Home again, home again, jiggetty jog...

We have visited the family (both sides) and taken care of the little things (like going through the mail) getting groceries, etc. So I guess you can say that we are back.

I really wish we were still on the road. There were so many things that we missed. The Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park, another Rodeo, the bridges of Madison County, I could go on and on.

I will be making my list for the next trip. I will be saving my pennies for the next trip. I will be saving my vacation time for the next trip.

Murtle will be ready, too. She sits on the entertainment center looking out the window longing to jump in the truck for a ride. Taco sits there with her looking at the bright sun and warm weather.

Guess I should start focusing on the now. We have a wedding coming up to prepare for. I have to go back to work. Brad will be embarking on a new challenge. (Just a little something to occupy his time...)

I need to take all of the information that we gathered on our journey and organize it. Pick out the things that we liked, go through the things that we could do without, make a scrapbook, print out some pictures, put together a book, (Oh, there are still a lot of things to do.) I also, think that Murtle and Taco deserve their own book. Hmmmm, "The adventures of Murtle and Taco", maybe a child's book, better yet, an older person's book. (They did have quite an adventure in Montana - in the shower and all).

I promise to post some more wonderful pictures in the future. Remember, life itself is a journey, and a journey for two is even better.

Back at the beginning again

August 14, 2007





The campground that we stayed at in Tennessee had a driving range. Murtle and Taco wanted to try. This was something that Murtle had never done before. Taco, of course, had whacked balls before. Not sure who was better.





At least this campground had more green. Trees, and grass. It was still very warm, but we did get a chance to walk around.





Thought that Murtle might be really good at golf but she had a bit of trouble with the club. (It was a tad too long for her.)

The two of them tipped over the bucket of balls. Taco just about fell over laughing and made Murtle pick them all up.





I thought Murtle was going to put Taco in a bucket or at least turn the bucket over the top of him.





Once they got going on the course, they did pretty good.















We traveled on to Virginia the next day, and camped at a campground that had a pond. Oh, Murtle was in seventh heaven. Poor Taco, he thought that Murtle was going to swim away and never come back. I don't think I had seen him so frightened. You would have thought that he was going to lose his best friend, (well, I guess Murtle is his best friend, so I see why he was so upset!)





"Come back, Murtle! Don't leave me!"

Good thing that Brad went to the rescue. He heard Taco scream, just as Murtle reached the water. Murtle just laughed. She thought it was fun to make Taco squeal.





Murtle's Uncle was in the pond. He came over for a visit and made Murtle very happy. Taco didn't like the ducks that came looking for food. He thought that they should not beg.





The temperature was nice enough to go for a long walk. It was a nice campground (no street lights). We did see a little boy fall into the water, but his mom could run fast and pulled him out before he even got too wet.






These are some of the mountains in Virginia. It was a tad hazy even though the sky was clear. Again we climbed up a mountain. It was a beautiful view. The temperature was still rather warm, around 94.





We decided not to take the Skyline Drive, thought we would save that for another day. We opted to go through Charlotteville and Culpepper instead.





Years ago, my son-in-law took me to Culpepper and we saw the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard. I looked this time going through Culpepper, but didn't see it.






We made it to Christi's! Some of you wanted to see what her home looked like. It fits her to a tee! It is in a really nice neighborhood. The kids have a nice dooryard to play in.

The street is quiet. Lots of walkers! (It was actually cool enough to walk! We took the kids and walked to the end of the road and back.)

They even have a peach tree in their yard. Just before we arrived, Sydney was waiting for us and saw a deer run through the yard. She was so excited to tell us.

The kids were so excited to see Murtle. (Taco decided to stay in the truck, he wasn't really keen on little kids. He was afraid that they might get stuck on his horns.) But he watched them play.

Murtle had a ball with the kids. They took her for a ride, they read to her (that Sydney can read really well for a four year old!)

Ty gave her such a big hug she thought she was going to pop out of her shell.


We stayed with the kids for a few days, but then we had to get going. Our next stop was in Pennsylvania just north of Scranton. (We took Route 15 north then 81 into New York.) We decided not to take the highway from the campground. (I set NUVI to avoid highways and we happened by this wonderful bridge.

You just never know what you will find off the beaten path. We met a couple here looking at their map. They were on a motorcycle and asked if we could help (not that we knew where we were either, but NUVI could come to the rescue if need be). They were from Australia and had been touring the US longer than we had. They had been in New England already and were making their way back to California from where they had started.

We thought that we had heard a lot of different accents, but I think theirs was the most distinct.

From there we went through Saratoga Falls, NY and headed for Vermont on Route 4. We camped in Hubberton, VT right on a lake. We met some people from Bow, NH and had a long chat with them. Come to find out that we knew someone in common, such a small world!

Again, it was cool enough to walk. It must have been in the 80's when we arrived. So before dinner we took a short walk. Then while dinner was cooking, we took another short walk. Then after dinner, we took a longer walk. We walked, we chatted, we walked and chatted (Oh, with other people this time. Guess it felt a little more like home with green and white license plates.)




