Breakfast at Wimbledon. Nadal takes the first two sets with a break in each. Third set, rain delay. We hit the road and head south. Judy watched Wimbledon.com on the laptop using the Verizon phone card, and when the match started up again she narrated it to me. We stopped at a rest stop outside of Cheyenne, put up the dish, had lunch, and watched the third and fourth sets. Federer won them both in tiebreakers. Fifth set, rain delay. It’s getting late; almost dark (in London). We headed south again. Wimbledon.com. It started up again. Judy narrated again. Signboard warned of a wreck on the freeway ahead. We turned off on surface streets. Worked our way over to Highway 287. Continued south. Nadal wins it 9 games to 7 just before we get to our next campground. What a match! Boyd Lake State Park outside Loveland. Bicycle trails. A lake. Robins, kingbirds, and a blue grosbeak. Friendly neighbors. The Dish Network people are going to meet us here tomorrow and upgrade our satellite box to a DVR box.
Wyoming
It’s where all the people in Colorado go to buy the fireworks that are illegal to set off in Colorado. There is a fireworks stand right behind the RV Park here. In preparation for the Fourth, the fireworks stand periodically sent a few teasers skyward. They have some serious ordinance. Municipal quality stuff. The high flying stuff city fireworks displays are made of, including those airborne concussion grenades that rock nearby buildings (and motorhomes). Exciting times. It is legal to buy, sell, and explode fireworks here, but only until midnight on the Fourth. The neighborhood was pretty quiet while the city display was on, but then everybody came home and lit up their own. It sounded like a steady firefight until midnight when it shut down completely. Everybody did just what they were supposed to do. Burgers on the grill at Bill and Marge’s. A heavy evening thunderstorm. Fireworks all around. A good Fourth of July.
Eastern Wyoming
Travel day
From the mountains to the plains. East out of Estes Park on Highway 34, down the Big Thompson Canyon to Loveland, north on Interstate 25 past Fort Collins, into Wyoming, Past Cheyenne, past Chugwater (home of Chugwater Chile), to Wheatland. One hundred fifty miles. Three hours. We’re here to visit with Bill and Marge for a few days. We’ve stayed at this small town RV Park before. Full hookups, fifty amps, only a few sites, right off the interstate, surrounded by farm fields. Super friendly hosts. It has its charm.
Estes park
A walk at 12,000 feet didn’t produce any of the target birds. We did get some white crowned sparrows, horned larks, and American pipits. We also got some really cool elk. They graze the tundra all summer then move down to the valleys in the fall. We saw several herds of cows and calves, and a couple bulls. Backcountry etiquette requires that if there is a trail on the tundra you stay on it. You don’t want to create any new ones. If there is no trail, you spread out so, again, you don’t create any new ones. Don’t create any new trails and allow any other critters you encounter a wide berth so you don’t disturb them. Apparently our elk didn’t read the handbook. He grazed his way along a course intersecting our path. We stayed on the trail as long as we could, but when he lay down next to it we had to improvise our way across the open ground. In spite of the irresponsible behavior of the elk, the balance of the backcountry was not disturbed. None of us were unduly alarmed.