On the road with Jim and JoAnne

Gettysburg – A Visit to Civil War Battlefields

2010-07-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

A short trip from Haymarket found us outside Gettysburg, PA. We stayed at a really nice campground in a pretty setting. They even let the lightening bugs out at night for us! Being Civil War buffs, we wanted to visit both the Gettysburg and Antietam battlefields again. We spent three days revisiting areas of the Gettysburg battlefields that we had been to before as well as seeing other areas that we hadn’t yet explored. We even went to the East Cavalry Battlefield where one of theUnion generals was George Armstrong Custer. Jim had recently read a book about the Michigan cavalry units who took part in this battle and wanted to see where it actually took place.

We also took a day trip to the Antietam battlefield at Sharpsburg, Maryland. On the way we drove through Hagerstown, Maryland which has a very quaint downtown area. A lot of the buildings look like they have been restored to their earlier glory (some to the mid-1800’s, some to the art deco of the 1920’s). The battle at Antietam was the bloodiest single day battle of the Civil War. We toured the battlefield with a National Park ranger who did a wonderful job of explaining the battle. He really brought it to life for us.

On to Haymarket Virginia and a Visit with Family

2010-06-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

A short trip from Williamsburg to the Washington, DC area brought us to the Greenville Family Farm where we parked the motor home for our stay in Haymarket. It is a working farm with campground facilities in ‘the North 40’. We had a relaxing time visiting with JoAnne’s sister and family. It was great to see the nieces and nephews and grand nieces. We even attended Madeline’s graduation from kindergarten – the kids were all so cute and so proud of themselves!

We spent a day touring Jefferson’s home, Monticello, and James Monroe’s home, Ash Lawn-Highland. We were especially impressed with Monticello not only for its beauty, but also for all the innovations that Jefferson had designed and had built into the home. He installed such things as double windows to control the amount of cold and heat in the house, two dumbwaiters, one for delivering food from the kitchen to the dining area, and another for delivering wine from the wine cellar. There was also a set of automatic double doors, when one was opened it opened the other at the same time, and a seven day clock, with a gong, that kept everything on the plantation running on the same time. At Monroe’s house during the tour, one of guides even showed us how they spun wool onto a dradle (sp?). We had lunch at and toured the Michie Tavern, which dates back to about 1784. All in all it was an extremely interesting day.

As an aside, one thing we’ve noticed during our drives is that when a river or creek is noted on the highway, unlike in the west, they actually have water in them!!

Williamsburg Area -- Full of History

2010-06-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Williamsburg was very pretty. We took the highway near the coast hoping to see the ocean; however, it’s not like the west coast – all we saw was trees. Nearby Williamsburg are the places where the first permanent English settlement is and the last significant Revolutionary War battle was fought. Jamestown was settled in the early 1600’s on the James River. The site is currently being excavated and many of the foundations of the original buildings can be seen. The National Park guide gave us a lot of interesting information about those first settlers and their interaction with the natives. Being on the river, it’s a very pretty place.

The Yorktown battlefield is still very much like it was during the Revolutionary war except that it is now interlaced with modern day settlements. But it was amazing to stand on top of the earthworks and imagine what it must have been like during those times. What fortitude our forefathers had!!!

We also spent time at Williamsburg walking around town looking at the old buildings and going into the shops. People there are dressed in colonial garb and, when asked a question, they answered as if they were still living in colonial times. There are also horses, beautiful carriages, and carts in the streets. They even have a garden with plants the colonists might have grown in their gardens. It was a lot of fun.

Asheville and Charleston--What Beautiful Places

2010-06-02T19:02:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in Asheville. We spent two days at the Biltmore Mansion – walking up and down four flights of stairs, and then through some of the gardens – but what an amazing place it is. The grounds are huge but very beautiful. We also got a chance to drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and we ate at the most luxurious McDonald’s just outside the Biltmore. We stayed at a very pretty campground, but it was built on a pretty steep hill. All the sites were terraced and beautifully landscaped.

Monday we drove to Charleston, NC through a horrendous rainstorm. A trip that should have taken about 5 hours took 7 hours. But we made it safely and are in another beautiful campground. Jim sure did a great job of picking the RV parks for us so far.

We took a bus tour through Charleston (in the rain) but had a very interesting guide who told us a lot about the history of the city as we passed some beautiful houses and other points of interest. Charleston extends onto several islands, so there are a lot of interesting bridges to be seen. There are houses called ‘single houses’, unique to Charleston; they are a single room wide with a side ‘piazza’ (porch) where the entrance to the house is. The house itself may be quite large, extending quite deeply into the lot. Houses, churches, and other buildings have a lot of beautiful iron work as fences, balconies, or just as decorations. Of course, a visit to Ft. Sumter is a must. What an interesting place it is. Tomorrow we’re going back to some of the houses we saw on the bus tour and then to the beach so we can dip our tootsies in the Atlantic.

We have now been through 10 states!! Soon we’ll head up the coast to visit Williamsburg and beyond. Some interesting wildlife we’ve seen along the way include wild turkeys, skunks, turtles, egrets, white swans, deer, and Palmetto bugs.

Starting Our 2010 Summer Trip

2010-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we’re off on our next adventure. This year our trip will take us through at least 23 states and 5 Canadian provinces and over 10,000 miles! We’re heading south and east, up thru the Maritime Provinces, to Quebec to meet some friends and to do some camping with them, then back west again to our family reunion.

Our first stop was in Brush, CO for a short visit with Jim’s Mom and sisters. As always it was great to see them. Mom is 92 years old and is doing pretty good for her age. Of course, she has her forgetful moments, but so do we!!

