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June 21, 2010, a Monday
Parker (K2) to near Echo Lake Park, Colorado, USA
— Took GA with us and went gold panning and fishing
I had my normal breakfast then did some computer work. Then I packed up my mother's iPad and took it to FedEx while J vacuumed the floors of the RV. When I returned, we prepped the RV to move and left around 10:45 with me in the RV and J in the Jeep.
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to pick up GA (grandson A, age 8.5) who will be spending two nights with us in the RV. GS (granddaughter S, age 3) came out to see me as I pulled in, and I picked her up and carried her inside while we gave each other some nice cuddles. GA was raring to go and GJ (grandson J, age 4.5) was still eating breakfast. J made sure that GA had everything he needed for our visit to Mt. Evans. Mt. Evans is an easily-accessible fourteener (mountain with a peak over 14,000 ft or 4300m), and the paved road to the top (14,264 ft or 4348m) is the highest paved road in North America. Mt. Evans is a favorite for nature photographers, especially in the Denver area, because the Mountain Goats near the top are quite approachable. The more-famous Pikes Peak is only 14,115 ft (4302m) high, and the top two thirds of the road to the top of it is dirt. After GJ finished eating, we got some cuddles in. We left around 11:25 with me in the RV and J and GA in the Jeep.
We went to the King Soopers at Lincoln and Jordan so J could return a Redbox movie while I hooked up the Jeep to tow while GA watched.
We got underway and took I-25 to C-470.
We went to the McDonald's just off Ken Caryl Ave for lunch around 12:20. I had a Big Mac meal and J got a Filet-O-Fish and small fries and we ate in the RV. GA wasn't hungry. J had hoped to be able to download the new iOS 4 for her iPhone, but she wasn't able to connect to the McDonald's WiFi network.
We got underway and took I-70 west into the mountains. We got off at Idaho Springs and got on Squaw Pass Road. We hadn't been up to Mt. Evans since shortly after moving into the RV, and the drive brought back some nice memories.
We reached our boondocking spot near Echo Lake Park around 2:10. Echo Lake is at 10,600 ft (3231m), and we were looking forward to having cooler temperatures. After setting up camp, I discovered that there was a Verizon Wireless signal. :) There wasn't one the last time we were here, so we were pleasantly surprised to get a signal this time. We could go online through our USB sticks, but the signal wasn't good enough for my phone. I started to work up a blog entry. We left around 3:35 in the Jeep and ...
Went to the Chicago Creek Picnic Area so GA could go gold panning. His father, SJ (J's son J), was into gold panning as a kid, and GA brought his fancy Garrett 14" Prospector Gold Pan along. We sifted through some gravel, and GA decided that picking up stones directly from the stream was a better was to look for gold. Then he decided that making a dam out of rocks was more fun than looking for gold.
We returned to the RV around 5:35. GA changed out of his wet clothes and I replaced the laces in my boots because they were starting to wear thin in places. Then I worked on the blog entry some more while J prepared dinner and made a surprise (Key-lime pie).
We had dinner around 6:35 of a DiGiorno rising crust cheese pizza (GA only likes cheese pizzas), and J liked it more than the Supreme pizzas we usually get. She thought the crust and sauce was better. I did the dishes, then we left around 7:30 and ...
Went to Echo Lake so GA could go fishing. He had a unique way of casting that usually involved catching a bush behind him or wrapping the line around the rod on the back swing. He was using either tiny marshmallows or salmon eggs as bait, and the marshmallows would almost always get ripped off the hook as GA started to cast. One time, the marshmallow went about 50 ft (15m) straight up in the air and landed right in front of J while the hook went out into the lake. We didn't catch anything, as in fish. Nor did we catch anything (I hope) from one of the world's deadliest animals — the mosquito. For the past few weeks, GA has been fascinated (fixated?) by the world's ten deadliest animals.
