Toad's wild adventures

After the holidays

2011-12-31T21:16:00.001-06:00

Well it’s been awhile since I got around to posting, but after leaving Colorado in October we headed to Texas to spend some time with the grandbabies.

We have had a wonderful time bonding with the little guys, although they can be a handful (4 and 2) whew!! We have been in our daughters backyard for about 2 1/2 months which has made it very convenient for the boys to come and visit, like every morning by 8:00 AM. Now Nana and Papa have been use to snoozing until say at least 9:00 and taking a nap around 2:00 ish in the afternoon, but they were having none of that.

We have been to the beach, celebrated Halloween and finally Christmas, so after all the fun we had to leave on the 27th after Christmas.

Our original plans was to spend the winter in south Texas, but we all seem to have hit a speed bump this year and we are no exception, so we are back at our house in Georgia for awhile. Unfortunately our renters moved out before their lease was up so we had to come back and take care of stuff so we will probably stay here until we can get this house sold. Jerry has been offered a JOB so he will be working while I try to get rid of the monkey on our backs. Guess we will pull a Steve and Carol and stay in the motorhome in the driveway since we got rid of all the furniture!

Oh well, we will be envious of all you guys out in the desert riding your quads, soaking up the sun,and having happy hours, but maybe the new year will be better and the economy will improve and we can sell this house quickly and bring our toys and come back and play again.

Happy New Year!

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

2011-10-06T14:19:00.001-05:00

Well this is our last National Park for awhile, this will make our 11th National park we have visited since we started out this year in January. Don’t ask me which one is my favorite!

This is rut season for the Elk and we got to see lots of them. This was a large “harem” of female elk with the bull watching over them carefully.

Snow was starting to fall at this altitude and had closed the roads just a week earlier. On this day we could only see for a short distance due to the clouds and some snow showers. These young elk just appeared up out of the fog.

The next day was beautiful and the late evening sky with the mountains was awesome.

Well, I might have to say that Rocky Mountain N P could have been my favorite park….maybe????? They all have something special about them and we hope to visit them many more times.

Cody, Wyoming & Buffalo Bill Museum 9-15-11

2011-10-01T22:39:00.001-05:00

The Irma Hotel was named for Buffalo Bill’s daughter Irma. Inside the hotel is like stepping back in time, most of it is original furnishings.

The town of Cody has lots of stores with anything western you can think of from saddles to spurs.

On to the Buffalo Bill center and this place is huge, at least 3 buildings. (Note to Ms. Jerri: You just thought the airplane museum was bad, try this place with him!)

Everything Buffalo Bill exist here and he was quite a man.

The following pictures are just a few of the things inside the museum.

To much info to absorb! Wow!

On to Virginia City, Montana and Nevada City, Montana 9-13-11

2011-10-01T21:44:00.001-05:00

Virginia City was once a booming place, but is now just an old ghost town. It was one of those gold boom era places. There are several old buildings still around and some have a few gift shops.

Jerry did find the old Telephone Co. building. Looks like the operator is still there!

Inside the drygoods store was a little bit of everything. Sure am glad we don’t have to wear those corsets these days! Yikes!

Of course there was a few hangings here also. This guy was known as Pegleg George. This was in Nevada City, just a few miles from Virginia, City.

Some of the old gold dredging equipment was abandoned and left to just rust away.

Leadore, Idaho 9-11-11

2011-10-01T20:53:00.002-05:00

Our next stop was in Leadore, Id a very, very small ranching community.

The stop here included Mike and Deb (a.k.a. Coldsmoke). They had worked here on one of the huge ranches and invited us to join them for a few days.

So we boondocked and looked for deer and elk and fished. We had a great time with them and we even caught some trout, so one night we fried them up and had a great meal together.

Glacier National Park 9-06-11

2011-10-01T20:33:00.002-05:00

After many years of hearing about The Going to the Sun Road we finally made it to Glacier N.P. The scenery is awesome and is one of the highest points in the northern Rockies.

If you don’t like heights it could get a little hairy at some of the spots along the road and road construction can slow down the trip for a couple of hours, but we were in no hurry.

The scenery more than makes up for the delays.

The Lake McDonald Lodge is a wonderful old hunting lodge, with all the old lodgepole pine timbers and huge fireplace.

The old Jammers were fun to see, in fact we met a gentleman looking over one of the vehicles and he was reliving the days when he drove them for the park back in 1956 when he was 20yrs. old! He had some great stories to tell about those days.

The bighorn sheep were out when we came back over the mountains which was a treat to get to see them that close.

Wallace, Idaho

2011-09-13T08:04:00.001-05:00

Searching for a place to sit out Labor Day we found ourselves in Wallace.

Wallace is known as The Silver Capital of the World, founded in 1884 with a population of 14. By 1985 the Wallace area had produced one billion oz. of silver and poised to produce another one billion . The silver valley has produced 8 million tons of lead, 2 million tons of copper, and one half million ozs. of gold and continue to produce them today.Silver prices are on the increase so the mines are ramping up their efforts for recovery, prices have risen from $3.50 to the current price of $35.00 per oz.

The downtown Wallace area was a great place to walk around and browse the old buildings still in use today. The Renaissance design of most of the buildings was quite interesting to look at since they were built in the late 1800’s.

Bars and bordellos lined the streets up until 1985 when the bordello closed in a hurry with the girls leaving everything behind, now the bordello is a museum.

While we were in Wallace we got to meet up with Mike and Debbie (Coldsmoke to some of you), we had a nice breakfast together and checked out the flea market with them.

Buck Knife Factory

2011-09-08T00:09:00.000-05:00

Buck Knife was located in Post Falls, Id. They built a new factory here 5 years ago after relocating from California. The tour takes about 30 min. and gives you a good idea of how they are made. It starts with the shaping of the blade in many different sizes and how the steel is tempered. They still make most of these knives by hand and they hand sharpen each one of them. The knives are custom made and are shipped all over the world.

