Lake Havasu to California!

Oh My Gosh--so much to catch up on. I have been very lazy about writing lately. I guess I am really getting into this “Retired & Traveling RV Lifestyle”.  I can really blame part of my delay on Tom. On the few occasions I thought about writing, he was on the computer working on our Taxes! Now they are finished (and not a day too soon) so I have no more excuses.

I am writing this from our current “home” in Oceanside ,California. We are staying at a great San Diego County park, only 6 miles from our niece, Kelly’s house. We had a great family reunion with Kelly and a few other relatives who flew in for the week, but I’ll save that for the next update.

   

Before daylight savings went into effect we were doing a lot of “time zone traveling”.
In January and February we crossed the time zone several times traveling between California, Arizona and Nevada.  Tom & I got a little confused about what time it was, but the dogs always knew exactly when it was 5 o’clock and time for their dinner! They have us well trained!

Our first stop was Lake Havasu, AZ., a forty-five mile long lake created in 1938 when they built the Parker Dam on the Colorado River. We spent two weeks there at Cattail Cove State Park, a beautiful park situated right along the Colorado River. Tom worked on his new plane and found a great Flying Club nearby. His new plane has floats so eventually he can fly it off the water! He got some excellent advice from some of the more advanced guys and hopes to have it in the air soon!                              

  

I enjoyed relaxing, reading and walking with the dogs on the trails along the river. Tom’s new knee is doing great and he even made it on a 3 mile hike with us. Some of the trails take you up onto cliffs overlooking the river. The water below is crystal clear and has that aqua blue color that would make you think you are in the Caribbean.                   

Lake Havasu City has an interesting history - Until 1963, it did not exist. That was the year a businessman named Robert McCulloch (as in MuCulloch Chain Saws) came to the area and had an idea. He saw Lake Havasu,  surrounded by nothing but desert and thought: “People would probably love to live here when they retire!” I guess he had more imagination than Tom & I. He bought 26 square miles of the desert at $73.47 per acre, started his own airline and began to fly prospective buyers to the area. A few years later in 1968 when he heard that the London Bridge was “falling down” and was for sale, he decided to buy it!  Actually it wasn’t falling down, it was sinking due to increased traffic. Mc Culloch thought that it would make a great addition to his new town and paid $2.46 million to get it. He had it moved and it was reconstructed brick by brick on dry land using huge mounds of sand to support the arches. When it was completed, they dredged out a one mile channel and created the island section of Lake Havasu City.  By 1975, the population grew to 15,500. Today it is over 70,000 but it is no longer just a “retirement community” as the average age is only 35!

                                 
     



At this point in our travels we had a nice surprise! My sister from northern California was going to be traveling south to visit some friends. We traveled back to Indio, CA to meet her and her husband, enjoyed a couple of dinners together and spent one day exploring Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua Trees got their name from Mormon pioneers who thought they looked like Joshua from the Bible reaching out his arms to God. Although this is not one of the most exciting National Parks it does have several cactus gardens, the Joshua Trees and some interesting rock formations. We were a little early for the flowering cactus blossoms but we had a great picnic lunch while watching some adventurous rock climbers.

     


Our next stop was Hemet CA to visit some new friends, Bill & Vi, who we met at the Balloon Fest in Albuquerque last October. Hemet was one of the areas we wanted to explore and Bill said he was a member of the Elks and that he might be able to help Tom become a member. In our travels we have met quite a few Elks who are also full-time RV travelers. They told us it is a great way to meet people when we get to a new area and many of the Lodges have free or low cost RV parking!  Bill took Tom to the Elks Hall and he submitted his application.

After Hemet we had a few unscheduled days before we were due to arrive in Las Vegas for the Rocky Mountain Monaco Rally so we spent 3 days in Laughlin Nevada, kind of a mini Las Vegas.  Not much there but the 5 or 6 casinos along the Colorado River which is the Nevada/Arizona boundary. From there we made a day trip traveling down historic Route 66 to Oatman, AZ, an old mining town which is now a tourist stop for over 500,000 visitors a year. The mines around Oatman produced 36 million dollars of gold in the 1930s’, a lot of gold for those times! Later is was chosen by filmmakers for movies such as How The West Was Won”and Edge of Eternity. The main attraction today is the pack of friendly burrows (descendants from the Gold Rush days) that now roam the streets.  Local vendors sell carrots and other “burrow food” and once you start feeding them they follow you down the road.    

