Austin to Seattle 2020

July - August 2020

this will be a belated record of my trip for Austin to Seattle during the summer of 2020. I will transcribe some of my paper journal entries here so I have a digital record of the trip Read more

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Traveler Austin to Seattle 2020
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- Jul 22, 2020
- ⛅ 66 °F
- Altitude: 9,734 ft
- United States Colorado Town of Bayfield 37.416606, -107.63566637°24’60” N 107°38’8” W
Day 13
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
July 22, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Jan and I made it to Caprock Canyon. Jan left early and got there before nightfall. It was already dark when I arrived. We had the same campsite at the Wild Horse area as last time we were here. The evening & night were tolerable; not too hot....no rain.

Thursday & Friday we stayed on BLM land outside Canon City, CO. (BLM Seep Springs HOV Area, 4218 Co Rd 3A, 81212) It was pretty remote, 9 or so miles on a dirt road. But it was lovely; a bit hot during the day, cool enough at night. We put the port-a-potti behind some trees & didn't bother setting up the tent for it. There was nobody anywhere nearby.

We went to Royal Gorge Bridge. It was not as impressive as the photos on-line suggested it would be. It was built as a tourist trap and definitely was one. After a very long wait, we did take an Air Gondola ride across the canyon. It was dog friendly but Jay was not impressed either and just lay on the floor of the gondola. then we hiked back, or I guess walked/strolled as it was not far.

The bridge had flags for all the 50 states EXCEPT Mississippi. Of note: the governor of Mississippi has determined, in light of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, that they needed to get a new flag since the current flag contains the image of the confederate flag within it. They have not finalized the new flag flag design yet. .....But as I am entering this in October, I can attach a picture of their New Flag. and I kinda like it!Read more
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- Jul 25, 2020
- ☀️ 82 °F
- Altitude: 6,201 ft
- United States Colorado Douglas County Franktown Willow Creek 39.390722, -104.7481239°23’27” N 104°44’53” W
Day 16
Arriving at Cindy's
July 25, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
We arrived at Cindy's on Saturday afternoon, July 25th. We got to take hot SHOWERS & do laundry! Ray had to leave for work so after the 1st day it was just us girls and we had an enjoyable few days. That was a wonderful treat! Cindy cut both our hair and colored mine and I colored Cindy's. Jan, Jay and I took some nice walks and a good hike.Read more
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- Jul 28, 2020
- 🌧 63 °F
- Altitude: 7,979 ft
- United States Colorado Grand County Granby Granby-Grand County Airport 40.084376, -105.92100440°5’4” N 105°55’16” W
Day 19
the Accident
July 28, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 63 °F
Jan and I headed West to Granby to camp on BLM land. But things did not go as planned. We had difficulty finding the campsites and they were not well marked even on AllStays. and then we had no cell signal. I was passing a turn that had a campground sign and slowed to a stop just after I passed it. Jan did not think I was going to stop and turned her head to look at the sign. When she turned back, she did not have time to stop and rear-ended Vanette. Jan's little Prius was totaled, the front end smashed beyond repair. Other than a sore neck and ribs, she was not injured. Neither Jay nor I were injured. But Vanette took quite a bit of damage. The rear doors were smashed a bit but the real problem was that the bumper was smashed and buckled upward so I couldn't open the doors and couldn't get to any of my camping/cooking gear.

Some really nice guys heard the crash and came running. They had been camping nearby and knew just what to do. There was a camp host nearby that had a satellite phone. They went and got him and he was able to contact the sheriff department. So...

The deputy, a cop, and a medic all came rather quickly. One of them called a Tow truck and waited with us & helped the guy get the Prius loaded on the flatbed. Her car was taken to a tiny town named Kremmling where we had to spend the night.

There were only 3 hotels or rather 2 hotels and a small group of cabin with no one on site to even tell you if they had one available. One hotel was extremely expensive and didn't have any rooms anyway. The other was an old historic building and had one room available that we were able to book on-line. No one answered their phone. Each room had a theme & Jan got the John Denver room. It was small & Jan hated it but at least it was clean and had a shower.

They did not allow dogs so Jay and I ended up sleeping in Vanette.

Jan was able to contact her insurance agent. At least there was some cell phone service.

The next day I managed to get ALL Jan's stuff in Vanette and we drove to Castle Rock near Cindy's, Jan picked up a rental car and we went back to Cindy's.

We spent the next several days at Cindy'sRead more
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Austin to Seattle 2020

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Arriving at Cindy's

the Accident