January 04, 2005

First Tracks

Another Note: Darn! I return every email we get and so I have been sitting here replying to all of your posts. Finally while replying to Peggy from Ridgecrest, CA I noticed that the return email was to "anonymous-comment@blogger.com", so I am gonna go out on a limb here and bet that none of you got my replies. This is a shame because they were all fantastically witty, literary, masterpieces!
If you would care for a reply from either myself or Dan please include an email address in your posting. Thanks to all for taking the time to write in, it is appreciated, as are your words of encouragement.


Note: According to our hit counter we have recieved over 20,000 hits. Who are all of you people?
Please take a minute and click the comment button below. Tell us who you are, how you found us and where you are from. It would be greatly appreciated.


January 4, 2005
D-town



Our friend Katie, one of Wolf Creek's avalanche dogs.


It is always nice to be home. We spent Sunday and Monday enjoying the fruits of our labor, riding Wolf Creek. I hate to play it up too much for fear that you will all invade our favorite ski hill, but Wolfie has the best snow in Colorado and is a fantastic place to enjoy champagne powder and tree skiing. It is still a family owned resort and it has small area charm. We managed to hit it on two fantastic days. Part of Wolf Creek’s charm is that there is no “resort” there. No condos, no Gucci stores, no spas, just a ski hill and some great people. We were permitted to camp in the parking lot, which was a real treat. Our two best runs were from the top down to our truck, gotta love ski-in/ ski-out camping.


Our camping spot.


In addition to lift access runs, Wolf Creek has great terrain for those who are willing to hike just a little bit from the top of the lift.

Our first days of riding were remarkably painless. Surfing is a fantastic upper body work-out, but cardio or legs, not so much. Then throw in 10,000 feet and 20 degrees, and we didn’t have very high expectations for our riding ability. Somehow though, everything fell right into place. We were able to breath, even with the altitude, and our legs managed to hold us up and carry us down the slopes.


Me, barely holding on, maybe my legs are a bit out of shape???


Dan enjoying our ride home.

Currently we are in Durango waiting for the truck to be repaired. Our major fears, that the transmission was dying and that the 4 wheel drive was caput, were for not. Seems only a bushing of some sort is out of kilter, no big deal. The only really bad part is that we have been dry docked here in Durango while huge flakes fall all around us. Fortunately we should be up and running tomorrow and on the slopes Thursday morning.

Coming home makes me homesick for my friends. The ONLY downside to our trip is the time I am missing with those I love. If you ever decide to do a trip like this you should know that this is the hard part. We are eternally blessed to have the most amazing group of friends, darn you all for being so cool, and making us miss you. We have made some fantastic new friends along the way, but nothing, and no one, can replace the people you have known all along. We are pretty sure that wherever we land come June, it won’t be Durango. This is a hard realization for us, but fear not, we assume that we will land some place so great that you will all want to visit us there.


Our winter sports require a bit more indoor storage. Our bathroom has been transformed into our ski gear closet.

You may notice that I had some free time to dedicate to the site today. I hope the new format is a bit easier to read. Also I did “sell out” and add an advertisement link in the middle. If you are so inclined you can click on the link and by doing so you will be making a contribution to "the fund". I think we get a half a cent per click, only payable after we have had $100 worth of clicks, so don’t think we are trying to turn this into a money making venture or anything. Perhaps if everyone clicks a link, everytime they visit, someday we'll earn enough for a tank of deisel, click away! If any of you are bothered by this, and are friends with publishers, pass our site along, once we get a book deal I promise to remove the link :)





103 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:18 AM

    Found your site through rv.net sometime ago. Enjoy the travels and thorough documentation of your trip. I travel extensively during auto racing season with my 2 kids and sometime soon my oldest is starting a blog site of our adventures.

    Keep it up and enjoy life!

    Don M.
    Meridian, ID

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:41 AM

    Rachel (and Dan),

    Thank you for allowing us to share your adventure. I don't remember how I found your blog but we've been following you since about day one.

    We "helped" clean out the stick house and floated the Colorado with you. We've had a good time in Mexico without concerns for safety or bad drinking water. And now... we're in the snow. Wow! And to think we've done all that from Tennessee.

    We retire in 25 days... we hope to catch up with you some day... until then we hope you publish a book about your adventures... the stuff dreams are made of!