We checked out a few of the local stores and enjoyed a nice lunch at a real cowboy restaurant. Tom ordered chili and a tuna melt but after eating the chili decided to take the sandwich home for dinner. Unfortunately on our way back to the car, he was “mugged” by the burros! Two of them approached him from the front and when he reached out to pat their heads a third burro came from behind and snatched his leftover box right out of his hand!  Then the 3 of them helped themselves to his tuna melt!  I suspect they have done this before as they seemed to have the timing down perfectly!            

Next stop was Pahrump, NV, another town that we wanted to check out, but have decided that once was enough. We stayed at a very scenic RV park and had a site right on the lake (man made). The main advantage of Pahrump is that it is only 20 miles to the entrance to Death Valley National Park.  We spent one day visiting the park, and although we saw only a small part of the 3 million acres, we were pleasantly surprised and found it to be very interesting. One of the highlights of the park is the Badwater Area, which is 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. We also stopped to see the site of the old Harmony Borax Works where the 20 Mule Teams pulled gigantic borax wagons with a payload of 20 tons!

From there we traveled to Las Vegas to join the Rocky Mountain Monaco FMCA Group for their Rally.  We had met one of their members when we were at the Indio Rally and they invited us to join them. We made some great new friends and had so much fun we decided to join their Chapter. During our stay we did some of the usual Las Vegas sightseeing. We drove up and down “The Strip” and went to see the light show on Freemont Street. This is a 3 or 4 block area where the sidewalk is covered by a huge canopy and they have a spectacular light show every evening.

   
We also took a day trip to see Hoover Dam and walk across the new 2,000 foot long bridge that is 840 feet above the Colorado River. The bridge is now called the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and is the first, the highest and the longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Of course Tom had to stop and spit into the river. I pretended that I didn’t know him!

  
We took the Hoover Dam tour which included an elevator ride to the bottom of the dam to see the generating room. Here  in this 600 foot long and 4 story tall room we saw the18 generators which kick out 4 billion kilowatt hours a year, enough to serve 1.3 million people. These generators weigh in excess of 500 tons each and the water pipe that supplies water to them is 30 feet in diameter!   

Our last side trip was to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, a beautiful park with lots hiking trails. We took a short hike and saw some daring rock climbers and a few big horn sheep.

   

Our next stop was the Lake Mead National Recreation area. We stayed at a great campground right on the shores of the lake for only $5.00 per night! Lake Mead, formed by the Hoover Dam, is the largest reservoir in the United States and extends 112 miles behind the dam. No more sightseeing, just 3 relaxing days and a little golf!

We made another 3 day stop in Desert Hot Springs, CA. Here the RV Park was right next to the windmill farm with over 3,000 windmills. It made for some windy weather!  Now we have finally arrived in the San Diego area!  As Tom likes to say, “We left Massachusetts on July 15th to head to the West coast, and it took us 258 days to get there!

The Joy is in the Journey!

See you down the road!


MORE PHOTOS

Indio, Quartzsite and Beyond

Indio - Quartzsite and Beyond

After Oro Valley we traveled west toward Yuma, AZ. We didn’t see much in Yuma so we continued and crossed the border into southern California. We stopped at another casino which was just 2 miles from Los Algodones Mexico. Many Americans travel there to access cheap dental care and prescription drugs. It was late afternoon by the time we got settled but we decided to take a quick drive to the Mexican border to check out the situation as we were planning on going into Mexico the next day.  I wanted to have my teeth cleaned and Tom had a little work he wanted done. We parked our Jeep on the US side and followed the fenced-in sidewalk right across the border into Mexico. Most of the shops had closed for the day and there were not too many people around. We saw the signs for several dentisits and pharmacies and decided we could just come back the next day and pick one. We looked around and did not see any signs for the border crossing back into the US so we just re-traced our steps and took the same sidewalk back to our Jeep. No one stopped us to check our passports or to ask us any questions. We thought it was kind of unusual and it certainly did not say much about our border security!

 The next day we went back, parked the Jeep and walked into Mexico again. We found a dentist and got our dental work completed for less than half of what we would have paid at home (even with my dental insurance!).

OUR MEXICAN DENTIST


Los Algodones is a cute litle town with lots of shops and restaurants. We did a little shopping and were pretty successful at bargaining with the merchants.  We learned very quickly that if you find something you want, you ask the price. When they give you the price you hesitate and begin to walk away and the price begins to come down. After a little more negotiating you end up paying about half of the original price!  Tom bought a leather belt, I got some earings and then we tried the highly recommended shrimp tacos for lunch.  When it was time to go home we followed the crowd and ended up waiting over an hour in a line to cross back into the US the way we supposed to go the day before. This time they did check our passports and our shopping bags!

