Yuma, Arizona to Southern California

114 DEGREES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't spend a long time in Yuma, but did see the historical Yuma Territorial Prison which was in operation for only 30 years. Inmates included those arrested for polygamy, affairs outside the marriage, and of course, murderers, sex offenders, robbers, etc. The cells were all exposed to the outside air --- gads, what a hell hole!

From Yuma, on our way into California, we stopped at the historic plank road which, yesteryear, allowed vehicles to travel over the Sand Dunes. Today, in the distance is a VERY long fence that separates Mexico from California.

We celebrated our return to California by camping out at a State Park in Carlsbad, overlooking the ocean --- the roar of the ocean, the smell of the ocean air and the cooler weather was simply intoxicating. We were delirious!

While in Southern California we will be visiting a number of friends. In two and a half weeks, we will be attending Ron's 55th High School Reunion in Long Beach. Should be fun.

Biosphere - Oracle, Arizona

The Biosphere in 1991 was the largest enclosed experimental environment and today continues to benefit research for the purpose of humans living on the moon and/or mars. In 1991 8 scientists (4 males and 4 females) walked into the enclosed structure and lived there producing their own food and conducting experiements for two years. The Biosphere is glass-enclosed and includes several environments ---- tropical and desert, ocean, rainforest, etc. Fascinating tour! Worth the stop!

Titan Missle Museum, South of Tucson, Arizona

South of Tucson we went to the Titan Missle launch site that protected our nation during the Cold War. There were 54 locations of Titan Missles throughout the nation. This particular site in only a museum now with an inert rocket. Thank goodness, the missle never had to be launched. The missles were a deterrent to a nuclear war. We actually visited the control room where the missle would have been launched at the orders of our Commander in Chief (U. S. President). On the tour, Lynn was selected to act as the Major in command of launching the missle with another partner. What a responsibility! I fired myself! ...and gave myself a raise!

The minuteman rockets now protect our nation and are located in the more northern U. S. States.

Karchner Caverns, Southeast of Tucson, Arizona

We have been to a number of caves, but Karchner Caverns is a stand-0ut. It was discovered in 1974 by two University of Arizona students, one of which is still alive today. Karchner Caverns is considered 100% alive, versus Carlsbad Caverns which is considered 3% alive. The founders and the Karchner family worked hard to protect and preserve this cave for generations so they kept it secret for about 14 years while they research the best way to preserve it. The tour was about a mile walk. To reach the mouth of the cave, we took a trolley UPHILL and to enter the cave, we had to go through 3 different chambers; each chamber was a process to maintain the cave's moisture. We saw stalactites, stalagmites, growths that they referred to as straws, bacon, popcorn, drapes, etc., etc., Beautiful! We were not allowed to take pictures or touch anything except the stainless steel rail

White Sands Missle Museum, New Mexico

There were devices on the property to test rockets, drones and small planes post World War II. This is located on a military base and in the vicinity they had military personnel walking around in dessert fatiques and using hummers for transportation in training and helicopters flew overhead at low levels. White Sands was where the first detonation of the first atom bomb took place. It is in the middle of a dessert. The Trinity site is north of the museum by about 50 miles.

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Yes, there is a town called Truth or Consequences! We had lunch there!

Bradbury Museum of Science, Los Alamos, New Mexico

The Bradbury Museum of Science focuses on the Manhattan Project. This was a secretive project during World War II to develop an atomic bomb. The town of Los Alamos was created for the sole purpose of housing engineers and their families. It was so secret that that the only mail drop to this town was at a post office box number. Currently there is a population of 18,000 in Los Alamos, with 4000 having PHD's. WOW! The town's current purpose is to research peaceful uses of nuclear energy and research for homeland security. Of special note is that in using our GPS in this area, many items were not able to be retrieved.

Better Late than Never - Old Faithful Geyser Video

Well, I finally figured out how to upload a video to the blog, so this video actually was taken many weeks ago in Yellowstone National Park, but it is worthy of sharing it. It is the eruption of Old Faithful Geyser. Enjoy.