Then off to St. Louis to visit with Bob and Cathy Hall, long time friends whom we hadn’t seen for a long time. We had a great time with them going to wineries, driving the Great River Road along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and of course just catching up on old times. Now we’re in Nashville for just a short stop and then off to Asheville, NC.

We’ve seen some beautiful scenery so far – a lot of trees and greenery, and of course the humidity to go with it (something we’re trying to get used to). So far we’ve avoided any serious weather, although while we were in Brush there were tornado warnings one day and we got a pretty good thunderstorm. On our way though Kansas we even saw some storm chasers! But we are looking forward to our travels.

Off We Go for the Summer

2009-07-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

This year we left Tucson in early June. We went from Tucson, with the saguaro and other colorful, high-desert plants, to Flagstaff where it was cooler and up in the pine trees (our first overnight), and then thru the Painted Desert, with all the oranges and reds with a hint of purple. What a wondrous country!! And that was just in Arizona.

We entered Monument Valley where it was cool and overcast with not many photo ops, but it was good for driving. We made our way thru Mexican Hat and Blanding on our way to Moab, where we spent our second night. We stayed in a beautiful campground with red rock spires on one side and high alpine mountain views (the La Sal’s) on the other side. The next day we decided to take a scenic road thru Castle Canyon on our way to Grand Junction. Castle Canyon was carved by the Colorado River and again we saw beautiful red rock formations, some with desert varnish, rafters and kayakers on the river, and a lot of nice campgrounds for small rigs – none of them big enough for us unfortunately!

We spent three nights in Grand Junction and visited with our son and family. It was so good to see them, even for such a short time. Then we were on our way to Breckenridge for the Colorado Model A club’s week-long regional meet. We got a chance to catch up with old friends and chat with some new ones too. We saw a lot of beautiful Model A’s from all over the country. It is also our club’s 50th anniversary this year. The banquet culminated all the festivities with very good food and a concert by the Queen City Jazz Band – what a treat!

Sara and her kids joined us for part of the meet and then we stayed an extra 5 days in Breckenridge to spend time just with them. We parked at the Tiger Run RV resort, so had an indoor swimming pool to use in addition to all the outdoor activities. The kids especially liked the Alpine Slide.

After our time in Breckenridge, we traveled to Brush to spend time with Judy and Bob, Sue, Jim’s other sister and his Mom. We had a great time with all of them; we hadn’t seen Sue or Mom since last year, so it was good to catch up with all their happenings. Mom is doing much better and she is now residing in the assisted living facility in Brush. Judy and Bob were such good hosts!

Now, we’re in Ft. Collins and were able to ‘hook up’ with our friends from the Bay Conspiracy, Ray and Chris. We’re staying at a very nice, and quiet KOA, where they have all kinds of activities available (paddle boats on their small lake, a nice swimming pool, a playground, fishing, and much more). There even is a robin’s nest with baby chicks in the tree, right outside our window and bunnies running around the grounds! We had Shannyn, our granddaughter, with us for a few days, so she had a lot of things to choose from to keep her busy. We really had a good time with her.

On a sadder note, we lost our last two ‘old ladies’; our cats, Frosty and PiLin, were 20 years old and finally their organs just started shutting down. We now are down to Callie, our 5 year old Tortoise Shell cat. She is a joy and a character!

Starting the Year’s Travels at Quartzsite Again

2009-06-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

This now seems to be an annual start to our travels each year – the Bay Conspiracy and friends invading Quartzsite!! This year five rigs left from Tucson and then we met some other friends while we were there. Fortunately, we didn’t spend as much money this year as last year (no motor home purchases). As always we had a great time partying with our friends after a day of wandering around and shopping.

Since Quartzsite is so close to California, we decided to continue west to visit JoAnne’s brother and his family. We had a great, but short, visit with Dale and Debbie. Debbie’s folks were so gracious to let us park on their Christmas tree farm, just steps away from Dale and Debbie’s house. There we were among the pine AND palm trees and right next to an orange grove full of all the ripe sweet oranges we wanted. It was great to spend time with them and to get to know the kids again. It had been several years since we had seen them and they are all grown up now!

Visitors, Visitors, Visitors

Well, we have been telling everyone to come to visit, and this year several people did just that. And we were so glad they did. We so enjoyed a quick visit with our friends, the Yutzy’s early in the year. A few days later we finally got together with our friends from Green Valley whom we hadn’t seen for over a year.

Then a few days after our return from California, Jim’s sister, Judy, and her hubby, Bob came for a visit and to attend the Tucson Gem Show. We got to go to the show with them – what an eye-opening experience!! There are many venues all over town where the vendors display their goods. We spent about 6 hours and only visited two of them; it was overwhelming! Judy and Bob ended up spending more time in Tucson than they had planned – they bought a new-to-them motor home. They had some modifications made to it and a few needed repairs. Of course, everything takes longer than the dealer says it will, and several things did not work correctly the first time. It was a little frustrating for them at times but it was great for us having them around a little longer.

Our friends, Dick and Jane, also came to stay at the Voyager for a time. We had met them last summer in Denver. We had a good time visiting with them; they taught us to play Mexican Train, a domino game, and now we’re hooked. We look forward to meeting them again later this summer.

Sara and the kids came for a visit in early April during Shannyn’s and Sara’s Spring Break from school. We took them to the Desert Museum (one of our favorite places) and then to Sabino Canyon, where the kids had a lot of fun playing in the stream. We took a picnic lunch and spent several hours there. Sara wanted to visit with a friend who lives in Phoenix, so went met them at the IKEA store. It is a wonderland of shopping. Of course, there were visits to the pool, general playing, and dying Easter eggs. We had so much fun.