We just had to take a picture of the giant ice cream cone. This seemed to be the theme of the whole trip. We even had one here at this campground. We checked NUVI for the nearest Dairy Queen, but it was in Burlington. (We could have gone to Ben and Jerry's, we weren't that far from there, but we didn't.)

Murtle and Taco are at the base of the cone. This one didn't melt. When we got up in the morning we put on our long pants. (This was only the second time we put them on the whole trip. Once in Williams, AZ after the monsoon, and once today!)

We left the campground fairly early and headed northeast. It was sort of a sad day. This was the last leg of our journey. We kept trying to figure out where we could park our camper for a few more days, but Brad was eager to see his father. (Bill had just gone home from the hospital on Friday and it was Tuesday now.)

We did stop at the Farmway store in Bradford, VT on our way home. (We stopped there on our first day out, so it was fitting that we stop on our way home.) We both picked up a few things, and then headed north again.

We stopped in Lisbon to see Bill. He looked better than we thought he would. (You just never know what to expect.) The nurse came while we were there, so we left shortly after she came.

Then we headed HOME. That sounds so funny, because all the time that we were on our journey, we kept calling our camper HOME. The house was still standing when we arrived. Things looked like they were in one piece. The pumpkins were growing! (But some of the leaves were black! Had to have had a frost the night before we got home, boohoo.)

I can't say that I am glad to be home. I think I could be a full timer very easy. We did see a lot on this trip and we traveled a long way, but we did not even scratch the surface of this vast country of ours. I look forward to planning another long trip again.

Yes, we are still on our journey

We haven't been taking pictures because it has been so HOT. I did want to update you as to what and where we are.

Right now, Monday, we are in Tennessee, just about 40 miles from the Virginia boarder on Route 81. We are in Baileyton, TN. Nice little, quiet campground. Today was actually the first nice day that we have had in a long time. It was cool enough that we could cook breakfast outside (at 8:00) and not sweat! We decided to stay here one more night.

Well, let me catch you up on our travels. We were on Route 40 until Saturday, when we slid onto Route 81. (We were not on 81 very long before we stopped in Baileyton). Let's see, I think the last time I blogged was when we were in Oklahoma at the Route 66 museum. From Salisaw OK, we headed for West Memphis, Arkansas. We spent one of the worst nights of camping there. (Loud campground, there were trains blowing their whistles about every 20 minutes! ALL NIGHT LONG!) The campers seemed to be "bad" campers, (they kept walking through our sites, the kids were screaming, (I could go on!)).

I do have to say that we did take a trip to Graceland (or at least we drove by). Graceland, in Memphis is where Elvis lived (some people say he is still alive). Murtle didn't see him. She was looking for him. Well, anyway, we drove to Memphis, Tennessee (it was only 15 miles from our campground). It just so happened that this was the start of the week long festival celebrating Elvis 30th anniversary! The place was mobbed. We could not have gotten close to Graceland if we tried.

Brad had a great experience driving through Memphis. (We thought the Boston area was a challenge!) Memphis is a maze of roads. Thank goodness for NUVI. I just don't know what we would have done on this trip without her!

The next morning we headed East again. Had to drive back through Memphis again. NUVI to the rescue again. Turn left, go North, go South, go straight, turn here, turn there. Thank you, thank you, thank you NUVI.

After we got through Memphis (on a Saturday) we headed for Nashville. Now remember the temperature was pushing 100 (ok 97 - 99) close enough to 100. If you factor in the humidity it was over 100 for a few days. We didn't want to do anything other than sit in the air conditioned truck or put the air on in the camper, and then hibernate.

So, needless to say we did not stop in Nashville. (That will just have to be another trip.) Even the Great Smokey Mountains seemed too hot to stop. So we didn't.

We found our campground in Lebanon (Tennessee, not NH). (Calling ahead for a campground with the heat so hot was a good idea. There wasn't any way that we would be camping at Wal-Mart on these hot nights without electricity!) The campground had a lot of people (but not full) because of a truck race (the big boy trucks). They asked us if we wanted tickets, but again, at near 100 degree weather, we opted not to.

The next day we headed out again for the East. Calling ahead again for a campground, we ended up at Baileytown. We drove through Knoxville this time. Really glad that we hit these places on a weekend. After we settled in, we needed some groceries, so we punched in a Wal-Mart Supercenter and drove to Kingsport, TN for an evening outing. What a place! When we drove into the city, we saw some kind of "mill/plant". It appeared quite large. When we drove out of the city at night, we could not believe the size of the "mill/plant". After doing some research, it was Eastman Chemical. I looked it up on the internet. It was huge.

Well, today, Monday we went out for a drive. (How ironic, here we have driven over 7,000 miles and we went out for a drive. ) We just wanted to see some of the country. Like I said earlier, today was a beautiful day. (OK, it was still hot, in the high 80's but nice compared with the last week or so.) This time we drove to Greeneville, then to Newport, (of course for Dairy Queen, what else would we drive that far for?) Murtle, (and Brad, OK, Taco and I) had to have our ice cream.

