We left Crazy Horse in South Dakota and drove down into Denver. There were a lot of storms in that area, but none directly over us. We were very grateful!
Got to Denver in the early evening and just spent that night relaxing in the hotel. This was a nice sized room, and the hotel had an indoor pool. We definitely took advantage of that!
Beth and I hadn't seen Chuck's sister in a few years. She had a major stroke 25 years ago, and another one two years ago. She's been in rehab ever since that last stroke and she's not sure she'll ever be able to go home again.
We'd bring her lunch every day and sit out in the lounge for a few hours talking and reminiscing. It was really good to see her again.
After a few days we continued south to the bustling metropolis of Walsenburg, Colorado. Population 3,000. The Aspen Acres fire was burning in that area of the state and we could see it as we drove.
We were getting alerts on our phones about evacuations. Thankfully the town of Walsenburg never needed to evacuate, neither did my brother-in-law. But we certainly kept an eye on the fire and the alerts.
On July 3rd, we checked into the motel, then headed out to Ken's. He and my sister Kathy bought 40 acres and were building a house when she suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.
We were out there in October of 2020, and it was the last time I ever saw her. These two pics are from that visit -
Still going -
There it is! He's done so much work on it since Kathy died.
We sat out on the porch to catch up and talk about life.
My niece and her boyfriend were there as well, staying a week to help her dad with the house. As we started back to the motel that afternoon the fire really picked up.
We went back out to the house on the 4th and right around dusk the wind really picked up so he didn't shoot off fireworks this year. We were okay with that, Beth and I were still festive! He barbecued some amazing steaks, and we had salad, and cookies for dessert.
Then we sat outside 'til it got dark, talking and watching the storms roll by in the distance.
My niece took this one -
It was kind of cute, Beth had a little crush on my niece's boyfriend. Here she is teasing him, then getting embarrassed and hiding behind her phone. He was sweet, and they teased each other the entire time we were there. It was fun to watch them!
I know these posts are long, but there's so much I want to remember about this trip. If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! Just a couple more post I think. Well, maybe three. 😊
4 comments:
I'll say it again, what a great road trip, seeing sights and seeing people you love. Happy that you were able to skirt the fires.
You covered a lot of territory, family and memories. What a grand journey.
Cindy, I really enjoyed reading about your cross-country trip and the great visits with family and old friends! Looking foward to your next post!! xo
You really did take quite a long and amazing trip! And those fires in the distance are scary! I can see how they could blow up and blow across the land really quickly. That's so sad about your sister in law who had the stroke and hasn't been able to go home. Does she have a husband or family near by? And then the story about your sister dying so suddenly and her husband continuing to build that house. Looks like an amazing house! What a difficult time for him, however. I'm glad you were able to have such a nice visit. Beth looks so cute in her red white and blue outfit.I'm glad she had such a nice time. I've enjoyed reading your posts. Keep on sharing. I'll never see all of that in person, so it is fun to see. Blessings to you and yours.
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