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument dates back more than 10,000 years and was last occupied 900 years ago, by the ancestors of the present-day Pueblo Indians. There are somewhere over 200 cliff dwellings in the vicinity of the Canyon of the Frijoles. In addition to the cliff dwellings there are a number of kivas, subterrainean cool meeting structures. Kivas were an important part of the ceremonial cycle and culture. It was a center of the commmunity, not only for religious activities, but also for education and decision-making.

The campground at Bandelier was closed so we traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos has no campgrounds, but because we wanted to see the Bradbury Museum on the following day, we wanted to stay in town. We walked into the Comfort Inn and asked if we could park our rig in their parking lot overnight. They agreed as long as we parked only in one particular area --- directly across the street from the Police station! Thank goodness, the humidity was low and the temperature dropped into the 60's overnight, as we had no hookups!

Actually had a good night's sleep!

Santa Fe, New Mexico

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! What a cute little downtown. When this downtown area was originally built in 1610, they didn't take into consideration large vehicles!!! Thus, the streets are narrow and many of the buildings are adobe, brick, stucco covered architecture with horizontial logs protruding a short distance outside the walls. Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and is celebrating its 400th anniversary.

The annual Indian Market celebration is occuring this weekend and they expect 100,000 visitors to this population of 70,000. Two visitors (the Darst's!) are heading for the hills tomorrow morning to escape the crush of people. We were fortunate enough to experience the beginning stages of the market event and were lucky enough to experience and view some of the jewelry, crafts and wares of the vendors who are coming from all over the U.S.

A wonderful treat last night in Santa Fe was that we didn't have to use our air-conditioner over night! Temperatures dropped into the 50's at night and during the day we were able to enjoy a pleasant outdoor cafe lunch on a sunny beautiful day.
This is a photograph of an overpass in the Santa Fe area. Many of the overpasses are painted similarly.

Memorial of Perpetual Tears, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A national monument was developed to help educate the public and to honor those killed or injured by a drunk driver. This monument is called The Memorial of Perpetual Tears and is located in the town of Moriarity, east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, just north of Interstate I-40.

After visiting this memorial, we received an e-mail from law enforcement in Sonoma County, CA, where they had just arrested a 8-time convicted DUI offender, however he was being arrested for his 10th DUI and he was awaiting disposition of his 9th DUI last month. He had a valid driver's license. Do you think anything is wrong with our system?!

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

Yes, we stopped at Cadiallac Ranch! The view of ten cadillac cars, planted nose-first, at a 45 degree angle, was a big disappointment. In the past 50 years, people have removed parts, destroyed the metal and graffitied these cars over and over again. ...and they leave the empty paint cannisters out in this agricultural field. In yester-year in the early 50's, at the height of the Route 66 popularity, it might have been fascinating to see these used vehicles buried that way, but now it is just a trash spot.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Traveling through this area, we could but help to stop at the Murrah Federal Building that was almost totally destroyed by Timothy McVeigh's bomb in April 1995. We saw a very tasteful memorial to the 168 people who died. The area was about the size of 4 football fields with a huge reflecting pool and landscaped lawns and trees. With heavy hearts we entered the museum for an audio and visual presentation. It was heart-wrenching.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Just when we thought it could not get any hotter and any more humid, it did!!! We parked our RV for about an hour and got back to an inside temperature of 105 degrees. ...and I thought I liked saunas! Hot Springs is famous for their abundant, so called health-giving hot springs. The streets are lined with Bath Houses where one can enjoy naturally heated water. Apparently they do a booming business, but personally I would have voted for an ice cold shower! All the U.S. Presidents for the last 50 or 60 years have visited Hot Springs, Arkansas. We also took a trip up a 200 foot tower which overlooked 50 or 60 miles of valley --- a 360 degree view --- Beautiful!

Bill Clinton was raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

TUSKEGEE AND MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA

Visited the Tuskegee Air Museum, the Tuskegee Institute and the Tuskegee Carver Museum.

