7 Falls Colorado Springs-CLOSED,so….

We planned to hike up the 7 falls but found out only when arriving to the site that they are closed due to floods last Spring,they will be opened in a year or so.

I pulled the map out and realized that we are not far from Helena Falls  and made our way to the Trail Head.

The parking area was full because of the weekend and there was no way to park on the side but eventually some one pulled away leaving us the spot to park

The hike is only 3/4 miles straight up the hill with comfortable steps and very moderate.

The scenery is outstanding and it is worth the effort to get to the peak.

 

At early afternoon after the hike to drove to Old Colorado City and strolled the beautiful ,colourful main drag,after a while we found a Mexican restaurant and made acquaintance with Dan and Dee a great couple living in the area, and although we just meet we shared a table,beers ,hugs and photos, I love these small unplanned events.

As we came back to the C.G we decided to “bring Israel” to Colorado

Peace,happiness,laughter and good health to you all.

Manitou Springs Area

Manitou Springs old town is just 30 Miles from our C.G,10 years ago we visited this part of the country and liked it very much .

We have this “game” between us –where would we live in the US if we decided to move? and we both agreed that one of the places would be Colorado because it’s central location, the nature and the different activities in different seasons.

To day we drove at first around and through the mountains in the area,and were fascinated by the rock colors,the snow on top of the high places and the beautiful houses .

Then we took a stroll in the old part of Manitou Springs ,enjoying the main drag,the beautiful small shops,restaurants and bars,

The town is surrounded by mountains which give the place a very special atmosphere.

As we were walking it started to rain but this did not stop us from having a taste from the local brewery,and as we did not know what to have to decided to taste them all…and it was gooood.

Just started our 14th RV summer trip

Our first stop was and is always Toronto, to visit our youngest son family,it was a great 8 days visit,we enjoyed our grand daughter Ellie (1 year and 4 months) making her fist steps as I described in my resent posts:

 http://danyshula.blogspot.com/2015/06/forks-of-credit-provincial-park-ontario.html

But also good times come to an end and starting our “journey” towards the Rig that is stored in Salida CO,I say “journey” because first we had to fly from Toronto to Denver and then get from Denver to Salida a 5 hour drive…so we decided to break it down and visit our dear friend David in Colorado Springs before heading South to pick the rig.

But first comes first: we were on stand -by on a morning flight by UA from Toronto to Denver,luckily we got our seats and the plane made its taxi to the runway,when the Captain announced that there is a problem with the A/C and we have to get back to the gate, after an hour not able to fix the problem that  meant  flying all the way   in a lower altitude and because of that will use more gas.

The solution was to reduce weight and guess what?  we were taken of the flight with our luggage….and booked on stand-by on the afternoon flight.

I am NOT complaining ,this is the risk we take when we use our reduced flying rates as an ex airline employee, so waking up at 5AM to catch the morning flight and landing after 12 hours in Colorado Springs is part of our lives,and it is OK.

David is the owner of Mountaindale Cabins & RV Resort near Colorado Springs www.campground1.com ,we have know him since 2005 and are enjoying his friendship since then,and it all started from one phone call I made in 2005 to reserve a site for 2 weeks just before the 4th of July.

I had a list of Passport America C.G but I chose the second on the list and talked to David,somehow he recognized from where I come from just from my accent and all the rest is as you say “history”, we connected immediately being both Jewish we found allot in common.

So this great guy send his wife that works in Denver to pick us up to his resort,we meet her for the first time and immediately fell in love with her, they make a great couple.

As we still are with out our “home” David put us in one of his lovely cabins.

It has 2 large bedrooms with Queen size beds,one bedroom for the kids with 2 beds,large living room,balcony with a barbeque grill,fully equipped kitchen attached to a dinning area and 2 bathrooms,good WiFi and a lousy AT&T reception.

The C.G got a huge uplift since 2005,it’s located out of town but close enough and has beautiful spacious RV sites with FHU and some P/T ones.

The place is full of friendly and welcoming people as this sign says.

I have gone on http://www.rvillage.com/home and found 4 members in the same C.G but still did not meet them.

If you are in Colorado Springs area and are looking for a GREAT C.G ,dog friendly-THIS is the place to come.

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park Ontario

While visiting our son’s family we decided to take advantage of the great weather and drive one hour to hike with our Grand Daughter (she will of course be in a royal seat on my son’s back) in Forks of Credit P.P

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada is part of the Ontario Parks system and is part of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere. The park is on the Bruce Trail. The Credit River runs through the park.

When we arrived to the park we found out that some trails leading to the falls are closed and so is the viewing platform , so we decided to take the ranger’s suggested longer route to where the falls can be seen.

The one and a half mile one way had up hill stretches but most of the way it was levelled and beautiful.

Ellie was very alert all the way and pointed to the birds,butterflies and planes that were seen and herd as we hiked.

