Picked Kam up and on our way.....

October 8 – Up at 8 and on the road at 9 to the planned Wal-mart.  Traffic was light since it was Sunday morning and we breezed through.  Bill drove the car and I drove the RV since once we got there I left in the car for the airport.  A right and 2 lefts and I arrived at the tiny Santa Fe Municipal Airport.  The terminal looks like a house and Kam confirmed it was tiny from the air and you walk into the terminal.  She said she’d never been in such a small airport.  I received a text from Kam on my way that she had landed.  It was so close that I was waiting for her to come out.

Kam and Bill

We zipped back to Wal-mart and Bill was in the process of cleaning up a little mess.  Some food items had shifted and although he had a hand ready to catch anything that was falling, there were 2 things and one got him:  salsa!  Good thing I have another jar in case we need it! 

We decided not to hook up the car since it was only about 20 miles to where we were getting off to visit Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.  We left the RV behind the gas station and lit out for the adventure.  It was maybe another 20 miles to the entrance where there was quite a line formed.  We sat for a bit waiting and a ranger paid a call on each car in line letting us know it could be 1 – 2 hours due to the limited parking at the trail heads and it’s Balloon Fiesta

Field of tent rocks

week.  I knew if we didn’t go now we’d never go and Kam and I suggested we give it a few minutes to see how much the line moved.  Once the ranger made it to the end of the line, the cars ahead of us started turning around.  So we moved up!  Then a couple more cars turned around and we moved up again.  Then we’d see a couple of cars exiting and we’d move up again.  Kam got out after a while and counted and after moving up several times we were still behind 13 cars.  Then things got to moving faster and we figured the first wave of the morning was leaving.  Overall our wait was about 30 minutes.  I brought granola bars so Bill and I had a snack and Kam saved hers for on the way back.

It’s 4 miles from the entrance to the parking area where they have a ranger you follow to the

LOOK OUT BELOW!

space since they are dotted in the woods.  We chose the Cave Loop Trail which is 1.2 miles (half of it is uphill).  The trail grants an excellent view of cone shaped rock formations as well as boulder caps perched on top of tapering hoodoos.  I could have sworn if the 3 of us stood and jumped up and down for a few minutes we could make one of the boulders fall.  The cave is about half way at the highest point of the trail.  You can’t go in it and it is man made but we didn’t determine the age of the cave.   There’s an overlook but since you must drive on a section of gravel road AND it was well past lunch time, we passed on it.

The café at the truck stop was closed so we just ate in the RV.  I had plenty of ham and chicken, as well as an assortment of fruits and vegetables.  It was only max 30 miles to Albuquerque so we drove separately again.  Other than Bill missed one turn after we exited the interstate all went well, well except the speedometer was not working again.  At least I was following him and he wasn’t going to be speeding for fear of me losing him.  The Sheriff’s Posse Arena was rather full this year.  Our space was closer to the end than the beginning but that’s fine.  We share a water hook up so Bill had to get a splitter out.

We had our afternoon iced coffee and Bill took a nap and Kam and I read.  I did a bit of typing and then got some dinner ready.  I steamed some shrimp and chilled them and made stuffed zucchini and leftover corn.  For dessert we had the only pint of huckleberry ice cream we had left for dessert.  It was yummy.

At 7 we watched TV and at 8 we stepped outside and watched the laser light show and the fireworks from the Balloon Fiesta.  That’s the convenience of parking at the arena.  We’re ¼ mile as the crow flies.  Kam booked Uber to pick us up at 5:30 in the morning so we can go to all of the morning events.  Tomorrow will be a short day!!

Go west young man, go west!

June 26 – We left around 9:30 on our way to Billings, MT.  We were barely on I-90 when the ceiling panel above the dash behind the TV started sagging on the driver side.  Two self-tapping screws were in the piece.  We were stopping shortly for diesel fuel so we figured we’d pull out of the way after and screw them back in.  Of course, that was not to happen!  They would not stay up so we used packaging tape as best we could to hold it up until we stopped for the night.

We were only about 70 miles to Billings where we were camping for the night.  It was a nice Good Sam Campground, Billings Village RV Park.  Not too large but very well kept.  All the spaces were back in but we were unhooking anyway.  You could tell a lot of the guests were summer residents.  We had several places in the area that we planned to visit.  Before we headed out we attempted to put the screws back in the ceiling to no avail, so off we went.

Bill wanted to check with the Ford dealer and see if he could get the little clips to re-attach the bottom piece of the car bumper.  They took us in immediately but with no guarantees as they didn’t have the clips on hand.  Next door was a Burger King so we told them we’d walk over and have lunch while they gave it a shot.  When we got back it was parked in plain site and the piece looked back to normal.  Bill went to pick up the keys and pay and they didn’t charge him.  They said they attached the clips that were still there but it was missing some so once we get to ID he will have the dealer there order them.  What nice people!

