Note to Readers

This is a chronological blog written mostly after the fact, but I've also started from the present (in progress), so to read the story in order, which is recommended, skip down to the first entry:

Friday August 17, 2020
The roads go ever on...

There is currently a ginormous gap between the start and the present, but eventually the story should meet in the middle..

So, to begin....

It's 2020. Toward the end of Summer. In consultation with our children, we have decided on on-line school as the best option for 2020-21 as we have only intermediate confidence in regular school running smoothly. Both of us have worked from home for years, so our work location is, well, anywhere. Now with school location also indeterminate, what's keeping us home?

Day 260 - The Grand Canyon II

We had dinner in the park, at a nice restaurant at one of the lodges where we scored a table by the firepit outside, and because it was late, we didn't have anywhere else to go, the main parking lots we were told both don't close, and did not (like some of the others) have a "no overnight" sign,. On top of that the morning buses started at 4.30 AM for sunrise,  so we parked in the main RV section. By 5 AM we were no longer alone. 

Stephanie woke up early and saw the sunrise.

We thought about taking the Red bus line again and going all the way out, but defcide that we would better sepond the time making more stops on the way out of the park. We probably were not wrong to do this. It was a whole different part of the canyon where we could see the river. At the ___ lodge stop, We saw two Condors who had nested in a cave/overhang and were flying around. After a while they stopped, and one of them walked out to a sunny spot and spread its wings and was sunning itself doing a good impression of a German coin. Stephanie went a ways down one of the trials toward the old copper mines.

At another stop, we met four young women coming back from the University of Georgia to home in Del Mar. From that vantage point, we could see rafters floating down the river.

The final stop was the old watchtower.

Then we said goodbye to the park and headed towards the Four Corner's monument (closed) but we could sort of see it from the highway (no good picture of this sadly). Then it was Arizona and Colorado in very quick succession. 

Surprisingly we noticed that although on a map it looks like the placement of the state boundaries is somewhat arbitrary (that long straight line thing) both in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, there was a sudden change in geology and plant life within a mile or two of where we crossed the border, indicating that there was some clear reason that those straight lines were put where they were. The states look different almost immediately. Even when a river doesn't run through it.

We proceed to Cortez, Colorado where were are to stay for the next three days and mostly see Mesa Verde and get work done. The RV park is right in the middle of town so we should be able to walk to dinner, and only 20 minutes from the park. It is pretty well shaded and not too packed together. Amazingly its is well before 5 when we arrive and there is plenty of light and we are able to get some stuff done before dinner. Stephanie is wiped out from getting up a 4 to see the sunrise so she takes a nap.

Later Paul and the kids walked over the family-run brewpub/restaurant that is only 4 blocks away. Alas, they are unexpectedly closed for a staff holiday. The next three restaurants are also temporarily closed for various reasons. No one is actually hungry, so we have Taco Bell (which is open), walk to Safeway for eggs and tea, and then go home.

Day 259 - The Grand Canyon

It was a long night of trains. We looked to see if the train to the park was a possibility, since we were parked at the station. Alas the train to the park was sold out (which, might, MIGHT, have made up for the trains all night). 

We we out by 10 AM and had about another hour's drive to get to the park. We went to the overlook at the visitors center. This was a bit of a hike for Paul, but the view was tremendous. 

We stopped for a late lunch and then determined that some of the buses were running so we took the yellow route to see a number of overlooks you could not reach by car. 

This was very successful, so we decided to try for the Red line. This which meant moving the RV and dropping off Paul and Maggie while Stephanie and Tyler parked the RV about 3/4 of a mile away.  

We had time to get off at an early stop and the second of the two "best" sunset view points, but not enough time to get to Hermits Rest at the end of the line.

It was possible to walk back on the rim trail from our stop to the stop before. It was gravel but flat and about 0.8 mile, and as the bus driver said we could flag down a bus if it started to get dark and we though we couldn't make it to the second stop before dark. 

The trail was great, right along the edge (but not too close) so we had great views and Paul was able to motor along with the two hiking polls pretty well. We saw maybe eight condors circling below us in the the canyon. As the sun set, the colours got redder and you could see the formations light up on the other side of the canyon.

Day 258 - Slide Rock State Park, Sonora

We broke camp by 10.00 and headed south toward Sonora and Slide Rock State Park. There was one section of switchbacks that one of the sites warned against taking RV's greater than 30' on, but the road sign said 50' and after going down, I'd maybe advise caution with the 45' class A, but we, being from Tahoe, did not think it especially difficult.

Slide Rock was a homestead turned state park. Stephanie and the children tried out the water slide in the river (smooth rock in the stream bed). Tyler reported it to be very cold.

