TURNING STONE

Back again to see our rv.net friends at this wonderful campground. This is our final trip of the year, and we'll both miss camping. Went out to Turning Stone's Buffet with Ariel, Catherine and Joe who all go to college nearby. You never leave that place hungry. Tonight, I was a "Hold 'Em widow again, with Tony at the Poker tables. So far, he's "up".

The guys came to the aid of a camper who attempted to pull into his campsite, with his wife guiding him in, but he took the tree next to it with him. "McGuyver" Bruce grabbed his axe and chopped down the branches, and Johnny T climbed up the tree to free the branches, while the others helped guide him in again. Never a dull moment. Wish I didn't forget the camera - It was quite a sight! The guy scraped up the entire side of his gorgeous motorhome.

Enjoyed the traditional blazing campfire at The Browns' campsite, with our circle of friends. Loved the traditional Saturday Night PotLuck Dinner - what a spread! Left with a couple of recipes.....Barb's Clam Chowder and Kathy's yummy dessert. Both so easy, that I think even I can make them.

Well, the time has finally come around again to end the camping season, and hope that the springtime comes soon. Best thing about the long, cold winter, is that its the best time to plan all the roadtrips for next season! See ya next year!

CC Trip - Back Home

It was a long haul today, from eastern Ohio thru Pennsylvania, New York and finally back to Brookfield, CT.  

It was the trip of a lifetime, and if we didn't miss our family and friends so much, we'd still be out there somewhere.  We logged over 7,700 miles on the motorhome, and close to 1,000 additional miles on the jeep.  The only problem we encountered was with one of our TVs, which will hopefully be resolved soon. 

We both agree the best summer weather is in Colorado, which also wins for scenery, although Sedona was a close second.  We told our family and friends in Arizona and Las Vegas, that we love them, but they will NEVER see us again in the summertime!  Arizona also wins for the best highway system, and also the best radar for speeders.  The have cameras mounted on poles sticking out of SUVs, synchronized to radar, and if you are speeding, the camera flashes your photo and the license plate of your vehicle.  I know so much about this because I passed a dump truck and as I came back into the right lane, the flash went off as I drove past.  I'm NOT looking forward to getting that ticket in the mail.

We enjoyed posting our stories and photos, and we're happy our friends enjoyed the trip too! Until the next trip.......Ciao!

CC Trip - Back Through the Heartland

Left so early this am, that I decided to let Tony drive.  I figured how much damage could he do? After all, it's Kansas, flat and straight, on I-70.  So, TZ finally got to drive the big rig - he did 100 miles before I took over.  But, 10 minutes into his drive, it was Tony vs Bird, and it's TZ 1, Bird 0. He thought it was very funny, I said "Get your own material".  

Kansas City was a fun stop.  Known as The City of Fountains, it's very clean - not a shred of paper in the gutters.  There's a section called Country Club Plaza, a 14 square block outdoor shopping district. It's the first surburban shopping center in the country - 180+ shops and restaurants.  Built in 1922, it survived the Depression, and the floods of 1977. Blocks of stores were destroyed, but the merchants rallied and their clean-up allowed the annual Art Fair to open 10 days later. It was a symbol of the spirit of Kansas City. Today, you'll see designer shoe and clothes boutiques, chocolatiers, salons, fine jewelers, with a variety of restaurants from Chicago Uno, to Ruth's Chris Steak House. The architecture is Spanish, with beautiful courtyards, red tile roofs, and ornate towers. There is patterned brickwork on the sidewalks, and just about every store is represented.  

We drove east to St. Louis, city of The Gateway Arch, area of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. 

This was the starting point for the Lewis & Clark Westward Expedition in 1803, after Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the US for $15 million, doubling its size. Led by Merriweather Lewis, President Jefferson's Secretary, and William Clark, Lewis' colleague, the group sailed up the Missouri against the current, for what was in their time, comparable to a journey to the moon.  The President asked Lewis to document all scientific discoveries, such as foliage and flora, and Clark was to map the entire trip. The expedition took 2 years to reach the Pacific Ocean, via the Rocky Mountains and finally the Columbia River, and 6 months to return.  Along the way, they met up with various Native American Indian Tribes, who for the most part, were helpful in guiding the group in the correct direction.  In thanks, Lewis & Clark gave the tribal leaders coins and trinkets. The group was instrumental in providing vital information for future explorations westward. People were astonished to see the group return, less one Sargent who died on the trip, as they all were feared dead.  It was truly an amazing journey in the development of our country.

We took a tiny tram up to the top of the Gateway Arch.  

This phenomenal piece of engineering is 630 feet high, and took 2.5 years to build. We saw a film on how it was made, piece by piece, but what amazed me was that the workers so high up, were not tethered in any way to the arch or scaffolding, and not one person was lost during the construction.

The tram is a tiny bucket which holds 5 people:

The view from the top is spectacular:

Tony says between this and The Skywalk over the Grand Canyon, I can forget anything else except terra firma.

We continue to head east, towards Brookfield CT. Turned 6000 miles for the trip so far. Passed through 2 states today,

and tomorrow we have one more stop - in Columbus, Ohio - to see a friend.  Then, we're almost home.