More Short Trips

In between our visitors, we managed a few shorter trips. In February, we traveled to Phoenix with our friends, Fran and Bob (Moochie’s servants), to see the Chihuly glass exhibit in the Botanical Gardens. If you’re not familiar with Chihuly, he makes amazing glass shapes and displays them in very unusual ways. In this particular exhibit, he placed his glass shapes all over the botanic gardens among the plants. It was spectacular!! The next day we visited our round dancing friends, the Chaffee’s.

In April, Fran and Bob, and Judy and Bob, and we travelled to Albuquerque for the Good Sam Rally. We had never been to a Rally, so since it was so close, we decided to try it out. We met in Truth or Consequences (Judy and Bob had left Tucson earlier), spent the night there and arrived in Albuquerque the next morning. We were parked on the Balloon Fiesta grounds, along with over 3000 rigs and new friends. They parked us on the grassy field, so it was very nice. The weather was very changeable, from overcast and rainy to fairly warm. Layers of clothing was required attire. The rally was 5 days of shopping at the vendors booths, attending seminars, looking at various RV’s, and eating. And every night there was entertainment. We saw Neil Sedaka (what a show he put on!!) and the Osmond Brothers (three of the brothers – another good show). They also had Rita Coolidge and a couple of 50s and 60s rock and roll/do wop bands. But, we were so tired, we didn’t get to those shows.

At the end of the rally, we parted ways: Fran and Bob headed back to Arizona and Judy and Bob and we went to Taos for a few days. Judy and Bob did some sight-seeing while we visited JoAnne’s uncle. Then Judy and Bob headed back home to Colorado and we came back to Tucson and started to get ready for our big summer trip.

Taos and a Quick Visit with Uncle Ralph

2008-11-28T14:53:00.001-08:00

JoAnne’s uncle lives in Taos, so we wended our way south to see him for a few days. He is in his late seventies, living in, maintaining and improving his own home all by himself. Quite remarkable! We always have a good time with him. While we were in Taos we also went to the Indian pueblo and wandered around this ancient village. It was interesting to see how the Indians still live and work. Of course, many of them had all kinds of Indian jewelry, pottery, food, etc. for sale. After our visit with Uncle Ralph we headed home, stopping overnight at Deming, NM and finally arrived back in Tucson mid-afternoon the next day. It was good to be home and to see our friends again. A few days later we hosted a ‘show and tell’ with the Bay Conspiracy. Everyone got a chance to tell us about their summer travels. It was great fun.

So now we’re home for a while.

On to Grand Junction

2008-11-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

The week of October 13, Jim and Carrie moved most of their combined belongings to Grand Junction. Jim asked if we would help them get settled in so we so we headed the bus over the hill for a couple of weeks to give them a hand. They have a really nice 3-bedroom duplex with a nice yard. We helped unpack boxes and gifts and whatever else Carrie needed. By the second day we were there, Carrie had most everything put away, and the house in order. We had a good time visiting and sharing several meals with them, and getting to know Carrie and Hailey even better.

Later on during our stay we took a day trip to the town of Gateway. John Hendricks, the man who started the Discovery Channel, has opened a resort and a car museum there. The museum alone is well worth the trip. It houses some beautiful and rare, and in many cases, incredibly expensive vintage automobiles. The drive to and from Gateway was through some beautiful scenery, including the Dolores and San Miguel River Canyons, and the weather was perfect.

During our stay, we fixed a barbeque for JoAnne’s brother, Marc, and our nephew, Alex. Jim, Carrie, and Hailey also joined us. Unfortunately, Alowetta, Marc’s wife, was under the weather. We enjoyed the visit with Marc and Alex though. Then, on Halloween weekend Jim and Carrie went back to Denver for a visit, so we headed to Taos.

Denver Visiting with Friends and the Wedding

2008-11-28T13:34:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Denver the last week of August. Our time here was spent helping with the wedding plans, arranging for the rehearsal dinner, visiting with friends and getting some business taken care of. On Labor Day we once again joined our Model A friends for the annual picnic. Sara and the kids joined us for this event as well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and admiring all the beautiful varieties of Model A’s the club members have. Shannyn and Leo really like seeing the cars and some nice folks even let them sit in the cars. The following weekend, we attended our long time friends daughter’s wedding. It was quite a nice affair and of course, the bride was beautiful. It was an outdoor ceremony in Fort Collins. The next week we joined Jim’s sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Bob, and some of their friends for three days of camping at Chatfield State Park. We had never been camping there even though we only lived five miles from the park. We were very impressed with the facilities and enjoyed our time there. We even got a tour of the dam and an informative talk about its history by one of the Corps of Engineer guides.

We were able to entertain several of our friends in our new motor home, which has been really fun. Our dear friend, Jay Yoder has been hospitalized since mid-August, but is making great progress. Fortunately, we were able to visit him several times and are so glad to see his progress. We did go out to Brush to see Jim’s Mom and sisters several times also. The first Friday in October, we attended Sara’s concert with the Greeley Chamber Orchestra. We are so glad she is able to continue playing with them as she enjoys it so much. Of course, we got to spend time with the grandkids too, which is always special.

The following week we hosted the rehearsal dinner for Jim and Carrie and had a great time visiting with new and old friends. The BIG day – the wedding, arrived on October 11. It was a cool and rainy day but that didn’t dampen any spirits and everything went pretty much according to plan except for having five kids aged 5 and under as part of the ceremony (they don’t do things according to plan!). They were so cute, but as kids do, got bored with the proceedings and started playing. The reception was held at the Crystal Rose and was very nice. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, including some of Jimmy’s friends who, with the help of several libations, started break dancing at one point.