The Tuskegee Air Museum honors the original Tuskegee Airmen who were the first African American Flyers during World War II. As a result of their performance in the War as fighter pilots supporting large bomber airplaines, the Military changed its racial policy of segregation.

The Tuskegee Institute was founded in 181 by Booker T. Washington. Originally it was established to train African American Teachers. What a beautiful campus! It is the only university that is considered a historical landmark.

MONGOMERY ALABAMA:

Visiting the Civil Rights Memorial was humbling. The exterior was a waterfall and a large disk in water highlighting the dates of the civil rights movement and people who were killed because of their involvement in the movement. The interior of the building was very tastefully done, with pictures and stories of those who were killed. It is a sad part of our American history.

We also visited the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University. While the museum is small, it, too was done tastefully and clearly tells the story of mistreatment of blacks on the city bus lines. Good for Rosa Parks for standing up for what was right!

FLORIDA

Had a wonderful time in Florida visiting with family and friends. First stop was in Ormond Beach visiting with the parents of my good friend, Sharon. Our visit was short, but delightful and both Ron and I are still full from those large BBQ steaks! Oh so yummy!

Next stop was in Lakeland Florida where we hooked up overnight at Dave's (Ron's brother) house and where we experienced a beautiful thunder/shower storm. The following morning we met Julie for breakfast. Lynn worked with Julie at the Horizon Club in Florida 17 years ago. Holy cow, where does the time go?!

Next was traveling to New Port Richey on the west coast of Florida to visit with Moya (Ron's sister) and Steve and Denise (Moya's son and daughter-in-law). One night we invited all to our RV for a dinner cooked in the RV! We had 8 people in the RV and served Walking Tacos. If you are interested in what a Walking Taco is, e-mail me and I will let you know. It was a great hit!

A remarkable comment about our Florida visit: Holy Toledo was it HUMID! HUMID! HUMID! We are not use to it!

Problems with Flies??????

Forgot to post this photo when we blogged about the Amana Colonies. We walked into one shop and they had zip lock bags half filled with water, nailed to the eaves of the roof. The purpose is to reduce their fly problem. This store has used this inexpensive idea for the last three years and they have fewer problems with flies! Apparently the flies, as they get close to the bags of water, see an enlarged reflection of themselves and they get scared and fly away! ...if you have a fly problem, why not try it --- let us know if it really works!

Natural Bridge, Kentucky

We hiked a mile UPHILL, in 90 degrees with lots of humidity. We were dripping wet! ...but this sight was magnificient! This is called the Natural Bridge.

Daniel Boone & Boonesborough, Kentucky

Kentucky is home to Daniel Boone, so we stopped at the monument at his gravesite, as well as the replica town that he built at Booneborough. Fess Parker, who played Daniel Boone on TV looked nothing like the real Daniel Boone. Am posting a photo for you all to see!

On our way to the Cumberland Gap, we took a 2 mile hike UPHILL IN THE HUMID WEATHER! (my goodness, we need our heads examined). Happiness is the top of the mountain after a long climb. We reached the Pinnacle Overlook --- WOW! WOW! WOW! The view from the overlook was almost 270 degrees and we could see for miles and miles --- Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Spectacular!

Weather has been HUMID! HUMID! HUMID! Thank goodness for air-conditioning!

Decatur, Indiana; Wapakoneta, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio

Our next stop on our journey was the Fleetwood RV Manufacturing Plant in Decatur, Indiana where we were given a two and a half hour tour of how motorhomes are made. They gave us personal head phones in order to hear every word by the docent giving the tour as we walked through the plant. Meanwhile our main purpose for going to the Fleetwood Plant was to get some repairs done on our RV while it is still under warranty. That took 3 days!!! ...but they took good care of us. While we waited for the repairs to be done on our RV, we met some other Fleetwood RV owners from around the country and they directed us to go to the National Air Force Air Museum in Dayton, Ohio. We had no plans on going to Ohio, but it was worth the trip. We ended up going to the Neil Armstrong Museum in Wapakoneta and then on to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. Two great stops.

