NEW SMYRNA BEACH

We left Saint Petersburg a week ago, and drove across Florida to NSB, where our time share was waiting. We always find it amazing how we thrive in the small space of our Excel 5th Wheel, especially when we move into a spacious two bedroom condo. We stayed one night at the Sugar Mill RV Park in NSB, where we are storing the RV for two weeks.

This place is huge! And it is right on the Atlantic Ocean. We are here for two weeks, through Thanksgiving, and leaving Nov. 28. The beach here is really nice, with very fine sand. It is a very 'deep' beach, and they do allow vehicular traffic all along the beach, but there is plenty of room for everybody.

We spent sunday afternoon on the beach, and then welcomed Fort Dodgers Alec and Charlton Pendry. The Pendry's were with us through early Friday morning. We had a great time, doing some excursions and visiting and playing a couple of games of Settlers of Catan.

One trip was to the Kennedy Space Center which I would call a must-see. The displays were terrific, with easy to read text and clear images. We saw an IMAX 3D movie of Hubbell Telescope images---breathtaking! The Saturn Rocket on display is amazing. We also went up an observation tower to view the launch pads. There is a shuttle launch on one of the pads. This has been scrubbed a few times and I guess is supposed to launch in early December.

the shuttle launch pad

We left the Space Center and dined at the Dixie Crossroads Restaurant in Titusville. Holy cow, excellent food!!! Their rock shrimp is dynamite.

The next day we drove west to near Deland, to see Blue Spring State Park. This is a manatee viewing area and we saw a couple, but when we took the boat tour of the St. John's River we also saw tons of alligators, turtles and all kinds of birds--osprey, various types of herons, ibis, cormorants, kingfisher, and snake birds.

Blue Spring Park Gator

Ibis and great blue heron

our friendly manatee

One manatee came right up to the boat side, munching on some leafy plant, and nuzzled the side of the pontoon boat. The weather was awesome as well. After the boat tour we toured an historic home, built in the 1870s by a settler, Lewis Thursby. He developed a steamboat landing at Blue Spring, which was a major landing during that era for river traffic and shipping between Jacksonville and Orange Park. He eventually grew his holdings from 133 acres to over 900, much of which became orange groves.

Ellen at the Thursby House

This just about catches me up...We took today to catch our breath...Tomorrow Tom and Jo Ewers are going to come over for a couple of nights. We are excited to see them again!

St. Petersburg and what we did

We were in Saint Petersburg for about a month, and spent a lot of time with Tom and Jo Ewers. We had a great time, spending a lot of time on the beaches. Beautiful and so relaxing. Ellen got really tanned, and happily, I did not burn!

We and the Ewers went to a dance in Gulfport, had a lot of fun remembering the steps that we learned so long ago. Also got a little lesson on the rhumba! One of our excursions was to Honeymoon Beach State Park, walking the beach looking for shells.

Tom, Jo, Ellen and I at Honeymoon Beach State Park

We left Honeymoon Beach Park and drove up to Tarpon Springs, a Greek community that is famous for its sponge diving industry. A quaint village with many sponge boats, little shops and Greek restaurants. We just had some baklava....mmmm.

Tarpon Springs Sponge Marina

Tom also drove us to the Tampa Power plane, a manatee viewing area. Wow, we got to see over 60 of the lumbering aquatic relatives to the elephant. Also saw several small sharks, a sting ray that jumped almost 2 feet out of the water, and thousands of fiddler crabs on the shoreline.

Manatees at the power plant

We truly appreciated the Ewers' hospitality and are looking forward to seeing them when they visit us in New Smyrna Beach.

Animal Shelter and Geothermal

Paws and More, the Animal Shelter in Washington

Rio and Ellen cuddling a small cat at Paws and More

We have recently spent time visiting daughter Heather's family in Washington IA. We had a great time, catching up, eating out, playing games (especially Mexican Train Dominos--Rio even dreamed about playing the game!), and seeing where Rio and Nayra volunteer to help at an animal shelter, Paws and More. They play with the cats, walk the dogs, brush and feed the animals, and clean and sweep the place. What a nice thing to do! The facility is very clean, quiet in the cat room, and very loud when you are in the dog room!
Nayra holding a tabby kitten

GEOTHERMAL, A BIG STEP!

