On the Dirt in Missouri and Colorado

It has been a busy month since we last updated the blog.  On Tuesday, July 26th, Pete & Geneva took us to Chattanooga to rent a car which we then drove to Springfield, Missouri.  Our friend Nila was retiring from Missouri State University after more than 32 years and her retirement reception was the afternoon of July 27th.  Naturally, we wanted to be there.







After the on-campus reception, Nila hosted several friends and business associates at Bruno’s downtown where we continued the celebration.

 









The next day Todd & I met with a realtor and looked at about 16 houses.  Having found one we were interested in, we took a second look at it Friday morning and made an offer.  After a little haggling back and forth, we had ourselves a contract.





Beautiful Rose of Sharon bushes border the back deck.



Friday afternoon, July 29th, Nila & Everett took off for Lake Tahoe and we headed to Bucyrus in Nila’s car to see my niece Jennifer.  We stayed with Jennifer until the following Wednesday when we drove back to Springfield (Branson, actually) to fly to Colorado to attend a 35-year get-together of several of Todd’s high school friends.  One of the planned activities was a golf game on Friday, so Todd and Rodney, one of his oldest friends, practiced a few shots in Todd’s parents back yard Thursday afternoon.





Then Rodney took charge of dinner and grilled fresh corn, chicken and salmon for us.





Early Friday morning, Todd and Rodney were off to the golf course.









Later that afternoon the group met at The Millennium Harvest House Beer Garden where Todd reconnected with a number of old friends and a good time was had by all.



Saturday afternoon a few people joined us at Todd’s parents for more socializing and games.









The final event of the weekend was Saturday evening at the St. Julien Hotel Terrace.





Then on Sunday morning, August 7th, we took off for Gunnison, Colorado, with Todd’s parents and saw some beautiful scenery along the way.  We also spent some time mushrooming and found enough to have with dinner one night at the ranch!



We enjoyed a nice lunch at Mango’s in Red Cliff, Colorado.













That evening we arrived at the Gunnison River Ranch, our home for the next several days.  The ranch is owned by Lanning family friends who generously allowed us to stay in their home there.



The next morning we went exploring in the high desert country on four wheelers – a first for me!























And then there’s the real reason for coming to the Gunnison River Ranch – trout fishing!



But I can’t complain since we had a wonderful fire next to the river every night we were there.





Tuesday evening owners Billy & Annie stopped by for happy hour to say hello to the Lannings and finally meet the Admiral .  What a nice young couple!



The next afternoon Todd did some trout fishing a short distance downstream from the house so I went along to watch and take some pictures.











On Thursday, August 11th, we left the Gunnison River Ranch and headed back to Boulder via a different route with more beautiful mountainous scenery.









Saturday afternoon Todd’s sister Cindy and husband Ken came down from Steamboat Springs to see us and we had a wonderful cookout by the creek.  Family friend Kim Dewey also joined us and her husband Mark stopped by later on his way back from a fishing trip.



Shucking fresh corn by the creek.







Then it was back to Missouri on Saturday.  We spent the next ten days with my niece and had hoped to get her out and about to do some fun things, but between the hot weather and various other circumstances, that didn’t pan out.  The one day we attempted to take her to the zoo in Springfield, we ended up broken down on the side of the road with a blown radiator hose.  By the time my dad came to our rescue and got the hose replaced, it was too late to make it to the zoo and still have any time to spend there.  So we don’t have any pictures of that part of our trip to share.

We did, however, manage to purchase two vehicles while we were there.  We bought a nice 2007 Chevrolet Impala for me and a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 for the Captain.  On Wednesday, August 24th, we drove the pickup back to Sale Creek and left the car at Jennifer’s.  Pete & Geneva came to Sale Creek Thursday morning to see us off and take the truck back to their house in Dayton, TN.  We plan to pick it up after we get to Demopolis, AL.

Thursday afternoon we anchored at Dog Leg Slough and dinghied over to Island Cove Marina to have dinner with Dave on “Moonstruck.”  We went to Las Margaritas again for some great Mexican food and a killer pitcher of top shelf margaritas!



Friday we headed downriver, through Chattanooga, to anchor at Little Cedar Mountain, just above the Nickajack Lock.  Saturday it was on to an anchorage near Goose Pond, just up from the marina, and today (Sunday, August 28th) we plan to make it to Ditto Landing on the upper part of Wheeler Lake.

Our goal is to be in our spot at Waterfall Cove on Pickwick Lake no later than Thursday in preparation for the Labor Day weekend.  If all goes well, we may even get there on Wednesday.  We are looking forward to seeing all of our Pickwick friends again and catching up with Mo & Gale on “Blue Heron!”