Heather And Kris Ville: Ken is a Speeder

Well, we've made it up to Montana. All in all, we have driven about 4500 miles since the first of July. Heather is down fishing in the Bitterroot already, so this may be a short entry. So, I think my last entry rested on the bosom of Carlsbad Cavern. After wandering around in the 65 degrees of the cave for a few hours, we staggered out into bright sunshine and 103 degrees (yeah, but it's a dry heat). I'd already made reservations at the KOA campground outside of Carlsbad. The campsite was touted as New Mexico's No. 1 rated campground, and we were excited about using our new tent. Mom gave me one of those cool tents that fits right into the back of my truck. Turns out, we were more excited about air conditioning. Heather made an executive decision that we could forgo our reservation fee at the KOA, and, rather, drive straight through to Santa Fe.

Quick sidenote.... we drove past the campground that we were supposed to stay at, and I'm sitting here trying to think up a real witty acronym for KOA but failing. However, I bet it stands for "sucks" in most languages. Apparently, New Mexican campers must enjoy a nice tumor, as well, because the No. 1 rated campground sat beneath about 3 acres of electrical power substation. In our 4500 miles, we have passed a lot of KOA's, and the vast majority have been el stinko.

Anyway, we arrived in Santa Fe, overjoyed at the prospect of a nice air conditioned room at Ken and Cindy's house, Heather's aunt and uncle. God does have a sense of humor, the AC was broken. Nevertheless, it was probably 25 degrees cooler out, and we slept more than comfortably with the doors and windows open.

Ken had been looking at some land in Colorado outside of Montrose, and the four of us decided to a little side drive of about 800 miles. The next day, we hopped into the car and headed north. If I had driven the whole way, it probably would have taken 16 hours, as we were going over some pretty steep passes on shoulder-less roads. If Ken had driven the whole way, I'm guessing it would have taken 8. Cindy agrees with me wholeheartedly. Ken likes to drive and he likes his driving fast. I may have white knuckled a few times, but overall, we had a great trip through Colorado. Ended up staying in a little hotel in Telluride, then coming back to Santa Fe and Albuquerque to see Heather's cousins- Jeff, Julie and Jaquelyn- for a few days. Jaq- I'm betting I just butchered your name. While in Albuquerque, eat at Sadie's.

After a week, we left the Johns family and headed to the Vallecito Reservoir in Colorado. Vallecito is also known as the land without fish but great scenery. Heather and I pulled into the National Forest campground at Vallecito Creek, and were met by Calvin, the camp host. Turns out, Calvin used to live about 3 or 4 blocks from our old house in Austin. Here's a few pics of Vallecito: