Flagstaff, AZ

Tucson, AZ - Flagstaff, AZ
4/28/24 - 4/29/24

Miles Traveled   255
Trip Total          2756
Travel Time       4:38

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, Arizona

What an incredible drive, we knew that Flagstaff was 6800 feet above sea level, verses Tucson at 2300, but we did not know how many mountains we would go up and down between the two.  Passing through Phoenix we were at 1028 feet above sea level, in the next 120 miles we would climb almost 6000 feet. Once we hit about 5000 feet, the landscape turn to ponderosa pine trees.  It has been many miles since we saw so many trees!

Once again we stayed on the outskirts of town at Black Bart's RV Park.  As with many of the RV parks near large cities this park had many long term residents, but there were many "transient" sites available and we were given three "pull through" sites right next to each other.  Pull Through sites are where you pull into your site head on, and when you leave you just drive straight out.  We were there for two nights.

We had two sites we wanted to see while we were in Flagstaff, Winslow AZ, and Meteor Crater. Both were close enough to do in one day.   

We started by going to Winslow.  Winslow was the inspiration for the Eagles song  "Take It Easy".  The focal point of Winslow is the "Standing On The Corner Park" where there is a bronze statue of Jackson Browne, and a Flat Bed Ford.  The old Route 66 runs through the center of town.  It is estimated that about three people a day come to visit this corner.  

On our way into Winslow we saw at least four long trains (at least a mile long each) stopped on the
tracks that paralel route 40.  In the train yard in Winslow there were also several trains stopped there including one with military armoured vehicles and tanks.  That train stretched as far as I could see in either direction.  When I was taking pictures there was a  women that lived in Winslow, that told us that the train with the army tanks, has been there for several days due to a train derailment in New Mexico.  After we finished exploring the town we enjoyed lunch at a local cafe.

Our next planned stop was Meteor Crater.  On our way to see it we stopped at a rest stop where Mark, Ken and I did a little rock climbing!  Meteor Crater was formed over 50,000 when a 150 diameter meteor struck the earth outside of Flagstaff.  The collision caused a carter almost a mile wide and 550 feet deep.  The property the crater is on, is privately owned.  Once we got there and found out what they were charging none of use felt it was worth going to see it.  As much traveling that we are doing, and with so many things to see we do have to pick and choose what we do.

On our way back to Flagstaff, Karen found Walnut Canyon National Park, for us to check out.  There are two hikes you can take at Walnut Canyon. The first is a 3/4 miles hike along the rim of the canyon.  it is a fairly flat easy trail, the second is the Island Trail that is almost a mile and has 750 very steep stairs.   We all walked the Rim Trail, then Mark, Ken & I walked part of the Island Trail.  It was easy going down the trail but each stair we took we knew we had to come back up.  We did not go very far!

One of the attractions of Walnut Canyon is the remains of over 300 cliff dwellings.  These dwellings were homes built into the face of the cliffs, using the natural openings in the cliffs with stone walls built in front to enclose them.  It is amazing think how these were built by hand.  I had trouble walking up the cliffs with stairs, and people built houses there.

Our next stop is only 30 miles away, Williams AZ.  Because we are not planning our stop very far in advance (We made our reservations 3 days ago) this was as close to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Tucson, AZ

Deming, NM - Tucson, AZ
4/24/24  - 4/27/24

Miles Traveled    226
Trip Total           2501
Travel Time        3:48

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, Arizona

We left Deming for a quick and somewhat easy drive to Tucson Arizona.   The roads were good for the most part but we did have a few hills.  Overall the RV handled the hills very well, only slowing down to 30MPH a couple of times.  Our destination in Tucson was Prince Of Tucson RV Park.  It is located directly off of I10 on the outskirts of town.  It looked like I10 was farther from the park until they widen I10, now the only thing between the RV park and I10 is the sound barrier wall.  Over all it was a good park with large spots.  About 3/4 of the park is full time residents.

When the hills are steep the only thing we can do is stay in the right lane put the hazard flashers on, and keep chugging up the hill.   During our last fuel fill up, we did add high test fuel which I think helped a lot.  Not only did it feel like it had more power, but the gas milage went up about 10%. Going up the hills have never really concerned me, I knew we would make it up the hill sooner or later, going down is a whole different challenge.26,000LBS is a lot of vehicle to slow down. So far we have not had a problem.  The hills between Deming to Tucson were just a warm up we have even steeper hills in the days ahead.

The views while driving have been incredible, each area we go through is a little be different.  Each desert area is very different from the next, with the one thing they all have in common is DUST and no humidity.  In New Jersey the average humidity is 76%, in Tucson it is 25%.  While we were there it was 10%, and you can definitely tell. 

Thursday we headed to Tombstone, Tombstone is know for the most notorious gunfight in the wild west.  Today it is a tourist destination, with some of the original buildings still standing while others have been rebuilt.  Some of them have been rebuilt twice due to fires in 1881 and 1882.  The one building that is still 100% original is The Bird Cage Theater.  The Bird Cage Theater is where the  Ladies of The Night would stand on the staircase enticing the men to spend some time with them. While we went into the lobby, we did not do the full tour.  You could spend all day (and lots of money) doing each individual tour and reenactment.  