Pompeys Pillar

We headed northeast about 30 miles to Pompey’s Pillar National Monument.  Pompey’s is a sandstone outcrop on the bank of the Yellowstone River and rises 150 feet.  It is unique as it’s the only major sandstone formation in the area and has been an observation point for 11,000 years of human occupation.  Markings, petroglyphs and inscriptions have transformed the formation into a living journal.  Once we

William Clark inscription

completed viewing the movie and touring the VC we walked out to the formation.  I thought we’d just see it from the ground but there is a boardwalk WITH STEPS that you can go up and see some of the markings and inscriptions.  It was 101 steps to the level where we could view the enclosed inscription of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,

The steps

July 25, 1806.  That is the really important one for most people.  Then Bill dropped his sunglasses and they fell under a rock at the edge of the boardwalk.  Luckily I was able to squeeze my hand in and barely get hold of them.  Saved us a trip to the store!

Heading back into Billings we detoured about 10 miles to Pictograph Cave State Park.  We paid our entrance fee and checked out the small display area in the VC.  Then it was head out for a 1 mile loop trail to view the caves in 95 degree heat.  Luckily our safari hats were in the car.  The first of the trail is pretty much straight up hill to the main cave that was discovered in 1937.  Over 30,000 artifacts have been found

The best Pictograph we saw

with some dating back 9,000 years.  The more rain there is the more moisture is present in the cave and the more pictographs can be seen.  Of course when we’re there it’s the driest it has been in ages.  We did see some but not many of the 100 that are seen when it’s super wet.  Photos were tough to get but we got a few.  We completed the loop as we really needed the exercise but boy, it was hot and we were rather disappointed.

We did a drive around Billings.  It’s not a very big city and the airport is above the city on a plateau.  We drove past it on our search for Boot Hill but the map we had wasn’t marked the clearest and we did not find it.  Bill wanted to see the grave of Yellowstone Kelly.  We drove down the plateau on the main drag and passed the Montana State, Billings Campus.  Then we zipped over to Sam’s.  I told the owners where we are volunteering that we’d stop there for them for some campground supplies and I wanted a few things for us also.  It was late afternoon and they had food samples that were great.  I don’t think our Sam’s serves that late in the day or that large of portions.  We both had ¼ of a hamburger, 1/3 of chicken sandwich and a nice piece of the chicken quesadilla with sweet tea to wash it down! 

Once we put the groceries away I remembered that we were supposed to stop at a

RV Repair

hardware store for larger screws.  I got directions from the office and it was 4 right hand turns to Ace is the place.  They didn’t have the exact screw, of course and not the beige color either but at this point I really didn’t care.  I got white.  I got my Dewalt out and put it on to charge but we could not get a bit or screw to puncture the piece.  We think it’s fiberglass with the cover on it matching the rest of the ceiling.  We debated on buying an impact drill but I talked Bill into asking our new neighbor if he had one we could borrow.  I had determined that if the screw was long enough we could screw it through the fiberglass and catch the edge of the cabinet.  The neighbor ended up being the one to get the screws through and we put in 4 instead of only the 2 that were up.  It appears to be solid as a rock now!

With the big snack we had at Sam’s we just had some small leftovers and a piece of jello pie, so no major cooking or cleaning up.  The WIFI here is great and I got 2 days posted and caught up pretty well on my email.

Fossils and Forts

July 18 – The plan this morning was to visit a roadside attraction, Carhenge, but Bill reminded me of how far it was out of the way, so I agreed to pass on it.  Oh well!  We left at 8:45 but had a bit a trouble getting the level legs to stop flashing an error code on the panel.  I finally retracted enough times to make it go away.

From Scotts Bluff it was only 15 miles to Mitchell, where we turned and headed north.  Well, for 35 miles we had 1 truck pass us and nothing but miles of pastures and treeless fields.  It was one super straight road with some ups and downs to keep you on your toes.  Just before our turn into Agate Fossil Beds National Historic Monument, there was a large copse of full trees and a house and out buildings and

we learned that was the home of the man to first discover the fossils on his property.  What a great man he was!  James H. Cook settled on the Niagara River in 1887 and he discovered some fossils and brought in various scientists and paleontologists from universities and museums and it has been determined these fossils date back 19 – million years.  Cook and his family gave 1,000 acres of land to the National Park Service to preserve the area for future and continued excavations.

Kam called as we were walking to the VC and wished Bill a Happy Father’s Day.  She gave me a card for him before we left and I had it on the table for him this morning.  He was very pleased that she thought of him.  She and I talked a bit then she had to go and we did also.

Two "mountains" where the
fossil beds are

Cook was also a close friend of Chief Red Cloud and other Oglala tribes people and they often came to his ranch and set up a tipi village and had meals and activities with Cook and his family.  They always brought gifts, some they had made and others that had been handed down generations through their tribe.  The bulk of those gifts are also on display at the visitor center in an air and light controlled room.  It was just about as impressive as all of the fossil skeletons and displays.  He never lied to or treated the Oglala as anything but his friends.  It’s quite a touching story.

Memorial commemorating
where Crazy Horse was
killed

Now we were only 50 miles to Fort Robinson State Park in Crawford, NE.  Along the way I spotted 3 antelope.  We should start seeing them on a regular basis now.  We arrived in time to get parked and have lunch.  What an impressive facility.  We had no idea what to expect but they have turned all of the barracks and officer housing into hotel rooms.  The campground is beautiful and they offer plenty of activities to keep you busy.  There are horse trail rides, wagon train rides, stagecoach rides, bike rentals, pool, crafting for kids, 2 museums, exhibits, and I forget the rest.  Some of the rides are actually tours.  They have a chuck wagon dinner and stage shows.

Bill and his new friend

Once we had lunch we toured the building replicas of the original fort and drove the property.  We went to one museum and drove out to the sites where the German WWII POW camp was and near it was a monument to the Red Cloud Indian Agency location. On the way we passed a herd of 100% Texas Longhorn cattle, they have not been bred with any other breeds of cattle..  We checked out the horses and had an ice cream.  What a nice afternoon!

Bill had to wash the front of the RV again.  The windshield looked fine when we arrived but when we got out of the RV the front below that had huge yellow bug splatters all over it.  Nasty!  So Bill washed it and the car and I made a peach crisp for dinner.  Tried out the new toaster oven and it works!  For dinner I made Italian sausage meatballs with sauce and rotini and small lettuce wedges with blue cheese and bacon.  I had to admit, it was a rather good dinner.  I was disappointed in the crisp (not the oven’s fault) as the peaches were not ripe enough.  Bill didn’t mind a bit!

I have caught up writing the journal tonight while we watched “Good Witch” and now it’s time to read a while before hitting the hay!

Rocks and more Rocks

June 17 – It was a beautiful day today!  We had a restful evening and managed to get up and on the road before 9.  As we pulled out of the campground we got photos of a roadside attraction, a giant soft serve ice cream cone.  Made me crave ice cream all day!

Jailhouse on left, Courthouse on right

We didn’t drive too many miles today which was nice.  Our first stop was only 64 miles to Jailhouse and Courthouse Rocks.  No interstate today, which was even better.  There was no traffic on our two lane roads.  As we followed the directions the roads got smaller and once we got to the last turn off it was gravel which we were not going on in the RV.  Luckily there was a nice wide pullout for the Rocks with a sign telling about them.  So, we didn’t make the trip for nothing.  The rocks were famous landmarks for travelers on the Oregon-California Trail through Nebraska.

Old Chimney Rock

21 miles further we stopped at Chimney Rock.  Chimney Rock was another famous

landmark along the trails west.  Many travelers carved their names and dates of passing on the rock but since it was sand stone most of the names crumpled and disappeared from weather conditions.  There were also a number of

Current Chimney Rock

graves along the route, most of which are only discovered by accident.  They say there is a grave for every mile of the trail. There is a nice visitor center at Chimney Rock with a great movie about the Oregon Trail.  We learned that the Mormon wagon trains would not follow the exact trail of the heathens (us regular folks), so at times they went further out of the way.  There was a telescope set up so you could see the “stack” of the chimney up close.  A display of drawings and photos of the rock from first time trappers and all those that followed is compared to the current photo and you can see the deterioration of the rock.  Who knows how many years it has left after wind, weather and lightning strikes?  Visitors are not allowed near Chimney Rock so the telescope was a good idea.

It was lunch time and rather than make something in the RV we ate at a little café that is part of a campground literally right in front of Chimney Rock.  We saw it on our way in and being a campground we knew they had ample parking for us.  Bill chose a table in front of a window where he would see Chimney Rock while he ate his chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich.  I had pulled pork and both came with potato salad and we shared a drink.  It was a bigger lunch than I am used to so Bill finished my potato salad.

Fueled up after a good lunch we headed another 25 miles to Scotts Bluff National Monument.  We approached from Gering, NE and as we did we were driving on the Oregon Trail.  There were houses on both sides and Bill said he’d like to live there and tell people he lives on the Oregon Trail.

View from Scotts Bluff

The visitor center, housing and office compound sits at the base of one section of the bluff.  To me it looks more like a very long plateau, but what do I know?  The opening at the ranger station going in was VERY narrow and I needed to make an immediate right.  Yikes!  Just the RV would be one thing but towing the car, that kinda concerned me.  We could see as we drove up where the RV’s were parked so I creep mousied in and around and we pulled in behind a fifth wheel.  Before we could get out of the seats a shuttle van pulled up beside us and asked if we wanted a ride to the top of the bluff.  Of course!  Sure beats unhooking the car and re-hooking it up later.  The instant I opened the door I told Bill I was going to need a jacket!  It was cold out.  We had noticed it was much cooler when we had stopped earlier but not as cool as it was now.  Bill grabbed my hoodie but with the slide in he couldn’t reach his jacket.  Worked out OK as most of the time we were in the van.

What a nice ride up through 3 short tunnels.  The CCC sure did a good job of road building

Larger section of Scotts Bluff

back in the 1930’s.  The view from the top was awesome!  We could walk from side to side, well just from one end.  The driver pointed out Chimney Rock and I was able to zoom in on my camera and get a photo, although not the greatest.  We learned how no one wanted to settle in the area because it was too dry and now it’s prime farmland due to canals dug by the CCC that bring in plenty of water for irrigation.  We spent some time in the Visitor Center but the view was the real attraction.  The ranger there is a local high school teacher and rangering is his summer job.

