RVing With Poppa: Busy Days

I know, I promised to be more faithful about this blogging thing, but...it just hasn't happened. So, now, I find myself having to catch up one more time.

When I left you hanging, we were on our way to Gillette, Wyoming, to join the Advance Team in preparation for the 53rd Escapades. We did just that and spent the month of June helping where and how we could. Although,

Bob and Molly, Wallace and Wanda had already been hard at work, there were last minute things we helped finish. However, some days I thought all we did was dodge the

storms that kept rolling through. I don't think, I have ever pulled in the slides or lower the satellite more than I did while we were in Gillette. We even weathered a

hail storm that left the ground looking like a snow storm had come through. We are still thinking that we will have to contact our insurance regarding our air conditioners. We have lots of little bent fins. But, no time to think about that at the time.

We continued our work, thinking about how we would

decorate the 147 tables for the big banquet and how we would do this or do that, and putting the finishing touches on a lot of different things.

We did take a day out for a little fun and headed to Kaycee, Wyoming, to

the Chris LeDoux Days and Rodeo. We saw some pretty amazing

cowboys ride some pretty amazing horses. It was a great day.

Soon, the days passed us by and before we knew it, it was time to get really busy. There were 597 rigs due to come in and they were all expecting us to be ready for the 53rd Escapade...we were and what a great week it was...

The

stage was decorated and set the scene and mood for the week.

Wanda and Wallace

were always on the move taking care of seminars and making sure all the other golf carts were on the move.

One of the biggest highlights of the week was Tuesday when we raised

lots of money with

donuts for care! We even had some great

cheerleaders to encourage the sale of the donuts.

Great job everyone!

The days passed quickly, and soon we were to Thursday, and preparing a birthday banquet for almost 1,200 people. I was so busy that day, I didn't even get one picture! So, just take my word that it was a big success and everyone had a great time. But, the banquet meant that the 53rd Escapade was coming to a close and it was time for us to say good-bye to lots of old friends and to the new friendships that were made during the week.

Then, with a big sigh and a second breath, it was time to

pack up the big red truck. And, all that left of this story...is to say...see you next year in Goshen, Indiana.

We then had a couple of days to relax and catch our breath before we headed South, out of beautiful countryside of

Wyoming and into

Colorado...hello Rocky Mountains!

After wiggling through

downtown Denver, we arrived at Diamond Campground in Woodland Park, Colorado. We settled into our site and did a little regrouping. Then this past Wednesday, we were up early and headed back into Denver to the airport to pick up

four of our grandchildren. They are spending a couple of weeks with us here in the mountains.

What started off to be a great day ending up being a very trying and tiring day for us all. As soon as we left the airport, we stopped and fed a very hungry bunch before heading back for the mountain. We drove through a couple of heavy rains and were soon stopped on Hwy. 24, turned around, and sent back down the mountain to Manitou Springs. The heavy rain had caused a mudslide and washed three cars off the road.

Okay, now what? We drove around for a little while, then decided to stop off by the Pikes Peak Cog Railway to purchase tickets for a future day.

By this time it had stopped raining, so we decided to take a drive through

The Garden of The Gods, one of my favorite spots. We found a rock to

climb through, and

pose for a sassy picture before we tried once more to get up the mountain. No way...every entrance was blocked. Soooo, we did a little more sightseeing, took in the

crazy sculptures up by the Broadmoor Hotel, found a place for pizza...because, by now, we are all starving again! After dinner, we decided to give Hwy 24 another try. And, just to keep this story straight, we are now going on almost 12 hours since we left Woodland Park. Finally, the road was open, and we could make our way back to the campground.

On the way up the mountain, we saw

where the mud had covered the road. The snowplows had been there clearing the roadway. No, wonder it took all afternoon to clear the cars and the mud. We were just thankful, we had stopped to have that lunch after the airport or we might have been in the middle of that mud.

We had a better day on Thursday, and Friday, we celebrated

Kourtney's 6th birthday.

She chose to go to Santa's Workshop. My nephews and great nephew joined us and we had a great time with them.

The kids all had fun

riding the

many rides and Kourtney even got in an

early visit with Santa.

After a long day in the park, we enjoyed a mini family

cookout back at the campground. Kourtney said, it was her best birthday ever!

Saturday was a day to regroup and do a few

of the necessary things.

Yesterday, we were up early again, and off to pick up Zachary, who flew in to meet up with us for a few days. Now, we have five grandkids...just missing the 2 year old!

The older kids were excited to finally be all together for what they have always known as summer vacation with Poppa and Moppa. Caden and Kourtney are learning and learning quickly!

Last night they made a great