December

It’s a Wrap

Started out December still in Desert Hot Springs and had plans to move over to the coast (Ricon) until California shut down and our reservations were cancelled. Good thing we were already established in the Catalina RV and Hot Spring resort because if you weren’t already in a place you can’t get in.  Made good use of our stay here as there were a lot of good hiking and we met Bob and Tamera for 6 feet apart cocktails. Right after Thanksgiving we noticed that RV’s started to decorate for Christmas. On nightly walks more and more rigs were lite up, so of course I had to put a wreath on Wanda!

Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean Beach

We did it…went from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast this year. If you look closely, we could not have picked a colder day to go to the ocean, but we were determined to get there no matter.

PCT

Pacific Coast Trail

Another milestone was hit as one of the hikes was also on the Pacific Coast Trail. That means we have also hiked the Appalachia (AT) and the Pacific Coast (PCT) Trails. So, pats on our backs!!!

The best laid plans never materialize – just rambling here…

Time for us to start to make the move homeward and we decided to head for Texas with stops along the way. Thought was to get to Texas, then leave Wanda in storage while we headed up to Colorado till February then return and pick up the 2021 Adventure. The best laid plans never materialize.

First stop was an overnighter, turning into most of the next day, at Dome BLM Recreational, Quartzite AZ (December 7-8). Found the perfect spot in the early afternoon of 12/7 and set up camp. Noticed that one of the legs on the landing gear (front leg that stabilize and hold up front end) didn’t want to retract. No problem as we jimmied it down, thinking it was just stuck with sand. Had a nice night, with a fire and great pizza from Silly Ales and the night had a warm breeze. Lots of stars and it was DARK. Got up, leisured around and went about packing up to move again and WHAT????? Flat Tire! Really flat, flat, flat.

OK, call AAA and wait 3 hours for tow truck (sign on truck said TOE Truck – wondered if it was a mistake or just clever). That done, ready to hit road, but the landing gear won’t go up. Takes us another hour to get it high enough so we can move on.

Flat

I can’t believe that I didn’t take pictures of Cindy/Harry and Judi/Ken. Sorry folks, you will have to take my word for it that both looked TERRIFIC

Met Up with Anthem Neighbors who moved on…and they look great!

Cindy and Harry

Cindy and Harry are Anthem friends who lived down the block on Somerset. They too were one of the 1^st to move into Anthem way back when. They since have moved several times but we still keep in touch. Since we are in Phoenix for a while, we saw them a couple of times – which is never enough.

Judi and Ken

Another Anthem friends who up and moved to Wickenburg – a good ole cowboy town (per Ken) and when we drove thru it, that is exactly what it looked like. While we were at Cindy and Harry’s they came over for a spell. Both are golfing a lot, and love Wickenburg as it fits their needs for now (according to Judi).

Burro in camp More Burros West Coast sunset

Last Week of the Adventure

Finally pull into Lake Pleasant Regional Park AZ late in the afternoon and have to go thru the same jimmy process to get the leg down in order to disconnect from truck. Next day we called around for RV repair, get a hold of a place who (thru Facetime) walks us through what the problem may be and how to fix. Easy peasy – as a bolt has broken off and all we have to do is get another bolt, replace and should be good to go. Not so fast!! As we inspect farther, turns out the bolt broke off and half of it is still in slot, we can’t get it out. Call back to RV repair and they will come out Monday which they did and it was a ½ hour to drill out the bolt piece and get Wanda all fixed up.

Time has run out on us to head for Texas, weather is great here, lots to do so we decide to chuck Texas and stay in the Phoenix area. Lots to hike and some very interesting sights to see in the Phoenix area including Burros right in the campground (again) and usually saw one on every hike

Time to Go Home

Wanda Stored in Phoenix

We stayed at Lake Pleasant Regional Park until the 17^th of December. Found a spot in Phoenix to store Wanda, got ‘er all packed up and tucked away until we return. Hit the road late and only got to Flagstaff where we found a room at Little America Hotel (what a place!). Then on Friday drove 12 hours and 700 plus miles back to Boulder. Hit a lot of snow along I70 and of course it was dark. I was a nervous wreck and ate about 3 Tumms. Pulled in around 8 and it felt good to be home. Amy has the house decorated for Christmas so nicely that it felt like a Hallmark Moment.

2020 – It’s a Wrap

We have:

• Traveled coast to coast and swam (or dipped a toe) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
• Been within 5 miles of both the northern and southern borders
• Changed the oil in the truck 4 times
• Had 2 tire blow outs on Wanda
• Had 1 flat tire on Wanda
• Replaced faulty switch that lifts the nose of Wanda up and down (actually I think we wore the switch out because we just can’t figure out up and down)
• Repaired the landing gear (legs on front of Wanda that hold nose up) because bolt broke
• Ran over 2 sets of chalks (these are put in front and back of wheels to keep Wanda from rolling when parked). I forgot to remove them when we started to move from site.
• Left water pressure gauge at a campground
• Left our pooper hose connector in drain and pulled out of campsite – thank goodness it was not connected to Wanda and waste tank was closed.
• Watched more stuff fly out of our truck bed when rolling down the road – guess we really didn’t need it.
• Crushed one of the safety triangles that we put out when we had a blow-out. Actually, someone came too close to Wanda and ran over it.
• Ty didn’t go to hospital once this year – no stitches required although he bumped his head at least once a week.
• Stayed in 47 campgrounds
• Dry camped 3 times
• Tent camped once and never again
• Walmart camped only 3 times
• Stayed overnight at CrackerBarrel once
• 6 or so nights in truck stops – lost count.
• Saw at least 6 black bears, one was momma with 3 cubs, maybe a bobcat sighting but we were not sure
• Countless Eagles flew over, saw Roadrunners, which really do seem to only run across the road, Quails all in a row, a skunk that liked it under Wanda
• Attack by hummingbirds in AZ when Ty was doing something outside underneath feeder. Those little creatures are ferocious and protect their food source.
• Watched so many episodes of GRIT that have even watched reruns of the reruns.
• Listened to 31 audiobooks while driving. Got caught up in the Spencer Quinn’s Chet the Dog series – humorous and easy listening. Educated by Tara Westover was our number 1; we talked about it for days.
• Visited Elkhart IN 4 times for same repair to Wanda – not going any further into it than that.
• Drove by state capitals of the states we were in since they are closed for visits due to covid. New York was by far the most impressive and New Hampshire the plainest.
• Hiked portions of the Appalachia and Pacific Rim Trails
• Met up with a lot of friends some before the covid disaster and some after so mask were in order.
• Watched a very large mouse or rat? Run thru the camper when putting out slides. That creature was hiding under one of slides and when the other one started to retract, that thing ran so fast and probably jumped out the hole before it sealed up. Never saw it again.
• Vacationed with family in Michigan which I think is the highlight of whole year.
• Silver Cholla (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa) or as we like to call it the Teddy Bear we voted our favorite cactus

We can honestly say that we have made lemonade out of the 2020 covid lemon year and it turned out to be another Great Adventure!

We wonder where 2021 will take us as we are not done yet and we hope you will journey on with us.

This is Us 2020 Favorite sighting teddy bear

Merry Christmas 2020 to all

May 2021 be a much better year for all of us!

Let us light a candle for all those who are no longer with us.

Ty and Jane

Beth’s Month

Beth

When November rolls around, I get depressed. It is Beth’s birthday (Nov 6) month and she really looked forward to her birthday. We would not let her start talking about her birthday until October, otherwise, she would start talking about her NEXT birthday on Nov. 7! I miss that.

Organ Pipe Cactus

Organ Pipe

November 1-2

If you haven’t seen these cacti, it should be a stop albeit even if it is out of the way from anything. And you have to like desert. Stayed at the State Park with same name, only 3 of us in this park, but I am sure come January it will be packed. Really nice campground, paved pads, electric and water and the best part is this park was so well developed that from a slight distance it looks just like the desert; you would have no idea that there is a campground there. Took a small hike up to a mining area, who would ever mine in this hot desert is beyond me, but someone did it.

THE WALL

Water Barrel and Flag Border Patrol The Wall Safety Sign Directions to use Safety Station

Had to drive by the wall since we were only 5 miles from the Mexican border. It is big and imposing. Here is Ty to describe this day.

The desert wind runs silent:

In the desert the wind really is silent. One evening Jane and I were sitting outside; the wind was too strong for a fire but we couldn’t hear it. There are no trees and the cactus and scrub vegetation have no leaves to create noise as the wind goes through them, kind of like watching a bat or an owl fly by. Then there is the desert wildlife. Apparently, it is out there but you rarely see it, if you are lucky you may hear a coyote as it begins a night of hunting. We are told there are deer, big horn sheep, bob cats etc. but we never saw or heard from them. As with everything that survives in the desert wildlife has adapted by laying low, staying silent during the heat of the day only coming out at night.

Then there is another type of silence, it also occurs mostly at night and is created by people, asylum seekers, drug smugglers, border patrol agents. Within the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, we had some exposure, in some case only figuratively, with all of them. The Kris Eggle visitor center is named after a park ranger who was murdered by drug smugglers in 2002. We had an opportunity to see Trump’s wall off in the distance and had to take a 20 plus mile unimproved dirt road detour to get around it. Check out pictures for this section of the blog. We came across a couple of widely space 55-gallon drums of water with tall flags, visible from miles away marking their presence. Apparently, locals were trying to help people survive rather than dying of thirst in the desert. Then there are tall towers established by the Border Patrol which allows someone to push a panic button. The sign in English and Spanish says push the button, stay where you are and someone will come to help you soon. Of course, the individual will probably be deported back to where they were fleeing and if they are asylum seekers they will probably die anyway. I think most of you aren’t reading anything new here but it was interesting and thought provoking be exposed to some of this in real time.

Coincidently I just happened to read a book called “American Dirt”. It tells a fictional story of a mother and son asylum seekers along with an assortment of other Central American and Mexican individuals sneaking across the border. It is a fictional account based on some real examples of what happens while making the crossing. The book confirmed what I have read from other scattered accounts, women will be raped, everyone will be robbed, some will be killed, some of the smugglers, “coyote” you pay to get you across the border will abandon you. Whatever your take on this whole situation I think it is a well written nonpolitical account of a human experience.