The city of Scotts Bluff is only 5 miles and sits on the other side of the bluff from Gering.  Our stop for the night was a county park called Riverside Campground in Scotts Bluff.  I had called several times trying to confirm a spot for the night and they never would commit.  There is a Little League tournament in town this weekend and they had booked a lot of the spaces for that but she promised if we didn’t get a space we could dry camp.  So we didn’t know what to expect and the “host”, who is the summer employee there, didn’t even write it down as she didn’t seem to recall speaking to me several times.  She had us wait while she drove the riding mower around to check what spots were now open since some of the teams staying there had lost and left.  Didn’t seem like a very efficient system to me but then, I’m not in charge.  Lucky us, she had a spot for us!  All of the parents were out to watch me drive in to the space.  I guess they’d never seen a woman drive something that big.  It was a full hookup but not a very well groomed place.  We can manage anywhere for 1 night.

After setting up and having our afternoon iced coffee, we decided to have an early dinner and go to the new Wal-mart in town and then to see “Pirates of the Caribbean” at 7.  Bill showered while I prepped dinner, then I showered and we ate and left just after 5:30.  At Wal-mart I was speed shopping!  One reason I wanted to go was I wanted to get a new toaster oven.  My original RV toaster oven turned 8 this year and would not heat higher than 350 and took “forever” to do that.  I use it a lot for small dishes for just the 2 of us.  In 8 years things have changed!  There were only a few toaster ovens to choose from, now they were all toaster/convection ovens.  I already have a convection oven I don’t like so why would I buy another one?  I also didn’t want anything over 18” wide due to my counter space.  The new one is smaller and a beautiful red so I’ll give it a try.  It was very sad to say goodbye after 8 years of crisps, cobblers and pies.

I knocked out the rest of my list, mostly produce, and we got checked out and to the movie by 6:30.  We enjoyed this Pirates movie as much as all of the predecessors.  The ending pretty much guarantees this was the last one.  (No Jack Sparrow did not die).  It was still pretty brisk out and we didn’t need the AC at all tonight.

Since we ate an early dinner and didn’t get anything at the movie I made popcorn in my microwave popper (no salt, no butter) and we read and snacked.

NOT a do over day!



This big steer crossed the road at
the exit for Rome!

August 1 – It was nice out when got up but by the time we were ready to go the rain started.  We headed back onto the toll roads and suffered the rain as we headed west to Rome, NY.  Luckily the skies cleared shortly before we were to exit for Ft. Stanwix.

Fort Stanwix was along a main trading route connecting Canada, 6 Native American tribes and US east coast.  A war started in 1754 with the French and Virginia Colonial troops in Pennsylvania, called the French and Indian War.  By 1756 (remember we were still subjects of England) the fighting spread to England where it was known as the Seven Years War.  The fort was actually built in 1758 by the British and played a vital role in the war.  It was detrimental to the Indian Nation whose people chose sides and destroyed

Model of the fort

crops and trading for a long time.

The foundations of the fort were excavated and a replica of the fort now stands where the original did.  A few of the original out buildings were not redone.  There are furnished bunk quarters, officer quarters and the Sutler Store.  Bill was able to navigate most of it on his scooter and the exhibit in the Visitor Center was very interesting as well.

We had to park across the street in a regular parking lot and luckily it being a

One of the bunk rooms

Monday it was not too full and we easily got in and by the time we were ready to leave a couple of key cars had left making our departure much easier!  Yahoo!  Then it was back on the toll road to Waterloo, NY.  The weather the rest of the day was good which makes a huge difference.

We stopped and got diesel but they had no DEF fluid at the pumps and none in the store by the gallon.  We tried another stop about 50 miles further up the road and no DEF at the pumps but they had it by the gallon, at $8.70 per gallon.  What a ripoff!  That’s how it is when they have a captive audience.  So we got one gallon and that barely made the needle move.

Onward to Waterloo!  (which is named after Waterloo in Belgium) Bill checked his Next Exit book and saw there was a big Petro truck stop when we got off so we went there and topped off the diesel and used our 2 empty DEF containers to fill at the pump.  I guess trucks have their DEF tank on the driver side but RV’s (who knows for what reason) have it on the passenger side.  So we filled the containers and dumped them in and I filled them a second time and we used 1 ½ so I pitched the smaller container and topped off the larger one and stowed it.  The DEF was $2.89 a gallon, big difference!

As we headed out of Petro Bill said to go right and shortly down the road he realized he should have said left and now we’re in farmland and need to turn around.  CRAP!  Well, here’s what went down!  There were nothing but houses and we see a food bank with a drive way into a parking area, bear in mind that we are not crawling down the road as there are cars behind us and your mind is working fast and you’re in a panic wondering how far before you could easily turn and I hesitated so didn’t stop and we both saw the exit from the lot and I still wasn’t slowed enough and Bill said turn, so I did and I stopped because I knew I hadn’t swung out enough for the narrow lane, which was narrower than the first lane and I just stopped!  Bill is telling me to go and I do know the limits of the RV pretty well and knew I’d go in the ditch on one side of the lane.  I said no, I can’t and he reminded me that we can’t back up with the car towing.  I totally got panicky which I rarely do and was seriously ready to cry and he got out and gave me very slow directions in and I heard a big scrape.  He got back in and I pulled on in further and got my tears over with.  Then he joked and said maybe I should check the mud flap.  So I got out and sure enough, the mud flap was hanging from one side.  Bill with his walking boot on and

The missing link!

crutches, got down under the RV and unhooked the one side and asked me to see if I could find the hooks that came off.  I was only able to find one so thought it flew off across the road. We struggled to get the mud flap into the car.  It was very slightly bent but without the hooks we couldn’t put it back on.  I was leery of towing out of the small lot onto the narrow 2 lane road so we unhitched and Bill, who is not supposed to drive, drove the lead to the Waterloo Harbor Campground.

