Florida - last day of trip

10/4/2008 Florida
The trip through Florida takes all day. We leave Pensacola around 10:50 AM, sunny and hot, and got to our final destination around 10:45 PM. Passing through FL we drive east along I-10, I-215 and then south on I-95. Along the way we pass a number of different eco systems. First the area in west FL is similar to the Mobile, AL area. Temperature 80 degrees. The Gulf makes it a tropic zone.

We pass by the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the Blue Angles. Didn't see any of them, but we did see three large cargo planes go overhead. Beyond Pensacola and the Naval Air Station is Eglin Air Force base which runs about 40 miles along I-10. Huge base, but we do not see much evidence of Air Force activity.

As we pass by Eglin Air Force Base, our course takes us by Fort Walton Beach, where my Grandfather once lived, and I visited at one time. An hour later, as we cross the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola rivers we change from central time to eastern time zone, and what was 2 p.m. is now 3 p.m; loosing an hour just like that.

Shortly after loosing an hour we drive through Tallahassee, Florida's capital. After Tallahassee, we drive through an area where we see very few, if any, palm trees and the "woods" contain more hardwoods and is more dense than we have normally seen. More and more the oak trees begin to have spanish moss. About an hour out of Tallahassee we cross the Suwannee river. Yes the same Suwannee river from the song - it said so on a sign at the bridge.

Along this section of I-10 there are ranches and farms; regular farms with corn, sugar cane and cotton and also a number of pine tree farms, but few towns. At one of the ranches we see a small herd of Long Horn cattle -- and so far from Texas, they must be on vacation also. The closer we get to Jacksonville, the more palm trees we see, with more evidence of towns and people. The Monticello area seems to be horse country with lots of ranches.

I-95 is familiar to us and we are back on a road we have driven a number of times in the past and welcome the familiarity. It also means we are only about three hours from the house. Those last three hours seem to go quickly, but we are getting tired and are glad when we take our exit off of I-95 and onto SR-512 east. 10 more minutes and we are unhooking the car and entering the code to open the security gate to get to the house. Yeah, we're here. We park the motor home for the night at the community center and we'll worry about unload it in the morning.

We left Calif. on Tues. at 2 p.m. and arrived in Sebastian on Sat., Oct. 4 at 10:45 p.m. It was a long eventful drive. The highways and byways we drove through had some spectacular countryside and we have had a lot of fun.

Next a summary of our trip.

Texas, MS, AL, and FL

10/3/2008 TX, MS, AL, FL
After leaving the "picnic" area east of Houston, TX we are fairly close the Gulf of Mexico, We have passed a couple of refineries, but in Beaumont, TX there are several. You would think the gas would be cheaper around here, not so much.
Again, we are going through construction, adding more lanes or fixing the ones damaged from the hurricanes, not sure which. We pass about 10 miles of road work where the lanes are very narrow. On the shoulder, oh wait, there is no shoulder it is a cement wall. Since the motor home is taking up almost the entire lane, Carmen is a nervous since the only thing she can see of the road is the cement barrier. So I'm driving in the left lane as much as possible.

By 10:30am we are in LA. We cross the Mississippi river and almost miss it. There were no signs or we missed it, but it is a rather quick crossing. I think we were to busy looking at the big river boat gambling boats. Either way, we didn't even know we crossed the Mississippi river until afterwards.

The area along I-10 in Louisiana has a number of sugar cane crops, each many acres in size. Reminds me of the corn and soy crops we have seen along our journey. It is interesting, that where oil is drilled for fuel, sugar cane is also used for the same thing.

All through LA you can plainly see evidence of the hurricanes that have hit the area recently. Around Baton Rouge a number of tree crews are trimming and cutting the trees along I-10 that have been broken or downed. And while traveling through Baton Rouge, we see many blue tarps on roof tops. In Baton Rouge we take I-12, choosing not to stay on I-10 and go through New Orleans. But we still skirt Lake Pontchartrain and we see a number of dikes and dams all of which look okay. Shortly afterwards, we are again back on I-10.

After crossing into Mississippi and east of Biloxi, we come to two 10+ mile sections of I-10 that is over water, bayou and swamp containing cypress trees and oak trees covered with spanish moss. It is neat to see the road sitting 20 feet above the water and looking out into the bayou and small rivers. Carmen tried taking several pictures into the bayou, but trees kept jumping in front of her, besides it is hard to get a good picture through the trees while driving 60 mph.

While we were driving hrough Mississippi or Alabama, not sure which, Carmen took a picture of a flat delta area and in the background is an oil rig for the water that is being built. You can see the scaffolding around the super structure. Anyway I thought it was neat.

We cross into Alabama, passing through Mobile. In the port is the battleship Alabama. They have a museum at the site which also contains several aircraft and a submarine, completely out of the water. We definitely have to go back there. The ride through Alabama quickly.

We cross into Florida about an hour or so after entering AL. In Florida around Pensacola we pull into an RV camp ground for a good shower and good night sleep.

Still in Texas

10/2/2008 TX still
Today, as we leave Van Horn, it is sunny and cool, and we are still in Texas and still on I-10. I go out to start the car before we tow it and the car does start. The only thing is the fuse, which is about 1 1/4" wide, actually comes apart when I pull it out. Boy is that cheap. I get some electrical tape and tape the fuse back together. I also try it to make sure it still works, it does. Whew. We do not need any more problems.

After leaving, the first thing we see are a couple of deer. The second thing we see is the speed limit, still 80mph; to bad we're not in a car. Image doing 80, legally!

I am pretty tired, not having slept very well last night so Carmen is driving. About a half hour from Fort Stockton the land becomes flat again. It has been rocky and mountainous, now flat and you can see for miles.

We stop for lunch at a picnic area and it happens to have potable water and a dump station which we use both. While we are there, we try to use the wireless connection available at the rest area. But, unfortunately we keep loosing the connection and can not stay connected for very long. While Carmen was trying to answer an email, I took a picture of her, at the picnic table. As you can see the roof is held up by two wagon wheels. This was one of the better looking picnic areas we have come across.

