Day 21: Ozarks MTB & a ride in a boat (21 Aug 14)

Out early to beat the "record breaking heat wave" and sample some Ozarks trails. It was still hotter than hell, even at 0730, and with the humidity, we were, again, soaked before we even left the parking lot. We are not going to fare so well back in DC... ugh.

Ride was a lot of fun. Swoopy single-track, a lite bit of up, and a whole lotta down. Not too many spiders, but we did have to "brake for turtles" and turkeys and squirrels.

In the afternoon, we rented a pontoon boat here at the Lake camp and tooled around on the Lake for a few hours. Pups were so funny - these desert dogs have never been on a boat and had no idea why the ground under them kept moving.  Once they realized how good the breeze felt, they both had their heads hanging over the railing. We finally got them off and into the water with us.  Just. Like yesterday, Sunday was a swimmin fool, and Finn was terrified. Once we got them back in the boat, they both passed out in the sun.  Good day to be a Norvell dog!

Tomorrow off to St. Louis, where Doug already has his first White Castle mapped out.

Day 20: Drive to Lake of the Ozarks

Long drive to a camp at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.  We are staying at a camp right on the lake that is run by the Army MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation).  There's a small RV lot and about 20 cabins that people can rent.  If it weren't for the "record breaking heat wave" and 50% humidity, we'd be loving it.
Our only adventure today, other than driving here, was to take our desert dogs swimming in the lake. Sunday jumped right in and paddled her little paws off. Finn was terrified and needed lots of encouragement from Mommy. See video HERE

AT&T hates Missouri

Apologies for no updates the past few days, but we have been off the grid. Neither of us has had a cell signal since we left Kansas, and the Wi-Fi at the RV park sucked. We are heading down to the Lake of the Ozarks now, and don't expect to have any service there either (AT&T really does hate Missouri).  Posts about the past few days are here now, and we'll post about our adventures at the hot & humid Lake of the Ozarks when we get service again in a few days!

Day 19: Humid Humid Humid MTB & catching up with BFFs

Tried to beat the heat and humidity by getting out early this morning, but we were both soaked before we even left the parking lot at the trailhead! Blech. 😰

Trails were fun - clearly built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers.  Mostly smooth and swoopy, with just a few wet roots and rocks thrown in for a little challenge. The real challenge, though, was not eating too many ginormous spiders. It rained last night, so the spiders were all out rebuilding their webs across the trail. Jen assumed her usual position in front, and did a good job clearing several webs, until she cleared one with her face and the giant orange spider wound up inside her helmet.  After a lot of spitting, screaming, and helmet throwing, Doug took over as Chief Spider Killer and frontman.  Ten miles later, we were both covered in mud & spider webs, and drenched in sweat. Blech.  The good news was there was a LOT of air. Breathing was SO easy - just breathe in and fill the lungs. (If you've never biked/run/hiked at 8500 feet, just trust us on this one!) 😛

After showers and soaking up lots of air conditioning, we drove over to Leavenworth to visit Lisa & Dave, good friends from our DC days. We haven't seen them since 2010,and had never met their 2 kids, who have both been born since then. It was a great night of catching up and devouring some awesome homemade brisket.  Sadly, we were all yawning by 9:30, so the rest of our catching up will have to wait until next year when Lisa (hopefully) gets reassigned to a job in DC.

Day 18: Driving to Missouri (18 Aug 14)

Another driving day. Made it to Missouri, just over the Kansas state line. Hot and humid. We're both melting after getting so used to desert and mountain climates. 

We are at a nice "camping resort" with lots of green grass for the pups and some wooded walking trails with zillions of squirrels!!!. Today was back-to-school day for Missouri kids, so the place is empty. We haven't visited a single pool yet on this trip because they are always filled with screaming children (which makes Jen break out in hives), but Jen actually enjoyed some time in an empty pool here this afternoon.  There was another "new state" ceremony, adding MO to our RV map. (we've both been here before, - Doug lived here for the first 5 years of his life -  but this is the first time in the RV).

Tomorrow - MTB and catching up with friends.

Puppy Adventures

Just a few pics of our furry kids from along the trip that haven't made into blog entries before. They've learned how to swim in Durango, ate antelope antlers, climbed trees in Colorado Springs, sat on Jens lap in the car, and hunted (or herded, in Finn's case)  the millions of bunnies in different Colorado campgrounds.  They're enjoying this trip as much as we are,  even without all the beer!

Day 17: New state! (17 Aug 14)

Left Colorado early this morning to continue our trek East. Made it to WaKeeney, Kansas. Jen has never been to Kansas before, so this really is a totally new state. So far, it's pretty boring - lots of cornfields and silos and it's 98 degrees!  We did have the "new state on the RV map" ceremony, though.

Tomorrow, on to Ft. Leavenworth to spend some time with good friends who are currently stationed there, Lisa & Dave, who we haven't seen in over 3 years! 😊

Day 16: Colorado Fun Continues (16 Aug 14)

For our last MTB Ride in Colorado, we headed up to the Air Force Academy (USAFA) to ride the 13-mile Falcon Trail on the base.  Despite the 1361 ft of elevation gain, it was fun, fast, and beautiful.  The trail took us up to ledges with beautiful views, through Meadows dotted with wildflowers, and over several stream crossings.  We rode a ledge high above the football stadium (no game going on, though), and had a great view of the famous spires of the chapel and barracks. It was absolutely beautiful.  At the end of the ride, Jen said she could ride that "all day" and asked if we could stay another day so we could ride it "again and again and again" . Doug was not amused and whimpered something incomprehensible. 

Saturday evening, we made plans to meet up with an Army friend of Jen's (at a brewery of course).  We had just enough time to visit one other brewery,  the Smiling Toad, before we had to head downtown. The only good thing about this brewery was the brewery dog, a very friendly yellow lab named Ella, who clearly owned the place. The beer wasn't anything to blog about, unfortunately.  Then it was off to downtown to the Phantom Canyon brewery, the oldest brewery in Colorado (according to their menu anyway).  We never did meet up with the Army friend Jen had planned to meet, but we did get to have dinner and beers with a different Army friend who's also currently stationed in Colorado Springs. It was a fun night of Army stories, gossip about JAG corps legends, and catching up.  Unfortunately, we were so caught up in socializing that we forgot to take a picture of us all together. 😯