Snow Birds...

While we knew we wouldn't be able to live on our property in Alma, Colorado through this Winter, we had been hoping to start building a house in the Spring and, optimistically, have something livable by next Winter.  Reality set in 2 days after we closed on the property in early October and got 6 inches of snow that slowly melted over the course of a week before getting 3 FEET of snow the following week!  Instead of having what we thought was going to be 5-6 months of snow to deal with, it now appears that we may have more like 7-8 months of snow, depending on the season.  We're now reevaluating what type of structure to build on the property.  The year round residence is probably out of the plan and our thinking is now more of a "docking station" of sorts for STEV to enjoy the property during the Summer months.  We'll see...

Shonah and Chip working to clear (and burn) some of the dead wood from what will become the driveway of our Alma, Colorado property.

Hanging Lake is a Colorado treasure and a rare example of a travertine geological formation located in the heart of Glenwood Canyon in the White River National Forest.

The 1.2 mile (1.9 km) trail is steep and rigorous, but rewarding once you see the natural beauty that awaits you at the top. It’s a Natural National Landmark and is popular with travelers for its awe-inspiring beauty and gentle Colorado waterfalls!

Shonah and Chip taking one more look at our property covered in snow before leaving Colorado in November.  Poor Chip had to jump from foot hole to foot hole as the snow was taller than he is AND it was hard not to laugh at him when he tried to go to the bathroom in the tall snow.

After leaving Colorado, we headed East to spend time with Shonah's parents in Illinois where we celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas early and helped Mom get the house ready for the holidays.  Toledo was next with a quick visit with Todd's niece Angela and her husband Greg who had recently purchased their first (100 year old) home.  A few days in Cleveland after that allowed us to resettle and sort some things from our trailer storage into a climate controlled storage unit for the winter and visit with friends and family for Thanksgiving before heading off to New York for a visit with Todd's Aunt Lou and Lynn.

Chip and Todd taking in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree just before the lighting ceremony later that day.  We chose to visit earlier in the day to avoid the crowds and from being "locked in" the area during the ceremony.

 

Todd, Chip and Shonah in front of the biggest Christmas lights we've ever seen in New York.

 

Heading south from New York, we stopped to visit Todd's niece Emily and her husband Matt in Charleston, South Carolina.

Escaping the cold north, Chip and Todd were excited to get to warmer weather and beaches on our way down to Florida.

 

Heading toward our destination in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, we stopped for quick visits with Todd's cousin Becky and her family in Jacksonville, Florida, Todd's Aunt Linda in Titusville, Florida and Todd's Uncle Art in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

 

Chip and Shonah in font of the Ft. Lauderdale "snowman".  We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in mid-December with a plan to stay for a month or so.  Todd's Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim live a few blocks off the beach and we have a free camping spot nearby that we've used in past visits.

Christmas Parades in Ft. Lauderdale involve lots of lighted boats parading on the canals and intercostal waterway.  This year's Winterfest Boat Parade had a very 80's theme.

Chip getting into the holiday spirit with the help of a hat from one of our Cliff Lake Villa friends, Kathy.

 

Christmas morning mimosas with Shonah, Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim and Jackie before brunch with a dozen friends.

While "bomb cyclones" were wrecking havoc up north, Todd and Chip were enjoying kayaking on the canals in Ft. Lauderdale and checking out the quite large bearded dragons.

We also saw a few manatees while kayaking around the Ft. Lauderdale canals.

As our planned time in Ft. Lauderdale came to an end in early January, we started to head for Texas to help celebrate Shonah's grandfather's 90th birthday.  Unfortunately, STEV had other thoughts and wanted to stay in warmer Florida where he spent a week and a half having very expensive rear axle surgery.

Not wanting to miss grandpa's birthday, we rented a car and drove to Texas while STEV was being repaired back in Florida.  After fixing up a bike that grandpa had salvaged, Todd is trying to help Grandpa prove that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget....although I am not sure you could call it a success.

We celebrated Grandpa's birthday at the home of Shonah's cousin Megan and her husband Tim and their girls near Corpus Christi, Texas.

Shonah's sister Stacy, her husband Jeff and their family from San Antonio, Texas were also able to join in the grand celebration.  Also helping to celebrate were Shonah's nephew Jeffery Jr, niece Tiffany, and his great-nephew Issac Jr.

 

Since it was still cold everywhere else in the country after our visit with Shonah's grandfather, we decided to spend more time in Ft. Lauderdale after picking up STEV.

We were fortunate to spend some time with Todd's cousin Lisa and her boyfriend Chris while they were in town visiting her parents for the Superbowl.

And because we are fortunate enough to have a pretty flexible schedule, we were also able to stay in town to visit with Todd's Aunt Lou during her weeklong trip to Miami, Florida.

As we prepared to leave Ft. Lauderdale in mid-February to head toward Colorado, Shonah started to have strong feelings about the option of becoming "snow birds" where we spend summers in Colorado and winters in Florida.  The sun and warmth really had an effect on him!  Todd's not yet convinced...