There were a fair number of people enjoying the river. We also inspected the vintage tractors and the apple storage shed (it was an orchard before tourism, but tourism started in the 1930's as there we four tourist cabins built about then.

After enjoying the park, and Paul enjoying a meeting since climbing in the river was out, we headed into Sonora for dinner and found a nice cantina, 86 Cantina, where we had a nice Mexican style meal with the best churros that I have had in years. Warm and not stale. (Churros seem to have a shelf life that makes French baguettes seem long lasting.)

Alas, by the time we had dinner it was getting dark, so while we did get to see that Sonora is a very cute (and touristy at a level higher than Incline) town, we missed most of the really scenic parts just south as it had gotten rather dark.

I had managed at the last minute to find a camping spot in Williams, which was about as far as we thought we could get towards the Grand Canyon, so we headed for that. I had called every single place anywhere near the park and they were either full or not answering the phone, but Canyon Railway Hotel and RV park finally called back.  When we got there, we discovered that this was the head of the rail way that goes into the park. It was also about 100 meters from a high volume Sante Fe RR track, and 300 meters from a crossing. Which meant lots of train whistles and trains roaring roughly on the hour all night. 

Day 257 - Fort Tuthill Park

 We woke up to a really beautiful park full of pine trees - Just like Tahoe. A great place to spend Mother's day. We made mom coffee, dad made breakfast - baked French toast. Sometimes the tiny RV oven comes through. 

We discovered that there was an adventure ropes and zip line course run by the county park a few minutes walk away, so we decided that would be a good Mother's day activity.

Everyone (except Paul, who photographed) was trained on how to get the belay carabiners to work (carefully designed to make sure you always had one hooked on) and went up in the trees to cross bridges, ride zip lines, crawl through suspended barrels (Tyler's favorite), walk through nets, and so on.  There were four courses of increasing length, difficulty, and height off the ground. Green, Silver, Blue, Red and Black.

 

Stephanie, Tyler, and Maggie sailed through Green and managed Silver. Stephanie almost made it through Blue before she got tired, and Maggie finished Blue. It was a fun three hours! Everyone agreed it was the one of the best rope/adventure course they had completed.  Paul used the Wi-Fi at the office to get a bunch of work done after he had taken about 300 pictures of everyone else doing the course.

We also set up the hammocks since there were lots of nice trees by the RV, and they were enjoyed by all. 

We had a nice Mother's day dinner, debated on staying another day, decided to see Slide Rock State Park and Sonora the next day and then head for the Grand Canyon.

Day 256 - Petroglyphs, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest

Today was a big day for National Parks. 

We actually broke camp by 9.30 and went to Smiths to stock up (as we are heading out into the wilderness less or more) which took longer than it should have (as usual).

Then we headed off for Petroglyphs National Monument. The helpful ranger told us which hike I could probably manage, so we set off to see old pictures carved into rocks. It was fairly interesting. Tyler was not impressed. I enjoyed it and my hike. 

As we headed off for Sedona we found out the the roads for Petrified Forest National Park closed at 5 and you were supposed to be heading out of the park, which was unexpected, as we had presumed only the park office closed at 5.  As Google Maps was putting us in there about 4.45, this made us wish we had not spent as much time at Petroglyphs. 

Happily as we spend toward the Arizona boarder, the time changed and we gained a critical hour so that we arrived at the park at 3.50 and not 4.50. That actually gave us enough time to see most of the park. For once we got a break. It did manage to rain around us some more...

We arrived, the children got their National Parks Passports stamped, we got our park stickers and headed off. The Painted Desert was super cool. The light was playing on the formations as the clouds blew over. We stopped at lots of the overlooks, each one a whole new view. 

Painted Desert

Painted Desert

Even with time crunch we managed to see most of the key petrified sites. The logs were really cool, and the kids were impressed with how they looked like trees, and were made of quartz.

We pretty much closed down the park and headed to Flagstaff where we are staying at a county park, Fort Tuthill, which is a large park. The campground is in the woods and looks really cool (at least in the dark when we arrived).

Day 255 - Valley of Fires, Albuquerque

We woke up to a grand vista of the Valley of Fires. Our campsite was on the top of the hill and we we had almost a 360 degree view of the surrounding valley. After the howling wind of the night before, the morning was calm.

"Valley of Fires recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States.

From a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan desert. Animals include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barberry sheep, and lizards. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, turkey vultures, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles." - BLM website.

After a morning of meetings, we took advantage of the accessible trail through the lava to see the formations up close. The lava had lots of tube, holes, and bucked flows. You could see in places where the sandstone had been cooked by the hot lava. By noon the wind had picked up considerably again. 

We decided that it was a close second to White Sands NP and it was amazing that such different landscapes were only a couple of hours driving apart.  The second best decision we made all day was an impulse stop because we (Stephanie) were tired of driving. (The best decision was going to White Sands NP).