Just a side note. Jane and I have been in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and the Mohave Desert of southern California for 4 to 6 weeks, we really can’t remember when we arrived but it’s been a while. My original impression of a desert is what you might see on television you know the Sahara, nothing but sand as far as you can see. But as I said above the deserts in the US southwest are full of life. There is an amazing variety of cactus and vegetation all adapted to a harsh dry environment. Check out the picture of me in front of a Saguaro cactus must be 30 feet tall. True there is a lot of sand, most of the trails are like walking on the beach. A four-mile hike on this stuff is tiring, let alone trying to find a bike route. On the other hand, the weather is great. 70’s in the daytime with no humidity and low 50’s at night. Did I mention while we have been in the desert there has been no rain. I think we agree it is about time for us to move to a different environment but it has been an interesting experience.

TY

Tall Saguaro

London Bridge for real

London Bridge Lake Havasau Parker Dam

Pretty hectic week schedule, we traveled up to Lake Havasu City and Parker Dam which is on the Colorado River. Interesting place IF you are a water person. Meaning you have all the toys to play in the water or like to fish. We don’t do either so instead we drove around the area exploring, took a bike ride on the Havasu Island where we saw the actual London Bridge! Lake Havasu must not have had enough tourist and decided to buy the London Bridge for gobs of money, had it shipped over and voila! Tourist. Actually, they have a very nice riverfront all centered around the London Bridge which I am sure during non Covid is really busy fun place to be. River Island State Park very nice – which so far the AZ state parks are clean, and well designed.

Nov 6-7

 

Wild Burros

Celebrated Beth at Alamo Lake State Park. We watched the sunset on her birthday and out came a beautiful rainbow! Beth I am sure.

A nothing park way up in the desert mountains overlooking a man-made lake created by an earthen dam. Ty was so funny; he came in all upset when we were setting up camp complaining about all the horse dropping on our campsite. Thought someone tied up their horses to the BBQ. After setting up we took a walk around and noticed there was A LOT of horse poo then a sign: Beware of Wild Burros. Evidently, they like to camp too and frequent this area. We finally saw 5 of them as we were leaving.

November 8-12 unwind in Yuma

Plank Road

We made reservations for a RV park privately owned as we had a lot of “business” to take care of. We drove up to this place, had a look see and immediately drove away! It was one of the few places that did not ask for advance payment which made us suspicious. Then we drove around Yuma looking for a place to park. After the 5^th place we settled for AZ West RV Park. It was flying a Canadian flag and we surmised that it probably was a good bet we could get in since Canadians can’t get across the border right now. We were right. Typical RV “Resort” for snowbirds but not at all fancy and many older rigs waiting for the owners to return. We stayed for the week taking care of business and just relaxed.

Surprisingly Yuma had a lot to offer for the short time we were there. In this area are the Great Sand Dunes that just loom up out of the desert floor. Back in the days when cars where first started traveling across country there began the need to get across the dunes. Hence, mother of invention planks was laid down forming a “road” for travel. Only problem was it was a one car width and if you encountered another car coming at you, one of you had to back up a turn out which are very far apart to let the car pass. Needless to say, quite the traffic jam. Remnants of the plank road still exist today. Yuma downtown looked like a “happening” place, several breweries, shops, restaurants. We didn’t happen. Instead we took care of a few business items, washed Wanda and relaxed.

Unclaimed Property

Did you know (I didn’t) that if states owe you money, they keep it in an account and you have to go find it. It is pretty easy to do, just goggle the state unclaimed money and it will take you to that state website for unclaimed. Follow the prompts to see if you got any coming. I did it for Michigan and Colorado and had monies just waiting for me. Fill out the paperwork, get it notarized and snail mail.

Salton Sea

November 13-16

Salton Sea

Here is something we did not expect. Back in 1905 commercial growers envisioned that this area would become an agriculture mecca. They diverted the Colorado River just a bit for irrigation. What they didn’t plan on was a deluge of winter rains 2 years in a row that sent the river flowing in torrents following this diversion in a big way and filling up an area known as Salton Sink. SS was an ancient sea and that means that the rock around this area is mostly salt. Instead of a little water there is now a huge body of water that is 6% salter that the oceans and getting saltier every day. The area is still referred to as the Imperial Valley and it does have a lot of date palms, but the dreams of being an agriculture mecca never materializes. But what did happen is in the 50’s developers see this huge lake (largest in California) and make it a tourist mecca. They build resorts, there is boating, golfing, nightclubs, beaches, campgrounds, oh it is heaven! Big names come here Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra to name a few. However, what they don’t count on is there is little rain and the lake is evaporating (there are some streams feeding into it but not enough) and it is getting saltier and saltier and the fish are dying, and the lake is shrinking and all the fun stuff is going away. In twenty years’ time this is a ghost town. Gone are the people, the fish, the boating, the swimming, nightclubs, golf courses all of it. Only thing left is the camping.

What To Do While At the Salton Sea since fishing swimming boating out

Bombay Beach and Sacrament Mountain

Asked the ranger at the Visitor Center what to do around here. We are directed to Bombay Beach. BB use to be a huge tourist area on the Salton Sea, now it has a population of 250 who are living very cheaply in old, old trailers. Of course, we had to go see, and to our eyes it wasn’t “art” just people throwing their crap on the beach and calling it art. Some of it is very whimsical, but art – no.

Sacrament Mountain was created by some guy who got the calling to paint a mountain with all the bible sayings. I don’t know, call him crazy but people flock there to take pics (us included) and marvel at all the work this guy put into this for what? We left a donation.

SalvationMt

Ladder and Painted Canyon Hike

Ladder and Painted Canyon Trail

For the books this is the 2^nd hardest hike of our adventure. Was a real challenge to find the way into the canyon; then along comes a group that has done it before and they slipped into the crack in the wall and voila! See arrow on pic. It is only 5 miles of climbing up rocks using ladders and hand holds, walking along the slot canyon in deep sand, a mile and half walk along the ridge in the hottest sun of the day, then repelling down the canyon walls using ropes and finally the long sloshing thru sand back to trailhead. And we went early to avoid the sun ridge part but didn’t plan on how hard and long it would take us to climb up to the ridge. No complaints and Ty and I remarked that we were probably the oldest people on this trail and we made it all the way. I planned better too, had lots of water and snacks! When we got back to camp congratulating ourselves on the accomplishment; all we could muster for dinner was bourbon. 17,000 steps and 1,700 calories…Yipee!

Ranger at Visitor Center told us about this hike and I went back to tell them we did it and it was great. Turns out the Ranger never did this hike! It is rated moderate in All Trails, but we disagree.

Pointing the Way

Instead of carrions leading the way we were told to follow the arrows. Before we came upon on we were looking on the rocks for a painted arrow, then we look down and there on the ground is the arrow. Can’t miss it.

Nov 17-19 Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree Rock Formations

Definitely on our bucket list and glad we made it. Still in the desert, it is where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts overlap so the topiary is the same, sand, scrub, rocks however gone are the Saguaro, and Organ Pipes replaced by the Joshua Tree and unusual rock formations. Joshua Tree’s is a cross between a cactus and pine tree with very long needles (it is actually a succulent) and it only grows in this area. Park initially was a National Monument and in 1994 was designated as a National Park. There is a valley in this area called the Hidden Valley and was used by cattle rustlers. We hiked into that area, another crack in the wall to get in and this whole area of a valley surrounded by huge rock formations appeared before us. Obvious why cattle rustlers hid out here. Also hiked up to a mine, still am in awe at these miners that hiked in for miles for gold. Rest of the hikes were the short tourist types to look at the very unusual rock formations.

Tent Camping

THE GOOD WIFE: made camping reservations for Joshua, then the day before we were to show up we get a call wanting to know how big our rig is. Turns out Wanda is too big to maneuver the roadways in the campground. The park ranger was so nice as we explained that we have no place to store Wanda for the 3 nights and she made arrangements for us to park in the Horse Campground. Ty was estatic…finally he gets to use all the tenting gear we have been lugging around. Parked Wanda loaded up all the gear and headed for our original campsite.

I really tried to be a good wife tent camper as I know this is what Ty really wanted to do. However, I will say that this is definitely the last time I tent camp. First of all, you have to bring an enormous amount of “stuff” with you just to survive 3 nights. Blankets, pillows, sleeping mats, flashlights, warm clothes, more blankets, then daytime clothes, pots and pans, dishes, eating utensils, stuff to wash it with, food (more on that later) and water. LOTS OF WATER. Of course, we had to go and buy 2 Styrofoam (sorry Janis) coolers because we don’t have any coolers, jugs of water, ice everyday;  gawd it just goes on and on! Dinners consisted of the feezed dried concoctions and actually they are really tasty or I was just really hungry (and cold) that even the desert sand would be good – and there was plenty of that in our food. See?

Now for the fun part…getting out of the tent in the morning resulted me in a downward dog position, then a forward bend for about 10 minutes before my back finally released and I could stand up. The nights were really cold, sitting by the campfire all bundled up then the thought of going into the tent and shedding clothing to get into sleeping bags was not looked forward to. Once all snuggled into the sleeping bag precariously perched on a blow-up mattress pad which son-in-law Scotty declared: “once you sleep on this mattress you will never want to sleep in your regular bed again”. Don’t know what he smokes but that never crossed my mind. Suffered thru 2 nights at 40 degrees and windy (had to use ear plugs so not to hear the rain fly flapping) with wearing a winter hat, socks, and blankets over my head when I had to admit to Ty that this is not for me. We spent the last night in Wanda at the Horse Camp. Lovely.

Catalina Hot Springs RV view

DESERT HOT SPRINGS CA

I am so geographically challenged sometimes. I always assumed that Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Thousand Palms were on the coast (which is our final destination this year). I was surprised to find out that these places were no more than a hour drive from Joshua Tree, NOT on the coast and that was good because we are in need of a place to just hunker down, regroup (laundry) and stay away from people since Covid is spiking everywhere.

This area has a lot of RV parks for the snowbirds of all sorts; the big ritzy age restricted ones ($$$$) and the family ones ($$$) and the permanent trailer parks ($$), and a Dell Webb Sun City which is HUGE. We settled for the family style which is more in line with our comfort and pocketbook style. Catalina RV Park and Hot Springs – which is a nice soaked pool that I have taken up on most days/night.

