Author: Bill

11 July 2021 – Tuesday morning we saddle up a Delta 737 and fly to Seattle to start our adventure in the NorthWest. We will rent a car in Seattle and eventually bring it back when we finish. Here’s a couple maps to show where we will be going. Other than Seattle we have no reservations anywhere so I’m not sure where the stops are … depends on what kind of day we are having.

That’s the plan. See you Tuesday evening in Seattle. Don’t forget your bathers … it’s hot out there!

13 July 2021 – OK!!! We made it to Seattle. After a nice evening in Tampa we caught an early flight out of Tampa and had an uneventful five hour flight to Seattle. Couple memories:

We got our car and drove to Downtown Seattle where we are staying in the shadow of the Space needle. We parked the car and decided to do some tourist stuff. Here’s our time at the Space Needle built in 1961 for the Seattle World’s Fair:

That was it for the day we arrived. As I mentioned in the caption we walked to our restaurant for dinner. I have found Seattle a bit disappointing in that it seems to be in decline. I have been to Seattle a number of times over the years. Starting in 1971 on the way to Viet Nam and a number of times over the years since. It used to be a very clean, vibrant city with a lot of hard working people who were friendly and were very proud of their city. I have not found much of that today. It reminded me of some third world country where they had some really interesting things they wanted tourists to see but didn’t take care of anything else. There are many, many attractions that are closed, including major ones like the Science Museum, and restaurants, and services. There is litter everywhere long the sidewalks and road sides. Sadly, it not just that the city doesn’t pick stuff up, the people who live here, and the tourists, just throw stuff because there are no garbage cans and they don’t want to carry it around. The roads, streets and walkways are in disrepair with little evidence of any attempts to fix them. Lastly, the architecture is very uninspiring. Nothing imaginative or creative … just big buildings with drab colors. Downtown has a few interesting buildings. Reminded me of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. They do have modern art pieces set up all over which makes you wonder about their priorities. Anyhow. Underwhelmed but I did like the Space Needle.

14 July 2021 – We got up at 1 AM to call our Grandson who was Five years old today. He was just finishing his family birthday party after dinner and was opening his presents. He lives in Australia so he had a 17 hour head start on us. We went back to bed and slept in till seven. Got up, had coffee, a mediocre breakfast provided by the hotel and decided to get going. First on our agenda was the Chihuly Glass Museum. As you will see and in the event you don’t know who he is, he is a famous Glass artist who has Glass on exhibit all over the world. We were introduced to his work By Brenda and Dave Gardner of Atlanta so I took a lot of pictures in the museum for Brenda (and all of you too of course) to enjoy. Here they are. there are several pictures with explanations on them:

That took up a good part of the morning and the other biggy we wanted to do was go down to the Harbor and see the Pike Street Market. To get there we took the Monorail that was also built for the Seattle World’s Fair and is still running. They were doing some major renovations to it but it did get us to where we were going.

That was our day in Seattle. The things we saw were impressive. Nothing very new but well done. I don’t see Seattle progressing very much. Rich people put up big things to get their names on the wall but I can’t see where anyone is caring for Seattle. If you do come here, make sure you know what you want to see. See you tomorrow in Spokane.

15 July 2021 – As promised, here we are in Spokane. A very different texture, vibe, and culture. Spokane lives out in the prairies of Eastern Washington and is snuggled up against the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is an old city but appears to be well kept. Again, many closed businesses and activities but many people out and about. We are staying in the University section of Spokane right next to the Spokane River. You can almost throw a rock from here into Idaho. Because we are in the university area there are many young people which gives the area a lot of energy … always fun to be around. We did walk downtown after dinner to stretch our car cramped legs and while it is old, it is very well kept, clean, and there are people out and about. Not nearly so many tourists, families on vacation, tour buses, etc but people are out and about.

Before I get into our trip over here, here are couple alibi pictures from yesterday that I thought important to add to the Seattle setting.

Okay … The trip Here. We left the hotel after a little breakfast and getting the car out of parking. Driving out of town was not too bad, mostly because everyone was coming into town. Anyhow, the first twenty miles or so were city driving, then a couple of the suburbs. The suburbs appear to have the money. Fancy decorations along the road, sculptures, decorative walls so they don’t have to listen to the traffic … and no trash.

Then we finally got to US 2 which is the Hiway we elected to cross Washington on. If you read my blog on our trip last Summer; we followed US2 from Duluth, Minnesota to Glacier National Park. I-90 runs from Spokane to Seattle but we decided to take a more scenic route. Twenty years ago I traveled from McCord AFB in Seattle to Fairchild AFB in Spokane to talk to some of the Air Traffic Controllers I was responsible for. I spent the afternoon and evening with them and drove back the next day. Anyhow, I found the geography of Washington to be extremely diverse and very interesting and I have been telling Nancy I wanted her to see it. Today she did.

As soon as we were clear of the Seattle Metropolitan area we were in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Not as big or rugged as the rockies but very nice to look at. Here are some pictures of the Cascades.

We drove out of the Cascades and came to a town named Leavenworth. This is an authentic Bavarian Town that really goes out of its way to be Bavarian. They were having a festival there so we stopped and walked around.

We did pause to have a couple Lattes and some German bakery. Quite good! From there, Washington turned agricultural. First Fruit Farms, Then Huge Wheat Fields, then Smaller Farms and then back into the tress. The land became much drier and rocky. From Leavenworth to Spokane, about two hundred miles, is like driving in New Mexico or Western Texas.

Ok .. That was today. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We are leaving Spokane and driving over to Couer d’Alene, Idaho, then South to Boise via the National Forests. No Wheat fields tomorrow … many trees though!

By the way … did you notice what I brought back into my photo’s that I didn’t have the first couple days? Any guesses? Tell you tomorrow. Good Night.

16 June 2021 – (This is actually the 17th but the hotel’s Internet blew up last night so I didn’t get to post yesterday. So I will pretend it’s yesterday until I get caught up today. Then it will be today!!) Made it to Boise, Idaho. Long day but many interesting things to see along the way. As I did earlier, I have a couple alibi’s from the 16th and our stay in Spokane.

So This Morning we got up and got on our way. We had a long way, on curvy roads and a lot of little towns to get past. We were going to do more in Couer d’Alaine but it turns out it is just another goochy city on a big lake that rich people park their boats at. The lake is beautiful but lined side to side with marinas. Then there were many more farms than I expected. Big farms, lots of wheat fields, and many cattle. We did get up onto the high Plains which is very different than the plains of Kansas.

We suddenly came to a big decline and it wound down into a large city. Two Actually. Lewiston and Clarkston co-located on the confluence of the Salmon River and the Snake River. Both towns were named after Lewis and Clark … you can guess which is which. The Salmon River flowed into the area and we followed it upstream for most of the rest of the day.

We came to a turnoff to Devils Canyon on The Snake River. It was eight miles over a pass on a dirt road .. so we gave it a go (I’m driving a rental)

We didn’t make it to the Snake or Devils Canyon. The road became much rougher and finally a sign that only ATVs were allowed. So we went back. The rest of the way to McCall was routine. More farms, Cattle, horses. At McCall we took US 55 straight South to Boise .. More lakes, tourists, and traffic. Boise must have been in a level five evacuation …everyone and his cousin were heading to the mountains with their boats and campers .. then we remembered it was Friday night … WEEKEND!!

And we made it to Boise. It was well after six when we arrived. Checked into our hotel, went and had dinner, did some planning for tomorrow, and went to bed. Long Day.

17 July 2021 – A much shorter day with a big high. We had an easy start and headed East to Mountain Home, then South to Elko, Nevada. A very picturesque drive, including through a Native American Reservation. We we swarmed by grasshoppers at one point, and drove by a lake at 6,200 feet elevation. Most of the day was spent above 5000 feet. Very High Plains.

Here we are in Elko, Nevada. I did find a carwash and got the grasshoppers off. Spending the night here and hading South to Eureka, then West to Sparks where we will prepare to see Reno.

Oh!!! One last thing … my question that I asked you about what was not in the first couple days and has been in since?? My windshield … and so much of it. We have a little Honda Civic rental and the windshield is steeply sloped causing all sorts of reflections … as you have seen. No apologies though .. That’s the way it is when you travel … Hmmm.