This guy will greet you in the lobby.

There is a factory store also and yes we needed some new knives.

Spokane, Washington

2011-09-05T23:43:00.001-05:00

We took a day trip over to Spokane one day so we started out with breakfast at Frank’s . This is a refurbished train car that belonged to the Great Northern Railway. The cost of the remodel was close to one million dollars, but it was restored back to it’s original state with beautiful woodwork and leaded glass inserts in the windows. Voted best breakfast for 13 yrs in Spokane….got our vote.

And here is what else we found....this giant Radio Flyer wagon in a downtown park. It was really cool and really big, kids were having a ball playing in it.

After finding the wagon we wandered around town and found this.

A giant milk bottle shaped building built back in 1930 for a dairy company.

Also a group of metal runners on the sidewalk near a park in the city. Spokane has beautiful green spaces in the city center.

Newport, Wa

2011-09-05T22:50:00.001-05:00

It’s time for some R&R since we’ve been so busy, so we settled in at the Old American RV park in Newport, Wa for a week.

This is a view of the downtown area, it has a few shops and eateries that’s about all. We were about 35 miles into Spokane, Wa and about the same distance to Coeur D’Alene, Id.

On the trip over to Newport we were amazed at these hugh wheat fields. Some was being harvested by farmers and some was being harvested by a moose.

This was a strange sight, one I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager a Ben Franklin store. I thought they had all closed years ago. The prices sure wasn’t five and dime anymore.

Sights across Washington

2011-08-27T23:38:00.000-05:00

Sunset over the San Juan Islands.

Pretty entrance to this town.

“

Children’s Church shaped like Noah’s ark in Burlington, Wa.

Moon rise over boats in bay, Anacortes.

Bavarian village of Leavenworth.

Tootling around Whidbey

2011-08-26T23:08:00.000-05:00

The little port towns are so cute, this is Coupeville and Joe is explaining things to Jerry that he should know.

We also learned that there are huge tide changes in this part of the country.

We also learned that there is a lot of fog and mist here with limited sunshine and cool temps. Some days I think we actually started growing moss!

This is The Lavender Farm in the fog, smelled good just foggy.

The next stop was at Deception Pass…..in the fog.

Boaters in the…..you guessed it FOG.

Joe’s Crab Shack

2011-08-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

Joe took us out for some crabbing in Oak Harbor and we did catch a few.

And we all ate a few……

The end.

On to Port Townsend, Washington

2011-08-24T21:59:00.001-05:00

We spent 2 nights at the Elk’s Lodge in Port Townsend. We spent some time looking around the the area at some of the old buildings in the area.

We are headed to Whidbey Island, Wa. to visit with Mr. Spiker for a few days, in fact we sort of turned his driveway into a rv park. Jeri and Terri meet us in Port Townsend and we all took the ferry across to Joe’s place.

Here’s the ferry waiting on us to board.

And here’s Joe’s Rv park. (see Jeri supervising) hee, hee. We made ourselves at home and Joe and Bandit entertained us. We all had a great time visiting and eating.

Seaside, Oregon

2011-08-08T22:03:00.001-05:00

Moving on up the coast of Oregon we stopped for a couple of nights in Seaside. It’s a cute little beach town .

This was part of a old ship still intact on the beach.

Moving on we stopped inland at Kelso Elk’s rv park, of course we meet back up with the Williams there for more tour info. Our location put us in between the Columbia River Gorge and Mt Saint Helens.

The Gorge was a waterfall heaven and most are right on the main road.

And finally the awesome view of Mt. Saint Helen 30 yrs after it first exploded destroying everything in its path for 17 miles.

And last, Bigfoot does exsist…..I just wanted his autograph!!

Oregon Coast

2011-08-06T19:06:00.001-05:00

Well, we have been through Wyoming and stopped at Jackson Hole, Tetons and Yellowstone and saw some beautiful country.

Now traveling up the coast of Oregon on Hwy 101 a great scenic drive. We have been on the coast for 2 weeks. We meet Jerri and Terry in Rockaway Beach for a week of fun and sun and crabbing and boating and eating. Had a great time with them, Terry brought his boat down and took us crabbing, that’s not something we do much of in Tn.

And here is the final results, yum.

Coming soon

2011-07-28T23:13:00.001-05:00

I am so far behind on my blog but I will catch up soon, I really do have an excuse, in fact I have two.

#1-We have not had internet service, or very limited.

#2-I thought my computer would like a glass of tea but, it DIDN’T!

We are currently in Rockaway Beach, Oregon visiting Jerri and Terry and they are showing us the sights so we are really busy!!! It’s really tough being retired we just don’t have enough time to fit everything in.

Colter Bay, Grand Tetons N P

We made it to Wyoming

2011-06-23T21:09:00.001-05:00

After a few more stops in Utah and Colorado we finally crossed over into Wyoming. It’s a cold and rainy night , but the forecast is for better weather the rest of the week.

Here’s a few pictures (mostly rocks!) of things we saw from Canyonlands to here.

Wooden shoe rock.

The Colorado River.

Newspaper Rock.

Arches National Park

Dinosaur Hill, Fruita, Colorado.

Imprint of dino bone removed from rock. This area is where most of the dino fossils came from that are in the Smithsonian and Chicago museums.

Canyon Pintado, waving hands pictograph made by Fremont Indians who lived in the area.This petroglyph of a lizard was huge maybe life size in 1200 AD? Camping spot on the Green River.

Good-bye Utah, for now.

The Goosenecks State Park, Utah

2011-06-19T22:23:00.001-05:00

Our next stop was between The Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley. We didn’t have any idea what The Goosenecks were so we decided to find out. It was quite and awesome sight and a wonderful parking spot.

This was our parking spot right on the rim not more than 50 ft from the edge looking straight down to the San Juan River. Isn’t it amazing that a little river can do all that!

Monument Valley in the distance

Another beautiful sunset on another beautiful spot.

