Brenda and Orval’s Visit (August 23 – August 30, 2023)

I Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Our previous blog was all about the boys’ visit at the end of July and inadvertently missed a few events that occurred before their visit but are still worth writing about.  Bill’s 74th birthday celebration was with our good friends, Terry & Sue Cooprider at 149 Eatery https://149eatery.com/. The small restaurant is located at Cottonwood Cove Guest Ranch and RV Park and has become a very popular place to eat among the Mountain Views RV (MVR) Resort guests. The main chef is the one who was making breakfast burritos at our park last season.

In late July, we trailered our side-by-side to Lake City and then took the Alpine Loop trail ride. It was not disappointing; the wildflowers were beautiful. Karen found a new photo feature on her iPhone 14 Pro that produced a few awesome flower pics. We later learned that there are wildflowers that are just as pretty, if not more abundant on a ride off of Pool Table trails that we will visit in July next season.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Brenda and Orval came for a visit, deciding to head our way earlier than their reservations began at MVR to get out of the Texas heat. They stayed at Trinidad Lake State Park, close enough to Creede to allow an early arrival beginning their first reserved day, August 23. Bill volunteers working the annual Headwater’s Music Festival – Creede, Colorado which was scheduled to begin on the 26th and he was anxious to get them out on a side-by-side ride at least once before the busy volunteer activities were underway. We have awesome neighbors and friends, Bob & Marguerite Holt, they offered to loan us their side-by-side, so Bill and Orval drove theirs while Brenda and Karen took our Kawasaki KRX. It was a long ride, up Bachelor’s Loop continuing on the Ladders up to 12,300 feet at the Continental Divide where there was still visible snow up at that higher altitude. Then it was back down along Rat Creek and up and across the Whoopee hills to the park.

Unfortunately, Orval was having hip issues before they arrived, and the bumpy ride caused him some setbacks. As this blog is being typed, Orval has had a full hip replacement surgery that was scheduled as soon as they got back to Texas from this visit with us in Creede. Prayers answered, it was successful, and he is recovering.

Brenda and Karen sat outside in the wonderful mountain air alongside the fire pit one evening at our RV site, enjoyed girl-talk just between the two of them while Bill played the regularly scheduled guys’ poker game and Orval relaxed at his place. Another night when the guys had other plans, the two of them played bingo at the Community Center, Brenda was just one away from a big win!

• 

• 

One day, we left the side-by-sides behind and took the truck to drive to North Clear Creek Falls https://www.uncovercolorado.com/waterfalls/north-clear-creek-falls/. It’s a nice scenic drive to the falls and the falls are very pretty. Everyone around the area knows that you cannot drive past Freemon’s Ranch cafe without stopping to have their famous hamburgers.  Another stop along the way is the Studios at Bristol https://www.kathykillip.com/studios-at-bristol. Many of the ladies at MVR often boast of the beautiful, custom-made bracelets that they purchased at Bristol Studios, and they are very nice. Karen enjoys looking at the nice things, but not being a big jewelry wearer, has only purchased a few knick-knacks for the soon-to-be pavilion.

Part of our participation in the annual Headwater’s Music Festival is co-hosting the Friday night kickoff dinner with the event manager/founder and our neighbors, Bob & Marguerite. This year’s dinner was a replica of last year with our hosting dinner for the festival’s opening act, the Ft. Carson’s 4th Infantry Division Band. In addition to the band we also had visiting friends that made the group approximately 25 people.  We made table centerpieces from the fresh flowers in my garden. Brenda has a niche for crafting and created a beautiful, professional-looking bouquet, thanks again, sister-in-law! After dinner, the Infantry Division Band performs a kickoff performance in the Mountain Views’ Elks Lodge. Everyone so enjoys this special performance, people sing along, and a few will get up and dance . . . it was lots of fun!

The weather on Saturday at the music festival started off well, but by the afternoon, it started raining and the temperature dropped. We were thankful for the canvas tent cover that provided us shelter. The entertainment and outdoor venue is a 2-day fun event that we enjoy being a part of each year. Brenda was asked to dance by a friend of ours, Chris Johnson, and it was nice watching her having fun. The height difference between them was quite obvious! Chris told Brenda that she was the shortest person he ever danced with, but that she was very cute.

