The 12 Project ~ Month 6

June 2010

June ended up being much different than we anticipated.  We left Phoenix, AZ heading towards Texas, then in Albuquerque, NM we got diverted to Colorado Springs, CO.  We spent a few days exploring Colorado Springs, such a truly beautiful part of the country.  While in Colorado Springs, CO our plans changed again and we were now heading to Waterloo, IL (just outside St. Louis, MO).  So we headed across Kansas and while in Kansas I broke my foot, which changed our plans for the entire summer.  The children and I went to Texas for a week and then met up with Nick in St. Louis, MO.

The children loved the days of exploring new places, new RV parks, new playgrounds and new pools!!  We are sure suckers for new places and not just new towns or states, we love new rest stops & highways too.  We have all continued hooping, but the broken foot slowed that down a bit.  The night before I broke my foot I was hooping on the prairie in WaKeeeny, KS and mastered getting the hoop from my waist to my neck without using my arms.  It was such a magical moment.

I don't want to guess at whose life changed the most with me breaking my foot, but if I had to I'd say it was a three way tie between Jericho, Nick & I.  Jericho went from being on my hip or on my back almost all the time to me only being able to hold him if I was laying down.  Nick went from a very hardworking man and very helpful husband and daddy to having to do two fulltime jobs - his night job & my job, cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes, diaper changing and on and on.  I went from being me to being me laying in a bed and all I know is its VERY hard to be me from a bed or a couch.

The second half of the month we were in St. Louis, MO (actually Cahokia, IL, but its close enough).  We have been staying at the Cahokia RV Park which is only 5 minutes from St. Louis.  E flew to Texas to drive the children and I to St. Louis and was able to stay for almost a week.  She was such a huge help and help me stay comfortable, as always it was so hard to see her go, I cried off and on for hours.  We did not do as much exploring we normally would.  I was in a ton of pain and a lot of our time with Daddy was used doing "daily duties" and not the fun stuff.  We did enjoy driving over the Mississippi River and seeing the St. Louis Arch.  It was more two weeks of surviving and guess what we did, we survived.

Previous "The 12 Project" posts here.

Colorado Springs

June 5-9, 2010

Our days spent in Colorado Springs were relaxing and full of family time.  We stayed at the KOA Colorado Springs. It was a typical KOA in the summertime; Pancake Breakfasts, Ice Cream Socials, Hay Rides and nightly movies.  Our first night there our neighbor brought over some fish that he had caught just that afternoon.  Love RVing neighbors!

On Sunday morning we headed out to visit the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, 700 year old homes built into the sides of the cliff.  The best part about this place, its hands on.  No "do not touch" signs, No looking from behind glass or ropes; you are free to roam, climb and touch!

Then took a drive through Garden of the Gods park.  We stopped for a picnic lunch on top of one of the mountains.  We found out that the roads through Garden of Gods are frequently in car commercials.  Except for the angry bike rider we had a wonderful time driving and climbing through Garden of the Gods.

I can't go to cute towns and not see what their downtown is like, so we headed downtown.  Cute park, lovely shops and a number of restaurants I would have loved to eat at, but we weren't hungry.

After eating a all-you-can-eat Pancake breakfast for $9 for all of us we headed down to a little creek right below the campground and one morning we spent a few hours splashing, walking and discovering down by the creek.

The day before we were leaving (we were heading to Dallas, TX), we got an email from Nick's work --- can you guess what it said?  Well let me just tell you that instead of heading to Dallas, we were on our way to Waterloo, IL, a little town about 15 minutes from St. Louis, MO. 

Next up driving through Kansas --- everyone says there is nothing to see in Kansas, what did we find? 

Photos from Colorado Springs, CO here.

Three States, Three Days

Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 187 miles
We left Phoenix heading towards Dallas, TX.  We were going to make a few stops along the way.  Nick was going to work for a few weeks in Dallas, TX before we headed to Southeastern Texas for an 8 week job.  The first night our destination was Winslow, AZ.  I couldn't help but sing over and over and over again that song by the Eagles.  I didn't know all the words and Aidan was getting tired of hearing the same line again and again, so I pulled it up on YouTube and we listened to the whole song over and over and over.  I fell asleep that night in between a school bus and a horse trailer at the Flying J Truck Stop.  (side note: Flying J's are super RVer friendly, they allow free overnight parking and a lot even have dump stations.)