The campground is on a canal where they do a lot of kayaking and canoeing.  They rent them here.  There are a lot of seasonal RV's here as well.

The spot we were assigned was not the most level and we had some difficulty there so we hope we haven’t created a new problem when we go to leave.  I think I’m starting to drink more!!!

Once again we enjoyed having leftover pickle steaks for dinner and I enjoyed not having to cook,  We watched one of our remaining TV shows, Rizzoli & Isles.

Good day went bad!

July 13 – Not the best day ever, that’s for sure!

We decided to top off the propane tank since we’d be arriving tonight where we’ll be for 7 weeks and might need the propane for heat some nights.  Then we were having trouble with the error message on the leveling legs again, so we didn’t leave until 9.  Then a wine glass was left hanging on the rack instead of put in the cabinet and it fell and broke all over!  Not a good start.

As we drove on out and on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument, the legs control kept beeping and we finally pulled over and I redid them and it stopped for the rest of the day.

At the entry of the monument
with a field of lava rock

The road to the monument was really nice road, no traffic but mostly 2 lane.  The only elevation issue was actually in the park so we had nothing to worry about after all.  I was tickled to see 2 belted Galloway cows mixed in with others along the road but they were really easy to spot.

We barely fit into the parking space at the Visitor Center for RV’s.  We watched the 2 movies they offer, checked out the exhibit, bought some “stuff” in the bookstore and decided not to drive the RV on the loop.  So we ate our lunch then

Inferno Cone

unhooked the car and headed out to see what the park had to offer.  It looks a lot like Sunset Crater NM in Arizona but we did get to see some things we’d never seen, such as Splatter Cones.  You can’t describe what all of the cinder, lava rock, types of lava flows look like.  It’s amazing to see fields of black rock and mounds of it like a plowed field.  Then you see the volcanoes side by side 7,000 years old and 2,500 years old.  The difference is the amount of

Crater fragments

vegetation on them.  The loop drive was great with some walking paths to follow taking you further into the lava fields.  It was quite breezy there today and even on the chilly side for shorts a short sleeves.

Do these mountains have a name?

It didn’t take long to hook back up and get back on the road towards Island Park, ID.  Bill had called in a prescription to his Dr. this morning and we needed to pick it up in Rexburg at the Wal-mart.  The weather was rainy on and off, not the most pleasant for driving, but the drive itself was really an easy one.

We had hoped to make it to the Forest Service office before they closed but it was around 6

One of our choices

and raining.  Bill had called our contact ranger for directions of where the campsite was for us.  We decided to park at the office and drive the car back to the spot to make sure we didn’t get in a pickle.  Her directions were awful.  I don’t think she’d ever been back

No, this one is better!

there. We could not find any campsites and luckily caught a guy getting out of his truck going to some kind of government housing and he’s a fire fighter and once Bill read him the directions she gave he got us on the right road but agreed those were terrible directions.  Well, when we drove to the sites, we were speechless.   It was worse than most of the “Deliverance” campgrounds we’ve seen.  It appears to have been a camping loop at some ancient point in time, but was now all grown up with weeds, and machinery thrown around and the spaces were very narrow and didn’t look the least bit level.  There were junky RV’s

Maybe along here....

and other vehicles back there.  You can’t imagine how upset we are.  Bill has been so excited about this assignment from the beginning, knowing that weekly we could go to Yellowstone on our days off.  Well, what a let down.  There was no way we would consider taking our RV back there.  There could be snakes, more ants and mice, and we think we just got rid of the mice we had.  So we pulled the RV in along side of the office and dry camped for the night.  We have mail coming so we can’t leave the area until it arrives but we will talk to the people tomorrow and let them know this just will not work for us.  We can’t imagine that anyone would stay back there. 

I guess we will get a campsite somewhere for 3-4 nights and get online and look for another volunteer opportunity.  Maybe there is something at Yellowstone, who knows.  The cell service is non-existent also.  She told me what great cell service, but I guess not ATT.  I have 1 bar so did manage to text with Kam but that’s it.  Maybe near the resorts we will have better luck tomorrow.  So, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Great day in Twin Falls

July 12 – It’s Sunday, special breakfast day!  Today was cinnamon and raisin scones, bacon, cantaloupe and an egg for Bill.  It was a nice day out, not hot or humid at all.

Snake River Overlook

We headed out to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.  The google map sent us to the actual fossil beds and not the visitor center but we called them and were only a few miles off.  They showed a nice movie and we learned that most of their fossils are in places like the Smithsonian and other major museums.  They are known for the Hagerman Horse as complete skeletons were found.  The fossils here are relatively young, as in no dinosaurs.  The Hagerman fossils are about 3 million years old and were uncovered 15,000 years ago by a flood that carved out the cliff and began exposing the fossils.  It’s all very interesting.

