We arrived in Golden around 3 pm and it was so cold I thought it might snow which is right on par for us and weather.  We are here visiting Paul’s sister Cindy who is refurbishing a duplex while she lives in it with tenants in the other unit.  Paul helped her pull up some old carpet in the basement and built her a sifting table so she can sift the dirt in her garden.  She has a really great garden that I am really jealous of – not having my garden and growing tomatoes has been something I have really missed this year.  I really didn’t get to help with any of the projects as shortly after we arrived I fell down the stairs quite hard where now I am having a hard time sitting or standing for very long!  I got a bruise and a big bump on my tailbone and Paul and Stephanie get to deal with Cranky!  We will leave on Thursday am and travel somewhere in the Rockies or into Utah, we haven’t decided yet, permanent vacation is so much fun!

We woke up this morning to 6 inches of snow, closed roads and chain requirements and it was so beautiful yesterday!  We checked the road conditions and the snow had stopped so we decided we were fine to head East.  We left Golden, CO about 8:00 am and by the time we got to downtown Denver the roads were clear but they were still talking about accidents east of Denver so I got out the computer and logged on to Colorado DOT to see where the problems were.  There was a problem on the I-70 which we were on but it was pretty far east so we figured it would clear up.  About 10 miles East of Denver we found ourselves back in a snow storm and it was accumulating on the roadway – thank goodness we were only in the car and not another RV!  For about 100 miles we drove 40 miles per hour or less.  There were cars in the middle of the highway and on the shoulders flipped on their sides and just left because no one was available to tow them.  They all had caution tape on them and we guessed that is how they know if it is a new or old accident!  We saw a U-Haul truck on its side in the median, SUV’s, small cars – it looked like a wreck but there were no people or emergency crews anywhere.  We finally reached the area where the interstate was shut down in both directions due to a muliple car accident.  There were at least 12 vehicles involved, most with only minor damage but two 18-wheelers were kissing trailers right in the middle!  Our side of the interstate was open so we were able to continue.  Just past that the road became clear and we thought we were home free until the wind started blowing the snow across the highway.  It was blowing so hard that we could not see to drive – this was worse than fog and at one point we knew there was an exit and we wanted to get off the interstate and just rest but we could not even find the exit!

Finally the snow let up and we entered Kansas.  Kansas on the interstate did not offer much except lots of wind, enough that you could barely stand up. Tumbleweeds and windmills.  

We drove 17 hours today and made it to where we call home in Branson, MO about 1 am.

We sleep tomorrow!!!

After leaving the monument we entered Colorado and except for the sign at the border you would never have known you left Arizona, or New Mexico!  After several hours driving we stopped in Durango, CO for lunch.  Paul likes to try places that he thinks are local and he found another one.

Very Local!

Snow run off in the Rockies

Snow and more Snow