Friday Night Poker!

Friday night my friends Jill and Christian host a poker tournament.  It's a $20 buy-in with rebuys for the first hour.  I head up there in the evening.  Its usually about 8-10 people, but tonight there are 13.  It doesn't go so well for me on all four tries.  After the tournament, we sometimes play a side game, which is just a cash game.  It is a dealer's choice anything goes type of game.  We play games that some of the player's kids made up even(I'm looking at you Chuck and Susan).  Tonight though, there are only about 6 that stayed for the side game, so it was mostly the great game of Pot Limit Omaha or Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better which just means that half the pot goes to the best high hand and the other half goes to the best low hand.  I don't really like playing the high-low version as it is harder to win the whole pot.  In the side game we all buy in for between 10-20 dollars and it has a 25 cent ante every hand.

The side game gets started before the tournament is over and it is just Aaron, Jill, and me.  We play a few hands of PLO (high only since it is only 3 players) and I seem to have Aaron's number as I take off every pot I play against him.  After the tournament ended we get a few more players and we play some Around the World (it's like hold'em, except each person gets 5 cards, there are two flops, two turns and two rivers, and if you can make a A-5 straight you get half the pot), PLO 8 or better and a hand of 727.

It's getting late and most of the people have left.  It is just Aaron, Christian and me left.  I have about $55 in front of me by this time and Christian has around $19.  Aaron has around $40.  I'm dealing and I decided to play PLO and deal out the cards.  The action starts on Christian who opens to $.50.  Aaron calls without looking at his hand as he is prone to do.  It comes to me and I have AKKJ with the AK of spades, so I bet the pot which is $1.75.  Christian decides to also bet the pot which is $3.50.  Aaron calls and so do I.  The pot is $10.50.  The flop comes JT8 with two spades.  Christian bets the pot and Aaron shoves the rest of his money in.  With the nut flush draw, a nut straight draw and an overpair I call.  The pot is about $100. Turn is an offsuit 4.  River is the 6 of spades giving me the nuts and winning the pot.  That pretty much ended the evening got me back to even.

Jill has been giving me shit for not having enough photos in my blog so I took her picture.  Here she is. :)

Hanging with Nolan and Bowling

I made some plans to hang out with my friend Nolan on Wednesday.  It's his day off.  I head over there around 11:00 and we decided to go bowling.  His roommate Luke comes with and we play three games.  The first one starts off a little rusty for all of us and Luke puts up a 128 to beat us.  The second game in, after a pitcher of beer, the rust has worn off and I bowl a 172 to win.  The third game the wheels fall off and I'm back in the 120 range.  We chill the rest of the evening at their house and I get to meet Nolan's girlfriend Sarah.

Thursday we are hanging out again and decide to go and play some frisbee golf.  We head over to the Southwest Recreational Center which states on the webpage that they have a course there.  When we get there, we find they have turned it into a dirt bike track. With our plans foiled by the internet, we head back to his place and I work on a few blog entries and order some chinese food.

It was great to hang out since he has a really cool dog.  Her name is Dakota and she is a husky. Here is a photo of her at the dog beach in Las Angelos from a few years ago.

Luke also has a dog and her name is also Dakota, but she is a black.  She's older and has some health problems, but is very sweet.  Here she is on the couch next to me.

While I'm hanging out at Nolan's house, my propane detector starts randomly going off.  I do some google-fu and find that they have a finite life span of about 5 years.  Since the one in this RV is from 1993, it is slightly over it's useful life.  I find a replacement on Amazon and order it my old address where my friend's Jack and Dizzy still live.  It is supposed to be here by Sunday night.  Hooray!

First few days back in Colorado

Back In Colorado!!!

I head out the next day from Alma, NE around 1 in the afternoon.  I'm about 300 miles from Denver and should be able to get there after one more day of driving.  I stay on highway 36 which eventually runs into I-70.  I stop near Byer's for some gas and a driving break.  Its about a 6:30 when I get on the rode for the final strech into Denver.  I head to a a grocery store to get some supplies.  I find a nice level spot in the parking lot and spend the night there.  So the next morning, is a Saturday and the DMV is closed for the weekend.  I hit up a couple of people to try and grab a drink, but they are all busy and working so I just find a nice spot near a library and binge watch Man Hunt on netflix. 

