Author: robmin57

Those of you who know me know that I love life and try to live it to the fullest.

Bandelier National Monument

Imagine the wonder of the Ancestral Pueblo People when they discovered the lush Frijoles Canyon, teeming with wildlife, trees, a creek running through it, and the canyon wall made up of soft “tuff” easily carved out into shelters. What a spiritual, magical place to visit. You get a real feel for life here in the early 1200s. Walking through the base of the canyon you could just imagine the children playing in the forest. We did not climb the 140 feet collection of steps and ladders to reach the Alcove House because it had started raining and we were worried about slippery footing. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it!) I hope we will return some day!

Age is just a number!

September 27, my birthday eve! Ed and I hiked the Point Lookout trail right from our campsite yesterday. It is only about a 2 mile round trip hike, but it was at 8,000 foot elevation up the backside of the mesa pictured above. We are still adjusting to the altitude. Unfortunately, we could not linger and enjoy the panoRamic views. Without cell service we had not realized a big storm was brewing in the east. Thankfully, we made it back to the RV before the rain began.

Mesa Verde National Park

September 24 &25, Experiencing Mesa Verde both on our own and with a tour guide was an enriching experience. There are so many stereotypes about the Native American cultures and our very knowledgeable tour guide helped us better understand the Pueblo People. They saw the “green table” of land from afar and skillfully built the community we now know as Mesa Verde. They planted crops and built either pit homes or Adobe homes on top of the mesa. The iconic cliff dwellings were actually used for storage. The only people who lived there were those charged with protecting the valuable food stores. It was not the white man who drove the inhabitants to migrate elsewhere. Instead, by using all the trees for building dwellings and for firewood, eventually they destroyed the habitat of all the wildlife they hunted for food.

All aboard the Durango to Silverton Steam Train!

What a fabulous day we had riding this steam train along the Animas River. The scenery was spectacular and the feeling of nostalgia when hearing the chug-a chug-a and the train whistle never grown old. Add this to your bucket list if it is not already on it!

Good night, Colorado!

After a long day of traveling across eastern Colorado we finally reached the mountains. The sunset from our Harvest Host was beautiful. We spent the evening with other HH guests chatting and sharing our adventures. Tomorrow we reach Mesa Verde National Park!

Wolf Creek Pass

Finally, as drove through Wolf Creek Pass, we began to experience Colorado as I had imagined it. Tall fir and Spruce trees framing the San Juan Mountain Range were stunning, and we spotted our first Quivering Aspen in all their fall glory.

Harvest Host #6, Shiloh Vineyards of Wakeeney, Kansas. Maybe I should have named this blog ”Wine Tasting Across Anerica”😉

  • Our view
  • The winery mascot!
  • Tadting in the old chicken coop!
  • The tornado shelter!
  • The long dirt road
  • Moon rise
We arrived at the winery via a 4 mile dirt road. It felt otherwordly ; very isolated yet very beautiful. The wine was good and the owners were lovely.

Missouri and riding the Katy Trail

Its always a pleasure to see an area through a native’s eyes. Luckily for us, it turned out that Kris and Neal (both born and raised in Missouri), could join us for a few days to ride the Katy Trail. It is a rails to trail passage that runs about 250 miles through Missouri, often following the Missouri River. Not to mention, they knew where to take us for some interesting and delicious wine tasting. This included a side trip to the charming town of Hermann. Hermann was founded by a group of ambitious German immigrants that chose to settle there because of its similarity to the Rhone River region.

The Wooden Boat Schooner Sail-in, finally!

  • It was a little chilly by the water so the men bought coordinating sweatshirts😉!
After 3 attempts, the Schooner Sail-in at Wooden Boat was finally a go! What a delight to watch these Windjammers come in to the harbor under full sail.

Westward Ho!

We bid our dear friends and camping buddies goodbye as we head in different directions.

Warning, Foodie Alert!!!

When you have two leftover lobster tails in the fridge and some fresh made pasta you purchased at a local farmers market, you whip up a batch of creamy lemon pasta with lobster. We don’t normally dine so fine at a Harvest Host but we didn’t mind, just this once!
  • Home Range Winery, Canaan, NY
  • Grand River Winery, Madison, OH
  • Tuscan Hills Winery,
    Effingham, IL
  • Sunrise over the Soybean field, looking out our frontdoor.
  • Ready to roll, one more day than we stay put for a few days!

1,400 miles and we’ve reached our third Harvest Host!

Four nights on the road and we are finally in Maine!

We started at First Landing State Park where we had a nice visit with Mom, to the parking lot of Midnight Oil Brewing where we caught up with some old friends, then on to the Linden Estates Winery. The last night on the road was spent in the LL Bean parking lot where we met up with our camping partners for the next 10 days.