2010/07/29 – Thursday – Joshua Trees

I woke up early, and we got going early – I wanted to get moving before the heat of the day.

Our first stop was at Joshua Tree National Park, Cottonwood Visitor Center.  We tried to get the Junior Ranger Program booklet, but they are out.  We drove down to the springs, but you cannot get to the water.  We stopped at the Cholla Cactus Garden and did part of the walk.  We stopped at the parking lot for Barker Dam.  While Amanda and I was hiking towards the dam, we got to watch mountain goats playing on the rocks.  After the hike, we had lunch.

At the Joshua Tree Visitor Center did have the Junior Ranger Program booklet, so Amanda started working on it.

Amanda suggested that we go to the other visitor center – Oasis Visitor Center.  So I did.  Amanda then completed her booklet and also got the other stamp for her book.

We stopped at the KOA in Banning for the night.  We unloaded the van and went to Gramma’s Country Kitchen for dinner.

Now back at the RV to relax. 

2010/07/28 – Wednesday – Drive Down to the River

Well, we are still heading towards home.  We left Prescott where it was cool.
One section of the drive down from Yamell was interesting – I was only doing about 20 to 30 mph. with lots of hairpin turns, it somewhat reminds me of the drive to Shaver Lake.  The uphill drive as two lanes, were as the down hill is mostly single lane.
On our way to our stop for the night I noticed that it was getting hotter and hotter.
We stopped at the KOA in Blythe and it was hot - over 100.  I almost missed the exit, which is immediately after the checkpoint.

2010/07/27 – Tuesday – Well and Castle

We got moving late, but no big deal, we only have two places to go to today.

Montezuma Well was our first stop for the day.  When you arrived at the parking spot it just looks like a mound ahead of you.  But when we made it to the top, you look down into the whole.  We also walked down into the bowl.  Once back up out of the bowl, head to the outlet of the water.  The water seeps through the side of the bowl and into a canal that was built over 1000 years ago.  The water flowing in the canal was crystal clear (unlike the river, all muddy.)  Amanda worked on the pages of the Junior Ranger program booklet pertaining to the well.

We had lunch at a picnic area that has the canal running around the area.  The locals play in the canal.

Montezuma Castle National Monument is about 11 miles south of the well.  It is a short walk before you can see the cliff dwelling.  There is no pathway up to the dwelling.  Amanda finished the booklet and obtained her Junior Ranger badge.

We returned to the RV, and we had to do a load of laundry.  We relaxed and Mom M made dinner.

2010/07/26 – Monday – Repairs and Relax

I made the call to a mobile repair guy for the busted stud. 

I took the trailer tire over an America’s Tire and got a that replace.  They had that done under 30 minutes!

Back at the RV, while waiting for the repair guy, we did laundry.

The RV repair guy (Mobile RV Specialists) arrived and repair the trailer, he is also going to repack all the bearings.  I feel you can’t just repack one, might as well repack all and the last time they were done was in 2007.  He did have to leave to get a new stud and lug nuts.

Total time to complete the repair and maintenance was about 3 hours. 

We made a decision about staying here another day.  Also the weather was not looking good – the monsoons was kicking up and it looked dark in the direction we needed to go.

We went to Walmart to get a few things that we have run out of.  We did stop at In-N-Out to get some drinks and the kids got some animal fries.

Mom made dinner and we are enjoying a relaxing afternoon and evening.

2010/07/25 – Sunday – Gaining Altitude

Our first stop was just down the road from camp – gas.

Our next destination was a major climb from the Phoenix area.  Along the drive I kept a keen eye on the transmission temperature, I also watch the tire temperature.  The rear passenger trailer tire was getting hotter then it has every gotten – 161 degrees.

As we were getting closer Prescott, I noticed that the trailer tire (that was having the heat problem) was causing a pulsating feeling in the RV.  I was going to pull into a America’s Tire, then I remember that they are closed on Sundays.

We pulled into the RV park we had chosen, but they did not have anything that I could fit in.  I had to back out into traffic to get out of the park.  I did get directions to another park that should be able to accommodate me.

Once, at the next RV park, they had room for me for the next two nights.

We got the RV setup and unload the van.  We then started to get the bad trailer tire – the tire had started to bubble and delaminate.  Eric and I started to get all the lug nuts off, but I broke one of the lugs off – !#$%^&* – great.

I have made several phone calls and hopefully I will get somebody to come and fix the lug (with a new lug nut).

We then drove into Prescott and we stumbled upon a western street demonstration / fair.  We watched that for about an hour. 

We did head on out to go see Tuzigoot National Monument.  Amanda did get her Junior Ranger booklet with covers Tuzigoot as well as Montezuma Castle and Well.  We did walk the ruins and enjoyed the view (and the flying ants)

We returned back to Prescott and had dinner at the Palace Restaurant & Saloon.

2010/07/24 – Saturday – Apache Trail Loop

The road getting to the first lake was paved but a little slow going, but I loved it.  Once you climbed up out of the canyon, the road turns to dirt and the fun really begins.  This next section of the road is a normal forest service type road, gravel, with some minor potholes, and the normal washboards.  Most of the road was just one lane, I was sure glad we did not have that many traffic heading back to town.

Once you reach Roosevelt dam, the road finally turns back to paved.

We arrived at our destination – Tonto National Monument.  Amanda got her Junior Ranger Program booklet and started to work on.  We did not do the trail up to the ruins because it was hot and they had the ruins closed because of bee activities.  Amanda did complete the booklet and got her badge.