Sunday is all raining and cold so I just hangout around the RV and chill finishing up Man Hunt.

Monday it is still all cold and rainy. I head over to the DMV to get my plates renewed.  It is pretty painless and I didn't even need to pass an emissions test.  An hour later I'm all good to go.  I go on a short bike ride and then head back over to the library to get that good good wifi.

Mid September Traveling

Heading to Council Bluffs, IA and on to Alma, NE

The next morning, I continue my journey west back to the Denver area.  I head south to highway 30.  Once on highway 30 I take it all the way to Council Bluffs.  There is a large amount of wind and truck traffic on the way there so it a pretty intense drive.  I get into Council Bluffs around 8 pm, take a shower and just called it a night. 

The next day I decided to play some cards.  I get into a 1/3 no limit holdem game and play for a few hours.  I run my pocket Kings into pocket Aces and lose and that is the end of the live cards for me.  I have one more beer and then just chill for the rest of the evening hoping to get an early start the next morning. 

The next morning, I realize I need to dump the tanks and find a free dump station at a rest stop just south of Council Bluff on I-29.  I head on down there and pull into the south bound rest area and there is no dump station.  Bummed I look across the highway and see there is another rest stop on the northbound side.  I make the 3 mile round trip to the other side and success!  The dump station is there and open.  I dump the tanks and head west into Nebraska.  The route is highway 34 to I-80 to highway 6/34.  As it approaches 5 pm, I stop and look online to find a place to stop for the night. 

I need some water and it is around 90 degrees so I find a cheap RV park with full hookups.  Alma has a nice RV park with a spot available for $27 a night.  I plug in, crank the AC, fill the water tank and take a nice cold shower.  I meet a couple of older gentleman who are on their way to Florida for the winter.  After dinner, I jump on the RV park's wifi and watch a couple of movies.  Tomorrow, on to Colorado!!!!!!

Getting back into this.

After talking to many of friends, I realize that more people are following along with my trip.  So I'm going to start posting more about what I'm doing.  I will also go back and fill in some of the days that were pretty fun.  I am going to start with my trip back out west.  The current plan is to head back to Denver to get my plates renewed on the RV and then travel to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and then down to the Arizona desert to escape the cold winters up in the north. 

I started heading west on highway 14 and thought I could stop in La Crosse, WI to visit my friend Than and his family.  Friday night I make it to Richland Center and park next to the park off the highway one block.  I arrived on Saturday night in La Crosse.  While waiting to hear from Than I stop a bar with a familiar name. 

Later that night I had some beers with Than while the wife and kids were in Madison attending a birthday party.  We decided the next day to go try out his a couple of new pistols he recently purchased.  The guns were some kind of a 9 mm and a 40 caliber.  It was pretty interesting to find out how difficult it is to hit a target just 30 feet away.

After shooting about a 100 rounds through each we went and grabbed lunch at Burger Fusion.  Than got the burger of the week which was a combination of ground beef and kangaroo meat.  I tried a piece and thought it just tasted like a little tougher ground beef.  After lunch, we meet up with Jill and the kids.  They wanted to go pick some apples at an orchard so off we go.  The orchard has a tractor pulling a trailer with bus seats attached and take us to the part of the orchard they are working on that day.  We pick two full bags of honey crisp apples and head back to their place. 

Jill is kind enough to cook dinner that night and we have some delicious tacos.  She makes some apple crisp for desert.  While she is busy doing that, we just play with the kids and dogs.  We spend the rest of the night, just chilling, drinking and watching the football games. 

The next morning, I decide to head out and keep traveling on smaller two lane highways.  I take highway 35 which heads south along the Mississippi River to highway 18.  I take that east for a while, until I reach highway 63.  I take that to the Cedar Rapids/ Waterloo area and try to get a hold of my friend Josh who lives down here.  I'm unable to reach him so I called it a night and just found a quiet place to park for the night.