Time with Sara and Family

2008-10-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

The day after we returned to Evans, we took Sara and her kids for a long weekend to Estes Park. We drove up thru the Big Thompson canyon – what beautiful scenery! We visited the historic Stanley Hotel, but couldn’t get on the tour (maybe next time). Jim, Sara and the kids went up to Rocky Mountain National park and saw a lot of elk (JoAnne was under the weather). The kids went miniature golfing for the first time. Leo’s idea of golfing was to pick the ball up and drop it in the hole. Cute!! On another day we took the tram up to the top of Prospect Mountain which has an amazing view of the town and the surrounding mountains. A couple of the evenings we had a fire and made S’mores and roasted marshmallows. We had a great time. We returned back to Greeley (and Sara to Evans) on Sunday.

In Greeley, Sara is studying Massage Therapy and is enjoying it very much. So, we went to the school and got a free massage from her. Boy, did that feel good!! She really has a talent for doing massages. The Thursday after we returned from Estes Park, Shannyn started kindergarten! It doesn’t seem possible that’s she’s old enough to start school already. The school is very nice and she is in a full day kindergarten program where they send the kids home with homework every night! In between Sara’s school, the kids activities, etc. Sara and I cleaned up her bedroom and painted it. It really turned out nicely and she was finally able to move in the new furniture she had purchased. She now has her own sanctuary. Sara is still involved with the Greeley orchestra and is enjoying that as well. We had a great visit with her and the kids for 2 weeks before we moved down to Denver.

Colorado Springs with our Granddaughter

2008-10-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

The last day of July we picked up Shannyn in Evans and drove to Colorado Springs. This was her first trip with us without Mom. We stayed just south of the city near Fort Carson in a very nice campground. Our first excursion was to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It’s really a great zoo, built on the side of Cheyenne Mountain. Shannyn fed the giraffes, got to pet a wallaby, fed birdseed to a budgie, got to see mountain lions being fed, saw a brown bear fishing for trout, and all the other wonderful animals. We had a great day. Back at the campground she got to play on the playground equipment and also got to play horseshoes. On another day, JoAnne got to visit with one of her dear friends, Mary Margaret, while Jim and Shannyn bummed around Manitou Springs. The rest of our time was spent at the North Pole, where Shannyn and grandpa rode a lot of rides, the Cave of the Winds, which Shannyn thought was ‘amazing’, and the Seven Falls, where we saw the waterfalls and Shannyn got to dance with some Indian dancers. At the campground itself was the May Museum, a large collection of butterflies, beetles, and assorted other insects from all over the world. Shannyn liked all the pretty butterflies, but got pretty bored with the other insects. Still, it was quite an amazing collection. We returned to Evans after enjoying a week with just Shannyn.

Brush and Ft. Morgan and a Visit with Family

2008-10-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

From La Veta we travelled to Brush, where Jim’s sisters and Mom live. On our way to Brush, we passed through Rocky Ford, Punkin Center, and Last Chance. I always wanted to visit Punkin Center – it’s just a cross road and Last Chance, for what I don’t know. It would be interesting to stop there one day to find out its history. We parked at Judy and Bob’s house (Jim’s sister and brother-in-law), where we enjoyed their gracious hospitality for about a week. We visited with them, Sue, Jim’s other sister, and his Mom. Then we moved down the road to the Ft. Morgan park, where we entertained our grandkids for 5 days while Sara was on a trip. It was a pretty park, with a playground, a pool, and some ducks and geese to entertain us all. We had fun but we forgot how much energy a 5 year old and a 2 year old have!! After returning the kids to Sara, we moved back to Judy and Bob’s for a few more days of visiting.

On to La Veta, CO to Visit Friends

2008-10-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

After leaving Silver City, we made our way to Colorado going thru Taos and over La Veta Pass. It was a great drive and the coach handled the climbs beautifully. We found our way to our friends’, Sandy and Mary, beautiful home outside La Veta. The back of their home faces West Spanish Peak and the front looks over the valley towards the Sangre de Cristo mountains. It is so peaceful there. One of the highlights of our visit was watching the hummingbirds on their back patio. They have several bird feeders on the patio tables and if you hold very still, the hummingbirds will actually light on your fingers at the feeders!! We had a great visit with Sandy and Mary, and their son Turk, soaking up all the wonderful scenery and ambience of the town. Turk gave us some elk that he had shot last season – boy is it tasty!! During our trip to La Veta, our son Jim called to tell us he was getting married in October. We knew he was going to propose to his girl, but didn’t know when the wedding was going to be. Needless to say this news changed some of our summer plans.

On the Road in the New Motorhome – Silver City, NM

2008-10-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Mid-July found us starting on the road on our way north. Our first stop was at Silver City, a charming town in the southwest mountains of New Mexico. We arrived there in a rainstorm and found our way to the campground. We had planned to stay only a few days, but the campground and surrounding area were so nice, we ended up staying almost a week. There were many sights to see, among them the Santa Rita open pit copper mine, a scenic drive over Emory Pass, and the Gila Cliff Dwellings. The open-pit mine was really amazing to see, with it spanning a mile across and 2000 feet deep. Emory Pass was quite a drive, with all the curves, climbs and narrow roads. We were told that it was not a road for motorhomes, so we took the car to see if that was true – it was!! And, once again (as we did in Europe), we proved that anything worth seeing is at the top of a hill. The Gila cliff dwellings are amazing!! After climbing up a path almost to the top of a mesa, there are several rooms in the dwellings that you can actually climb up into and listen to the Forest Rangers explain what they know and have found in these dwellings. It was a trip well worth our time. Our stay here was very relaxing, just what we needed to start our travels.