Before we get to Fort Stockton, a semi-tractor trailer truck passes us and throws a rock back and it strikes the windshield. Sure enough there is a small bulls eye crack in the new windshield. Yes, the one we just had replaced and was installed only a week earlier and is only on the road for the third day. Again we'll have to call the insurance company.

Along the road we see oil rigs, mesas on both sides of the road, ranches, and some farms, goats, beef cattle and pecan trees. About 3 hours later, we're back in steep, but short, hills and looks like the quintessential Texas hill country scenery. A few miles down the road, about an hour later, we again have a 5 mile 8% grade decline then two miles fairly flat, and another 7% 4 mile downgrade.

We get gas before getting to San Antonio. The temperature is 96 degrees. Can you say hot? We get to San Antonio around 5:30PM. We are expecting some traffic, but the traffic coming out of the city is bumper to bumper. Thankfully we are headed into the city. By the time we get through San Antonio, the traffic heading East is not too bad and we do not run into any delays.

Just after San Antonio, Sequin actually, we pass a ranch with buffalo, cattle, and horses. So far today we have seen horses, cattle, buffalo, deer, sheep, goats and ostriches (on a ranch of course). We have also seen a number of hunting blinds. Actually, they are small huts atop a large tripod about 10 feet above the ground.

We decide to not stop at a rest stop before Houston, TX (9:30 pm) to avoid the morning traffic and to drive through tonight and stop at a rest area on the other side of Houston. Good luck with that! The drive through Houston takes us about an hour and by the time we get to the rest area, it is full. Off we go to the next one, trying several truck stops along the way, all full. We finally stop at around midnight in a "picnic area" and find the last space (a tractor-trailer must have just left) because it was big enough for us to fit.

Between all of the construction we drove through today, I immediately go to sleep. Carmen on the other hand is up for several hours, feeling she is still riding. It has been a very long day.

Driving through Texas

10/1/2008 AZ, NM, TX
This morning we are up at 7:30 (the sun is just coming up) and I am preparing to leave. The temperature is 78 degrees. Since we are towing our car, I have to start it up and let it run for several minutes, put it in Drive, then put it in Neutral. After that I have to pull a 30 amp fuse from the fuse box under the hood. This morning when I tried to start the car for towing, the car will not start. At first I thought it might be the battery that is dead (oh no not another one) but it turns out that the 30 amp fuse I have to remove to tow the car is burnt out. So I use another 30 amp from the fuse box to start the car and after running the car for several minutes (since the car has to run for about 3 - 5 minutes then move the shifter from drive to neutral) put the fuse back in it's rightful place.

We stop at one of the truck stops to see if they carry the 30 amp fuse I need - no such luck. So, we look up an auto parts store on the GPS and select one not to far from I-10. When we get to the exit, of course the construction that is going on, just happens to have our exit and the next three exits closed. So much for easy. I select another store, this time looking up NAPA and find one in Benson, AZ elevation 3540 ft. The exit is open, yeah. The town has a number of adobe buildings reminiscent of a late 1800's town, nice. Getting to the NAPA store is easy and we get another 30 amp fuse (I also get a second one just in case) and after testing the fuse, we are on our way.

In the area known as Texas Canyon the elevation is 4975 ft. The area has very large boulders which are mountains but very different.

Around 10:15 we pass a town called Wilcox, 3,733 population, small cow town to major cattle shipping center. It harbored fugitive gunslingers and was homeland of Apache and Chiricahua Indians, Cochise and Geronimo led raids in the area.

Town of Bowie is Ft. Bowie and Maverick Mt. elevation 6091 (Indian Country), we see lots of pecan groves.

In New Mexico, which we are in for only about 2 hours (120 miles or so) we are in a lot of construction and the roads are rough. We are on a flat plateau with grass land and mountains far away, it is real windy, we see Pyramid Mts. with elevation of 6000 ft. The temp. is 80 degrees. Lordsburg, NM elevation 4237. We pass over the Continental Divide (summit elevation 4,585 feet), through barren desert and irrigated farm lands with vast pecan groves.

In Deming NM elevation 4325 ft. they grow cotton and Chilies in the valley. Off to our right we see Black Mt. elevation 5375 ft.

Around 3:15 pm we can see Akela, Mexico about 25 miles away over the Portrillo Mts. At 4:30 on the left side of Rt.10 we can see the Roseledo Mts. elevation 5890 ft.

We cross the Rio Grande and stop at the Texas information center for what else, maps and information and of course the all important bathroom leak. When we are heading back to the motor home, Carmen sees something hanging from the car. Wouldn't you know, it is the cable that makes the tail lights operational on the car. The cable has been dragging on the road, apparently for a number of miles, and the cable is almost all worn through in several areas and the plug, that should be connected to the motor home is completely gone! What else will happen? Now we can not drive at night!

Fortunately for us, from the Information Center Carmen sees a Camping World on the other side of the highway. We get there just in the nick of time, they are closing in 15 minutes. We find the right cable and test it before we buy, just in case, and it works. Yeah! So we are both legal again and can drive with the car at night. What else will happen?

We opt not to head up to Carlsbad, NM this trip and will have to do that another time. So we continue and all along this section of I-10 from El Paso for the next 55 miles we are driving along the Mexican border. We are riding along a high ridge and looking down the valley, you can see the lights of both the US and Mexican towns along the boarder. We also pass a US Customs Inspection Station. We do not get stopped this time, but a bus that just passed us does. Everyone on board is checked, probably for drivers licenses or passports.

By the way the legal speed limit is 80 mph, that is right 80 mph. I just may move to Texas.

6:30 p.m. we decide to stop at the Golden Corral Restaurant for dinner it has been a trying day and we are in El Paso, leaving rest. it is dark and 77 degrees.

We cross time zones going from Mountain to Central time, losing an hour! Shortly there after, we stop for the night at a rest area in Van Horn. Phew, that time zone change really exhausts you. New time is 10:39 p.m.