East Allen Street looks like it did in the late 1800's, including the dirt road, and all of the businesses.  Walking down the street you could imagine what is was like in its heyday.  We choose to visit the Gunfight Palace to see a couple of reenactments of famous gunfights.  It was a little hokey, with a little history mixed in, overall it was enjoyable.  After the gun fight we had lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon.  Big Kate's started out as The Grand Hotel, but after it was devastated by a fire in 1882, it was changed into a Saloon.  The bar is still the original bar, but was moved into the what was the hotel lobby.  You can see where the floor in the restaurant changes from the original floor to a newer floor.   While you are there you can dress up in costume and have your photo taking around the saloon.  Because the temperature was 20 degrees colder in Tombstone than Tucson and we came unprepared we all bought fleeces!  Next time we will think ahead.

Friday we went to tour the only remaining Titan Missile Silo, from the cold war.  From 1963 to 1987 there were 54 Titan Missile Silos, ready to launch a 3.44 Megaton Nuclear Warhead 6300 miles across the world.  These silos were manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.   

The museum is the only remaining silo from the cold war.  The missile is the actual missile that was in the silo while it was an active silo.  It has been rendered inoperable, by cutting a 2'x2' hole in the nose cone and the silo doors have also been sealed. This was all done in accordance with the 1979 SALT  (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) Treaty.  The treaty allowed for both us and the Soviet Union to keep one silo, with a disabled missile that could be verified by satellite.

The tour took us through the procedures that a the crew would go through when arriving at the silo for their 24 hour shift.  We walked down the same stairway they used, and through the double bomb proof doors into the silo. The silo consisted of a concrete cylinder suspended between the concrete walls of the hole.  Each floor is suspended by extremely large springs.  If the silo was hit by a nuclear warhead or a bomb they crew in the silo would not feel it, and the floors would not even move.  We sat in the control room while while the tour guide explained explained everything.  Then we were walked through a simulated launch.  Like in the movies, it takes two keys to launch the missile and the two keys are far enough apart that it would require to people to launch it.  Unlike the movies once the launch sequence is initiated, there is no stopping the launch, also the crew did not know what the target was.  They only knew to select Target 1, 2 or 3.   To this day the targets for each silo is highly classified.

After our tour we headed next door to the Green Valley, AZ American Legion for lunch.  Pizza and a round of drink for the six of us was $30. One of the great things about belonging to the Legion, is you are always welcomed at any legion.  This one was no exception.

After lunch we headed to Tubac Az, a small community known as where art meets history.  Tubac has dozens of art galleries, restaurants and historical sites.  Mark, Karen, Angel and I did not stay long deciding instead to head to Nogales AZ, to check out the border and The Border Wall only twenty miles from where we were.  There is both a Nogales AZ and a Nogales Mexico separated only by The Border Wall.   

It was definitely an experience seeing the Border Wall.  It looks like at one time you could very easily walk between the two towns.  In Nogales the wall is steel beams spaced inches apart, reaching up over 30 feet in the air.  attached to the beams is chain link fencing.  As we drove by the wall we could see people on the Mexico side looking to the US side.  At one spot there was a young women and a child talking to a man on the Mexico side.  They were reaching through the fence to each other.  Most of the fence had barbed wire on the bottom 10 feet of the wall.  Also along the Border Wall were towers with cameras, that tracked the car as we drove along the border. The last piece of security were Border Patrol Agents in SUV's parked along the street. It looked like they were spaced where one Agent could see to the next agent.  It was worth the drive to check it out. 

On our return trip to Tucson we had to stop and go through a Border Patrol Check Point.  This was about 25 miles from the border.  Commercial vehicles had to go through one lane, while passenger vehicles had several other lanes to pass through, either way the first thing you pass is an automated license plate reader.  When we got up to the agent, he just waved us past him.  On the commercial vehicle lane they had a truck with a mobile scanner, that x-rays, and detects drugs explosives and organic material. 

Saturday we left  Tucson to heads to Flagstaff AZ.

 

 

Deming, NM

Carlsbad, NM - Deming, NM
4/22/24

Miles Traveled   232
Trip Total          2275
Travel Time       4:30

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX,  New Mexico

The ride from Carlsbad to Deming was very uneventful. The only interesting things we saw on the trip was signs warning us of possible dust storms, and what to do if we are caught in a sandstorm.  While we did not see any dust storms we did see sand swirling like small tornados across the desert.

Deming, NM was a small town with nothing to offer us but a Harvest Host to spend the night.  Deming is the Midpoint between Carlsbad and Tucson.  Leaving Carlsbad the first thing you notice is the sign stating that there were no services for the next 145 miles. For 145 miles we saw little to no signs of life, most of the houses we saw along the roads looked abandoned.  

At Deming we stayed at a winery D.H Lescombes Winery.  Not only do the produce wine, thay have a small restaurant.  I am not sure how they make any money, While we were there two people came in for a glass of wine, and the six of us had dinner.  Even for a week night that was not much business.  After dinner we sat under the trees and played Mexican Train until it got to dark to see.

Even though we did not encounter any dust storms, The wind was pretty strong and dust was blowing everywhere.  Harvest Host do not offer any hookups, so we had no electric.  Rather than run the generator for the air conditioner, we started with the windows open,  That did not last long, between the heat and dust coming in the windows we ended up closing the windows and running the air condition.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Tucson, AZ  one more state under our belt.

Carlsbad, NM

Roswell, NM - Carlsbad, NM
4/21/24 - 4/22/24

Miles Traveled    104
Trip Total          2043
Travel Time       2:40

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX,  New Mexico

Another beautiful drive through the Chihuahuan Desert.  Up until the last 3/4 of a mile it was a easy smooth ride. While we did have some hills to climb they were so gradual, we did not really notice it. When the drive got really interesting was we turned of Highway 62, onto a dirt road. It is a "maintained" dirt road but it is mostly rocks.  It was a very rough and bumpy ride.