Meet Tamera and Bob Hanson

Have met a very nice couple who are down here till March but have the same distancing values that we have. We meet at each other rigs for early cocktails (dark here by 5pm), sitting 6ft or greater from each other, don’t share food or drinks with exception of shots of coconut Tequila which is kicker. Tamera and Bob Hanson and they hail from Big Bear Ca, but like us have sold it all and will hit the road for traveling around come March. Actually, they were full-timers for about 8 years, then went back into home ownership for awhile and are now back at it full time. Fun couple and we are glad to make their acquaintance as we are a little starved to talk to someone different for a change up.

Palm Oasis

This area has a lot of what is called Palm Oasis. Hiked into an area that is desert and then all of a sudden come upon an Oasis. Pretty cool. Ty likes to call these palms hula palms

Thanksgiving

A quiet one for sure, made Cornish hens, pumpkin pie, green beans, a jellied cranberry sauce and crescent rolls. Hung the Christmas decorations while dinner cooked.

Then spent the afternoon in the Hot Springs, soaking up all the goodness. We were thankful that we were able to have such a wonderful life during all this turmoil, that we have seen some incredible, beautiful USA, that our family is healthy and safe..

Will be staying here till Dec 4 then head over to the coast for our final destination of 2020.

Picture Gallery to End With

Forgive me for all the pictures – we found this area so beautiful and at every turn had our cameras out taking another. Just had to share them here.

juniper joshua tree organ pipe Saguaro JoshuaTree and Yucca Saguaro Forest great sand dunes

Family Fun Day

 With Family

Spent the first 10 days still with Amy and family using most of the time to make doctor appointments for January. Mostly just the routine stuff, eye, dentist, and general doctor stuff. The exception is Ty does need to have carpal tunnel surgery which will keep us in Colorado at least for the month of January. For myself, my knee/hip is bothering me so I have a couple of appointments with specialist to see what is going on there.

For the most part pretty routine at Amy’s but we were kicked out as Kody, Scotty’s niece was coming in to spend time with them and ours was the only available bed. Actually, we were anxious to get on the road again and to get out of all the smoke.

Meet the Broomes

Margie Paul Broome Centennial Trail

First stop was in a very rustic, small camp in New Castle Co where we met newly acquired friends, Margie and Paul Broome. These really nice people are the parents of Sara Broome, who is “besties” with Amy. For years the girls have been trying to get us together and finally we did. Turns out the Broomes are nearly retired, sold their home in Basalt and plan on hitting the RV trail in the spring – so we had a lot in common. Wish them well

A great hike, Centennial Trail, while in New Castle, enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Monticello

Old West RV

Several times we’ve been to Moab, Arches, Needles and Canyonlands and decided to stay out of the most tourist populated areas especially Moab since there was a bike rally taking place. Found a real mom and pop RV park Old West RV Park in Monticello to get oriented and the check out the BLM camping. Monticello is small and hit hard by the Covid. Most places are closed, only open is 1 gas station, post office, bank, 1 Chinese restaurant, 1 campground, small food store and a hardware. It is sad really. Old West is a fun park – owner, Jimmy, puts on a “shootin’ show” to entertain his customers in the evening. Uses a 45 Colt, John Wayne edition. Ty looks good huh?

Dry Camping Canyonlands

Made a solar upgrade to Wanda and we were anxious to try it out. BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camp spots were calling to us, but after checking a few out, we decided we were too big to take Wanda down these well-traveled not maintained which equals BUMPY rock-strewn roads. So we settle for a National Forest Campground, Sugarbowl, and got the most primo spot! See pics. Secluded, huge, and cheap for seniors – $7.50 a night!

 

Camp Views

The night sky is just unbelievable, and we hit it during a no moon phase for 3 nights. The Milky Way is incredible and spreads from horizon to horizon. Shooting stars galore however only a few satellites. Did I mention how dark it was? And for the first time not one camper had a light on all night. Thank you campers who know how to camp in the dark 🙂

Hiking Canyonlands

Canyon Riverbed Cairns point the way First Day Hike Map of hikes 3rd Day View 3rd Day View Top of Slickrock Climb Up

Really can’t put into words the great views we had on our hikes. Nature at its finest!

We hike all 3 days we were there, weather was perfect, in the 70’s. First day did a couple of short hikes for 2.5 miles, 2^nd day was the bike hard hike up and over slickrock down into river bed then up and over again, 7.5 miles – 5 hours and last day was a short scenic hike mostly on top of slickrock for the most spectacular views – 2.4 miles.

Ty Chimes in about Canyonlands

Canyonlands is by far my favorite National Park.  Many of you are probably familiar with it but for those of you who are not…the park is divided into 3 sections.  The Maze accessible only by a high clearance Jeep often described as one of the most inhospitable places in North America.  Island in the Sky locate near Moab, Utah has wonderful rock formations and a series of roads leading to an overlook thousands of feet above the convergence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Finally, the Needles section about 65 miles south of Moab.  The Needles is the opposite of Island in the Sky where you may spend time hiking into deep canyons looking up at the rock formations.  The Needles is where I like to hike.  All three of these sections are located in a desert environment with few basic services like gas and food.  The Needles and Island have visitor centers where you can refill your water and maybe pick up some weak WIFI.  Hiking is done on slick rock, very smooth rock that is extremely stable when dry but apparently slick when wet.  Because the trail is on rock, they use cairns, small piles of rocks, to mark the trails.  When the trail gets steep, we tell ourselves to “trust your boots”.  Anyway, it is a unique environment and a unique way to hike.

A couple of years ago I camped in the Needles section by myself, I told Jane and Amy that there would be no cell service so don’t expect to hear from me for a few days.  So, what happens, a few days later a ranger finds me in a remote campground to tell me my family is worried about me…he says this happens often and we both had a chuckle from it.  I traveled to the visit center later that day to make a call and alleviate their concern.  Jane disputes this version of my story but I am sticking to it.

Whether you are interested in a hike or just a drive it’s a great park to visit.  Ty

Gooseneck Point        State Park

Gooseneck Point SP Gooseneck Point

We went to this park mainly to try out the solar dry camping which turns out that although it is labeled a State Park it has no facilities. Little did we expect that we would be camping on the rim of the Gooseneck canyon! Few other campers around, it was really hot on top of the world, and at night it was so dark you could not see 3 feet from the campfire.

Our campfire was about 5 feet away from the edge and I kiddingly told Ty that I was going to chain him to the bed at night because he does sleepwalk! Actually, Ty has come down with vertigo, which if you are familiar with this strange phenomenon, it comes and goes. One minute he is fine, then wham is really dizzy; of course, while camping here at night he stands up and wobbles like a webble. In a way, I wasn’t kidding about the chains.

We didn’t hike much because Ty (always Ty have you noticed?) got a bad blister on his foot from new boots when we hiked in the Canyonlands. We spent the 2 days here driving around the area and I took short hikes (while Ty waited in car) up to Pueblo ruins. Went to the San Juan river to look at the beautiful fall colors for a lunchbreak then toured Fort Bluff that has a outdoor replica of how the fort looked when first settled. Only one building is original however the rest were put back to their original states for the purpose of the museum.

San Juan River

History: Hole in the Rock

Hole in the Rock

I always related this phrase to cowboy outlaws but in Bluff UT it refers to 258 crazy Mormons whom traveled 250 miles from Escalante UT to Bluff to help with the Indian relations (that is how it is described at Fort Bluff – think it means convert?). There was not a road to Bluff which means they had to navigate their own way.

They come to the canyons formed by the San Juan river and it is a 2,000-foot descent. What do they do? Build a road on the shelf of the rock face and ride down a sheer 45-degree drop. With the back wheels chained so they only slid, men and women hanging onto ropes down they go. Story has it that the horses balked at the trip until one of the team has a pair of horses that are blind so they can’t see. These horses went down first, the others reluctantly followed. Took them 14 days to get 258 people, 83 wagons, 2000 other animals down this treacherous “road”. The shelf had enough room for the wheels on one side of the wagon but not the other. These pioneers drill holes into the rock face, then inserted logs which created the other side of the road. And that’s what they went down. Yippee!

Petrified Forest Natural Park Arizona

PetrifriedForest Painted Desert

Off we went to Holbrook for couple of nights at the OK RV Park – it’s ok. More importantly we went to Petrified Forest Natural Park and it was a delightful surprise. Reviews said if you’ve seen one petrified log you’ve seen them all. Must be a “young ‘um” who wrote that review as it is much more than petrified logs. Turns out this National Park reside in the Painted Desert which is indescribable. Park which was designated as a NP in 1906 thanks to John Muir and good ole Teddy Roosevelt!

The petrification happens this way: tree dies, eventually falls into water (river), absorbs a lot of water until it eventually becomes covered in silt. There is remains for thousands of years all the while the inners are turning into rock. Then an upheaval happens and the logs rise up out of the ground (did you know rocks float? And now this tree IS a rock) and in the process they crack and break. And these cracks look just like someone has taken a chain saw and cut them up. One of my favorite pictures look just like this.

Not all of the trees become crystals, some become jasper and therefore look just like wood. But some are beautiful crystals. The Pueblo’s used these crystals to make arrow head points. Wonder what they thought about all these logs turned to stone. I could not help but think of Lots wife turned into a pillar of salt. I know, where do I come up with this stuff?

Ya gotta love REI!

Ty bought some new boots before we left CO but the hike in the Canyonlands proved these boots and his feet were not compatible. The nearest town that has a REI was Flagstaff so we traveled there and stayed at just ok RV camp, Greers. Staff was friendly enough and it was a good place to hunker down while in a horrific wind storm (gust up to 50mph) and temps dropped down to the 30’s and it even snowed! Went to REI to get him some new boots, actually exchange them even though they have been worn. That’s why REI is so great. Too bad we are not doing bars, restaurants or museums as Flagstaff looked like the cutest town as we drove around.

Tuscon

Did you know that Tuscon is home to the graveyard of old planes? Thousands of them! The road that borders the graveyard is called Airplane Boneyard…so fitting.

Also, when a wind storm kicks up IT IS DUSTY!! I should say SANDY.

But when the moon rises over the mountains all is forgotten.