Alaska – Start of Our 2008 Summer Travels

2008-07-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

This summer’s travels started with a cruise in Alaska. Janet and Tony, JoAnne’s sister and brother-in-law, and we decided it would be fun to go to Alaska this year. We flew standby from Tucson to Denver, crashed at our daughter Sara’s house overnight and spent part of the next day with her and the kids. Jimmy and his girlfriend were there so we got a chance to visit with them too. (Jimmy was installing an air conditioning unit for Sara.) About 3PM we headed for the airport to get the rest of the way to Anchorage on purchased tickets. (Boy, were we glad we had reserved seats – the flights were all really full.) We arrived in Anchorage a few days ahead of the sailing date and just bummed around town and decompressed a little. On Monday, June 23, we caught the Alaskan Railroad for a leisurely trip to Whittier where we boarded the ship, the Island Princess. Janet and Tony did a 5 day land tour before we set sail, so we didn’t see them until Monday afternoon.

We sailed into College Fjord and Glacier Bay to see the glaciers, and along the way saw lots of sea otters, some Humpback whales and Orcas. In Glacier Bay, we got within about 500 feet of the Margerie glacier and actually saw it calve. The sound of the ice cracking and creaking was really something to hear! There was a guest naturalist onboard who gave us insight into what we were seeing and some of the animal and sea life we might see along the way, which was quite informative. We stopped in Skagway (took the White Horse Railway up the pass -- what an engineering feat), Juneau (went to the Rainforest Gardens and the Mendenhall glacier), and Ketchikan ( went to the Saxman native village). Janet and JoAnne also went into a lot of the stores in these towns, oogling the jewelry and various other really nice things. Tony had fishing trips scheduled at these stops. He actually had pretty good luck, catching two large king salmon.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular! And as usual, the food was excellent. (They even had a chocolate buffet one night, after dinner. Right up JoAnne’s alley!!) This cruise was very relaxing since we had three full days at sea. In fact, Jim said, ‘This was my kind of cruise, staying on the ship with less climbing some hill to see something (it seems that the neat things to see are always up a hill)’. We arrived in Vancouver on Monday morning, June 30 and said our good-byes to Janet and Tony. We had such a great time sharing this trip with them. We then caught our flights back to Tucson without any problems. Our furry kids were sure glad to see us (our friends across the street took care of them for us).

Shakedown Cruise to Camp Verde

2008-07-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

After we brought the Diplomat home we spent the next two months discovering all the nooks and crannies, adding our own personal touches and re-loading it with all the gear, and then some, that came out of the Bounder. By April it was time to take it out on a shakedown cruise to see just how well everything was going to work. Everyone in the Bay Conspiracy was getting anxious to hit the road again so we all saddled up and headed up the road to Camp Verde, Arizona, about 90 miles north of Phoenix, for a few days of fun and frolic. The new bus performed beautifully. It sailed up the 6% grades on I-17 with a full load and the Saturn in tow and, more importantly, it handled the 6% descents even better with the help of its engine brake.

While at Camp Verde we visited Montezuma’s Castle, an ancient Indian cliff dwelling on the Verde River and explored the old mining town of Jerome which is precariously perched on the side of a mountain about 2000 feet above the Verde Valley. Both of these places are well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. On the way home we stopped off for a few days in Mesa, Arizona to visit with some very old, dear friends that we have known since before we were married.

Our shakedown cruise was a success; we found a few minor glitches that would need attention before we take off on our big summer excursion but no big surprises and nothing out of the ordinary.

The RV show and a new Monaco Diplomat

2008-06-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Quartzsite was truly one big bustling sea of RV humanity. We walked and gawked for hours before taking a well earned lunch break at one of the many food stands. While we were sitting and enjoying our smoked turkey legs and catching our breath, we noticed that there were several large RV dealers at the show and they all had huge collections of new and used motor homes on display. We have always enjoyed looking at RV’s and thought it might be fun to check out the new refrigerators. Well, to make a long story shorter, we started exploring all the motor homes on display and low and behold, we found the perfect refrigerator. It was a large beautiful stainless steel model with four doors complete with an ice maker. I just so happened to be installed in a new 2008 Monaco Diplomat, 37 feet long with four slide outs and all the bells and whistles and 400 Cummins diesel pushing horses. This rig was not just a step up from the venerable Bounder, it was a move from the inner city to the Country Club. We went back to our RV that night and both of us laid awake thinking about that beautiful Diplomat. The next morning we decided that the only way we would be happy was to go back and find out just what it would take to bring the new rig home with us.

The dealer made us a good deal and gave us a great trade in price on our Bounder. We swallowed hard and bit the bullet and signed the purchase order. We couldn’t take the new coach home with us right then since they needed a few days to prep the unit for delivery and get all the paperwork done. We made arrangements to return to Quartzsite the next week and turn over the Bounder and take delivery on our new rolling palace. This gave us time to bring the Bounder back to Tucson and empty it out which made the move into the new unit much easier. Because we were out of state buyers, Arizona’s tax laws required that we ride with the dealer’s driver from Quartzsite to Laughlin, Nevada where we took delivery at their dealership. We returned to Tucson with our new Diplomat making an overnight stop at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. What a difference! We had made the move from an RV to a full-timer’s motor coach.

The Bay Conspiracy invades Quartzsite

2008-06-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

While we were in Mexico one of the Bay Conspiracy couples started talking about a trip to Quartzsite, Arizona in January. JoAnne asked what the big deal was with this Quartzsite place. Well, for those of you who haven’t heard of, or about this place, here is my quick take on it. Quartzsite is a small, hot dusty wide spot out on I-40 about 250 miles from here just a few miles east of the California state line. It is small, that is until winter comes along, and then the place is invaded by thousands and thousands of RV’ers who come from all over the country to spend the winter. They camp out in the desert on BLM land for miles around the small community. For several months this place is transformed into the Mecca of the RV world. This place is to RV’ers what Sturgis is to Motorcyclists. In January each year they have an RV show and flea market that takes several days to see.