18 July 2021 – Team Bill & Nancy are now in Sparks, Nevada, just a stones throw from Reno. As a matter of fact, we get here earlier than we had expected so we spent the afternoon exploring Reno. However, as before, I have an Alibi from our stay in Elco, NV, then some thoughts, then Reno, NV.

We left Elco, NV after a brief breakfast. The road South was all High Mountain Plains, a few fields, some farms, and some mountains. It was mostly at or above five thousand feet. Nothing new so no pictures. W drove south about a hundred miles and got to Eureka, NV. Eureka claims to be the friendliest town and the most lonesome road in America. I’m not sure about the friendliest town but here was the sign for the highway.

We followed HWY 50 Due West for about two hundred miles to get to Sparks where we are staying tonight. While the terrain yielded nothing new or interesting, we did encounter some interesting sites (some of which were terrain)

There is a very big wild fire burning in california and the smoke is obscuring everything around here. Very bad for photos.

After we checked in to our hotel we went to reno. We went downtown, to the River Walk, and a couple other places.

We found Reno to be rather underwhelming. Not much to see, not much to do (unless you wanted to gamble and all the Casinos are filled with smoke). It is interesting, we met interesting people, and had a nice time. The smoke was getting thicker.

Don’t know what impact the fires will have on our itinerary tomorrow. We plan to drive around Lake Tahoe and see what is there.

An interesting factoid about Highway 50 is that it follows the original route of the Pony Express. We didn’t see any riders but some of their dust was still hanging in the air.

19 July 2021 – We have made it to West Reno … That’s about 12 miles West of where we stayed last night but at least its farther West. However, we did drive about 200 miles today. We left Sparks, went west on I80, took I580 South to Carson City, got back on US50 West which took along lake Tahoe all the way to the Souther tip of the lake to a small town called South Tahoe. Somewhere along the way we had drifted into California so we took California Hiway 89 North all the way back to near Reno, following the West side of Lake Tahoe. We again caught I580 which took us to where we currently are. Basically we drove around Lake Tahoe. All that confusing enough? Bottom line is that Lake Tahoe is a beautiful Lake and the villages, settlements, developments, and commercial enterprises around it are well maintained, well presented, and it all made for a great day. We did come to one realization though … actually it is a big DUH! Traveling in the Summertime in high tourist interest areas is crazy. Most of America is on vacation, many of them have not been out for two years because of the COVID, many of them have pockets full of money because they haven’y been able to go anywhere and the government sends them money every so often, so they are all out, with all their kids, and dogs, enjoying the good life. It is such a big Duh for us because we have hardly ever traveled in the US during the Summer. We did go to our home in Colorado in the Summer but stayed away from tourist areas. Now, we suddenly realize, Summer vacation is back in full swing for most of America. Some people still wear masks, some stores ask you to wear a mask if you are not vaccinated, and some places over which the government has control, requires masks all the time (thanks Fuachi!) even though the CDC does not require masks.

Enough soap box stuff. We had a wonderful day, saw a lot of interesting things and are ready to press on to the West tomorrow. We did have our doubts as when we got up this morning there was a lot of smoke from the Tamarac Fires south of Lake Tahoe and some of the other fires burning out here in the West. It was so thick you could not see the foothills. We nearly cancelled the trip but decided to go and see what we could. We went over a Pass just outside of Carson City and when we came out of it, the weather was clear. Apparently all the smoke stayed on the east side of the range we passed. Carson City is about one third of the way down the East side of Lake Tahoe. So here we go:

We were then on US50 (I tell you these names for the people who follow the routes on their maps) We get out first look at Lake Tahoe, stop at a scenic points, and go through some villages. Lake Tahoe is a high mountain lake and sets at about 6000 feet. The highest we made it today was going over Mt Ross Pass at 8400 feet.

We stopped for lunch at this Deli/Store/Bathroom kind of place and used all that it offered. We split a delicious Italian Sandwich, a bag of chips and we both had our very own goochi California soft drinks. It was a nice break to be out of the car for a while and relax and watch all the people.

After our pleasant lunch we diverted away from the lake because the traffic was getting so heavy it was basically stand still. We decided to follow the Truckee River as it left Lake Tahoe. There were a couple of rafting companies that put people on rafts in Lake Tahoe and picked them up five or ten miles down stream. It looked like bumper rafts. There were so many of them and they were all having a good time.

As we drove on we came upon Squaw Valley! Squaw Valley was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. They are the first Olympic Games That Nancy and I remember thanks to “Wide World Of Sports”. We both had a chuckle when we saw the sign and the name. Naturally we drove in just to have a look. Here’s a picture I got from the internet from the 1960 Olympics:

Here are some pictures we took today:

Well, that was exciting .. for us anyhow. The rest of the drive home was good. We drove all the way out to Truckee, then back in to the lake. We followed the lake until we got close to Reno. Highest we got was going over Mt Rose:

Ok .. That’s it for Reno and Lake Tahoe. Highly recommend visiting but maybe in September or so … After Summer Holidays and Before the Snow. Of course, you can always come here snow skiing but the locals tell us the place is packed with people all Winter long. Take your pick.

Tomorrow we head west towards the Pacific Ocean. We plan to see the Lassen Volcanic National Park and spend the evening at Redding. See you there.

20 July 2021 – We made it to Redding, California famous for … not sure. We chose Redding because it was as far as we thought we would want to travel and we were about right. Had a nice day driving across California and driving through all the National Forests. Beautiful country. I’m not a big fan of California but I must recognize it is well maintained, and clean highways. The parks are well kept, and everything seems to be working. We were nearly diverted off of our planned route by a huge forest fire called the Dixie Fire. Fortunately we turned North just before we got to it and missed any problems with it. Several major roads were closed and there was smoke everywhere. Not a lot of pictures from along the way. Mostly mountains, streams, trees, etc which you have seen a lot of already. A few interesting shots and then we got to Lassen National Park. Took some pictures there. SO here we go:

We found out way into Lassen National Park curious regarding what we would see. Turns out it is a Volcanic area with hot springs, boiling mud, and volcanic craters.

21 July 2021 – We got a very early start today because parts of US 101 along the Pacific coast were closed while the hiway department cleared rockslides. Timing was important as we had to be near the closed section when it opened from noon to three for traffic to pass North.

We traveled through yet another mountain chain, again nice lakes, many trees, beautiful scenery. The area was not real high, 500 feet to 4000 feet but went up and down several times so it took us nearly three hours to go 150 miles. The area is very dry. Here are some shots from that part:

Eventually we got to Hiway 101 in Arcata and turned North. This was our first sight of the Pacific Ocean on this trip. From here we saw Redwoods, Elk, and grand views of the Pacific. We are now in Brookings, Oregon for the night.

To Close Out The day here are a few shots from behind out hotel. Incredible shore line.

See you all tomorrow as we head North through Oregon.

22 July, 2021 – Here we are in Newport, Oregon. Something I have not mentioned much about lately is the weather. Other than some occasional smoke from forest fires, morning haze, and low clouds, it has been pretty clear. The temps have ranged from the 90’s in Seattle and Spokane. tp the 70’s and 80’s in Reno, to the 110’s in Reddington, to the low 60’s and 50’s along the coast of Oregon. Good thing we packed a lot of clothes!! We had a great day today. Traveled about 200 miles North along US 101 right on the Pacific Coast. So many beautiful trees, beaches, hills and valleys. Very scenic with little towns along the way all claiming to have the best Clam Chowder. Not many captions on the picture tonight. They are mostly along the coast at various viewpoints or pull offs that we went into or that I shot as we passed by. Have a look:

That’s it for today. Many trees, many rocks, much ocean … great stuff to see. Tomorrow is the remainder of Oregon and some of Washington.

We just found out our trip was being abbreviated as we need to divert to Denver to conduct some business there. Consequently, tomorrow will be a full day then Saturday will be a short one getting us to Seattle Airport.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of Oregon and some of the Washington Coast with you tomorrow.