Saguaro National Park

tall cactus more cactus Javalina tall cactus

…is actually a forest of cactus! It is through the foresight of the citizens of the area to recognize that with the overgrazing of cattle who trampled the cactus would result in the Saguaro Cactus to become extinct. In 1913 the petitioning to make this area a National Park began, which finally happened in 1994, although it was a National Monument before that. Saguaro Cactus are only found predominately in Southwest Arizona. Average life span of these beauties is 150-200 years and they don’t start to grow their arms until after 20 years. We took a 4 mile, very hot no shade, cactus loop hike marveling at all of the cactus in this forest: Saguaro, Chain Fruit, Barrel. Hedgehog, Prickly Pears, Teddybear. We tried to find them all.

Fort Huachuca

Memory lane time for Ty as he was stationed at Huachuca for basic training. Base is still active, covers 70,000 acres. He didn’t want to tour the base, so we drove by and he told stories of his days here. We decided to take a hike at Kitchener State Park as they have a cave there and we were going to risk it and take a tour. Unfortunately, the tour was full so we just had to hike. Another hot one here but worth the time as again all the cactus and wildlife we saw. Grouse, a Roadrunner, and Javelina (there were 2).

OOPSIES of October

• Ty hit his head for I think the 4^th time on the hitch. Nice cut but no stitches needed
• I made reservations for Dead Horse State Park – when we arrived, I failed to notice that it was for the Dead Horse in Utah (we are in Arizona). Fortunately, they had a spot for one night which we grabbed.
• For the second time this month, I opened the refrigerator after traveling and the carton of eggs came spilling out. This time I scooped them up and we had scrambled eggs every morning.
• Coming back to our camp from Fort Huachuca we were listening to a book on tape (Poachers Son – highly recommend) and didn’t notice that we missed our turn AND we were ignoring google maps because we just couldn’t understand why it wanted us to go down these dirt roads. Okay, we see a sign “Nogales 3 miles”. Nogales!!! THAT IS RIGHT ON THE BORDER OF MEXICO. Oh boy – we are way out of our way.

Happy Halloween

As I close this it is 31^st of October – one of my favorite holidays and sad that I am missing all the activities that will take place today/night. Haven’t missed a Halloween with the family in 14 years!!! Amy has stringed bags of candy on lights in front of house for the treaters, kids set up a photo booth in the garage to take pics. So instead of dressing up Ty and I are going to take the trash to the dumpster after dark and look for rattlesnakes. Oh fun!

August finds us in Upstate New York

This is the 9th time we have traveled with my brother Will and Pam. As before it is always an adventure with lots to do and see and this is no exception. We hooked up in Albany NY on the 3^rd of August and spent the entire month traveling to the Catskills, then down the St. Lawrence Seaway, into Lake Ontario region, wound through the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain, up to Lake Erie along Marblehead, Ohio,, then into Michigan for some chicken dinner before ending our trip in the Upper Peninsula (September).

 

Ingenious Brother

For the life of me can’t figure out why we never thought of this trick – listen up you campfire people. We really had a string of very bad wood. It would light up, then just smolder. No about of fanning or blowing on it would produce a fire worth sitting around UNTIL brother Will drags out the extension cord with a fan attached and that put an end to the smokies. Now the protocol for every fire is lots of kindling (provided by Bunyan Ty), a firestarter, big stack of wood tepee style, and the fan. We settle in with after dinner drinks, blankets, and lay back on our chairs and watch the night sky. Perfect way to end the evenings.

StJamesWaterloo Swim Lk Ontario

This area is beautiful and if I ever want to “settle” someplace for the summer, this would be it. But of course, it is way too far from family and friends, way too far to make travel convenient but upstate NY sure is a beauty.

 

Brothers Rig Kitty

Brother also upgraded his rig this year and now travels with Kitty.

And roaming the campgrounds as we do looking at all the rigs, came across this one that looks just like the one my parents had 40 years ago!

Did you know that Jamestown is the birthplace of Lucille Ball? Much of our adventure stems from the movie: “The Long Long Trailer” starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. So naturally we had to pay our respects to Lucy. Visiting cemeteries is not our normal thing to do, but come on, it’s open, free, and one of the few things we can do during covid. Visiting her gravesite is actually a tourist attraction as the cemetery has red hearts painted on the pavement to lead the way.

65!

Pam turned 65 this August and we celebrated in style (of course!). Decorated the camper with streamers and wore party hats/glasses.

I love a good birthday celebration!!!!

Rode Out The Storm

Isaias came thru and rocked the rigs a bit and pelted us with rain for the night. Now we can say we were in a hurricane!

State Capital of New York

Trying to stay with our adventure bucket list, we did a “drive by” of New York’s state capital which is in Albany.

Very unusual building for a state capital.

Visit with Ohio Friends

 

And what would our adventure be if we didn’t meet up with some old friends from long ago – Pam and Tom Lovitt. They were neighbors of ours when we lived in Huron Ohio, and we got together at their son’s marina, Gem Harbor on Catawba Island. I’ve said it before, and here I am saying it again…it was like no time has passed as the conversation was easy and fun. And I am glad that Tom finally “fessed up” that he and another drank all my scotch one night long ago. That’s ok Tom, couldn’t think of a better person to share with.

Fried Chicken….Family Style (sing this to the Beverly Hillbillies song)

As we quickly moved up Michigan to get to the Upper Peninsula, we just had to stop in at Frankenmuth for some “famous” fried chicken. Then as we got closer to the UP we stopped at Gobblers for turkey. Okay, we got all the foul in 24 hours that I could take.

Ever see a Lake Freighter?

Very impressive. At our campsite right on the St Mary’s River, Sault St Marie MI we watched these behemoths traverse down the river. Saw 4 freighters in all, which is very lucky as days can go by with no boats coming to the locks. The ocean and lake freighters and large river barges need to traverse the river going to and returning from ports in all the Great Lakes so the variety of boats is not usual to see. Fun sight!

That’s all for August

I will say this when with the brother, we are on the constant go – which don’t get me wrong is fun as I really like to be active but even, I have had to ask for a “do nothing” day.

Our travels this year was to initially go into Canada to Nova Scotia and that area, but covid has changed all that. We really didn’t have a travel destination in mind when we decided to hook up in Albany and go where the wind blows us. Turns out our travels opened our eyes to the beautiful upstate New York area.

August sped past and we head into September with Will and Pam for another 10 days. More to come on that later. But gosh, the New York portion has been spectacular. We rode our bikes on Rails to Trails, hiked more than Will likes to, did a tourist stop somewhere every day, made some terrific dinners between us (we have only eaten out maybe eight times), celebrated Pam’s 65^th birthday, cocktails every evening and some great night sky watching. We hit the meteor shower perfectly, saw at least 4 satellite every night. The weather was perfect, very little rain, couple of boomer thunderstorms in the night.

Detail of August Spent With Will and Pam

If you are interested in the details, these are all the places we went. Pretty boring read but since this is my journal I like to keep it in one place.

Albany: being our base camp for a few days we explored the Adirondack Mountains. Since Ty and I were there the month before, we took W&P to areas that we found and hiked.

Lewis: still in the Adirondack area, but in the northern part closer to Lake Champlain. Celebrated Pam’s 65 birthday in Lake Placid, one busy town. Trying to imagine what it was like there for the 2 Olympics, 1932 and 1980. Towns didn’t build the big infrastructures like they do now, rather actually scatter the different events to different areas, Lake Placid being the center stage. Again, a lot of hiking. Did you know that on March 6, 1998 Prez Clinton signed a bill that in it had a line declaring Lake Champlain to be a Great Lake! It was rescinded on March 24, 1998. Billy, you didn’t read the fine print!

Massena: We now turned our attention to the St. Lawrence Seaway and decided to make our way “upstream” (west). NY has the most beautiful State Parks to camp in, although it is electric hook up only so we did not stay many consecutive days in one spot. Our campsite was right on the Seaway and it was a lovely shaded place to stay during an incredible heat wave. Watch the lake and ocean freighters pass by on their way to the Eisenhower Locks which was also right at campsite view. Biked around the park and up to the locks.

Henderson: Continuing our upstream run we camped again right on the mouth of SLS and Lake Ontario. Again, just a beautiful place to camp, although this was a private campground. Ty, Pam and I swam in Lake Ontario; water so warm! Ty and I can now have bragging rights that we have swam in all 5 Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario). Took a ferry tour up the river a bit and toured of the the two remaining castles constructed in 1905.

Ovid: Sampson State Park: this campground was originally a Naval and Air Force training facility. It was established in 1941, took 270 days to build the entire compound, housing and barracks, hospital, jail, training facility and landing strip. First used as a Naval training facility during WWII then as a Air Force training for the Korean War. The grounds are massive and just a few original buildings (the brig (jail) remain) today. A portion has been converted into a Marina and Campground which have very spacious spaces. The rest has gone back to nature with a few hiking and biking trails remain where the barracks and such once existed.

Jamestown: we find ourselves camped at Peachies which is a privately owned campground, very small with only 2 transient sites available as the rest are permanent summer residents. It is located right on Lake Chautauqua; Chautauqua is Native American meaning bag with middle tied as that is what the lake looks like. Wondering how they knew that without an aerial view? The fame for this lake is the Chautauqua Institute. For those in CO, you may be familiar with Chautauqua in Boulder which is actually a spin off of the NY C. The original intent was to be an educational learning center for Sunday School Teachers. Then over the years has morphed into an overall encompassing learning center for the arts, for specific sports (tennis and sailing), current event and/or political lectures, music, theatre. We rode our bikes on campus, which you have to get a pass and there was a 4 hour time limit. Of course, nothing is open but it was good to see the campus of higher learning.

Marblehead Ohio: the drive is easy and uneventful but kind of sad as we left the beautiful surroundings of New York and pasted thru a spit of Pennsylvania and into flat, tree less Ohio. We use to live in Huron Ohio so we did spend some time doing a drive by of the house, going to the beach, passing my old knitting store, now a laundry mat, and our favorite place to go on a Friday night, The Sand Bar. This was a place that made great pizza, kids welcomed and just a good ole place. Our waitress was from the area, grew up going with parents to the place, worked there in college, is now married and working there still.

