Moving On Once Again

Rene and I spent the summer stationary at my most favorite rocky mountain destination. We’ve been working hard over the past few months on a special project, downsizing once again, packing and preparing for the sale of our dream mountain property.

Jerry's Acres at Crystal Lakes
Jerry’s Acres at Crystal Lakes

And then this happened…

Fort Collins KOA Resort Hot Tub Site
Livin it up at Fort Collins KOA Resort Hot Tub Site

Lovin’ Life on the Road Again…

In the past ten plus years of full-time RVing, we have never splurged on a spendy resort stay like we recently did at our Lakeside KOA hot tub site. But we have never worked so hard to make our dreams come true either, except back when we first hit the road.

Normally we prefer to find hippy hot spring resorts. But like I said, we’ve been working hard, and the sale went through, so we deserved it. Three nights of living large was enough at the price we were paying. We relocated to a simple back-in site (with no hot tub) after getting the wheel bearings packed on our trailer. Now we are wrapping up other loose ends and celebrating with friends before saying goodbye to Fort Collins.

Fort Collins Fountain Rat Dancer
Rat Dancer in Fort Collins Fountain

What Now?

We are no longer snow birds, now officially full-timers once again. We’ll be back. We love it here. I certainly loved our big deck and beautiful views. I only wish we could have made many more memories there. It’s time for someone else to enjoy it!

Jerry's Acres at Crystal Lakes

We may someday find another piece of property to call Jerry’s Acres. But we have much more exploring to do. If all goes as planned, we’ll head to Alaska next summer. And I look forward to getting back to Luckenbach, Big Bend and the Slabs. Stay tuned for news about that big project too.

Leaving our mark at Jerry's Acres
Jim (and Jerry) and Rene and Wyatt were here!

Before we left the mountain, for good this time, we left our mark on Jerry’s Acres. We also left some of Jerry behind. Walking the property one last time, we spread some of his ashes for the first time ever. Going forward, we’ll do the same at other places we know he’d love – or we may retrace some steps to leave bits of him where he has been before.

Saying goodbye to Jerry's Acres
Saying goodbye to Jerry’s Acres.

When we first pulled away from that curb in front of the Humboldt house we sold back in 2007, we both broke into ecstatic laughter. This departure was much more bittersweet for me. It brought tears to my eyes instead. So I did my best to re-frame the situation. I certainly won’t miss the long trips to town and the six miles of bumpy washboard dirt road home. My sadness is now excitement about our adventures on the road ahead of us.

Saying goodbye to Jerry's Acres
Leaving more memories behind.

It was time to let go. Over the years we have accumulated a bag of flower petals – some dating back to our wedding – various small rocks, some magic healing dirt (de Chimayo), and even bits of wood which neither of us could remember any significance. While spreading some of Jerry around, we watched these bits of ourselves fly away in the wind. A piece of us will always remain at the first Jerry’s Acres, and it has a permanent place in our hearts.

Wyatt watches over Jerry's Acres
Wyatt watches over Jerry’s Acres.

We’ve said it before, but Jerry’s Acres is more a state of mind than a place. And if you ask Wyatt, he’d likely tell you those were his acres anyway.

Jerry's Acres Overlook
Jerry’s Acres Overlook

Until next time, wherever that may be…

 

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