23 July 2021 – Our Last stop on our vacation/tour of the Northwest is in Montesano, Washington. Montesano is a small, unassuming town, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Greater State of Washington. Lumber, and fishing (including mussels) seems to be the big trades here. The people are aloof but cordial, the town old, but taken care of. Mostly hard working blue collar people here. We are staying in a local hotel that is clean and neat, offers a full breakfast, and is concerned about their guests.

The trip here from where we stayed in Oregon last night was pleasant with no big surprises. We had a beautiful, sunshine day with the temps starting at 55 and going all the way up to 75. Mostly dramatic coastline, many trees, and we even got into some dairy farming country. I didn’t take any pictures of cows, crops, pr farms. I did take shots along the way of the areas we found interesting. Again, captions are not necessary as they are general scenery pictures. Just flip through them and enjoy. I do comment on things that are unique.

A couple comments about my photos. I again apologize for all the reflections. The car we have has a very low and sloped windshield which reflects everywhere. Plus you sit much lower than the RV so you can’t shoot over the railings. Mia Copa!!

There were many turnoffs and vista points but we did not take them all. After a while, every landscape, regardless of how brash taking it is in real, looks the same in a photograph. Lastly here are a few pictures from Montesano as Nancy an I took a walk after dinner.

That concludes our 2,600 mile trip around the NorthWestern part of America. Beautiful country, well deserving of many visitors.

There were many, many people out during our travels. As I mentioned, hotels were all pretty well booked up, campgrounds had No Vacancy signs out, and there were many RVs camped in parking lots “Boondoggling”. America is out regardless of what the politicians have to say. Many wear masks, many don’t. Most people feel like it’s their choice and no one judges them for it. Way it should be.

Thanks for coming along. Tomorrow we get to Seattle, leave Sunday morning, fly to Denver, have dinner with some friends from Heritage Pines who are in Denver babysitting their Grandchildren (actually the grandchildren are watching them), going to Colorado Springs and having dinner with a colleague from my AF days, then on to Fairplay and home..

Nancy and I finally have both of our COVID immunizations, we have finished up some of our Spring chores, so we are taking a break and are going to RV up to the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina and follow the Appalachians back South to Florida. We haven’t figured all of the route out yet but that’s what makes it fun. Here’s a map of what we have planned so far (the blue line). I’ll update it as we make progress. We are leaving Friday (9 Apr) morning. We have decided not to use the interstate system at all so our travels will be on regular highways. We are going east from here and catching US17 and following it North until we turn East for OBX.

FRIDAY, 9 APRIL, 2021 – We are on our way. We got an early start this morning. Yesterday afternoon I hooked the Jeep up to the RV and parked the RV by the clubhouse in our neighborhood. We decided to take our bikes along this trip so we have those attached to the back end of the Jeep.

After I got the RV to the parking lot we moved all our clothes, food, and travel accessories from the house to the RV. Nancy had all the food lined up so we just took it out of the kitchen at home and put it in the fridge of the RV.

This morning we got up, closed up the house, had a cup of coffee, walked over to the RV, fired ‘er up and departed for OBX. As I mentioned we are taking the scenic route. Country roads, small towns, many lakes in Florida, and no Interstate Highway.

Florida has some very pretty or picturesque scenes separated by a lot of nothing. Traveling across Florida you will most likely see more pine trees than anywhere else in the Universe. We made pretty good time, didn’t mind stopping for the many traffic lights in Brooksville, Ocala, Orange City, or Jacksonville. Its all part of the nature of Florida. We turned North on US 17 at Pierson, Florida turning left off of FLA Hwy 40. The interesting thing about traveling through Florida is that you always see interesting things. I’m not going to have as many pictures in this Blog as I usually do. I think I sometimes overdo it. So here are a few of my favorites:

We made it to our campground just across the Georgia Border. We had a gourmet dinner of Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese and are now getting ready to hit the sack. We arrived here early enough to take a little walk after getting set up and found the place had some nice cabins you can stay at if you want to spend the night at a KOA but don’t have a camper.

That’s it for today. This is the first campground we have stayed at that offers a free breakfast so we are going to give that a go tomorrow morning. We have only a little over 100 miles to drive to Savannah tomorrow which is where we will be staying the next two nights. Consequently, we will have a leisurely start. See You Tomorrow!

Saturday & Sunday, 10, & 11 April, 2021 – We made it to Savannah and made it through the weekend. It’s Sunday evening and we are wrapping it up for the end of the weekend and Savannah. I will break our trip up here, our Saturday out, and Sunday into three different parts.

The trip up was uneventful and didn’t take very long. We only travel a little over 110 miles and we were at our Savannah campground. We set everything up. Looked over what there was to do and decided to go downtown along the river … the Savannah River. But first a couple shots from our trip up from Jacksonville. A comment here. We have traveled North and South through Georgia many times on both I-75 and I-95. Both are crowded, littered with pieces of tires, junk, stalled cars, and trash. Passing through Georgia is one of my more unfavorite things to do. Taking US 17 north to Savannah was a very pleasant surprise. The road sides were well kept, trash picked up, grass and weeds mowed, and everything looked tidy. This is more than I can say for US17 in Florida but it too was not real bad. So, here are a few pictures from ur trip up:

As I mentioned, we settled in and decided to drive downtown Savannah. They have a famous riverside walk and we decided to see it.

We had dinner on the Riverwalk and made it home safely. Here’s a shoutout to John & Kathy Lohman from Aiken, GA … two very interesting and pleasant people we met downtown. This morning we had a slow start. We were up, had a couple coffees, showered, and got ready for church. Savannah Host’s the Basilica of St John The Baptist and we decided we wanted to attend our Sunday mass there. It is a very impressive church, had an awesome choir, and we enjoyed it completely. After all … It is Sunday. Not knowing how long it would take to get there or how difficult it would be to find parking we left early and got there early, including a parking place. there was a little coffee shop right across the street so we each had a small Latte before Mass.

After Church we decided to drive out to Tybee Island. It’s about 12 miles out of Savannah on the coast, surrounded by marshes. Along the way is Fort Polaski and Tybee Island is at the end of the road. Tybee Island is very commercial and is like every other coastal resort town up and down the eastern seaboard … still a fun place to visit. Ft Polaski was the first Confederate Fort to fall to the Union. It is quite well restored and is a National Monument (for now). Many of the photos are explained so I won’t repeat what the signs say.

Then we made it out to Tybee Island itself. A rather large community but there mostly for the tourist trade. Many shops, cafe, bars, etc.

So that was Savannah and the surrounding area. We found it both interesting and enjoyable. Tomorrow morning we depart for Charleston. Another short drive but we are staying there only one night so what we see tomorrow after our arrival is what we will see. See you there!

Monday, 12 April, 2021 – *** Before you start … I just added a few more pictures to Ft Pulaski if it was interesting … they had dropped out during the transfer so I put them in tonight. If you have had enough of Ft Polaski, Press on ***

It’s Monday …. instead of going to work, we continued our road trip … It’s GREAT to be retired!! The drive from Savannah to Charleston was short but a little frustrating. Quite a bit of traffic and a couple construction sites. Fortunately we were not in a hurry so we got here when we got here. We set up our little area and and discussed whether we wanted to go downtown or not. Charleston is a much larger city than Savannah so the interesting spots are spread out all over the city. Finally we decided to just drive into town and drive around to see what was there. Interesting place. Big Southern Money, Big Southern Homes (the old Carriage Houses sell for far more than you can imagine). The waterfront is interesting and they have a lovely park at the Battery (the land defensive point for Charleston against attacks from sea). Then there is Ft Sumpter and other forts that were key players in both the Revolutionary war and the Civil War. Anyhow, none of the statue killer brigade had made it here yet so the park, city, and area is well kept, well presented, and very interesting from both a cultural and a historical aspect. Bad for you, my camera konked out so I only have a few photos to share today. If you really want to see Charleston … come on down .. they welcome everyone. Just hurry before some dimwits decide to tear it down. Here are my pictures:

Tomorrow we continue North to Myrtle Beach, SC where we will be spending two nights. If you read my book, you will know we spent the Summer of 1980 there while I went to a training class. Fond memories all around. See you there!