There were repeat bands that performed last year, and a few new ones. Bob Jenkins, a friend at MVR performed. He had hosted an outdoor concert at their RV site for his wife, Laura’s, birthday bringing in the local group Rivertown Folk. He sang a few specials at this event which was to a much smaller audience than at the one at the Music Festival. We also liked Dan West, a performer from Austin. This was our first time to hear him, and he was really good. Dan was on the side stage, and he was so good, and everyone liked him so much that we were told he would be back at next year’s music festival, and he would be on the main stage. After the last concert performance on Sunday evening, Bob Holt reserved tables for a group of 36 people to meet up at Antlers Restaurant for dinner. Brenda and Orval joined us and we had a nice time. The two of them were enjoying the nice weather and visit, so they extended their reservation for two more days, originally, they were leaving on Monday morning.

• 

• 

• 

Orval was still suffering from hip pain, so we only took one side-by-side ride the day they arrived. We took the truck and visited Big Meadows Reservoir State Wildlife Area in South Fork https://www.uncovercolorado.com/activities/big-meadows-reservoir-swa/, a place our former pastor, Lester Hutson, said is one of his favorite places to fish. There were a few couples fishing along the bank and catching lake trout with power bait. We decided we were going to go back and spend a day fishing but didn’t make it this season. After spending time at Big Meadows, we enjoyed a meal at Ramon’s Mexican Restaurant in South Fork.

Our good friends and neighbors, Brian and Maggie from Florida, hosted a few group breakfasts and of course their notorious awesome evening bonfires.  They have a double lot right on the bank of the Rio Grande River and because of that river location, they are allowed to burn large wood fires in their large fire pit.  It’s not unusual to have 20 or more people gather.  Brian is a fireman and takes pride in gathering large stacks of wood to burn.

Good friends, the Coopriders, organized a large group sunset ride up to the Divide to see the Super Moon which was set to be seen on August 30. It was awesome to watch the gorgeous sunset and such fun to participate with this group of friends.

Mid-September is when the fall colors begin, and it is one of our favorite times of the season.  Looking out upon the mountains, one can see the Aspen trees changing to their bright yellow and orange leaves.

In 2023, we decided to consider buying a larger previously owned or new 5th wheel to replace our 2016 Forest River Wildcat to give us more room and because as much as we have enjoyed the Wildcat, there simply is not enough closet and drawer space to carry what’s needed for a 5-month seasonal stay. The bathroom is also a bit too small for long stays. Ideally, we wanted to add about 10 feet to what we have now. In pursuit of our upgrade, we traveled over the weekend to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see a model Bill believed to be a good fit and we spent one night in Albuquerque. The next day we visited several RV dealers and then we drove to Santa Fe and spent the night and did a little touring. The next day, we drove up to see Ski Santa Fe a destination we were considering for a possible snow ski trip for our grandson Parker’s 16th birthday.  It was a long drive up the mountain and without hotels and other accommodations, it wasn’t what we were hoping for.  Pretty drive though!

Our hunt for the next 5th wheel continued a few days later when we took a long drive to Kansas City to check out a preowned, 2021 full-body paint Montana Legacy 5th wheel. The couple who owned it were Christians and missionaries and were just in the process of finishing the build on their Barndominium so they were ready to sell. Mike and Liz were a delightful couple and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting them, their son, and their daughter-in-law at their lovely place. However, we decided it was not the 5th wheel for us (they did find a buyer a few days later).  Kansas City was a long trip (2,400 miles round trip) to take in only three days and because we came back without a new-to-us RV, it was quite disappointing and tiring. We did make it back to Creede in time for Bill to play in the regularly scheduled poker game at the MV Elk’s Lodge and of course, he got a bit of teasing from the guys for rushing the long drive back to the lodge to be in time to play in the games.

There were a couple of deer (male and female) that frequented our site daily, sometimes twice a day in the morning and evening. You could easily see their growth from early June through the last picture taken at the end of September.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Concluding our 2023 Season in Creede, Colorado, our pavilion concrete was poured, but when we drove off on Wednesday, September 27, there was no other progress. We will once again, look forward to the 2024 Season in Creede and the pavilion we are hopeful will be completed.

Philippianns 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”