Deadwood Downtime and Some Cards - July 5th

Deadwood is known for its mining, lawlessness, and of course, gambling is part of it.  The current temperature at the time is about 100F so I find a casino that offers some Texas Hold'em and decided to give it a try.  I refused to play AA-88 as I am in the death place of Wild Bill Hickock who was shot in the back while playing.  They don't offer a no limit game, but a spread limit 2-100 game just like in Colorado.  It was a fun time hanging out and playing cards.

At about 6 PM they started a really weird tournament.  It was a $45 buy-in with unlimited rebuys and add-ons.  Each add-on cost $10 and was for 1000 in tournament chips.  I guess some of the players decided to add-on an addition $200 to give them a better chance to win.  I didn't play in it, but it sounds crazy.

I met a guy named Claus from Austria in the game.  He is traveling around the US and playing poker along the way.  The game broke about 11:30 and it had cooled off so I called it a night.  Next stop, Mt Rushmore!!

Devil's Tower and Deadwood - July 4th

I head west across the windy state of Wyoming on I-90.  My plan is to make it to Deadwood and check out the old western town.  I did just watch the first three sessions on Amazon and wanted to take a look at the place that made the show.  As I'm driving down I-90 minding my own business, I pass a sign for Devil's Tower and decide to make the trip there.

 I stop at the first overlook and find this cool sign and vatange point to take this picture.

Devil's tower from a few miles away.














I decided to get a closer look so I continued on to the park.  Once at the tower, there is a trail you can follow around the base of the tower.  It's only 90 degrees and sunny so I go for and take the trek.
Here are the picutres I took from the base.

 Devil's Tower from the south I believe.  There is a massive boulder field around the whole thing which is a pretty awesome sight.

 Devil's Tower from the west.  More boulders.

Devil's Tower from the east where is some shade.  There are five climbers on this side near the top.  I'm not sure you can see them here though.

Some signage about the Tower's formation.

 Three young deer just chilling about 10 feet off the trail with about 25 people passing through here every 10 minutes.

More signage about how the Tower was created.














After about an hour here hitting my exercise goals, I decided to continue on my way to Deadwood.  I arrive in Deadwood at about 7 in the pm and take a shower.  I walk up and down the historic main street and it looks very much like Central City and Blackhawk in CO.  Small casinos, restaurants, and souvegner shops line the street.  As it gets dark I get to see some people lighting off some fireworks in the distance.  Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!!

Heading East Away from the Crowds - July 3rd

As the holiday approaches, more and more people are in the park.  It is hard to find places to park off the roads at all the amazing things to see.  The campgrounds are full everywhere.  Traffic is a mess and the road construction is brutal.  Being in Yellowstone right now is like being in a city.

I decide it is time to move off this super volcano and start heading east.  I don't think I will be making it Glacier National Forest this time as I got about a 3 week later start then I had planned.  I drive through Yellowstone to take the East exit which is HWY 14 and start heading towards Cody.

I arrived in Cody around 6 and decide I have driven far enough.  I find a nice park to eat dinner at and find a free pool.  This looks like as good a place to stay and go for a swim.  The pool closes before I finish dinner, so I decide to just sleep here and go the next day.  As it is the day before the 4th, some kids lit some fireworks off right oustide my window which scared the shit out of me at first, but makes me laugh now.

RV's are like houses - July 2nd

This is the first time I've used my RV for an extended period.  Today I woke up to a wet floor in the bathroom.  This is not good.  I do a little investigating and find that the supply line to the toilet is leaking.  After some googling I learn there is a water valve on the toilet that leaks when it breaks.  I find out the part number and after calling a few places I find there is one available in Bozeman, Mt.  I decide to head there.  It is about an hour from Yellowstone, but has some stores so I can resupply.

I take HWY 89 up to Livingston and then hop on I-90 to head to the RV store.  I get there and they have the part.  I head over to Walmart to get the supplies I need to replace it.  The repair is pretty simple.  Pull the toilet. Pop off the seat. Take off a covering over the valve.  Unscrew and pop out old valve.  It takes about 30 minutes and I hook everything back up.  SUCCESS!