Our destination for the night was Sunset Reef a small BLM (Bureau Of Land Management) campsite.  You can camp anywhere on BLM but they do have a some designated sites.  One of the best things about camping on BLM land is that it is free.  They do not have electric, water, or sewer, instead they have some of the best views you can get!   There were about 15 campers here with a mix of RV's and tents, with a few people tent camping outside of the designated site.  The only difference between the designated area and outside of it, was a railing, a gate and the cattle guard.  Giving the amount if cattle that we saw roaming around the fence I think you would have to be crazy to sleep in a tent outside of the fence.

After arriving and setting up we Mark & Karen and Angel & I headed to Carlsbad National Park, to tour the caverns.  We have seen several caverns in our travels but nothing like Carlsbad Caverns.  First Carlsbad is the only caverns in the National Park System that allows self guided tours, second Carlsbad has the largest cave chamber in North America that is open to the public.   We opted to walk down the open air entrance into the caverns, rather than take the elevator down.  The trail down is 2.5 miles long with a 20% grade.  The trail takes you 750' below the surface and takes over and hour to walk.  In contrast the elevator takes you to the same place, but in two minutes.  Among the many sites walking down the trail we came across four workers picking lint from the rocks.  They were on their knees with headlamps, tweezers and ziplock bags.  They travel from cave system to cave system cleaning the lint.  The lint comes from our clothes as we walk through and is very detrimental to the ecosystem.  The week before the crews picked over thirty pounds of lint from the rocks. After arriving at the Big Room we decided that we would take the elevator to the surface. (Like their was any chance we would walk back to the surface)

Monday we decided to have a lazy day and just enjoy hanging at the campground.  We did do a quick grocery run, and then took the RV to fill it with fuel.  When we leave Carlsbad it will be 145 miles before we reach any services or fuel.  While we had enough fuel to get there, it is better safe than sorry.  It also much easier to get fuel without towing the car.  Todays weather was much better than yesterdays allowing us to see the mountains surrounding us, and a spectacular sunset.  When we first got here we saw signs of cattle (Cow Patties EVERYWHERE) but no cattle.  Monday that changed very quickly, starting with hearing them in the distance, to several parading right by us. When I tried to get close to them for a picture they ran, but when one car tried to leave by car, they just stood in the road.

One thing we have noticed is that RV'ers are not as social as boaters are.  This campground has been the exception.  We have talked to most of the RV'ers here, talking about where we've been and where we are going.  Two couple we talked to also use Harvest Host, is was interesting that we all have stayed at the same Harvest Host in Timmonsville SC.  

Tomorrow we are heading out to Deming Arizona.   It is just a one night stop on our way to Tucson.

Aliens Everywhere!

Childress, TX - Roswell NM
4/19/24 - 4/21/24

Miles Traveled    331
Trip Total          1939
Travel Time       6:05

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX,  New Mexico

The trip from Childress to Roswell, was one of the best rides so far.  The views were incredible, the roads were good and very little traffic.  We saw more ranches, oil wells, and today lots of gullies, washes, and hills.  Dallas is about 450 feet above sea level and Roswell is about 3600 feet above sea level.  Most of the hills were gradual climbs, but there were a couple of steep ones. 

One thing we enjoyed, was we were on secondary roads rather than interstates. There is so much more to see on the secondary roads, and this trip is about seeing America.  What was interesting is even on the secondary roads the speed limit is 75MPH.  Because we were on a two lane highway,  the bad news for the drivers behind us is, we can not do 75.  Our sweet spot is between 62 and 64MPH. While I can get the RV up to 70MPH, the max speed for towing the Trailblazer is 70MPH, so I try to stay well below that. Luckily for the drivers behind us.  What was nice was there were passing lanes every two to three miles, and there were signs stating how far ahead the next passing lanes were.  

One tense moment we had was finding fuel.  We were trying to balance remaining fuel and fuel prices.  Leaving Dallas gas was $3.59 to $3.79, Gas Buddy was listing gas in Lubbock, TX as $3.09.  When your buying 60+ gallons fifty cents a gallon adds up.   We also have to find stations that we can get into, get to the pump, and get back out of.  What made it a little tense was we had less than 50 miles of fuel left, when we did get fuel.  We also ended up a a station that was a little to small, and the one pump we could to easily, the pump was broken.   We ended up going out of the lot, going the wrong way down a one way street, then back into the station.

We also had to stop at Camping World for a part for our toilet.  The supply line started leaking right after we left Dallas.  Of course in Dallas, Amazon would deliver the part next day, Childress or Roswell, four to five days.  This is one of the reasons we like having to bathrooms in the RV.  (Once I had the part it was a quick simple fix).

Instead of staying at a campground we spent the two nights at the local B.P.O.E (Elks Lodge).  Many Elks lodges across the county allow RV's to stay in their parking lots.  The only requirement is you must be and Elk to stay there.   Some of them also have hookup's of some type.  The Roswell lodge has 20 RV spots with water and electric.  The sites do not have sewer hookup's but they do have a dump station on site, which is an added bonus.  The best part is they are always less expensive than a campground.  This lodge, request a $25 a night donation.   I had called in advance to ask if Mark & Karen could stay there with us, they are not Elks.  The were very accommodating and said as long as I was there with them, they were welcome to stay. As an added bonus, the food was good and the drinks were cheap!