Tuesday, 13 April 2021 – First … there are no more pictures of Ft Polaski … whew. Next, we had a nice drive from Charleston to Myrtle Beach. Our first impression … IT HAS REALLY CHANGED A LOT SINCE WE WERE HERE 40 YEARS AGO!!!!. Anyhow, the trip up here … like the policeman says “nothing to see here folks, move along”. The drive was pretty much the same as in Florida and Georgia. A few pictures of interesting (to me at least) things along the way:

We made it to Myrtle Beach a little after noon … Checked in. We are staying in one of two HUGE campgrounds on the Atlantic coast in Myrtle Beach. We have not done much today. Set up, then care of some local chores, etc. Then we took a walk on the beach, had an afternoon toddy, made dinner (an excellent blend of Pasta Salad, Spinach Salad, and grilled Chicken), did the dishes, and sat by the fire for a while before turning in. I recently added a new gas campfire to our equipment. Many places won’t allow campfires. Most will not allow bringing in firewood but charge two arms and one leg for theirs, and have crappy fireplaces away from where you want to sit. So, we got a really nice gas campfire that we set right next to where we are sitting by the RV, does not burn our precious wood, and is very nice. Tried it out for the first time tonight and the general consensus is that we like it … just like Mikey! Photo’s:

That was out arrival and first day in Myrtle Beach. Bunch of stuff to do tomorrow so stand by for some really exciting stuff. Meanwhile, I’m headed for the sack. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, 14 April 2021 – Great day in Myrtle Beach. Didn’t have to start real early or real quick so we enjoyed a couple coffees and discussed our plans for the day. Decided to start the day off with a bike ride. Our bikes have not seen much use in the past years so it was an adventure for all four of us (Nancy and I and the two bikes). We had brought them along just for a morning like today. I unloaded them, made sure the tires were still properly inflated, made sure nothing had been misaligned or broke while clinging to the back end of our Jeep … all was good and off we went. Like I mentioned, the Campground we were at, Ocean Lakes, is HUGE. Many, many RV sites, condo’s to rent, houses, to rent, tent sites, just about anything you can imagine. If you don’t believe me just Google Ocean Lakes RV in Myrtle beach … but make sure you are using something with a big screen.

Anyhow, we had a very nice bike ride … about two hours. Here are some pictures of our ride and the Camp.

That was fun … so we decided to take the Jeep out, it needed gas, and look up an interesting Miniature GolF Course we saw on the way in. We got the gas and found the course. here it is:

Glowing from her victory at golf Nancy then wanted to drive around town a bit … just to see what we remember and what it was like. We drove all the way to the Northern end of Myrtle Beach through the “Business Section” … restaurants, mini golf, bars, rentals etc. Then we drove down Ocean Avenue where alll the Condos and Motels are stacked up against the ocean. We walked out to the beach at one place just to see it … just like at the campground. we stopped at a bar there for a beer and met an interesting gentleman who had served for 14 years as a West Virginia Legislator, had worked on the Congressional Staff in Washington DC and was interesting to talk with. The Honorable Ron Thompson Jr. He now lives near Myrtle Beach … interesting fellow. Always good to meet interesting people.

A couple beach and Ocean Ave shots:

Nancy and I then continued our tour of Myrtle Beach. Drove through Where Myrtle Beach Air Force Base once was. They have done good things with the area. Having had a full day we decided to have an early dinner. We had Pizza at a Local Place … great Pizza, Nice Evening:

That was it for Myrtle Beach … it was great to see the place again. Still amazed how a little ole 40 years can make such a difference. Happy we stopped there. Moving on towards the Outer Banks. Too long to do in one day, we are stopping in a little campsite just west of Fairfield, North Carolina on the North Shore of Lake Mattamuskeet. See You There.

Thursday, 15 April, 2021 – Posting this on the 16th as there was no WiFi and very little Cell service last night. Anyhow … The trip was good. Saw a lot of interesting things. Never realized the Eastern shores of North Carolina had so many BIG farms. Very impressive with deep black soil and many, many grain silos so farming must be good. Here are some pictures of the trip up.

We made it to Osprey Nest Campground and were greeted by it’s owner and Chief Operating Officer. A nice lady who makes me look young but is much sweeter than I am. Nancy and I picked out our site, had dinner, walked around a bit, watched some Canadian Geese that had stopped by for the evening. Great stay.

Friday, 16 April, 2021 – Up early, couple’a cups of Joe, hook up the Jeep, say Thanks and Farewell to our Hostess, and off we go. Not a long trip today but wanted to see the Southern Part of the Outer Banks and just have today to do it. Spending two days up on the Northern end. The drive up went well … many more farms, inlets, rivers, bridges, swamps, a herd of Deer, etc so just a couple of pictures from the trip up:

Sorry about the Deere things … I thought we needed a little humor. We got to the campground, checked in, set up, and decided to drive to the Southern end of the Outer Banks … at least as far as you can go in a car. Interesting. Here’s a few scenes:

That Wraps up today and gets me up to date with my posts. Tomorrow we have a short ride up to Kill Devil Hills where we will spend two nights. Close by will be Kitty Hawk, wild horses, and who know what else. See you there.

17 April, Bright and Early Saturday Morning – OMG!!!!! I forgot two REALLY important things yesterday!!!! First of all, as many of you may know, or maybe not …. The Outer Banks have been a hot bed of Intergalactic activity dating back to recordings on ice tablets. Recently the US Navy released a photo and admitted they spotted a “For Real” UFO hovering (no, not vacuuming) over a Navy warship. Well, to get to the point, yesterday, we spotted an alien ship that had landed and was trying to look inconspicuous amongst local homes … don’t believe me? Picture Below!!

Bet you believe me now! We didn’t go in … it could’ve been a trap to capture earthlings and do spiriments on them.

What’s the other things you ask? Today is Mary Alice’s Birthday … Happy Birthday Mary Alice.

Now we finally get to the actual day of 17 April. Mary Alice has informed me that she celebrated her birthday on the 11th, which she claims is her birthday. Being an Officer and a Gentleman I am inclined to defer to her claim vice carrying on about when it might actually be. Therefore, my birthday wishes were six days late but none the less carry heartfelt good wishes from both Nancy and myself.

The drive from the Southern end of the Outer Banks to the the Northern areas where we are now revealed nothing new or interesting. We did pass The Bodie Lighthouse on Bodie Island but it does look much like the Cape Hatteras one (That’s what happen when you paint them all the same color. Judge for yourself … Here’s the Bodie Lighthouse:

The rest of the way was sand dunes, sea oats, T-Shirt Shops, Parks, bridges, restaurants, bars, rentals homes (The BIG Ones), and Circle K’s. Consequently, I didn’t take any pictures. Don’t despair though … once we arrived in Kill Devil Hills, where we are staying for two nights, we drifted over to Kitty Hawk and toured the site of the first powered flight in history. Wilbur and Orville Wright flew their airplane on Dec 17, 1903 for a total of 59 seconds setting up the world for putting people on the Moon and beyond. We spent several hours there walking around looking at everything. It is very well done and interesting. Here are some Photos. Most everything is explained on the photo’s so I’m not going to caption many of them. If there was interesting info on a large picture I took a picture of just that info so you could read it. Enjoy:

And that was Kitty Hawk and the Dawning of The Aviation Age. We both enjoyed it a great deal. We walked to all the different site so we spent a fair amount of time there. Well worth it.

Following that we drove around a bit looking at the beach houses and other local stuff … nothing particularly exciting. We had Dinner at our favorite Australian Restaurant, Outback, and are now snuggled into our RV. It is cool here, temps running in the 50’s and low 60’s but the sun is out through the day which helps. There is a stiff breeze from the ocean that does not help.

Tomorrow is a leisurely start. Nancy has told me she is taking me to breakfast somewhere, then we are driving up to the farthest Northern Point we can drive to see the wild horses. I’ll share what we find. Till Then …

Sunday, 18 April, 2021 – Nice Day!! After a leisurely coffee we decided to find some breakfast. We decided to go to Dunk’n and have a Latte and maybe a dozen Munchies … However, there is a little place along the road here just before the campground that looked interesting so we decided to give it a try. It turned out to be very nice, pleasant and well ran.

