Camp Hale at Ft Carson ( Easter)

The three of us were sitting outside playing a card game called Five Crowns (very fun game). The snow has melted all but a patch here and there. The sun is shining brightly, the sky is a vivid blue. We ate sushi from the Commissary for lunch (yum). There’s a strawberry shortcake for later.

We saw a hawk circling overhead. At first we thought it was an eagle (it was very high up) so I got my camera and started shooting.

I just had to share this with you all.

Red tailed hawk

Look close – he was looking right at me!!!

And in case you haven’t seen the latest AI rendition of Zoe…

Zoe as the Easter Bunny

Stay safe everyone XO.

Camp Hale at Ft. Carson, CO

This campground is rustic. There are full hookups at each site, all pull throughs, and the pine tree forest (love the aroma) is right there bordering the campground. Very peaceful and relaxing here. Gravel roads make it dusty. We are still feeling the altitude but doing everything we can to acclimate. CO is about 6,000 ft.

Today is Easter. Happy Easter from Zoe and us!

(AI generated)

Two days ago it snowed 5 inches. Soft fluffy snow falling hour after hour, it was so pretty. Yesterday the sun came out and it started melting. It’s gone from the roads, just a little “frosting” on the pine trees left.

Zoe (being a Florida dog) had never seen snow. She was perplexed at first.

Not a fan
Sally

Dawn is still with us. We’ve been playing cards and Yahtzee, fun times 🤗.

We’ll be here a couple of weeks waiting for the east entrance of Yellowstone to open.

Stay safe everyone! XO

Maxwell NM NWR

We are staying here for just a few days. We love the wildness and expanse of this place. There are zero amenities unless you consider trash receptacles and vault style Port-O- potties amenities haha. It’s very windy here too so no campfires are allowed. A few other campers have come and gone but for the most part we are here by ourselves. Dawn, Vic’s daughter who lives in Colorado Springs, has come down to visit a few days. She got a ride down with Calvin, one of her room mates.

I made this video so you could hear the meadowlarks singing.

Vista
Our setup – Dawn petting Zoe

Zoe adores Dawn and has hardly left her lap since she got here. 😊

Dawn with Zoe (mid scratch)
Dawn and Zoe

Zoe really likes Calvin too.

Calvin with Zoe

Dawn makes a killer curry and brought a batch with her. We’ve been enjoying it enormously.

We visited the camels, on a farm about 5 miles away.

Camel
Camel
Prong horn
Pelicans on the lake
Meadowlark

On to Colorado Springs next. We’ll stay at Camp Hale/Ft Carson.

Stay safe everyone! XO

Carbello State Park

Riverside Campground NM

04.08.25

We got here on April 7th. After skipping across Texas we stopped at Ft. Bliss, an Army base, for 4 days.

The campsites at Carbello are spaced far apart, very roomy sites. Each one has a picnic table and a metal roof covering. The Rio Grande flows next to the campground.

Here is us:

Roomy sites
Rio Grande, not very wide or fast moving here

I walked around in the late afternoon and saw several birds. The lighting wasn’t the best but I did get a Vermillion Flycatcher.

Vermillion Flycatcher
House Finch

Now we are at Bosque del Apache, NM, one of our very favorite wildlife refuges. Early mornings are usually best but this time of year the afternoons have given us our best photo-ops.

Road Runner with extra pretty colors
He was posing
Coyote

This creature was so tame, he walked along the side of the road and didn’t react to our truck at all.

Mallard Duck
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
Green Winged Teal (love this one)
Red Head Duck with reflection
Gambel Quail
This one has its mouth open, they make a very distinctive trilling sound.
Cinnamon Teal Duck
Snow Geese

Stay safe everyone ❤️

Almost to Ft Bliss, El Paso, TX

We stayed in a crappy RV park last night. It got 5 star reviews but you should have seen how shabby and decrepit this place was. It made the top 5 list of worst places we have stayed. The guy in charge of things was extremely friendly and helpful. He was obviously the reason for the high rating but still… good grief.

We didn’t unhitch. There was nowhere to go. The town was full of neglected and abandoned buildings. The Walmart was 75 miles away. They had 2 Dollar stores.

We left early this morning, drove 5 hours, and decided to stop at this rest area. It’s super clean and nice. The parking lot is enormous. In the morning we will travel about 120 miles and we will be in Ft Bliss.

Rest stop
Sign on the “nature trail”
They were creative with local stone and indigenous plants.

San Antonio, TX

We’ve had a good few days here but will leave tomorrow. It’s going to be hot for the next few days then thunderstorms so we are not hanging around for that.

Yesterday we met up with Margo and Davey and Lily, the now 6 year old granddaughter they are raising. Margo is my oldest friend and I love her dearly. She lucked out finding Davey, he’s a heck of a guy and also a Marine. We met them for lunch at Ivar’s Pub on the River and had a delightful time.

Davey, Lily, Sally, Margo
Davey, Lily, Margo, Vic

It was a short visit but very enjoyable.

Stay Safe!

San Antonio TX

We stayed in Beaumont TX last night. It was billed as a ranch but really it was a house on acreage. They have cattle in the back section. People on either side have horses. The couple (Jed and Catarina) was delightful and let us tour their outbuildings and then their house. After the tour she made tea and served Hello Panda cookies. She is Vietnamese and so the tea and cookies were too. He built the house about 40 years ago and it’s custom everything. He’s got cancer that has metastasized unfortunately. He bought her a red corvette. She says it was for Christmas. He says it was for taking such good care of him during the treatments. The car was unbelievably gorgeous.

We almost beat the rainstorm but it wasn’t too bad. We didn’t unhook the truck from the camper, just got back on the road in the morning.

This afternoon we got to San Antonio Ft. Sam Houston RV camp. we’ll stay here for 3 days. After 4 days of hard travel we need to relax.

Harvest Host in Beaumont
Glass window in master bath
Neighbor’s horses

Stay safe everyone 🤗

Slidell, LA

We saw a weather alert last night that a huge storm with thunderstorms, tornados and winds hitting Thursday in LA and going towards Fl. Instead of meandering across the south we decided to drive lickety split and see how far we could get, trying to get past it before it gets started. We bypassed Pensacola completely which would have been a 2-day stop. We landed at an Elks Lodge in Slidell. It’s a beautiful property, 12 acres with playground equipment and a boat launch/fishing spot. They host the Boy Scouts camping trip every year. What keeps them afloat is bingo on Wednesday and Friday nights. We paid $10 to dry camp one night.

Being on the road for 8 hours (400 miles) we stopped at several rest areas. I saw this at one of them.

It’s another 500 miles to San Antonio, where we will be out of harm’s way.

First Stop Going West

We are staying at theTallahassee Antique Car Museum for one night. We like to stay here on our way out and when we return. It’s easy in, easy out and Harvest Host, just a great big field. The Azaeleas, Redbud and Wisteria are all blooming and gorgeous.

Here we are (I don’t know what’s up with the chalk)
Inside are rooms and rooms of antique cars
Azaleas

There are 5 other campers in this field, everybody is about 300 feet from the next camper. Breathing room.

We will head to an Elks Lodge in Pensacola FL tomorrow. Then another Lodge in Slidell then an Elks in Pensacola FL.

Stay Safe everyone.