Today we have seen horses, cattle, sheep, goats, llama, deer and buffalo. The scenery has been pretty fantastic, also.

Bob wrote most of this blog today but I wanted to add things like time, places, temperature and elevations.

From California To Arizona

9/30/2008 Heading for Florida
As I mentioned, yesterday we had the windshield replaced in the motor home. The technician that replaced it said that the company (Galaxy Glass of Lewiston, Maine) did not prepare the glass correctly nor did they install the windshield properly. That explains why Galaxy Glass had to come twice, once to install it and again because it leaked. Besides that, the RV dealer we had it at, as well as myself later, tried to stop the leaks again. And because Galaxy Glass did not install the windshield correctly, the rubber molding came off while we were driving and I had to tape it to the window and sides of the motor home. The resulting noise and aggravation and poor workmanship requires that I mention to people to use a glass dealer other than Galaxy Glass in Lewiston, Maine. They do horrible, horrible work. If at all possible use a different company.

Today, Tuesday, we planned on leaving between 9:00 and 10:00am. However when we go to leave, the motor home will not start, the battery is dead. We tried to charge it but it will not hold a charge. So we (Carmen) call an auto service that handles AAA (after spending some time talking to the insurance company we have for things like this and get nowhere - they'll pay $50.00 towards the call and that is it) and they called AAA get the okay for the service call then come out to Carmen's brothers house. After testing the battery we find out that it has a dead cell and needs to be replaced. By the time we have the new battery installed, tested both running and shut off, and checking to make sure there is no drain on the battery, it is 2:00 PM. So with a new battery ($125.00) and over four hours late we are on the road.

Our route today will take us west on 18, south on 15 (through the Cajon Pass), south on 215, east on 210, then east on 10. The Cajon Pass is about 12 miles long, curvy, has a 6% downgrade and goes from about 4300 feet down to about 1000 feet in that span. Hold on!

At the bottom of the "hill" (as people around here call it) is San Bernardino and we pass several very large pumpkin patches. Fortunately you can not land in one of the fields if you are out of control, then they would have to call it squash! LOL. Hope I'm not the only one laughing at my joke.

Anyway, we pass Palm Springs where there are many, many wind mills of all kinds and sizes. They cover the hills and valley on both sides of I-10. When we get to the city of Indio (still in CA) we are at an altitude of 16 feet below sea level. Imagine that today so far we climbed to about 4300 feet then descend to 16 feet below sea level - that's traveling. (The Salton Sea (dry of course) is just to our south and is 235 feet below sea level - that's low.) Indio also happens to be the capital of the nation for distribution of dates, grapes and melons.

During all of our remaining trip through California, we are traveling through the Mojave desert. At one point we climb to an elevation of 1500 feet on an incline that was 10 miles long. Whew, tired just talking about it. There are several dark clouds in the sky, but it does not seem to be raining down. We do however see a rainbow in the clouds, very unusual and of course we have a picture of it. We are also going by Joshua Tree NP which is just to the north of us.

We arrive in Arizona around 6:30PM and around a town names Quartzite there is another incline of several miles. Only when we get to the top, you can see the highway continuing for miles and miles. The highway and on both sides of I-10 is as flat as can be for at least 10 miles in every direction before coming to another hill or mountain. Since it is at night, you can see a long line of vehicle lights all strung out for 10 miles. Way Cool.

By the time we get to Phoenix, sorry about using the song lyrics - but I can't help myself, it is dark. I-10 heading into Phoenix is 6 lanes and an HOV lane - they must expect a lot of traffic. Fortunately for us it is clear sailing. About an hour after leaving Phoenix, we stop for the night at a rest area.

From just before Phoenix, AZ and for miles onward we pass through the Sonora desert, Apache and Chiricahua country, National Monuments, old forts and the country side looks like we are in an old western. We do not take the 3:10 to Yuma nor do we go to Tombstone, maybe on or next trip!

From Indio, CA to our rest area outside of Casa Grande, AZ we have gone up hill all day long, beginning at 16 feet below sea level up to 1,340 feet. Talk about up hill all the way, no wonder I'm so tired.

To Stockton and the Wedding

9/25/2008 To Stockton
We are headed to Stockton, CA today, a day earlier then planned because of the amount of time it will take us to drive there. We are suppose to be at the rehearsal diner around 6:00PM and Carmen does not want to drive all day then go to the diner. So today we are on the road to Stockton.
On the way we are using routes 18, 395, 85 and 99. Route 395 is fairly straight with many "whoopee" hills along the way. Many of these hills are one after the other. When we turn west on 85 we are driving by another very large solar panel farm. The site we drive by is about three-quarters of a mile wide. Like I said huge. Not sure how many megawatts this facility generates but it must be considerable.

As we drive along 85, the scenery is very impressive. On the left after the solar panel farm, is Edwards Air Force base. I kept looking for UFOs but never see any. As a mater of fact, we see nothing flying at all. Ah well, I guess I'll have to go back to the Area 51 area or Roswell.

As we drive along 85 near the town of Mojave as we start up the mountain pass we go by a very large wind farm. They have windmills on both sides of the road moving up and along the tops of the hills and then back down on the other side. A number of them are rotating as we go by. As with the earlier solar panels not sure how much energy these generate, but they certainly help to reduce the use of oil.

The road to the top of the pass is about 8 miles long and tops at over 4000 feet and goes by Techachapi. The hills around here are very pretty and Carmen is taking pictures.

We come to an area where it appears they are mining some sort of mineral that is rather white. Not until we see a sign indicating that "Twenty Mule Team Road" was coming up. Sure enough this must be borax and a sign later confirms this. Wow I use to watch the borax westerns on TV. Can you believe it?

As we near Bakersfield we begin to see grape vines and other crops. In Bakersfield we picked up route 99 and head north.

All along 99 north to Stockton, both sides of the road become flat and you can see for miles and more miles. There are farms which have hundreds of cows. We cannot tell if the cows are for milking or beef. Also, there are many miles of grape vines. We also see corn, orange trees, nut trees, peach trees, strawberries, tomatoes, and more which we can not tell what the crop is.