That took care of breakfast … I was ready for a nap but Nancy wanted to press on to see the wild horses in the Northernmost part of the Island. The horses are left over from Spanish explorers some time back. They were nearly gone when a group of people formed an organization to protect them. They now live in an area called the Carrituck Banks Estuarine Reserve. They run wild and are difficult to spot because much of the area is private property where they, but not you, are allowed to roam and the rest of it is wild trees and brush. It is only when they come out to the beaches or are in open ares in the Reserve where people are allowed to hike can you see them. The pavement ends near a town named Corolla, just past a town named Duck. To go be on foot, aboard a tour vehicle doing a wild horse tour, or a four wheel drive vehicle. The going is on the beach in deep sand so Toyotas can’t make it .. just kidding … I pull them out all the time with our Jeep.

The drive from our campsite to Corolla is about 50 miles and had some new scenery but a lot of the old. Big houses dominate the Outer Banks and Nancy and I were discussing how jammed up all these little roads must be in mid Summer when all these big places are filled with people. Here are some photos from the drive up.

We arrived at Corolla and checked on a horse sighting tour but were told they were sold out. We thought maybe they were able to find more than we could but that was not to be so off we went. We drove off the end of the pavement and onto the beach. After a couple miles during which we were meeting and passing other Jeeps and 4WD vehicles we noticed a couple with their bicycles looking over the dune. Nancy noticed a horse was standing on the other side. We parked the Jeep and scrambled over to where they were and Nancy saw the horse. There were four or five horses right on the other side of the dune, They were just hanging out letting us take pictures of them. Then This guy came along and chased us all off telling us we were trespassing on private property. He didn’t say anything to the horses. Here are some photos of the beach and the horses.

It’s kinda sad about the horses and getting to see them. I understand private property and I understand big parks but the people in the Hummer Tour paid ~$50 each to see horses and all they got was some stories from the driver. I’m happy the tour we checked on was booked up and we got to see them on our own.

From Corolla we drove back and stopped at a light house, took some pictures of some big houses, stopped at a bar that was all stained glass, and got back to the camper early in the afternoon. We worked out some plans for the next few days of travel and went out for dinner at Dare Devil’s Pizza. Good place if you are in the area and have a hankering for pizza.

Then we drove the rest of the way back to the Camper.

That pretty well wrapped up our day. Getting an early start tomorrow hoping to make it to Fayetteville, NC for an overnighter. Hope to be in Sumter by Tuesday.

We enjoyed the Outer Banks. Were amazed at all the huge homes so close to an Ocean that knocks them down freely every so often. Many interesting things to see and do. My recommendation is go in the shoulder season. Winter everything is closed and in Summer you are in gridlock most of the time. See you in Fayetteville.

19 April, 2021, Monday – We made it to Fayetteville without any trouble and in a leisurely manner. Nothing new along the way .. same houses, trees, cars, fields, and roadside oddities that we have seen along the way … consequently, no new pictures. As a matter of fact the next couple days we will be spending with friends and taking a day off to beat up some golf balls so there won’t be any entries or pictures until we leave here for our next destination. That’s right, I’m taking a little break and will be back in a couple days. I’ll tell you about our time here and our next destination at that time. So, take a break, “Smoke’em if you’ve got’ed” and we will see you in a couple days. Here’s a couple pictures from the drive from Kill Devil Hills to Fayetteville.

22 April 2021, Thursday – Welcome back and hope you all are doing well. Here’s the story from the last couple days. We left Fayetteville in the morning of the 20th and drove South to Sumter, South Carolina. We had a campsite reserved there at Shaw AFB for two nights. While we were there we planned to see our friends, Steve & Gay Nelson, and play some golf at Shaw. I’m please to say we were able to do both. On Tuesday, the 20th, we arrived at Shaw, set up our RV and drove the Jeep over to the Nelsons. For those of you who read my book you know I once worked for Steve, he and Gay are good friends of ours, and we see them every now and then. For those of you who have not read my book; I once worked for Steve, he and Gay are good friends of ours, and we see them every now and then.

We arrived in mid afternoon and spent several hours catching up on topics such as mutual friends, relatives, kids, world events, etc. They took us for a drive and showed us a park where there are all sorts of birds and plants. The local Garden Club, which Gay belongs to, has areas where they grow special plants to acquaint people with local flora … very nice and very interesting.. We were going to go out for dinner but the restaurant where they wanted to take us was closed on Tuesday so Gay had a meal prepared … Chicken Cacciatore … excellent Chicken Cacciatore as a matter of fact. So we had dinner with them and left to go back to the camper. They have a lovely home but we prefer not to impose on people’s hospitality when we drop by.

On Wednesday, which was very appropriately named cuz it was really windy, we played 18 holes at the Shaw AFB Golf Course. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Air Force bases you should know that the golf course is put in first, then the O’Club, then the runway. Very civilized you know. Anyhow, Nancy and I had a great time playing the course and even got decent scores; although Nancy beat me again. The wind increased all afternoon and was a fierce blow by the time we finished.

That reminds me of a joke: Three old guys went out to play golf one day. They were tee’ing up when the first guy said, “It sure is windy today!” So the second guy looked up startled and said “Wednesday!!! … I thought it was Thursday!” The Third guy looked around and said … “Hey, I’m thirsty too, let’s go get a beer!!”

After we finished our windy, Wednesday golf game we came back to the camper and cleaned up, rested for a while, and went back over to the Nelson’s as they were going to take us to their favorite new restaurant. Turns out it is a brew pub, a three story brew pub, and is a very nice place. We had a couple beers and compared our days, then went cross the street and ate at a locally famous Burger Joint that features Baseball stars from the Sumter area … good food, nice setting, great evening.

That takes care of Wednesday, our time at Sumter, and our stay at Shaw AFB. I took no pictures while we were in Sumter.

This morning we got up and traveled all day to get to Marble, North Carolina … it’s near Murphy if you are not familiar with it. It was a long day and a long drive but quite interesting. We had been traveling the coastal area since we left home so everything was quite flat and most of the trees were pines. As we traveled West today the terrain began to climb and began to get hilly. More and more hardwood trees were visible and everything was looking different. Another change that occurred was that because we were traveling Northwest and climbing to higher elevations, the Spring blossoming of the trees and their leaves was still just starting where, in the South, it was nearly finished. Here are some pictures from along the way.

Tomorrow we don’t have to travel as far. We are going to Spring City TN to visit Boomer and Kelly Henry. Boomer and I worked together in Germany when I was there as a contractor and the four of us had many enjoyable times together. We have not seen the Henry’s since we left Germany in 2012 so we are looking forward to seeing hem. More on that tomorrow.

**** Our Just Updated Our travel Map At The Top Of This Post ****

Friday, 23 April, 2021 – We had a nice trip from Marble, NC up Spring City, TN. It is interesting in that we went through this same general area on our Bay of Fundy trip in the Fall. Then, all the trees were loosing their leaves so they were all sorts of different Fall colors … very beautiful. Now, it’s early Spring and they are all getting their leaves so they are all different shades of Green … also very beautiful. I took some pictures but not sure if they are that visible. Let’s see:

So that was the trip here. We Spent yesterday afternoon and evening with the Henry’s at their home on the Lake Chickamauga and ordered in dinner. Played some pool, caught up on old times, old friends, and old memories … always good to friends from the past … and make new friends too but more on that in my next book.

24 April, 2021, Saturday – Somewhere in the middle of the night it started raining and it is still raining this morning. Looks like it is one of those all day soakers. We have no set agenda for the day … maybe get some supplies and mosey back over to the Henry’s for a little while. Tomorrow morning we depart for the Florida Panhandle and Ft Walton Beach and Panama City. We lived there for six years. I had assignments in both places. We are stopping in Montgomery, Alabama for the night as going all the way to FL is farther than we want to travel in a day. We are staying in a “Resort” campground in Spring City .. mostly a Marina and a Hotel but they had two or three campsites and we were lucky enough to get one. Nice people … I guess that’s the most important thing so we are good with all that. Spring City is a very small town that is spread out between a major highway and the lake. Not a lot of culture but plenty of character. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you down the road.

25 April 2021, Sunday – We made it to Montgomery with no problems and time to spare. We crossed into the Central Time Zone so we picked up an hour. Because the trip from Spring City to Montgomery was long, we decided to use the Interstate system. All went well. Nothing new for pictures. The terrain went from mountains to rolling hills, and now we are in the flat lowlands of Alabama which extend all the way to the coast. We also went from hardwood trees of all different kinds to pine trees … all one kind.