 

 

20 Years of Roaming...

While we have only been roaming in STEV, our EarthRoamer, for a little more than 4 1/2 years, EarthRoamer as a company has been around for 20 years and hosted a 20th Anniversary Rally at Area BFE just outside Moab, Utah in September.  This is the second annual EarthRoamer Rally we have attended and is a fun few days of classes, drives, entertainment and camaraderie with fellow EarthRoamer owners.  In 20 years, there have only been about 200 EarthRoamers built (STEV is #24) and there were about 40 Roamers that joined this year's rally.


Shonah and Todd chatting with other owners while Chip relaxes in one of our chairs.

Todd (seated) and Shonah chatting with EarthRoamer President Tyler Tatro (in red).

Shonah, Chip and Todd enjoying stories around the campfire.



The group assembled around the campfire at sunset.

A view of the Colorado River from Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab, Utah.

One of the highlights of the Rally was the option to participate in a group drive of the Shafer Trail in nearby Canyonlands National Park.   The road was originally a cattle trail built by John Sog Shafer in 1917.  Later in the 1940s and 1950s, it was constructed into a useable road for trucks hauling uranium ore from the benches below.

Shafer Trail winds its way up (or down) a 1500 foot sheer-walled mesa cliff using a path with multiple switchbacks and hairpin turns.

The 18 mile route is not recommended for sissies. Described as extremely challenging, ego crushing and heart stopping, this is the route where Thelma and Louise drove their car off the cliff edge.

A photo of STEV navigating the Shafer Trail taken by one of the other EarthRoamer owners on the group drive with us.

We stopped for lunch at one of the few spots along the route that was wide enough for parking... and long enough for a group of EarthRoamers.

Chip and Shonah enjoying the view of the Colorado River from our lunch spot on the Shafer Trail

STEV navigating the dirt and slick rock near the end of the Shafer Trail.

Todd, Chip and Shonah posing on the canyon edge.

Welcome to Colorful Colorado!

Well, after a 2 year hiatus from traveling in our EarthRoamer to help take care of Todd's parents, STEV is finally back on the road and roaming Colorado where we are scouting for property to create our new home base.  We had been using Todd's parent's house in Ohio as our home base in between travels on the road, but sadly, they are gone and the property has been sold.  Colorado has always had a special place in our hearts and is our "happy place".  When we're not sure where we want to travel, we somehow always seem to end up in Colorado. 

In addition to STEV, we're also traveling with our recently acquired Toyota 4Runner which allows us to set up a base camp and easily explore the surrounding, and sometimes technical, area.

One of our base camps at Columbine Landing located in the National Forest just north of Silverthorne, CO in Summit County.

Camping in Summit County puts us close to Copper Mountain where we can enjoy the amenities including "Yappy Hour" at the outdoor dog friendly bar "Downhill Duke's".

Todd decided to try a little white water kayaking on the Green River located just behind our campsite at Columbine Landing.

Growing up around boats, Todd's always happy being on the water.  Shonah and Chip opted not to join Todd due to the fast running water.

14er's as they are called, are mountain peaks in Colorado rising more than 14,000 feet above sea level.  This is the summit of Mt. Lincoln at 14,286 feet.

Chip looks like he gets a free ride, but he actually hikes up every summit we do and then we give him a free ride down to reduce the wear and tear on his paws.  This is the summit of Mt. Cameron at 14,238 feet.

Mt. Bross at 14,172 feet is now the 7th 14er the three of us have summited together.  There are a total of 58 peaks in Colorado above 14,000 feet (depending on the source).  At any rate, we have just a few more to go!

In addition to having a little fun, most of July and August were spent traveling around the state of Colorado looking for the "right" property to become our new home base.  The criteria was that it needed to be in the mountains with an interesting landscape and good views.  Bonus points for being adjacent to public lands and having outdoor activities nearby.  Being "off grid" was a possibility, but having some amenities like a grocery store within a reasonable distance was also important. 

We are now under contract on an acre of property south of Breckenridge in the "highest incorporated town in North America" - Alma, Colorado.  The property sits at 11,500 feet in elevation and is bordered on two sides by Pike National Forest.  Out the "back door" we literally have several of Colorado's 14,000+ foot peaks, incredible hiking, snowshoeing, back country skiing, snowmobiling, ATVing, fly fishing, and tons of wildlife including deer, elk, fox, coyote, moose and bear.  It's currently vacant land and our goal is to install a driveway and get the septic system permits started yet this fall and then come back in the spring to start construction on a house we design over the winter.  We plan to do most of the work ourselves which will (most definitely) be an adventure...  wish us luck!

The winning property currently under contract.  If all goes well, we will be the new owners in early October.

This blog post is dedicated to Todd's parents who, while being gone, are always with us.

Todd's parents surrounded by their family.