After the visitor center we drove out to one of the fossil bed overlooks where the Snake River flows.  The view is great!  It’s also a couple hundred yards from the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail.  You’d have to do some walking and hiking to get to the remaining ruts and we weren’t really interested as we’d seen the ruts in other places.

The Horseman

The Sheepherder

On our way out of Hagerman, the town, we spotted a set of bronze statues so we turned around to check it out.  It was dedicated to the sheepherders who came to the area and settled.  There was also a small covered wagon that made a nice photo op!

Along the Snake River

We stopped along the road out along the Snake River for a view of the river and valley below.  The river “snakes” along for miles and miles and is believed to have originally connected to a river much further north but due to the volcanic activity it was split sorta.

Devil's Washbowl

Thousand Springs State Park is actually 5 park units in what is known at the magic Valley.  We stopped at the Malad Gorge Unit and walked out to see Devils Washbowl.  The water just rushes down the entire gorge, not just from the falls.  Along the far side of the gorge is a walkway to another lookout point where you get an entirely different perspective of the Devils Washbowl. 

Waterfall further down the
gorge

It was way past lunch time and there hadn’t been any places to stop for lunch.  Bill asked the gate attendant at Malad and he recommended a place up the interstate which was the direction we were headed so that worked out well.  It’s a county cooking place and we forgot it was Sunday and it was pretty full but we were seated right away.  The service was a bit slow but the food was good.  Bill got a 3 piece chicken meal and it was 3 bone in chicken breasts.  No way a normal person could eat all that with the sides!  He brought it home and we ended up having it for dinner.

Next stop was Twin Falls!  We stopped at the visitor center that

Perrine Bridge

overlooks the Snake River.  The Perrine Bridge crosses it and is well known for hang gliders jumping off the bridge and

Snake River with golf
courses on both sides

gliding over the river.  Too bad it was rainy out as they weren’t gliding today.  There are 2 golf courses in the valley along the river, one private and one public.  We could see kayakers and boaters enjoying a Sunday afternoon on the river.

Mr. Perrine

There is a statue beside the viewing area at the visitor center honoring IB Perrine, who was instrumental in getting the river dammed up and a power plant in Twin Falls. 

Shoshone Falls AKA
Niagra Falls of the West

We had directions to Shoshone Falls, which is within a city park.  We did the view from the top first and then did the very winding road to the bottom.  On the way down, within ½ mile we saw a groundhog, a baby raccoon and a baby deer.  I was impressed!  Then we parked and viewed the falls and were REALLY impressed!  All of the landscape around the falls was beautiful.  The dam is there and its building created Dierkes Lake above the falls.  It’s quite the

Still waters of Snake River

summer hot spot!  It was getting hot out by then and that was pretty much our last stop for the day. Well, I did spot a Starbucks in Twin Falls so we stopped on the way out and each got a frappuccino.  Yum!

When we got home we were still full from lunch so I didn’t give dinner a thought and Bill turned on the TV and was watching a movie and then I got sucked in.  Well, it was a two parter and luckily part 2 came on right after.  I would have been mad to not get to see the second half and know how the story ended. 

Bill finally got out his leftover chicken and some veggies I think.  When the movie ended we went out and put the bike rack on the car and the bikes back on.  Then we walked a little around the park.  I had the last of the chicken and we settled in for the night.

May 20 -  Oh to sleep in a bit was heavenly!  Since we didn’t do Sunday breakfast on



New site at Punderson

Sunday I made bacon, an egg for Bill and almond pancakes and some fruit.  We put out extra food and water for Molly before leaving around 9:15 for Cleveland.  We stopped at the check in booth and Bill went in to let them know what site we had taken and to complain that they had not answered the phones yesterday and they insisted they were there.  Well no one was there at 3:30 and the camp host hasn’t been here since we arrived and we have still not seen a park ranger.  The office people were volunteers.

 

Bill, Xena & Bob Feller

I had printed directions to Progressive Stadium but some was on small back roads and seemed to take a long time.  I thought we were making a stop before we went to the game but Bill was concerned about traffic and parking and he loves to be early to watch batting practice.  We parked right across from Progressive Field and then walked around the block looking for some place to buy a carry in lunch, but all we saw were bar and pub type places.  By the time we got to the gate there were hundreds of kids.  We saw several buses on the highway but didn’t know it was a weather education day and they let the classes in at 10 for a weather program and then they moved them to the outfield bleachers and way up to the top.  We slipped in with the kids and found we were not supposed to be in until 11.  It was OK, we just sat in the shaded seats and waited until the kids vacated our seats.  We had excellent seats but in the sun.  Glad I took my goofy little hat so my head didn’t get burned.

We really enjoyed the game.  We left during a tie but the Indians ended up beating the Mariners in 10 innings and we heard it on the radio as we drove to our next stop.  Before we left I showed Bill where the Indians Hall of Fame was and he checked out all the plaques and the exhibit on Bob Feller.  Right outside the exit gate is a huge statue of Bob Feller so I got Bill’s picture there too.  Bill has a photo of Xena in a ball cap that he is taking everywhere so instead of a Flat Sally, Bill has a Flat Xena.  We will have many photos of Xena.

