Central Colorado and a Six Months' Fulltiming Assessment

At Arrowhead Point RV Resort, Buena Vista, Colorado...

Our memories of the good times in Durango with our family are still fresh, and they are a reminder that our fulltiming gig has had no adverse effect on our family relationships. Neither has it affected our relationships with our friends, evidenced by the fun we had at Priest Gulch with Bubba, LouAnn and BreAnn. We plan to drop in on other RV friends while in Colorado, and when we travel back to Texas in the fall, we'll be seeing our friends and relatives there, too. Plus, we have met quite a number of blogging friends in our ten years of RVing. Some of them have become close friends, and we value each and every one. We almost met fellow bloggers Steve and Debbie McCormack here in Buena Vista, but we missed them by a day. I know we'll cross paths again.

I have heard so many folks say how it would be impossible for them to go fulltiming because it would uproot them from friends and family. We haven't found that to be so, especially given the way the world has shrunk, thanks to the Internet. We keep up through phone calls, blogs and social media, and we don't feel that we've missed a beat with our relationships. The one area that we do miss, however, is our home church attendance. We have the good fortune to attend our church virtually via video broadcast, and we attend local churches when we can. And whenever we are needing a "grandsons fix", there's no problem--we just jump in Phannie and set a course for Sunset Shores in Willis, Texas--our park of record while we're there. Except they won't be expecting us to show up in the summertime; it's way too hot and humid there on the Gulf coast.

So, for those who are wondering, we're still not seeing any downside to this lifestyle. The feeling of freedom trumps everything else. Of course, everything has its season, doesn't it? Sandy and I have gone through most of our seasons by now--newly married, house owning, having a family, working hard to accumulate stuff, empty nesting and then retiring. Now, it's the season to do whatever the heck we want, and roaming the country in a motorhome with few cares or obligations ain't bad. This season will come to an end, of course, but we're not going to worry about that. Then will come the start of the final season, and we're just going to leave that in God's hands. Worrying is bad for you. 

We find ourselves in central Colorado at the moment, having spent a few days checking out Salida, Buena Vista and Leadville. This is a spectacularly beautiful area with some of the highest peaks in the Rockies lined up just to the west of where we are on highway 24 north of Buena Vista. We almost feel guilty enjoying the mountains and clear streams during mild days and cool nights instead of baking in the Texas heat, as we did before going fulltime. Here are a few photos of our surroundings, and we're tying very hard not to be smug:

Above and below: Mountain stream near Buena Vista

Overlooking Leadville--highest city in the U. S. at 10,120 feet.

By the way, the photo of Leadville above is an original, not something I pulled off the web. But there was a problem with my vantage point when I was shooting it: There were probably a dozen power lines and two towers that spanned the entire view, totally ruining the effect. A quick edit with Movavi and, presto! They were gone. I've told you about this program before but, if you still don't have it and you want your photos to be the best they can be, you should be ashamed.

We're off to Denver tomorrow, so stick around.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.