When we got set up here we decided to try and find the house we lived in for a year while I going to school here … after all, it’s only been 28 years! We did find it and it was in good shape. We were disappointed to find that our favorite Mexican restaurant has turned into an African Braids and Barber shop … I think the owners changed as well. We did find another Mexican Restaurant and it was very good so we are turning in with full tummies.

Tomorrow we proceed to Ft Walton Beach. More when we get there.

26 April 2021, Monday – Just like magic … Here we are in Ft Walton Beach, Florida. Back in Florida, back in the land of Sunshine, and back in the land of no more masks!!! I Love Gov DeSantis … what a Leader. Anyhow … We made the short trip down in good time and no problems. I mentioned yesterday that the terrain was all pines but there actually are many other trees … just mostly pines. From mid Alabama down the land looks like the Gulf once was that high … and I suppose it was. A great deal of sand, rolling hills, and not much elevation. Perhaps someday the Gulf will take it back … hopefully not during my tour of duty here on earth. We went mostly on Rt 331 which in some places is a four lane highway and other places its barely 2 lanes wide. We have been traveling through the South for many years and it appears there is an effort to spruce it up a bit. The ditches are clean, the old towns are neat and orderly. The buildings are old but painted and cared for. You do see some run down buildings or areas but I guess that happens everywhere. I took some pictures on the way down. They are mostly buildings and trees so I’m not going to label all of them … just the ones that are meaningful. Here we go …

Then we were in Florida … The Panhandle is not very wide so we only had a few miles to get to Ft Walton.

So here we are. We are in a very nice campground, small but new … Boutique? Anyhow, I’ll take some pictures. We are meeting one of Nancy’s previous employers. Sherri Montalto, and her late husband Sam, owned and operated Pandora’s for many years on Santa Rosa Island. It was a great place to eat and Nancy enjoyed working there for Sam and Sherri. Nancy was their bookkeeper. See you tomorrow.

28 April 2021, Wednesday – It is Wednesday evening and we have concluding our visits with friends in the area. It has been a fun two and half days, we saw some people we had not seen for a while, had a good rest and please we stopped by here at Ft Walton. As I mentioned, Monday evening we had dinner with Nancy’s previous boss. Sherri brought her Mom and her Mom’s friend David and we all had a delightful dinner at a place called Ali’s in Ft Walton along Hwy 98. We had a pleasant evening catching up and talking about our lives today. It was good to see Sherri again and it was nice to see she was doing well.

On Wednesday, the 27th, we played the golf course at Hurburt Field … Gator Lakes Golf Course. Lots of water, alligators, and ample opportunity to loose balls. Again, we had a nice time … again, Nancy beat me, but it was fun. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed the day. That evening (last Night) we had dinner with Doug and Meg Ammon. Doug and Meg were stationed at Reine Main in Frankfurt when we were there. Doug is an Air Force Dentist. We had dinner at The Magnolia House in Ft Walton and again, had a very pleasant evening catching up with our lives.

Today we drove over to Destin, FL and Met Stan and Marcia Bently. Nancy was the accountant for a carpet company in Panama City when I was stationed there and Stan worked there as well. We got to be good friends with the two of them and had a great many good times with them while we lived in Panama City. Today, we had lunch with them at LuLu’s, which I’m sure you know, is a chain of restaurants owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister. Again, a very pleasant day.

So here we are, Wednesday evening, all our visits completed, and we are ready to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow morning we pull stakes and head East to Perry, Florida via Hwy 98 through Panama City, Mexico Beach, Apalachicola, and on to Perry. Our stay here was most enjoyable. It is good to be back in Florida where it is warm, sunny, and friendly. Here are some pictures of our stay.

See You on The road tomorrow.

30 April, 2021, Friday – Several things here. First, I have made the last update to the map of our trek at the front of this Blog. Second, that means we are home. Yesterday, as I mentioned earlier, we drove from Ft Walton to Perry, FL. We went through Destin, Panama City Beach, Panama City, Mexico Beach, Port St Joe, Apilatchicola, East Point, and a whole bunch of little towns named after Saints (No, not New Orleans Saints, real saints!). The drive was scenic, it was a pleasant day, so, even though we drove a long way, lost an hour getting into the Eastern Time Zone, it was a good day. Last night we stayed at a nice KOA in Perry, FL. Perry is just a small Town where Hwy 19 and 98 separate, or come together depending which way you are traveling. Today we drove the rest of the way home and were home at noon. We spent this afternoon cleaning out the RV and went out for dinner at Coyote Roho #4 which is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was seeing all the damage that remains in the Panama City area from the hurricane they had there a few years back. Tyndall AFB was nearly destroyed, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, and acres and acres of trees were blown over or just snapped off.

So, here are some pictures. First, a few more shots from the Destin area. Then Panama City. Then random pictures along the rest of the way.

That ends the trip. About 1750 miles and 21 days. Met a lot of nice people, saw many old friends, had a good time. Thanks for coming along.

In May, 2016, Nancy’s Brother Dean invited us to visit him in Trinidad. He works as an Independent IT Consultant and had a job working in Trinidad for several months. He knows we like to travel so he invited us down. We have never been to Trinidad so, and thought it would be nice to visit Dean, so we accepted.

Dean had been working there for several months so he was well attuned to the rhythm of Trinidad. He had reserved rooms for us at the Hyatt along the sea so we were all set. We arrived on Friday evening from Miami and were ready to spend an interesting weekend in Trinidad. Dean had a full weekend planned for us. We spent Friday evening at our hotel catching up with Dean, his family, his job, our family, our activities, lotsa drinks, good evening … No Jet Lag. Later we went Liming but only for a short while.

So Saturday Dean had a full day tour of Trinidad booked. He had a friend who ran a tour service who took us all over the Island. I’m not going to give you a history or geography lesson on Trinidad … if you are interested just Google “Trinidad” and you will be enlightened. The first place we went is to the Northern Shore. Exposed to the sea and all it provides, the Northern shore was very impressive. Rugged, scenic, beautiful. All At one time. Here are some pictures of the trip there through the capitol, Port of Spain, and the Northern Shore.

We continued our tour of the north shore … saw some incredible cloud formations and made it back to town. That night, late, we went out to a turtle sanctuary where some naturalists were taking care of leatherback turtles that were coming ashore to lay eggs. I’ll show you the pictures then tell you a little about it.

The eggs hatch some time later. The Baby Turtles eat the eggs that don’t hatch until they are strong enough to dig their way out of the nest. They then take a GPS bearing of where they are and head to the sea. Incredibly, they return to the same spot some 25 years later after swimming the oceans all over the globe. It was a very unique experience. The Turtles are so gentle and quiet. The bad side is that thieves come and steal the babies as they crawl out to the sea … sell them. The Naturalists try to protect them until they can get to the sea.

The next Day was Mother’s Day and, as always, Nancy and I try to make these special days special.

So That afternoon, Dean was working but his guide took us around the rest of the island and treated us to a shark sandwich. After that we took him on a tour of an amazing highly migrations of red birds.

That ended the bird tour. We had an incredible sunset that evening, we went back to the hotel, got up the next morning and flew home. Great weekend in a Great little place. Here’s the Sunset.

That’s Our Mother’s Day Weekend In Trinidad. Thank You Dean for inviting us down and sharing your weekend and Paradise with us. Always a fun time.

Welcome Back …. This post is about our “Freedom Trip” that we are taking in the COVID Infested Summer of 2020. The first section, “GETTING AWAY”, is about our trip from Florida, up through Tennessee and Kentucky, over to Wisconsin, then Across Minnesota and North Dakota to Montana. We are Now in Montana and getting ready to Visit Glacier National Park.

17 JULY 2020 – Up early and on the road to Columbia Falls where we have a campsite for two days. Our Plan is to arrive there, take care of some business in town, park the RV and then head out to Glacier.