Lake Powell and the beach

2011-06-13T13:36:00.001-05:00

It’s kinda funny we have spent all winter dodging winter weather (right Jerri) and we have experienced more winter and cold temps in the last month than all winter! So longing for some warm sunshine and being able to sit outside without getting blowed away we headed south for awhile and landed at Lone Beach on Lake Powell. That’s us the big one on the left.

It was the perfect spot and perfect weather.

It sure was nice to just sit and enjoy the beach for a little while and the temps were perfect.

We have been boondocking (no hook-ups) for about 21/2 weeks in some of the most beautiful places. We kinda like having no hook-ups for now. It gets you more perfect spots.

This was a view of the Colorado River as we crossed over Navajo Bridge in Arizona.

Wait till you see our next parking spot!

Remoteness means no internet

2011-06-13T12:17:00.001-05:00

Well after leaving Bryce Canyon, after staying almost a month , we moved on down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The cold and the wind followed us but it was sunny so it was fine.

We like to take the backroads through the park and on this road the Aspen trees were just leafing out.

This is Angel View Window and you could see the Colorado River thru the opening. It was a viewpoint you could walk out to to get a better view.

We actually crossed off one of the to do’s on our Bucket List and that was we rode the mules down into the canyon. Now just 999 things left!

Gitty-up Goliath!!!

Yes that is where we went!

Wait is that Jake (our nephew), oh no it’s our guide, sure looks like Jake!

Finally some sunshine

2011-05-26T21:41:00.001-05:00

Well hopefully our bad weather is over and spring is finally arriving in Utah. Beautiful sun and warmer temps make it very pleasant.

We have been to see some of the fantastic scenery everyday. This is the views in Capitol Reef National Park.

Jerry wanted to buy this beautiful new motorhome, but it was way overpriced!Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park.

More Bryce Canyon.

This old gas pump says it all! Think we will rest a few days.

Winter scenes in the middle of May

2011-05-15T19:56:00.001-05:00

We have spent all winter avoiding this kind of weather, but there is something to be said about visiting it at 10,000 ft. and coming back down to 6500 ft. and warm weather. We were going to Cedars Break National Monument, but the road was closed because of several feet of snow still there. This was approximately 40 miles from out campground.

This was the road to Cedar Break (don’t know the lady she was just in the way) it may be June before it opens.

The most amazing sight was this huge mountain of lava flow from an eruption from a volcano hundreds of years ago. The flow was probably 2-3 miles long.

Mama Elk and her 2 kids. A good day.

Bryce Canyon National Park

2011-05-14T19:05:00.001-05:00

We arrived near Bryce Canyon on Wed. May 11 for a week. We are about 30 miles from the entrance and there certainly a lot to see. The rock formations are really strange looking and it is amazing what water can do.

The rocks are called Hoodoos and are usually tall and skinny.

This is called the Queen’s Garden. It was a 2 mile hike to it.

This was the next days hike Called Navajo Loop at Sunset point, also about 2 miles vertically for most of the hike and then through a slot canyon and yes that is people at the very bottom just before the shadow. Going down!

Some of the sights along the way.

We came down so we had to go back up, slowly, but we made it. So far this has been our favorite place.

St George, Utah

2011-05-07T00:42:00.001-05:00

We are now in Utah and the scenery is so different from our winter hangouts.

Checkerboard Rock

One of the windows inside the tunnel that is 1 mile long through solid rock.

This is the first stop on our tour of the parks in Utah.

Visiting the Grandbabies

2011-04-30T19:37:00.001-05:00

April 19-26

Beep beep, Nana and Papa are here! We left the motorhome in Las Vegas and flew to Houston for a week to see the grands. They are as active as we remembered and we had fun trying to catch up on all the fun we had missed.

Of course, Papa pooped out pretty fast as you can see after an active day at the beach along with the kids.

Cole 21 mos. is a waterbaby if he isn’t in the sprinkler he’s playing in the toliet ,never a dull moment here!!

We got to play Easter bunny and we colored eggs and hid them. The kids had a ball and it was so funny to watch them, unfortunately they won’t stay this size long so we will visit as much as possible. Mom and Dad are always glad to see us and sad when we leave, we keep them out of their hair for a week! It was a week of chaos, but we loved every minute.

Back to Las Vegas for more of Nana and Papa’s kind of fun…jackpot!!!!!

Back to Pahrump for Rally

2011-04-30T16:18:00.001-05:00

April 13-18

We are going back to Pahrump, Nv to attend a rally for people who have motorhomes like ours an Alfa. There were about 120 motorhomes that attended the rally. We meet lots of new people and learned lots of new things. We stayed at Nevada Treasures RV Resort which was a real nice place.

We did a 4 wheel trip with the group into Death Valley through Titus Canyon on about 23 miles of backroad country and stopping in the canyon for a picnic lunch. The scenery was awesome.

Springtime in Cottonwood, Az

2011-04-10T21:58:00.001-05:00

Spring has arrived and we are in Cottonwood, Az where the flowers are starting to bloom and trees are budding, temps have been in the high 70’s until yesterday.

The winds blew and the clouds moved in, temps dropped into the 30’s and the rain changed to snow in the mtns. surrounding us. So we drove up to Jerome an old ghost town and had dinner at the Haunted Hamburger and watched the snow fall. What fun, we drove back down the mountain and the snow was gone that’s the kind of snow I like.

Coffeepot rock in Sedona

Strange housing

2011-04-02T23:39:00.000-05:00

On another side trip to the town of Shoshone, Nv which is on the south boundary of Death Valley we came across a historic town by the name of Dublin.

This little community was made up of different folks seeking a new life in Death Valley. Some of them had been more well off than others but, they were all in the same boat by the time they had reached Death Valley. The area had some springs for a water source and mud and rock washes and hills. Seemed like a pretty good place to start a new town. So they made their homes in the sides of the mud hills and called that home.

