Paws and Friends

We had a "quiet" fall/winter season in AZ. Roving Rider's Roost was a good place to "settle" in the Covid 19 situation. We got together with our small group, our "pod" we called it:  playing cards, going on UTV rides, and rather than eating out, we had picnics in the area!  Starting in mid January we were able to get Covid 19 vaccinations from the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, becoming fully vaccinated by the end of February. Picnic Alamo Lake We celebrated birthdays of our small group with a picnic (we DO like to EAT!) out in the desert on our side by sides in January. We had several rides out in the desert with our small group. Above two pictures:  China Wall Box Canyon We headed out from Roving Rider's Roost April 30, seeking the coolness of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana! We are currently near Mancos, Colorado, having successfully escaped the heat of AZ! We are half a mile from the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, and we have been t...

 Why are we here? Gee! A very deep question, no? If you are following us, you might have one answer to that question. As full timers, we seek locations that have a beautiful back yard and terrific views. The Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground certainly has all of these!  But there is one more positive attribute added to the mix. The proximity of the 109 mile George S Mickelson Trail. You can find several web sites with information about this trail. Here is one from the South Dakota Game, Fish and and Parks website. This website starts out with: Imagine a path where the ghosts of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane still roam; where bicyclists, hikers and horseback riders can explore spruce and ponderosa pine forests; and the very young, the very old and people of all abilities can enjoy. Are you hooked? You might guess that with our new e (for electric) bikes, we are! On one of our recent rides, we were asked about our "power" bikes. The fellow asking said he had one, but had not...

July 6 we drove up to the parking lot at Hyak, the eastern portal to the Snoqualmie Tunnel of the old Milwaukee Road, now part of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail . The tunnel, more than 2 miles long, has been closed due to safety concerns but was opened finally sometime in June. We had purchased LED lights for our bikes, but still, riding through 2 miles of dark was interesting! There indeed was a light at the end, that at first we thought was another biker coming....! Ummmm!  Mike had a LED flashlight in addition to her head lamp which did make things easier to "see". Lindy followed....feeling like the walls were closing in--but after adjusting the head lamp, was able to successfully navigate! The road bed was a little sloppy, with water dripping on our heads in several spots. It was chilly! We had gloves, and sweats over our shorts. As soon as we emerged, however, we shed the gloves and sweats!  These pictures are at the eastern portal, before we embarked on the great advent...