David Berger NM

In the direction back to the park is the Mandel Jewish Community Center where the David Berger National Monument is.  The monument is the smallest National Monument in the country.  David Berger was a US citizen who moved to Israel and was on the 1972 Olympic Israeli weightlifting team and was killed during the Arab hostage event.  His parents pursued the monument as the only one ever built to commemorate the 1972 Olympic terrorism. 

We stopped at Wal-mart for a few things, filled truck tank and had dinner at Applebees.  We don’t have those at home anymore.  Molly was very happy to see us.  She cried at the door when we went out to for a bike ride.  We put the rack and bikes back on the truck and Bill hooked up the sewer hose for in the morning.  We don’t have to leave particularly early as we only have about 200 miles.  There more campers here tonight that last night, so our area has 6 RV’s and one tent camper.

November 19 - 23 What is Happening in Tucson

Santa Catalina Mountains and
Sonoran Desert

Carole and Herb picked us up at 8:45 to go with them to McDonalds where they go every Friday morning for coffee and/or breakfast with their fellow bus driver retirees and their spouses. We had eaten breakfast but tagged along to meet their friends and then the 4 of us were going to run some errands. They had a nice crowd over in their regular corner of the place and such a nice group of people.

From there we went across the street to Big Lots, but we didn’t buy much, just some odds n ends. Then we made quick stops at Home Depot, JoAnns and Micheals and a long stop at Sunflower Market. Those are really great grocery stores. They remind me of Whole Foods at home but have some bulk food items, which is nice. I picked up some stuffed chicken breasts for my turn to cook dinner on Saturday night and some bulk items I will probably take home.


Rincon Mountains

After they dropped us off we had lunch and did some duties around the RV. We picked them up at 4 to go to the swap meet that is from 3 to 11 on Friday nights and we thought that would be less crowded than going on Saturday or Sunday. It was really disappointing. During the 23 years that I have come to Tucson with Bill and gone there we have always had fun looking in the silver shops, the Mexican import shops, and of course the various clothing and “junk” shops. Well I guess this was the last time we will go back. There must have been 15 – 20 candy shops catering to the Hispanics along with produce stands and stands selling Mexican chips and snacks. There was only 1 remaining import shop and a handful of jewelry places. The orientals have started setting up their $1 items like at the Webster Flea Market at home and there were lots of clothing that was catered to young people. So no more Swap Meet for us in Tucson. Bill and I spent a whopping $4.50 on a bottle of Avon powder and 2 bungee cords.

The plan was Mexican dinner at Casa del Rio which is pretty much just up the road from the RV and their house. We only had a short wait for a Friday night, which was nice since the parking lot was packed and the place was full. I had the best tortilla soup and a green corn tamale which I never see at home. Herb and I shared a ½ liter of sangria too, so for me it was a great meal! We dropped them off and headed home to some TV and reading.

November 20 – One of our propane tanks was empty this morning so after breakfast Bill loaded it in the truck and we headed out on more errands. The furthest away was Mac’s Silver shop to pick up the items I had dropped off earlier in the week for repairs. Bill looked at some things but what he liked was not his size so he left empty handed but did find they could repair a couple of his silver items so we’ll ship them when we get home. We stopped at Trader Joes and got Cindy 2 bags of orange chicken until I see how much room I’ll have in the freezer. Got some wine to try also. They even had a dornfelder that was really reasonable so will give it a try.

Barrel cactus

We stopped and got the tank filled and then a quick stop at Fry’s for the last items I need for my part of the Thanksgiving meal. We were home in time for lunch. I did a load of wash and put some of the medallions on our walking sticks but it was getting really windy outside and so I put it away for another day. I put the I-hooks in and we adjusted the new bungee cords to them so maybe now the TV won’t be on the bed when stop at the end of our travel days. Luckily it hasn’t gotten damaged so far.

I got busy and made a blackberry crisp for dinner then when it was time I put the stuffed chicken breasts in the oven and snapped my green beans for lemon dilled beans and made a dill krauter with my only cucumber. Carole really likes it so thought it would be a nice addition. Didn’t make a starch tonight since we’re having dessert. They arrived a little early and I put out some goat cheese with pepper jelly and crackers. Herb and I tried the dornfelder and it was yummy! Will be getting a couple more bottles to take home on my next trip to Trader Joe’s.

We all decided to go to the movies to see “Morning Glory”. It was slow starting in my opinion but once it got going it was really funny. Everyone really enjoyed the movie so it was a good night. They drove so they dropped us off and headed home. No TV tonight, just some reading and lights out.

Sonoran Desert

November 21 – When I got up and awake we dressed to go for our morning walk around the park. We critique the various park model trailers and how the tiny yards are done and the size of the lots. We bid “good morning” to all the other walkers as we pass. Bill would like to spend a winter in a place like this and make friends and socialize with everyone, but when we already live in Florida it would be crazy to spend the money and winter here. When we got back I made Bill’s Sunday special breakfast. I had my tiny bagel with leftover goat cheese and pepper jelly, 2 pieces of turkey bacon and my bowl of fruit. The plan was to wash the front of the RV but it was overcast first and then when the sun came out the wind really picked up so Bill did what he could reach from the ground. I baked 6 ½ dozen sugar cookies for Thanksgiving week for everyone and put more medallions on the walking sticks until I got tired of the wind again.