We get to Stockton and check in and after driving for about 6+ hours we decide to stay in and rest.


9/26/2008 Stockton and Lodi Wine
We meet with my sister and her husband (Helen and Charlie) early in the morning and although we are invited to a barbecue at the bride's family's house, we decide to go with Helen and Charlie to Lodi. Lodi is a wine producing area. Mmmmm, hic!

We head out to Lodi and when we get there we stop at the visitor center. They have wine tasting there, but we get a map of the wineries and the gentleman behind the tasting counter mark a number of wineries that has tastings on the map. Off we go.

We stopped at four wineries during the day. One has a restaurant and also sells fruits and some baked goods. We stopped and had lunch. I needed it after the first couple of tastings. Five to eight shots of wine at each winery. Each of course tasting costs $5.00, but if you buy any wine the tasting cost is waved. We buy bottles at each of the wineries.

A couple of the wineries had ongoing wine making at the time we visited and were allowed to go and see what was going on. At the first winery, they have just pressed some grapes. We ask the guy working there how it is processed and he says he'll show us. He gets the forklift, picks up a large square container full of grapes and dumps it into the presser which spits out the stems and squeezes the grapes. Afterwards, he gets a step ladder so we can see into the machines and see how the process works and what really happens in the de-stemer. It was very interesting. Then after all that he takes a plastic glass and pours out some of the freshly squeezed juice and we all get to taste it, man was that great stuff.

At another winery, after tasting a couple of the wines, we are invited to go back and see the process some of the men are doing at the moment. When we get there, they are filling a number of wine barrels. One of the men is putting some juice into the barrels. We talk about the process and the man indicates the stuff he has in the pitcher is from the first fermentation and offers us a taste. So we taste it. Wow, good stuff. He talks about the first fermentation and benefits of the acids and all. After about a half hour we head back to the tasting room to finish our tastings. Again we buy (Helen and Charlie mostly) more wine, I think I get a bottle of port.

While we are driving past several of the grape orchards they are in the process of harvesting the grapes. Some are hand cut from the vines, others have these elaborate machines that shake the grapes (and leaves) off of the vines into hoppers, with several persons that remove unwanted items. It is neat to see.

After stopping at four of the wineries, we make it back to the visitor's center. The man behind the tasting bar had indicated that if we bought a couple of wines from him, then he'll throw in the box and Helen and Charlie could ship the wines back to Maine. So we taste the wines he has to offer and after Charlie mentions their preferred wines, comes up with a wine that is to their liking. They get two bottles and set up fixing the boxes and shipping information.

It is a little after 5:00PM by the time we leave Lodi and head back to Stockton. All in all it has been a very enjoyable day. Good company, good wine, and good food. What more can you ask for? We arrive at the hotel around 5:30 and decide to be ready to leave by 6:15PM to go to the rehearsal diner. In the mean time we rest some.

We meet everyone (my brother Paul and his wife Sue, their daughter Stephanie and husband Jeff and daughter Stacia, and others from Maine) at the rehearsal diner and the bride-to-be, Angelina also for the first time. Angelina is very nice as is her family. They make us feel very welcomed. I think my nephew Philip has made a good choice. We are at a Mexican-American restaurant and we pick something from the banquet menu. The food is good and we meet the bride's family and friends and can not wait for the wedding in the morning.


9/27/2008 Wedding day
The wedding is beautiful and the bride has on a very lovely gown with a long train and a veil that covers her face. She is very beautiful. The service is very nice and since Philip is in the Marines, he is in his dress uniform.

There is also a Marine detachment in dress blues along with white gloves and swords. They stand in the isle and as the service is ended and Philip and Angelina walk towards the back of the church, the Marines hold their swords high to create an arch, well except for the last two who block the path and demand payment, a kiss (to the husband), then lets them continue. And as tradition commands, as the bride and groom continue the Marine in command of the detachment swats the new bride with the flat of the sword, softly of course. (I think Angelina was surprised.)

The wedding reception was also very nice. The food fabulous. Later a video is shown providing pictures of Angelina, then Philip, and then both of them. All of it was very nice.

Angelina's family have treated us as part of the family and we appreciate it very much and look forward to meeting both Angelina and her family again.


9/28/2008 Back to Apple Valley
This morning everyone is leaving. Helen and Charlie have a flight in Sacramento that leaves around 11:30AM so must leave by 8:00AM. We do not see them this morning as to not delay them. They must get there, bring the car back, get to the airport, and everything else and no one needs more interference. Besides them, Paul, Sue, Stephanie, Jeff, Stacia, and the newly weds all are leaving around the same time. It would be good if they are all on the same flight together.

The weather in Maine is not so good today as hurricane Kyle is hitting the coast as it heads to Nova Scotia. Hopefully, their flights will be late enough to not be delayed by any rain and wind.

We leave Stockton around 9:30AM and follow the same roads we came here on. The trip back shows the same pretty scenery. This time however, we are also treated with seeing various crops being harvested. Many use machinery to collect the fruits some are hand picked. One field is using a machine that looks like it is pulling something from the ground but we can not tell what it is as we go sailing by the fields.

We do pass a number of double trucks that are carrying tomatoes. Not sure what they will be used for, but I would think the tomatoes on the bottom of the pile would be crushed and if not, definitely not table worthy. Maybe they are going to make sauce or juice.

The rest of the trip back to Apple Valley is as pretty as the trip to Stockton. The country side is gorgeous, changing each mile.

We get back and find that the windshield has been replaced in the motor home and it looks good. The technician that installed the windshield has also indicated that the glass company that put in the previous windshield put it in wrong. The glass was not prepared properly, nor installed properly. Since we paid for part of the last installation we will be looking for some sort of remediation.


9/29/2008 Apple Valley
Today we are just being lazy and will probably leave for Florida tomorrow. We will be getting ready to leave repacking some of the stuff we took out for the trip to Stockton.

Las Vegas To Apple Valley

I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'm going to put several days worth in this post.