Saw Patty & Gary Mann, and their family, in Columbus Ohio.  Tony met Gary in Viet Nam, so it was one more Helicopter Crew reunion on our trip.

  

Tomorrow we start the final leg of our trip, through Pennsylvania, New York, and finally Connecticut!

CC Trip - The Road Home

Well, we've left Las Vegas, and have started to head east, and sooner or later, we'll make it home. Turned 4000 miles for the trip so far.  While driving today, a kamikaze bird challenged me and he lost. Driver 1, Bird 0.  It was such a BANG!  that it even woke TZ up from his nap (!). We are passing through northern Arizona , New Mexico and Colorado again, to see some sights we missed.

Went to Meteor Crater.  It is thought that the meteor that hit here was about 150 feet across and traveled about 26,000 miles per hour - The explosive force is estimated to have been greater than 20 million tons of TNT! The crater is 4000 feet wide, 550 feet deep, and you can lay 20 football fields at the bottom.  This is what is left of the original meteor:

Look closely for the people, to see the perspective on the size of this thing:

Click the arrow for a short video:

Please excuse the finger in the picture!  I was holding it over the mics because of the strong winds.

Took the 26 mile drive through The Petrified Forest and The Painted Desert.  The original trees which grew in the plains had fallen in the floods, and the sediment which covered them cut off their supply of oxygen.  Silica seeped into the wood and eventually crystallized into quartz and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.  The wood is very dense, and heavy for its size.  Fossils of prehistoric animals are still being discovered, and petroglyphs carved into the sides of rocks offer evidence of civilization from more than 10,000 years ago until about 1400.

These formations are called tepees:

The Painted Desert was beautiful:

The mountains in western New mexico looked as beautiful as those in The Painted Desert:

Had another freebie, thanks to Tony's Geezer Pass:

Drove up to Capulin Mountain, an inactive volcano, which rises 1,300 above the plains.

There are 5 walking trails, including one that ventures down into the crater.  We drove to the top to see the crater.

The view from the peak was dramatic.

Back in Colorado, we visited Cripple Creek again as we passed through Colorado Springs, where Tony played a little Texas Hold 'Em.

Saw the Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs, at the foot of Pike's Peak.  Estimated to be more than 700 years old, they are set into a red sandstone mountain, and you can explore all of the separate chambers inside.  

This is where corn and other vegetables were ground down to prepare for cooking:

Visited Seven Falls in the Broadmoor area, outside of Colorado Springs.  

Can you see our blue jeep down in the parking lot? (And we were only at the mid-point of the falls).

Driving back, in a residential area, we interrupted a 6 X 5 mule deer in velvet, on his afternoon walk. He didn't even flinch as we passed:

In fact, I think he posed for us!

Passed 5,000 miles so far on the trip.  The plan is to continue through Kansas, into Missouri, to Kansas City, then St. Louis. So we have a few days of driving ahead of us.

CC Trip - Las Vegas

Back to the scorching temps - 104 degrees today!! Bet we've all seen this sign before:

Went to the Strip, where it was packed with tourists.  No recession here!  Lots of building going on.  New York, New York was a fun place. Inside, we saw the Coney Island area, a SoHo village, and Little Italy.

  

Outside, a small scale Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and Chrysler Building.

  

Some other fun sights:

Drove downtown to the "original" strip, where a street fair, light show and music had everyone singing oldies.

Tony finally made it to Binion's - though only for a photo op.  

Drove to the Hoover Dam - There is ongoing construction of a huge suspension bridge to ease traffic from the slow, winding road over the dam. 

Along with the bridge construction, the road leading to the dam is being widened from 2 to 4 lanes, which is badly needed.  The water level is very low - maybe 100 feet down.

Click on the arrow for a short video:

From there, we drove to The Skywalk at Grand Canyon West, which was built by the Hualapai Tribe, on the million or so acres of their Reservation.  On the way, we had to drive on a dirt road for 14 miles, behind a bus.  The visibility from the road dust was probably a few feet at times! They are widening the road to accommodate the traffic traveling to The Skywalk.  

The Skywalk is the glass loop, extending 4000 feet over the canyon floor.  You can look straight through the glass floor to the bottom - very scary. Tony held on to the handrail the whole way....When I asked macho man what he thought about the Skywalk, he said:  "No Comment".  You can read between the lines. 

There was a ledge where people took pictures, and there was no safety rail.  Just a 4000 foot drop.  I was astounded!  I was having a heart attack, and they were acting as if they were in a park somewhere!  

On the way back, we passed a cow on the side of the road:

We met friends Ron & Roseann Lalli at Planet Hollywood for dinner.  Tony met Ron in Viet Nam, and they haven't seen each other for about 10 years.

Met Ron and Peggy Salmon, who drove in from California.  

Tony also met Ron in Viet Nam, so this Las Vegas trip was a reunion for the boys.

Ron and Peggy were staying at The Venetian, where you can be serenaded by the singing gondoliers on the Grand Canal.

Click on the arrow for a short video:

Las Vegas was very crowded with tourists - With all the lights, cars, taxis and people walking everywhere, it was like being in New York City. 

