Our adventure into the Chihuahuan Desert began with a drive-by of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak, the most distinguishable and highest points in Texas. El Capitan is the southern-most peak of the Guadalupe escarpment, an ancient limestone reef that forms the present-day Guadalupe Mountains. These mountains are an exposed portion of the Capitan Reef Barrier, a 350-mile long reef made up…
After a three-week hiatus, we hitched up Cloud 9 and headed to our favorite backyard park for a weekender. Throughout our stay, we longed for a little peace and quiet — the kind that amplifies the crackle of a campfire or the whir of the wind. Finally, on Sunday afternoon, we found our moment of…
We received an invitation to attend the first AluminumPride rally at Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown and thought it sounded intriguing. After all, it came from a straight friend and his wife — a couple we met two years ago at a gay Airstream rally in Memphis. “We are a friendly and engaging group,…
There was a moment at the wedding reception when it seemed like the mix of emotion and memory left everyone in a state of suspended animation. On stage, Jon’s nephew, Jameson, danced with his mother, Jean, to Billy Joel’s haunting “Lullabye.” Jon’s brother, Jody, was leaning against the frame of a doorway, looking on. Jody’s…
We spent the weekend with the Heart of Texas Camping Unit enjoying warm breezes off the Brazos River at Cedron Creek Park, an Army Corps of Engineers park located on the east side of Lake Whitney. The park has 65 sites on a tree-shaded hill that overlooks the lake, offering shelter from the warm breezes…
We left our mountain perch near Breckenridge two hours later than expected. We just couldn’t seem drag ourselves away from Tiger Run Resort. But soon we were making hairpin turns through steep mountain passes amid spectacular scenery. Destination: Amarillo, the helium capital of the world. Soon after entering New Mexico we encountered torrential rains that…
Our last full day in the Rockies provided a crisp, clear morning, followed by a warm, sunny afternoon, allowing us to stroll along the Swan River, a 10-mile long tributary of the Blue River. The site where it joins the Blue River, in a narrow valley about five miles from Breckenridge, was previously occupied by…
Our final morning in Estes Park was spent readying for departure. An 11 a.m. checkout time meant we had only a brief period for coffee and catching up on a few work-related emails. But soon we said goodbye to our little aspen grove and were off for our next stop: Tiger Run Resort in Breckenridge.…
A summer cold front brought overnight thunderstorms, cooler temperatures and clouded skies to Rocky Mountain National Park, so we spent Thursday cleaning Cloud 9, doing laundry and relaxing with our doggies. It gave us an opportunity to reflect on the wildlife we’ve encountered during our sojourns into the park. The first was a herd of…
A bright, mild Wednesday seemed an ideal time to visit Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake, situated at the park’s western entrance. The lake fills a valley formed by a glacier about 12,000 years ago, with one side dammed up by glacial sediment. It was originally named Spirit Lake by the Ute Tribe…
Garinns on the Go 