Roswell New Mexico, home of the aliens!  Funny thing is the 1947 "Spaceship Crash" was about 75 miles from Roswell.  But the entire town center around the UFO.  Including Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds.  The Dunkin Donuts sign is held up by a huge alien, and the McDonalds Playland is shaped like a flying saucer.   Surprisingly enough Roswell is the home of the International UFO Museum and Research Center.  We spent Saturday touring both that and the Roswell Museum.  

In addition to an excellent art exhibit, the Roswell Museum has an Robert Goddard Exhibit.  Robert Goddard is considered the father of US Space program.  Goddard resided in Roswell for 12 years where he launched 56 rockets, with 17 of them reaching over 1000 feet. His pioneering efforts helped establish many of the principals and procedures used in the early US Space Program.  One shining example of this, was the use of a parachute to return the capsule to earth.

The International UFO Museum was founded to inform the public about the 1947 Roswell Incident.  It contains news articles and eye witness accounts and statements from the "incident".  It also explores the history of UFO sightings.  It was well worth the $5 admission fee.  Since this happened well before my time, I am not sure what really happened, but I have added watching "Roswell: The UFO Coverup" to my todo list.

After the museums we headed out to Bottomless Lake State Park.  We spent some time wandering around the park and the lakes.  Even though it is called "Bottomless" the deepest lake is around 90 feet.  The lakes were formed from cenotes that collapsed.  We did not spend much time there but it was amazing to see.  Leaving Bottomless Lake State Park, there was a dirt road, that looked to have a RV camping on it.  Of course I had to go explore it.  It turned out to have several "campsite'' where anyone could just setup camp.  The dirt roads were well maintained, and label on Google Maps.  One thing that I saw on Google Maps was a label "W10".  We never made it that far, but I wish we had.  Once back at the RV I researched it, and it is was a Nike Missel Site W-10.  It is listed as a Historical Site, and I am not sure how much is left but it would have been fun to explore.    It was part of the Walker Air Force Base Defense Area, but it was never activated.

Tomorrow we leave Roswell and head to Carlsbad, NM.   Our plan is to explore the Carlsbad Caverns, and meet back up with Ken & Cheryl.

Childress, TX

Dallas, TX  - Childress, TX
4/18/24

Miles Traveled   260
Trip Total          1608
Travel Time       4:55
|
States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, Texas

Today we traveled most of the day by ourselves.  Ken & Cheryl left a couple of days ago, and will meet up with us in New Mexico.  Mark and Karen, were coming from about 25 miles away from us.  Our plan was to meet up with Mark & Karen where I20 intersects with TX Route 360.  That almost worked perfectly.  When we got to the intersection they were about 2 miles behind us, than for some reason our GPS took us on two different routes to Childress.  We did mange to get back together about 100 miles from the campground.

You might be asking why stop at Childress, what is there to do?  The answer is NOTHING!  We only planned to stop here because it was on our route, and it was about our normal travel distance for one day.  By the time we got here we were glad to be done traveling for the day.  Until we got away from the Dallas - Fort Worth area the traffic was pretty heavy.  The highlight of that part of the trip, was the idiot that decided to pass me on the right, even though I was in the right lane.   We were about 3/4 of a mile from the exit ramp, and I guess he did not feeling staying behind, or maybe passing me in the empty left lane.

Once we got pass the cities, we started to see the real beauty of Texas. Ranch after Ranch, Cattle everywhere, Oil Wells, Windmills. and Fields as far as you could see.  As beautiful as it was it came with a price.  We got to fight 25MPH winds for the last half of the trip.  While 25MPh winds are not that high, when you are driving a 36' box, it makes it becomes more challenging. 

We had reservations at J&S RV Ranch.  It is a small working ranch right off the highway with 20 full hookup RV sites.  When we arrived there were about 8 long term campers there and the rest open spots.  There is no office, and no staff on site just cattle, goats and geese.  We picked our spots, and figured someone would show up at some point.  We later found out that there is no comes around, but there is a payment box, by the cattle pen, It's on the honor system just put your money in the box.

Tomorrow we are going to Roswell, New Mexico to look for the aliens.

Texas - Everything Is Bigger

Haughton, LA - Dallas, TX
4/11/24 - 4/18/24

Miles Traveled     222
Trip Total            1338
Travel Time         4:45

Miles Traveled    13
Trip Total            1348
Travel Time        :30

States visited: FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, Texas

The trip from Haughton to Dallas was mostly uneventful. The closer we got to Dallas the worse the traffic became, and not just the volume but the way people drive.  Also as we travel from state to state it is interesting to see how differently each state configures on ramps, merges and highway changes. It is "exciting" to figure them out in a 36 foot long motor home towing a car.  My favorite is where on a 70MPH road, the right lane just ends, there is little warning, and the cars to the left of you do not want to let you in.

Remember that a couple of nights ago we spent the night camped out in front of a cemetery, well it looks like a ghost or gremlin  that like to play tricks decided to join us on the trip.  We stopped for breakfast at a Buckee's, and while we were sitting in the RV eating and the generator started itself. As soon as I shut it off it started again.  After doing this 4 or 5 times, I had to disconnect some wires to stop it from happening.  One more interesting problem to figure out. 