We drove on some pretty narrow roads. They were curvy, too. Saw some beautiful homes, lots of farms, with cows/cattle (OK, Rod, I'm not that well versed!) They had big sweet eyes. Lots of horses, too, but for some reason, I don't think they do a lot of Rodeo's here. Maybe they do, like I said, I am not that well versed (but we didn't see any arenas).

There was a thunderstorm that passed through, but the sun kept on shining! There must have been a beautiful rainbow somewhere.

Well, it is late now, (we are back on your time). We are heading NORTH (oh, how I shutter with that word) I am not ready to be done with this journey yet. We still do have two weeks left, so maybe we can stretch it out a tad.

Should be in or at least near Waynesboro, Virginia by about 2:00PM on Tuesday. Will be at Christi's on Wednesday early afternoon. (One more laundry day needed!)

Random pictures

Friday, July 10, 2007

This is a picture of the old "pictures" on the rocks. It's hard to see these things. It would be extremely interesting to know what they meant, and be able to understand them.

This was taken at the Petrified Forrest. There were lots of interesting things there. All around the area there were replicas of dinosaurs. We will have to go back to revisit and learn more about it.

I am sure that people have tried to make up stories about these, and I wonder how close they have come to the truth.


This was a changed terrain. I actually took the picture because of the cloud. (Of course the picture did not do it justice. The sun was on the cloud and it was just beautiful. I also took this picture out the window of the truck on the fly.)

This was also on the way to the Petrified Forrest.









This is another picture taken on the fly. We did not know what the white spot in the saddle of the mountains was. It's still a mystery. We could not figure it out. Maybe just markings on the mountain. Maybe man made, Maybe you can guess better than we can.







This picture was taken at the Route 66 Museum. It was in the transportation portion along with the campers, cars, fire trucks, motorcycles, etc.

Not sure if it were real, or just a replica. Probably the latter. This was the same place they cut a car in half. The back seat was made into a "drive in theater" complete with the speakers that attach to the windows, and the front half of the car with a screen in front of it showing the the drive along Route 66 with the kids in the background saying, "Are we there yet?" It was a very interesting place.



Here is a picture of the flatness of Texas. Again, sorry Texans, but this part was extremely flat.

We could see for miles and miles, and miles and miles, and miles, and miles, (OK, I'll quit.)









Here again is a petrified log at the Petrified Forrest. These were random "logs" in random places. It was so strange to see them just laying around in the midst of nowhere. There might not be one for another 1/4 mile. Then there might be a whole bunch of them.

Really makes one wonder how they all got there. Was it planted? Was it just the way nature happened? Some people have their own theories. Of course the Indians are probably right. Something about the spirits...


Again, a land formation made out of different material.
This one explains the pictures on the rocks (or what they think they mean.


This is flat again, Texas.

Sorry, this one is sideways, but Murtle and Taco like to have their pictures taken at the campgrounds that we stayed at.

Oklahoma, where the wind blows...

Yesterday, we went to the Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. Right on Old Route 66! It was great. (I even got a picture of Brad in Church, it wasn't Sunday, but the walls are still standing.) They had a lot of things on display. We didnt' stay very long in here. We also tried to get into the jail, but that wasn't open. Guess they have more Church goers than bad guys.

There was a funeral home, a farm house, a dentist office, a post office, a drug store (and we actually got a root beer there), a blacksmith shop, a train station, and lots more. It was really an nice layout. We kept thinking of Lisbon as we walked through.

We came to realize that in New England we have a lot of OLD things, but the WEST (or OK, here in Oklahoma) this part of the country was not settled until much later than New England, so their "antiques" aren't that old.

(Casey, we came across some rules for teachers, if you click on the picture you might be able to read the rules! Keep in mind that these must be followed. Still want to be a teacher?)



Both Brad and I remembered things that our grandparents had that we saw in the Museum. Now, that either means that we have great memories, or we are OLD. I like to think the first is the case.


There was a display of dolls and we found Dane's twin! (Josey, I took one look at this and had to find Brad! When we get home, I'll have to really compare pictures.)





Again, it was HOT. (Anne, you would not like it here!) We have been walking at night after the sun goes down and the temperature is still in the 90's. During the day, it is almost unbearable if we have to be out. Of course, the camper is air conditioned and the truck that we travel in is air conditioned so that is not too bad, but if we want to go or do anything, it is hot.





We drove around Elk City and checked it out. Nice community. Larger than Littleton, smaller than Manchester. We only found one section of town that was not up to par. The rest of the area was very nice. We are back into GREEN again. People actually have lawns here. It is great to see trees again.





We decided that we hadn't treated ourselves for quite some time, so we went to the movies. (Remember, we are in search of air conditioning at all times.) We saw the Bourne Ultimatum. It was great. Can't wait to see the next Bourne movie...