Heather and Pedro had geothermal heating and cooling installed this summer. This was a major operation, and much of the work was done when they were on vacation in Colorado. The workers bore several tubular runs for water across their property, 25 feet under the surface!. Water courses through these and runs up into the basement, and through the system. I don't know exactly how it works, all I know is their house was more comfortable than ever, with two zones of control.

It was expensive, but there were grants and tax credits that made it 'affordable', plus a lengthy interest free period where they can chip away at the balance without paying interest fees.

The utility savings will pay for the whole thing in less than 10 years. Heather and Pedro had a huge boiler with radiators all over the house. All that is gone, along with water pipes hanging all over the basement. The workers had to cut the boiler into 3 parts to get it out. The company seels these things for scrap iron. Pedro is having to patch walls and holes in the floors, but they have gained so much space inside the house.

Here is Heather with the main control 'box' for the Geothermal. One of the things it shows is the temperature of the water under the ground, which was like 60 degrees on a 90 degree day in Washington.

This is the main unit, showing where the water from the underground tubes come into the house on the lower right. The large ducting to the upper left is the return air duct. To the far left is one of the two large water heaters one of which is for the house water, the other for the circulating water. This whole thing is like super quiet!

Aside from the comfort/savings of not having 2-3 window air conditioners running, the whole house is evenly heated/cooled, and Pedro's art work will not suffer from humidity or temperature changes. They have researched this for a good long time, and they are just thrilled with the quick results and confort. A partial month's utility bill was over $100 less than before! I guess a lot of new construction uses geothermal, as it is more cost efficient to have it installed new as opposed to conversions. We are really happy for Heather and family for making this move!

D.O.G.

front l-r: Charlton, Ronnie, Marcia and Peg

back l-r: Ellen, Alec and Tim

DOG is an acronym for a group of Fort Dodge folks who are the "Dining Out Group"...originally I understand a group from the 1st United Methodist Choir Members who dined out before Choir Practice. The group shifted around a bit, adding some who didn't sing, or some who didn't sing in the choir anymore.

Last night we ate at Rustix, a pretty nice restaurant in Humboldt, IA. The group includied Ellen and myself, Alec and Charlton Pendry, Peg Jackson, Marcia Main and Ronnie Nelson.

Joyce was our highly efficient waitress, keeping the table 'right' and bringing whatever we needed in a very timely manner. Nice lady! The food was well prepared and the portions were outstanding. Both Ellen and I had doggie bags, something that doesn't happen very often. The group never has a 'quiet' moment, as the visiting went continuously for over 2 hours.

This is our last DOG for 2010, as we are leaving Fort Dodge next Wednesday.

On to Mason City

Well, after two reallynice days of weather, we are having sprinkles. Still cool, but overcast. It is still a lot better than the blast furnace heat we have had over the past couple of weeks.

We are heading to Mason City to get some stuff of Ellen's father from her step-sister Susan. We haven't seen her for at least 8 years. While in Mason City we are planning a stop for dinner at the

Northwest Steak House, a fantastic Greek restaurant that serves the BEST filet I've ever had. When we are close to Mason City and it is close to eating time, we pig out there.

Yesterday I did some carving, some cleaning of the RV, and went over to Mike Zahm's house to help him get on to my Yahoo! Fantasy Football League. Struggling to get this thing off the ground, we now have 6 signed up, with another three verbally committed.

Ellen spent the afternoon with Charlton Pendry at Marsha Storbakken's, playing Bananagrams and Chinese Checkers. Later in the evening we watched the rest of an Inspector Lewis episode (nothing like a British Mystery), and then the mindless Bachelor Pad....perhaps for the last time.

Still in Fort Dodge

Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun.

The crossword clue was "diary, of sorts", the answer was "blog" Maybe not true for me, because diary implies daily writing, like a journal....

We are still on Fort Dodge, at the Pendry RV Park. This past week my early birthday gifts arrived from Amazon.com. Thank you Ellen! A nice cordless Dremel Tool and the complete DVD collection of Richard Simmon's Sweatin' to the Oldies. Excited to use both!

In the same shipment was a new Catan game, Histories of Catan, Trails to Rails. We've played it twice, and really really like it. It is played on a mapboard of the U.S., settling cities, then linking them with rails to deliver goods, and delivering all your goods cubes wins the game. Played it with the Pendry's and once with daughter Erin...close games.

I have started carving again, with a couple of signs for friends to be finished in the fairly near future. There is something therapeutic about carving...as long as I pay attention to where the blade is and where it is going.