9/20/2008 Las Vegas To Apple Valley
Argh, me maties, today we be head'n to Apple Valley where Carmen's brother lives (sorry missed yesterday's "Talk like a Pirate day" and couldn't help myself).

Our trip takes us through the Mojave desert. This place is not so flat as much as a very shallow bowl with the sides going up towards the mountains. We have passed several sand dune areas and you can see several dust devils in the distance. Although it is dry and sparsely vegetated, it is really very nice. The lines of the mountains in the background and foreground are very sharp with water channels running down the mountains. The contrasts are vivid. Several of the mountains look to be sand stone from ancient hardened sand dunes with light tan and red and creams.

The winds are strong today and of course there are many mountain passes with valleys in between. So we go uphill for several miles, then come downhill. The uphills are so long that by the time we get to the top, the motor home is only doing about 45 mph and cranking about 4000rpms. Compared to this Maine is flat land!

We did not make any stops today except for the State agriculture inspection station. They asked where we came from, I said Las Vegas. That wasn't the answer he wanted so asked where we originally started and I said Maine. Well he says "Ah, gypsy moth! You know gypsy moth?" Yes I do, I said.

He then has me pull up to inspect the motor home. He has rolled all around under the motor home looking for gypsy moth infestation. Then finally states the we are clear. Then in the classic Colombo style, starts to leave then turns back and asks "Do you have firewood?" Yes I do, I said.

Where did you get it? He asked. From the basement of my house. I said.

In Maine? He asks again. Yes, I said. I need to inspect it, he says.

So I get out and open the cabinet that the wood is in and he inspects the firewood. Everything is good and clean. He finally gives me a carbon copy of a form he filled out to indicate that he inspected for gypsy moth and that the motor home is clean and clear of gypsy moth and that presenting the inspection copy to the next inspection station should eliminate the same gypsy moth inspection. Good Grief, Charlie Brown!

During this inspection, several of the other inspectors ask what he was looking for, and what he was doing. Either they thought it was frivolous or had no clue. In either case, we have a clean bill of health.

We continued our way still in passing through the Mojave desert. We pass a couple of piles of rock, one on each side of the highway that look like huge piles of petrified dinosaur droppings. Perverted thinking I know but that is what they looked like to me.

We arrived save and sound at Carmen's brother's house.


9/21/2008 Apple Valley, CA
Today we did some shopping and went to the glass place that will install the windshield in the motor home. The gentleman was very nice and provided us with information on the installation. They should receive the new windshield between Wednesday and Friday and will install it as soon as they get it in.

The rest of the day we do not do very much. Played some dominoes and not much else. Just resting. We have a set that goes to 15 and by the time we finished, the high score was over 1000. Shirley, This game took over 4 hours. One of the rounds no one could finish and all we did was to collect dominoes. Just about everyone had over 100 for a count on that round. Carmen won, of course and I will not say who had over 1000. One of the rounds I could not start until I had a full tray and more of tiles. Everyone was down to about 3 tiles before I could start to play. That round was not fun at all. Oh well, that is how the tile lays I guess.

9/22/2008 Laughlin, NV
Today we head to Laughlin. We have never been there and got room comps for $18.00. So we are heading there with Carmen's brother and sister-in-law. (Names are not given to protect the inisent.)

The trip to Laughlin is very much like the trip here from Vegas since we travel much of the same road. I get a chance to see the countryside without driving this time and it really is nice to look at. The mountains change with each new angle and the contrasts are very dramatic.

The portion of the road that is new has one section where the ground is black from what looks like volcanic rock. I do not ever remember an active volcano in this area so this must have been thousands of years old. Also, we pass a mirror power station where the mirrors are pointed to a central tower to generate electricity. Beside the mirror station, there is a hugh solar panel farm. Each side must have been at least a half mile wide. The output from this farm must be enormous.

We arrive in Laughlin, which is on the Colorado river. There is a tour (6 hours round trip) on a jet boat that goes all the way to Lake Havasu and the London Bridge. The trip takes about two hours, you stay around the bridge for a couple of hours and then come back. Unfortunately we do not have the time to take the trip, this time. But next time we are here I think it will definitly be a thing to do.

We of course gamble a little, loose a little - of course, and head to the room around midnight.


9/23/2008 Leaving Laughlin
We are heading back today, actually early afternoon. It is a three hour trip back. We of course back track to the house and both Carmen and I again appreciate the country side and gratefull neither is driving. It is difficult to enjoy the scenery when you are concentrating on driving. (The winds across the desert are very strong.)

Not much else has happened today, gambled some, get caught up with the family and talk quite a bit. We are glad that we have made the decision to visit Carmen's brother for a time before the wedding.


9/24/2008 Apple Valley
Carmen's brother and sister-in-law had plans to go to a senior citizens expo in San Bernadino and they called to get our names on the list. We were going to stay at the house to get ready to leave for Stockton, CA, but after arrangements were made for us to also attend we are going to go. Argh, Just 26 days after retirement and I'm attending senior citizens expos. What next shuffle board?

It wasn't so bad, they had a number of vendors at the expo that provided information. Some had giveaways that we can actually use. You know, paper, pens, flashlights, pill boxes (there I go again), and other stuff like that. We would have to wait a half hour for the lunch that is provided so instead of attending the lunch we head for Morongo, an Indian casino in California not to far away.

We have lunch at the buffet in Morongo and it was very good. Carmen and I were both surprised. While we are there, there is a film crew that is filming a segment of the new Night Rider show that will air in about 8 weeks. Can't wait to see how that comes out. After talking with one of the crew, we find out that the "Night Rider" show premiers tonight.

Anyway we head back to Apple Valley after a couple of hours. Carmen and I play some slots, but of course someone has to pay for the staff and buildings so we leave our donations. Ha, Ha.

Back at the house and get our stuff ready to leave tomorrow for Stockton and the wedding.