I had thought that we were quite fortunate to have avoided a pilgrimage to Quartzsite for all these years but now it looked like our time had run out. We were going to Quartzsite and that was that. We were lucky enough to get space in an RV park in town so we didn’t have to “boondock” it out in the desert. I figured that since we had a good place to stay and didn’t have to rough it with the cactus and coyotes this trip couldn’t be all that bad. Besides, every day is a party with the Bay Conspiracy.

The drive was easy and enjoyable and the RV park was adequate. The town lived up to its reputation. It was remote, dusty, small and dry and, there were thousands and thousands of RV’s camped out in the desert for miles around the place. The RV show was indeed one big flea market with hundreds of vendors selling everything and anything relating to RV’s and camping.

Christmas in Tucson

2008-06-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

As the year wound down all the snowbirds returned to Tucson and as the park filled up again all of the great activities here at the Voyager got back into full swing. Shows, dances, dinners and parties kept us quite busy. There’s never a dull moment around here in the winter. Like most of the other residents we decorated the house. The park was really beautiful with all the Christmas lights.

Our daughter Sara and the two grandchildren flew down on Christmas Eve for a two week visit. Christmas morning was a very lively and noisy time in the new house. We didn’t realize until then that all these new fangled toys that the kids have these days make sounds of some kind or another. There were times when the two grandkids had all the toys going at one time. Needless to say the house got pretty noisy at times until JoAnne got smart and hid all the new noisy toys away and brought out our toy box full of old, used but tried and true and QUIET toys for them to play with. Things settled down to a low roar after that and we quietly packed up all the new toys and sent them off to Sara’s house via Parcel Post. We kept the grandkids busy with trips to the Zoo, Desert Museum and several other area attractions. The two weeks passed by all too quickly and before we knew it Sara and the grandchildren were back home in Colorado.

We were on a plane to Colorado a week after Sara left for a long weekend and a 90th birthday celebration for Jim’s mother. It was a surprise party for her and she was very surprised and happy to see us. We didn’t do much of anything after returning to Tucson except sit around and catch our breath for a week. The house seemed very quiet after all the Christmas commotion. Bob and Fran, of the Bay Conspiracy, brought a new Holiday Rambler Neptune home and we all had to celebrate the new arrival. The shows, dances, dinners and parties continued and before we knew it, it was time for our next adventure.

Our Mexican Sojourn, OLE !

2008-06-14T23:07:00.000-07:00

The big day couldn’t come soon enough but near the end of October the Bay Conspiracy saddled the four rigs and headed south of the border to a sunny little fishing village on the Sea of Cortez called Puerto Penasco. The place is less than 300 miles from Tucson and is very easy to get to, so easy in fact that it’s a very popular destination for the locals here. They call it Rocky Point or sometimes Tucson Beach.

Off we went, our little caravan crossing the desert to Why – yes the name is Why, Arizona – don’t ask me why. We all had to buy Mexican insurance at Why. Why? Because the Mexican government requires it when you drive into Mexico. Why don’t we do that when the Mexicans drive into the U.S.A.? Why? Anyway the insurance isn’t very expensive and it covers your butt if you get hit by one of those uninsured Mexican drivers while in Mexico. Why don’t the Mexicans have to buy Mexican insurance? Why?

We took a lunch break at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and crossed the border at Lukeville, Arizona into Sonora, Mexico. We never had to stop at Mexican customs, the Federalles just waved us Gringos right on through. They know a good thing when they see it. Rich Gringos come spend lots of good US money. They were very courteous. From the border it’s about 60 miles of good paved highway to Puerto Penasco. There we checked into the Playa Bonita RV Resort located right on the Sea of Cortez. Our campsites were all together only 50 yards from the beach. Wow, this was camping in grand style! Ray, he’s with Chris, the ones with the rolling 45 foot Ritz Carlton, tuned in his satellite dish and we were soon enjoying cocktails and snacks while watching the Colorado Rockies loose the first game of the World Series on his outdoor high definition widescreen TV. WOW! This really is camping in grand style. We don’t even want to start wondering what the other half is doing. We spent an entire week lounging, sightseeing, shopping, dining and dancing the nights away and generally spoiling ourselves rotten.

Puerto Penasco is primarily a fishing village that is quickly turning into an upscale resort destination. There are lots of high-rise, and high-priced condos and time share properties going up along about three miles of beautiful beach. I’m sure it won’t be long before the cruise ships start calling. For the time being however, it’s still small enough and quaint enough to be very enjoyable. Shrimp season had just opened the week before we arrived and the boats were going out every evening at sunset returning at dawn loaded with some of the best shrimp we have ever tasted. We gorged on them throughout the week along with lots of other really fresh and excellently prepared seafood. The Tequila was cheap, not in quality, in price, and the Kahlua was even cheaper. We all stocked up on all the booze we could legally carry back into the U.S.A. before we left town. Our freezers were also well stocked with enough shrimp and seafood to last us for a while after we got home.

The trip back to Tucson was uneventful except for dealing with U.S. Customs back at Lukeville. Those guys have a tough job and they really screened and inspected us very carefully before letting us re-enter the U.S.A. We had a fantastic trip and have now put Puerto Penasco on our yearly agenda, at least until it grows too big.

Return to Tucson

2008-06-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

After several months on the road we were ready to return to Tucson and get back enjoying the good life at the Voyager. We took a leisurely two days to make the trip from Taos stopping overnight at Truth or Consequences, NM. Now, before I go any further I must explain a few things so bear with me please.