GOING HOME THE RIGHT WAY!

                 

After relaxing for 3 days at the casino ($5.44 per night!) we traveled just 175 miles to our next destinantion, Indio, CA.for a big Western Area RV Rally. This was a huge Rally with over 1,200 RV’s parked at the Riverside Fairgrounds. During the day we attended seminars about “RV stuff” and shopped at the many, many vendors. We bought a few things including a 5 flag holder for the front of the coach and 4 flags from our “Home” states (MN, OH, MA, SD) plus an American Flag.                                                                                                                                                                            

Every evening they had entertainment. The first night they had a Western Band that was excellent. The other 2 nights were a couple of Las Vegas Show performers; not as good but it was all fun and we met quite a few other full-timers!  We even joined the Full-Timers Chapter of the FMCA and hope to hit one of their Rallys sometime.  While we were in the area we also did a little exploring and checked out the Palm Springs and Palm Desert neighborhoods.  We even found the Hotel California!

WELCOME TO THE ....

             

From Indio we traveled back into AZ to a town called Quartzsite. This is a town in the middle of the desert with a population of around 3,000 people for most of the year. However, from January through March about 200,000 or more RV’ers roll into town for 3 big shows: an RV Show, a Rock & Gem Show and a Classic Car Show. In addition to the shows, there are hundreds of other vendors who set up shop for the season.

Quartzsite has always been a gathering spot since the westward progression of the settlers, miners and prospectors when it became a stage coach stop along the route. One miner while digging for gold found water instead and the area soon developed as a supply center. It was named Quartzsite because of the quartz ore found in the area. I found my own piece of real Quartzsite quartz while walking in the desert with the dogs!

KATHY"S QUARTZSITE QUARTZ

 There are several RV parks in Quartzsite but many RV’ers choose to dry camp in the desert. We opted for the desert camping and found a great spot with plenty of room for Abbey & Jameson to run and explore. Although Quartzsite has a reputation for very windy weather, we lucked out and had 10 days of great weather! Last year during the big RV Show they had torrential rains and a tornado touched down not too far away. We are happy our trip was this year!


Quartzsite also has an interesting bookstore owned by Paul, a former boogie woogie blues musician and almost nudist. (Almost X-Rated photo included!) He has a collection of over 180,000 books and also stocks a smaller sampling of music and videos. Tom found 2 books he had been searching for and I found a mystery novel in the $1.00 section!

Since we were not spending any money on camping fees, we decided we could eat out on a few of the nights we were there. Although we can’t really rave about the quality of the food, the entertainment was great. Silly Al’s had pretty good pizza and karaoke or live music every night but our favorite place was the Quartzsite Yacht Club. In the 1960s a businessman from California bought an old building in Quartzsite and opened it as a restaurant. As a joke, since it was in the middle of the desert, he decided to call it the Quartzsite Yacht Club and the sign above the door said  “Welcome Aboard ~ Long Time No Sea!” If California ever has the BIG earthquake, it might become ocean front property!  They now have over 7,000 members! Tom & I joined and we got a T-Shirt, a hat, a memberships card and a Membership Certificate suitable for framimg! Our membership entitles us to reciprocity with many other Yacht Clubs and some members have actually used their card to get a free boat slip in other parts of the country!

For a small town, Quartzsite has a big model airplane club with an excellent flying field. Most of the pilots were ‘snowbirds’ but there were a few locals. They have a paved 600 foot runway with a cross runway, a helicopter pad, and bleachers for the spectators. Tom got in 3 successful flights before the winds picked up toward the end of our stay.

RELAXING AFTER ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT!

After Quartzsite we traveled north and across the Colorado River to join some friends we had met in October at the Balloon Fest. They live in Hemet, CA but they were going to be at an RV Park on the river for 2 weeks and gave us a Free Guest pass to join them. We got 3 free nights of camping and $100.00 for fuel for listening to their sales presentation about buying a membership in their park. We listened politely but declined the offer!

And now we are in Lake Havasu City, AZ in a great state park right on the other side of the river. They even have a dog beach so Abbey & Jameson are “Happy Campers!” Tom found another great model airplane club here with another great flying field. Last Saturday we went to a “swap meet’ at the Club and Tom bought another plane to fly. This one is a Piper Cub and has pontoons so he can fly off the water! He has been wanting one of these for a long time! He is still working on putting it together but hopes to have it in the air very soon!  You’ll have to wait for the next update to hear how he does!