Frankenmuth MI: chicken dinner! This is what Frankenmuth is known for and we decided that we needed to stop for the night while driving up to Upper Michigan. Nothing better than a family style chicken dinner which is enough food for another night’s dinner – left over style.

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan – Soo Locks is where we camped for 2 nights

Work on blog Last Ocean Swim

Want to thank all of you who have expressed concerned for us resuming our travels.

We have revised our mode of travel and no longer take any tours (where open), no Ubers or taxis, only eat in a restaurant outside at an end table where people are not walking past us. Of course, state capitals are closed so where we can we do drive-by, but are not going out of way to view them.

While in campground we stay to ourselves, not inviting surrounding campers to visit us.

That means a lot of biking, hiking, walking and driving around. And of course, wearing our masks always!

Last swim on Lk MI

Last Swim

Got Wanda all packed up and ready to go, but it was such a nice morning that we decided one last swim in the warm, clear Lake Michigan was in order. Nothing compares to swimming in the Great Lakes and we have swam in all 5 of them.

Back to Grand Design – Are You Kidding Me?

After we left Muskegon (boo hoo) we decided to head east to at least see some of the New England States even if the Nova Scotia trip was canceled. Just a little detour to have them look at the squeak (again for the 4^th time!), this time 2 people came out and greased the bearings in places where we would never should have looked.  It was an extremely hot day while we waited and the VP of Grand Design, Don Clark came out with ice cream. Nice gesture but wish he could have fixed our squeak. Anyway, Chris and Jay greased away and told us to drive about 300 miles to get the grease nice and distributed and that should take care of problem.

Not so – we drove 393 miles to Parker Dam, set up and the squeak was even louder than before.

Will return to Grand Design Sept 14.

 

GD parking lot – again

Parker Dam State Park PA

Ohio Turnpike is to be avoided at all cost – not only expensive, $42 ouch worth, but the worst road we have ever encountered! All the pot holes, the cracks, the upheavals that I got a little carsick. Poor Wanda had her teeth shook loose (where does that expression come from?).

All I can say is Ohio has nice service centers and even RV overnight places which we couldn’t fit into because we are too big. Nice thought tho. Instead we pulled into where the truckers park, and crawled into bed.

Parker Dam was a beautiful state park albeit not the typical state park. It has a campground, and beach area all located next to dam but it was all on privately owned property meaning passing thru the area was open to everyone. We took couple of short hikes, even shorter bike ride. Stayed 2 nights.

Catskills New York

See Gorilla face St John Ukrainian Catskills Cats

Ever wonder how Catskills got it’s name? The name Catskill is derived from the Dutch Kaaterskill (“Wildcat Creek”), as one of the better-known nearby streams is called.

This is a beautiful area, mountainous, thick woods, lively streams. It was 4^th of July weekend and packed with people everywhere NOT wearing masks. Even the most popular hike to the Kaaterskill Falls was closed to contain the people. We opted to drive around and view the area. Came across St John Ukrainian Church tucked away on the mountain side. All wood very unique structure

Biked 22 miles on Ashokamd Reservoir Rails to Trails path. Lovely, but we haven’t ridden in awhile and my butt was telling me so. Short drive into Catskills, quaint town, and everywhere were these statues of cats all decorated cute. And an advertisement for EX-LAX right over the H&R Block establishment. See the irony in that?

Exlax and HR Block Ashkamd Reservoir 1st table sparklers This is FIREWORKS last sparklers again

4^th of July Fireworks

THE BEST

I love a good fireworks display and the campground we stayed in, Brookside, was very proud to let us know that they were having fireworks right across from our site in the Pavilion area! Yippee!! We set ourselves up with our lawn chairs. Now this campground was probably 99% Hispanic and Native American (guess we were really outnumbered). Big families having a great  4^th,  playing soccer, having picnics and then dinner all in the pavilion area. It was heartwarming to watch these families having such a good time in this crisis like nothing was amiss. Anyway, fireworks time and the camp host set up a table full of large sparklers and set them off. They flamed away for about 30 minutes and we thought, okay that was nice. THEN came the big guns and they had a firework display that would rival any city. And they were shooting off right over our heads! This first one that went off, Ty takes off running and I duck down as we were not expecting this. That went on for about 45 minutes. Now this is a private campground putting on this display. When that finished, each of the families (about 5 in all) one at a time then had their own display. This were huge 6-10ft sparklers that burned for about 15 minutes each. And they didn’t just light off one, they lit off multiples. That lasted about another 45 minutes. It is nearing midnight and then it is time for the M80’s. I loved every minute of it as I love a good show!

mt wash trail

Mount Washington

Check off Bucket List

The next few paragraphs are coming from TY

The only thing I really wanted to do when we visited New England was hike Mt. Washington so the following is a summary of that experience but first a few words about the mountain.  It is 6,288 feet tall, the tree line starts at 4,400 feet, it holds the record for the highest wind velocity without a tornado, 231 MPH in 1934, the most snow in a 24 hour period of 49 inches in 1969; over the years several hundred people have died while hiking the mountain most by exposure.  In other words, it is a powerful, by Colorado standards, small mountain.

Everyone who knows Jane knows that she always has a plan, plan A, a plan B and occasionally plan C.  All of these plans are usually good although I have to admit that at times, I don’t really know which plan we are following.  Anyway, her plan for hiking Washington was to do the first 2 miles up with me and then she would turn around while I continued on.  Turns out that the trail to the top was 4 miles so as she was heading back down, she decided to implement plan B and rather than hike 2 miles down she would just hike the remainder of the 2 miles up to the top with me.  Turns out this was not one of her better plans.  So, we both hiked up the Ammonoosuc trail which is very steep rock/bolder covered for its entire length.   To say that Jane was exhausted would be an understatement.  Check out the trail pictures it is nothing like we ever encountered before particularly for such a long stretch. We eventually made it to an Appalachia trail cabin where we could rest, refill our water and buy food.  We then had another mile and a half of rock-strewn steep trail to the top.  The good part of Jane’s plan B was to take the cog railway down which she was able to do.  I then continued down the Jewel trail for another 4 miles which was supposed to be easier than the ascent trail, it wasn’t, just more of the same.  In total, 8 miles in 8 hours most difficult 8-mile trail ever.

Ty

 

Lake of the Clouds

Crab Walk

Have you ever crabbed walked up a mountain – well, I am not ashamed to say that’s what I did while following plan B. This is one of the times I wish I had stuck with plan A for a variety of reasons.

1. Since I was originally only going to go a little bit up the trail, I did not pack ANY food.
2. Since I was originally going to go a little bit up the trail, I did not read up on the trail or the difficulty rating (extreme)
3. Since I was originally only going to go a little bit up the trail, I had a light breakfast knowing that I had packed a BIG lunch to eat while I was supposed to wait for Ty.
4. Since I was originally only going to go a little bit up the trail, I did not have ANY warm weather or rain clothes with me.
5. Since I was originally only going to go a little bit up the trail, I only filled my camel back ½ with water.

I literally made every mistake possible and actually feel very lucky that I made it to the top. Thank the Lord for the Cog down.

I actually decided to continue up the mountain because I really did turn around at the 2 mile mark, got about 800 ft down but I was so dizzy and the boulders so big that I thought I had a very good chance of falling and really hurting myself. I called Ty (amazing that we had cell service) and told him I was coming back up and would hike to the end. I did not tell him that I was dizzy. We get to about the 2.5-mile mark and the boulders were huge and I was so dizzy that I started to crab walk up the boulders. This went on for an eternity until Ty finally says: “Jane, that looks really hard, why don’t you just stand up?” Confession time. Okay, I continue on crab style and am starting to stop every 20 steps or so. I am exhausted. Ty says: “Jane, why don’t you rest and eat something?” Confession time – no food. I know Ty is really not happy with me, but hey remember those wedding vows “for better or worse?” and I know he has food (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – 2 to be exact). But I am not asking for any, I am not begging, just waiting to see if he will take pity on me. After maybe a football field length he does break down and gives me a ½ of one of his sandwiches. He was probably thinking that if I passed out and had to be medevacked out, that I would rat him out for holding out on nourishment – and I would have too!

 

Cog to the Rescue!

It took me well over 5 hours, 3,282 calories burn, to go the 4.5 miles to the top. Took and hour just to go .5 mile once we reached the cabin at the 4-mile mark. Found the Cog, paid $51 (the best $51 dollars I ever spent), and rode 45 minutes back to base and my BIG lunch.

Needless to say, but will say it anyway, by far the hardest hike I have ever done and I don’t intend to repeat anything like that anytime soon.

Cog -my savior Aunt Kate Tim

Aunt Kate

We had the pleasure of meeting Scottys’ Aunt Kate while we were in NH. Never have met them (husband Tim too) before and it turned out to be a wonderful visit, 3 times! Kate and Tim live in this very nice condo community that had a wooded courtyard set up so we could stay at our distance. Kate also lent us a lot of literature about the area of Franconia Notch, Mt Washington, and the Green Mountains which was so helpful and pointed us in the right direction for hikes.

Thanks Aunt Kate!  It was wonderful to meet you and Tim. Love your place and can see why you live there in the summer.  Hope this winter is not too brutal for you.

view from fire tower

Lake Winnipesauka

After a two-day recovery we venture onward again to Meredith NH, site of the largest lake, Winnipesauka, in New Hampshire. And it is absolutely beautiful. Hiked up the Red Hill Fire Tower trail for outstanding views.

Portsmouth

Off to Portsmouth getting to the Atlantic Ocean and back into some history lessons. Great town to walk around, but unfortunately for us we are in a heat wave and walking around in 98 degrees is not for us. We did “tour” around a bit but actually headed for the docks for lobster rolls. Yum

Best Place for Lobster Rolls

Ate My Way Through Boston

Quick jaunt drive from Portsmouth, again another very hot day 95. Did the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail although it did take us about 5 hours since it was so hot that we made many stops to rest, refresh and eat (Italian pastries at Mikes). And Italian dinner in a quaint outdoor café in the heart of the North End where many Italian immigrants settled.

Cannolli’s Social Distancing Appetizers StreetsofBoston donkey

Why the Donkey?

“In 1828, Andrew Jackson established the Democratic party and ran for president using the popular slogan, “Let the people rule” His opponents thought him silly and labeled him a “jackass”. Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. Over the years this donkey had become the accepted symbol of the Democratic party.”