The rains have stopped, and hopefully Ames IA will get their water back on. It is so sad to see the mess of the flooding through central Iowa.

Lost Island Waterpark

Mason, Jaiden and Pedro had a great ride!

Wednesday we had a great family day, driving to Lost Island Water Park in Waterloo, IA. We rendezvoused with daughter Erin and her 3 kids, Jaiden, Mason and Ethan, at Trinity Hospital parking lot in Fort Dodge a bit after 9 AM. Erin drove us all in her van. Had a nice drive, the weather looked less than pleasant, maybe a little ominous with much of the sky clouded over.

We arrived at about 11 AM, just after daughter Heather, Pedro, Nayra and Rio had parked after their 2 hour drive from Washington, IA. It had drizzled a bit, and just when we were greeting all, the tornado sirens went off. Yikes! But the sky was half clear at that time, and everyone just kept doing what they were doing. No Widespread Panic (hey that's a band). The sky soon cleared off and we had a great time the whole sunny day.

The Lazy River was the best (for an oldie like me). I also managed 3 water slides, and that was thrilling, although on one Rio told everyone later that "in the middle of it Grampa screamed 'I'm gonna die!!!!!!!'" Mason was the only one who looked sunburned at the end of the day, but Erin said his burn always turns to tan the next day.

The kids had a fun time and the adults had a lot of opportunity for conversation and catching up. This was the first 'family time' since Christmas at Branson.

We had a picnic on the grass outside the park, and that was a nice time too. We packed up when the park closed at 6:30, and had a nice mellow and quiet ride home. We've gotta do this again!

Tim, Rio and Erin survived!

Our Window...and good-bye July

This is our beautiful entry door window created by good friend Ted Lougee from a design by me. We traded a wooden carved sign for them for it. We love it, and have had many great compliments.



Well, another month rolls by....and not many entries here. Catch up time again.

We had a nice time in Minnesota, and headed for Fort Dodge to park at Alec and Charlton Pendry's We arrived on July 20, set up visited a little with our hosts, took a quick nap, and then headed for the Civic Center in Des Moines.

Des Moines, Jersey Boys

We were treated to a great performance of Jersey Boys, a great musical chronicle of the Four Seasons. Jam packed with so many of their hits, the story itself was pretty good, with the tension, struggles, and lives of Frankie Valli and the group. Especially interesting was how big a deal Bob Gaudio was to the group. His songwriting brought them their first successful songs. Before the show, we ate at The Latin King...great food, horrible waitress.

Stuff in FD

We have since caught up with our Fort Dodge friends, daughter Erin's family, gotten some medical stuff taken care (I still have the temporary crown on #18 molar....).

B.U.T.T.

Last night we went to Blues Under the Trees, by the Mineral City Speedway, just south of Fort Dodge. Put on by the Lizard Creek Blues Society, the program had 5 blues groups, and it was a great time!!! We shared the night with Herman and Dawn Provin, Mike Zahm and Marsha Storbakken. Wow, some really great music... We got to see and hear Peaches and Diesel, a local band led by Sean Minikis, featuring his wife Andrea on keyboards, drummer Kyle VerSteeg, and others I do not know. This was the first B.U.T.T. I've been to, but if we are here next July-Aug, I will be back!

Lynn McBride, Marsha , Ellen and Dawn at BUTT

Andrea and Sean Minikis, Peaches and Diesel on stage

Ellen really did enjoy the music!

Independence Day

Happy Birthday America!

With all our foibles and shortcomings and missteps throughout history, the idea of the United States of America is a profound and substantive notion of the importance of each human being. Along with those rights and responsibilities we the people have, comes the opportunities so many clamor to have. As Tony Blair said, "How many want to get in, how many want to get out (of America)?" We consider ourselves so very fortunate to have been born into this democracy!

We are at the Dakota Meadows Campground, right south of the Mystic Lake Casino. We have really enjoyed being here. Ellen's son Matt has been here for some 2 weeks, and we celebrated grandson Mica's 5th birthday. We have gambled a little bit. We have been to the Mall of America. We will be here through July 20th, when Matt flies back to Colombia, and we trek south to Fort Dodge again. Our plan is to set up camp at Alec and Charlton Pendry's and zoom to the Civic Center in Des Moines to see Jersey Boys.