We (Meaning Scott) picked a KOA campground in Arlington, right outside of Dallas.  Our preference for campgrounds is Federal/State/Local parks then KOA's.  While KOA's are more expensive they are normally very good.  Part of the reason I picked this location because it is centrally located to places we wanted to visit.  While the location for sight seeing was good, it is was not the best KOA we have been to.  All three of use arrived at the same time, and we blocked the entire driveway while we checked in.  Once in the campground the roadways were great and the sites easy to get into, but for Angel & I that's where it ended.  The site was so small we could not open the awning on the RV, and the fire pit was 3 feet from the RV.  There is no way I would light a fire that close to the RV.    The best part was the gremlins were not done with us.  I went to empty the holding tanks and the sewer backed up. After a day of the campground promising me they would fix it, they admitted that they knew there was a problem with that site, and they need to call in a plumber to fix it.  After the first night they did move us to another site.  But the ghost and gremlins were not done with us yet, when we turned on the front AC unit, we got no cold air. (More on that later)

       

We did have a couple of places that we wanted to see while we were in Dallas and the first on the list was Dealey Plaza, the site of JFK's assassination.  

Mark and Karen have been there before and Mark was a wonderful tour guide. I am not a conspiracy theory person, but looking down from the perch were Oswald shot JFK,  if he was the only shooter he had a much better shot before the motorcade turn the corner.  

The 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository has been turned into a museum. The actual window where they shot came from and where Oswald set up is behind plexiglass, you can look out the window next to it and see the X's in the road where JFK was shot.

        Our next destination was AT&T Stadium for a tour.  While neither Angel or I are big sports fans,  I enjoy touring the stadiums.  I find the logistics of running the stadiums fascinating.  

Not only is it the home stadium of the Cowboys, they rent the space out for events such as High School Proms, Weddings, Expos and almost anything you can think of.  

While we were there, the stadium was also host an RV Show.  (And yes we did check out the RV Show).

    

 Number three on our Dallas stops was the George W. Bush Presidential Library.   While no one will ever forget 9/11, it was not until we walked into the library that we remembered it was George W. who was president then.  Among all of Bush's accomplishments was a memorial to the 9/11 victims, listing them all and where they died. What every your political affiliation is, touring the presidential libraries is a must do.

      

Our final tourist destination was the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District.  . While this was not on our list of things to do, once we found out about it, it was a must do.  The Stockyard is located at the start of the Chisholm Trail.  The Chisholm Trail was a 1000 mile cattle trail from Texas to Kansas.  The Fort Worth Stockyard was where all the cattle were brought to be sold before the journey. 

        

We started out watching a cattle drive down Main Street.  There were only around 15 cattle, but it was still very impressive.  The horns on the cattle range from 4 feet wide to over 11 feet.  The cattle average 1100 pounds but they have one that is over 2000 pounds.   The rest of the afternoon we spent wondering in and out of the stores in the Stockyard.  In addition to the shopping and dining, the stockyard holds rodeos, and shows.

Our original plans had us staying in the Dallas area for three nights, but it is just a plan, not a schedule. Because of the air conditioner, and some other issues we extended our stay.  While RV Rescue Mobile RV Repair was great to work with there is only so much they could do.  They were able to come out very quickly and diagnose the AC, they determined that the unit had to be replaced.  This was on Friday, they said the earliest they could get a new unit, was Monday.   

Monday afternoon when they arrived and went to install the new unit, they found out the new unit was the wrong unit.   This was not the fault of RV Rescue, but their supplier.  They were able to get the correct unit and return on Tuesday to install it.  

We are very glad they got it installed, at our next stop, Childress TX, the forecasted temperature is in the mid 90's.  I still need to figure out what is going on with the generator.  But for now, I can keep it from starting on its own, and still start it when we need it.

Our KOA reservations were through Saturday, so Saturday we moved from the KOA to Loyd Park, on Joe Pool Lake.  It is a much nicer campground spaced out over several hundred acres.  Even the owner of RV Rescue said that we would like it there much better than the KOA, it is also 1/2 the price.

In the morning we will be leaving and heading to Childress TX,

On The Road Again

Jackson, MS -  Haughton, LA
10/Apr/24

Miles Traveled       216
Trip Total              1112
Travel Time           4:05

States visited: FL, GA, AL,MS, Louisiana

After last nights excitement, we checked the weather and decided today is a go.  There was a clearweather window around 8am, giving us time to break camp and head out.  The only problem, like the "Hotel California" you can check out, but never leave.   We pulled out of the camp site around 7:45 only to come upon a down tree across the roadway out of the campground.  Both Mark & Karen and Angel & I sat there about 25 minutes while the campground staff cut up and removed the tree.  We did not have a long wait, but the couple in the front of the line tried to leave at 6:30am.  Sometimes things do not go as planned!

The trip to Haughton went pretty well.  The first half of the trip we had heavy rain.  We stopped for fuel about halfway through out trip.  Of course the rain got even worse as we were fueling up, and stopped 10 minutes after we were finished!  That's the way life goes.

After fueling up we continued on to Gibsland, LA.  While there is not much to see or do at Gibsland, their claim to fame is the Bonnie & Clyde Museum.   The museum is located on Main St in Gibsland and is located at the cafe were they got their last meal (Fried Bologna Sandwich and BLT).  After getting their sandwiches to go, Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed by law enforcement 7.1 miles down the road.   Because of their history of killing anyone they got into a gun fight with, there was a shoot first warrant out for them.    The police fired over 130 rounds into the car killing both of them before they could fire one shot.  I would have liked to have gone to the monument where the ambush took place, but it did not look RV friendly.

One of the other things that Gibsland is know for is the trains that run through town.  The sign says that there are 23 trains a day that go through town.  While we did not stick around to count them, from the time we got out of the museum, got everything set in the RV, and went up and around the bloc to turn around, three trains went though.  There are five tracks that cross the road in the photo.  While I enjoyed watching them I imagine it gets old pretty  quickly for people that live here and have to wait multiple times a day for the train.