PaulRevere

Horse Statue Trivia

If the horse has both front feet off the ground, the rider died in battle.

If the horse has only one front foot off the ground, the rider died of wounds suffered in battle.

If the horse has all fours touching the ground, the rider died of natural causes.

Off Tip of Cape RI Campsite Mansion on Cliff Trail Hydrangeas

Cape Cod

The state flower is the Violet but it should be the Hydrangeas because they are everywhere and the most color is blue which occurs naturally because of the soil chemistry.

Still in the heat wave, but moved to Cape Cod where it was still incredible hot and crowded. Stayed at a campground that the site was so tight we couldn’t put our awnings out – thankfully we only had someone stay next to us for 2 nights.  I mean you were so close you could hear people in the next rig over eat.

“The Cape” as it is referred to now relies on tourist interested in the Gilded Age (1870-1900)– which is when all the very expensive mansions were built by the Robber Barons who used union busting, fraud, intimidation, violence and their extensive political connections to gain advantage. They were relentless in their efforts to amass wealth while exploiting workers and ignoring standard busines rules and often the law! Andrew Carnegie, JD Rockefeller and Henry Frick.  I suppose these will be the next statues to come down or names on building to be changed. And they are still exploiting all these clueless people who tour the mansions at $50 a piece!

We found no history on the origins of Newport, however, since we are not going to museums and not taking any tours, we relied on the closed visitor center to provide us guidance on what to see and do while on the Cape. Thus, we took a “Cliff Walk” that winds around the cliffs of the Atlantic and gives one views of the mansions.  It was 3 miles of rocky terrain with sheer cliffs. No for the faint of heart. Because of heat we mostly explored by car, going to the 2 lighthouses and various beaches which were packed with people so we didn’t stop.

Barre Vermont

Last stop for the month we choose Vermont. Wanted to do some more serious hiking and biking before we hit the donut trail with brother Will and bride in August. Stayed at the most beautiful little friendly (owner) campground. A ma and pop (actually to gay guys) operation. Hike 2 times, Stowe Pinnacle (straight up of course) and Moss Glen Falls. Both just a little over 4 miles however extremely rocky. Biked Island Line Trail out of Burlington; very nice ride that followed an old train track that connected South Hero, Grand Isle and Rock Island to Vermont via Lake Champlain. Last day Ty hiked Mt. Mansfield, highest peak in Vermont.

Moss Glen Falls

The Mishaps

What you’ve all been waiting for – what went wrong this month?

I exercise outdoors usually and part of that exercise is laying on ground doing crunches, sit-ups, etc. Here I am trying to get my exercise in before we pick up camp and move to RI; I notice some type of rubber hose hanging out from below the truck. Neither Ty nor I are mechanics and could not figure out what this hose does, decided to leave and keep an eye on the gauges, which they didn’t budge the whole trip to RI, but what are these hoses for?

David Saves Us

On our way to RI, just at the exit before a 1-mile bridge we had another blow-out. Same side, but the other tire. Able to exit and pull over by the side of road where 2 workmen were doing some plumbing work on a vacant gas station. Once stopped one of the guys, David, comes over and tells us he can change our tire, that he has all the equipment. And he did! He did not want anything, but of course we had to give him a few bucks for his effort. Thank you, David,!!!

David who changed our tire

Merrily We Go Round About

Just before we pulled away, we did the “do we have any lights on the back of rig” check and we did not. Good ole internet directed us to a RV repair close by, we call. They can’t get us in until Aug 2! MMMM, not going to work; we decide to go to our next destination and try and find a repair from there. We are merrily driving along and hit this round about (the east is full of them) when the RV place calls back and tells us ”if we can get there within the hour, they will squeeze us in!” While I am talking to the RV place, Ty now continues to go around and around and around in the round about! Think we circled 8 times while I tried to figure out with Google maps how far away we were which was a feat because Google maps kept rerouting me as we kept circling! Turns out we were ½ mile away. So spent the afternoon spending money.

While waiting for RV repair, we went to GM dealership. Turns out it is a vent hose, no problem just uses a zip tie to put it back in place – no charge. Whew.

Water Falls

Sitting outside working on the blog, my sister wants to Duo (it is like Zoom) – I put my phone up by my computer so I can see her and maybe type a little too. It is starting to drizzle and Ty, bless his heart, decides to put the awning out so I will be protected since it is a small passing storm. As the awning extends all this water (we forgot that it poured about 3 hours earlier) from the awning came crashing down on me, the phone, and dumped into the computer keyboard. I let out a scream and Ty, curse him, says “Quit screaming and move!” He wasn’t the one with the surprise shower on his head. Thankfully, we were able to save the computer (thanks to brother in law Mark who’s retired from fire restoration for his instructions how to dry out computer), dumped out the water and put it in front of a fan all night. Seems to have done the trick although the left-hand bottom corner of screen has some water in it. Phone is fine. I dried out too.

Toilet Revisited

Lastly, remember the toilet incident from last year? How it took forever to get a replacement seat to fit correctly. Well, it is cracked at the hinge and now it slams down and I get a little ride when sitting. How does it get a crack in it? I’ve got to loose some weight I guess.

August

August we will be in New York starting out in Albany. This is the 9^th (?) annual RV trip with brother Will and bride Pam. Looking forward to socializing albeit 6 feet.

 

Shelter in Place Has its Positives

When I saw this quilt display in the Shipshewana Visitor Center it reminded me of family and friends and how we are all connected and intertwined, especially now during this Covid Crisis.  It also gave me the start for this blog since June was a month spent mainly with family and a  few friends.

First 2 weeks we spent with Amy, Scotty, Ty, Tessa, Avery, Jaden and Lacie.  This time we even had our own room WITH A DOOR as their house has been completed and they moved back in. This has been the positive about Shelter in Place cause we got to hunker down with the fam, not go anywhere or do anything. We did manage to connect with a few friends from Anthem, but certainly not like we have done in the past.

Amy’s new old/new house is like going into a HGTV episode.  Just beautiful. Scotty tends towards modern and Amy is more South West and the blend of the two styles works very well. Black wrought iron and barn wood. And who ever heard of a contractor finishing exactly on the date he said he would? 5 months to the date when he first sledged out the wall they were moving back in. Amazing.

1400 Miles Back to Pick up Wanda and She Won’t Budge!

Tyman decided he would travel back with us to IN, then head to Muskegon MI where Amy would join us the following week. 1400 miles is a long way for a teenage boy/man to travel with the Grands; however, Ty kept himself busy figuring out the map and also helping us with WAZES. We listened to 2 audio books: The Avenger series which surprisingly to me he really got into.

I really don’t believe that Wanda can actually hold a grudge, but it sure felt like it. Maybe Wanda was just trying to tell us that she doesn’t like to be left alone for so long. We finally made it to the Grand Design factory to pick Wanda up after some repairs, got there well after factory closing time, but Wanda was there and we were all excited to get hitched up and on the way to Muskegon. One of our nemesis is the hitching up part – remember the Up and Down? We just couldn’t get Wanda to connect with the truck. The fifth wheel mechanisms just wouldn’t engage. After a long period of time we discovered that the hitch had a broken bolt. Now it is Sunday and there is no one around at the GD factory, so I send an email to our customer representative telling her she will find us in the lot tomorrow (Monday) and need to get the bolt fixed.  That meant we were spending the night in the rig. Not exactly what Tyman had in mind.

Good thing we had the bolt problem because during the night after hooking up the electric and water we were awakened to the sound of water dripping – well more than just dripping, lets talk gushing. HMMM – that was supposed to be fixed.

What we didn’t know was the GD factory starts up about 4am – and that meant they read the email and were knocking on our door at 6am ready to haul Wanda back in for repairs. Yikes! Not expecting such quick service and I am still in my nighty. Into the shop Wanda went and we headed off to Shipshewana for the day. Tyman is in a summer school program and needs the wifi so he can attend the online classes, we head to the Visitor Center. Since everything is in lock down, they gladly let us sit on the veranda, use their wifi for 2 hours. Shipshewana is an Amish town and the majority of the people actually do get around town in horse and buggy. Tyman was amazed and this day not only was he online with his classmates he got to tell them about the Amish. Not something one sees every day. BTW, his online school is awesome! I listened in for the week and was very impressed with the lessons and how it was presented. Good Job Fairview!

GD ParkingLot TymanSchoolLunchBreak

What a Way to Spend my Birthday – Traffic Cop

Anyone who knows me, knows that I do love to celebrate my birthday, but waiting for repairs on Wanda is not how I like to celebrate. It was a pretty low-key day, I did not get the usual coffee and cake in bed, nor did I get the traditional wake-up “Happy Birthday” song with the birthday gifts. I was bummed as I sat waiting at the Visitor Center. Woes is me. We get the call that Wanda is fixed and waiting for pickup. Hitch was completely replaced (no charge) and the water leak? Turns out when they looked at it the water wasn’t leaking anywhere, but after the lines are filled with water (remember we heard it leaking in the middle of night) turns out there was a split in the T-valve somewhere in the bowels of Wanda; but now we are good to go. We get back to GD around 3pm – the factory is closed for day since it starts at 4am (goodness that is early) and Wanda is there all by her lonesome. We start to hitch up and What The Heck – we can’t get the mechanism to connect correctly.  This is a new hitch so we struggle to get it aligned and locked in which we finally do and start to drive out. We get about 50 yards, make a turn onto main road when the brakes of trailer engage and we are stopped dead. The hitch is all cockamamie, at a 180 angle which is not right.

 

Not Right Cockamamie

Factory closed, we are halfway in the main road and we are stuck. We flag 2 young guys driving by in a golf cart (they are workers at GD) and they look at it and inform us they know nothing about hitches, but they do know this isn’t right, they will try to find help. They take off and are gone for about 10 minutes and come back with a maintenance guy. He knows nada but will try to find someone. He comes back with Jay, who is a customer rep, and while he doesn’t work on the rigs he does know that something is seriously wrong. Then Mike is driving out on his way home and he stops. Yup, that ain’t right.

 

Between the 4 of us, plus the 2 guys in the cart and the maintenance guy just hanging around, it was determined that the wedge was not installed properly. All that needs to be done is get a big ol’ crescent wrench….

Jay: “Do you by any chance have a crescent wrench?”

