshine, huge sloppy rain, and fingertip sized hail stones! We ran in and out of these areas all day long. About the time we dried out, we got wet again. The pines smelled so good and the air so fresh, it was hard to be bothered much with being soaking wet! We made it home in OK and I wrapped Frank in a sleeping bag with two hot water bottles and a heating pad. Then we thanked God we weren’t camping in a tent. Frank slept like a log and woke up raring to go again. In fact he’s on the other side of the trailer giving Starship Snoopy a well-deserved rubdown as he ran like a top all day for us!
I’m outside our shady trailer door sitting in my too good to be true fold-up chair with our handy-dandy laptop on my lap, dogs at my feet on their rug. Amen! This is the life!
Since we got fairly soaked yesterday, we decided it was time to do laundry, so we took the dogs and kick-butt truck a short drive to the camp laundry. Now, that’s all folded, and we’re all bright and pressed again. There were some magazines down there that included some shiny paper on manufactured vacation homes that looked just incredible! I can imagine one on our lot down in Wilcox. Sigh. Maybe someday. One of the bikers walked up to Frank while we were down there and handed him a copy of the Cortez newspaper. The rally got great coverage that included the interview the reporter did with Frank on Monday and a picture of him pointing out Snoopy on the dash of the Starship! How cool is that!
In spite of the rain and hail (by the way that stuff makes red marks when it hits you on the arms!) on our ride yesterday, we had a blast. Silverton always makes us question our choice to live in Phoenix. Of course, there is never snow on the ground when we visit. I ran into a guy in the Silverton museum who lives not far from us in Phoenix during the winters. He and his wife have dreams of building a house on the property they own in Silverton. In the meantime he takes part in the local goings on and helps out at the museum. We also ran into people from Germany, who the guy at the cash register managed to ingratiate by throwing out a few German words.
Frank and I had visited the museum in Silverton the last time we were up here and subsequently donated some historic items we bought in a Silverton antique store. Unfortunately our items weren’t on display because the museum got a million dollar windfall, and they’re completely restoring the old brick jail that houses the museum. They have also built on a lovely frame addition, which we toured. In the front lobby I spied some quilts for sale. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spied a twin-sized quilt with cutwork hand-stitched daisies appliquéd on it. I immediately fell in love and asked if it could be mailed home. The lady who made the quilt is a museum sponsor who often donates quilts to support the work of the museum. I wrote a short note thanking her for sharing her talent of quilt-making. A gold plaque with her name on it along with other museum sponsors hangs just beyond the lobby along with another larger quilt she made that will be auctioned at their fund-raiser.
We had a great breakfast in Silverton at a tiny, tiny café with a postcard view of the mountains, and then walked up and down the street looking in the shops where I bought a tiny bird water-whistle. I’ve been looking for one for quite some time, and I’m having a blast driving Frank insane with its little water warble. She sounds just like Jenny Wren and sits on top of our coffee maker in the trailer. Frank thought I was buying it for one of the grandkids, but no, I’ve wanted one of these for quite some time. The one I first glimpsed was an antique made in Italy. Of course, it belonged to someone else, so I couldn’t have it. My search on the Internet didn’t turn up any I liked so finding both my quilt and a bird whistle in Silverton proved quite serendipitous.
We’re collecting metal pins to place on our cabinet door showing all the places we’ve traveled in Ali-the -Gator. The pouring rain in Telluride made it impossible to stop, so we’re determined to drive though there on our way to Vale so we can get our BTP (Been There Pin). We certainly earned it. Ali-the-Gator is growing on us every day as we think up new ways to make it our own just like nesting in a new house.
Our INOA president just motored by on the back of a Norton yelling into a megaphone that the field events are about to start over at the ball field, so I guess I’d best bring this to a close. Tonight we do a group ride to Mancos where everyone shows off their bikes at Blondie’s Pub and Grub.
We’d love to hear your comments on the blog and what’s going on with you, so please email us at either ckdelmonte@cox.net or fjdmjr@cox.net. Looking forward to hearing from you. We do miss our friends and family!
Frank:
Wisdom comes with age.
Falser words were never spoken.
Wisdom would say, “If you are going for a 250 mile ride in southwestern Colorado be prepared for rain!”
Wisdom would say, “Just because you have no room for luggage on your “sporty-bike”, you shouldn’t give your rain suits to another rider to carry on his bike thinking you’ll be together when the rains come.”
Well, I did and we weren’t. And when the rains came we got soaked right through our not waterproof riding jackets and jeans. By the time we passed Telluride I was so cold and wet that I had decided if I saw ANY hotels or motels at all I was going to stop and stay the night, to heck with the dogs being alone in the trailer.
But that was not to be. There were NO motels anywhere. Finally we passed a small store and I saw a group of wet and bedraggled Norton riders in the parking lot AND THE CHASE TRUCK!
I quickly pulled in and asked the driver if Cheryl could ride passenger in the truck as there was no sense in both of us being wet and chilled to the bone. Then we went inside the store and I drank two cups of hot coffee, spent 20 minutes running hot water on my hands, bought two dry souvenir T-shirts and put them on in place of my soaked ones.
The remaining ride was 55 miles of spotty sun and drenching rain. By the time I got back to the campsite I was shaking so hard I could barely get off the bike. I crawled into the camper and sat in a hot bath and then conked out for 9 straight hours.
I have never been so wet and cold in my life, and it was all because I was dumb enough to not keep our rain gear with us. Oh well, lesson hard learned. But that’s probably the third or forth time I’ve learned that particular lesson and I wonder if it will stick with me this time?
By the way, Colorado weather is crazy. It has been sunny and a dry 95 degrees all day here at the campsite and yet just few minutes ago a black cloud swung in and dropped rain and hail on our heads! Then it scooted off and we’re back to sunshine. This is a weird state.
Love, Cheryl and Frank – Buddy and Peanut
No comments:
Post a Comment