    Chet Thornton

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1:59 PM

    Rachel and Dan,
    We found you on RV.Net and have enjoyed following you on all your adventures. My husband and I have also been very fortunate, we work during the summer in Minnesota and travel in the winter; we have a 32 foot motorhome. We started with a pickup camper, but as we got older (in years only) I felt I needed more room and comfort. We have 2 more summers to work, then we take an early retirement, sell the house and hit the road for fun and adventure.

    Good luck on the book deal and hope to run into you down the road. Love your pictures they are fantastic, you are one heck of a photographer.

    See you on the road, Mike and Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hola DanG and Rach!

    You guys are my escape from the fire dept! It has been great to travel along with you and all from the comfort of my office at Station 2! ha ha ha!!!

    Keep up the fun.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:42 PM

    My name is Gene and I am 55 years old tracking your blog since the beginning. I can only travel in the summer so it gives me great delight to read of your adventures. You have a very nice writing style and I enjoy it a lot. I check in everyday to see what's new.Your photos are great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:13 PM

    Hey Guys:

    Like many others, I came across one of your posts on RV.net and I've been traveling vicariously ever since.

    I have a 11' Lance with a slide and it starts to seem pretty tight after awhile so I have been impressed with your ability to cope for so long in even smaller quarters. (Of course, I also travel with a 2 1/2 year old [www.lewislinn.com] who has the ability to make a small space seem smaller!)

    I live in Bend, Oregon -- very similar to Durango in terms of lifestyle and activities -- but a little lower cost of living. (I used to underwrite construction loans for a mortgage broker in Durango.) I was surprised you guys didn't stop by for a visit on your way through the state. Bend might be a place to consider if you want the benefits of the Durango lifestyle at a lower cost.

    I've enjoyed your well-illustrated adventures. Thanks for sharing!

    Tim

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous1:07 AM

    Hi Rachel & Dan,

    My husband Jason found you on RV.net before you actually left on your adventure. I think we joined you just before Rachel's graduation :-) For years, he's been trying to convince me to sell everything and travel for a year (or more), but now we have a 1 year old and I don't think things would go quite as smooth with him along. So instead, we live vicariously through you!

    We've enjoyed reading (and seeing) where you've been because as much as we would like to, I just don't think we're going to make it to all of *your* places anytime soon! Have a great rest of your trip...we can't wait to see what happens next!

    Jessica & Jason
    Long Beach, CA

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:36 AM

    Rachel and Dan,

    I love your adventures and have been following you from the beginning. Your pictures are fabulous, just like we are looking through the lens with you.

    We are truck campers too, although we have two teenage children to squeeze in the "tin can". We plan to retire in 5 years and hit the road for some adventures of our own without the kids. In the meantime, we live vicarously through you. Enjoy your trip and keep posting.

    Peggy
    Ridgecrest, CA

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:50 AM

    Damn... you guys have quite the following. I need to get me one of them Blogs. I was looking into it but have dropped the ball momentarily. Rob here, I'm in Mendoza, Argentina right now. I'm actually sitting in my hotel room waiting for my assistant to show up so we can go shop for our trip. If you run into any of my buddies in Durango tell them I said hi. I'll be back in the states in March some time. I'm around for a few weeks then up to AK for more of the same. Ride some Pow for me and watch out for your famous depth hoar and near surface facets. Watch them runouts.

    Beers, rob

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous10:24 AM

    I have been following your site since right before you left on your trip. I hope to take off and see the country some day soon my self. You both are an inspiration to me, keep up the great blog and the wonderful pictures.

    Pam
    Olympia, Washington

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:49 AM

    Hi Guys!
    Found your site through RV forum while looking into getting a camper for my truck. Still in the looking process. Your travels remind my wife and I of our adventures through the Pacific Islands, Asia, Indonesia, and New Zealand while we were teaching in Guam (we were backpaking - except NZ where we rented a camper). We too, enjoyed traveling and meeting the locals. It is amazing how friendly strangers can be. Don't believe we'll go the full time route (at least for now - need to build up time for retirement) but do hope to continue traveling and looking for something bigger and easier than the tent. Being teachers we get quite a bit of time off and travel is the way to spend it. We also enjoy the photos. They truely highlight your adventure and will be a treasure to look back on someday. Happy Travels and will look for you on the road!
    Rich and Liz :)
    Connecticut

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:12 PM

    Just another armchair traveler, following your exploits from the comforts of L.A. I've got notions of an extended r.v. trip myself, probably next year, so I'm following your adventures (and, of course, those of the venerable Tioga RV) with envy and admiration. I'm a fan of the photos and the breezy writing style. Thank you for taking us along. We're having a wonderful time.