Leaving Gibsland we had a quick 30 minute drive to our stop for the night.  All three of us have Harvest Host reservations at Mahaffey Farms.   Mahaffey Farms is an organic farm on what was once a golf course. They raise cattle, pigs, chickens as well as organic produce.  The farm is not set up as a tourist spot, It is spread out over the entire area that was the golf course.  They have a nice size parking lot that is level and blacktop, which makes it easy to setup for the night.  The pro shop has also been turned into a store where they sell there meat and produce.   We had heard that the storms last night knock down a tree which brought down their power lines. They had closed the store but assured us they would still welcome us, and we could still buy dry goods but until power was restored they would not open the freezer doors.   We got lucky and when we arrived the power had just been restored.

We spent the evening having appetizers, cocktails and playing cornhole.  Tomorrow we add another state to our trip when we head to Dallas Texas. 

Eclipse Party & Tornados!!!!

Toomsuba, MS - Jackson, MS
8/Apr/24 - 9/Apr/24

Miles Traveled     109
Trip Total              896
Travel Time         2:00

States visited: FL, GA, AL, Mississippi

Early Monday morning Mark & Karen, Ken & Cheryl and Angel & I headed out for a short drive to Lafleur's State Park to watch the eclipse.  We would have prefered to have gotten closer to the path of totality, but we could not find any available campgrounds.  Also none of us really wanted to deal with the crowds. 

Lefleur' is a small (28 sites) state campground right outside of Jackson Mississippi.  The sites themselves are large and spaced apart.  The only problem is the RV pads are fairly small, and not very level.  Even putting blocks under the rear tires I could not get the RV level.  Once again we had waterfront sites.  

We did arrive early enough to get setup and settled before the eclipse started. The view from our campsite turned out to be perfect.  There was only 90 percent blockage of the sun, but it we still had fun.  The down side was the weather was not not cooperating at all.  It did not rain but there were heavy clouds, with brief breaks were we could see it.  It some ways having the clouds made it more interesting to watch.  Partially because most of the time we could look directly at it, then when the clouds would open up it looked very cool.  Mark & Karen's house is in the path of totality for the 2045 eclipse.  We have already made reservation!!

Up to now the weather on this trip has been good. It was nice to head into warm weather as we traveled to Florida, then temperatures dropped as we headed into Alabama.  Now as we head back to warmer weather we are also running into thunder storms.  Last night it sounded like someone was spraying the top of the RV with a firehose, and Wednesday when we leave they are calling for more.

Tuesday we spent the afternoon exploring the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum.  The museum has exhibits on the history of cotton farming and aviation in agricultural, multiple model train displays, a working cotton gin as well as a replica 1800's village and many other exhibits. I did not expect to spend as much time as we did there.

If you look back two paragraphs, I was saying the weather has been good on this trip.  Well while I was typing this post that went to hell really quickly.  Both Angel and my phone started blaring a National Weather Alert, and in the distance we could hear sirens blaring.  Looking at my phone we were in the middle of a tornado warning.   While trying to figure out the best thing to do, I started by googling "Tornado Shelters Near Me",  The results were great if I was looking to have one built, there are at least three companies within five miles of us that will come build one, Great can they do it in the next 10 minutes!!!!  After conferring with the rest of our group we decided to head to the bath house and wait it out.  We watched as a few campers left in cars. The couple across the road from us moved their RV 20 feet, saying they did not want it hit by trees  WTF?   When we got to the bath house there were a few other campers there with the same idea.  We are located where the blue circle is in the radar map.  It made for a very exciting 90 minutes.  We did not get any tornados but the rain was unbelievable, and the thunder and lighting made a great show.

Once we settled in for the night we still had to decide if we were heading out in the morning.  It is much easier to travel in the RV during bad weather than the boat but if it is to windy we prefer not to go.  But RV or boat you still get wet putting everything away.  The advantages to the RV over the boat there is no need for both of us to get wet, and I get warm and dry once we start moving.

Welcome To Mississippi

Dutton, AL - Toomsuba, MS
7/Apr/24

Miles Traveled     245
Trip Total              787
Travel Time         4:25

States visited:FL, GA, AL Mississippi

Today we left Wellness Ways and headed to Toomsuba Mississippi where we stayed at a Harvest Host, Simmons-Wright Company.  While Toomsuba is not a "destination" it is directly on our route and it puts us less than two hours from our next stop.  

On our way we stopped at a Petro Travel Center.  We chose Petro because we all needed a dump station to empty our holding tanks.  I had checked the Pilot Travel Centers on our route and none of them had a dump station.  While the Petro was not advertised as being RV Friendly, it was very easy to get  get to both the fuel pumps and the dump station.  The only problem was the dump station did not work very well.  Normally once we hook up the hoses, it takes two to three minutes to dump each tank.  Here it took about 20 minutes.  It kept backing up, and I could only open the valve a little bit.  What really sucked about the dump station not working, was 3 miles down the road, the rest stop had a free dump station.

While Harvest Host are great, they do not offer any hookups (Water, Sewer or Electric).  We can normally go between three and four days without hookups, and while we had electric and water at Wellness Ways, we really needed to dump our holding tanks.Other than the Interstate 20/59 being like a washboard overall the trip was very easy.  When we arrived at our Harvest Host, we were the only one there.  We knew that they were closed, and had instructions for parking.  We had two options for parking, the first in a very unlevel grass lot right next to the building and the second was a paved road adjacent to a cemetery.  We decided on the road.

