There is no place like home....sort of

April 27,2014

There is much to be said about being in familiar surroundings. We have enjoyed our last two months on the road, but it is very comforting to pull in someplace you have been before and know where the grocery store is located.

We enjoyed our time in New Mexico, but grew very tired of the wind. At one point, the winds were 35 to 40 mph, with gusts of 60 miles per hour!  We have decided not to go back to the desert in April again, and if we forget, would someone please remind us?

We spent 10 days in Albuquerque (it took me that long to learn how to spell it), in a wonderful campground called American RV Park. It was right next to I-40W but traffic noise wasn't a problem. The staff was very friendly and helpful, restrooms and laundry facilities were spotless and they offered a continental breakfast each morning!  Loved it.

 Daughter Holly and grandson Finn drove down from Colorado Springs and spent three nights with us. While there, we took them to the Albuquerque Zoo which is known for its breeding programs and saw several baby animals. The zoo boasts of having a pair of Tasmanian Devils as well, however they were in hiding while we were there. Finn enjoyed playing with the 'human' babies as much as seeing the animals.

Finn watching the flamingos

Playing with a 'human' baby

Mama Orangutan with her baby

San Felipe de Neri

While in the Albuquerque area, we also visited Old Town Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  Both have strong Native American and Hispanic influences. Both have beautiful churches that dominate the plazas.





The green chili cheeseburger at the Hacienda del Rio in Old Albuquerque was awesome too!

Route 66

Rio Grande River

Route 66 and the Rio Grande River intersect in Albuquerque.

 Of the two cities, we both preferred Santa Fe and would like to go back someday and explore that area more thoroughly.  The Loretto Chapel with it's miraculous staircase, (not a single nail or screw was used to hold it in place) http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html, and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, were the highlights of our visit there.

Famous staircase

Loretto Chapel

Sign at the entrance to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Painting from Hawaii collection by Georgia O'Keeffe

Photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe in later years

Our next stop was Gallup, NM.  We found it to be a very depressed area with bars on most windows and doors and the liquor stores locked up. We stayed a couple of nights due to the wind and because it was close to Canyon de Chelly, which we had wanted to see.

Sign at the top of the canyon

The canyon below

Cliff dwellings

More cliff dwellings

Canyon de Chelly is a National Monument in northeastern Arizona. It is part of the Navajo Reservation, and there are Native Americans living in the monument. It is a spectacular canyon and contains some cliff dwellings built by the Anasazi people over a thousand years ago. All viewing must be done from the top of the canyon, unless you pay for a tour with a Navajo guide. Because of time, we chose not to do that and just drove the loop on top. Still some spectacular sights.

Wilson Yazzey, of the Navajo tribe,  carver of my totem

On our way through Arizona on I-40, we drove through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, National Park. It is a 28 mile road that takes you past some beautiful vistas of the painted desert and it's brilliant colors. There were also many remnants of past civilizations there including Puerco Pueblo, which was occupied over 600 years ago and features ancient petroglyphs and even a summer solstice marker. The route through the park also takes you past large concentrations of petrified trees.

Our last stop in Arizona was Kingman. There is a nice campground there that we've stayed in a couple of times so it was comforting. It also has a great laundry room!

 This trip we checked out the Route 66 Museum. It was really quite interesting. When I think of Route 66, I think of the 1950s and 60s, when the route was filled with little motels and diners, and Americans traveled it while on vacation. It was, however, a very important route during the days of the Great Depression, when many people escaped the Midwestern dust bowl states and headed for California hoping to find work and a way to support their families. Most of them were turned back at the border as there was nothing for them in California either. The museum featured a very moving display depicting the journeys of these families who were searching for a better life, and highlighted John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. 

Our last stop outside of California was Boulder City, Nevada. Linda has family there, including a sister and we decided at the last minute to have Easter with them.  It was also our niece's birthday so we celebrated that as well.  We enjoyed our time with them, and stayed an extra day because of the wind.  Our final stop was Clovis to see Eric, Molly and the grandchildren.

