Out And About: Roundups and Rodeos

Family Reunion

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

July 4th Weekend

7/2/16 - 7/7/16

We made it, we crossed over into Colorado. The Man's brother, Ron, was meeting us at Yampa River State Park, a mere two hours away.

Before we got there I had The Man pull over to a dirt lot in the town of Craig so I could make lunch. He was excited about the reunion but I needed to eat and was getting mighty grouchy. I fixed a quick orange marmalade sandwich and then we were good to go. (Note to self: Always pack peanut butter.)

We met Ron, Sheila, and grandkids - Ben and Oliver - at the playground. They were finishing up their deli meat sandwiches, dang. After unhitching the travel trailer in our reserved campsite we followed Ron to his cabin in the mountains.

At the end of the County-maintained road it turned into a muddy track. Unfortunately the muddy track led to Ron's cabin. As the sky darkened and rain drops fell we decided The Man's manly 2WD truck wouldn't make the grade. In due time we were going to head back to our campsite but in the meantime we made ourselves comfortable.

On the way back to the Campground we passed another brother, Jim. I didn't see him coming, I was checking out the scenery.

With more rain on the already muddy track it was a washout for everyone. In no time at all the party came to our campsite. Remember our motto: Self-contained and Flexible?

The next day we headed to Jim's cabin for a Sunday BBQ.

Chef Chris was manning the grill - ribs, chicken, beef tri-tip, fresh corn on the cob, and SLO Cattaneo Bros. Linguica.

A fun-filled day with family, food, and firearms. The best part (after family and food, of course) was the exploding targets. Yeehaw.

When all the exploding targets were used up we left Jim's cabin and drove the travel trailer to the Steamboat Springs KOA. We thought it would be convenient to stay closer to town so we had made reservations for a two-night stay. We had stayed there before and enjoyed our stay. This time we found ourselves in a city on wheels. (Note to self: Never ever again on a summer holiday weekend.)

The next day, we drove up to Ron's cabin, only 4-Wheel Drive vehicles this time, so we hitched a ride with Sheila.

Later, that evening - 4th of July - Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo.

Our family took up three tiers of bleacher seats. (Sheila put dibs on the seats with a tarp.)

Calf Scramble - grab the ribbon from the calf's tail. It didn't take long.

Fourth of July Fireworks - shot upwards from the hill behind us - almost as good as the exploding targets.

Early the next morning we headed for home. It was Tuesday and we needed to be home by Thursday. Along the way we had two more nights of camping and a bonus stop for The Man.

Tuesday night - Castle Rock Campground, Fishlake National Forest, Utah. From our campsite we could hear the baby peregrine falcons (eyasses) and watch the parents returning to their nests.

Wednesday night - Tehachapi Mountain Park, Kern County, CA. Next morning, breakfast at Kelcy's Restaurant, downtown Tehachapi.

I-Spy as we drove by . . . .

While The Man was shopping for his many manly hobbies along the way I kept busy with my own endeavors (which left little room for my feet).

Suffice it to say I was a knitting fiend, well, you know.

That's it, Colorado or Bust. Or in our case, bust in Colorado. The "new" rebuilt transmission needed a rebuild. We were told (again) that it will be as good as new.

Oh, and sad to say, the bicycles just went for the ride, their tires never touched the ground. Though I'm sure they had a good time anyway. Maybe next time.

The End.