Matt is flying to Germany to day to visit his host family from when he was an exchange student his senior year in High School. He's pretty excited about it....Tonight the casino is having an Oak Ridge Boys Concert outdoors with fireworks to follow. I think we'll be able to hear it easily from our site, plus have a great view of the fireworks.

omg, almost 2 weeks...number NINE!

It's summertime and the livin' is easy....

sort of.

So much has happened in the last almost 2 weeks. It is almost like yesterday's papers. Some good stuff though that I don't want to skip, so here goes-

FD, Settlers

After leaving Washington IA and the Lujano's, we drove back to the Pendry RV Park in Fort Dodge. Managed to play a game of Settlers of Catan with Alec and Charlton, which is always fun.

Erin, her moving to an apartment

This was after Erin delivered our Settlers' game that we forgot when we moved to FD. This was also the beginning of a hectic time for Erin, as she was moving out of Babb's house. Somehow we managed to help find her an apartment in Gowrie. Actually, we just fell into it as we looked at an awful house in Dayton, and on the way to Gowrie, we decided to check out Paton.

I turned in to Ace Johnson's Harcourt Bar where I had played some Texas Hold'em, and hoped maybe Mark could steer us to a possible rental. Mark's son Lance was tending bar, and lo and behold, he had a 3 bedroom apartment almost ready to be moved into. Long story short, Erin moved in this past Sun-Tue, and although it has been rough, things should work out.

Poker

I helped her pack boxes on Wed. the 16th. I then had a great poker night at Ryan Reisners, which went til 2 AM. The 7 of us played FOUR games. It was good fun, including me, Ryan, Brian McClain, B. J., Brian from Clare, Willie McGowan, and Willie Senior from Scotland. Mike Zahm popped in for a while and shared some deer sausage.

Annie, Great musical in Washington, IA

Friday we drove the rig to the Riverside Casino south of Iowa City and parked it for a free overnight as we had tickets to "Annie" in Washington, IA. Daughter Heather and granddaughter Nayra were in the community production, and it was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!. All aspects of the musical were super, amazingly put on by such a 'small' town as Washington. It was thrilling to see that is for sure.

Hitch problems, to Minneapolis

Saturday morning we were supposed to haul up to Minneapolis, and we were ready to go before 9 AM, but we ended up having hitch problems--the jaws would not clamp around the hitch pin of the trailer. We ended up taking the trauck to Sun and Fun RV east of Iowa City, and it was all remedied, and we were on our way by 12:15. Made for a long day, but we got there safely.

Rain at Mystic Lake

We are staying at Dakotah Meadows RV Park, run by the Indian tribe here that also runs the Mystic Lake Casino. Nice park, friendly people, and nice sites. Too much rain though---we have had 2 gully washers since getting here 4 days ago.

Matt flies in from Colombia

Ellen's son Matt arrived from Colombia via NYC on Sunday early evening, and spent a nice reunion with him and Jenn, Ben and Mica. It is always great to see Matt! Well, then Matt left Tuesday for a skydiving experience in Denver, CO. He'll return Friday.

Number Nine

What is so special about the number 9???? The Beatles did a weird tune of it (number nine...number nine...number nine), 9 innings in a ball game, a cat has 9 lives, 9 is 6 upside down, 9 baseball positions, my dad had 9 fingers after he cut one off with a saw, Beethoven's 9th symphony........

Our 9th Anniversary!

What is really special about the number 9 is that is the number of our anniversary today!!!! Ellen and I got married 9 years ago today in Fort Dodge, IA, at 1st UMC with many friends and relatives in attendance, and several friends gracing our ceremony with their music. Rev. Tompsie officiated in her last official act as pastor in FD. What a wonderful day that was, with balmy weather, a reception at the Vincent House, and an afterwards party at the then Holiday Inn, south on highway 169.

As they say, time really flies when you are having fun, and these past 9 years have zipped by! And almost one third of them have been full timing in a 5th wheel!!!!

Happy anniversary Ellen, I love ya!

University of Iowa Hospital--Rio's surgery

Yesterday we drove through torrential rain to arrive at Washington to see the Lujanos. Plus we got to watch some rehearsal of Annie---Nayra and Heather are both in the community production. Nayra is an orphan and the apple seller and Heather is a crowds person and one of the Boylan Sisters. Departed brother Tom's two Tibetan Terriers are also in the play with Brodie playing Sandy. When Nayra was finished we drove with her to Coralville to stay overnight at a Holiday Inn. It was nice to have some special time with her.

