Schaefer Haus

AKA: WTF did we just do?!?!

After so much moving of everything we own into one of three places (donation, trailer, or storage), we are officially full-timing the RV life style. Can’t even say how amazing the Wood’s are for letting us crash and crap in their driveway while we wait for all the money to finalize, and for a few concerts that are not to be missed.  They let us steal internet, dump our garbage, and spend their precious time with us. Let that sink in, with US!!!  They are heroes, and the whole world should rejoice that they are spared them from us for an extra week and a half. Angels, kinda.

We did some amazing biking up Waterton Canyon, an awesome evening jaunt with big horned sheep, and so many gnats.  We got back in the dark, definitely feeling that the adventure had begun.

A few days later, we all went for a morning ride in Bear Creek Lake Park.  Pro tip: Park on Morrison Rd by Indiana to avoid paying entrance fees.  We rode all morning, up the ridge by the Homestead Golf Course, down to the lake, through the cottonwood stands by the creek and through the creek. Serious up-hills and serious views, we owned it!

So many wonderful dinners, too.  We’d have some of this or that to cook, the Wood’s would have something else… every night was a meal for an army, and so yummy!

The Monday of the week we are planning to leave, Ken, Matt and I decide to go climbing at Devils Head in the South Platte. At the very top of this impressively vertical climb is a fire look-out tower still in operation by an ancient man.  It’s a hell of a climb up a bunch of exposed stairs, but 1 million percent worth it for the top of the world 360 degree view. We see a storm getting ready to roll in, so we rush to get some climbs in. Arriving in the climbing area the “ever-graceful” Lexi takes a spill on her left ankle. Not so bad, I’ve long ago destroyed any tendon worth ruining. But when that right foot decided to roll, flinging me to the ground (I screamed, a lot), we all knew we weren’t climbing. Roughly 3 mile hike out at about 1 mile per hour, with no rock climbing. Lexi ruins everything.

Our Wednesday departure got pushed back to Friday to give the sprain time to settle down, and finally we left. It was a bit strange, it’s very easy to pack a trailer that already has everything, put it on the hitch and drive away. Excited to hit the road, excited for what’s to come next. Excited for the swelling to go down, and super excited for the real adventure to start.  It is a wonderful feeling, so freeing. Then we hit the usual Friday traffic leaving town and cursed you working class stiffs again.  We all know Thursday is the new Friday, but Friday remains the official day for mass exodus.

Next stop, Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Our first time loaded to the gills with the trailer, headed to Chalk Creek outside Buena Vista, CO, in the rain, almost the whole time.

We started at a Cat Scale in Wheat Ridge. We realized quickly how quick we are to frustration when doing something new, and it’s not going like we expected.  Did you know you have to push a button for the scale operators to run the scale?  Did you know they are the same people who are running the busy registers in the convenience store?  Did you know it can take five minutes for them to bother to get you weighed while a huge line of semis who need weighed for work builds and waits?  We didn’t.

After we got our results, and called the Ford dealership to confirm some calculations, we were on the road.  To be very honest, it’s great driving in CO when the rest of you jerks are at work. It’s really nice!

Got to our site at the Chalk Creek RV park, set everything up, and looked at each other.  WTF do we do now?  A bike ride around the RV park, great!  Five minutes around the park and we’re back at our sight, staring at each other.  The answer is so simple, BEER!  A little excursion to Eddyline Brewery for chips and salsa, and of course beer.  Then back to the trailer (maybe going to call her Francis?) for dinner, Champaign to celebrate our 8^th anniversary, and “Time Bandits” in bed.

I’d like a minute to introduce you to our travel buddy.  A huge thanks to our friends Dave and Brooks for our quasi travel gnome we’ve named ‘Richard’.  If you don’t like this blog now, you’d better click off, cuz here’s a picture of our Richard at Chalk Creek!

Isn’t he just so full of himself? HA!

Day two, we slept in. On a Wednesday. Eat it you working stiffs! Then we went fishing at Cottonwood Lake. We caught a little sun, and watched the fish stare at us from under the water barely registering attractive fishing lures passing by their faces.  Our best chance would have been to snag one of the bastards by the fin.  Succeeding at fishing though not catching, we grabbed some lunch. Some bouldering at Bob’s Rock and more lazy crap at the trailer. Unemployment, err… sabbaticals are amazing.

Sooo, what the actual shit!  It takes way too much energy to put a house on the market.  Why can’t people see through my filth to know how their filth will look once they’ve moved in?

They can’t. So one has to make their home a “model” home in order for people with money and motivation to buy it. Maybe on in a million is actually a clean freak, who likes that a house ‘looks’ easy to keep clean without a maid. Jerks.

Whatever, the house looks good, and we have about 8 showings scheduled already.  While we wait, you can check out the listing here, and I’m going to take a long nap with my fingers crossed.

 

WalMart.  I have been vocal for a very long time about not shopping at WalMart.  I don’t believe how they treat and pay their employees is conducive to a healthy society, and can’t wrap my brain around how profits are more valuable than the people who help you make those profits.  Cheep goods are just that, cheep.  But they come with a hidden cost that I’m not comfortable paying.  I’m elitist, I know.  I have many friends who shop there to help make ends meet.  If you can only afford so much, you go where you can make your money stretch the most. It’s just logic. I get it.

Off my soap box, I know that once on the road, WalMart will become a mainstay for the things we’ll need for the trailer.  They have the best selection for trailer equipment, they tend to be uniform from city to city, and they are freaking everywhere. Additionally there is the ever looming possibility that we might, for a night or two, boondock in one of WalMart’s fine parking lots.  You always see the campers in the back of the parking lots, I always assumed people were parked there to be out of the way while they shop.  Turns out that is a common place if you have to stop for the night, if you get stranded, or in some places like Alaska if you need a place to live for the summer.  There are rules on this type of camping, but mostly WalMart doesn’t seem to bother folks who need an overnight spot or two.

In order to breakup all the big, new experiences I’ll be having, and hunt down some storage solutions for the trailer, Ken and I went to a WalMart. And bought some crap. It’s true!  I am certain I was the most awkward thing in there, everyone else seemed totally at ease.  People from every socioeconomic class where there, families playing with toys, day laborers picking up some food and soda, sportsmen and women talking about different bate worms, a dude riding a bike through the store with a rug rolled up and crashing into everything. It somehow didn’t seem at all strange.

I will continue, however, to spend my money at places where I feel it will do the most good.  For now, things can and probably will change. If you hate change, stop reading now.

Look folks, I don’t know how to write a blog, more importantly, I don’t care to learn how. What this is, is… well, something else.  This is a quasi travel log about whatever I think is important.

We’ve got our truck. We’ve got our camper trailer. We’ve put in our resignations.  We’ve got balls.  BIG balls.  You know you’re jealous.

Today is the 4th of July, so Independence Day.  This is probably the best day to start something like this, where we just decide to tell the world that what we are about to do is the most freeing thing a person can do, ever.  We are taking a year and going out into the world to see what’s out there.  To find ourselves. To learn who we are, and mostly… what we want.

Come along if you wanna.  If not, I don’t give a fuck.  Oh, by the way, this will not be for the kiddos.  Bummer for them.