Ty: “As a matter of fact I just bought one today at the hardware”

Side note: After Ty’s school, we went to the local hardware store – this was a real old fashion wood floor, packed to the gills place. Ty (big) sees this crescent wrench and tells me he should buy this just in case. He carries it around in the store with him, then decides – No really don’t need it. It is only $20 so buy it.  Ok, he buys. Coincidence or intuition?

Meanwhile, we are half in the drive half in main road and are having to direct traffic around us. There are garbage trucks trying to get into and out of the factory. Big haulers doing the same – and me being the traffic cop – on my birthday!!

5:30 pm all fixed and on the road to Muskegon which is only a 3-hour drive. Tyman was a trooper. Must give kudos to Jay and Mike for hanging with us to get the wedge installed correctly. These guys worked way beyond closing time and where not on the payroll for this. Also, to all the guys who didn’t know how to fix but found someone else who found someone who could.

PioneerParkMi

Muskegon MI Pioneer County Park

This is a jewel of a camping park. Big shady lots, right on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The first week we were there, Ty’s family came to visit us. Paul, Mark and Jen. Paul rented a small cabin next to park and stayed 2 days, Mark and Jen drove in for the day. Good to see family and catch up during these times. They all live in Chicago and said it was good to get away from all the crazy. We stayed 4 ft apart.

Second week Amy and Tessa joined us as well as Amy’s friend Wendy. Wendy’s husband brought down her trailer and they had the lot next to us. Good thing so Amy and Tessa had a place to sleep. Friend Leslie Welbourn was passing through with her camper and stopped in for a night – she brought along her friend C, whom is itching to buy a small rig and travel around. Just has to convince the hubby that’s what he wants to do. Sound familiar anyone?

amy tessa scarlet wendy Leslie and friend C Tyman chopping wood camp fitness Tessa Lake MI Ty school Me and my girls ty lake mi Tessa Makes Fire

NUDEY ALERT: one moonless evening Amy led the way to the beach. Water was so warm and calm, so we all went skinny dipping. That is pretty much a tradition for Amy and myself when we are at Lake MI and now, we’ve added Tessa.

16 year old Closet gocarts swimming The Ty generation

June Fun Ends – Tears Again

Amy left with Ty and Tessa on June 28. I cried and felt punky the whole day. We left on June 29 – final destination is to be the Catskills in New York for a couple of days then onto White Mountains New Hampshire where we will spend the rest of July roaming around.

It was very hard to say the good byes this time. Probably more so than ever. Having spent most of June with the family, I got use to it…waking up and having morning coffee and then kissing all good night. It has been hard to get pumped up to start up again on the Great Adventure.

Ty Sunset Lk MI Lake MI Sunset

Left Sunshine Holiday Campground in Ormond Beach Florida on May 2 and headed off to Elizabethtown Crossroads Campground where we intended to stay until May 18.  Then we need to move to Middlebury IN, home of the Grand Design factory for our much-needed repairs.  Here is how the best laid plans are executed….

Blow-Out!

We were about 6 hours into the journey, in the heart of downtown Atlanta when BAM! Blew a rear tire on Wanda. Have any of you had a tire blowout when under an overpass? Let me tell you that it will scare the beejeebees out of you. The noise is deafening and I swear my heart stopped for a full second. Ty and I both looked at each other and wondered if it was us. It definitely was not the truck, and Wanda wasn’t swerving or pulling so we didn’t think it was us until a driver pulls up alongside of us and waves indicating that we have a flat tire. Really it wasn’t a flat tire, it was a blow-out tire.  Mangled mess.

WalMart leaves the light on for  us

We pulled off I75 and found ourselves on a nice wide service drive alongside the freeway.  Called AAA and after an hour we were informed they couldn’t find a service company who could fix a RV tire. However, if we did, then AAA will reimburse (will see how that goes after filling out the the mound of paperwork and then having to mail that mound. You would think AAA would have caught up to the world of the internet and be paperless). 3030 repair comes makes it to us 10-minutes after we make the call and Phil had us up and running within 30 minutes. All told, about a 2 ½ hour delay which meant that it is getting dark soon so WalMart it is.

Elizabethtown

Cherry Blossoms blanket picnic table trail at Mammoth Cave

…is a surprising large place with lots of big box stores and restaurants. I am sure there would have been lots of shopping and sightseeing to be had if anything was open so we opted for several wonderful hikes. We are in the region of bourbon distilleries and caves so naturally one of the hikes was on the Jim Beam property and the smell of mash was whiffing in the air. Another hike was on the property of the Abby of Gethsemani, which is a monastery. Most outstanding about this hike, called Statues, was all of the statues that were placed along the path.  Mary, Joseph, St. Francis of Assis, one of the disciples waiting for Jesus while he was praying at Gethsemani (also a statue).  There was also a prayer hut where many many people left notes of prayers for themselves or loved ones. This was a most moving hike. We also hiked at the Mammoth Cave, Green River Trail which told the story of steamships fording up the stream to bring tourist to the cave and how the CCC had built many of the facilities at the park including the now defunk water treatment housing.

Spring has sprung in KenTicky (so named for the place where Ty got bit by the dog tick last year) and the wildflowers are everywhere.  I came across a free app, SEEK by iNaturalist.  You point and shoot a pic and it tells you what kind of flower you are looking at.  One of the hikes was only 2.5 miles long, which took us about 3 hours to do because I kept stopping to take a pic.  Anyone ever hike with the Sauls when the wildflowers are out?  Ty said it was like hiking with them – which I enjoyed very much!

Water Water Everywhere but leaking from the fresh water tank is not a good thing

 

Water is not a good thing for RVs. I am doing my exercise outside and am lying down where I can see underneath the rig. And I see water dripping down the outside of a plastic pipe, huge puddle underneath.

Middlebury Indiana, Grand Design Factory

GrandDesignFactoryLot hotel room

We called the Grand Design Factory explaining we now have a water leak and they encouraged us to come in ASAP.  We packed up that day and made the 300-mile trip to Middlebury. Spent the night in the factory parking lot and that was a real treat.  At 4am the gate where we were parked next to went “Beep Beep Beep” every time they brought a vehicle in and out.  Didn’t realize that the factory gets started at 4am and it sure was noisy.

Gave the repair folks the laundry list of repairs and headed off to Elkhart to find a hotel room for a couple of days.  It is scary to be in a hotel room during this crisis and we pretty much stayed to ourselves only going and getting carry out (3 times to White Castle) and then back into the room as there is nothing to do in Elkhart especially since it rained every day but one.

Tower at Notre Dame Lake of Notre Dame Grotto

On the one day it didn’t rain we toured  Notre Dame campus  on our bikes. Of course the campus is deserted of college students who evacuated in a hurry but left all their bikes! Rows and rows of bikes all locked up and no riders to claim them.  Kinda sad really.

Notre Dame campus is beautiful with it multiple churches, schools of learning, stadium and with a lake in the middle of campus with an interesting story which is the basis of its founding.  Land was donated and when the priest came to view the land (in the winter) he commented on the beautiful frozen lake where a campus could be located and not too far from St Joseph MI.

 

South Bend

Since it is still a beautiful day and the bike tour of ND over we went to see what downtown South Bend Indiana looked like on a Wednesday afternoon.  Eerily quite – felt like we were intruding.

 

Mt Baldy Map

Then off to the Indiana Dunes, Mt. Baldy a whopping 600ft elevation gain.  Spent the rest of afternoon there.  Day was beautiful and we just relaxed on the beach as we were not prepared for any hiking. The Indiana Dunes are the southern most dip of Lake Michigan.

Social Distancing

Home to Colorado

We had spent a rainy week in the hotel room and news of repairs going slow. Perhaps another 2-3 weeks. Decided that now is the time to go back to Colorado to be with the kids; celebrate Ty’s birthday; Avery’s (Scotty’s son) birthday; see the grandkids and a few Anthem folks (6ft apart of course).

Jumped into the truck, kissed Wanda good-bye and drove 1400 miles home.

Ty doesn’t add very often to the blog, but I love it when he has something to share.  Below is his contribution on how we spent our time during the “shelter-in-place”.

Greetings from Ty

Other than the fact that we are living in 300 square feet in the middle of an RV park in Florida I realize we are all basically living the same isolated lifestyle.  I still wanted to share a couple of thoughts with you.

I will call this:

 

Life in Slow Motion

Get up early each morning and get the coffee going then start reading the morning political news until depression sets in.  This may not be slow motion more like ground hog day where nothing ever changes except like in slow motion change comes very slowly. Often time tweet by tweet.

Time for exercise, go for a one-hour hike come back and think what a great 2-hour hike that was!  That’s what it feels like when hiking in slow motion around and around in a campground.  To make it interesting I sometimes really shake things up and walk counter clockwise around the park instead of clockwise.  Remember all the parks and beaches are closed.

So now it’s time for lunch…something to do. After lunch time goes by in slow motion again and what am I thinking?  Wonder what there is to eat. I can’t help but think about how slow everything is going now, will be nothing compared to how long it will take to lose all the weight I am gaining, that will really be slow motion.

It seems like months ago since we had great fun visiting with old friends from Michigan in Fort Myers Beach FL….no wait that was only last month, life in slow motion.

Since we have been here there is a flock of 6 or 8 crows hanging around our site.  For entertainment I sit and watch them and no it does not make time move any faster.  I’ll bet you didn’t know that crows make at least 7 distinctly different calls, they also appear to have what I am assuming is a nifty little mating dance. When time moves in slow motion you take your entertainment wherever you can find it.

We did have one incident that definitely speed things up.  We were visited by a Coral snake, it made Jane move very quickly.  Turns out that in addition to being very attractive they are very poisonous but not aggressive so very few bites recorded per year.  Of course, we didn’t know that.

Then of course there are all the isolation internet jokes…new normal day PJs come off at 3 to be replace by night PJs at 3:30.Political ones but I think a little humorous.  Like this one “having some states in lock down and others not locked down is like having a pee section in a swimming pool”.

On the bright side there is always happy hour.  Days in slow motion are so long that happy hour now starts at 2:00, on Sundays at noon.  Have even done a couple of Zoom happy hours that go by too fast.

On a serious note when Jane puts out her blog there are photos of my sister and my sister-in-law with their protective nursing gear on, very sobering.