We are happy to be 'home', if only for a short time.  Next leg of our journey is still in the planning stages, but we will be heading toward Glacier National Park and points beyond.  Watch for updates in June.  Cheers!

Saguaro Country

Hello from Saguaro Country.  The Saguaro Cactus, pronounced SAH-WAH-RO, is indigenous to the Sonoran desert of southern Arizona and northern Mexico, in the state of Chihuahua, yet is a symbol of the entire southwest.

Saguaros in Catalina State Park, outside Tucson

 
We decided to stay in Benson, Arizona instead of Tucson, because it was more centrally located to places we wanted to see.  We stayed in an out of the way park named Pato Blanco RV park, which translates to white duck.  It was a very nice park with artesian ponds on the premises.

The artisian lakes at Pato Blanco Lakes RV Park

We decided to stay here for five days, so we could have our mail delivered from California and get some things done in Tumbleweed.  People were very friendly and there were a lot of activities scheduled.  A lot of the residents have stayed here for several months.  They invited us to have donuts and coffee the next morning and Pete's eyes lit up.  He rarely turns down a donut.  They also had a 60s-70s dance with a live band on Saturday but we did not attend as we were in Bisbee.


Bisbee was an interesting town.  One of the other campers from California likened it to Sausalito.  I would say he hasn't been to Sausalito in a very long time.  The entire town is built on a hillside and the similarity ends there.  The main attraction is the Queen Mine, which is an old copper mine that you can tour.  It is 47 degrees year round and since we didn't bring jackets, we passed on the tour and just explored the town.  It kind of reminded me of Haight Ashbury in the 60s.  Very eclectic.  Not our style at all.

Overview of Bisbee

Pete found a camper he liked

We stopped in Tombstone on our way back, even though we'd been there before and were treated to a gunfight. 

While in Tombstone, we happened by the Tombstone Fire Department.  We met the nicest fireman named Robert, who, after hearing about son Eric, promptly went into the office and returned with a Tombstone F.D. T-shirt and patch.  He was deeply moved by Eric's situation and strength.  Thank you Robert.

Sunday we took a drive back in to Tucson to see the saguaros and do some shopping. We encountered a street fair on 4th Avenue, which was great! Lots of cool booths and stores, but very crowded.

4th Avenue Street Fair, Tucson

Pete and his new friend

Pete met a friend.  This picture is for Julie, who I'm told loved Hello Kitty when she was a little girl.

                    

We had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant and still had time to get to Saguaro National Park in time for the sunset. 

Pete enjoying an Arizona desert evening

                               

A beautiful sunset in the Sonoran desert

                                          

We head for New Mexico in the morning.  Arizona has been a wonderful stop.  We have enjoyed spending time with our family and friends in western Arizona and our time alone in the southeast.  We look forward to seeing what New Mexico has to offer.  First stop will be the City of Rocks State Park outside of Deming.  Cheers!

Land of Enchantment

We are now in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.  We left Arizona on Tuesday, the 25th of March and planned to stay at the City of Rocks State Park, near Deming.  However, when we arrived there was no place large enough for us to park.  We were disappointed as our friends in Quartzsite had said it was a great place to camp and hike.  In the end, we stayed at an Escapees Rainbow park in Deming for one night, and then drove a few miles east to Las Cruces, which is the second largest city in New Mexico.  Our plan was to stay there for three nights, but we actually stayed four.

White sand as far as the eye can see

 
There are some very interesting things to see around Las Cruces.  Probably the most interesting for us was the White Sands National Monument.   It is the largest area of gypsum sand dunes in the world.  The sand is soft and very bright to look at in the sun.  It looks like snow, and there were many families there with saucers and snowboards.  They were sliding down the hills, just as if it were snow, but they had on shorts and were barefoot.  Lots of barbeques and picnicking going on as well.

Cheers!  She made it to the top.  
Linda's exercise for the day

'Snowboarders' on White Sand

Patriot missile

Also in the White Sands area, is the White Sands Missile Range.  This is where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity Site.  The designing, building and ultimate detonation was known as the Manhattan Project.  The missile range is still an active part of the United States Army and continues to provide missile testing and recovery among other operations.  Parts of it are open to the public and there is a wonderful museum and missile display.