Simmons-Wright is a general store that was established in 1884.  The property consist of the General Store, a warehouse, cotton gin, seed house, outhouses and several other buildings as well as the cemetery.  The cemetery has graves from the late 1800's to now.   The general store looks like some of the merchandise is from when they opened.  While they have a small section of modern stuff most of it is not.  They also have a "country restaurant" that receives great reviews from other travelers but looking around  none of us were brave enough to eat there.

Monday when we head out we will be heading to Jackson MS to watch the eclipse.

Looper Reunion

Acworth, GA - Dutton, AL
4/Apr/24 - 6/Apr/24

Miles Traveled     103
Trip Total              542
Travel Time         2:25

States visited: FL, GA,  Alabama

Dutton Alabama is the first destination stop on our trip.  The first two nights were just stops to break up a long drive.  Dutton is the located at the top of Sand Mountain that overlooks the Tennessee River, and is the home of Nick & Ginger (Ginger Gale) who we meet on the Great Loop.  Their house is on a bluff with the most incredible view overlooking the river.  As incredible as the view is during the day, the sunset is more spectacular.

Traveling from Acworth to Dutton we had a neat surprise, As we were coming down a mountain road, I saw a woman in a bright yellow jacket franticly waving her arms in the air from a parking lot  My first thoughts were either someone was in trouble or there was a problem on the road ahead of us.  As I slowed down looking for somewhere to pull over, Angel shouted that's Steve and Jane (Sabbatical).  They had been tracking us on NEBO and saw that we would be crossing their path so they wanted to wave to us as we passed!!!!

Overlooking the Tennessee River

Nick & Ginger were kind enough to open their house, driveway and yard to us and several other loopers for the weekend.  Three of us came by RV; Mark & Karen, Angel & I, and Ken & Cheryl (Turn The Paige) we stayed around the yard.  Steve & Jane (Sabbatical), Dan & Cherri (Cherri Baby II) and Teresa (Part time crew on Ginger Gale) filled all the spare bedrooms in the house.  

Nick and Ginger planned a fun and busy weekend for us that started with a wedding renewing ceremony for Angel & I.  When Angel & I, decided to get married we wanted to have Ginger marry us overlooking the bluff. (Ginger has been trying to convince us to have her marry us on the bluff since our first visit to her house in 2022!)  We would have waited and got married but getting all of the paperwork (drivers license, social security, healthcare etc.) done while traveling over they next four months would have been very difficult.

After we all arrived at Wellness Ways (Nick & Ginger's house) they put out an incredible spread featuring Ginger's brother Jimmy's famous BBQ pork.  Dinner was followed by our quick sunset vows ceremony and some wedding cake.  In addition to the great food and company Nick & Ginger had their friends Dean & Mary over.  Dean, Mary and Nick entertained us all night playing guitars and singing.  Occasionally Steve and Dan joined in playing and singing. 

Friday started out with some of us going to the Unclaimed Baggage Center.  It is a very interesting store where if you have the patience you can get some great deals.  They have everything you can imagine.  It is all stuff that comes from unclaimed airline luggage.  After that we headed to Desoto State Park, where we spent the afternoon enjoying the waterfalls and surrounding area. When we got back to Wellness Ways we finished the day off playing Mexican Train.

Saturday's highlight was cruising the Tennessee River on Fourth Quarter, Nick and Ginger's new boat.  The cruise was followed up with an enjoyable dinner at "The Dock" overlooking the river.  The Dock is a local restaurant at the marina where they keep their boat.

With everything we did, the best part of our time at Wellness Ways, was the time we spent with our friends.  Hours of reminiscing about the past and planning future trips.  

Sunday morning everyone  packed up and headed out.  We all have plans for watching the eclipse and need to travel to get where were watching from. 

Acworth, GA

Wow what a drive today was!

Ashburn, GA  - Acworth, GA
3/Apr/24

Miles Traveled      198
Trip Total               439
Travel Time          4:15

Fl, Georgia

Today's trip is why we plan to keep our travel days around 4 hours.  What should have been a 3 hour trip turned into almost a 6 hour trip. 

To start with Interstate 75, north of Macon GA is in horrible condition.  I am surprised nothing came apart in the RV.   Between the road conditions and the wind blowing us around, you spend the entire time fighting the steering wheel.  If the road conditions were not bad enough once we reached Macon the traffic was even worse than the roads.  The further north we got the more traffic there was, by the time we got to Atlanta we spent as much time standing still as we did moving forward.

The one highlight of the trip was our first ever stop at Buc ee's.  I could not believe the number of gas pumps there, and there was enough room around the pumps that we had no problems pulling up to or leaving the them.   Pilot/Flying J use to be our favorite place to get fuel in the RV, if all Buc ee's are as good as this one that will quickly change.    Then going into the store was just crazy.  From food to clothing it seems like they have a little bit of everything.  The one thing they are lacking is RV parking, we ended up taking up about 10 parking spots.

After getting through Atlanta we arrived at Clark Creek South campground, a county campground on Altoona Lake.  The roads in the campground are narrow and winding, the sites are not very level but the view is spectacular.  Our site is directly on the lake and the site are very spread out.  I would recommend this campground to anyone in the area.

 

Tomorrow we head off to Dutton Al to meet up with several friends we met on our Great Loop trip.

And we're off!!!

 And We're Off!

Inverness Fl, - Ashburn, GA
2/Apr/24

Miles Traveled     241
Trip Total              241
Travel Time         4:20 

Florida, GA

Today was the big day, we pulled the power cord, lifted the jacks and headed out to start our adventure.   We planned to pull out of Mark & Karen's around 9AM, and  and we pulled it off. We had to do a little a jiggling to get both RV's out of the driveway, and the cars hooked up, but it went very smoothly.  