Of course, after the movie, we had to have ice cream. (Oh, by the way, Todd, Murtle eats more ice cream than Brad! Can't keep her out of the ice cream shops!) This place was much better than a Dairy Queen, and that is Brad's favorite. They had Amaretto ice cream, and I had it combined with coffee, yummy. Brad had banana rum and coconut. (Murtle couldn't decide, so she had a sample of all 28 flavors! She was full by the time she made it through the whole case. Taco doesn't like ice cream, too close to home for him.)





We have been staying a KOA's since we had that sketchy episode in New Mexico. We have been partaking in their pancake breakfasts. (Yes, Dave, we bring our own MAPLE SYRUP! None of that artificial stuff for us.) Our next trip west, will be selling syrup along the way. So far most of the KOA's also have WiFi, which is great.

Murtle was so upset when we found her cousin's shell. Someone had painted it and made it into a sign. After saying her good-byes, we high tailed it right out of there. She didn't want to be the next sign.






We are still unsure of the direction that we will head now (but, Penny, we are not going to make it to Montana for the 16th. Will have to plan another trip for some other time, we will be back for that shower!) I think some of our plans will change just because it is so HOT. It was supposed to be 120 in Oklahoma City.





Right now we are sitting in Sallisaw, Oklahoma on Route 40. We haven't deviated much from Route 40, unless it were to take a side trip on Route 66 (which parallels Route 40). I think we will be on Route 40 for a ways longer. If we say on 40, we will go right through Memphis. We will have to think about that one. Someday it would be fun to stop there, but I don't think on this trip.

Along our journey, we have seen many places that have wind mills. These were really close to the highway. They are not as tall as I thought they were. Definitely not as tall as a cell tower. I listened for the "whoop, whoop" but just couldn't hear a thing as we drove by.

Laundry day is coming, but I am not sure when. It is too hot to do that right now. We have a few days of clothes left. I guess it will be either recycled clothes, or a trip to Wal-Mart for some new ones! (Boy, doesn't that sound like a college student, or what - Ryan!)

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Here again I am playing catch up on Blogging. We are driving through Texas where the terrain is so flat. (I took three pictures and they all look the same. Now don't get me wrong, Texans, granted we are only traveling a very short distance through your state, but this part is flat. I have to say there is more vegetation here than in some of the other areas that we have traveled). We can see for miles and miles. But since we changed from New Mexico, the land has also changed. We see lots of agricultural land. FARMERS (?) Ranchers? We have seen cattle, and We also see irrigation again. The Corn has tassels on it. And the John Deere (yes, we see John Deere equipment again) is Large. Not the little tractors that we have in New England, but the big stuff like we saw in Illinois and Iowa.

We drove through Amorilla, TX. The biggest city that we have seen in a long time. We thought Albuquerque was big. We stayed just outside of Albuquerque the night before last. (right next to a Camping World that sold campers). Of course they had a camper that was almost like the one that we want, but, no we won’t come home with a new camper unless we stop here in Texas and buy a Power Ball ticket (the payout is up about $89 million.) So far we haven’t stopped near a place that sells tickets.

(He he, isn't this cute? We fell in love with this when we saw it, but no, this is not the one that we have picked out.)







Murtle and Taco want to take this car and camper on their own. I told them they wouldn't get very far, but they are determined that they can travel Route 66 all by themselves. (Murtle couldn't open the door, so I guess we are safe.)



Albuquerque was interesting. We drove right through the middle of downtown. Very interesting. Route 66 went right through the heart of downtown. Lots of places are all closed up, but some of them were still in operation.

We do have to make sure that when we pick a campground that we check out the street lights. We have had way too many places that have lights that shine in our camper all night long. It’s like trying to sleep during the day when the sun is out. Guess some people like to feel “safe” when they are camping.

Yesterday we had made reservations at a campground (no card number or money down, thank goodness) we drove to the address, took one look at the campground and both of us got the crebie jeebees. We turned right around and left, and went to a KOA. (We have had great luck with them.) We’ll stay at KOA’s for a few more times before we attempt another place.

For those of you following our progress (or route) we are on Route 40 (now in Texas) getting ready to go into Oklahoma. We’ll stay in Canute tonight and tomorrow night. We want to visit the Route 66 museum tomorrow in Elk City, OK. Then I think we will have our fill of Route 66. It really must have been something in its day. Not much left of it now. Oh, there are a few places that are doing ok, but economically, I don’t think any of Route 66 is thriving like it used to.

Much of the route is so depressed now. Makes one wonder how it was a thriving place at all.
(I can't remember what town this was in, we just happened to turn off Route 40 and take the old Route 66. A whole section of town was blocked off to traffic, and not one of these places were in business anymore. Maybe it is considered historical and can't be fixed up. We will probably learn more at the Route 66 museum on Monday.)