The purpose of our trip was Rio's surgery on ducts in his testicular area. Right now we are in the waiting room at the University of Iowa Hospitals Pediatrics area with Nayra. Heather and Pedro have gone back to be with Rio following his surgery. He is still 'out', but all has gone well!!!

The doctor also took care of a hernia while the surgery was going on. This is all good news. Poor Rio has had only 4 oz. of water so far today.

The real challenge will be his recuperation, as he is to not be too active for weeks following this procedure. Good luck on that one Heather and Pedro. Rio is one super active kid, with tons of energy!

We will stick around through his recovery today, spending some time with all, then drive back to Gowrie to spend our last night at Erin and Babb's place.

Birthdays at the Ballpark

Monday Night we took Mason and Ethan to the Iowa Cubs game for their birthday. Here is the Scoreboard making the announcement during the 7th inning. We were lucky to make it that far, as just when the guy started singing the Star Spangled Banner, it started raining...that led to a rain delay of almost a half hour, but after that the weather cleared.

Here's Babbs, Mason and Erin with Cubbie Bear, mascot for the Cubs

Ethan riding the big baseball

Here is Ellen and Jaiden at one of the birthday parties.

The Cubs lost 2-1....

OMG, June already

Well, two more stops to report on as the calendar says it is June already!...Our rich travel experiences have indeed 'slowed down' since hitting the midwest. I should dust off the camera sometime soon, so I can post some photos on this here blog.

Washington, IA

We left Minneapolis to spend a few days with daughter Heather's family south of Iowa City. It was great to see all again, Heather, Pedro, Nayra and Rio. They are quite busy as H and N are in a community playhouse production of Annie, and they are so busy with rehearsals. We did have a nice cookout and got to see and hear the grandkids' piano recital. Both Nayra and Rio did a great job! The kids sang a duet while Rio and Heather played the piano, a really cute song about their father snoring.

Nayra, Rio and Heather at the recital

(back to) Fort Dodge, IA

We headed back to Fort Dodge on Friday June 28, staying at Alec and Charlton Pendry's. Alec has created a 'free' RV spot for us--and it is nice to have a hookup without having to pay! We have returned to visit friends and to get some annual check ups (eyes, dental, etc.). We had a nice little get together last night to honor Marsha Storbakken, retiring 5th grade teacher who taught at our same school Fair Oaks Middle School. Had some bad storms last night, with pretty powerful lightning.

Better late than never...

I think the theory behind blogging is that you keep a sort of journal, and at its best, it is daily. Oops, not this blog.

I suppose it is better to be late than never, but in this case, it really taxes the memory. Like, what was I doing 2 weeks ago? How can I recall things more than a day old? Sometimes I forget stuff that is only an hour old! Well, here is the last few weeks in a nutshell...

Smith Center, KS

We left Grand Junction, boon docked in Eastern Colorado at a Flying J. The next day (Sat) we parked at the Excel factory in Smith Center KS to have our last gasp use of our two year warranty. We got several things taken care of--the pantry was jamming, not any more! Ellen is happy!! Yet another new water pump was installed. The kitchen slide was fine tuned and the underneath plastic covering was replaced. They also replaced the 'glide rite' hitch attachment, which minimizes 'chucking' when on a less than smooth roadway. They also did a number on our large slide, which was set too low and was causing binding and the living room carpet to bunch up. As of May 26th, we are going to be on our own for repairs and adjustments...

New Friends

While at the factory (we were there 7 days), we got to know and isited with two terrific couples, Virgel and Nancy Kroeker from Minnesota, and Howard and Mel Robinson from all over. Both are full timer couples and Excel lovers. Howard and Mel had been living in England.

Erin's Family, Gowrie, IA

A week ago Saturday we pulled in to Gowrie IA to visit Erin and Babbs and kids. Had a nice visit, that's for sure, including a few games of Settlers of Catan. We were able to take Ashely to Auburn to meet Craig, her long distance boyfriend from Audubon. We only got to see Jaiden, Mason and Ethan on Monday, as they were at Jeff's for the week. We picked them up after school, had some good time with them, then took all out to eat at the Pizza Ranch in Jefferson.

