Yom Kippur

Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, empty of cars on Yom Kippur 2004

Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed.

In 2013, 73% of the Jewish people of Israel said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur. It is very common in Israel to wish "Tsom Kal" ([an] easy fast) or "Tsom Mo'il" ([a] benefiting fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if one does not know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered impolite to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to sound music or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on any of these, but in practice such actions are universally avoided in Israel during Yom Kippur, except for emergency services.

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding and inline skating on the empty streets have become common among secular Israeli youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv and Israel in general.

In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.

Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

During the years we usually find ourselves traveling with our 5W far away from home but we try to keep the tradition going and make sure to talk with all the family blessing them for the year to come.

This year we settled down in a friends back yard time enough to get our meal before the fast   starts.

We stayed put till after the Holiday passed before taking off again.

We want to wish to our family and all our friends where ever they are ,HEALTH,HAPPINESS AND LOVE.

Florence CO Pioneer Days

Florence Colorado (not Italy....)  is just 20 Miles away from our C.G was having Pioneer Days from 14 till 16 September.

We drove to this beautiful small town on the 15^th of September and just made it to see the parade that took place on the main road at 10AM.

I do not know if the title “Pioneers Days” fits what we saw but is was nice one hour parade ,kids eat to much candy's and sweets that were thrown towards them,the weather was perfect and everyone had a great time and that what counts.

At 1130 we headed towards the park and walked along the main road entering few out of 20 antique shops in Florence.

To top this great day we had lunch at a great Japanese Restaurant rather than having fast food in the park, it was more expensive but very good and worth every dollar and for sure more healthy.

As we came back to the C.G in Colorado Springs we changed to bathing suits and went for the Jacuzzi before it got dark, what a treat ….Life is tough but I think I can live like this...

Colorado & Manitou Springs

After a great celebration of Rosh Hashana we settled in Mountaindale Cabin and RV Resort https://www.mountaindalecampground.com/

one of the most if not the most beautiful ,organized RV C.G I have seen during my 17 RV traveling years .

The location is great ,just 20 Miles S.W from Colorado Springs.

The sites are HUGE,leveled, with full hookups,CTV ,fire ring,picnic table and all this surrounded by beautiful nature , even deer feel good and safe to wonder around.

Each spotless bathroom is private and contains a toilet,sink and a shower, whenever I came in it was like at home.

The C.G also belongs to Passport America RV club, has a very friendly owner and great staff.

I had a problem with the CTV that was solved immediately as if I was alone in the whole C.G.

It was not our first time in the area so we took off to Manitou Springs and Old Colorado Springs that was far away from being crowded at this time and it was great to stroll along the place in a good weather sipping some soda water from the fountains,doing some window shopping and grabbing lunch in a local brewery.

It was a day with out all the great attraction that this area offers like :Pike Peak,Canyons. Parks,waterfalls and hikes.

We had a fabulous low key day  not missing anything as we have done all these in our previous visit and enjoyed it very much.

Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year and does not always happen on the same dates accordingly to the Gregorian calendar that is based on the movement of the sun while the Jewish calendar is based on the movement of the moon.

Many Jewish Americans observe Rosh Hashanah, known as the New Year in the Jewish calendar, for two days, while others celebrate the event for one day. It is a time of family gatherings, special meals and sweet foods. Many Jewish people celebrate Rosh Hashana by eating challah bread and apples dipped in honey.

This year Rosh Hashana was on 8 and 9 September while we were on the road and far from our close family so we made an effort to celebrate the holiday with my brother's son and his family in Boulder Colorado.

We also invited friends with tides to the Jewish fate to join us for the Holiday dinner .

Shula my wife and Sophie the host worked hard for 2 days putting this dinner on the table with all the holiday special foods.

A festive Jewish meal wouldn’t be complete without having bread on the table, according , This is why challah, a braided egg bread, makes an appearance at every Shabbat dinner. The chef considers the table to be like an altar and the bread almost like a sacrifice. Traditionally,  sacrifices were dipped in salt. During the month of Tishrei, which begins with Rosh Hashanah, the bread is dipped in honey to symbolize a prayer for sweet things to come in the new year. Challah is round on Rosh Hashanah, recalling the cyclical nature of the year.