This is also an old motel. Each one looks like a wigwam. How fun it must have been to be 10 or 11, packed in the family car, pull up to a wigwam and be told that you were going to spend the night in one! There are many interesting old places like this.


We have seen lots of different things on our travels. Some places have the wind mill (the ones that produce electricity) They seem to tower the horizon for miles. Wonder why we in New England, don’t do more with wind power? The other question that I have is, why haven’t we seen more solar power in the southwest? Some of the places boast that they have sun for 256 days of the year. One would think that they would utilize that to the max.




Saturday, August 4, 2007

(Happy Birthday, Abby!)

Haven’t typed for a while, and will have to catch you up on the things that we have done. We have been on Route 40 for q while. We stayed at a KOA Kampground for a few nights. The Petrified Forest National Park was there and we wanted to spend some time there. (Murtle was petrified that she would petrify at the Forest. Guess she didn’t understand at first what the forest was like. She also saw lots of these creatures around. Bigger than her, scattered along the road, she rattled in her shell.)

It was very interesting. There were actual trees that got washed downstream that sediments and volcanic ash settled on them, these made their way through the porous material in the trees and through compression forced through the trees and became crystals. (Well, something like that anyway.)


They looked like trees that were just lying on the side of the fields. They also looked like someone had taken a chain saw and cut them into blocks. (They looked that way because they had broken into blocks, not actually been cut.) Up close, they looked beautiful, reds, oranges, purple, and such. The rings weren’t exactly formed the way we would see a cut tree, but your could tell that they were trees at one time.

We couldn’t believe how many of them there were. We actually had our own theory of how they got there. It was a tad different but, of course we aren’t the experts. One place was called the Blue Mesa. It was a walking trail (about 1 mile long) that we took. It went down into the Mesa. The colors there were spectacular. The sign said that at times the rocks look blue or purple depending on the time of day or the cloud cover. It looked sort of purple the day we were there. (lots of cloud cover).









Not only at the Petrified forest were there petrified trees, but at the north end of the forest, there was a painted desert. It was beautiful. Not as LARGE as the Grand Canyon, but the colors were just as beautiful.

Again, the pictures that we took just do not do it justice.

We also saw some of the petroglyphs. These are drawings on the rocks from long ago (long, long ago!) If you look real close on this one, you might be able to see some animals that look like deer. On another one there looked like a bird carrying a baby. I wonder if that is where the story of the stork bringing the babies came from. Or worse, maybe there was a big bird that swooped down and captured the baby. Murtle didn't like that explanation. She was afraid that she might be captured and taken away.


Part of Route 66 went right through the Petrified forest. We stopped at a viewing spot, and there was an old car, probably an old Ford Coupe, aprox. 1920ish. Well rusted, no tires, just sitting there for photo ops. We met two women there and they asked if we would take their picture. Come to find out, the older woman was a high school teacher in Boston, and the girl was her niece from Tamworth. We had a nice chat. When the Aunt was a little girl, her family had packed her up in a car, and they had traveled Route 66 from one end to the other. (These cars are dotted all over the place out there. It is like they just quit working and were abandoned right where they were.)

Grand Canyon

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

We had breakfast at the camper this morning. We did not walk into town. We did go to the office and extended our stay for another night. The people in the office were great. They were actually “Full-timers” (the term for those who just travel from place to place in their campers!) They work for a few days a week at a campground, and either get reduced rates, or free stays at campgrounds. What a life! Well, anyway, we had a rather long conversation with them. They told us all about their life and we told them all about New Hampshire. It was great, guess that is what camping is all about.

We thought that we would go downtown and walk around before it monsoon-ed again today. We took the truck (we could have walked, but we knew better…) We stopped at an old garage, (a Route 66 garage) Brad’s friend Phill would have loved it. We did take some great pictures that we will share with him, but it was all 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s stuff. Lots of Coke things, old number plates, oil cans, things that I didn’t know that they were, etc.

We saw some old saloons, old cafes, old motels. All rather well kept, and historic. One section of town had a replica of a jail, tavern, post office, etc. Right in the middle of the area was a little restaurant. Brad was getting hungry, so we popped in for lunch. I looked at the menu and a pulled pork sandwich jumped out and grabbed me. I had it served with sweet potato fries, and a lemonade. Brad saw the pulled pork and wanted it also. He had the beer batter fries and the pink lemonade. (Two minds think kind of alike…) It was terrific.

As we finished our meal, the sky was dark. We paid the tab, and headed out. Sprinkles, oh, no! We knew what that meant. (Now, I don’t like walking in the rain, as my walking buddy will tell you, right Elaine?) So, just as fast as my little legs would carry me, I high tailed it back to the truck. I even beat Brad and he always walks much faster than I. Just as we got to the truck, the heavens opened up and dumped. Another monsoon!

We headed back to the camper, watched some TV, played some cribbage (and I won at least one game this time). Then it was over, just as quickly as it had started. We needed some groceries for the next leg of our trip, so we decided to go to the store. Back into the truck we went. Of course, the grocery store was right beside the Dairy Queen, and we just had to stop after we got groceries.