Fort Dodge, IA

On Tuesday we packed up for Fort Dodge, and stayed at Kennedy Park. Got the Ford serviced at Fort Dodge Ford, shopped and had some 'down' time to relax. We spent an afternoon with friends Alec and Charlton Pendry, then on Thursday Ellen got to go to her monthly Book Club which she totally enjoyed. While she was chatting with the ladies, I met Mike Zahm (counselor at my old school), Ryan Reisner (former student and poker buddy), and Joel Greathouse (also a poker player) at Lefti's Bar. It was great to catch up.

Minneapolis MN, Jenn's Family

On Friday we drove up highway 169 to Lebanon Hills County Campground near the Minneapolis Zoo. We usually stay here when visiting Ellen's daughter Jenn and her family. Had a fun reunion with Jenn, Ben and Mica. Jenn had a nice pot of pea soup, sourdough bread and pastries from a not-so-fat-free bakery on the south side of Minneapolis. I got out of control really fast. Spent time walking around the pond at Powderhorn Park with Jenn and Mica, played some UNO when we got back, then trundled on back to the RV.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Hey all you mothers! Today is your day. And isn't it nice that somebody thought of honoring all the Moms in May? How about all those other days of the year? Hopefully each of us can do something special for our mothers in our lives.

We have been in Grand Junction Colorado, visiting Ellen's sister Mary. Mary has been getting treatment for mantle lymphoma over that last several years. She is doing pretty well, and she has lots of friends helping her out. We were able to meet with or have meals with some of them, including Jackie, Bob and Michelle and Marcus, and Carol.

Ellen and Mary at Mary's house

We spent about 9 days there, and we were able to take a day trip to Gunnison and visit with Ellen's cousins John and Bobbie. Had a nice lunch with them downtown Gunnison and the spent the afternoon at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, a fantastic National Park. I cannot remember all the info on it, other than volcanoes, lava, and the fast running Gunnison River caused spectacular vertical cliffs that drop about a half a mile.

Two happy sightseers

Salt Lake City

We spent several days in the Salt Lake City area, actually staying at a state park situated on Utah Lake in Provo, UT. It was a refreshing time, with many wild birds in the wetland area. The weather was very agreeable as well.

We a city tour in SLC, with a tour guide that was exceptionally knowledgeable of the city, its history and Mormonism. He did the whole thing 'off the cuff'...you know how some tours have a canned spiel? Not John Knight! We were convinced he was ADD, as his story bounced around when he would think of something else, but it was well worth it.

We were able to see and hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir record a TV and radio show. Wow, that was great! Beautiful music with a full orchestra, and check out those organ pipes! We learned that there are term limits for the volunteer singers---20 years or reaching the age of 60, whichever comes first. Perhaps that is what is needed in congress? (but fewer years)

Sorry for the crooked shot, I will fix that in iPhoto. This is the Mormon Temple on Temple Square, downtown SLC. The city is remarkably clean, and we were there at the right time of year as the tulips and flower plantings were all blooming as well as the countless flowering trees through out the city.

Ellen is in front of the state capitol building on a hillside overlooking the city. This is a beautiful structure with many statues and murals and inside are 23 foot tall 'one piece' granite columns.

Our tour also took us to the Great Salt Lake. Here we are with Antelope Island in the background. Antelope Island is currently a peninsula, as the lake level is way way down. There is much more to do and see in this area including a huge open pit copper mine and several opulent mansions. We hope to be back soon!

A day off

We had a real lazy Sunday yesterday. The only work we did was switch sites here at St. George Western Horizons RV Resort.

We were parked under a tree that had many tent caterpillar webs. Several of them were opening with fuzzy caterpillars from 1-3 inches crawling all over the place. Our first day here I sprayed all around the Excel, but by yesterday morning they were crawling on the tires and front jacks. Yuk!

So we found an empty spot with no trees, no caterpillars. Before moving the rig and stuff I sprayed the little buggers off with the hose. Hopefully we don't have any stowaways.

We read the small southeastern Utah Sunday paper, had a fantastic pork tenderloin for dinner, and watched one of our favorite shows "Breaking Bad". This show is fantastic, with Bryan Cranston playing a high school chemistry teacher (2 emmys for this role) turned meth manufacturer to help his family survive economically. (His son has MS, his wife was pregnant, and he had terminal lung cancer.) A bad decision, and it keeps getting worse for him.

I also caught the Chinese Grand Prix, dominated by McLaren Mercedes, with Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton finishing 1-2 in the rain. I keep rooting for Robert Kubica, the only driver from Poland, land of my ancestors. He's like in 6th in the points standings.