See you down the road!


PHOTOS

Oro Valley, Arizona

Oro Valley, Arizona

I am writing this Blog entry from our “Casino Camping” location in southern California. We stopped just across the California border from Yuma, AZ and are only 2 miles from Mexico. Many Americans come here to access cheap dental care and prescription drugs in Mexico. I may go over on Monday to have my teeth cleaned but I'll say more about that later in my next Blog.

We departed Gold Canyon on January 2nd and headed for our next stop, Oro Valley, AZ which is just a few miles north of Tucson. We wanted to visit several friends who live in this area and we also wanted to add Sagauro National Park to our growing list of National Parks visited. On this short 80 mile trip we drove by the Tom Mix Monument. For those of you too young to remember, Tom Mix was "the King of Cowboys" when Ronald Regan and John Wayne were youngsters and he was the top cowboy of American silent films. Mix also had a famous steed, Tony the Wonder Horse. Tom remembers watching Tom Mix cowboy movies as a kid when TV just came out!  Mix's movie career wound down in the 1930s, after silent films were replaced by talkies, but at his peak he made $2500 per week which was a lot of money for that time! He was killed in a one-car auto accident in 1940 on the same road we were now traveling.  Driving at 80 MPH in his Cord single seat sportscar he came upon construction barriers and his car swerved and rolled into a gully, pinning his body beneath. A large suitcase containing a large sum of money and jewels flew forward and struck Mix in the back of the head, shattering his skull and breaking his neck. The 60-year-old actor was killed almost instantly.  I did not get a photo of this monument but if you really want to see it check out Tom Mix on Wikipedia! 

We arrived at Catalina State Park, our home for the next week and were pleasantly surprised! This is a beautiful state park situated right at the base of the Santa Catilina Mountains. The sites are beautiful (and level!) and have water & electric hookups for only $25.00 per night. Once again we had a beautiful mountain view right from our living room!

We also noticed this as we walked the dogs around the campground. I guess it helps to keep your sense of humor!

Our first sightseeing trip was to the Saguaro National Park. It first was made a national monument in 1933 and then in 1961, President Kennedy signed a bill expanding the monument to include Tucson Mountain Park.  Finally in 1994, Saguaro National Park was established. We spent the day hiking through the desert and checking out the Visitor Center. This 91,446 acre park is home to over 50 types of cacti, a variety of desert trees and shrubs and numerous animals. The main attraction however is its namesake, the saguaro cactus.

 

The saguaro has been described as the monarch of the Sonoran Desert, as a prickly horror, as the supreme symbol of the American Southwest, and as a plant with personality. It is renowned for the variety of odd, all too human shapes it assumes, shapes that inspire wild and fanciful imaginings. Giant saguaro cacti, unique to the Sonoran Desert, sometimes reach a height of 50 feet in this cactus forest.
A saguaro's growth is extremely slow.  By the end of a year, the saguaro seedling may measure only 1/4 inch. After 15 years, the saguaro may be barely a foot tall.  By 50 years, the saguaro may be as tall as 7 feet. After about 75 years, it may sprout its first branches or "arms." The branches begin as prickly balls, then extend out and upward. By 100 years the saguaro may have reached 25 feet. Saguaros that live 150 years or more attain the grandest size, towering as much as 50 feet and weighing 8 tons, sometimes more, dwarfing every other living thing in the desert.
We never really thought of a desert as being “beautiful” but we have now changed our opinion and we did not even visit when most of the cacti were in bloom.      
                                                                                                                                                             
Our next adventure was a visit to Biosphere 2. Although we had heard about this project  years ago we did not really have it on our “Bucket List”. It just happened to be right down the road from Catalina Park so we decided to check it out.  As you drive through the entrance you begin to see what looks like a community in outer-space. The buildings look some sort of "mother ship”.

Planet Earth is Biosphere 1, so calling this giant planetary laboratory 'Biosphere 2' seemed like a logical idea.
Covering an area of 3 acres it is one of the largest living laboratories of the world.  The glass and metal outer shell constructed between 1987 and 1991at a cost of $200 million contains seven different climatic regions and was designed to explore the complex web of interactions within life systems. It was designed as an experiment in self-sufficiency for a potential manned mission to Mars. There were two huge rooms with membrane ceilings which functioned as the “Lungs” to circulate and clean the air. The most interesting part of the tour was the fact that 4 men and 4 women were locked in and lived in this big dome in the middle of the desert for two years! They ate what they grew and at times, that wasn't very much. It was interesting but unfortunately the tour was a little dry (desert humor?)  It would have been more interesting to hear stories about how 8 people survived with each other! So far Tom & I are doing very well living in our 40 foot. RV!