In closing I hope everyone is staying healthy, stay positive and we will get through this.

TY

Boat Tail Gackle

April 1, we left the Atlantic oceanside and headed inland about 10 miles to find shade, and no salt spray.  While staying ocean side was fun for the month, it takes a terrible toll on the rig, bikes, car, your hair, and body.  The salt spray is relentless, there is always a breeze which is good because we had record highs in the 90’s for March, but it gets on and into everything.  It is good to try something once for a change.

We “sheltered-in-place” at Sunshine Holiday RV Resort.  Big place with nice sized lots and shade.  Beloved shade.  This park has room for well over 250 rigs, but when we got here, there were only about 150 and rigs left everyday (not allowing any newcomers for April).  By the time we left there were maybe 75 rigs left.  Felt very safe here, only ventured out to grocery shop every 10 days, did laundry right here in camp once a week,  lot of bike riding and walking.  We did take a ride to the “The Villages”, which is a well-known 55+ community that has its own shopping area, restaurants, dr’s (even saw a sign for PROCTOLOGY) and it even gets mentioned on the weather channel!  Most people get around on their golf carts which are all souped up and decked out…sort of like the “pimp my ride” sort of thing.  The actual villages are 25 square miles divided into several gated communities;  which we could not get into.  A known fact that The Villages have the highest incidents of STD’s of any 55+ community!

Deserted Camp

The highlight of the entire stay is one late afternoon while Ty and I were eating pizza at our site, a Coral Snake came slithering across in the grass. We chased it a bit, trying to steer it away from our rig then it finally found a hole in the ground and down it went!

 

Coral Snake Pine Needle Basket Crochet Shawl Repairs on Ladder

Our April was pretty much like yours was – did a lot of reading, I made 2 shawls, 3 hats, 3 headbands (will put them in the mail for you Chris for the Volunteer Club), started to write some short stories (anyone want to be a proof reader?) and because we sit under six pine trees in our beloved shade gathered some pine needles, got on YouTube and made a pine needle basket and another in the works.

Ty does the maintenance on the outside of the RV – notice how safety conscience he is when up on the ladder!

Renee

And a big God Bless You to my sister-in-law’s, Renee Stiers and Sandy Fouchey for being on the frontlines taking care of Covid patients.  Giving of yourselves, not being able to be with your families, and comforting the ill doing all you can through this time of great need is overwhelming.  Thank You both and all of your colleagues!

Sandy Barb Grant Smith

Lastly, Barb and Grant Smith, neighbors from the Beverly Beach camp has sent a pic for me to include.

We know that just about all of us knew someone or is 6 degrees from someone who has passed away from Covid-19.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to you for your loss of a family member, friend, or acquaintance.

I know that just about all of us knew someone or is 6 degrees from someone who has passed away from Covid-19.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to you for your loss of a family member, friend, or acquaintance.

 

This is what happens when you forget to bring in the drying when it rains and blows really hard.

Picking up sticks in May and moving northward.  If interested where we are going read about it in Where To Next in 2020

Headed over to Flagler Beach on the Atlantic side. Great site right on the ocean! Days are filled with hiking, biking, and sunbathing, all we can do right from our front door!

1^st Week

Daytona Bike Week is the first week in March – really crowded and noisy. We went into Daytona to watch the hitching up of the Clydesdale Horses for the parade then we left the area as too many people around.

Didn’t do too much the first week because it was bike week and everyplace was so packed with bikers and young ‘ens and besides we were really enjoying just sitting on the beach and relaxing – little did we know that that is what we would be doing very soon without choice.

Met some very nice RVers in this park: Trisann and Patrick Ferraro and Grant and Barbara Smith.  Unfortunately, I don’t have pics of these new friends as I usually take them the last day, but with the social distancing I never got the chance.  Maybe they will send a pic and I can update my photo gallery.  Patrick Ferraro has a book out Full Circle, The True Story of How God’s Angels Guided and Adoptee to His Birth Family.  I have not read the book yet, but he was so passionate about his journey that I think it is worth looking into.

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2^nd Week

Maureen and John Oswald came up from Ormond Beach the 2nd week and we took a 22 mile ride up the coast into a place called European Village, pizza for lunch and ride home.  They said they were worried about the virus spread (understandably so) and will be leaving Fl soon (they left on the 17^th). John and Sandy made the 5-hour trip up to our new site, just because they haven’t been to the east coast much.  We sat on the beach and enjoyed the day, next day Sandy and I went to a beach called Jungle Hut.  The most unusual outcropping of large boulders all along the beach and when the tide is low it is good shelling.

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3^rd Week

Flagler Beach, as in all the beaches in Flagler County, were closed and this included the RV park we were in.  It is patrolled twice a day!!  Am very torn about that because by this time all of the RVers were practicing the 6-foot rule, talking from a distance not playing cards, or having meals together and that went for our time spent on beach.  But we did have some Spring Breakers come in as a group and all rules were not for them, so the 80/20 rule prevails and it gets shut down for all.

Now what do we do?  It is a good thing Ty and I like each other and get along fairly well, but I do worry about those who can’t or don’t.   So here we are in isolation, not even getting together with other RVers – everyone is keeping their distance. Like everyone else, we are playing a lot of games, Spinner is our favorite, doing minor repairs on rig, cleaning rig, cleaning out cupboards, crocheting (made a shawl), beading and reading. Oh, and I am counting the number of times Ty hits his head on either the kingpin (that’s where he did major damage to his head), or the awning arms. So far in 2 months it is averaging 3 times a week. Heard him cursing to himself saying, “when am I ever going to learn? *&!@*&^*”

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4^th Week

Nothing much.

Thank HEAVENS for the internet (hope it doesn’t crash cause if it does there will be a lot of slashing of wrist) and ZOOM, Houseparty, Duo, Facetime – just doing it all.  Once you get use to the format it is pretty easy to use.  Had a couple of “birthday” celebrations, Tyman (little Ty but remember we don’t call him that anymore) turned 17 on March 30.  Sunday Fundays with the family exercising with Amy and her class.  Happy Hour with family and friends.  Kudos to Lois Leslie, the most non techie I know for showing me how to use Houseparty!!

April

Will be moving to a different site, about 15 miles inland.  Have found being right on the ocean is noisy (waves make a lot of noise), salty (everything is getting corroded) and HOT – no shade.  We are hoping to give our rig, skin, ears and sanity a break.  Will miss the sunrises tho.

Stay 6 feet away from everyone, wash, wash, wash to stay healthy.

You know the drill….

You know you are bored when you change all your passwords

Superman

Ft. Myers, FL

Left Colorado on Jan 26 had a non-eventful 2143-mile journey to Florida to get back to Wanda. The highlight was a stop in Metropolis, Il, home of Superman, so we snapped a pic.

Home for February was at Shady Acres RV Park; nice enough place; pretty typical retiree “heaven” with lots of snow birds from the northern states and Canada.  We managed to connect with friends and family while on the Gulf side. John and Sandy Hill, our postmasters, Kathy Fulgenzi, cousin Gloria and Lee Kinzle, Ty’s brother Paul, Anthem Ranch folks Doug and Regina Porter, Scotty’s folks Bob and Linda Nichols and of course, brother Will and bride Pam.

Hiking or biking was a challenge to find someplace where it wasn’t swampy or we wouldn’t get run off the road.  So we tired but I gave it up long before Ty and resorted to my videos for exercise.  There are lots of beautiful beaches to be found along the Gulf and we tried to make it to as many as possible.  Shelling and sunsets were terrific.

Paul Fouchey Kathy Fulgenzi Gulf Sunset Doug Regina Porter Kayaking with Hills Bob and Linda Nichols

We Be Bad

It’s no wonder we can’t lose any weight, as one of our favorite things to do is grab some fried chicken to go (Colonel is the best), wine and go watch a sunset.  Lovely way to spend an evening.

Bump/Lost/Sprain

Ty only managed to hit his head on the king pin 5 or 6 times during the month – so glad that I have encased it in foam so the damage was on to his pride, plus a little bump and much cursing.

I took a tumble on the first day of set-up, stepped off the pad and twisted my ankle.  Neighbor lady behind us saw me go down and told her hubby to find out if I was ok.  He and Ty showed up together finding me writhing on the ground in pain.  Just a sprain but hurt like the dickens (where does that word/phrase come from?) for the entire month.

The best was Ty’s brother Paul who lost his brand-new glasses.  I feel bad that he lost them, but I laugh every time I recall how he discovered it.  We had been kayaking in the Mangroves, seeing Manatees and having a nice time of it.  When we finished and pull our kayaks up to shore Paul says to me, “Do I have my glasses on?”  Now, I wondered to myself… hmm he wears glasses to see with and he is asking me if he has them on?  Isn’t his vision a little blurry that he would figure that out?  Anyway, somewhere on the route back thru the Mangroves, he got hung up and evidently his glasses came off and he didn’t realize it until he got on-shore.  Paul, maybe you don’t need glasses.  Hey you made the blog!  Thanks for providing the humor this month, takes Ty off the hook.

Kit Denise Mcquigan

College Reunion

Don’t you love it when you haven’t seen someone in ages and when you are finally reunited it is like you never missed a beat.  That is how it was with the McGuigan’s.  Denise and I went to college together and sat outside the classroom for each of our final exams with champagne to celebrate.  I saw a posting on Facebook from Kit that they were in Ft. Myers Beach.  Their regular hangout was OhLa’s on Ft. Myers Beach so we met up there.  And we met and we met and we met…spent many a day partying at OhLa’s where Jonnie Walker (Iowa Hall of Famer for guitar) played and Kit occasionally joined in. Kit has a great voice and personality to go with his performance. Ty was quite jealous as women bought Kit drinks and kept touching him or dancing in front of him while singing. Ty can’t sing, I am just as glad for that. Was sad/glad to say good-bye to Denise and Kit so our livers could recuperate.

Final Ft Myers Thoughts

Ft. Myers Beach is a haven for retirees during the day and the much younger groups in the evening, and there is very little overlap so you can always get a spot at the bar and a good table at the restaurants.

A good thing about being retired is you get started at the bars at 2 in the afternoon, eat at 5-6 and home in bed by 9 for a good night’s rest. The bad part is it is too easy to do too often.