Denver & Golden, CO

Aug 27     Fruita - Golden, CO     251 miles     5 hours

It was raining this morning so we didn't leave until 930am. Joe drove right thru with no stops. We were a little nervous on this drive thru the mountain passes with the rainy weather but we just took our time thru the mountains. The rain wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.

Leaving Grand Junction

Golden, Colorado is beautiful. We're staying at the Clear Creek RV Park, $50 per night, full hookups, Good Sam rate. It's situated right outside downtown Golden with scenic views and the bubbling sounds of Clear Creek. Our site is right along the creek. The only negative is there's a walking trail right behind us. So between us and the creek there's a lot of foot traffic. Lots of people running, hiking, biking, and going up with their tubes so they can tube all the way down, about 1/2 mile runs.

Enjoying a glass of wine

Aug 28     Golden & Denver

Got up late this morning and walked into town for an early lunch at Capital Diner. Pretty good. Everything is within walking distance in Golden. Lots of walking trails, seems like everyone is active around here.

Walking to town

In the late afternoon, we went into Denver to meet Scott and Donna. They drove in from Las Vegas. We're going to the Broncos preseason game tomorrow night. We had dinner at Grimaldi's Pizza and walked part of the 16th Street Mall. A tree-lined promenade of red and gray granite that runs through the center of Downtown, Denver. The Mall is filled with outdoor cafes, renovated historic office buildings, sparkling glass-walled skyscrapers, shops,restaurants, and retail stores. Lots of bums and sketchy people hanging out at night. Not the safest place.

Dinner with Scott & Donna

Aug 29     Game Day

This morning we went to the Golden Farmers Market. This is probably the best farmers market I've been to. They had everything....fruits & vegetables, baked goods, flowers, pastas, honey, wines, beef, chicken & buffalo meat, sausages, dog treats, food trucks. Was kind of crowded but the best thing was, almost every vendor had samples. I tasted everything, didn't have to eat breakfast! We bought a lot of stuff.




The RV and Kia was pretty dirty from our drive from Grand Junction. We wiped down both vehicles, took us kind of long and it was hot!

Afterwards, Joe and I cooled off in the creek. Today is Saturday and the creek is full of people in their tubes.

See the people in their tubes

Appaloosa Grill at 16th Street Mall

We drove into Denver to meet Donna and Scott for the big game. We had a late lunch at Appaloosa Grill, then took the light rail to the Sports Authority Mile High Stadium. Lots of people, it was like a sea of orange. So many Broncos fans, unbelievable.

Outside the stadium

Introducing the team

The stadium's capacity is 76,125 and tonight's attendance was over 73,000. What an awesome experience, so much to see. Can't wait for another opportunity to see an NFL game.










Aug 30      Golden

Buffalo Bill's grave

Lookout Mountain

This morning we took a drive to Mt Zion, Lookout Mountain and checked out Buffalo Bills Grave. It was a winding road all the way up the mountain with lots of bicyclist.

On the way down we went around the backside to avoid all the bicyclist. Thought we knew what we were doing but got lost.
                           







Back in Golden we drove to the Coors Brewery for the tour. Was real crowded, people waiting in line in the hot sun. The wait was an hour so we decided to skip it. We found a Walmart to look for tubes so we can go down the creek. Unfortunately, all sold out.

This is our last night at Clear Creek RV Park. We're going to try free camping at Cabela's tomorrow.

Aug 31   Golden - Thornton, CO     27 miles   45 min

Before leaving Golden, CO we went to the Coors Brewery and took the tour. It's located right here in Golden, Colorado. Was a pretty good tour. We could have up to 3 glasses of beer but I only had 1 because Joe didn't want any...he said he knows what beer taste like. I guess he only drinks when he has to pay for it.

The hospitality room was nice

Nice place for free

We drove to Cabela's in Thornton, not too far only about 27 miles. Cabela's allow free RV camping in their parking lot. We went into the store to shop and when we came out Joe noticed something leaking from the engine. It looked like the radiator was leaking. He called around for someone to look at this for us and finally got Ford in Longmont, a little ways north from here. But they can't see us until Wednesday.

Grand Junction, CO

Aug 23   Bryce Canyon - Grand Junction, CO     322 miles     7 hours

Got up early this morning and drove to Grand Junction, CO. Our niece Keahi is attending Colorado Mesa University here. Checked in at the Junction West RV Park for 1 night. Good Sam rate is $39.34. It took us about 7 hours to get here. Made a few stops....filled gas, ate lunch, stretched our legs. Pretty nice drive but kind of long. It's hot here, when we pulled in about 3pm the temperature was about 93 degrees.

We picked up Keahi and her friend and had dinner at Olive Garden. So nice to see Keahi, she's very happy and excited to be here in Grand Junction, going to college. We know she'll excel in everything she chooses to do.

Aug 24     Grand Junction - Fruita, CO     8 miles

Our site for the next few days

We moved over to Fruita this morning. We have reservations at James M. Robb Colorado River State Park, Fruita section. Real nice here. $24 for full hook ups but also need to add $7 per day for the Colorado Park Pass. It's just a few miles from Grand Junction.