Amana Colonies, Iowa

The rocking chair in the photo was built in the Amana Colony. It weights over 600 pounds!


We are on the move again after being in Forest City, Iowa for about 10 days. Last night we experienced thunder, lightning and rain starting at about 1:00 a.m which continued through the night and to about 10 in the morning. We left the motorhome rally around noon and traveled approximately 180 miles to Amana Colonies, which is located southwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There are seven colonies that were developed by the Amana people when they moved from New York in 1854. They had been living a communal lifestyle where there was three meals provided each day. Everyones work, without wages, was contributed to the benefit of the community. They worshipped 11 times a week. Even though there was prayer prior to meals and at the end of the meal, there was no talking allowed during the meal. The men and women sat separate, but this lifestyle changed during the 1930's during the Great Depression. The Amana people now live a contemporary lifestyle.

The Amana Colonies should not be confused with the Amish who continue to live a very basic lifestyle. Both groups have a German background.

We decided to take a short walk through one of the colonies before the businesses closed this afternoon . We parked our RV on a side street and when we returned, the interior of the RV was 105 degrees. YIKES! ...the outside temperature couldn't have been that much different --- YUCK!

MOTORHOME RALLY - FOREST CITY, IOWA

Since being in Forest City, Iowa, we have...



...Paddled 12 miles in a Kayak along the Winnebago River

...Attended the Forest City Parade

...Peddled 10 miles on a bicycle, which included a box lunch in a beautiful park.

...Attended seminars related to the motorhome.

....Dress up in costume for "Hollywood Legend Night" --- Eventually I will post a photo

....Taken a number of tours through the Winnebago Manufacturing Plant, the cabinet making

plant and the Stitchery Plant.

....This morning Ron and I participated in a motorhome driving challenge: Here is the story about that...

At approximately 9:00 am, about 10 couples showed up for the challenge. Ron and I were about 8th in line. The "driver" was blindfolded, while their "partner" held a two way radio outside the rig and guided the driver backwards through a "S" turn, a pathway lined by orange plastic cones. The goal was to get to the end of the "S" turn without knocking any of the cones down and in the least amount of time. Well, even though Ron and I do a magnificient job in parking our RV in our backyard --- a tight squeeze through the gates, I am ashamed to tell you that we did not get first place, second place, or even third place. We did win a prize though --- they called us the most entertaining couple. After the first cone was knocked down, I gave up on my "blind" husband, and just directed him to come straight back --- so we knocked LOTS of orange cones down === we had everyone laughing.



We leave Forest City, after being here 10 days, tomorrow afternoon. We will head for the Amana Colonies near Cedar Rapids, Iowa and will probably spend a good part of Friday morning there before heading for Decatur, Indiana and then take a southerly turn to head for Florida.

More Pictures

Next Phase

We are not getting WI-FI very often, so these blog updates are far and few between. Since Yellowstone, we traveled through Wyoming and Nebraska. Very interesting traveling through towns with poplulations posted as "1". What we were wondering is whether that person has a phone book??! Lots of small towns and lots of miles between towns. One of the signs we saw in Nebraska was: "Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere." ...and believe me, we were in the middle of nowhere. ...but did see lots and lots of acres of corn!

Along the way we stopped at Sacajawea's monument and grave (the only female on the Lewis and Clark expedition)

Arrived in Forest City Iowa on Monday July 12, along with many other motorhomes. The motorhome rally doesn't actually start until this weekend. Have been keeping busy by touring the local area. Drove to the SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota and for the first time in my life I tasted SPAM. For anyone interested, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, by far, consume more SPAM than any other state. ....I guess I won't be helping them out.

Also traveled to Harmony, Minnesota, an Amish town and even traveled to and shopped at a local farm. When asked if they had fresh green beans, lettuce, raspberries, the young girl (probably 14 or 15 years old), barefooted, walked to the garden and picked the veggies and fruit.

