This is one of a multipart “catch-up” series to cover our last two years. The others in the series include:
October 2019 to Pandemic , Criss-Crossing the Country – Eastward, Criss-Crossing the Country – Westward
After staying put for over 3 months, we were pretty comfortable with the social-distancing, curb-side pickup, and delivery way of life and realized we could do that anywhere. We decided we should hit the road again, but with a few adjustments.
- We left in late June, spent a couple of weeks with our kids in Dallas, and then headed North to Alamosa and then on to Del Norte, CO.
- While in Colorado, we (remotely) sold our last piece of real estate – a rent house in North Texas.
- We made new friends in Del Norte and decided to join them and a bunch of other folks for a weekend boondocking near Durango. This meant climbing over Wolf Creek Pass (twice!) which definitely tested out our diesel rig’s capabilities (SO much better than the old gasser!).
- After our stay in Del Norte, we traveled to Montrose, CO and used that as a base camp to visit Ouray, Silverton, the Million Dollar Highway, Telluride, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Also found a new favorite distillery, Storm King in Montrose.
- Leaving Montrose, we drove north over the Grand Mesa (beautiful – worth a trip!), spent a quick night in Craig, CO, another in Casper, WY (stayed at a Harvest Host which was an art museum), and then on to the Sturgis, SD area.
- From Sturgis, we visited Deadwood, the Needles Highway in Custer State Park, and Rapid City. We got some snow there in early September.
- Left Sturgis and drove to Sweet Briar Lake, ND. We stayed for several nights in a great boondocking site at a county park on the lake. Very quiet, private, and great cellular internet!
- Viki’s Dad flew up to meet us in Bismarck, ND. His 50th state! While in the area, we visited Teddy Roosevelt National Park, the State Capitol Building, Fort Mandan, and a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
- Traveled south from there to boondock on Dude Ranch Road near Chamberlain, SD for a few days. Very quiet spot on the Missouri River, but lots of flies!
- Stopped in Sioux Falls, SD to shop and get our flu shots.
- Spent a week at Nebraska Tailwaters COE park across the river from Yankton, SD. Had a facebook encounter with Roger’s high school youth group leader and she and her husband joined us for an evening at the park. It was the beginning of paddlefish (like sturgeon) season and we saw lots of enormous (4-5 ft long) fish pulled out of the river.
- We went from there to a unique Harvest Host, a candy shop in Glendale, IA, and then on to a County Park in the Kansas City, MO area.
- We spent a week enjoying the KC area, including a visit to Boulevard Brewing.
- From KC, we headed south again, spending a night at a nice winery near Joplin, MO (Keltoi Winery) and then settled at Belle Starr COE in Eufala, OK. We really enjoyed this park. There isn’t really anything nearby other than the lake, so it was a quiet and relaxing week.
- We then joined our old brewing club, the Mashrunners, for “Beer Camp” near Durant, OK. Drank a little bit of beer :).
- We spent a week in Sherman, TX shuffling storage and taking care of doctors appointments, but interrupted that with a quick dash to Austin to vote (absentee ballot requests sent from South Dakota got messed up!)
- We spent the next few weeks in the DFW area (Hickory Creek COE and Lake Lewisville Campgrounds) and saw the kids as COVID allowed. While there we bought our Honda CRV and sold our Fiat 500 with Carvana. Touchless sales – What a new experience.
- We finished the year in Austin (traveled there via Dancing Bee Winery – a Harvest Host) and spent nearly six weeks at what we now consider our “home” park, Austin East KOA. Did a quick drive with Viki’s Dad to Dallas to stay at an AirBnB and see the kids just before Christmas. Holidays were strange for everyone in 2020.
Here are a few photos from this period:
(Pro tip! Clicking on the photo makes it bigger and captions are below it)
Colorado Farm Brewery outside of Alamosa, CO was a favorie of ours. They were also a Harvest Host! 
A view from our Alamosa, CO Base Camp Campground; Blanca Peak. 
We relocated from Alamosa to Del Norte, CO. More trees and a river. 
Another view from our campground in Del Norte, CO. 
Met some new friends and did a weekend boondocking trip outside of Durango, CO. 
Did a climb/hike to Ventana Arch. Wonderful views! 
Downtown Ouray from Ouray Brewing. This was a nice clear day. 
This is a box canyon in Ouray, CO. You go down a number of stairs right inside it. 
We visited Storm King Distillery a couple times during our stay in Montrose. 
Big B’s Farm and Cidery was a nice stop. We drank some cider but didn’t take advantage of the pick your own fruits and vegetables. 
A sign of the times. Masks were omnipresent! This was on our drive to Telluride, CO. 
Downtown Telluride. A nice path along the river. 
We took a gondola ride up onto the mountain above Telluride for some stunning views and a short walk. 
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. This lesser visited park is quite beautiful. We drove the main road and stopped to take several short walks along the rim. 
Heading north from Montrose, we went over Grand Mesa and were amazed at the verdant area above the desert. 
Spent a Harvest Host night in downtown Casper at an art museum. Definitely a different one for us. 
While driving the Needles Highway in Custer State park we had a nice view of Mt. Rushmore. 
A view of some of the needles on the Needles Highway. It was a busy but impressive drive. 
After our drive through Custer State Park, we visited this great brewery in Rapid City, SD. 
SNOW! This was on September 5 outside of Sturgis, SD. 
We went north to Sweet Briar Lake, ND. What a nice and peaceful stay. 
Visited the South side of Teddy Roosevelt NP. Plenty of buffalo and prairie dogs to be seen. 
Viki’s dad flew up to Bismark, ND and joined us. 
The Badlands of Teddy Roosevelt NP. You could definitely get lost in there! 
We toured a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and visited Ft. Mandan where they spent their first winter. 
This is from Dude Ranch Rd outside of Chamberlain, SD. Was quite lovely. 
Another “different” Harvest Host… a candy shop in downtown Glendale, IA. 
We visited several breweries in the Kansas City, MO area. This one was East Forty Brewing. 
Our favorite KC brewery by far was Boulevard Brewing Company. 
So nice to be nestled up by the grape vines. This was a stay at Keltoi Winery. 
We made our way to Eufala, OK and Belle Starr COE Park. This was a quiet and expansive park on the lake. 
Made it to Beer Camp with the Mashrunners Brew Club and stayed on our friend Scott’s property. 
Our stay at Hickory Creek COE in Lewisville, TX. Another “home” park for us. 
Enjoying a fire with Hilary and Josh. 
Another new thing to do during a pandemic, buy a car from a vending machine! 
On the road to 2021! We headed to Lajitas, TX for a couple weeks.