We returned to the RV around 8:45, and J and I had some of the Key-lime pie that J had prepared before dinner. It was pretty tasty. GA had licked the beaters earlier and decided that he wasn't into Key-lime pie, so he had a first-ever special dessert of a Hunt's Snack Pack Butterscotch Pudding mixed with cinnamon swirl cereal that he enjoyed. After we finished eating, GA and I played a movie/book title game that GA devised, and J went online. After we finished playing the game, I finished the blog entry.
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) to pick up GA (grandson A, age 8.5) who will be spending two nights with us in the RV. GS (granddaughter S, age 3) came out to see me as I pulled in, and I picked her up and carried her inside while we gave each other some nice cuddles. GA was raring to go and GJ (grandson J, age 4.5) was still eating breakfast. J made sure that GA had everything he needed for our visit to Mt. Evans. Mt. Evans is an easily-accessible fourteener (mountain with a peak over 14,000 ft or 4300m), and the paved road to the top (14,264 ft or 4348m) is the highest paved road in North America. Mt. Evans is a favorite for nature photographers, especially in the Denver area, because the Mountain Goats near the top are quite approachable. The more-famous Pikes Peak is only 14,115 ft (4302m) high, and the top two thirds of the road to the top of it is dirt. After GJ finished eating, we got some cuddles in. We left around 11:25 with me in the RV and J and GA in the Jeep.
We went to the King Soopers at Lincoln and Jordan so J could return a Redbox movie while I hooked up the Jeep to tow while GA watched.
We got underway and took I-25 to C-470.
We went to the McDonald's just off Ken Caryl Ave for lunch around 12:20. I had a Big Mac meal and J got a Filet-O-Fish and small fries and we ate in the RV. GA wasn't hungry. J had hoped to be able to download the new iOS 4 for her iPhone, but she wasn't able to connect to the McDonald's WiFi network.
We got underway and took I-70 west into the mountains. We got off at Idaho Springs and got on Squaw Pass Road. We hadn't been up to Mt. Evans since shortly after moving into the RV, and the drive brought back some nice memories.
J's Key-Lime Pie
Graham Cracker Crumb Crust
- 4 tbs butter
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbs sugar
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (can use the whipped cream cheese that comes in a tub)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/3 cup Key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
- 1 tsp grated lime peel
- lime slices, cut in half
Went to the Chicago Creek Picnic Area so GA could go gold panning. His father, SJ (J's son J), was into gold panning as a kid, and GA brought his fancy Garrett 14" Prospector Gold Pan along. We sifted through some gravel, and GA decided that picking up stones directly from the stream was a better was to look for gold. Then he decided that making a dam out of rocks was more fun than looking for gold.
We returned to the RV around 5:35. GA changed out of his wet clothes and I replaced the laces in my boots because they were starting to wear thin in places. Then I worked on the blog entry some more while J prepared dinner and made a surprise (Key-lime pie).
We had dinner around 6:35 of a DiGiorno rising crust cheese pizza (GA only likes cheese pizzas), and J liked it more than the Supreme pizzas we usually get. She thought the crust and sauce was better. I did the dishes, then we left around 7:30 and ...
Went to Echo Lake so GA could go fishing. He had a unique way of casting that usually involved catching a bush behind him or wrapping the line around the rod on the back swing. He was using either tiny marshmallows or salmon eggs as bait, and the marshmallows would almost always get ripped off the hook as GA started to cast. One time, the marshmallow went about 50 ft (15m) straight up in the air and landed right in front of J while the hook went out into the lake. We didn't catch anything, as in fish. Nor did we catch anything (I hope) from one of the world's deadliest animals — the mosquito. For the past few weeks, GA has been fascinated (fixated?) by the world's ten deadliest animals.
We returned to the RV around 8:45, and J and I had some of the Key-lime pie that J had prepared before dinner. It was pretty tasty. GA had licked the beaters earlier and decided that he wasn't into Key-lime pie, so he had a first-ever special dessert of a Hunt's Snack Pack Butterscotch Pudding mixed with cinnamon swirl cereal that he enjoyed. After we finished eating, GA and I played a movie/book title game that GA devised, and J went online. After we finished playing the game, I finished the blog entry.