They even had a community outhouse a two-seater by the way. Most of the cave homes had a fireplace and some had connecting rooms for the larger family. One family had come here from England and had sold most of their belongings except for a sterling silver teapot, which they used every day to have tea time in front of their cave home.

Trash service wasn’t available so they just pitched everything into a pile in the front yard. Some of the folks are buried across the road just up out of the wash a bit.

Death Valley, CA

2011-04-01T22:39:00.002-05:00

We have moved to Pahrump, Nv for a week so, we took a day trip over to Death Valley. First we had to get out the old ‘35 and gas her up.

I bet this old girl never ever thought she would see those prices, gulp! Now we are ready to go.

Death Valley is one of those truly awesome sights the first time you see it, it’s sort of other worldly.

The white stuff is salt. This section is known as Badwater and is almost 300 ft below sea level. Most of the Valley is much the same except for the Furnace Creek area in the center of the park. It is like an oasis in the desert.

This wonderful spot is the Furnace Creek Inn built back in the 1930’s and has been updated through the years into this oasis of a hotel. It was fun to walk the grounds of the old beautiful hotel, but pretty spendy to stay there so, we drove back to Pahrump

Leaving Vegas

2011-03-27T22:55:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Las Vegas….moving on up the road to The Valley Of Fire state park. This is an awesome place with beautiful red rock scenery, Indians lived here for thousands of yrs and left behind lots of evidence of their stay.We had this awful parking spot.

These rocks were called the beehives because of their round shape and layers.

The stairs went up to some of the petroglyphs on the rocks…what do they mean? They meant something to someone.

These cabins were built by the CCC for workers to live in while the park was being developed. This was the first state park built in Nevada in early 1930’s

We had lunch with this guy, didn’t get his name.

Carol Shelby Automotives

2011-03-26T22:08:00.001-05:00

We visited the Shelby World Headquarters in Las Vegas one day. They had a very good display of all the models he has produced since the late 1960’s.

Some of cars on display.

2012 proto-type.

NO…he can’t have one, but they did sell two while we were there.

Out of this world

2011-03-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

We have always heard all the stories about aliens and Area 51 and watched all the tv shows about the extraterrestrials landing and seeing the lights in the skies. So we decided to check out the Extraterrstrial Highway for ourselves. Hwy 375 is north of Las Vegas.

Looks like a great place for a landing to me. So without another car in site (or spaceship) we traveled another 100 miles to the little town of Rachel.

We finally made it to Rachel and the only business in town was the Little

A-le-Inn. Well of course we had to go in and check it out, besides it was the only place to get something to eat in the last 100 miles.

Some of the folks working there looked a little shady but, we bellied up to the bar and ordered an alien burger, actually it was pretty good and we were hungry.

Looking around we saw a poster for the new movie Paul and found out some of it was filmed there. Haven’t seen the movie yet but, we will looks really funny.

So after our burger we got back in the ship and headed back to Las Vegas.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…..The End.

Things to do in Las Vegas

2011-03-19T15:06:00.002-05:00

Eating out with friends is the number one thing to do.

Visiting Red Rock Canyon just about 30 miles from Las Vegas.

Visiting the new bridge built over Hoover Dam by-passing the dam.

Driving around Lake Mead.

And seeing an occasional coyote.

Las Vegas

2011-03-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

From Palm Springs we traveled across th Mojave Desert up to Las Vegas. Driving through Joshua Tree National Park is always interesting. The trees are weird looking the first time you see them. They are named after Joshua in the bible because the first explorers thought they looked like a man with his arms reaching upward.

We spent one night in Primm, Nv just across the state line. Of course, casinos was all you could find so we stayed in the parking lot of Whiskey Pete’s.

We will be in Las Vegas until March 22.

Frank Sinatra Invitational Golf

2011-02-28T23:48:00.000-06:00

Jerry wanted to go to the golf tournament so on Friday we went over to check it out. There was several stars that played in it so we sent the other Jerri out to search for them.

With her trusty cameras in hand and around her neck she finally found some of the more popular folks.

Pat Boone was one of them. He stopped for some photos and to sign some of the programs. He was so nice and talked with us a little. He told me he was 76 yrs young and felt great. It was a fun day.

Palm Springs, Ca

2011-02-19T21:07:00.002-06:00

We have been in Palm Springs for 9 days. The weather is just wonderful with lots of sunshine and warm temps. It’s a little cooler today high 60’s (that’s cold here) and we even had rain last night.

We have been shopping with Jerri and Terry.

We have been out to dinner with Jerri and Terry.

The Flame Brazillian Resturant

We have been to the Casino with uncle Floyd and Mary

The casino won! rats!!!!!

We have been to the National Date Festival.

And the valley of windmills. That’s all for now.

Karaoke night

2011-02-11T21:56:00.006-06:00

2-6-2011

The Lavins were staying at the same park we were in, so we joined them for Karaoke night at the pool bar. We had heard that Ed like to sing and boy does he and very well. Linda also sings and did a duo with Ed. We had a good time listening to all the singers, good and bad.

Next we are moving on to Palm Springs for a couple of weeks.

Oatman, Az

2011-02-11T21:44:00.004-06:00

2-3-2011

Before we left the Lake Havasu area we went over to Oatmen, Az. Oatmen is a little western town turned tourist attraction. It was a mining town back in the day but, today it is best known for the burros that wander around town looking for hand-outs.

Some of the burros do their shopping at the shops in town.

downtown Oatman

Things to see in Earp

2011-02-02T23:06:00.001-06:00

Here are some of the things you can see in Earp.

There’s more….

One more…

Earp, California

2011-02-02T22:45:00.001-06:00

From Quartzite, we moved on over to the Colorodo River where it’s a little greener. We are staying at Emerald Cove Rv park in Earp, Ca for a few days where we have hook-ups again.

It’s a nice change from the desert.

We took a ride up to Lake Hauvasu to see the London Bridge on Tuesday. Hard to believe they moved it all the way from London and reassembled it in the desert. Oh well.