Las Vegas Day 2

9/19/2008 Las Vegas Day 2
We spent the morning talking to the insurance company talking about the windshield. We have finally made arrangement to have the windshield replaced in Victerville near Apple Valley where we are headed. Carmen's brother lives in Apple Valley and we will be there a couple of days before heading off to a wedding.

We have decided to go to Red Rock Canyon. We have always wanted to go, but all of the times we have been in Las Vegas we did not have a car. Now we do not have any excuses. So off we go. As many of the canyons we have seen out west here, the rock is red. The rocks and mountains here in Red Rock Canyon are no exception. As you can see from the pictures, the rock is both red and white and in seemingly unbelievable angles.

The Canyon has a loop road that goes around the park and if you do not want to get out, you do not have to. That doesn't work so well for us and we get out of the car to see everything. However, it is pretty hot out and we did not bring anything to do hiking with. No hiking boots, water, pack, or anything else, so no hiking today. Next time we;ll have to remember to bring all of our stuff to hike because the hiking around here looks very interesting.

Apparently, this is a good place to climb cliffs and one of the first turnouts has hiking trails to the locations that people climb. Since we are not hiking and it is a little after noon, very few people would be climbing so again next time. However, at the next turnout, someone is climbing at a rock just off of the road by the turnout. We get out checkout the rocks and mountains at the turnout and take pictures, including the climber. Check out the picture.


After the drive through Red Rock Canyon we head for the Vegas strip. We park in the parking lot for MGM Casino and head to a number of different casinos. We ate lunch at New York, New York, and just checked things out at many of the casinos on that end of the strip.

The old Boardwalk casino and hotel are gone as well as the shops along the road just north of it. In it's place, as well as all of the shops and parking lots from the Monte Carlo up to the Belagio (and the Jockey Club), there are seven high rise hotel/condo buildings going up on the site along with what looks like shopping areas along with the casino space. High complexes. It looks as though one of the high rise buildings will be the new highest hotel on the strip (not counting the stratosphere tower).

We gambled some, I was doing very well until the dealer beat me three hands in a row on the river, after betting at each bet. I of course have two-pair, high pair and straight and the dealer gets a flush, trips, and a higher straight. Well at the $10.00 table that's $55.00 in the till each time. So much for the winnings the other night. Karen and Diana, I like the Hold'em game, but I find the chances of winning improve with more people at the table. Next time.

We are leaving tomorrow so we leave by 11:00PM because we have an early morning.

Later.

Las Vegas

9/18/2008 Las Vegas
Today we are waiting for the Insurance company and Glass Repair company to decide what to do with the window. While we wait, we are reading and doing some laundry.

The glass guy came around 2:00PM and after trying to repair the crack, has decided it is unrepairable. We have contacted the Insurance company and are waiting for a reply. In the mean time we are headed to Fremont Street. See you later.

We are back! Great place, the band that was playing in the center was really good. We played a little and toured each casino a little and got back around 1:00AM. Oh yeah, Karen and Diana, I like the Hold'em game. At least I'm up.

No pictures from today so I'll show you a couple from earlier. The first one is me in the motor home on a narrow road on the side of a mountain, the other two are of Zion on the spur road.

Bryce to Zion to Vegas

9/17/2008 Bryce to Zion to Las Vegas

Our travels today took us back the way we got here the night before. North on 63 and then west on 12 (through Red Canyon). We then headed south on 89 then west on 9 and finally south on I-15.

Today we saw Horses and Cattle again as we have since entering SD. We also saw deer, elk, llama (or ipaca or both), antelope, bison (or buffalo if you prefer), and turkey.

This morning, while still in Bryce Canyon, I decided to get up at 5:45 to see the sunrise. Of course we have been getting into the park using Carmen's Golden Park Pass we bought last year. Well we are staying outside of the park and I had to use one of the overlooks just outside the park entrance. That overlook is called "Fairyland" and has hiking trails to other parts of the park (beginning at about 3.6 miles one-way). So I decided to be at this overlook for the sunrise.

It is not cloudy overhead, but it is cloudy where the sun is suppose to come up, oh well. I did take a couple of pictures of the sunrise, mostly before getting over the clouds. Carmen says there is some color, but not in the pictures I would have liked.

Anyway, I stay a little while, though a windy and very chilly, take some pictures and get back to the motor home by around 8:30AM. On the way back I see several deer and have to take pictures, for Carmen of course. By the time I shower and unhook everything, we are on the road by 9:45AM. We drive through Red Canyon again, not stopping like we did on the way in, and are on 89 south by 10:05AM.

After several miles down the road, we come to a stretch of the road (10 miles worth) where the road is being ground up and relaid. The process to lay new asphalt is different here. They bring the ground asphalt in large earth haulers, which dumps the contents down under the vehicle onto the road, not like a dump truck which lifts the bed. The truck also has another container which it is towing. The truck and trailer full of the asphalt is released onto the road bed in a long line that is about 2 1/2 feet high. The paver has two other pieces it is pushing, the first collects the asphalt from the road and maybe grind it further before sending it along a conveyor belt, shooting it into a hopper for the next apparatus. I assume this is to heat the stuff and then sends it into the hopper for the machine that lays the asphalt. Nifty to see.

Anyway like I said, 10 miles. About 7 miles of the construction site is one way. Which means we have to wait our turn to go. During the wait, while vehicles are coming from the opposite direction, several stones get kicked up into the windshield and not until much later do we discover a crack.

The rest of the drive to Zion goes fairly smooth. Then we get to Zion. Well we missed, or my understanding of the sign was not fully understood, we have to pay an additional fee to have traffic coming the other way in one of the tunnels. There are two tunnels, one is file and sized appropriately, the other is a little to narrow for vehicles over 7 1/2 feet wide and 10 1/2 feet high. We are 9 feet wide and 11 1/2 feet high. So we pay an extra $15.00 to have Park Rangers stop traffic coming the other direction so we can use the whole tunnel and drive down the middle. Oh, by the way the tunnel is about a mile long.