Ok … We made it to Glacier and it was absolutely AMAZING. We got our spot at the campground, set up a little, hopped in the Jeep and headed for Glacier. The park opened the road all the way to St Mary Lake (which is just about 6 miles to the East Gate … So there!!) So we made the trip all the way to “Going to the Sun Road” … had a sandwich and a local Beer and drove back. Bonus for all of you is I used my big boy camera and I think I got some pretty good shots. Many are window shots but we would never get to where we are going if I stopped and got out to shoot each picture … so, I cleaned my windshield and off we went. Many of them are just mountain scenes so I’m not going to put in a caption unless there is something I want to comment on about it. Enjoy … see what you think:

So … How’d you like that? We had a great day and loved every minute of it. Meeting our Nephew Michael for dinner tonight … we crossed paths touring the West.

We had a great dinner at a local Brew Pub in Kallispel … most places require masks here … most we’ve seen since we left Florida. Kallispel is a very interesting old town with a great mix of old and new. Very Nice.

Traveled So Far 3300 Miles in the RV and 1000 in the Jeep. Total 4300 Miles.

18 July 2020 – Today we drove from Columbia Falls to Fairmont, Montana (Close to Anaconda), about 200 miles.. Pretty Drive especially part of it as along a huge lake with Mountains in the background.

We made it to Fairmont … They have a nice campground here and some thermal springs near by. They have a lodge there where you can swim in the 95 degree water (our pool in Florida stays that hot most of the time). Many folks come here for a weekend with the kids to enjoy the warm water and pools (Only place you can find warm water in Montana)!!

NOTE FROM PICTURE: Here you see a stream, some railroad tracks, and the road. This is really common throughout the West, especially in the mountains. Of course the stream came first … then later they built a railroad following the steams valley. Then came the road later following the railroad tracks and stream. Most of our campsites are near railroads as I have mentioned earlier, many by the road, some by the streams.

Traveled so far 3500 Miles in the RV, 1000 in the Jeep.

19 July 2020 – Here we are in Cody Wyoming … betcha could never guess who this town is named after ….. give up? … Okay … None other than Buffalo Bill Cody … even though he is Buried in Golden Colorado overlooking the city of Denver, this is his town. We had a nice drive down from Montana … full day but the roads were good and traffic was not too heavy. Several changes of scenery in that we actually left the Mountains behind for a while, then they showed up again. High plains all the way … I don’t think we ever got below 5000 Feet. We are staying here, 50 miles East of Yellowstone because every campground around Yellowstone is filled and of the 17 campgrounds in Yellowstone, only four are open … and they are all full. Who said everyone is staying home but the two of us? We did find a good reason to go to Cody … they have a Rodeo here every night so I had already planned to spend at least one night here … turns out we will spend three. Here’s a couple pictures we found interesting along the way. Most are just views of mountains, ranches, farms, or lakes we saw along the way.

Guess I need to wash my windshield more often. Anyhow, we made it to Cody which is pretty much a tourist kind of town but it is the County Seat for Park County. It has a lot of gift shops, tour places, Kayak rentals, and campgrounds. We got set up and bought some tickets to the Rodeo. Not knowing what the next couple days had in store, nor what the weather would be we decided to go tonight. It was a lovely evening and a GREAT show. Here’s some pictures … It didn’t start until 8 PM so there was not a great deal of light … consequently some of the faster moving pictures blurred a bit … Sorry:

It was a Great Show … Contestants from all over the West … We were amazed that they pull this off every night … well worth seeing.

Miles so far 3800 in the RV and 1000 in the Jeep. Tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone. We have set aside two days but think we can do it in one … we’ll see. Been a long day … Gonna hit the sack.

20 July 2020 – We have been to Yellowstone several times over the years. First time I went was back in 1967 after we graduated from high school when Zack and I decided to do a road trip before we started our Post High School endeavors. Later, Nancy and I went there on a couple different occasions. We have always enjoyed it and find it to be one of the most diverse and beautiful of the National Parks in America. We have seen thermal activity in Iceland and New Zealand but nothing that compares to Yellowstone. We got an early start and did the entire park. We saw everything we wanted to … even waited for Old Faithful to erupt. Great day … many, many animals. … We saw a bear and her cub but they were a quite a long way off so I don’t have a picture. Here are some of the shots:

I think Nancy is a better photographer than I am … Oh well. That was our day in Yellowstone … another very long but very rewarding day. This evening we had dinner at a local Cowboy bar called Cassies … Lots of old stuff but great food and local brews. Now it is time for bed.

Still at 3800 miles for the RV but added another 300 today on the Jeep so its total is 1300 … That’s 5100 miles so far.

21 July 2020 – Today we are taking a day off, walking around Cody, doing a little shopping, catching up on my Blog, etc. We slept in a bit, had an extra cup of coffee. I gave both of the Photographers the day off so no pictures. Tomorrow we leave Cody moving South towards Fairplay and yet another Park. We are stopping half way so I will post from there.

22 July 2020 – Here we are in picturesque Glendo, Wyoming … Never heard of it? Neither have we till we picked it as a place to stop on the way to Fairplay, CO. It is by a lake, a railroad track, an interstate highway, has one bar/liquor store/grocery store and is home to nearly 100 people. The trip here was good … good roads, little traffic, weather got hot … its 97 degrees right now (5 PM). I wanted to tell you about a couple of friends we made in Cody … they came by every morning and every evening and had breakfast/dinner:

Now for the drive from Cody to Glendo. A real lot of nothing … Western Nothing as in grass (dry) mesquite, and sage brush. Once in a while you came across a rancher/farmer who had some acreage in hay and some livestock. here’s what the nothing and the ranches looked like:

We did go through a very Interesting Canyon. It was called The wind River Canyon and was located on the Wind River Reservation. It was located just North and West of Casper, Wyoming. Impressive Canyon with lots of water rushing through it … it was about 10 miles long:

We got to Glendo, checked into our Spot, set up, and Nancy made Chili for dinner. It was/is HOT … so we went to the bar/liquor store/grocery store to have a cold one and see what is going on. There we saw the most amazing things … first of all we found a Jackalope (A very hard to find animal from out West):

It is unknown if they are a specific species of animal or are the result of over aggressive Jack Rabbits (They are very big out here). Anyhow, we felt privileged to witness one.

Then in the bar/liquor store/grocery store there was this very old wood bar that is said to be moved here from the Chicago World’s Fair. A lot of impressive wood. However … the most impressive thing was all the animals they had mounted around the bar:

You would never get lonely here. We met people from the Texas PanHandle, Wyoming, Montana, and some would not say where they were from … and we were there for only 30 minutes!!

Another 300 miles today brining us to 4100 miles for the RV and 1300 for the Jeep. Tomorrow we hope to get to Fairplay where we will spend the weekend with friends. We used to own a cabin in the mountains near Fairplay and got to be pretty good friends with a number of the fine folks that live there. Looking forward to seeing all of them.

23 JULY – We made it to Fairplay with no major problems. Just followed the road South for about 300 miles. Traffic was heavy on the I-25 corridor between Ft Collins and Denver but moved along. Fairplay is at 10,000 feet of elevation and is the County Seat for Park County (yes, again). It is a small but colorful town with businesses, schools, and tourist attractions like many other small towns. We will be here through the weekend hanging out with friends seeing familiar places. The weather here is cool and rainy with lows in the 40’s and highs in the low 70’s. We originally planned this trip to be in Fairplay this weekend which annually hosts the Fairplay Burro Days. Its a great time with Lama races, Burro races and loads of fun. Sadly the event was cancelled this year due to you know what! Milage so far for the RV is 4415 and 1300 for the Jeep.

24, 25, and 26 JULY – We are all set up in the back yard of a friend of ours who is kind enough to host us. We had no schedule or agenda but managed to stay quite busy. The afternoon we arrived we took our Hostess, Tess Debonis out for a late lunch and a tour of the town to find old friends. Tess owns several businesses in town, an EXON service station, a Subway sandwich shop, and a NAPA auto parts store. They are managed by her Son Tom and Tess just keeps an eye on them. We first went to the South Park Brewpub. Great food and wonderful people. It Opened several years ago and has made its mark in Fairplay.

Then we went over to the Platte River Saloon to see who was in town:

Another great place. Opened a couple years ago by Ellen and it also is doing well. After checking the place out we went next door to MaCall’s Bar which is known and called The Park Bar. This was the “Other Park” I referred to earlier.