Our last big adventure was to the Kit Peak National Observatory.  At an elevation of 6,875 feet Kitt Peak has the largest collection of optical research telescopes anywhere in the world !

This turned out to be a 10 hour expedition including a 2 hour trip to get there, a 5 hour evening star gazing program and the return trip home. ( If your doing the math, we arrived an hour before the tour just to walk around and see the place.)  The last 12 miles of the drive is up a winding moutain road offering spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys below.

The weather forcast was for “mostly cloudy skies” but we had made reservations and this was our only chance to get there on this trip.  After viewing a beautiful sunset the clouds seemed to disperse and we had an excellent night to see the stars! We also just happened to pick a night when there was just a sliver of a new moon so it was really dark at the top of the mountain. The city of Tucson has special light ordinances so the city lights do not interfere with the telescopes.

The program included instruction on how to use binoculars and planispheres to identify constellations, stars, and many other interesting night-time sky objects. We also had the chance to gather under one of the huge telescope domes to view planets, multiple star systems, star clusters and distant galaxies The telescope we used was using the 22 inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope.  We had a spectacular view of Jupiter and 3 of its moons!

 After the program ended, the adventure was not over! In keeping with the light restrictions on the mountain we had to drive the first mile down the mountain road with no headlights!  It made for interesting driving. This is definitely going to rank high on our list of places we’ve visited. The 2 astronomers who presented the program were excellent.

Our 6 day visit to this Oro Valley area also included a chance to have dinner with several of our friends who live here and catch up on news of friends and family. It is a beautiful area and we would definitely travel this way again.

CLICK BELOW FOR PHOTOS
  Photos

Having Fun in Arizona

Having Fun In Arizona

I realize we have been out of touch for a while, but we have been busy! How did we ever have time to work!  We found a great RV Resort in Gold Canyon AZ called Canyon Vistas.  It is about 30 miles east of Phoenix and is situated near the base of the Superstition Mountains. We have a beautiful view of the mountains right out of our front windshield.

When we arrived at this place, we only signed up to stay for one week as we had never been to this area before and we were not sure if we would like it.  After just a few days, however, we liked it so much that we decided to stay for 2 months! The thing we like the most is that everyone was so friendly.  Canyon Vistas was also offering a special rate of $795.00 for October through January 2nd and they even included free tickets for their Thanksgiving Day dinner, Christmas Eve dinner and New Year’s Eve Party.(Over $100.00 if we had to purchase!) It was such a great deal that we could not pass it up! We have never stayed this long in one place before but we decided we would still have January, February and March to explore southern California before the weather got warmer and we could begin our journey up the West coast. The facilities here are great (swimming pool, hot tub, fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts), they offer lots of activities and as I mentioned, the people here are very friendly. I have been going to an exercise class every morning and have tried line dancing and Zumba!  Tom  joined the local model airplane club and got in some good flying time! He had many successful flights and one minor crash but he had his plane repaired and back in the air the next day! We have both joined their golf leagues and are playing 2-3 times a week.

They have a great bike riding area and Abbey & Jameson even have a nice dog park with real grass! (Not much grass in Arizona!)  I even got Tom to try “couples country dance” lessons. We are not ready for Dancing with the Stars but we are getting better with the beginner dances! Tom would have enjoyed it more if the lessons had not been on Sunday afternoons right in the middle of football games!

When we are not involved in the club activities we have taken in some of the local sights.  One of our first trips was up into the mountains to a small town named Tortilla Flats. Over 100 years ago Tortilla Flats was a thriving stage coach stop on the Apache Trail. It was almost destroyed by a flood in 1943 and then a fire in 1987.  The town survived and today it is a quaint little “Old West” town with real wooden sidewalks, a great little restaurant, a post office, an old schoolhouse museum and an old fashioned ice cream parlor!  In the restaurant the walls are covered with dollar bills and the bar seats are saddles! The custom of putting dollars on the walls started years ago when the local ranchers and prospectors would pin their tab and a dollar bill behind the bar. The tradition continues and the walls now contain currency from over 67 countries! It is mostly a tourist attarction but today the official year round population of Tortilla Flats is 6.

