We’ve seen beautiful country this summer and had many new experiences. Mt. Rushmore, Cody, Yellowstone and Utah all had awesome things to show us but it is so nice to be back in familiar territory!
We visited LeRoy’s cousin Roy Delaughter and his wife Nell in Buena Vista again and they took us to see St. Elmo, a little ghost town set in the Collegiate Peaks. I know there are full time residents there, but the ones we saw most were moochers.
Their little cheeks were stuffed with the handouts from tourists. Just when we’d think that surely they couldn’t put any more in, they’d surprise us and push in another bit. This one’s cheeks protruded so far you could see them from the back!
St. Elmo is an interesting place. The general store is still operating. Its main trade is souvenirs and food for the little guys across the street. It and several other buildings appear to be original and untouched.
One building has a mannequin in the upstairs window, peering out at the tourists who have invaded his home. 
This building has been reconstructed since it was destroyed by fire. Inside it looks more like a city office than a church or school. I’m not sure what its original purpose was but it has posters inside telling the story of St. Elmo.
There are gorgeous views along the road up the mountain as well as this interesting little town. I’ve heard people talk about Tincup but didn’t know where it was until that trip. I understand it takes a sturdy 4-wheel drive and an adventurous spirit to get there, though! This is as close as we came.
We have now landed for a while back at Travelport RV Park in Lake George and doing more mundane things for the most part. This park is more like our experience of a “winter park”, with a potluck dinner every weekend. There is a “theme” each week and we fill in around the main dish. Last Saturday night we had ribs and chicken and this week will be a baked potato bar. There is no lack of food, especially desserts!
Saturday morning we drove just four miles up the road to the little town of Florissant to a pancake breakfast put on by the fire department and EMS. It was also Heritage Days there, so we went to the old school building (now the Grange Hall) and teacherage across the road where they had a craft fair going.
The pancake mixer could have a second job as a drywall mud mixer!
Back on the road from Logan to Moab, we discovered that the cooling fan for the generator wasn’t working. No fan, no generator. No generator, no A/C! So we were thankful for a relatively cool couple of days as we traveled. Evenings were no problem for two reasons: 1. as the sun goes down, so does the temperature, and 2. we were plugged into electricity! Last week LeRoy pulled the fan out and found a bad capacitor which of course wasn’t available anywhere locally, so he ordered one online and it arrived yesterday while we were out. Today he installed it and (until further notice) the generator runs and is cool! We won’t need it until we start home but it’s nice to know it works! Thanks, LeRoy!!