After we had our ice cream, the weather was perfect (about 83 degrees) we thought that we would take the “kids” and get some pictures around town before it got dark. Murtle and Taco sat and had a chat with the “old timer” on the bench. Oh, the stories he told. Had Taco in stitches the whole time. We headed for the Western Ware Shop. (Brad wanted to check out the western clothing some more. Lynn, I think he might be thinking about boots!) As we were coming out of the store, a Cowboy and his lady told us that there was going to be a shootout two streets down.

We looked down the street, and there was quite a commotion going on. People milling all around, a band was playing, there was a horse and carriage on the street. We just had to go find out what was going on. Murtle and Taco were eager to see. Taco just loved the excitement, especially in a “cowboy” town.

The whole town seemed to be involved with the activities. There were people in “costume” all over the place. The band was in Confederate uniform. (Most of the band members were young. It wasn’t the greatest band, but pretty good.) They played for a while then a “cowboy” came out and started telling a story. We were all engrossed in the story. There was singing and dancing, then all of a sudden, bang pow, a full fledged shootout! Taco got all excited, he hadn’t seen a good shootout for quite some time. I thought that he was going to jump out there and join in. Murtle was not impressed, she wanted to hide in her shell.

Well, the story thickens! Wouldn’t you know, the Cowboy grabbed Murtle and held her at gun point! He was out to get some money and held her for ransom! (Christi, does this sound familiar?) Taco, Mr. Attitude, was egging him on! He loved it. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to bust a gut. We had to rescue Murtle before she ended up belly up on the pavement. You should have seen her after we got her save and sound. She wouldn’t leave my side for the rest of the night. She doesn’t like “Bad Cowboys” at all. Since they all look the same to her, she wants to leave this part of the country for good. Taco, on the other hand loves it and wants us to stay here for a while longer. Poor Murtle.



Monday, July 30, 2007

Today we went to the Grand Canyon. Oh, my goodness! That is the first response that I had when I saw the vastness of the canyon. What beauty, what splendor, what an awesome experience! The pictures that I took just do not do it justice. It is wonderful. We were there for about seven hours and we could have been there for three weeks and still not have investigated enough.

The day was cooler than normal. There was a threat of a thunderstorm for the day and a chance of rain, but remember, “It doesn’t rain on a Presby parade!” (Or at least it really hasn’t since we started this trip.) When we started out, it was overcast and in the 70’s, not too hard to take. I have to admit, we were very comfortable in shorts and tee shirts.

From Williams to the Grand Canyon entrance was about 63 miles. Straight, flat roads with speed limits up to 75 miles an hour, make for a pretty quick trip. Of course, we had to watch out for elk, rabbits, and critters in the road.

When we first got to the Canyon, we parked the truck and headed for the rim trail. Little did we know that the rim trail goes all the way from one side of the Canyon to the other. There must have been about 120 miles of trail. Well, we walked for about 1 ½ miles, then thought we might take one of the shuttle buses that take you to the parts that you can’t drive to on your own. (Too many cars, not enough parking along the way to make it safe to allow cars to drive haphazardly around.)
The shuttles were great. (The first one that we got on, we didn’t understand how they worked, so we missed some photo opportunities, but then we figured it out.) We wanted to make sure that we got to the side that NO ONE can drive on, so we scooted over there quickly. The bus made a trip for about 20 miles with approximately 15 stops. You could get off the bus, take pictures, then get on the next bus that came about 8 - 12 minutes later. That way you would have the opportunity to view all the spots, and the whole tour took about 90 minutes. We did just that. We got on the bus, got off the bus, took plenty of pictures, hopped back on another bus, then went to the next spot.

At times, because the weather was so nice, we walked from one viewing spot to the next. Some of the spots were .4 miles, or .7 miles apart. (Some were more, and by the time we got toward the end of the trip, we needed water, which we forgot to bring with us, and we could have used sun screen, which we didn’t think of because it was overcast when we left.) So, the bus was very welcome.

I just can’t describe the views that we saw. The canyon was so massive, so deep, so vast, that it is hard to get into words. I have to admit that when I first saw the canyon, I had this calm feeling come over me. I don’t think that I can explain it any better than that. Every time I looked over the vast area of the Canyon, I got the same feeling. A peaceful feeling, a calming feeling, tranquility. Maybe it was all the Indian spirits around, I don’t know, but definitely a place that I would love to spend a lot more time near.

It is hard to imagine the depth of the Canyon. Just looking down into it, knowing that the paths that we saw and the Colorado River that we saw, were actually huge. We were told that the river was one mile down. That is a long way down. We were looking at specks, and those were people walking on the trails. We saw a black dot in the Colorado River (which is not a beautiful blue, but it is a reddish brown color) and that was a rubber raft. (Someone had binoculars and he let us look through them and we could see that there were two rafts tied together.)