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving and Christmas on the road. Canyon Vistas provided a big turkey dinner for all the residents with all the “fixins” on the day before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day, Tom and I headed for the local Golden Coral restaurant for an “All You Can Eat Turkey Buffet” for only $9.96 each! (senior citizen discount!)  Good food and lots of it!  On Christmas Eve they again provided a great roast beef and stuffed pork chop dinner in the afternoon. Later in the evening we attended a candlelight Christmas Carol Service with around 150 other residents.  On Christmas Day Tom & I packed the dogs in the car and headed out for a day trip to Roosevelt Lake and Apache Lake.  It was a beautiful drive through the mountains traveling through several old mining towns. We packed a picnic lunch and had a great day!

Before we arrived, we thought Arizona was going to be mostly a desert area with nothing but cactus.  This drive along the Apache Trail twists through wild desert areas and then winds its way up and through the mountains hugging the shores of several beautiful lakes. It is a really beautiful area!

  

There is a local legend about a hidden gold mine somewhere in the Superstition Mountains named the Lost Dutchman Mine.  When the Lost Dutchman died, he refused to tell anyone how to find the mine. For years, many have tried to discover its location but no one has found it yet. Last summer three men from Virginia when up into the mountain to look for it and they have not yet been found!

Tomorrow night is New Year’s Eve. We are going to the big party at the Clubhouse and then after a day to rest (and pack) on Saturday we will be on the road again Sunday morning. We have made some great new friends and will definitely be back here again!

 Our first stop will be Tucson to visit some friends and see Saguaro National Park and then it will be  “California Here We Come”  (not right back where we started from!)  and year two of our full-time adventure will begin!

A few Arizona Facts..........

Arizona has the largest percentage of land designated as Native American Tribal land in the United States.

Arizona has more golf courses per capita than any state west of the Mississippi River.

On February 14, 1912, Arizona became the last of the contiguous states (that is, not including Hawaii and Alaska) to join the Union.

Arizona has more parks and national monuments than any other state, more mountains than Switzerland, and more golf courses than Scotland.

The world's largest telescope is at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona.

Photos
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Back To Colorado

Back To Colorado

Leaving the RV Rally in Farmington, NM we traveled north back into Colorado.  We were debating about stopping at the local casino to park or going to a real campground. At the Rally we happened to meet the owner of a campground in Bayfield, CO so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be one of the nicest campgrounds we have stayed in. It was right next to the Pine River. (Lots of trout!). There was grass and trees and great places for Abbey and Jameson to run.  They even got to go for a quick swim in the river one morning. (Their idea, not mine!)  This was our view from our campsite!

From the campground we took a few short day trips, one to Pagosa Springs, a cute little town with lots of “Hot Springs” to enjoy. We forgot to pack our bathing suits but I did dip my fingers and toes into a few of them. The temperatures ranged from around 99 (warm & comfortable) to 110 (too HOT!) From there we drove up to see a local ski area; not much of a ski area but a beautiful drive! We even crossed the Continental Divide just before we reached the ski area. On the way back to the RV Park we stopped to take a quick photo of Chimney Rock Monument. This site was home to the ancestors of modern Pueblo Indians and continues to be of great spiritual significance to these tribes. It was closed for the season so we could not get very close.

The next day we took off to drive to Durango and then on to Silverton, a mining town nestled between the mountains.  Silverton was first laid out in 1874 after prospectors “found gold in them there hills!” We could have opted for a ride on the historic Durango – Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, but at $82.00 per ticket we decided to drive.  The driving was slow, climbing up to an elevation of 10,910 feet as we drove through the Molas Divide. 

We did not have much time so we had a quick lunch in Silverton and then drove on to Ouray which is called the “Switzerland of America”.  This drive is often referred to as the “

Million Dollar Highway

” but you really can’t put a price on the experience. The origin of the highways nickname is disputed. Some say it refers to how much it cost to build the road but others insist it has to do with the amount of gold that remains under the highway! We followed this beautiful winding mountain road passing by old mining camps and stunning vistas around every turn.  Since we did not get here until late October we were seeing these places at kind of the end of their season but we would definitely like to come back sometime in the spring or summer to see them in full swing!

On our last day in Bayfield it was raining so we took a day off from sightseeing and just relaxed in the “MotherShip”. We even treated ourselves to dinner out at a local restaurant, “Brenda’s Home Cooking”. …Excellent choice!

On our way out of Colorado we stopped at Mesa Verde NP. It was not the best weather, a few showers and cloudy, but we decided to stop anyway since we were traveling right by the entrance. 