Friday, June 4, 2010 - 268 miles
The next day we drove to Albuquerque, NM.  We were having some power tongue jack  issues and so we stopped at Camping World to pick up a new part.  We headed next door to the Enchanted Trails RV Park, long pull-thru sites, full hookups, swimming pool and ONLY $14 (with our Passport America membership), I was a happy camper.  Plus the fact that they had the cutest retro trailers all restored and decorated.  (Stupid me didn't take any photos.)  We piled back in the car and headed to Old Town Albuquerque to see what a village founded in 1706 looks like and get some dinner.

This is how you pay for parking in Old Town Albuquerque, literally stuff the cash into the slot.

We walked around, stopped in a few shops and then made our way to Church Street Cafe.  We found Church Street Cafe on Yelp (oh how we love Yelp, HUGE asset to travelers).  We wanted authentic New Mexican food, which is a mix of Indian and Spanish cuisine and that is exactly what we got.  I think my favorite was the sopaipilla - a puffed friend bread that you bite off the corner and pour in warm honey, yummy.  

On our way back from dinner Nick got a call, asking if there was anyway he could change his route and go to Colorado Springs, CO for a few days to do a service call and then continue on to Dallas, TX.  Good thing we had only traveled to Albuquerque that day or we would have had to back track.  So back to the RV park we went, to revamp our travel plans.  Have I told you that our plans change frequently and drastically --- well if I haven't now I have :)

But first Nick needed to remove our old power tongue jack that wasn't working and replace it.  This was most likely going to be a few hour job, not to mention the few hundred dollars it set us back.  I usually don't get involved in repairs, but I happened to be out there talking to him when he was getting set up.  I looked over and saw some wires (that I hadn't remembered seeing before) and asked it what they were.  Nick is always very gracious and explains things to me, even if it is common knowledge to him.  He walked over to where the wires were and started explaining, then running his hand down the wire said, "thats an inline fuse".  We were told the power tongue jack didn't have an inline fuse, but low and behold it did.  He removed the fuse, it was bad.  He hopped in the car, drove next door to Camping World, running in just as they were closing the doors, picked up the pack of fuses and was back to the RV park minutes later.  He switched out the fuse and presto, the power tongue jack was working.  Few hundred dollar part to be returned the next morning, hooray.  We celebrated by taking quick dip in the pool and then headed to bed.

Saturday, June 5, 2010 - 378 miles
Nick wasn't due in Colorado Springs until Monday, so we could have taken two days to get there.  Then we looked at the route and didn't see much we wanted to stop for, so we went ahead and drove from Albuquerque, NM to Colorado Springs, CO in one day.  I fell in love with Northern New Mexico; rolling hills, pure white clouds on bright blue sky, little farms here and there, once in awhile a little town would pop up, absolute beauty.

We stopped about 1/2 way for a lunch break.  The kids and I arrived about 15 minutes before Nick, so we played tag on the grass and relaxed on a blanket under a tree.  When Nick arrived we all piled into the trailer and I made lunch.  I love about bringing our house with us as we travel.  A day of traveling isn't filled with fast food and eewie public bathrooms, I cook in my own kitchen and we all use our bathroom.  The next leg of the drive had some pretty steep inclines.  I am always ahead of Nick and so when we come to steep hills or mountain areas, the children I pray that he makes it up.  Thankfully each time he has and this time was no exception.  He does drop down to 20 MPH sometimes, but he usually follows behind a big rig that is going about the same speed.  He feels like he could walk up the hill faster, I am sure it feels like he could.  We arrived in Colorado Springs around 4pm and checked into the Colorado Springs KOA.

Photos from Phoenix, AZ to Albuquerque, NM to Colorado Springs, CO here.