On the road at last ...

Randy is officially RETIRED!!!

So begins a dream that began 41 years ago. We are on the road - really we are headed south as I write this blog!   I don't remember my first day of school a long time ago but I'm sure the feelings I have right now are a bit similar.  Excite? Yes!  Frightened?  A bit! Knowing that ahead lies a journey of discovery and adventure that Randy and I have talked about for a long time  seems a bit surreal.  But like some wonderful friends of ours pointed out, "Everyday is Saturday now!"

Following our dream!
 (I'm driving the car behind)

We left the KOA campground in Fort Collins October 6. It was strange to pull out of the drive way knowing that we are no longer permanent residents and are heading off to establish a new "home base" in Texas before the next work kamper season.  





Although we had planned for this day, getting all our ducks in a row suddenly became a matter of top priority!

• Would the steps and porch for the RV fit into the box that Randy made for them in the bed of the pickup?
• Did we fastened down all the movable objects in the RV  sufficiently so they wouldn't dance all around as we went the road?
• Did we eliminated all the unnecessary stuff that we don't need to be hauling around or more importantly did we remember all the really important stuff we need? 

And the lists went on... overwhelming to say the least!

We had a bit of a test run early the morning of Friday the 13th of September when we woke to the sheriff banging on our door telling us that they were recommending evacuation!  The water in the river was well above flood stage from all the rain and the dam up the Poudre was "at risk" of going over the top.   So,  at 4:02am we were outside in the pouring rain hooking up the trailer and preparing to evacuate to higher ground. Our friends, Ted and Faustine, who live in south Fort Collins offered us a bed and a spot to park the trailer so we did have a place to go.  Only one problem, they were south of the river and we were north of the river and most of the bridges in town were closed.  We had to go way east to find a crossing to go way west.  Thankfully the campground escaped the flooding and we were able to return by noon the next day!

The evacuation was good because we learned very quickly what we needed to secure to the wall or stow away.  Our little home on wheels had not moved very far in the past two years so some of the interior changes we made did the "Watusi" on our journey across town.   Spices came 'a-flyin' when I opened the cabinet door, paperclips played a friendly game of 'scatter' when the desk tipped, and the flower arrangement on the end table relocated to the other side of the slide out all by its self!

With the threat of snow just north of us in Wyoming and moving south we moved south!   Tonight we are in a campground in Taos, New Mexico on our way to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival.  We are traveling with our friends, Ted and Faustine, and are meeting up with other friends in Albuquerque. Then on to Carlsbad to see the caverns before we head across west Texas to our new "winter" home near Austin!