9/23-25/22 Addendum HOU-DEN and drive home

 9/23/22 Friday

Our kind neighbor Cheri takes us to the airport this morning and we have an uneventful trip to Denver on United.   Once there, we make our way by moving sidewalk to an elevator which takes us to Level 5.  There we catch a train that goes to the baggage and ground transportation area.  Then we find the shuttle to the rental car location.  Whew!

Our rental with Payless is a tiny Chevy Spark.  I asked for economy, but geesh!  It holds us and our bags, though, so all's good.  Until 10 miles or so down the road when a light comes on.  They forgot to put gas in it and we assumed they had -  you KNOW what assume means...  Luckily we come to an exit with gas and fill 'er up. (8.5 gallons in the 9 gallon tank!)  

We get off of I25 and take a less-traveled but still busy road to Laramie.  Nice scenery including rock formations, rolling hills and prairies - lots of antelope in areas not taken by cattle.  On a mission, we didn't stop much for photos :).

We arrive at the GM dealer around 12:30 and check things out.  All seems well.  They have repaired the body damage adequately and have done several test drives on the transmission.  We head out, with Greg driving the Trek and Beth the rental - back to the Denver airport!  Uneventful drive and the folks are quick to refund the gas money with no problems.

Then we begin the long drive back to Texas.  Instead of going back towards Denver and down I25, we take 70 east, across the eastern part of Colorado.  Quite different from the Rocky Mountain Colorado!  

Interesting clouds were the only ones in sight.  See the rain in the distance?

This is mostly flat, with occasional hills or buttes.  As in much of the west, railroad tracks parallel many of the roads.  We see loads of coal, along with Prime and Fed X cars. Lots of cattle - and still quite a few antelope interspersed.  We pass several areas of wind turbine farms. I recall reading recently that farmers can make quite a good income with wind turbines.  

This juxtaposition of old and new was interesting.

We stop at a Walmart is the small town of Lamar to spend the night.  As we head south the next day we get into more rugged countryside for a while.  This sculpture advertising an art gallery was eye-catching!

 Into Oklahoma with more of the same and then we begin to see less cattle and more agriculture.  We cross the narrow Oklahoma panhandle and are soon back in Texas.  (With 800 miles still to go to reach home!)  Lots of ranches and farms here growing wheat, sorghum, soybeans and this as yet unidentified plant.

We take a loop to Bypass Amarillo and stop for a quick lunch at a convenient Wendy's.  We continue on route 287, which we have been on for a few hours.  This road will go the whole way to the Texas Gulf Coast, though thankfully we won't go quite that far!

The temperature has been rising as we head southeast towards home.  At 5:00 it has reached the mid-90's. We decide to stay in a hotel tonight in Decatur, about a half hour northwest of Fort Worth.  Hotels farther along were hard to come by and we figured there must be a Dallas Cowboys game tonight.  We stayed at the Lonestar Inn, which is an independent spot.  No frills, but it was clean and quiet with a nice hot shower.  We found a Chile's nearby where Greg enjoys a well deserved beer along with our light dinner.

Next day is a piece of cake (ha!).  We leave at sunrise after a quick breakfast at the hotel.  And soon  (4-5 hours later) arrive at I45 and home - about 12:30.  Especially nice to be home!

9/9/22 -9/12/22 Family in Denver, Gems, Gardens and more

 9/9/22-9/12/22

The family has gathered.  After breakfast, we all head out.  Chap and Mam to their booth at the Gemshow, Anita and Kevin in search of rocks to take back to their shop, John and Yvonne and Greg and I to check out the show.... missions accomplished!

Our cousin Mary and her husband JC are in town from San Diego and want to get together.  We plan on an informal dinner and give them directions to the house.  A taco dinner.  Greg gets the "Extreme Preparation" award for figuring out how to open a can of refried beans without a can opener!  Not exactly gourmet fare, but we didn't come here to cook!

Fun time looking at old pictures and reminiscing.  Mary is about the same age as Tom. Her Mother  Marguerite and our Dad, John, were the oldest of 9 children.  JC, an ex-lawyer is a hoot!  

Several of the stories we are hearing feature Tom and Chap.  Chap naturally says that Tom is the one that led him astray - stealing and smoking cigarettes, throwing tomatoes at someone's house, etc.  We call Tom to give him a chance to defend himself, but he "claims the fifth". Hmmmmm...

Next day we visit the gemshow again.   Yvonne and I make a few small purchases and John buys some earrings for Yvonne. The show is interesting and has some pretty amazing things.  Also lots of duplication of stones, fossils, lamps and other items.  Overall it is not as impressive or diverse as Tucson, imho, but it is bigger than I expected. Many crystals appealing to those who adhere to crystal therapy, etc.   We particularly admire some salt and pepper diamond earrings that Chap's booth has, but $32,000 is a bit much - even when Yvonne and I offer to each wear one!

We take Mam with us when we leave the show and go to the nearby Forney Museum of Transportation.  Lots of old cars, trains, motorcycles and bicycles.  Many of the bikes look familiar after reading a recent book about a black cyclist (Major Taylor) involved in the early days of bicycle racing.  The high wheeler is actually the first bicycle... it was seen as replacing the horse and was condemned by many.

We go to the Butcher Block Cafe for a late lunch.  Definitely a local hang out but the food is pretty good - your basic sandwiches, salads and burgers. Yesterday we had a hard time trying to find a lunch spot, mainly because on-street parking is crazy in the city! 

Mary and JC come back for a pasta primavera dinner and the stories continue. Some new, some old. Mary and JC bring some excellent cheesecakes for dessert. Unfortunately the kitchen dining table only seats six, but we find some stools downstairs and manage to make room for 10 here and there. And the refrigerator froze the salad greens along with a couple of beers!

On Sunday, Chap and Mam go back to the show.  The rest of us go to explore the Denver Botanical Gardens which are really exceptional!  A few buildings house tropicals and other items, but most is outdoors and it is a beautiful day! 

The bonsai exhibit is exceptional!

We have a nice lunch at their cafe. 

A little corn hole back at the house.

  John and Greg go get some Papa Murphy's pizzas for tonight's dinner.

Sad good-byes Monday morning.  John and Yvonne graciously offer to take us to the airport a couple of hours before they need to be there.  Anita and Kevin take off early, as they have to be back in PA for a closing on the sale of their business property.  Mam will head to the airport later, as the first of several of her flights back to Thailand leaves at 7:00.  Chap will continue with the show for a couple of days before his son Chuck arrives to drive with him to Cody, WY  to visit his daughter and her family.  Chap isn't sure if he'll be traveling back to the states again, so it is a sad farewell.  (Though there is some talk of meeting up in Hawaii at some time...)

Good-bye Denver!  (We'll be back in two weeks to drive to Laramie and reclaim the Trek!)