November in Canada?

I know what you're thinking- Canada? You're going in the wrong direction! We know it seems a bit backwards, but we wanted to take the opportunity to visit my family that I hadn't seen in almost twenty years. We also decided to take the scenic route through Ithaca and visit Daniel and Lane in their new city.

For this trip we were even able to recruit three more passengers. So Liz, Nico, Audri, Marc, Lucy, and I loaded ourselves and our belongings into the RV for a trip up North to see the Torringtons.

Max and Lucy were meant to stay with Mama T. for this trip to avoid any hassle at the Canadian border. We decided to bring Lucy with us at the last minute due to her recent jaw surgery. It just seemed to soon to leave her, so along she came.

I have to say that I was very proud of our travel companions. Our RV is- well, how should I put it- cozy. It is perfect for Marc and I and the dogs, but with two more adults and a child, it can get pretty tight. Nevertheless, Liz, Nico, and Audri were perfect travelers!

We were only sorry we couldn't have thrown Mama T. along in for the ride as well!

 

We ladies had no trouble finding many entertaining ways to pass the time on the road. 

We played games, read books, watched movies, took naps, and ate leftover Halloween candy. If that's not a road trip done right, I don't know what is!

 

Our favorite travel snack. Dangerously delicious.

 Lucy was a good sport as well. Even with her poor little cone head, she is still a cutie.

Somewhere along a horribly rutted Indiana highway that threatened to shake our brains loose from our heads, we blew out a tire. Huh, this seems to be becoming a habit. I guess that's what you get when you buy a twenty-year-old motor home. Fortunately we had just passed a highway exit and were close enough to slowly inch our way backwards up the ramp. Our good luck continued, we had lost our tire directly next to a tire shop. A very nice gentleman got us in and out of the shop with a new tire in less than fifteen minutes. We ladies didn't even have to leave our seats!

 

What's a road trip without a little excitement and a shredded tire?

Crisis averted!

Once in Ithaca, New York we stayed at the beautiful Robert H. Treman State Park. The camping sites are nice size and well wooded. There is also a beautiful waterfall which, in the summer, creates a natural swimming pool. We decided to stay dry this time around, just enjoying the views.

 Audri found a friend at the playground. 

              

Daniel met up with us and took us on a tour of his town. We had coffee at Collegetown Bagels. I love how green college towns are. This is great!

 

We also had DELICIOUS vegan subs at Shortstop Deli. This is a must for anyone looking for a great veggie lunch.

After a great day in Ithaca, and a pizza dinner back at the campsite, we said goodbye to Daniel. We would see him again in a few days in Canada. 

We got our first taste of Canada at a rest stop in upstate New York- Tim Horton's! Liz and I being half Canadian, we thought it only right to make a "Timmy run" as soon as we were able.

 

Now that's a happy camper!

We crossed the border with no hassle whatsoever. One may think that three Americans, one Uruguayan, one four-year-old, and a cone-headed dog missing a quarter of her jaw cruising in a 1994 Coachmen Leprechaun with Colorado plates might get a second look from Border Patrol, but we must have looked more like a traveling circus than a security threat. They waved us through with no more than the mandatory question regarding firearms or explosives.

We had three first-timers with us, so Niagara falls was a must.

  Breathtaking, eh?

We arrived in Georgetown, ON the same way we arrived at all of our destinations on this trip- in the dark. This night we had the added benefit of rain! Somehow, without the guidance of streetlights, we managed to find our uncle Marty's house. It was a welcome sight and a warm, hospitable place to lay our heads while we were in Canada. Marty, our cousin Angi, and her husband Chris were so gracious during our visit. Angi greeted us with scrumptious veggie chili and gave us suggestions for activities for the next few days. We couldn't have asked for more from our hosts. 

It was so wonderful to see family that Liz and I hadn't seen in nineteen years. Even though we were barely teenagers the last we had seen them, we immediately felt comfortable. What a great feeling to be surrounded by funny, intelligent, interesting people, who also happen to be relatives!

Our aunt Gail had us over for dinner one night, going to a lot of trouble after work to cook us a delicious meal.

  I wouldn't have added this picture, but it was the only one she would let me capture of her. You did it to yourself, Gail! Ryan, I'm sorry, you can blame your mom!

The next day we ventured to downtown Toronto for some sightseeing and some very tasty burritos.

  No day is complete without a pretty cookie.

   

Yes, you read that correctly. And they were out of this world! Marc and I had a Mac 'n Cheez Burrito. Yum!! Sounds like an off-season food truck in the making to me.

  

Tell us how you really feel.

A little more sightseeing. It was a cold day down by the
waterfront!

We ended our day at a Uruguayan restaurant, La Pasiva, that Angi found for us. With pizza and Chivitos, it was a taste of home for Nico!

On our last day in town took a walk on the Badlands in Georgetown and all pitched in to cook an extravagant family meal. 

Nico, always a whiz in the kitchen.

  Marty made a divine pork roast which he shredded for sandwiches.

           This is Nico's kind of party!

Liz and I were so grateful that almost everyone was able to make it to Marty's to join in the festivities. To those who we missed, we hope to catch you on our next trip up. It was a full night of food, fun, and laughter. 

  Audri had a blast hanging out with her cousins, Owen and Donovan.

  

It took a few tries, and this shot was still not quite perfect, but that's family, right?