The only way into the Canyon was to either walk down, ride a mule down, or take a raft through on the Colorado River. Someone said that it would be fun to walk down, then take the mules back up. I think I like that idea best. It takes something like seven days of paddling just to go from one end of the river to the other. That is a long time to be in a rubber raft. There is one place to stay (some sort of hostel like place). It appears to be very dry, dusty, and not much vegetation. The soils are sandy, gravely type.

Beautiful reds, browns, some greens, but mostly reds.
Murtle (remember, is afraid of heights) did not want to go near the rim trail. She and Taco stayed in the truck. They did get out to have their picture taken at the entrance of the Canyon. (I actually think Taco is afraid of heights, but he won’t admit it! He thought he had better stay with Murtle. We went back to the truck to have our lunch, and tried to convince them to see the Canyon, but they couldn’t be persuaded.

Note to self: The Grand Canyon is a place to revisit on another trip. Make reservations and stay at one of the campgrounds in the park.
It was a dark drive back to the campground, but we were very fortunate that it did not rain (or monsoon) where we were. It did, however, rain at the campground before we came back. Everything was dripping.

We decided to try to extend our stay for another day. We wanted to get into Historic Williams and walk the street of Route 66. The town had some interesting things happening that we wanted to check out.

Monsoons

Monday, July 30, 2007

Yesterday was an extremely interesting day. We headed out for a drive. Headed for higher country to see the Sacamore Canyon in Williams. We started driving up, (yet again) as we did we could see where it had rained the day before (or at least that is what we thought). There was water running everywhere. Granted, the sky was dark off in the distance, but we didn’t think much about it. We drove further and chuckled at all the tents that we saw and said to ourselves, “Boy aren’t we glad we have a camper. They must be drenched!”

As we drove further the water ran deeper, and the sky got darker. (It was only about 10:00AM so it couldn’t be monsoon time yet! That only happens late afternoon, right?)

Wrong! Monsoon can happen any time. We started to see lightening, started to hear thunder and we were being consumed by the black, ominous clouds! Gulp!

Reversing our direction and heading away from the clouds we saw blue sky, yea, we were going to be safe. Ha Ha, we evaded the inevitable for a bit, but then all of a sudden, the sky opened up and swallowed us! Wipers at full tilt just couldn’t keep up with the amount of water falling on our windshield. The roads became water troughs and spillways. The dips in the road were filled with flowing water. (Now, I know we were in a truck and were way above the water, or one would hope, because we ventured through.) Murtle was getting ready for a good swim, and Taco was about to ride on her shell.)

Many “little” cars pulled over and appeared to be waiting. (I actually thought that might be the thing to do, but Brad, the adventurous one, and the one who was driving, floated through it, and of course we were fine.) We set NUVI for back roads, and unpaved ones to get back. (Brad didn’t want to drive on the interstate during a bad storm, go figure.) We were no more than 5 miles away from the campground. It seemed like the longest 5 miles that we had driven in a long time.

It was amazing the amount of water that was “running” everywhere. I mean everywhere. Water was is places that you just wouldn’t imagine that it would ever be. The Roads all had water, the ditches were full, the fields, the yards, everywhere. As far as we could see (and we really couldn’t see very far because visibility wasn’t far) was like a river.

Well, we did make it back to the campground and parked close to the camper. Jumped over the “swamp” outside the door and found refuge in the camper as the thunder and lightening consumed us for another half hour. Brad thought it would be a good time for a nap, so I decided to venture into town to the store. I went into town to see the aftermath of the storm. The water had receded and the town crews were out if full force. They actually used bobcats to scoop up the rocks and dirt off the main roads. They shoveled and swept the roads. (This was a Sunday!)

After I got back, Brad was wide awake. Still raining, lightly, not much else to do, so for the rest of the afternoon we played cribbage, (what else to do on a rainy afternoon!) My cribbage skills, or actually desire to win, is not strong. I just have fun playing and joking around. Well, Brad, (dear soul) try as he might to let me win, just couldn’t do it. He won all except one game and I skunked him. He was throwing points away and I just didn’t catch on! We both ended up laughing and making jokes about the game.

This morning we got up again and went for a walk. The temperature was a mild 70 ish, but the sun was warm. We walked downtown again and had breakfast. (Great coffee and wonderful food.) A two mile walk is great! Now, remember, it was just yesterday that we had all that rain. Well, all gone today! Oh, there were “little” puddles here and there, but the drains, spillways, ditches and such were dry! Plenty of people out cleaning up the rocks and gravel on the sides of the roads, ball fields, etc.

We are going to head out for the Grand Canyon this morning. We’ll pack a lunch, and (rain gear)! Again, it is supposed to monsoon again today. The other day they had to close the road to the Grand Canyon because of the monsoon. Hope we can get through today. (This weather is supposed to last for the rest of the week.) We’ll take the chance this morning. The sun is out and it is beautiful right now.

Brad is just about ready to go, so I’ll send pictures when I can.


