We made it to Thornton for Halloween! We drove from Green River, UT to Silverthorne, CO where Big Daddy lives and managed to miss the worst of not one, but two snowstorms that impacted Denver and Summit County. The drive on Tuesday from Green River was dry until we got to Granby, just west of Vail. With only 70 miles to get to Silverthorne, we pressed forward. Vail pass was slow because any mountain pass in an 11 ton motorhome towing a Jeep is not going to be fast. The roads were wet, and although the snow was falling, it was not yet slick. I did let out a big Woo-Hoo when we got to Copper Mountain on the east side of the pass. The only trouble I had was going up Royal Buffalo Road, where I did slide but managed to gain control and get to his complex. We disconnected Rodita (who was caked in ice and salt and sand) and I parked Dericka outside Dad’s and we plugged in to his house for the night. It was cold, but we had two space heaters in addition to the furnace and Marleigh, Lilly and I elected to sleep in the motorhome instead of inside Dad’s. We were warm enough but woke up to a temperature of 9 below so keeping pipes from freezing was our biggest concern. The front of the motorhome is significantly colder than the bedroom area and was 51 degrees when we woke up. We did laundry at Dad’s in the morning while the overnight storm moved out and then left Summit for Thornton about noon under sunny skies and mostly dry roads. Whew!
We traveled almost 2800 miles, saw 6 states, 5 National Parks, Disneyland, and 4 Jeep trails. (Oh, and one Jeep rescue, LOL) The highest temperature we saw was 99 in California and lowest was -9 in Colorado. It was a great trip and we are looking forward to more adventures soon. I dropped Dericka off in Wheat Ridge for some warranty repair work on Wednesday afternoon and I must admit I was almost teary to leave our rolling home after living in her for over 3 weeks. We love her so much and she met our every need during our adventures, and I didn’t feel cramped even with Big Daddy’s size 16 feet and Lilly always being under them!
We are back at Casa Cummins and enjoying time with friends and family. My friend Carol and her daughter are house sitting for us and have been very gracious about sharing their/our space while we are here. Repairs on Dericka (which include a new door) will likely not be completed until mid-November but as soon as they are we will be on the road again, heading East. I have to be in North Carolina for a meeting at the beginning of December so that will be our next destination. The current plan is to stay East and South during the coldest months- we are hoping to avoid colder temps but since we now know we can survive 9 degrees below, cold is pretty relative.
So since we’re around, hit us up! We’d love to see you and show you some of the thousands of photos we have taken on our adventures. As we make plans to head East we are hoping to connect with some friends and family in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Let us know of places you’ve been that were fun and educational in those states, or folks you know who live there- we are hoping to see new things and make new friends along the way! This last trip was mapped out but after my meeting in Charlotte in December we have no itinerary and plan to go wherever the wind takes us. Also, we would love to have you join us along the way! We currently have plans for friends to join us in Florida and Virginia – so if there is a place that you want to see and we are there or headed that way, come hang with us! Dericka sleeps 10!
Marleigh and Me 