Quartzite and more campfires

2011-02-01T22:24:00.000-06:00

1-26 thru 1-31

Moved on to Quartzite next for the big RV show. Lots of rv vendors set up in a big tent and thousands of people attend year after year. Everyone just camps in the desert and attends the show for a week.Some of the tents

We parked out on Plumosa Rd. this year which is north of the city along with some new friends and we had a great time with them, especially around the campfires.

from left to right-us, Brad & Marilyn, Steve, Julie & Mike, and Carole.

From Yuma to Quartzite

2011-01-21T22:03:00.000-06:00

After boondocking for several days we moved over to the Elks Club in Yuma for a few days. Jerry is an offical Elk now so we can camp in their parking lots. While we were parked there I took a little stroll behind the motorhome and found this little guy enjoying the sunshine. He (or she ?) is a burrowing owl and he lives in holes in the ground. He is just a mini owl.

Meet Chloe

2011-01-17T07:57:00.001-06:00

Did I mention we have a new addition? Meet Chloe.

Things to do in the desert

2011-01-17T07:44:00.001-06:00

I know a few people think we are crazy for going to the desert to camp and they probably wonder what we do all day. Well there really is a lot to do out here. Like walks across the desert.

Watching sunsets and gunfights.

Or just talking with friends….

in the natural HOT mineral springs in the desert….

Jealous yet?

Gathering of the RVers

2011-01-12T19:13:00.002-06:00

The sun is shinning in Yuma while there is snow on the ground at home and some of our rv friends are gathering around the campfire here. For the next week they will be stopping by to spend a few days catching up or just getting acquainted with new folks that wasn’t here last year.

As you can see there are a few of us here.

The New Year 2011

2011-01-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

Time to get on the road again. We are now on our way to Yuma, Az for our class reunion. Some of the folks we meet last year and some new ones.

Terri and Jerri we have already been hanging out with and Toni and Doug had us over for Christmas dinner.

Our Town

2011-01-02T20:41:00.002-06:00

On the way to Yuma we just had to check out this bustling town by the name HYDER. So we took a detour from the inter-state and traveled about 15 miles out of the way to check it out.
Ready here it is:

That’s it nothing else there just the general store.

At least the sunset was awesome.

Merry Christmas from Arizona

2010-12-24T21:36:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends from Apache Junction , Arizona .

Casa Grande Ruins

2010-12-23T22:05:00.002-06:00

We took a ride today and came across the ruins. It is really worth a visit.

The Great House was 4 stories and 60 ft. long and had several rooms inside. The walls had even been painted with a reddish paint that the Indians made. The colors have faded now but, you can see some color left on the interior walls.

The remains are believed to be around 600 yrs old. The Hohokam people were farmers, they built along the Gila river and set up an irrigation system to water their crops. They lived in permanent settlements and made pottery for trading. Ancient ballcourts have also been found here along with several different artifacts. By 1694 the Hohokam had disappeared, it is believed that their water supply dried up due to major droughts.

inside structure

mud walls

Catching up with old friends

2010-12-17T16:44:00.001-06:00

Finally caught up with some of our camping friends from last years adventure.

We meet up with Toni and Doug in Beaumont, Tx in Nov. for a couple of days. Next we caught up with Jerri and Terri in Casa Grande and then we moved on up to Apache Junction and there we saw Jim and Sandie and Eric and Carla. Really good to see everyone again. We are all staying in this area until after Christmas so I’m sure we will be visiting frequently and swapping stories at sunsets.

Christmas in Phoenix, Az

2010-12-17T16:14:00.000-06:00

It wouldn’t be Christmas without seeing the lights so here we are at the Arizona Temple of Latter Day Saints. A fantastic display of lights covering approximately 3 acres.

The Ghost Town of Mongollon and new friends

2010-12-08T21:26:00.015-06:00

This trip was quiet a wonderful find. We rode through this old ghost town just out of curiosity and had quit an adventure. Of course they had a few old buildings with some shops and a museum ,but everything was closed for the season, pretty typical for a ghost town. On our way back to prepare to move on down the road we were approached by a fellow and his wife. These folks were out looking around also so they stopped to talk to us and we found out they were in the fifth wheel next to us back at camp. They were well prepared for an adventure, they had some info on Mongollan (muggy-own) from the ranger station and permission to look around the buildings, cemetary and mine. So we joined them!

Meet Brad and Marilyn from Ontario, Canada. They graciously invited us to join them in there search for the original old town and the gold mine. What we thought was the original town was not it. We climbed into their 4 wheel drive truck and headed up the hill to the cemetary first.

Most of the folks in the cemetary died very young in their 20's, 30's and 40's, some infants and children, and only a few older folks 60's and 70's. The markers were mostly crude iron crosses or wooden crosses or nothing more than a pile of rocks. Most of the dates were early 1900's.

We found the original town next with more than 15 buildings still standing.

This was a hugh mining operation until it closed in early 50's.

Catwalk

2010-12-08T20:04:00.009-06:00

Moved from City of Rocks to Glenwood N.M. Found a spot to dry camp and set-up for 2 nights in the National Forest so we could hike to an are called the catwalk. The trail is about 3 miles round trip up a canyon with a creek flowing through it.

Part of the trail is over a suspended catwalk anchored into the rock walls over the water. There was several footbridges that crisscross the water. The catwalk was part of a trail to maintain a water source for a gold mining operation there back in the 30's and 40's., not much left of the old operation other than a few foundations.

Gila Cliff Dwellings

2010-12-08T18:36:00.006-06:00

While we were at City of Rocks we drove up to Gila Wilderness area to see the Cliff Dwellings. It was a beautiful drive through the national forest up to the area where the dwellings were located. On the drive up hwy 15, the road was very narrow and winding so we were glad we left the motorhome behind and drove up.

The Mogollon Indians (muggy-own) were believed to have lived here from 1270-1300. The dwellings are in amazing shape and you can go inside most of them. The dwellings face south so they are heated in winter and shaded in summer and there was about 42 rooms.