Before we ever moved into our new home we had met three other couples who all have motor homes and homes with motor home ports here at the Voyager. In fact two of the couples, Ray and Chris and Bill and Barbara, live right across the street from us and the third, Bob and Fran, live just around the corner on our block. It’s really amazing, we struck up a hard and fast friendship and it seems like we have all known each other for years. We spend a lot of time together and it seems that it’s always time for a drink and a party around here. Fran, she belongs to Bob, came up with a name for our group. She named us the Bay Conspiracy – the Bay is the section of the Voyager that we live in. She even hand painted individual wine glasses for each one of us with our names and the Bay Conspiracy on them. We now have to take them to the dances with us since all eight of us go together and sit at the same table.

Now, back to my little chronicle – we were quite anxious to get together with the Bay Conspiracy again and have our coming home party and swap stories about where each of us went and saw and did on our summer excursions. Just like all the kids do when they return to school in the fall and tell the class what they did last summer. Ray and Chris, returned home with a brand new Newmar Mountain Aire, all 45 feet of it with a 450 horsepower Cummins and two, count them, TWO bathrooms on board. Needless to say we were all quite impressed. Did I mention that it also had a big refrigerator and a smaller refrigerator/freezer in a bay under the coach. Our Bounder was looking smaller and smaller – umm.

We all spent the next couple of weeks getting our houses back in order after their long summer hibernations and making preparations for our first trip together as a group, to, of all places, Mexico!

The Road to Taos

2008-03-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting in one spot for a while and visiting with family and friends is one of the joys of owning a motor home. Eventually however, one’s feet get restless and it’s time to once again hit the road in search of new adventures and places to explore. This is one of the other joys of owning a motor home. With mixed emotions about leaving family behind one more time we set our course for Taos, New Mexico. JoAnne has an uncle who moved there from Palisade, Colorado a few years ago, bought a house, made new friends and settled in permanently. We spent the first night out at Lathrop State Park in Walsenburg again then headed west on US 160 over LaVeta Pass to Fort Garland. The Aspen were turning and the scenery was spectacular. At Fort Garland we turned south on highway 159 which takes you right into Taos. The scenery only got better.

We spent several days in Taos visiting with JoAnne’s uncle and exploring the surrounding area with him acting as our personal guide. This is a very beautiful and historic part of New Mexico and we look forward to returning there soon.

Summer in Colorado

2008-03-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

I know it’s been quite some time since you have seen any activity on this blog but it’s now mid March 2008 and I reckon it’s time to sit down and bring this thing up to date.
After our Black Hills trip we spent the rest of August and the better part of September back in Denver. One of our neighbor couples from the Voyager, Fran and Bob, were visiting Colorado this summer and were staying in Denver for a week. We hooked up with them and took them on a few excursions to Georgetown, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake and a few other “must see” places around the area. Fran was impressed with this Blog concept when she saw what we had started and she started one of her own. She calls it “Travels With Moochie” and claims that their cat Moochie, who also travels with them is the true author. You will find a link to Moochie’s Blog on the lower right portion of our cover page.

While in Denver we also had lots of friends to visit as well as doctor and dental appointments and eye exams. Jim attended his 45th high school class reunion and we attended the annual Model A Club Labor Day picnic and a wedding in September.

We moved to another RV park in Greeley later in September and spent the last part of the month with Sara, Shannyn and Leo and made trips to Brush, CO to visit with Jim’s sisters and mother. While at the Greeley park we got a good look at some of the new larger motor homes that some of the guests were driving. After two months in our Bounder we started thinking that if we were going to continue making these extended travels, it might be nice to have a little more room, storage, power, and especially, a bigger refrigerator. Alas, the seed was planted, everything else was OK but we would keep our eyes open for a bigger fridge.

September went by all too quickly and with October, and Autumn rapidly approaching it was time to pull up stakes on our traveling circus and head our restless wheels south again.

Denver and the South Dakota Black Hills

2007-08-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

We’re pretty well settled in here at the RV park in Denver. So far the motorhome is working well for us, although we’re learning a few different ways of handling things, storing things, etc. like not buying large packages of things because they’re less expensive – no room for them!! The park has a nice laundry room with dryers, but you can also hang clothes on their clotheslines and they provide the baskets and clothes pins. I prefer to hang my clothes out when I can, so that works really well. The showers are neat and clean too. They have a really nice pool, and a clubhouse that boasts 2 pool tables, exercise equipment and other amenities.

The first week we were here in Denver we had a couple of doctor appointments and then spent time at Jimmy’s house cleaning up some of the stuff we left stored there. He has really done a nice job on the renovations he’s done, although he’s not finished with everything yet. He’s started so many projects both inside and outside, bless his heart. Sara’s in-laws took her kids for that week, so she came down and Jimmy, Sara, our friends/neighbors and we went to the Cinderella Drive-In, one of the last drive-ins left (and this is their last year here). We had a great time – it’s been a long time since we’ve been to an outdoor movie.

The week of the 6th (Sturgis week), we combined business with pleasure and went to South Dakota to get our driver’s licenses. (In South Dakota, they have rotating offices for getting driver’s licenses. Custer is open on the first three Wednesdays of each month, so we had to be there by Wednesday.) Sara and the kids went with us. We picked them up about 11AM on Monday planning to stop in Lusk, Wyo. We took a route that would take us around Cheyenne, but we missed a turn and took about an hour’s unplanned tour of northeastern Colorado’s ‘beautiful’ back roads. We finally got back on track and arrived in Lusk staying the night in a nice little campground.