With a working toilet and fresh round of supplies, I head back to my free camping site just oustide Yellowstone.  It's been pretty hot all day and the sun is about to go down.  Time for dinner.

Exploring Yellowstone - June 29

Yellowstone National Forest is big, like really big.  I decided to wake up really early to go and see some of the more popular sites before everyone else wakes up.  The first stop I make is at the Liberty Cap and Devil's thumb thermal area.

Of course I need to see Yellowstone's most famous attraction so I head to see Old Faithful.  Although it isn't the biggest or most regular geyser, it is the the most famous.  I have to wait about 20 minutes for it to start but it was worth it.

I decided to check out some more cool thermal areas and found some cool pools and some other geyser all over the place.

This is a cool smoking pool with really blue water in it.

Here is a constant jet of water spouting out of the ground.

This pool of mud is just bubbling away.

Yellowstone is an amazing place.

A Day of Rest - June 28

After driving 800 miles in an RV I found that it is not as easy as driving a car.  I had grand plans to get up at 6 am and drive into Yellowstone to beat the crowds at all the popular spots.  Well, 10:30 rolls around and I find myself still asleep.  No worries, I will just chill here and enjoy the quiet sounds of nature and organize the things I have in this RV.

The day gets away from me as I work on finding the right places to put everything.  I also bought a fan that I mounted to get some air circulating as it gets pretty hot in here during the day.  I make a list of things that need attention to make the RV life awesome.

I check the weather and it looks like rain and thunderstorms for tomorrow.  That isn't exactly ideal for wandering around in the wilderness so I guess I will not be checking out Old Faithful tomorrow.  No worries, I have plenty of time to explore.  I guess tomorrow I will go and get those things I need instead.

Finally Getting Started - June 26

It took a little longer to sell my stuff and pair down to the essentials before I left.  My stuff on craigslist definitely didn't move as fast I had hoped.  But after two weeks of donations and some careful negotiations, I have finally gotten rid of most of the things I will not be needing.  Along with the meticulous downsizing, I also had an issue with the solar setup I ordered on Amazon.  I needed some special connectors to hook up all 4 panels.  Luckily for me, my friend Mike is an excellent electrician.  He spent Father's day helping me get it all installed and working.  Thanks, Mike!

With the RV loaded up and wired to the max, I cleaned up my room and did a final sweep of my apartment. I filled up the fresh water tank and headed out.  First stop was to the grocery store to load up on food for two weeks.  Next stop was Verizon to get the internet in this thing.  Third stop was at Calebella's to dump the tanks before heading north to Yellowstone.

I took I-25 north out of Denver up to Fort Collins where I got on HWY 287 to head up to Wyoming. The drive through those mountains was pretty spectacular and definitely windy.  I made it to Lander, WY and decided to call it a night.  I stayed in an RV park to flush and sanitize the tanks so I could use the onboard water tank.

The next day I headed the rest of the way up to Yellowstone on HWY 287 with takes you through the Grand Tetons.  I arrived late in the day and found that every campsite in the park was full.  I drove all the way from the south entrance to the north entrance which was pretty awesome.  I tried to go check out the geysers, but every lot was full.  So I decided to find a place to stay.  I fired up the internet and found a free campsite just outside of Yellowstone on some BLM land.  It was called Cabella's and was right on a river.  It was very quiet and peaceful, with a few campers all around.  This will work for a few days.

The Beginning

Hi Everyone!

This is a place I'm using to share my adventure as I check out this beautiful and amazing country we call home in America.  I have bought an RV.  I am working on selling all my "stuff" and minimizing the clutter in my life.  I plan on posting some photos and videos of the cool things and people I see on the way.  My plan is to head out of Colorado and up to Yellowstone for a week or two first.  Then I plan on hitting up Glacier National Park.  After that, I will head to Mt Rushmore and see what all the buzz is about in the Dakotas.  From there I will be heading back to Wisconsin with a quick stop in Minnesota to see some friends.

I will be traveling in a 22 foot 1993 Fleetwood Jamboree equipped with a solar array.  I plan on staying on BLM land or free camping sites the whole time to keep expenses low.  If you have any questions feel free to ask away.

Here we go!

Jimmy