This is a trip that we will never forget. It meant so much to us to reconnect with our aunts and uncles and cousins. We feel so lucky to have had this time with our loving, welcoming family. We will be sure to visit again before long! Thank you for everything!

The Off-Season

So it has been quite a while since I have sat down to tackle the task of updating our blog. I grappled with the idea that it wasn't necessary anymore, but I love having it to look back on myself. Since it has been months since my last post, I will do my very best to sum things up nicely.

As you all know by now, we loved our first season working at Cascada. Don't get me wrong, it was quite possibly the hardest either of us has ever worked, and definitely the longest stretch, but it didn't really feel like work. We fell in love with the town, met some great friends, and we really enjoyed getting to know our student employees.

And so after it was all over we, a bit sadly, closed down for the season and started what we affectionately refer to as our off-season.  It's a tough job (literally), but somebody's got to do it!

Onur, Domo, Marc, and I- the end of season crew on our last night.

We started out the off-season with a trip south to see friends and family in Arizona, Globe to be precise. I'll tell you, Arizona in September is much hotter than Colorado in July! We had become acclimated to 75 degree days.

I don't know who was more excited to get back in the RV, Marc or the dogs!

We visited the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens while we were in New Mexico for the annual food show. 

 This was our first time driving a distance through Arizona. It's amazing how the landscape changes as you head south. The road through Salt River Canyon to Globe was quite a trek!

After vising family friends Karen and Jerry, we kidnapped Mama and Papa Stokes and took them to the Tonto National Forest to go camping.

 I had failed to equip the RV kitchen properly,
but my ever-prepared husband handled the situation, no problem.

 

 Our first campground was rather crowded and busy, so the next day we scooted down to Schoolhouse Campground which we had all to ourselves.

       

 I encouraged Marc to find some hobbies during our off time. Bird watching maybe?

I, myself, found great pleasure creating pistachio art.

 The view from the top of the RV was the best.

 

   After we bid farewell to the folks, we headed north towards Colorado. Here, along Highway 40, we discovered the best thing about traveling in an RV. If you have to wait for someone to come change your difficult to reach tire on the side of the road, at least you can sit down inside your rig and have lunch!

If you are going to shred a tire, do it all the way!

 We could get used to life on the road.

Back in Colorado we got ready for visitors from the north and took a day to ATV out to Wheeler Geologic Area with our fearless guide, Keith. 

Wheeler Geologic Area is a geological phenomenon tucked back in the Rio Grande National Forest. The only way to access this astonishing site is by a rutted 14 mile 4-wheel drive road (which we took) or a 7 mile hiking trail (which we tackled later that week as well). 

Once there, the reward is great. The landscape was created 30 million years ago during the volcanic eruption of the La Garita Caldera. The remaining, eroded surface is made up of some of the most remarkable formations we've ever seen. 

The other cool thing about this area is that it is open to explore (carefully) to your heart's content.

                                    This is definitely a must see for anyone visiting the area!

Not until sitting down to write out our adventures did I realize how much we have done since we left Colorado. I will have to split it up into multiple posts! What has not slipped our minds, however is how thankful we are for having found the best bosses in the world who allow us to live the life we have always dreamed about. 

More to come...

Gearing up for the busy season!

Hello everyone! We have started to get busy here in Creede. We are at the entrance to town and it is fun to watch all the tourists drive in. This place is a RVer's paradise and we've seen rigs that run the gamut from ultra-luxurious to homemade. With the Mountain View RV Park around the corner, Creede is a wonderful place to spend the summer as a RVer.

It seems as though most of south Texas and half of Oklahoma call Creede their summer home. I can't say I blame them! With temperatures averaging in the mid 70's during the day and cooling down to the 40's at night, it's no wonder they flee to Creede to escape the Texas heat.

Because we are a seasonal restaurant, we are doing everything in our power to make sure people know that we are open. Marc found an old sign on the property and we painted it to encourage people to stop...

 

Would you believe some people still come up to the door and ask if we are open? That's okay, as long as they are coming in!

So far we have seven international students with four more coming tomorrow. They are having fun learning their jobs and hanging out with each other. Bo, Anna, and Annie hitched a ride with Marc to Alamosa (the closest "big city") where they found these very patriotic shirts at Walmart. 

As for me, I spend most of my time cooking up a storm and training my cooks in the kitchen. We make things like Chocolate Bread Pudding Tamales and Shrimp Taquitos.

         

Today was our first day serving breakfast, so our days will be getting a bit longer, but the Huevos Rancheros sure are delicious!

We still have time to take the dogs for runs, which they love!

Now that's a happy mountain dog face!

Marc and I are having a great time meeting new people every day and hearing their stories. The other day we had the pleasure of meeting a lovely group of ladies who were on a 50th birthday RV trip. The birthday girl was the former Sugar Queen of Louisiana and they had decked out their rented RV to honor her. It was so creative, we had to get a picture of them in front of it.

They even tried to steal Marc and make him their driver! But then, after their meal, they offered me a traveling chef position.

It's meeting people like this, that truly appreciate good food and a good time that make this job so fun!

Well, that's all for now. We will be hosting Mama and Papa Stokes as well as our friends the Masons on Monday and we can't wait to show them our new mountain town. Until next time, we love you all, and despite the fun we are having, miss you all very, very much!!!