It was a pleasant evening which led the way for a fun weekend. Lots of good friends.

This is most of them … Left to right: Tom, myself, Reneee (A Nurse in Denver and Tess’s Daughter), Tess, John (A realtor in town), Lori (John’s wife and an IT help Desk for a hospital in Minnesota) Howie (Renee’s Husband and a store manager in Denver), Nancy, Sherry (operates Rocky Mountain Hat Company), Becky (Tom’s wife and Food wholesaler), and Smitty (operates Rocky Mountain Hat Company with his wife Sherry). Missing is another Becky.

This is Dick Smith … Local historian and known by everyone who has ever come to town. Dick is a legend in Fairplay … a well deserved title. (Not sure who the young lady is)

One of the mornings it was raining so Nancy and I decided to take a drive over Boreas Pass. It was developed late in the 1800’s and built to transport people and cargo from Breckenridge to Como. It is one of our favorite passes and has great views.

That pretty well summed up our weekend. Good time, good friends. No more miles on the RV but about 200 on the jeep for totals of 4415 for the RV and 1500 for the Jeep.

27 JULY – Left Fairplay and drove over to Buena Vista, Colorado located on the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Another western town, a little bigger than Fairplay. We came here to do two things … Today Tom and Tess joined us for a round of golf and tomorrow Nancy and I are going to Raft the Arkansas River. I hope the rafting goes better than my golfing did. Nuff said! Just added about 50 miles to the RV for 4465 and nothing more for the Jeep so it stays at 1500.

28 JULY 2020 – Last night we celebrated Tom Debonis’ Birthday, which is actually today, a little too long so we slept in till 7 or so. Nancy had some laundry to do so she took that over and got it started while I prepared our morning coffees. Got all that done and prepared ourselves to go White Water rafting on the Arkansas River. We had a 12:15 booking so we headed out, reported to the office, sign the mandatory responsibility release forms, got geared up with vests, paddles, and hard hats. They had other stuff but we passed on all the tourist things. They briefed us, bussed us down to the river, briefed us again, assigned us to our boats and guides, briefed us, and had us drag the boats into the water. AND THE FUN BEGAN …. WOW … 10 miles in three hours doing calm areas and rapids up to level 3 and 4 (out of 6 which is ARE YOU CRAZY!!) We got thoroughly soaked, bounced, paddled our butts off, and just really enjoyed it. The paying customers do the paddling, the guide just steers the boat. You don’t paddle when the guide says paddle … you hit a rock … pretty straight forward. Our guide was P.J. and he was absolutely incredible. He had us spining through rapids (that’s doing a 360 degree spin of the raft while it descends between rocks), pulling up in eddy’s behind boulders, surfing, and even standing at times. Here’s some pics:

I’ll not tell you wish of these boats we were on but we were there and it was a great time. Everyone was thrilled from the beginners to the experienced. Highly recommend you do this if you ever get the chance.

After getting back to the RV and getting a hot shower and putting on some warm clothes we went out for dinner. After dinner Nancy wanted to take a drive up past Mt Princeton to see a ghost town called St Elmos. On the West side of Buena Visa is a big mountain range called the Collegiate Mountains. All the mountains over 14,000 feet (known as 14ers) are named after Ivy league schools. So there is Mt Harvard, Mt Princeton, Mt Yale, etc. Here are some shots of the drive out to and St Elmo. The pictures were taken right at sunset so some are a little dark:

So that was St Elmo. St Elmo is owned by the Colorado Historical Society and they strive to keep it as authentic as possible. A nice evening drive, an interesting place, great mountain views. The RV stays at 4415 and we add another 100 miles to the Jeep for 1600 for the Jeep. Tomorrow is a short day. We are leaving early and heading South to visit one of America’s newer National Parks … The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. An incredibly narrow and deep canyon that runs for mile … just wait and see!

29 JULY 2020 – A very nice Day. We left Buena Vista fairly early after our morning Cupa Joe and headed South to Montrose, Colorado. It is a medium sized town just South of The Black River of the Gunnison National Park. We got there just after noon, parked and set up the camper, unhooked the Jeep and headed out to the Park. We’ve been to this park a couple times before but we figured as long as we were in the area, and we do like it a lot, we would take another look. It is not a big park but it is very interesting. Here are few photos from our drive down:

So that was the 150 mile trip down. The Gunnison River formed the Canyon the park is named for (Before I was in High School). It also feeds the reservoir pictured above which is a very busy recreation area … Camping, Fishing, Boating, and hiking. Lastly the Gunnison gives it’s name to the town of Gunnison which is close to the dam that forms the reservoir. The entrance to the park is farther along. As I mentioned earlier, it is not a big park but the dramatic depth and shear drop of the walls with the Gunnison still running at the bottom is incredible. So here are some shots we took at the Park:

Hope you liked that … You can always find out more info about the Gunnison and the Park by Googling it … they may even have better pictures! On the way out, right by the entrance was a road to the “East Portal”. It had all kinds of restrictions about how big a vehicle could go on the road and so on but we had the Jeep so we went to see where it went. Turns out it goes all the way to the bottom of the Canyon on it’s Eastern end. It is not as dramatic there so they put in a road. Here’s a couple of Photos from there:

So that was out big day in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We made dinner in the RV and turned in early. Tomorrow is a BIG day. We found out that New Mexico is not welcoming strangers and if you stop any where in their state you must self quarantine for 14 days before mingling with the natives. Consequently we changed our plan and worked up a different route … that does not include NM. We are disappointed as we have two sets of friends in Albuquerque and we are going to miss seeing them. I’ll Tell you about the new route tomorrow. So far the RV has traveled 4575 miles and the Jeep 1700.

30 JULY 2020 – Welcome to Flagstaff, Arizona and the 13th State on this trip! We left Montrose, Colorado heading South towards Ouray and Durango via Hwy 550. After three 11,000 ft passes, 17 construction sites, and eye bulging drop offs we made it to Durango. If you ever want to drive a stimulating piece of road and want to see some of the most incredible mountain country ever … do U.S. 550 from Ouray to Durango. Here’s some Photos … I don’t have a lot cuz Nancy got really nervous with me taking pictures with one hand and driving the RV pulling the Jeep with the other!

Sorry I don’t have more from the Mountains … Guess you will just have to try it one day. We left Durango heading for “The Four Corners” where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. There is a monument there but it is controlled by the Native Americans whose reservation it sits on. It was closed as was every other Native American Casino, Gift Shop, Trading Post, and TeePee that we have seen on this trip. They must be really upset! Anyhow, the trip across Southern Colorado and Northern Arizona gives “Nothing” an entirely new meaning. Some interesting Geographical stuff but miles and miles of nothing. Because of our change in route and because we want to make it to Tucson tomorrow we did 400 miles today. That is about a hundred more than we usually do and the mountain passes, construction, and country roads made it a LONG 400 miles. But … We made it. Here are some pictures from the last leg:

That’s it … we made it to FlagStaff and are staying at a very nice campground … until tomorrow morning. Then off to Tucson. The RV is at 4975 Miles and the Jeep remains at 1700 for the trip. Been nice having you along.

31 JULY 2020 – Tucson … Yahoo!!!! This the Western end of our Summer Sojourn. We came here to meet a couple we have been friends with since about 1983/4 and have not seen since 2005. They retired before we did and moved out to Tucson where they owned a home. They LOVE golf and baseball so they play a LOT of golf and enjoy baseball … except this Summer. Anyhow … we left Flagstaff this morning and cruised down I-17 to Phoenix. The road from Flagstaff descends from about 7000 Ft to about 1000 Ft in Phoenix. It is not a steady drop but go down a little, go up a little, go down a lot, go up a little … and so on. Consequently you are either climbing or descending (both of which are more difficult in an RV pulling a Jeep). But … we made it just fine. The scenery from Flagstaff to Phoenix is nice … Pines, Trees, green, then it starts to flatten out and turn into a desert.

We zipped right on through Phoenix (a quite a bit of traffic) and continued on towards Tucson. The geography between Phoenix and Tucson is mostly desert with a few big mounds or push ups. They do have some artistic overpasses.