Mesa Verde was established as a National Park in 1906 is the first and only National Park established to preserve the works of people. It covers 52,000acres!  It was actually discovered in 1886 by a couple of cowboys who were chasing their wandering cattle.  From approximately AD 600 through 1300, people lived and flourished in communities throughout this area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Today, most call these “cliff dwellings”.

The park stays open year round but most of the Visitor Centers had closed for the season. We unhooked the Jeep, left the dogs in the RV at the base and started the 20 mile drive to the top. The narrow road climbs up 2,000 feet twisting and turning around the curves (no guard rails!)  with signs telling us “Don’t Stop-Watch for Falling Rocks!  We finally reached the Visitor Center that was still open which was also the Museum. Tom wasn’t sure how his knees would hold up and we were a little short on time so we decided not to take the Ranger led tour of Cliff Palace which they cautioned was strenuous and involved climbing up and down steep ladders. We did take a self guided tour of the Spruce Tree dwellings and drove the 5 mile Mesa Top Loop which had several scenic overlooks. The sun popped out for most of the drive so we got some excellent photos. There are still many mysteries about Mesa Verde. Who were the people who lived there? How did they build such magnificent homes? Why did they move from their homes on the canyon floor and move up onto the cliffs?  Why did they leave and where did they go? It truly is a “must see” place for everyone!

The ride back down to the RV was a little nerve racking as we were hit with an ice storm as we began our descent. We made it safely to the bottom and traveled to our”  home” for the next 2 days at the Sleeping Ute RV Park on the Ute Nation Reservation next to their casino.  On Sunday before the football games began we took a quick trip to see “Four Corners”.  It is the only place in the country where 4 states meet and you can stand in all 4 at the same time!  (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico).

We did learn that with newer more advanced technology and GPS capabilities, there is some discrepancy as to the actual point where the 4 states meet, but since they already built the “Monument” in its current location they have decided not to change the location. Other than taking a few photos so we could say we were there, there is nothing else for miles around. It is right in the middle of a big Navaho Indian Reservation.  There were many Indian women selling their hand-made jewelry, pottery and woven rugs. I managed to get away with buying only one pair of earrings!

Next stop………..Arizona!

  MORE PHOTOS

http://picasaweb.google.com/KHStaska/BackToColorado02#

Life's a journey, not a destination….Enjoy the ride!

New Mexico Update

New Mexico

The trip down from the Great Sand Dunes to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival was only 250 miles and we had another beautiful sunny day to enjoy the scenery. Jameson’s favorite part was when we were stopped by a couple of cowboys to let their herd of cattle cross the road!  On the way into Taos we (actually Tom) drove over one of the loftiest bridges in the country. This three span continuous truss bridge crosses the Rio Grand Gorge over 650 feet above the river.  There is a pedestrian walkway along the bridge and Tom decided it was an opportune time to “spit” into the Rio Grand. I guess it was one of the things on his “bucket list”?

In Taos we found a big public parking lot and spent a couple of hours walking around the shops, art galleries and found a nice little outdoor café for lunch. I was going to buy a new teakettle but the first one I picked up was $150.00!  I think I’ll try Walmart.  Back on the road we drove through Santa Fe but did not have time to stop. We ended up at one of our favorite Casinos just north of Albuquerque.

On the drive down to the Balloon Fest Tom and I decided we would not need to take as many photos as we did 2 years ago when we were there. Our good Cannon digital camera is in for repair and we only have our older little Fuji digital to use for now. We figured that the balloons would all look the same and we could probably include the old photos in our Blog and no one would know the difference. Once we arrived at the Fest and the balloons started flying, we just couldn’t help ourselves, we just had to take more photos! So….all of the photos included are real 2010 Balloons!

The last time we were here we volunteered to “Crew” on one of the balloons. This year because of Tom’s new knee, we decided to skip this part and just enjoy the show. We met lots of RVers, many “full-timers” like us who were always willing to share stories about the best campgrounds, best routes, best restaurants etc. On the last day of the show, the balloons were landing right next to the lot where we were parked!

From the Balloon Fest we had another short drive to Farmington, NM to attend the Rocky Mountain Motorhome Association Rally. This is a 5 day event sponsored by the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association). There were 320 RV’s there and once again we made lots of new friends. The Rally included seminars on RV topics, lots of eating and live entertainment every night. Unfortunately, Tom had to make a trip home to Minnesota to attend a funeral for his brother-in-law. I stayed at the Rally to keep and eye on the dogs and the RV.  I also joined some new friends from Texas and did a little sightseeing in the area to see some of the Ancestral Pueblo ruins at the Aztec Ruins National Monument and the Salmon Ruins.

