Lorna swimming and exploring the campground

Silverton, CO

Started the day off with a road ride.Crossed the Animas River and down to Durango.

Saturday:

Jeeped to Silverton, CO. Hit the high country trails. Nearly lost our lunch. Won't complain about Tulsa roads again. :)

Explored a ghost mining town and found an abandoned mine. There was still snow on the ground and the melt made some beautiful waterfalls.


Wm and I left Lorna behind with her grandparents and drove into Durango for dinner. Stopped at Carver brewing first. Wm had an interesting beer called Cascade Canyon IPA on cask hand drawn system.

Biking in Durango

Friday: Durango.
I woke up after my first night in the pop-up...the sun was coming through the canvas, the birds were singing, the river was rushing....I thought to myself "What a peaceful way to wake up." Then I looked at my clock!
5:34 AM. Good heavens!

 Mr. Bill cooked breakfast outside: Fried eggs, sausage, and biscuits.

Wm and his dad went to town...searching for supplies we forgot to bring. Lorna and I checked out the playground and then the pool. There's a heated pool here. And when I say heated, I mean HEATED.

Wm went on a ride--he'll have to tell you about that. Here's some pictures he took.

After his ride, we met up at Steamworks Brewing for a pre-dinner tasting. Then headed on back to the campground for shrimp etouffee.

Wm had fun setting up the toilet in our pop-up.

My life roughing it lasting all of 24 hours!

Lastly, we built a fire and had some s'mores. Lorna ate the chocolate pieces and had fun setting fire to the marshmellows.

It was a good day in the San Juan Mtns!

Amarillo, TX to Durango, CO

Day Two: Thursday--TX to NM to CO.

Started the morning off seeing the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, TX on Route 66.

We then stopped at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, TX (the halfway point between Chicago and LA on Route 66) for coffee and picked up some chocolate pie and cobbler.

Had lunch in Santa Fe, NM at Harry's Roadhouse. A diner featured on Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives.

Arrived in Durango about 630pm and set up camp. Our campsite is right on the Animas River.

We had dinner outside - and we all turned in early soo we'll be ready for tomorrow's adventures.

On our way

Day One: WED
My coworkers graciously let me scoot out early. We're just about to jump in and head westward. Tonight's stop is Amarillo, TX. Then on to Durango, CO. We're packing light this time....just the truck, a pop-up camper....and Lorna's twenty stuffed animals and a gallon of sweet tea.

Getting in gear!!!

Well summer is almost here. Lorna has 3 weeks left of school and then guess what! That's right we're heading off, hitting the road, and dragging our friends with us. First stop is Durango, CO to meet the parents - do some biking, horseback riding, and hanging out. Then two weeks later we start our next adventure in the opposite direction from Tulsa....to Orlando for a week at DisneyWorld. Another crazy gang of Okies has decided to join us. I'm excited to see how this new style of vacation is going to go. 4 adults, 3 little ones, and one van for a million hours on the road.
Makes my heart pound to think of all the joyful moments that car trip is going to bring. But the end result is what makes it worth while.

Bring it on!