Road Trip Destination Colorado

This road trip started with my husband signing up for a J. D. Hilberry workshop in Denver in July. Since we have relatives in Estes Park, we added a few days to go visit them before heading home.

Our first stop was in Skiatook, Oklahoma (pronounced Ski-took 'oo sound as in tool') to visit Jerry Yarnell's Studio. We have been watching Jerry on PBS for years. It was really great to meet him in person. We got a tour of his studio after the class for the day broke up. 


                      Even got a picture:

Then, we headed to Mulvane, Kansas, (south of Wichita) for the night. We stayed at the Hampton Inn-Hilton which is the hotel for the Kansas State Casino. Chuck's the lucky one in the family winning enough to pay for his bet and our dinner. 


The next day was spent going across Kansas. There were several stops along the way to get the kinks out. One stop was in Hayes so I could go to a quilt shop to get a 'Row-by-Row*'kit. .We had decided to make it a three-day trip so we stopped for the night at the Hampton Inn in Colby. We even had time to visit a guitar shop, a flea market, and have some good Mexican food at a local restaurant. 

Chuck and J. D. Hillberry

On the road again headed for Westminster, Colorado, and the Marriott Springhill Suites where the workshop was being held. It was a great location. Within in five minutes was a Target and a shopping/food center. First thing we did was hit Starbucks. The next day when Chuck was in the workshop, I was shopping and touring. 








The first morning I headed for the Butterfly Pavilion. It was about five minutes from the hotel. Also, shopped at  T. J. Maxx. Then, back to Starbucks before having lunch with Chuck at Panera Bread. That night we ate at Macaroni grill. We used to eat there a lot when we lived in Little Rock. 

I sat in one morning

when J.D. presented 

a slide show of 

his work. That's when

I got this picture.

Meanwhile, Chuck was still drawing in the workshop. 

The next day was the last day of the workshop. Then, we headed for Estes Park. We went to Loveland and through the canyon. It wasn't the fastest way, but there were no heights. We were looking up instead of down.

We were excited to see our daughter's house. We hadn't visited since she moved. It is wonderful. The backside view of the Rockies is spectacular from her front window.

We spent only a couple of days in Estes Park. Everyone there was going to work. It took us only two days on the road stopping only in Wichita for the night. We had our vacation from retirement and were ready to get back into the swing of things in Hot Springs Village. 

*The 'Row by Row' is a nation-wide summer quilt shop program. If you make enough quilt shop stops on your summer vacation and buy a kit every time, you will have enough to make a quilt. Note: this is the only one I got.  I have enough UFO's (Unfinished finished objects).