Tom returned from Minnesota and we are now back in Colorado for a few days in the Durango area.   The weather is starting to turn cold, so we will probably start heading south!

That’s all for now, see you down the road!
PHOTOS

http://picasaweb.google.com/KHStaska/NewMexicoUpdate#


 

Kathy & Tom

Jameson & Abbey

Colorado is Beautiful

Colorado is Beautiful!
 This is the view we had this morning from our campsite in the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

We have really enjoyed our brief trip through Colorado and even though we only had 10 days, we managed to pack in quite a few great stops.

On September 22nd we left MN and drove to Sioux Falls, SD. We passed through many small farming towns and enjoyed the views of the “amber waves of grain” as the harvest was in full swing. We hit a little rain but made it to our destination in good time. The Sioux Falls KOA was much nicer than the Massachusetts KOA! The staff were very friendly and even brought over a raised wooden door mat so we would not get our feet wet stepping out of “The MotherShip”. The next morning we were off to the Registry. I passed the eye test and got my official South Dakota driver’s license! 

 Back on the road we drove in the rain again all the way through Nebraska. This was our first trip through Nebraska and I have to say it was pretty boring. We stayed at a Walmart in North Platte, NE; stopped for a late breakfast at Ole’s in Paxton, NE. (We were the only customers in there for breakfast at 10:00 am. I guess the local farmers must eat breakfast closer to 6:00 am). We found another Walmart in Ft Collins CO and were finally ready to begin our Colorado adventure!

Our first stop was in Estes Park near the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We spent 5 days there at the Elk Meadows Campground and enjoyed perfect weather everyday…. 80’s and sunny! We drove the jeep (not the RV!) 45 miles over the Trail Ridge Road which is the highest paved road in North America. The highest elevation is 12,183 feet. and the road has many, many hairpin curves with steep drop-offs on both sides. The views were spectacular! One point along the spine of the mountain, the drop off is about 2,000 feet down on either side of the road! On the other side of the mountain we found a great little town called Grand Lake. After a quick lakeside lunch it was time for the return trip back over the top!  We also took a few side trips to Bear Lake and Chasm Falls. Our timing for this trip was perfect as the Aspens were in full bloom. The park was beautiful and hillsides seemed to light up with the sun shining on the golden leaves. The photos don’t really capture the full effect! We saw many elk wandering all over the park. On our last day we took time to play golf on a beautiful course right in Estes Park . The elk had also taken to wandering on the golf course!  On one hole they were hanging out near the green so we were not able to finish the hole.  Course rules allowed us to take a par which really helped my score!

From Estes Park it was a short drive to our next stop at Colorado Springs. We only had 2 days to spend here but we did a lot! We took the Cog Railway up to the top of Pikes Peak (14,110 feet). The ride up was fun but the views from the top were spectacular! Here’s a little history lesson. Katherine Lee Bates took a trip up to the Pikes Peak summit in the late 1800’s and was so moved by the magnificent views that she was inspired to write the words to “America the Beautiful”.  We also toured the Garden of the Gods, and visited the Air Force Academy (right after the Air Force vs. Navy football game….lots of traffic!!), the US Olympic Training Center and the historic Broadmore Hotel. We stayed at a great campground (Pikes Peak RV) in the town of Manitou Springs just at the base of the mountain. The town is full of little shops and galleries and restaurants and is a place we will definitely come back to someday!

From there it was on to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We really wanted to stop at Royal Gorge but our time would not allow it for this trip. We will definitely plan it for our next time through. We did take a slight detour to stop in Buena Vista, CO. to visit the Frontier Ranch which is a Young Life Camp. Tom wanted to see what it looked like as he spent 3 summers there in the 1950’s. Today it is a beautiful  camp/resort and has been renovated and expanded. In addition to youth camps, they now host adult retreats and other events. Tom had fun “remembering when!” and he can’t wait to send the photos to his former fellow campers.

And that brings us now to our current stay at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It is an amazing place, especially the history of how the dunes were formed so many hundreds of millions of years ago! The huge dunes, 750 feet tall and the tallest in North America, are a small part of an enormous sand deposit that covers 330 square miles. They have long stood as a landmark for travelers from the Navajos, to the explorers, to gold miners, to homesteaders and now for sightseeing RV’ers!

Our next stop will be the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. We had so much fun the last time we went, we decided to make a return trip!

See you down the road!


Here are the photos Photo