We then headed on to Albuquerque. We had some hopes of taking the Sandia Peak Tramway up the mountain, but it was closed due to weather. We got rained on some more (bringing the rain from Florida with us through the desert as we go) and saw some lighting in the mountains. The wind continued to be impressive and there were a number of "wow" moments when we were buffeted by a sudden gust. The tumble weeds flew by in places.

While we were making our customary Costco gas stop (almost empty $125 to fill @ $2.73) we got restaurant advice from a friend who grew up in Albuquerque.  

Sadies of New Mexico was great, we had the Prickly Pear Margaritas and Stuffed Sopaipilla. The small bowls of chili that came with the meal were very tasty (and fairly hot). Sopaipilla with honey was a side with each dish. 

There was an announced hour wait, so Stephanie dropped the RV at the Balloon Park RV a few miles away and Lyfted back to the restaurant (so we could have margaritas). On the way home, we once again found the ride share to be hard to come by. (No Uber, and about 10 minutes just to get the Lyft assigned. This was at 7.30 PM.) 

Day 254 - White Sands, New Mexico

 We said our goodbyes to our friends and headed for White Sands National Park (formerly National Monument, the newest National Park).

Just like Tahoe in the winter!

It was really cool. The sand is really soft and cool, and we enjoyed the hike with our shoes off in the sand.

There was a good boardwalk hike that I was able to manage and a great loop drive that gave us a good view of the inner dunes. The children attempted to slide down the dunes on our boogie boards, but found that just rolling down them was a lot more fun (and effective).

We are spending the night at a BLM site, Valley of Fires. We love BLM sites and glad to be back where they can be found, There was a great sunset just as we arrived, having decided that enough driving had been done for the day and not relishing another hour before getting to the mix reviews campsite that we had called to determining that they had space, but didn't have a paid reservation.  

Day 253 - El Paso

 Had a very productive day at work, boys played video games, we had a lovely diner with friends with a great view of of the city outside. The weather was great. See yesterday.

We took advantage of the back patio to get a full, uninterrupted day of work accomplished. The kids did mostly as well, but I think Tyler got more video gaming done....

Day 252 El Paso

Now it is time to visit one of Stephanie's business school friends, so after a stop to provision and gas at Costco, we are met by her friend and follow him to his 5 acre ranch in east El Paso. 

Trains on the way to El Paso. Two engines in front, two in the middle.

We have an awesome visit, enjoy two nice restaurants and Tyler and our friend's son hit it off and request an extra night to play video games together. So we stayed an extra night and had great conversations. The children had a great time too.

Day 251 - More West Texas

We decided that since we had good internet, and needed to wait for the tyre people to come and fix the flat, we would stay at Hilltop another day, get work done, and get the flat fixed.

As you can see below, it was quite flat. Managed not to damage the outer tyre much. Whew.  I have ordered a mount and a cover for a spare. Given that we are two tyres down already, I think we should have one....

I had a great conversation with a family from Virginia who were on a similar trip, and talked to them by the pool about work/travel/school balance on the road.  At sunset I talked to three cousins (two retired air traffic controllers - one worked in Atlanta the other at the Memphis FexEx hub) and an Air Force widow) who were in the Class A next to us. They were on a three month post retirement trip. One of them had moved into the RV as "home", the others were along for the ride as long as they could stand each other.

Day 250 West Texas

 We left the RV park and headed into serious west Texas. It got drier, we started seeing more oil wells and a set of mountains that I didn't realize were there. In the later afternoon we stopped at Dairy Queen, my first time since high school.

Classic west Texas town

It had rained, there were a lot of wildflowers.

Dusty sunset

 After we had settled in to Hilltop RV park, and went out to look at the sheep and the sunset we discovered that we had blown the inner passenger rear tyre. We had heard a bang about 50 miles earlier, but after pulling over and inspecting the RV, we could not see anything wrong. oops. Calling Good Sam...  

Day 249 - Austin, horses

Maggie had some more quality time with the horses. We had fun conversations, and at last packed up the RV and crossed our fingers that the slide would come back in.

It is really raining. 

The slide came back in. We said goodbye, and headed off.

Not much further excitement. It was raining. We headed out of town. 

But first as stop at Ikea's as we needed to replace a chair that we left on a beach, and get a few storage unit supplies. Oh and we needed dinner. And some Swedish meatballs. 

Then we needed gas, and a quick trip to HEB for groceries.

Then our short one and a half hours to Brooks Hills RV park. Mostly to get a bit of distance in and make sure we actually got out of Austin. The rain let up as we drove around looking for our spot. It returned with a vengeance when we got out to hook up the water and electricity, At least the electricity got hooked up before the air turned liquid.