    -- J. Rhodes

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous2:23 PM

    Rachael and Dan,

    Found your site on Hitchitch back when you were in Durango still in the planning stages. Faithfully follow you and Tioga George also. Have really enjoyed your adventures. Hope to do something similar in a few years. Thanks for sharing with us.

    Steve
    Fayetteville, AR

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:06 PM

    Sitting here at work dreaming of my year-long RV traveling on the open road... Came upon your blog on rv.net and what a dream come true. It is totally awesome - you sure do fine work. Can't wait to read on !

    Best of luck....be safe!
    Cozy

    PS: I can totally relate to drop-off roads and the sounds out of my mouth my sweetie makes fun of! I remember a particular curve in central TN and the truck dying causing the steering to lock up - gosh the Lord was with us on that one !

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great Site!
    I found you from RV.net while researching a similar trip. My wife and I are both 32 and doing the same thing that you are doing (almost 5 months now). I found your site about a month before we left and it has been a great resource ever since. It seems we are just a bit behind you, we were in Mexico just a little later than you, currently in California. Thanks for the great posts, maybe we will see you along the way.
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:40 PM

    Dan and Rachael,

    I found out about your trip in the camper forum on rv.net. I have followed you the whole trip. Great photos and stories. I think we all live through you guys and wish we could be doing what your doing. I check the blog pretty frequently to see the next part of your adventure. I also am an uderaged Rver. Its cool to see other young people enjoying a truck camper, doing active things, and a few beers every now and then. Best of luck on the rest of the trip.

    Steve (sbrady88)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous6:35 AM

    Dan and Rachael,
    Larry here. I have been following your progress from the first time you were posted on Hitchitch. I think what you guys are doing is great. Enjoy life while you're young, old comes too fast :-), even though some of us refuse to get old :-). I have a truck camper also and intend on extended trips when I retire in a year or so. I live in Missouri.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous1:35 PM

    Hey Rach,

    found you guys on rv.net and have been with you all the way. I'm a camper/kyayaker so have really loved your adventures, especially the the "Big Ditch". Between you and Tioga Team I feel like i'm traveling every day. Have fun, stay safe and keep the pics & post comming!
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7:01 PM

    I found you through Google. I teach 6th grade world history in Texas, and was looking for some pictures from Mexico to show my students, i.e. street vendors, festivals, kids their age, etc. Your photos have been wonderful. I have Auto Focus and can project anything I find on the net on a 5x6 foot screen in my room. The kids loved your pictures. Um, I hope I don't owe you anything. Thanks for such a clean, wholesome site.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Darn! I return every email we get and so I have been sitting here replying to all of your posts. Finally while replying to Peggy from Ridgecrest, CA I noticed that the return email was to "anonymous-comment@blogger.com", so I am gonna go out on a limb here and bet that none of you got my replies. This is a shame because they were all fantastically witty, literary, masterpieces!
    If you would care for a reply from either myself or Dan please include an email address in your posting. Thanks to all for taking the time to write in, it is appreciated, as are your words of encouragement.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous1:15 PM

    Hi, First time visitor to your site. Mobile, AL is my home. George and Ms Tioga mentioned your site today in his blog. I love following George and his 'crew' travel around. I would some day like to purchase some sort of RV. Right now, though, I'm waiting for two sons to grad college. Beautiful, beautiful pics. Way too cold though for me and mine. Toodles, Carol

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous7:02 PM

    Everything all the rest have said! ;-)

    Really, I can't think of anything to say that hasn't already been said. Found you guys on RV.net in May and have been following your travels ever since.

    Waiting for you to post your Grand Canyon adventure was pure TORTURE!!

    MrsR95@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous6:41 PM

    Lake Arrowhead not so sunny and warm here in California.
    Found you like so many others from RV net. Think your
    very brave and forunte to travel as you do. Glad you didn't wait too long like so many.
    We belong to a motorhome group with our oldest member 80 and going strong, youngest just 57. We all try to travel to intresting points in Calif. at least once a month. Keep on posting sure do enjoy your reports.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your blog went through my stats at Jersey Goddess. Glad I clicked back. Interesting and gorgeous pics. I'm intrigued.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous11:20 PM

    Rachel & Dan,
    A pleasure to vicariously travel with you...you rock! Add video, some editting, and you have a Travel Channel series!...I found you while researching other blog sites for my use in '06 as I set out in my class C...with digital a/v, Avid system, satellite dish...

    Cheers,
    Perrin
    Tempe, AZ

    ReplyDelete
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