I hope to get some drawing done tomorrow, as the weather is supposed to turn crummy this week.

ZION NATIONAL PARK---WHAT BEAUTY!

We have left Nevada, arriving at Saint George UT Thursday. We are staying at the Western Horizons Resort, with a great view of the Red Cliffs National Recreation Area.

We ventured to Zion NP today, and had a fantastic eye-popping experience. What natural beauty! We were fortunate in that they had a wet spring, and the waterfalls were plentiful, which I understand is not 'normal'.

The rock formations are awe-inspiring, with the Virgin River slicing through the sandstone mountains and causing spectacular cliffs. With some erosive undercutting, there is evidence of rock slides. One guide said there is a rock slide everyday in the park.

Ellen is under the Weeping Rocks ledge overhang. The water seeps through the rock horizontally when stone does not allow vertical seepage. All along the wall are plants and some blooming flowers. Ellen was getting dripped on during this photo.

This was the tallest waterfall we saw today, splashing into the Virgin River.

This is called the Three Patriarchs. The tallest whitish peaks are named Abraham, Isaiah and Jacob. The reddish peak is a mountain whose name I forgot.

You all MUST see this Park! Travel in the park is all on propane powered shuttles, with 8 or 9 stops along the scenic route which follows the river canyon bottom. We found this to be a very satisfactory and effective method of getting lots of people through the park with minimal noise and congestion. You can get off and on whenever you want, and it is free! With our Golden Age Pass, allowing us in the park for free, we spent only $8 on lunch at the Zion Lodge dining area. We will be back!

Death Valley Wildflowers and Badwater Basin

Yesterday we made a day trip to Death Valley National Park. We had been there two years ago, but it was around the end of December. It was quite different this time around, as we went to see the wildflowers blooming, and we sure did see quite a few.

A carpet of yellow at Death Valley

We also drove to the lowest point in the United States, Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. It might be the lowest elevation in the world, I would have to check on that. Behind us is the basin, chock full of salt. The walkway behind us to the left is totally white from people tramping on the salty ground...To the sides of the walkway the surface is crusty with dirt 'frosted' with salt crystals. It is white again way out there, where you can see what appears to be a sliver of white. That white sliver is quite a large expanse actually.

I don't know the names of most of the flowers, but here are some photos of some of them.

This one is the Desert Five Star.

We played Texas Hold'em at the clubhouse last night and had a good time, plus we won about $7 between us. That is pretty good, as the game here has limited betting and the chips are a nickel apiece, with everyone starting with $5. Max bet anytime is 12 chips. A lot of fun with minimal risk.

Spring Mountain Ranch, Red Rock Canyon

Today we drove over the Spring Mountains towards Las Vegas. Our goal was to see Red Rock Canyon National park (or preserve), but we first found Spring Mountain State Park, which is the beautiful setting for Spring Mountain Ranch. This ranch was built on the site of settlers' trails to California, including a part of the Mormon Trail. The ranch house is full of historical items and photos. The owners over the years included Vera Krupp, a German actress and owner of that huge diamond Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor. Howard Hughes also owned the ranch for a few years, but never lived there. The grounds are beautifully kept and this is a stop well worth the making.

This area is known for its wild burros and horses. We did see 3 burros, but alas no horses.

Red Rock Canyon is simply magnificent! Fantastic vistas and an amazing variety of landforms and rocks surround this spacious canyon. The National Park Service has constructed a very nice 13 mile scenic drive, one way, all around the sides of the canyon, so you can see these this natural beauty without really worrying about traffic.
This is a view of what are called the calico rocks. These are the remnants of the desert of 180 million years ago, and are punctuated with striations of wind and water erosion over the centuries.
And then, ahh, the beautiful red rocks! These are some of the most fabulous views we have seen in all our travels. We did not even know about this until last night following Texas Hold'em at the clubhouse, when the activity director Nancy asked if we had been there yet. Thank you Nancy!

Tomorrow we hope to get to Death Valley, as the wildflowers are supposed to blooming big time.

Into Nevada

We drove north from Bullhead City on Wednesday, and were greeted by strong winds gusting to 50 mph as we approached Las Vegas. Clearly it was not a good idea to keep going so we boon docked at a Walmart on the south side of Vegas.