They live on a fairly busy street and there was no way to put both RV's on the street and hook up the cars. Fortunately there is a technical college across the street with a few large parking lots.  Mark and I drove the RV's there and Karen and Angel followed in the cars.  We quickly hooked our toads and headed out.    

Our first stop is Carrol's Sausage and Country Store 240 miles from Inverness.  

We try to keep our travel days around 250 to 300 miles or 4 to 5 hours of travel time. We also try to arrive at our destination by 3pm. While none of these are hard fast rules it makes our travel days much nicer.

The trip from Inverness to Carrol's was pretty straight forward and easy. Shortly after leaving we go on I75, and stayed on it till we reached Ashburn GA.  While it was a easy ride, drivers never cease to amaze me, some off the crazy thing drivers do, On ramps are the worst, cars will stay right along side us all the way until the end of the acceleration lane, then expect us to yield to them. 

What made todays trip fun, was all the people honking at us.  Before we left we took the just married sticker off the side of the RV and put them on the back of the car. Anything to make the ride more fun.  

We arrived at Carrol's (A Harvest Host site) around 2:30.  Harvest Host are small businesses that allow campers to spend the night, all they asked is that we spend a little money while were are there.  They are businesses like wineries, breweries, country stores and the like.  

Other than the store there is not much to do at this stop.  We did walk around Georgia Peanut RV Park right next door to Carrol's.  It is not much more the an overnight stop, really not much different than Carrol's other than they have water and electric.  We did not see the need to pay to stay there, when our site was free.  They do claim to have the world's largest peanut.  

It was a very relaxing evening and a good way to start our trip.

Inverness Fl

Inverness FL
1/Apr/24

Getting back into the car to finish the 270 miles was not fun.  We were both glad that we only had a few hours in the car. It was well worth driving 12 hours on the first leg, leaving us a little over 4 hours to get to Inverness.  

Mark and Karen greeted us at the driveway, and after chit chatting for a bit it was time to open up the motorhome and unload the car.  Walking up to the motorhome, we found a surprise that they left for us.

Mark & Karen decorated the RV while we were gone.  They managed to find the only metal surface and covered it with magnetic stickers.  There actually a lot more stickers but they had to put them on the carport walls.  

While making our plans for this trip, a day and a half seemed like plenty of time to get the RV ready to head out.  After all we just spent 10 weeks in it, and we only went back to New Jersey for a month.  While it was enough time we did need all of it.  We  spent the rest of the afternoon unloading the car, and putting everything in the car away.  

I started Monday at the local Chevrolet dealer, getting the car serviced.  We tried to get it done in New Jersey but the first available appointment was at the end of this week well after we left.   Next on the agenda was washing both the car and the motorhome.  The motorhome was extremely dirty and most campgrounds do not allow you to wash vehicles. 

The next piece of the puzzle was grocery shopping, and picking up some last minutes stuff we needed in the RV.  Most of the shopping consisted of  fresh food and perishables.  One of the advantages of travel in an RV instead of a boat, is we have our cars with us, so shopping will never be a problem.  We still like to stock up before we leave.

Once both RV's were packed and ready Mark & I sat down and went over tomorrows route.  We set up our navigation app so the parameters and our routes were the same.

Tomorrow we start making our way to Dutton Alabama.  

Summer Fun 2024

Summer Fun 2024

 Angel and I will be traveling in our motorhome for the summer.  We will be leaving Inverness FL accompanied by our friends Mark & Karen in their motorhome.  We plan to make our way to California, and back.  We have approximately 50 stops planned over 120 days.  Again like our Great Loop Adventure we do no thave a schedule and our planned stops are subject to change.

Some of the planned stops include;  Zion National Park, Sequoia National Park, Las Vegas, Crater Lake, Mt Rainer, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, plus many more.  This is a rough idea of where we will be stopping.

We met Mark and Karen at Delaware City Marina, our first stop on our Great Loop trip.  During the Loop Angel and I decided we wanted to buy a motorhome and continue our travels on land.  Mark and Karen decided to do the same thing.  Last winter the four of us traveled  through Florida and the South East in our motorhomes.  While we were traveling we decided that 2024 we would head out west.

We left Bordentown NJ this morning March 30th, after moving Nothing To Plunder from her winter berth at D&S Marina in Tulleytown PA, to our summer slip at Bordentown Yacht Club.  

Since we no longer like marathon drives, we stopped in Savanah Ga, tackling 730 miles of the 1000 mile drive to Florida.  Angel found a somewhat reasonably priced hotel with a hot tub. (After twelve hours of driving the hot tub felt great!) 

Pulling up to the hotel, we were not sure we were going to stay there or look for another option.  It was very obvious the hotel was under construction.  Half of the parking lot was closed, filled with dumpsters and equipment and there were crates surrounding the entrance.   

Entering the lobby most signs of the construction disappeared, and the front desk clerk assured us they were open for business, and our room was newly remodeled.  Going into our room, not only could we smell the new carpet, the built in hair dryer still had the plastic wrap on the cord.  

After a quick dinner and a soak in the hot tub we turned in for the night. Since we only have about a four hour drive in the morning, there will be no alarm clocks and a nice leisurely morning.

Tomorrow we arrive in Inverness, where we will have a day and a half to reprovision the RV and get an oil change in the Trail Blazer.  Originally I had also planned to change the oil in the RV before we headed out west, but while we were back in NJ, Mark was beyond kind to us, and changed for me.  He also upgraded the transmission cooler. (The upgrade was Marks suggestion, to help the transmission while traveling in the mountains.)