Our steps have been giving us problems so Joe finally replaced the motor. Took a good part of the day. The new motor cost $89 but Joe could change it himself. Seems to be working well.

Me & Keahi at the game

This evening we went to a Grand Junction Rockies baseball game. Keahi and her friend joined us. This is the minor league for the Colorado Rockies. We left by the 6th inning but they were winning 10-2.




Aug 25  Colorado National Monument

 Today we went to the Colorado National Monument. It's located 2 miles from our campground. We really enjoyed it. We went on a couple of short hikes and drove the 23 mile Rim Rock Drive. The views were breathtaking. The road climbs from the Grand Valley of the Colorado River to the park's high country, then winds along the plateau rim.

Taking a pee break on the trail

The view of Colorado National Monument from our campsite

In the afternoon, we went to Downtown Grand Junction. It was real hot and the businesses were all closed for the day. Not too many restaurants to choose from but the artwork on the street was real interesting.

This bull was made from car bumpers

Reminds us of JJ playing water

Aug 26   Grand Junction

We picked up Keahi and drove out to Palisades. The plan was to go and visit a couple of lavender farms. The first stop was Sprigs & Sprouts. We did a taste test of balsamic vinegar and olive oils. All the flavored vinegar and oils was very interesting. I ended up buying a raspberry balsamic vinegar, so good! Then we went to Sage Lavender Farm. Couldn't get a tour so we just walked around the grounds and checked out all the lavender.

Keahi & Joe at Sage Lavendar Farm

For dinner, we went to the Texas Roadhouse in Grand Junction. Very good dinner and excellent service. Everyone enjoyed their meal, we all had to roll out of there.

Had to say goodbye to Keahi because tomorrow we drive to Golden, Colorado.

Keahi & Joe ready to dig in

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Aug 21     Las Vegas - Bryce Canyon National Park, UT     259 miles      6 hours

We got an early start this morning, out of bed at 520am and on the road at 545am.

Leaving Mainstreet

Joe made the mistake of drinking too much last night, so he was pretty hung over and not feeling too good. After driving for about an hour, I had to take over. Joe doesn't like me driving but this morning, he didn't really care. So I drove for about an hour so he could get some rest.

We got to Bryce around 12pm, but we gained an hour and rested for 1 hour. Our drive time was a little over 4 hours, not too bad.
We're camping at Bryce, in fact, we got the same camping spot as last year. The rate last year was $15 a night. Now it's $30 a night, doubled! Can't believe we're paying $30 for dry camping.

Same spot as last year

It's nice and cool here, during the day the temperature was about 77 degrees. For dinner we went to Ruby's Inn. They have a very good dinner buffet that we really enjoyed. Kind of expensive, $48.00 but was ono.
We went walking after dinner because we ate too much. Then we drove out to Bryce Point to watch the sunset. Very beautiful.

Sunset at Bryce Point

Aug 22      Bryce Canyon National Park
We got a late start this morning, slept in. Must be the cool temperatures here, last night was low 60's. We drove out to Rainbow Point and did a short hike. Bristlecone Trail was about 1 mile. It took us through pine forest and amazing scenery of the hoodoos.

Hiking Bristlecone Trail

Natural Bridge Lookout

Las Vegas

17 - 21 August    Las Vegas, NV

We arrived in Las Vegas Monday morning. Noah and Manu picked us up. They have been traveling in our RV for the past 2 weeks. They went to take their daughter Keahi to college at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, CO.

For the next few days, we're just planning to get the RV ready for our road trip to South Dakota.

We have 3 nights comp at Sam's Town RV Park, then 1 night at Main Street Station before hitting the road.

Catching Up On The Last Few Months

The last year or so has been very exciting for the Whittaker's. Our son Joshua got married to his long time girlfriend, Casey. That was back in May 2014. Also in May, our daughter Miki, graduated from West Oahu with a teaching degree. She spent her first year teaching at Kaneohe Elementary School in Special Education. Then in November 2014, we welcomed an addition to the family. Casey and Josh are proud parents of Joshua Joseph Whittaker, we call him JJ. He was born on ,November 1, 2014. He is an absolute joy to the whole family. Our first grandson.....we couldn't be any happier.

Josh is still driving for UPS, Casey just started a part-time job at Original Red Dirt Shirts in Haleiwa, and Miki just started teaching 3rd grade at Kahuku Elementary School.

Joe has been retired for almost 5 years now, and not planning on working anytime soon. He thought he would get bored after a couple of years but no way....he keeps himself pretty busy. I'm doing part-time bookkeeping at COYSA in Haleiwa, have been there almost 2 years. Really part-time...1 day a week. In May, I picked up another part-time account. This organization is Hoola Na Pua, and I enjoy it because I get to work from home. Perfect for me, especially when we go on our road trips.

Our next road trip will take us as far as South Dakota, to Custer State Park for their annual Buffalo Roundup. Stay tuned.......

JJ & Grandpa

JJ & Auntie Miki

JJ & Mommy

Like father like son