We had a light lunch since we were going to dinner with friends of Bill’s in Green Valley tonight. Then we met the challenge of taking down the window dressing over the dining table that was coming apart. We took a while getting all the staples out and Bill suggested I see if there is an upholsterer that would staple it back instead of buying a staple gun and the sizes of staples. Good idea, so it’s ready to go. Then putting it back up all in one piece will be fun, since we took it down in one piece. I called Carole and asked her to look up upholsters in the phone book and she has a chair she wants to get done so tomorrow we will try to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Jumping Cholla Cactus

On our way to Green Valley we dropped Xena off over at Carole’s. They enjoy having her and she loves their back yard. Poor Molly, home alone again. We drove to Ed and Mary’s and visited at their home for almost an hour before heading to the Desert Diamond Casino for dinner. They have a nice sit down restaurant right in the lobby area. We ate with them there the last time we were here. The food is very good. The service was a bit slow but worked out well for us since we wanted to visit anyway. Bill and Ed coached together back in Ohio when Bill was just starting out. Since the casino is between Tucson and Green Valley we followed them there and left for home from the casino. Actually we stopped very briefly to pick up Xena then came home. There was a Sherlock Holmes show on at 9:30 that Bill wanted to watch and I was 3 days behind on my journal. I made Bill and hot chocolate and I had a cappuccino. He had crisp and a cookie and I just had 2 cookies. I was good at dinner so that was my reward.

Bill went to bed since he’s taking the truck in to get the valve stems replaced in the morning. Time for me to follow!

Prickley Pear or Paddle Cactus

November 22 – Bill left at 8:15 to take the truck in to have the valve stems all changed on the truck. I made a bunch of phone calls. I found someone to repair the valance Bill and I took done at the table and he can do it over night so we can put it back up before we head home. I was just finishing my calls when Bill got back. I finished washing up the dishes and then we went for our walk. Then Xena wanted to go so we took her for a long walk. I put a load of wash in. Carole finally called and once we all had lunch they picked us up to go to the upholsterer. They have a chair they wanted redone so it was a good time to take both items. Once Carole picked a fabric for her chair and discussed if they could do it by Wednesday, we headed to the mall to the movies. We went to see Harry Potter. There were hardly any people there for the 2:20 show. The movie was good. A bit darker than the last one but left us all waiting for the final chapter in July.

Carole and Herb dropped us off to take Xena for her walk and I put the clothes in the dryer and Bill feed Molly, then we went to Carole’s for dinner. She made the famous orange chicken from Trader Joes. It was really good. We had spaghetti squash and a mixed vegetable dish with mushrooms and pearl onions that was really good too. There were cookies for dessert. Then we went our separate ways to watch TV. I was in the computer room, Bill and Herb in the living room and Carole at the bar in the kitchen. After our shows Carole and I went through her paints to pick some for her to do our kokopelli stone with our names on it. Then we came home and watched Hawaii 5-0 then read.

Saguaro, the big boy cactus

November 23 – Bill left at 6:30 to take the truck in for an oil change and to check for a noise in the front end, but they found nothing wrong. He was gone 4 hours! While he was gone I did 2 loads of wash, spot cleaned some of the carpet, took Xena for a walk, did the dishes, did some email and made a couple more phone calls. Once he finally returned we went for a walk around the park. The mobile RV guy, Gene Kelley, finally called and said only one of our parts came in yesterday and he should have the other today and would call and let us know. So we made our plans for the day.

After lunch we drove out to Saguaro National Monument. There are 2, an east and a west. The east is only 8 miles or so. They have a loop drive that’s 8 miles with lots of turnouts along the way and several hiking trails. We hadn’t been there in 22 years and it looked so sparse compared to the number of cacti back then. We did a very short hike, more of a nature walk and stopped several times for photos. The highlight of the day was a stop at Javalina Rock. First we were just taking a look but then I saw there were people up on the rock, so of course I had to be on top of the rock. It seems like it took me forever to make it around and back and forth to get up on top. I was too short to get up where everyone else was climbing so I went a little further around and found some foot holes in the rocks that would get me up. Then to get down I was the last person up there and I couldn’t go back down the way I came so I had jump down where everyone else had and I had to push away from the rock to keep from scraping my back. Well, these old knees don’t have any spring left and I got down OK but fell backwards on my butt. The only injury was to my dignity! I did brush against several cacti going up and back down and the rest of the day I was picking the stickers out of my clothes.

Javalina Rock

From the park we went to Wal-Mart to pick up my prescription. Then we stopped at the gas station that sells propane and got our tank filled. It’s been cold here at night and we forgot to turn on the spare tank and we ran out of gas during the night so it was cold in here this morning. I needed a couple of last minute items at Fry’s so once we made that stop we headed home.

I made a blackberry crisp from the last of the berries I brought to take to dinner over at Carole’s. Bryan and Janet got there before noon and Janet and Carole were going shopping for the after-noon and we were invited to dinner. We took Xena over with us and Carole had fixed a pork tenderloin, scalloped potatoes and mixed vegetables. After dinner we all watched NCIS, then they were going to watch Dancing With the Stars so we came home to was NCIS Los Angeles. Bill went to bed and I watched The Good Wife. About time for me to head in too.