After a quick breakfast of cereal, toast and an orange we headed out on I-70 west toward the Denver area.  We made a brief stop for fuel at our Friendly Flying J in Limon, Colorado and then were on the road again.  Megellan handled the first leg of the journey quite well (she really likes 60 miles per hour)...but as we passed through Denver and started up into the mountains she slowed down a bit.  She continued the pace until a double-wide house and rig decided to pull out right in front of us!  Jim had to bring Megellan to a stop, on a mountainside, so you could imagine that it took quite a while to get up to full speed again.  About that time, Becca Hall, called to cooridinate our next stop at the Walmart off Evergreen Expressway.  We were turning into Walmart and located a place to park within the next few minutes.  Becca & Chris (her significant other) took a brief tour of Magellan, loaded Becca's sewing machine, and then invited us to take a tour of beautiful Evergreen, Colorado.  The homes surrounding Evergreen were amazing.  It seemed that each builder tried to outdo the next.  It was so hard to imagine the engineering and construction that had gone into each elaborate home.  Chris found a parking place near Creekside Cellar Restaurant, where we could have lunch overlooking the scenery of Bear Creek.  With 4 tables ahead of us, we began a walking tour of Evergreen.  There were many art galleries and shops along the creek with other eateries as well.  With at least a 30 minute wait for our Creekside table, we went to a sidewalk cafe for an apetizer of goat cheese and drinks.  When our table was ready we selected a Creekside wine, and we ordered from an extensive menu featuring local vegetables, fruits, and meat.  Beside having a wonderful view for the delicious dinner, it was great to have time to catch up with Becca & Chris.  Next Chris drove us through the "back" streets of Evergreen to see where locals live, along with a stop at a local restored pioneer area that reminded us of the real "Ponderosa" where the Cartrights lived.  Finally, we arrived at Chris & Becca's home.  We were greeted by their cat, Goose, and Wiley their dog.  Chris gave us a tour of his carpentry shop, and then we toured their home with an amazing wrap-around deck, constructed by Chris.  Wiley loved having Grandpa Jim toss his ball into the creek, the driveway, and yard.  Saying farewell to Becca (until Yellowstone) Chris drove us back to our Walmart parking lot home for the night.  We did some Walmart shopping and are going to spend the rest of the evening resting and reading, surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the smell of pine trees, and the clanking of shopping carts from Walmart shoppers nearby.













.  Chris took us through his carpentry shop, and we toured the rest of their home which includes an amazing wrap-around deck that Chris constructed.  Wiley enjoyed fetching his ball for us as Grandpa Jim tossed the ball off the deck, into the creek, the yard and the driveway.