We drove through Custer the next day to arrive at the Rafter J RV Ranch near Hill City. The middle of Custer’s main street, for about 6 blocks, was filled with 3-4 rows of motorcycles – what a sight!! For the most part, the bikers were OK, but there are always a few who have to pass in a no pass zone, etc. to make the rest of us nervous. And a few of them were downright rude. But you wouldn’t believe the sheer numbers of bikers – it was amazing. Our site at the Rafter J was up in the hills in a really nice wooded area, with the showers close at hand. That was important having the 2 little kids with us!!

The Black Hills of South Dakota is a really beautiful area and we heartily recommend a visit for those of you who’ve never been there. We went to see Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, and took the grandkids to a petting farm near Rapid City. At Custer State Park we saw a lot of bison roaming freely, crossing the road in front of us, etc. Shannyn was really impressed with them!! The petting farm was really fun for all of us. They had goats, calves, bunnies, and chicks that the kids could touch. There were pony rides, pig races, train rides (pulled by a small John Deer tractor) and many other things to see and do.
On Friday, we headed out for Fort Robinson State Park, Neb., which we’ve visited several times before. This is a most interesting place, not far from Chadron. It uses the buildings of the original fort for a small hotel and restaurant, museums, etc. The officers quarters can be rented for families for reunions, weddings, etc. There is an indoor swimming pool, pony rides for the smaller kids, and horseback riding for the bigger kids. They also happen to have an area for RVs in a beautiful shaded area. Sara finally got her horseback riding trip here. And both kids got to ride the ponies. We also had a hayride to a chuck wagon dinner up in the hills on Saturday night.

We got back to Denver Sunday evening. Monday was spent house cleaning the motorhome, doing laundry, etc. Then Tuesday Sara and the kids came down to go to the pool. (It was Bryan’s birthday and we didn’t want Sara to spend it alone.) We had a good time and Sara brought strawberry shortcake, which was Bryan’s all time favorite, to celebrate. Wednesday we went to Brush to spend the day with Jim’s Mom – we had a nice lunch and a good visit with her. On Thursday evening Sara and Shannyn went to see The Little Mermaid in downtown Denver – just the girls – while we watched Leo. Friday we went to Jimmy’s house and loaded up a bunch of boxes for recycling, and did some more clean up. That night we went to the Model A Ford club meeting and caught up with a lot of our friends there.

Our friends from Tucson are going to be spending time in Denver next week, so we will show them some of the sights. We will be taking them up to Rocky Mountain Park, to Grand Lake, as well as showing them some of the local sights. Friday and Saturday is Jim’s 45th class reunion. Sunday I have a bridal shower to attend with Sara. The following week, we have more doctor appointments for check-ups, etc. Well that brings you up to date for now.
So until next time, take care.

Tucson to Denver

2007-08-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

We're sitting in a Lathrop State Park campsite tonight, west of Walsenburg, Colorado. We can't believe we can send and receive email while we are out 'camping'. We do have an electric plug in, so it helps.

We started our trip Sunday, with our furry kids (our cats) in the motor home, traveling thru Globe, AZ, thru the Salt River Canyon up to Show Low, AZ in the White Mountains (about 6000'). The Salt River Canyon is very pretty, but has 6% grades on both sides. Outside Show Low, we stayed in the sister resort to where we live in Tucson (Voyager), which is built around a golf course -- very picturesque. Some of our new friends also have a site up there; we had a wonderful dinner at the Munich House in Pinetop, which was situated on Fred's Lake. Much to our surprise, there were osprey there fishing on the lake -- it was beautiful. Then on Wednesday, we headed up US77 thru Taylor and Snowflake. In Taylor, there were US flags hanging on poles all down Main Street. In Snowflake, the old-fashioned lamp posts all had beautiful flowers in flowerpots. We passed a street named Bellybutton Lane. Ah, small town Americana -- isn't it great!

At Holbrook, AZ, we got on US40 (which paved over the old Route 66) on our way into New Mexico. At every town along the way there were markers for the 'Historic Route 66' -- all the old main streets. As we got closer to Gallup, we saw petrified wood logs all along the highway -- what a sight. We passed thru Gallup on our way to Grants, the red rock buttes were beautiful as the sun highlighted the vivid reds and the clouds made shadows on them. Around Grants there are a lot of lava rocks on both sides of the highway. The El Malpais lava beds are close by. Jim and I had seen them sometime ago, so we didn't stop this time.

Wednesday night we stayed on the west side of Albuquerque in a really nice RV park with nice sites, lots of trees, a pool, and even a free continental breakfast. Thursday we got a later start than we had planned, but what the heck -- we're retired! We ran into a lot of road work and several thunder storms, so the going was slow. You wouldn't believe how green everything is. It rained so hard that water was flowing across the highway and there we puddles everywhere in the fields. We really slowed down -- the picture of a 31' motor home hydroplaning is not a pretty sight!

The Lathrop State Park was really nice and quiet, and very pretty. The next day we had a fairly uneventful drive to Denver. We had planned to park next to Jimmy's (our old) house, but there isn't really room so we set up not far away in another RV park. The cats will be happier here, because we will have A/C if we need it. (One of our travel days, Callie one of our cats got overheated and was frothing at the mouth, so we're really more conscious of the heat's affect on them.) We will be here in the Denver area for a while, taking care of some business, doing the 'doctor thing', etc. We do need to make a quick trip to South Dakota to get our driver's licenses.

So until next time, take care and be safe.

For all you RV'ers, the Albuquerque RV park is named American RV Park on US40, and we would highly recommend it. It is very pretty and very clean. The Lathrop State Park was really a find! There are loops with electricity and some without. Water is available, there are nice showers, and there is a dump station. There are a couple of hiking trails and a nice lake for swimming and boating. The park is off the highway, so it is quiet. The views are spectacular -- the Spanish Peaks look close enough to touch.