We drove over the mountains west of Vegas this morning under sunny skies and light winds. Arriving in Pahrump, we had breakfast at the Saddle West Casino and played slots a bit before checking in at the Charleston Peak RV Resort. This RV Park is really well kept, with great views of the Spring Mountains and most notably snow covered Charleston Peak.

It is always great to set up "our house" knowing we will be staying put for two weeks. It is a real homey feeling. We have a lot of projects on tap, notably washing the RV and truck, my doing some wood carving, and a trip to Death Valley to see the blooming wild flowers.

Last days in Arizona

We have been without reliable internet since arriving in Bullhead City AZ several days ago, so I have not been able to post anything!

We left the Phoenix area Saturday morning after getting to rendezvous with Tim’s niece Rachel, her husband josh and his best friend Jared. We had a very nice time visiting and catching up. Josh and Rachel have been in Phoenix like for 4 or 5 years, most recently working for Quicken Home Mortgages.

We had work done at Dillon’s RV in Apache Junction, most notably getting our washer area right. Nick the tech moved the plumbing to the rear of the washer away from the left side to allow room for the washer to sit in there without bothering the stand pipe and the trap (which had started to leak because of the pressure from the washer). He also put floor braces by it so the washer would not move.

After boondocking for 4 nights, it was good to get to a full hookup, and Ellen has been happily doing wash since. One trip to the laundromat in Desert Hot Springs took over $16.00 out of our wallet.

Monday we made a road trip south to Lake Havasu City. Much too resort-like---lots of traffic, boats, Sea-Doos, people walking all over the place. Do not go there to see the London Bridge. It is not a big deal. Nice lampposts though. Ate a mediocre Pizza Hut noon buffet.

The best time was doing part of the original Route 66 near the Black Mountains, and then finding Oatman, a semi ghost town on the mountain side. Lots of gift and t shirt shops, all in old looking wild west buildings. Burros roaming the street, and this is Oatman’s claim to fame. All the places sold carrots to feed the burros.

After an ice cream, we drove the 10 miles back to Bullhead City on Silver Creek Road, a primitive and unmaintained gravel road that snaked through a bunch of hills and small mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful! A little dusty too. Our 450 was right up against cliffs and washes. There were lots of abandoned mines on all sides of the road. We did have 2 vehicles come past us from the other way, but nothing came from behind, even though at times we had to go 3-5 mph.

Joshua Tree National Park, Murals of 29 Palms, Pioneertown

I just had to post up a bunch of photos of this beautiful area. We motored up to Joshua Tree national Park, a drive of almost an hour from Desert Hot Springs. It was a pretty drive going through Morongo Valley on the way. Joshua Tree was awesome! Fantastic rock formations, dotted with several rock climbers all over the place.

These photos were taken at Hidden Valley, where cattle rustlers hid out with their illegally obtained beef. The hike was somewhat rigorous, with lots of ups and downs. The Valley floor was fairly flat with pinon and junipers, as well as a few Joshua Trees and agave plants.

We had a nice lunch after our hike.

Throughout the park there are tons of Joshua Trees, not really close to each other, but as the photo here shows, they are spaced but many especially on the flatter areas.

We were fortunate that many of the trees were starting to blossom. This bunch of white will become simply huge in a short time. The trees' greenery are spiky in nature, and at the end of each spike is a very sharp end, like a needle. The trunks become bark-like with age, but most of the trees we saw had a covering of straw-like fringes covering the trunk.

On the way back to the RV Park, we stopped at PioneerTown, a 'fake' western Main Street (They spell it 'Mane Street'). The structures were built in the early 1950s in a movement by Gene Autry to create a movie set for his many motion pictures. Its season opens April 3, so we were early, and there wasn't much to see other than the buildings.

When active, there are concessions and gunfight recreations, with many folks in period costumes.

A real gem was found at the town of TwentyNine Palms. This community has a great city arts and beautification project ongoing since the 1990s. There are over 20 huge murals adorning the sides of many civic and privately owned buildings.

The quality of work is very good!

The one on the left is a tromp'l'oile work of the artist who fell asleep at his job. Click on the image to see how the murals has been gridded out.

I liked this one mostly because I enjoy vehicles. This is a bus/taxi service from the 30s and 40s from town to the Park.

We move on Wednesday morning, traveling to Rancho Oso RV Park, just north of Santa Barbara. We are excited to see more of California, and we have enjoyed what we have seen here in the Palm Springs-Desert Hot Springs area.