Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

It’s amazing how beautiful it is in Colorado.  We have really loved visiting this wonderful state, full of vistas and views that take your breath away!

We left our campground this morning and decided to take a little drive.  We saw some beautiful horses in a corral right near the road.  We had purchased carrots the other day, because we kept seeing horses and had nothing to feed them, so we pulled over, grabbed the carrots and made four new friends.  I would have had some great pictures, but unfortunately the batteries on my camera died after the first two, so we took some with Eric's phone, but I don't know how to download them to my computer!  These horses were so sweet and friendly.  Once we started feeding them, they followed us up and down the fence until we had four horses walking along with us.  It was so funny!

After we left our new friends, we took a ride west about 5 miles to the mountain biking trails which are right near a town called LOMA.  We got to KOKOPELLI'S  TRAILHEAD around 11:30am. 

On the way there, I told Eric he shouldn’t be surprised if he had to ride alone, because – after all – it was a Monday morning.  Lo and behold, we got to the parking lot and there were at least a dozen cars parked there and about 20 guys and girls on mountain bikes, heading onto the trail.  So, Eric had plenty of company!

Just in case you're curious, KOKOPELLI is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with a huge phallus and antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by many Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music. 

While Eric rode, I worked in the RV, answering emails on the computer, organizing my receipts and mementos from the trip so far, and filing papers.  I also got to watch DANCING WITH THE STARS, which I had missed, because we don't get to watch much TV.   Lot of cars came and went in the parking lot the whole time I was there.  It is definitely a popular place to ride!

Eric got back from his ride four hours later, elated and exhausted.  KOKOPELLI'S TRAIL is 142 miles long and runs from Colorado to Utah, but Eric just did about 15 miles today.  Not only did he have a great ride, with a group of at least 8 other riders, but the leader of the group was none other than Dave Turner, a mountain biking legend!  TURNER BICYCLES founder, Dave Turner was a professional racer, helped design many of the best suspension forks in the industry, and then – in 1994 – started designing high-performance frames, which are highly coveted and well-respected.

When he was introduced to the group, Eric just learned their first names, but noticed that everyone there was riding TURNER bikes.  He mentioned that he thought they were great bikes, but didn’t own one yet, although he would love to.  Later, one of the other guys mentioned that Dave Turner organized the ride through OVER THE EDGE SPORTS bike shop in Fruita, Colorado. 

Eric asked, “THE Dave Turner?” and was told that it was the man himself!  Eric was so excited and went to talk to Dave, telling him he had a great ride with the group and was totally awestruck by the fact that he got to ride with a mountain biking legend.  Dave just said, “Aw, come on!” and was very humble about his many accomplishments.  Nevertheless, this is a memorable day for Eric!

It was just starting to rain when Eric returned from the ride.  This is the first time we have been out in the rain since we left New York.  We’ve been so lucky with the weather! 

We decided to go for a fast bite and went back to the small town of Fruita to a place called MUNCHIES PIZZA & DELI where we had individual pizza pies, onion rings and Eric also had hot buffalo wings.  Then we went back to MONUMENT RV RESORT where, for the first time, we turned on the heat in the RV -- mostly to be sure it worked!  It worked great and we relaxed, cozy and warm in our little RV, until it stopped raining and the sun came out again!  I guess the rain in Colorado is like the rain in Florida -- a little rain and then more sun! 

I decided to do some laundry (I told you it was my favorite pastime), since we had no other plans for the evening.  We watched TV and Eric prepared for tomorrow morning, when we will leave for Moab, Utah, and more great mountain biking!

I got an email from an old "cabaret friend," Maureen Kelly Stewart.

We both worked with the late, great musical director and accompanist, Dick Gallagher, for many years.  Maureen is still performing in cabarets and nightclubs in Manhattan to enthusiastic audiences and will be performing again later this week.  You may remember that I often played Maureen's CD, SEVENTEEN ON MARS, in the shop and everyone always commented on how lovely her voice is. 

If you'd like to spend a great evening in Manhattan, listening to the sweet and melodious Maureen Kelly Stewart, she'll be playing at the LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE at the WEST BANK CAFE.  See her flyer, below, for all the details -- and tell her Peppy sent you!