Sunday, July 29, 2007

Yesterday was a travel day. We left Boulder City, NV headed south on Route 93, then made a left hand turn (East) on Route 40. (Yes, we are headed east! Not that we are really ready to head east, but that is the direction that we are going.) We are now in Williams, Arizona (on Historic Route 66). The campground that we are in is very nice. The whole area is “covered” with a reddish “stone” that almost looks like crushed red lava. Very interesting.

Before we left Boulder City, though, Murtle, Taco and I went for a walk. Murtle wanted to see the cactus up close and personal before we left. Taco kept telling her that cacti was not what she thought it might be, and she found that out after she hopped up on a prickly one.

Taco fell over with laughter when she begged me to help her down.

When we left Boulder we headed to Arizona right over the Hoover Dam. Because we were a camper, we needed to go through the check point. They took one look at our plates and asked to see under the lid in the back of the truck, then asked to see inside of the camper. That was it! Guess we have an honest look about us. As soon as we crossed the dam, it was an hour earlier. (The time zone is on the dam. Taco thought it was time for breakfast again.)

Again we drove by some beautiful country. (Not that we would want to live here or anything, but different and varied terrain.) This time we saw a lot of desolate areas. The homes appeared run down, mostly abandoned, and ghostly. The were also far and few between. At one time we drove on Route 40 for over 75 miles without seeing a single building, occupied or abandoned.
I guess I should have done a little more homework on the areas in which we are traveling. Little did I realize that after we left the Vegas area, we headed to higher ground. We kept driving up, and up, up. At one time I checked the elevation and we were at almost 7,000 feet! (Right here in Williams we are at 6750 feet!)

On the way here we also came across areas that it had obviously rained, and rained hard! The roads were drying up, but on the sides there were puddles! (Now that is something that we had not seen since we left! Remember, we have been on the road for a month now, and it had just sprinkled on us, or we had a very brief passing shower - until now.)

We had been warned that this is Monsoon time! Well, we found out what a monsoon is. Last night the sky turned black as black could be around 7:00PM. The air temperature was a very comfortable low 80ish. (Such a welcome feel from the 112 degrees in Vegas.) I walked down to the office to find out about the internet not working and there were a few people around talking about the imminent monsoon. It was coming right for us here in Williams. (Well, I did not know what to expect! When we were in the Vegas area, there were a few thunderstorms that rumbled through, but where we were, there wasn’t much rain!) I got back to the camper and told Brad what I had heard, and we decided to go for an ice cream. (Town is only 1 mile away.) So we got in the truck, and went for a “small” blizzard at Dairy Queen. After we finished, we drove home, and the sky was getting darker.

All settled into our camper, the thunder started, the lightening cracked, and the heavens opened up. I have never been in such a rain storm as we had last night! What a doozy! It wasn’t just raining buckets, it was raining water tanks! The amount of water that fell in the twenty minutes that it rained, must have been about 6 inches (ok, Brad said it was only about ½ inch in twenty minutes, we haven‘t heard anything official yet. The official amount was 2.68 inches in less than an hour). But it was unbelievable!

We looked out of the camper and couldn’t even see the camper next to us! We could barely see the truck and it was parked within touching distance! There were puddles everywhere. Had we walked out of the camper, we would have soaked our shoes! (Thought we were in a flood!) The rain subsided and we went to bed. Thunder rumbled for a few more hours through the mountains. How ominous!

Well, this morning, I was so curious. When I woke up at 5:15, I had to look at the flooding! I looked out the window, and nothing! You couldn’t even tell that it had rained! No sign of it at all! Gone, fizzed, caput. The ground here just runs it right off.

This was the first day on our trip that I put my jeans on in the morning. The temperature was a great 60 something. What a relief it was. The sun was out, the sky was bright, just a great day. I was getting dressed to go out for a walk, and Brad woke up. He asked me where I was going, and told me that he would go with me. So we walked downtown for breakfast. What a nice walk.

This is the first time that we have felt like walking, it had just been so HOT before. (I would like to think that the rest of our journey would be like this, but I think that is wishful thinking.)

There is a rodeo in town this weekend. At breakfast we saw lots of cowboys in their hats, boots, and spurs! How authentic it is here on Route 66 to have cowboys around. (Last night we went to the visitor center and were told that every night there is a shootout and a cowboy gets shot! We’ll have to catch that tonight!) So, we couldn’t really tell if the cowboys that we saw at the restaurant were with the rodeo, or just playing the part.

Today is Sunday, so we will probably forgo the Grand Canyon today and visit the Sycamore Canyon instead. We will go to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We were told that the Sycamore Canyon is a great place to see wildlife. We like to see that, so it should be a great day. We will pack a lunch and head out before 10:00.

I just heard the weather on television, and for this area, there is a threat of a monsoon every night for a week. (Guess we will plan to be “home” before 7:00 every night. Good thing the camper is water tight and off the ground by about 10inches. Hmmm, wonder if we float?)