Besides the height and width of the motor home, we have to disconnect the car and drive it separately, we are too long. So we do not have very many pictures of the trip through Zion, from west to east, on route 9. I'm driving the motor home and Carmen is driving the car, ahead of me by the way. She did take a couple of pictures of the motor home and hopefully those pictures include some of the surrounding mountains. The road is narrow, speed is 25 mph and has a number of switchbacks that almost complete a circle.

Speaking of the mountains along route 9 in Zion, they are unbelievable! If you ever go to Zion from the west entrance and do not follow route 9 to the east entrance, you are doing yourself a disservice. There are very few turnouts along this section of the road and they are all filled with stopped cars. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we did not backtrack along that section of the road to view again and take pictures, so I guess we;ll just have to come back again another time.

We went on the shuttle trams they use in the park to carry people along the section of the park that goes to the Zion Lodge and beyond. Cars are not allowed. I have to admit it was difficult to see anything from inside the trams since the roof is hard with only a few skylights. And with the temperature today around 85, the enclosed trams are not very comfortable, and the windows only open six inches, sideways.

We make our way up the the end, where a stream/river meanders from some source miles in through the mountains. There is a hiking path, about two miles round trip, but when you get to the end you can go into the river (today is did not get deeper then just below my knees) and up stream. Here the walls of the mountain come straight down to the river bed. Carmen did not come up river with me and stayed to watch my shoes and camera, but I brought the small camera, so I have pictures.

We left Zion around 5:30PM and head for I-15. We are hoping to find a rest stop on I-15 for the night. We stopped for gas just before getting to St. George, Utah and that is where I find the crack in the windshield.

While in Arizona, the trip through the mountains is another long drive up hill and another 5 miles of 6-8% grade down hill with 40 mph "S" curves. By the time we get to the bottom of the pass, the sun is beginning to set. Gorgeous! The colors are pinks and yellows and oranges. (Carmen says so.)

We do not find any rest stops in Utah or Arizona. About 60 miles out of Las Vegas (it is about 8:30PM) I pull over into a truck rest area, really only an extra wide section of the roadway. And just as I stop, a State Police pulls up behind me with his lights on. What did I do now? Well, nothing actually, he was looking for a motor home that was broken down about 5 miles further back. That is when we find out that this rest area is the best we can hope for on the highway. So we opt to try for Las Vegas and break out our camp ground book and found a place in Las Vegas to stay.

So we are in Las Vegas for a couple of days until we can have our windshield looked at. Not to had to take.

Bryce Canyon

9/16/2008 Bryce Canyon, Utah
Last night we stopped at a rest area, about 30 miles north of Beaver. I had to run the generator for about an hour to recharge a set of the batteries. We used all three sets from both camera yesterday. Can you say lots of pictures?

Today we complete our trip to Bryce Canyon. Our trip from the rest stop will continue on I-15, then east on 20, south on 89, east on 12, then 63 and Bryce Canyon.

Carmen:
We are on Rt. 15 and there is a sign to Chain Up for the upcoming 3 mile incline and following 3 miles of decline at 6% grade. We have seen quite a few of these Chain Up signs along our travels because there are a lot of real long inclines and declines.

Before the town of Beaver is farm country with cattle, corn, hay, cutting for hay, beautiful country with plains, and mountains. You can see for miles and miles. Just outside of the town of Beaver we just did another 3 1/2 mile incline to 6,500 feet and coming down is beautiful, mountains, sage brush, and juniper, you really have to see it because pictures do not justify the beauty.

Getting onto Rt. 20E on our way to Bryce Canyon, you can see the sagebrush for miles with a backdrop of mountains. Along the road are yellow flowers similar to our daises and also another yellow flower that grown in a clump that are gorgeous. We have gone up a long incline reaching 7,920 feet and then an 8% decline with "S" turns with a speed limit of 25 miles per hour. But, it is absolutely beautiful: mountains, valley below and some of the trees have turned for fall foliage. This is just a beautiful drive and to think this is not even a scenic byway.

10 AM onto Rt. 89S lots and lots of beautiful farm land and old corrals. We are in Panquitch at 10:15 AM nice little town fixed up with a western theme. Population 1,623, elevation 6,560 feet. (23 miles to Bryce Canyon). Outside of town there are lots of crop fields, we are following the Servier River with the Aspen trees turning to yellow, it is just breathtaking.

10:30 AM taking Rt. 12E our last leg to Bryce Canyon and we are going through Red Canyon, we are going up another incline onto a plateau with sage, yellow flowers. The evergreens growing in the red dirt on the mountains are a striking contrast.The elevation is 7,777 ft.

11:00 AM We are now parked at Ruby's Inn and RV park. We dropped the levelers, hooked up the electricity and plugged in the batter charger to charge camera batteries. We are now on our way to visit the canyon and hike the Navajo trail about 1.3 miles. We walked through the canyons and saw the hoodoos, it really is hard to explain how different it is and the colors are beautiful, from cream, tan, orange, red, so many colors.

We drove along the Bryce Canyon road and saw the planned burn, it was actually burning at this time and it included 200,000 plus acres. It would take about 4-7 days to complete the burn. You could see the smoke for miles and some of the trees on fire along the road. There were a few fire fighters and rangers patrolling along the road.

At one of the overlooks we saw Ravens looking for hand outs. These Ravens are pretty big birds and are a shiny jet black. Oh, by the way we saw a group of antelopes on the way to view the parks from the overlooks. On the way out we saw 5 doe and 4 baby deer. One of them was laying down and all you could see was it's head and big ears. He was really cute.

Per usual it is around 7 p.m. by the time we get back so we op to eat at Ruby's Restaurant.

Bob:
What else can I say that Carmen hasn't already said. The driving out west here has been fairly easy. There is such beautiful scenery that the time and miles seem to pass by quickly. Anyway, as Carmen said, the views from the road have been extraordinary. Just after we get onto RT 12 we enter Red Canyon. The sights here are a precursor to what we will see in Bryce and it is great. The rock is red and white and tan all in layers.