Rudolph lives in Tx

2010-12-08T17:51:00.004-06:00

Our grandson Bodie got a big thrill feeding the deer at Medina. We told him this is where Santa sends them until he needs them for Christmas deliveries. He doesn't know they are not reindeer, so the bucks with horns passed that test!

Westward Ho

2010-12-08T16:51:00.009-06:00

City of Rocks State Park, NM

Left Medina, Tx on Dec. 2 and headed west. Overnited at Walmart in Fort Stockton and headed north on Hwy 285 into New Mexico on Friday. Stopped in Ruidoso for the night and next day stopped at City of Rocks state park. This was a very interesting place with camping among these hugh rock formations out in the middle of nowhere.

Indians camped and lived here for awhile, the Apache were protected by the rocks since the surronding area was all open plains. We saw several grinding areas in the rocks that proved they were there. Some of the grinding holes were at least 12 inches deep into the rock.

Of course Jerry had to check out some of the tallest rocks.....children will be children!

Thanksgiving at Lake Medina, Tx

2010-11-27T19:27:00.006-06:00

Arrived at Lake Medina in time to snap a sunset picture from our front door...ahh! Lake Medina is about 40 miles west of San Antonio in the hill country surrounded by lots of working ranches. The park is full of deer everywhere, just lying around the campers like dogs. They are feed well and are very tame, after they get to know you they will eat out of your hand, even the big bucks.
We had Thankgiving here at the park. There was a huge turnout with lots of food, turkey with all the trimmings. We were going to take a long walk afterwards,but it turned into a nap..oh well!

Grandkids arrived this afternoon for a few days. Mom and Dad wanted to see San Antonio. Nana and Papa won't be taking any naps that's for sure. Where do they get all that energy???? Yikes!

Painted Churches-Columbus, Tx

2010-11-21T15:41:00.010-06:00

Nov. 19, 2010

Moved on towards San Antonio we stopped outside Houston in Columbus, Tx. It is a real small town, it does have a Walmart, but not much else. So we took a ride around the area to see the Painted Churches. Several historical churches in this area have been restored and decorated inside with lots of faux painting.

Most of the churches are Catholic and were started by Czech immigrants in 1856.

Leaving Beaumont

2010-11-19T22:13:00.004-06:00

Nov. 17, 2010

We have had lots of fun with the Grandbabies for the last few weeks. We are heading over to San Antonio for Thankgiving and the family will join us at Lake Medina Thousand Trail park for a week.

Unfortunately our beloved boston terrier (Boston) will not be joining us. After some agonizing and tearful days we finally made a decision to have her put to sleep after 13 years as our furry child. She was suffering from heart failure and was slowly getting worse and there wasn't anything we could do. I know she is in far better hands and out of pain, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. Goodbye old friend.

Nana and Papa are here!

2010-11-10T07:50:00.009-06:00

Nana and Papa finally made it to the grandbabies house in Beaumont, Tx. They were so excited to see us, as much as we were to see them and the daughter and son-in-law.

We got there the day before Halloween so we got to see their costumes. Cute aren't they?!!!

The rest of the story ......Betty's Web

2010-11-09T07:33:00.012-06:00

Next stop was Betty's RV in Abbeville, LA We had read post by Paul and Marsha about Betty's RV Park , so we made a stop. It is not like we had anything else to do. Besides we wanted to see the Tabasco factory on Avery Island.

Betty was the sweetest lady you could meet, she has about 10 spaces around her home and everyone becomes part of her family. We were welcomed right away by Betty, George and CeCe , who had just arrived for the winter, and Marvin. Happy Hour was at 4:30 on Betty's patio and she always had snacks ready for everyone. The first night there we went with everyone to dinner and Betty educated us about crawfish and alligator and where to get the best dishes in town.

The next day we went to Avery Island, La where the Tabasco factory sits. The smell of Tabasco sauce greets you to the island where it has been made for nearly 200 yrs. by the McIhenny families and still owned and operated by the family. Did you know that the peppers are ground and put in oak barrels (just like Jack Daniels) and aged for 2-3 yrs in a warehouse?

10-31 to 11-9-2010 Catch up

2010-11-09T07:10:00.003-06:00

Having computer problems so I'm a little behind.

Where were we..oh yeah leaving Florida and on to New Orleans.

Stopped in New Orleans for a couple of nights and had some beignets (french doughnuts) at Cafe Dumon in the French Quarter. Strolled the streets, been hear done that. New Orleans is still New Orleans! Dirty...

Moving on

2010-10-25T21:08:00.003-05:00

Well, after 2 1/2 weeks in Orlando we moved on up the road to

Destin, Fla. and stayed at Topsail Preserve State Park. This was a beautiful park on the Gulf with nice campsites and all hook-ups. They have a tram that takes you to the beach and brings you back or you can ride your bike or walk. I would highly recommend this park if you should travel across I-10. They also have nice cottages for rent. It's getting close to Halloween so the park was all geared up for the haunted hayride to the beach at dark and there was a lot of excitment Fri. night. Stayed here 3 nights.

Golfing with Mickey and Bob

2010-10-05T20:18:00.007-05:00

Osprey Ridge Golf Course at Disney World.

Ron Canaday took us to a Disney golf course today. This course is one of 4-5 at Disney World. It is beautifully landscaped and there are lots of wild life roaming around to see. We saw deer, racoons, waterfowl, turkey, and Bob. After finishing up on one hole, as we went around to go to the next we came face to face with Bob-cat. He didn't seem to mind us being on his turf and just went about his business. We had never seen one in the wild and he was an awesome creature.

Welcome Comittee

2010-10-05T19:47:00.005-05:00

A few of the neighbors showed up this morning looking for a meal so we threw them a few crumbs! They have been showing up every morning since. These sandhill cranes roam the campground looking for food and they usually get it to. They will even peck on the door. They are very large, at least 3-3 1/2 feet tall.