Yesterday's fun included a kayak trip down the Winnebago River. The river meanders around curves and we traveled about 12 miles. There were 40 people who were in our group kayaking and only two people fell into the water. Unfortunately, those 2 were related to me --- my brother and my husband.

Oh my gosh, the most important thing to tell you relates to the humidity! The day before yesterday was IMPOSSIBLE. It was in the 90's with VERY high humidity and today is not much different. Sticky skin. Sticky clothes. Sticky! Sticky! But in spite of the weather, we are riding the bikes and enjoying the sites and our friends and family.

Grand Tetons & Yellowstone National Park

This is the first wireless services we have had in days. We just experienced four days of awesome views and geological pheonomna seeing the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. Even though, this was our second or third visit to Yellowstone, the sights are never disappointing. Bison grazing near our motorhome and crossing the river early in the morning, Elk standing along the roadway, deer, etc. etc. Unfortunately we did not see any bear. We were blessed with the eruption of the Old Faithful Geyer, seeing many boiling mud pots and learning that the magma in this area is only about 2 to 3 miles below ground level! Yellowstone is one of the hot spot volcanos in the world and experiences approximately 2000 earthquakes a year.

While in Yellowstone, we seemed to have escaped the hot temperatures experienced by many of our family and friends. Yellowstone's elevation is somewhere around 9000 feet, so when we awakened in the morning, our RV's interior temperature was 41 degrees! Brrrr! One night, we had snow showers! In July!!!! We managed to get in a bike ride while at Yellowstone and also took a boat cruise with a ranger talking about the history, facts and points of interest of Yellowstone Lake.

Tonight we are camped out in Dubois, Wyoming where we have traded our long pants and warm shirts for shorts, T-shirts and sandals. We continue to head eastward where we will meet up with Lynn's brother and sister-in-law and other RV friends in Iowa for a RV Rally.

I am still trying to figure out how to upload some photos on this blog.

Friends and family....

This is our first attempt at a blog, so bear with us.

Finally on June 25, we are once again on the road, enjoying the peace, tranquility, and beauty of another RV trip. Our first stop was in Grass Valley, CA for minor repairs on our new 25' motorhome. Following Grass Valley, we stopped in Carson City, NV to visit our friend Doris, who treated us to a delightful BBQ and introduced us to homemade watermelon margaritas --- YUMMY!

Next stop was to camp out at Washoe Valley State Park in Nevada where we were joined by Lynn's brother and sister-in-law in their RV. Joining them was Amber, her fiance, John and the guest of honor, little Aubrey, the birthday girl. Helping to celebrate Aubrey's 3rd birthday was also Debbie, Edith and Phil. In 90+ degrees, we celebrated Aubrey's 3rd birthday, balloons, decorations, BBQ, cupcakes, ice cream. Once a little bicycle was produced, Aubrey was 100% focused on the cute pink bike.

Our last stop before our big departure was in Reno, NV to visit with family and do last minute shopping that we didn't have time to do at home before we left!

Since leaving Reno, we traveled the width of Nevada, our only 500 mile day and overnighted in West Wendover before traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah. We stayed at a lovely, all grass, no gravel campground in Farmington, near SLC. On this trip in Utah we saw Promontory Point, the location of the first Continental railroad site, where the eastern railroad met the western railroad. The trains from the 1800's were elegantly maintained. From there we proceeded to Devil's Slide and in the evening we camped at Starvation Lake State Campground at Deuschune, Utah.

One of the most interesting sites was the National Dinasaur Park in the area of Vernal, Utah. We saw bones, vertabre, femur, still frozen in rock of mammoths that died 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. We are now headed toward the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming by way of Flaming Gorge in northern Utah.

We look forward to meeting up with Rod, Pam and their friends, Steve & Suzanne at the Winnebago National Ralley in northern Iowa in mid-July, where they expect 1500 RV's. Holy Smokes! July 3, 2010.