We get to Bryce and was just going to hike see the sights then leave heading for Zion. We had parked the motor home and was heading out to see Bryce Canyon when we were passing the RV park. Our plans changed after asking the price for camping at Ruby's Inn RV Park. The price was quite reasonable and all of our rechargeable batteries are dead so it gives us a chance to recharge them.

We traveled along the park road, stopping at the turnouts. As Carmen said, at Sunset Point, we hiked the Navajo trail which loops with part of the Queens trail. This trail, and probably all of the trails in the park, had so many views of the hoodoos and cliffs, and on and on. As Carmen said earlier, it is just a fantastic place to be. The colors, Carmen told me what they were, are bright and layered through the tall columns of rock. They truly look like candy and upside down ice cream cones. That's the best way I can describe them.
After the hike, which by the way goes down then back up about 600 feet using switchbacks, we head along the remainder of the road only stopping at turnouts. Well unless the hike is short as we had to do on at least two occasions. We must see it all.

Tonight, while Carmen was writing her part of the blog, I was outside. Picture this: I'm outside in the Wyoming night, the sky is clear and not a cloud to be seen, the full moon is just coming up, and I have started a fire that I am sitting by. How great is that?? It reminds me of the cowboy movies I used to watch. I have seen three satellites go by in the night sky as well as several high flying jets. You can see a lot when the sky is clear. I would probably see more stars if the moon wasn't full or up yet, but I can still see many.

Tomorrow, I plan on getting up early to view the sunrise. Hope it is great.

We leave Bryce Canyon for Zion NP tomorrow morning after I get back from the sunrise. We will visit the park then start to head down I-15 towards Las Vegas. We'll probably stop at a rest stop along the way since we'll more then likely be kind of tired. See you later.

Heading to Bryce Canyon

9/15/2008 Leaving Jackson, WY for Bryce Canyon, Utah
Today we leave Jackson, Wyoming and head to Bryce Canyon and then Zion National Parks, both in Utah. After that we are on our way to Apple Valley, California to visit Carmen's brother and sister-in-law. Of course the trip to Apple Valley just happens to take us through "Sin City". Yeah Baby! I'm talking Las Vegas. Not sure if we will have time to stop and put in a few quarters or not. Yeah Right. Like that would happen. If we're here we might as well stop, don't ya think?


We set out of Jackson taking route 189 south. This is suppose to be a Wyoming scenic byway. Well we find our right away that it is and the views do not disappoint. We have clear blue sky, with not a cloud in sight. We have rivers running through the passes, horses, cattle, and of course the mountains. As I have said for most of this trip the views are fantastic. (I know it is hard to believe and any picture we take will not justify the comments, but believe us the views are really spectacular.)

Along the way through Wyoming, we come across more and more pronghorn antelope. At a couple of locations the herd numbers over 50. I'm sure these are on ranches that specialize in hunting them, but they were still great to see.


We travel through the high plains and many are covered with sage brush and you can see for miles and miles. We stopped for lunch at a small turnoff at the top of a hill and you can see for miles, including the mountains east of us about 35 miles away. Also while on route 189 we see at different locations men filling large bags with, what look like cuttings from the sage brush. There must have been about 30 bags all total, but not all in one place.

There are snow and wind fence along he highway that are about 10 feet or more high. These are quite impressive.

The south west corner of Wyoming has rolling hills, but the rolls are about five to 8 miles apart. with a couple of small hills in between. At one point I measured the distance from one hill to another and the distance was eight miles. Then after I crested that hill, of course there was another five plus miles for another distance. The traveling sure seems long when you don't get to what your looking at for some time. I can imagine the pioneers having to travel the distance (oh, by the way we are paralleling and crossing the California trail) while looking at the mountains day after day to cover the 50-60 miles between the mountain ranges.

We drive by Elkol, which appears to be a mining town. It looks like they are either mining (underground) or strip mining coal. Either way there was a lot of it by the processing plant. And, nearby there was a railroad loading area with a number of tracks just waiting for the coal to be loaded.

We leave route 189 and head west on I-80. We are following the Pony Express and the Overland trails. I can feel Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill following us, or maybe that is the semi on my tail coming down the hill. Either case, its exciting.


Coming into the Salt Lake City area we cross the mountains east of the city. There is a very long upgrade, but the side for the down grade indicated a 10 mile 3% to 6% grade. Now I don't know about you, but Fred Flinstone's feet would surely have been hot.


We switch from I-80 to I-215 for a short few miles to circumvent the major traffic from the I-80 and I-15 interchange. Well that goes smoothly, and we switch from I-215 to I-15 heading south just in time for the 5:00PM traffic jam. For the next 20 miles or so we are mostly in bumper to bumper traffic. A well, can't plan everything perfectly. So far this traffic jam and the one on I-90 in Mass. have been the only traffic tie ups, unless you count the buffalo walking down the middle of the road.



I must say, it has been strange that we had to come all the way out west to experience summer. The temperature here today is in the 89's. Go figure, the middle of September is hotter then the middle of summer. Anyway, the aspens have started to turn color here. I know this because they are a golden-yellow and because Carmen told me so.



We continued for a number of more miles traveling through cattle and horse country. It seems that western South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and so far a good part of Utah has many horse and cattle ranches. But the country sure is pretty.



We are now stopped in a rest area, while I am typing this we have the generator on so we can make dinner and recharge some of the batteries. Carmen has taken a number of pictures today and has gone through several sets of batteries. Hope I can get at least one set for each camera recharged.



We should be able to reach Bryce Canyon by tomorrow morning and there may not be any wifi access for awhile. So when we get a wifi connection I'll update the blog, until then see you later. And of course the last picture is me driving down the road with the co-pilot seat empty (Carmen's taking pictures out the back window), but Cody is in the front window watching to make sure I am driving okay.



Per usual it was a great day with great scenery and Bob did good on that long down hill of 10 miles with 6% and 3 % grade of course with my assistance on when to slow down. We have had trouble with our Brake Buddy for the car and are driving with know brakes to assist the stopping of the SUV which we are towing. But we are being very careful on those long declines and there are quite a few.