Thursday, July 11, 2013:   We have frigid food!           (Second attempt at posting!)

Frank:  The new fridge is installed and working wonderfully and we are in Moab, Utah.

Yesterday at noon, not having heard from Camping World I checked the UPS tracking number and found that the parts for the refrigerator had been delivered at 11:02.  We blasted west to Belmont and they pulled a mechanic off another (big rig) job and had him finish the installation.  He said it would be a 30 minute effort and sure enough two and a half hours we were out of there.  

We stayed over at the Flag KOA and got an early start this morning.  Our intended destination was Blanding, Utah but we were there at 2:00 in the afternoon so we decided to press on to Moab.  We used an iPhone App (Find KOA) to guide us right into the Kamp.  We also have a “Find Good Sam RV Parks” App.  My, my, my, how did we ever get along (or get anywhere) before we had the Interweb?

Added at second attempt at posting on Friday, July 12

Frank:  For some reason yesterday’s post didn’t stick and when we went to check on it, it wasn’t there.  So I will try again.

We had a great day today and made very good time.  We actually made it all the way to Rawlins, Wyoming and are just about 4-5 hours away from Buffalo.  So tomorrow will, oops, should, be an easy day.

We just had a great dinner in Rawlins at the Aspen House Restaurant.  Great food!  Cheryl had Medallions of Beef in a wine sauce and I had Cajun Blackened Chicken with Pasta.  I ran out of appetite and brought home half of mine.  T’will be great for lunch tomorrow.   We also brought home a piece of coconut cream pie for later.

Cheryl:  At 7:30 this morning Ali-the-Gator screamed out of the KOA in Craig, Colorado, stirring up a Magpie by the side of the road and roaring off toward Wyoming “Hell bent for leather” as they say in the movies. We camped just south of Moab, so this morning we cruised through the main street taking in all the signs for adventure tours, river rafting, kayaking, horseback riding and such. The wide, swept streets and funky store fronts begged us to take a walk to discover more of what this sweet town has to offer. Alas, Ali kept pushing us from behind, so we scurried on through hoping to come back here someday for a longer look.

We drove through all kinds of alien-looking terrain today. I mean as in unearthly. There were stretches of land looking like sand poured from a great height and then made solid by some mysterious epoxy. There were landscapes where the road stretched before us in miles and miles of two-lane ribbon with nothing but vacant desert scrub on either side. Little towns popped up in the middle of nowhere, each with one main street, a gas station and a tiny grocery store.

We quickly crossed over from Utah to Colorado after leaving Moab to discover the Colorado River flowing right along with us toward Grand Junction. We passed by a berg called Rifle, drifted north to Meeker where Frank once camped in the little downtown’s grassy park with friends while on a m/c odyssey many moons ago. Pressing on to Craig where we thought we’d land for the night, we discovered there were more daylight hours we could put to good use. “Wyoming state line here we come,” we shouted, failing to count the number of hours we’d already been captive inside the truck.

Nine hours later (way beyond my limit), we’ve settled in Rawlins, Wyoming for the night in another lovely little KOA where I spent some time up in front of the park office jawing with the owners and enjoying the porch swing with the puppies. Talk about “big sky,” it’s here and it’s full of white, friendly clouds enhancing the blue showing through behind them. Yessiree, this is the life in summer. They close during the snows of winter, but leave the gate open just in case some hearty RV should come this way.

The dinner at the Aspen House can be described in no other words than “world class.” Oh my taste buds! Whoever’s cookin’ in the kitchen certainly studied the culinary arts at some fancy college. The little1901 home’s history includes a doctor’s practice and following that a law office. Each room now furnished with tables covered with white cloths, set with fine china and enhanced by the glow of a candle in a red-tinted goblet. Sigh! I’ve left the world of soggy food in melted ice-filled coolers and come to the tables of the gods! As an Air Force buddy of Frank’s used to say, “I am replete, any more would be superfluous!”

So goodnight dear friends and family from one happy camper, a husband with the culinary key to my heart, and two furry pups exhausted from another day of long walks along unfamiliar and delicious smelling paths.

We salute you for reading!

Cheryl, Frank, Cleo, and Peanut