The white sands must be a very good area for air and space travel as there are also the Air & Space Museum in Alamogordo and Spaceport America, the first commercial space flight company, 30 miles north.  We were unable to tour Spaceport America, as they were not open, but we did go to the Air & Space Museum.

Ham, the chimpanzee, in his capsule

An Apollo type space capsule

The museum was fascinating!  Twenty eight countries participated in the completion by donating artifacts and exhibits of man's conquest of space.  There were displays of space travel vehicles, satellites and even the capsule that Ham, the first chimpanzee sent into space, rode in.  Ham is buried at the site of the museum.  There is also an IMAX theater on site that doubles as a planetarium.  It has different features throughout the week.  We happened to see a documentary called Tornado Alley, which was very informative.

One of the highlights of Las Cruces itself was the Veterans Memorial Park, honoring veterans from all wars and a special tribute to the soldiers involved in the Bataan Death March.  What those soldiers endured on that 60 mile march, was horrible beyond belief.  Many of them didn't survive and those who did, suffered horrific abuse at the hands of the Japanese soldiers once they arrived at the concentration camp.  Once again we are reminded of the sacrifices of many for the freedoms we take for granted.

Statue of soldiers from the Bataan Death March of WWII

We are now in a very nice RV resort in Elephant Butte, outside of Truth or Consequences.  T or C is known for its' mineral hot springs and Ralph Edwards.  It is also known as the last place where Linda's grandparents lived.  We were able to find their house and must say, it was the best looking on the block...maybe the whole town.  Time has not been kind to T or C.

We move on in the morning to Albuquerque, where we hope to spend at least a couple of weeks and travel by car to places like Santa Fe and Taos.  We are looking forward to it.  Cheers!

The Adventure Begins

After several months of sorting, packing, storing and waiting for a buyer, our home of 11 years has been sold and our new adventure has begun. We closed the door on El Cid Drive for the last time on February 25th and moved in to Tumbleweed, our home on wheels.

Our first stop was Beals Point State Park, on the shores of beautiful Folsom Lake.  

This was a perfect place to begin our adventure as we were able to access our storage, attend to last minute appointments and say farewell to daughter Shelly and family, and close friends. 

Our next stop was Cal Expo RV Park for three days before heading south. We parked in front of son Eric's home in Clovis for several days to visit with him and his family. Our journey continued to Bakersfield where we stayed at a beautiful park in the middle of an orange grove. The name is Orange Grove RV Park and for all you RV'ers, the sites are level, the laundry room is spotless and they even let you pick the oranges.  Pete was able to pick an orange off a tree by reaching out the drivers' side window.

We arrived in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on March 10th. This is a snowbird destination in the winter and for good reason. The weather is warm and sunny most days and there are beautiful beaches along the lake as well as the Colorado River. You will also find the original London Bridge from the nursery rhyme that was moved from England in 1968, each brick carefully numbered in order to reconstruct. 

While in LHC, we stayed at a membership campground called Havasu Springs. Linda's aunt and uncle from Deadwood, South Dakota are members and spend the winter there.  We had a great visit with them. 

From Lake Havasu, we traveled about an hour to Quartzsite, another snowbird mecca, to visit friends of ours from Michigan. These are friends that we met while visiting Bryce Canyon National Park in 2007 and we have stayed in contact. Most of the snowbirds had left Quartzsite by the time we arrived and many businesses were closing for the summer but we enjoyed visiting with them and listening to Sharon play her dulcimer at the jam sessions. 

Temperatures were in the mid 80's, which was nice. Roger and Sharon took us on a drive up to Alamo Lake State Park, mainly to see how low the reservoir is, as Roger had heard they weren't allowing boats to be launched. Not true, but the water level was very low. 

   The dam at Alamo Lake State Park

   Pete and Roger at Alamo Lake State Park

We left the next morning, headed for the Tucson area. As much as we enjoyed our time with our family and friends, we are looking forward to some time alone to explore new horizons. Cheers!