So we had good traditional tasty food with friends and family,it was very emotional and felt good to be able to celebrate Rosh Hashana in such a great atmosphere.

We wish you all Happy New Year and may the comming year will be better in all aspects than the last one,

From Steamboat CO to Springville UT

Steamboat Lake S.P was a great place to camp for 4 nights ,it is close to many lakes and hikes,close to the town but remote enough if you like to be “out there…”

Although it is only 22 miles North of town the weather is totally different due to the altitude.

In the last day we experienced weather changes  few times from rain to sunny skies and visa versa,some times it happened at the same time creating this beautiful rainbow.

The showers (Fee) were close to the marina and I was so happy to have my camera with me ..

By the way Colorado S.P charge for camping 22$ plus 7$ days use for every day of camping and to top this up to take a shower it coasts 1$ for 4 minutes….some private C.G charge less with F.H.U and WiFi,go and figure.

In that evening we visited the country store house ,just 3 miles from the S.P ,they have it all:restaurant ,bar,RV spots (only for self sufficient),horse rides,4x4 rentals and it is a local meeting point.

So we got all dressed up and came down for a drink and goodbyes.

Yearly in the morning we started our journey to the Utah Valley with an over night in the Starved Lake S.P Utah (No day use fees,flat rate of 25$ with water+electric).

The scenic route provided great vistas most of the way but a  as we drove we saw this mushroom storm that made me stop and view this incredible show of nature.

 

Finally we made it to Springville ,just minutes from Provo UT and this will be our home for the next week.

I hope we will have good weather to be able to see and hike in this outstanding Utah Valley.

We booked a week in KOA Springville(Pay for 5 nights stay 7…) ,site 604 ,come to visit.

Steamboat Colorado

After a great active 9 days camping between Estes Park and Loveland that included 4 days hiking and driving in RMNP,visiting the beautiful Horsetooth Reservoir and exploring the Loveland area,we finally hooked up the 5W and headed to Steamboat Lake S.P.

The 200 Mile trip was mostly on the scenic HWY 14 with the Rabbit Ears Pass at the elevation of 9426’, the road was so beautiful and it took us 5 hours with some stops so the “driver” could also appreciate the views.

The Steamboat Lake S.P is located 22M North of Steamboat , the sites are large with good space between them,each site has a fire ring,table and electrical hook-ups (50&30 Amps), water has to be filled before heading to the site and there is a central dump station, no showers ,only restrooms- and fantastic views.

The S.P charge 22$ a day but also 7$ day use per day…unusual and strange.

On the next day we drove down to the beautiful Steamboat town,it has it all :Ski Resort,river running through the town,waterfall,botanic gardens,hot pools (natural and commercial),theater and great main drag with shops,pubs and restaurants, it sure is a four season family place .

So we grabbed our swimming gear,hiking boots,camera and headed to town.

 

After strolling the the main street and visiting the information center we headed to the Falls (287’),it is  very popular and at times the parking (5$) at the trail head is full, as we were turning back planning to come later a car pulled out and we got the spot.

The trail to the viewing point is only 1 Mile R/T and paved all the way making it excisable to wheelchairs while the trail to the bottom of the falls is not.

The view point.

The bottom.

These to trails were rewarding and is just 5 minutes from town.

The relatively small Botanic gardens (no entrance fees) are located next to the information center with a huge parking place also serves ones that want to use the river for tubing .

We found a picnic place in a park next to the river and had our healthy branch surrounded by cool fresh air,Colorado that we experienced till now has 4 seasons weather in one day…once we used a heater in the trailer and sometimes the air conditioner…makes it interesting.

Strawberry Hot Springs at the end of CR36 was waiting for us,a beautiful natural pools with no facilities except a changing room was waiting for us, 15$ each and all this was there.

Click to enlarge.

  

I managed to take pictures as swimsuits are optional only after dark , the place is opened till midnight and there is a place to trailer self contained for 10$ a night.

A short visit to a Mexican restaurant down town ended this another fantastic day ,the 22 miles back “home” were at dusk with beautiful colors as the sun got low and we even managed to get to the C.G at 9PM exactly before dark.

No phone reception,no TV –Great time for a good book before hitting the sack.