I was surprise that during the week end with such a good weather there were only few visitors but that of course made the whole visit more pleasant.

At half way we found a nice place next to the river and had our snacks.

This girl is always in a good mood no matter what or when she is full of smiles,try to make a serious face next to her and she will make you smile,what a blessing.

On the way back she fell asleep comfortably on her fathers shoulders smelling happily to this world.

It sure was a great day where 3 generations got lost in the right direction….

We found our “Balance”

Some people eat too much and some are starving themselves,some read all day and some do not read at all,some people work from sunrise till dawn and some do not work at all,and the list goes on and on.

If we could only enjoy life by doing all the things we  like with out neglecting our friends, family and  our health wouldn't it be just great?

To achieve the above takes a lot of character,open mind  mental strength and humour,not that I have a secret formula but I think that the word  BALANCE comes in mind ,meaning do everything with common sense and proportionally:eat what you like but do not over do it,work on your computer but not the whole day,have your grandkids over but do not forget that you are their Grand Parents and not the Parents…

The “Balance” changes as we go along,kids are on our focus till they leave home,our carrier and health has our attention and if we do it right then our retirement years will look good and we will be able to do what we like .

At this stage in life I believe that we found our BALANCE,all our 3 kids have their  own families,place to live,a carrier ,we did everything to show them the loop holes on the highway but let them do the driving.

We also did our share of financial help without putting in danger our plans and enough not to ask them for support later in our lives.

For the last 13 years we are living our dream,we manage to visit our son and his family in Canada twice a year ,once on the way to the rig and once on the way home ,each visit between a week and 2 weeks,we RV from June till October some times with one of the grandkids (for a month) and spend time with our 2 children and our grandchildren during all winter.

Winter is the time for our medicals,visiting friends,volunteering,taking care of our garden and the house.

Today we took a short hike with our youngest son and grand daughter and there was nothing else we would love to do more at that point- it was just pure joy.

WE FOUND OUR BALANCE ,time is short ,a day that passes never comes back,we love to get lost in the right direction and we will do it till we drop.

We wish all our friends to find THIER OWN BALANCE with common  sense and healthy humour to enjoy every minute.

Toronto–on the way to pick up the rig

For the last 13 years we RVed every summer from June till the end of September ,each time to different States/Provinces ,at the end of each trip we store the truck and the trailer and fly home.

Last year we stored the rig at our friends place near Salida Colorado and on 31 May this year we started our trip to collect it .

Usually the route is :Tel-Aviv-Toronto a 12 hours direct flight to visit our son and his family,then after  8-10 days we fly from Toronto to the nearest International Airport and pick a ride to the storage place.

At the end of the trip ( different locations) we fly to Toronto to stay a while with our son and family and then back home on a direct 12 hour flight.

This picture was taken last year when we stopped in Toronto on the way home.

Now Ellie our grand daughter just started walking her first steps and everyday she adds a new word,so we are having a ball spending time with her,I believe that all grandparents out there understand what I am talking about, so here are few pictures that put a huge smile on our faces.

 

 

In a few days we will be on our way to Colorado and will be seeing our son , his  wife and Ellie only in late October…

What does it mean to be an International RV’r

While during the off season your RV is parked next to you,mine is stored thousand of miles away from home,I can not access the rig ,work on it or move stuff from home to the rig or visa versa.

At the end of each trip we store the Rig either on friend's property or in a storage place, we have been fulltime summers for the last 13 years and till now it worked just fine.

 

Storing the trailer means: cleaning it inside trying to get rid of all  food crumbs,removal of all containers with liquid in case the temperature drops under freezing point, winterize, removing the batteries and placing the 5W on solid ground or wood boards.

The truck is usually turned on to run every week by the host of the storage place or better by our friend that allowed us to park on his property and we were very lucky in this respect.

After all this is done we pack  and drive to the closest International Air Port to catch our flight back home for the winter, most of our stuff stays  in the trailer and we commute very light.

Among many things that we do in the winter I plan our next trip that starts of course from the place we left the rig to new to us destinations concentrating on nature,waterfalls, hikes,music and special events,I do it slowly  and enjoy every minute almost as RVing it self.

The planning involves searching on the net,usage of “street & trips” software,corresponding with State Information Centers,State & National Parks and suggestions from members on Rv open road forum,it takes a while till I get the final “Product” but it sure saves me allot of time while on the road.

 

As an non resident all this is of course only a part of being an owner of a rig BUT no one will make us stop doing what we like to do,yes it is more costly,more difficult BUT not imposable .

We would love to be full timers ,RV in the North when it is hot and in the South when it is cold but we take we take what we can get with pleasure hoping it will last for many more years.

We meet so many people that enriched our lives and we want to thank each and every one for sharing time with us.

Wish you all pleasant and happy trails , see you all soon down the road.