Daytona Beach

2010-10-01T19:25:00.006-05:00

Today was a beautiful day so we went to the beach. We cruised the beach, since you can drive on the beach there, and found a good spot to watch the waves for awhile. Life is goo d!

Not everyone had a great day.

That's Clear

2010-10-01T19:04:00.005-05:00

Blue Springs State Park was our next stop in Florida. The springs are one of four of the largest in Fla. The water is crystal clear and the water temp. is a steady 72 degrees year round and from Nov. to Mar. is the winter home to West Indias Manatees. The springs produce 100 million gallons of water a day. We were to early to see the manatees but, we did see lots of fish and birds. The picture is of a gar fish floating in the clear water.

Fresh Shrimp

2010-10-01T18:37:00.005-05:00

While on Jekyll Island we just had to have some fresh seafood.
So while watching these folks do some shrimping in drag nets one fellow sold us enough for a couple of meals. Yummy fresh wild Ga. shrimp! Yes Jim, fishing was good!

Willie Wagon

2010-09-29T20:42:00.006-05:00

Couldn't resist this sign.

Jerri, this one is for you!

Visiting Jekyll

2010-09-26T19:29:00.019-05:00

Leaving Savannah behind we traveled on down Hwy 17 about 90 mi.to Jekyll Island, Ga. Jekyll is on a island about 10 mi. long and
maybe 2 mi. wide. It is most well known for the Jekyll Island Inn and it's historical visitors. This was the place where some of the rich and famous spent their winters in their "winter cottages.

Most of the residents were very rich and well to do people. People like Goodyear's, Macy's, and Rockefeller's were just a few. They had their winter homes here from 1880's to the 1940's and the Jekyll Island Club scene ended, mostly due to the Great Depression and WWII. The State of Ga. bought the Island in 1947 for $647,000.00.

Today it is a popular vacation spot and you can stay in the old club house, The Jekyll Island Club Inn, which has been renovated back to it's hayday. We are staying at the campground on the other end of the island. There are 4 golf courses on the island. We played The Pines course and it was a beautiful way to spend a day. There are bike paths all over the island and a great way to see everything. We toured the historical areas on our bikes (lots of flat land to ride on). Lot of wildlife and fishing. The beaches are fine during low tide, but disappear at high tide. Stayed here 4 nights and this time of year is great, no crowds.

Savannah, Ga

2010-09-22T20:29:00.004-05:00

Moving on we made a 3 day stop in Savannah, Ga. my favorite southern town. The weather was warm ,but it was a beautiful day. We are staying at Skidaway Island state park it is a very nice park with lots of live oak trees and spanish moss with nice shady sites. The campground is about 15 miles from downtown. We have been here sveral times also, so we just went into town one afternoon. We visited the Bonaventure cemetary and took a few pics of some of the headstone. The most facinating one is the stone figure of a little girl named Gracie, she died at 6 of yellow fever. The statue was designed by a guy who had a photo of her in her Easter dress and it is life size. Legend has it she roams the cemetary at times and has been seen by several people on different occasions. The birdgirl statue which is on the cover of the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is no longer in the cemetary, but it is on display at the Telfair museum in town because people were taking pieces for souviners.

Moving on down the road

2010-09-22T20:09:00.003-05:00

After leaving Gaffney, SC we made our way to the coast and made a stop in Charleston, SC. We've been here several times so we just made a short visit to the historical district and then on to eat. We stopped at a little place on 17N about 15 miles out of Charleston called SeeWee's. They specialized in seafood (of course) so we had some and it was great and the place was right quaint, it has been in business for 50 yr in the same location.

Camp Freightliner...School

2010-09-22T19:56:00.002-05:00

We spent two days Sept 16-17 in Gaffney, SC attending this class on the Freightliner chassis. The class was taught by Mike Cody and he was a great teacher. Learned lots about our chassis and got some good tips and website info. They even gave us a place to park with electric and feed us.

Help!

2010-09-07T19:04:00.003-05:00

Jerry has been fishing for the "big one" but, no such luck. Jim where are you we need some lessons!!!!

Finally Cool weather

2010-09-07T18:54:00.002-05:00

Finally the weather cooled down and it is time for a fire and a weeney roast Harry and Arlene joined us for hot dogs and s'mores. The fire felt great, it was in the 50's that night for the first time in several months of hot humid weather. Good times!

Hammock Time

2010-08-07T21:47:00.002-05:00

Oh, the lazy, hazy days of summer! Jerry is taking this relaxing thing to far now!

Cole turns 1

2010-07-22T21:29:00.002-05:00

Grandbaby Cole turned 1 yr. old on 7-09-2010.

Finally!

2010-07-22T19:26:00.014-05:00

Well after 7 weeks at our temporary spot in Chattanooga we have finally moved up to our homebase in Crossville, Tn.

This will be our spot when we are not traveling. Mostly for just a couple of months in the summer.

We had our site set up last year with all utilities and had a road put in to get back to the water. It's a very relaxing place when we are not trying to make it more homey. We would like to take out a few more trees in order to see the lake better, so maybe this year and then again maybe next. Our best friends live next door, so we build a campfire and they will come!

We plan on being here until schools get back in session and the campgrounds thin out ,then we will head out for places unknown and toad's wild adventure begins!

long driveway

morning coffee on the boat

Back to Chattanooga

2010-06-17T11:03:00.003-05:00

Well, we are back in Chattanooga, again. Staying at Shipp's RV. This time we have a shady site which helps with the heat. While in SC the temps in the coach reached 92.....that's way to hot for me! Boston thought so to, she couldn't find a cool place to settle down either. I realize we live in a tin can now, but 92 just seems way to warm inside. Not much to blog about other than the heat.

How about them babies!

2010-06-11T07:39:00.004-05:00

We are staying at Shipp's RV park in Chattanooga, Tn. Went for a walk around the lakes here and just happen to hear this strange squawking noise coming from a very tall dead tree. Looking up we saw a hap hazard looking nest with 4 baby (very large baby) Blue Herons being feed by Mom! What a sight! Not sure how they stay in the nest! They appear to be almost big enough to leave....considering they are almost as big as Mom!