CC Trip - Arizona

On our way here, we followed our GPS which sent us on the scenic route, which, while it had fabulous scenery, it also had a downhill 6% grade ......for 9 miles !!! Even with our exhaust brake, we smoked the brakes on that hill, and had to do 35 mph or so in a 55 mph zone.

We visited Montezuma's Castle (he was an Indian chief) which is a cliff dwelling built right into a cliff about 3200 feet high. It is actually 3 layers of rooms, and it is thought about 35 people lived there.

There was an Indian Casino at the exit for our campground, and it featured Texas Hold 'Em, so TZ was happy. He wore his newly purchased horsehair belt and silver and turquiose buckle for luck.

Here's Tony's new Steam Car:

We spent the day in Sedona, which is too beautiful for words. On the way there, we visited the Chapel of The Holy Cross:

A famous tourist attraction, it was built in 1956 by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. It's built on a spur about 250 feet high, and jutts out of a red rock wall, about 1000 feet high.

The mountains of Red Rock country are magnificent - stunning actually! They just take your breath away.

This is Bell Tower:

Well, we spent 2 days in Arizona before we realized we were in the Pacific Time Zone! For two days, it was an hour earlier than what we thought. Turns out, Arizona does not have daylight savings time!

Friends Doreen & Bill came to our campsite for a delicious dip in the pool ( its 110 degrees), and dinner.

We visited Goldfield, a booming mining town in the 1890's, when it had 50 working mines.

Here's the actual jail:

And the gallows:

And here's Tony, waiting for the Bordello to open:

We drove through the Superstition Mountains, where legend has it there is a Lost Dutchman Mine. People still actively search for it. We stopped in an old stagecoach town called Tortilla Flats, and visited the Cowboy Bar:

A little further along, while negotiating the severe switchbacks and drop-offs, we came upon Canyon Lake. It's a beautiful mountaintop lake, very active with boaters and swimmers as it was about 115 degrees !!

Click the arrow for a short video:

Visited with Millie & Chuck in Scottsdale.

Had a wonderful time with them, but it was just too short!

Visited with Uncle George, Carol and Amber in Phoenix.

Enjoyed their pool in the 115 degree weather, and Uncle George made us a delicious home cooked meal of Pot Roast, which we all devoured. The babies, Jackie and Scooby, were glad to see us, too!

It's been so hot here, you feel like you're in an oven, and we are looking forward to heading north tomorrow to the cooler temps (80's).

Reached Seligman, a Route 66 town all the way.

It's a trip back in time when Route 66 was the Main Street of America - Every store is "Route 66..." something or other. When I-40 bypassed Seligman, it was in danger of becoming yet another Route 66 Ghost Town. However, the old timers and storekeepers banded together, and developed the small strip as Arizona Fun Run, and it is now known among roadtrippers worldwide.

There was no moon out last night, so there's a full menu today at the Route 66 Roadkill Cafe!

The Snow Cap Drive Inn diner, a fun family run business built in 1953, has business cards, photos and emblems from around the world, posted everywhere. The owner is an off the wall character who keeps everyone laughing with his crazy antics. He gave Tony one of his famous milk shakes, no charge, because Tony was wearing his Viet Nam Veteran cap.

Everywhere you look, there are funny storefronts and antique cars.

It was a fun stop before we head out tomorrow to scorching Las Vegas, to see some friends.

CC Trip - New Mexico

We made it out of the peaks, and into New Mexico, where it is 98 degrees.  Our first stop is Taos, one of the five towns in "The Enchanted Circle", a very spiritual area.  The office of the RV Park was quite original:

   

We visited Taos Pueblo, one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in the country. It's over 1,000 years old and is a National Historic Landmark.  The eathen form of its architecture is thought to be the inspiration for what is now known as adobe or southwestern architecture.

There are numerous storefronts where residents sell their handcrafted jewelry and artwork. One of the storekeepers/artisans posted money from around the world, which he received from customers:

This is the Rio Grande Gorge, cut out by giant glaciers, millions of years ago. Unfortunately, it was a very windy day, so there is a lot of background noise on the video below.

Click arrow to view video:

We came upon a neighborhood of sub-terranium homes, which you may have seen on a TV show called "Extreme Homes".  What seem to be  piles of junk, are actually the underground homes which have grass for roofs.  All have some form of solar heat, and many used recycled materials, like rubber tires and bottles for walls.

There was a Pow-Wow and a bike rally in Taos this weekend, and here is a "trike", a 3-wheeled motorcycle - it has a V-8 car engine in it!   Boys and their toys.......

Drove down to Santa Fe and visited some of the galleries with museum quality artwork on Canyon Road, as well as the Downtown Plaza.  Passed the 3000 mile mark for this trip.

Met friends Adrien and Karen for lunch in Old Town Albuquerque.  

Visited with Marlene and Dave and had a wonderful home cooked meal.  

The hummingbirds kept us company.

Pulled open the windshield curtains in the morning, and a cow was looking at me!  Luckily we were not down wind of the cow pasture!

Passed the Continental Divide again, as we did when at Mt. Cottonwood in Colorado.

It was a beautiful drive through western New Mexico.