2010-06-06T21:16:00.003-05:00

On the road again!

House rented for a year, stuff all gone! Sweet!!!!!!

My Yard

2010-04-19T19:37:00.015-05:00

We have lived here 30 yrs. I planted these azaleas in the island in front about 15 yrs ago. They were just sticks when I planted them.
This is the first year since I planted them 15 yrs. ago that they have all been in full bloom along with the dogwoods. I'm convinced that it is because we are trying to sell the house and they are beautiful just to spite me! They are in luck a new family wants to rent them so they are safe for another year.

Stix and Brix

2010-04-11T17:58:00.002-05:00

Back at the old ball and chain.

For Sale

Watson Mill Campground

2010-04-11T17:41:00.005-05:00

Jerry just had to go to w--k as soon as we got to Ga. so here is where I stayed while he w----d! Boston even enjoyed the view.

Beaumont, Tx

2010-04-11T17:27:00.000-05:00

April 3-9

Met Stacy (daughter) at their new home to help move them in and see the GRANDBABIES! Bodie (on right), Cole (with Papa).

Langely, Tx

2010-04-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

April 1

Judge Roy Bean's place in Langely, Tx. Has a very nice visitors center and cactus gardens.

After Big Bend

2010-04-11T16:36:00.000-05:00

March 28-30

We made our next stop at Big Bend National Park. Unfortunately my new camera broke and we were 200 miles from the nearest Sam's or Costco or from anything, so no pictures! I did get a few pictures of the campground we stayed at just outside the park. It was called Stillwell Ranch RV. The campround is on a ranch that consist of several thousand acres and is still a working ranch. It is still owned by the grandchildren of Hallie Stillwell. That is "Nan" in the red shirt. She runs the campground/store/gift shop/museum/and sometimes diner, plus helps with the ranch. She opened the museum that night for entertainment and storytelling.

She's quite a storyteller and the museum is dedicated to her grandmother. She also makes a mean bean burrito. They even have a song about it!

Marfa, Tx Mar. 24

2010-04-07T13:05:00.003-05:00

Overnite stop in Marfa, Tx to see the Mystery Lights. These lights have appeared since the early 1800's. They have been recorded by Indians and early settlers. The settlers thought they were Indian campfires in the distance. The lights seem to change colors and move. No explanation has been found to really say what they are.
We watched in amazement at them as we boondocked in the parking area. The lights would go out and come back on in different spots until dawn. Yes, I awoke just as it was getting light and one light was still there,but it went out suddenly as the sun came up!! Camera broke (again) so no pics. www.marfalights.com.

Safford, Az March 21-23

2010-04-07T12:10:00.000-05:00

Boondocker group all went for a 4-wheeler trip back in the mtns. to see some of the wildflowers and scenery. The california poppies were just beginning to bloom and the mtns were aglow with bright yellow patches.

2010-04-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

Safford, Az was a stop for a few days on the way back east. Found a great boondocking spot. Only one problem, so did the Escapee Boondockers club. There was about 15 or so rigs there so we just joined them. We now also belong to that club!

This is catch-up time for my blog so the date for this picture will be Mar.21-23.

Organ pipe catus

2010-03-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

Just a few of the cactus we saw at Organ Pipe. This is the only place in the US that the organ pipe grows but, grows abundently in Mexico. Saguaro cactus grow here also. Saguaros grow their first arm at 50 yrs. old. One with 5 arms is approx. 200 yrs. old.

Yuma Lakes RV

2010-03-17T08:36:00.000-05:00

March 7-12

We moved into Yuma Lakes rv park after boondocking several days out in the sand dunes. Glad to get some electricity again. Jerri and Terry moved in on Mon. and we have all been running around together. We don't have time to rest there is just to much to do here. One day we took Jerri and Terry to the American Girl gold mine. That's Jerri looking for gold!!! We'll be headed back east on Saturday the 12th, slowly. Jeri fixed corned beef and cabbage for dinner one night so we all feed our faces again. Yum. I made Banana pudding. Yum!

Back to Yuma

2010-03-07T20:19:00.000-06:00

Headed back to Yuma (it's warmer). We are staying at the Imperial Sand Dunes rec. area for a few days. Jerry wants to climb the dunes and be a little boy! I'll have to admit they are fun to ride on and fall off of to!

San Diego Bay

2010-03-07T19:55:00.000-06:00

Jerry had to go by the Torrey Pines golf course. He only got to look, it cost about $300. for 18 holes, ouch!!!

A few more pictures of some of the

interesting things to do in San Diego.

The sailor & girl statue was to symbolize

the returning sailors at the end of WWII.

This guy was balancing rocks for tips.

Catching up on Blog

2010-03-03T22:12:00.000-06:00

Well we got some service work done on the coach and we're off again. We are going to Jamul, Ca which is just east of San Diego. We are staying at TT-Pio Pico resort. It is not the best TT we've been to , but it will do. It is close to San Diego area which makes it nice for sight seeing.Stayed here 4 nights. One day was a total wash out it rained all day.

We drove over to the coast and up to Mission Bay. Stopped at Hotel Del Coronado. A very beautiful old hotel that has been kept pretty much as it was back in the late 1800's.

Backside of Mtns.

2010-02-24T00:27:00.000-06:00

The mtns. are the same ones we saw in Palm Springs only the other side. They are on the Temecula, Ca side. Temecula is on the outskirts of L.A.

California cows

2010-02-24T00:24:00.000-06:00

Sadie and the girls just hanging out!

Leaving Yuma

2010-02-24T00:05:00.000-06:00

Leaving Yuma the wind was bad especially in the Dunes area. The high fence between US and Mexico (the one in background). Finally lunch stop in the desert with a view.

Modern marvels

2010-02-23T23:59:00.000-06:00

Toni had to update her Facebook page!