   Our next stop was in Globe for lunch.  We did take the quicker route back to the RV.

We headed back to Goldfield to finish our explore of the little ghost town.

We did the mine tour and walked around some more and visited a few more stores that was closed yesterday. 

We headed back to the Steakhouse and Saloon to get a drink.  While in there it started to rain.  We watched the lighting and rainbow show.

Now back in the RV to relax for the evening.

2010/07/23 – Friday – Heading to a Junction

Our first stop was half way to our next destination. 

We stopped at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  Amanda got her Junior Ranger program book, she was instructed to do all the pages.   It took her about two hours to complete the booklet.  After getting her badge, we had lunch in the RV.

We arrived at the Mesa–Apache Junction KOA Campground, so we are going to spend two night here.

After setting up camp, we headed on over to Goldfield Ghost Town.  We did the train ride, and walk around the grounds a little.  We had dinner at the Stakehouse and Saloon in the town.

2010/07/22 – Thursday – West Side / East Again

Today we went to the West side of Tucson - the Saguaro National Park.  The West side visitor center it a newer building, but the loop road is not paved like the East side.  Also, the Junior Ranger program is the same, so Amanda did not do it again…

When we finally left the park, it was late for lunch.  We noticed a Hooters on the way, so we stopped to have lunch.

Sabino Canyon visitor center was our next stop.  We were just in time for the last tram up the canyon.  It was a little expensive for a trip up and back, but for all day it would have been fine.  It was a nice canyon, and it did have some water running it, because of the recent rains from the monsoons.

Back at the RV we noticed that it has been raining and the dog run area was totally under water (it is a catch basin for the park).

Amanda and Mom M made dinner and now we are getting ready for our next leg of the trip – Apache Junction (Phoenix area)

2010/07/21 – Wednesday – Drive to Tucson

The mapping program (Street Atlas) was not routing correctly back to I10, but of course I just followed the signs.

We finally stopped for gas about half way to Tucson.

After driving around Tucson, we finally found the campground that family member recommended – Beaudry RV Resort.

We had lunch and unload the van.

We headed over to the Saguaro National Park – East.  Amanda got her Junior Ranger program booklet and started to work on it.  Javelinas were resting just outside (on the back side) of the visitor center.  We did do the driving tour, and that took about an hour to do, with a lot of photos being taken.   Once we returned to the center, Amanda got her badge for competing the booklet.

We went out to eat at a steak place that was in the RV campground brochure.

2010/07/20 – Tuesday – Found Both Parks

Our first park for the day is Chiricahua.  Amanda got her Junior Ranger program book and started to work on it.

We headed to the top to the Massai Point and had lunch.  A Mexican Jay was really brave and eyeing our lunch only a few foot from us!

We headed back down to the Echo Canyon trail and hiked down to the Grotto area.

We headed back down to the Visitor Center so Amanda could get her booklet signed and obtain the patch that they give out.

Our next stop was to head to Fort Bowie National Historic Site via the Apache Pass (the same one that I did not take the RV on).  The drive was over the pass was good, the gavel road was in excellent shape.  We headed for the other way to get into the fort, but they really don’t want everybody to get to the fort that way.  The walk to the fort area was only about 500 feet (not that 1.5 miles walk).  Amanda again got her Junior Ranger program and got a patch for completing it.

I headed back over Apache Pass and back to the RV.  We let the dogs and then headed over to the relatives for the evening and dinner – another good meal.

2010/07/19 – Monday – Fort to Far

We left Silver City heading for I10. 

On the way down, I made a phone call to a relative to see if they would like to have some company for the next to nights.

Once on the I10, I noticed a sign pointing to Fort Bowie.  I started to drive to it.  The road was not the greatest, but it was at least paved.  I did get a phone call back while heading to the fort.  About an mile before the tail head, the road turned to gravel.  I made it to the parking area, but not a lot of room to turn around.  The temperature was hot and we did not want to walk the 1.5 miles to the fort.  We did have lunch.  I was able to get turned around, because I walked up the road and really did not want to continued. 

We headed back down the road and headed towards the relatives.

Once at the relatives, he directed us to a local RV park for us to camp for the two nights.

We had a good dinner and a good night of watching TV and talking.

2010/07/18 – Sunday – Catwalk

Today we have a drive.  We headed to Mogollon.  The drive up the mountain to the town reminded me of a forest service road.  The road was one line with blinding corners – you could not speed!

The town did have a privately run museum, an art studio, and a very small cafe.  We had lunch, hot dogs, hamburger, and grilled cheese sandwich.

Our next stop was at the “Catwalk of Whitewater Canyon”.  You have to pay a parking fee ($3).  We started up the canyon.  Mom M made it about a 1/4 mile up before she was not feeling good, so she return back to the van.  Amanda, Eric and I continued.  It was really interesting to be walking above the canyon floor on the corrugated walkway.  We made it a little over 3/4 mile up the canyon.  We started to return and it started to rain, thunder, and lighting.  We made it back to the van before getting to wet.

We return back to camp and then headed back out for dinner.

2010/07/17 – Saturday – Around Town

We scheduled this day as our relaxing day, so we slept in and didn’t start exploring around town until after lunch.

We got lunch at Subway. 

Silver City Museum is a one house with some different items on display (art work, photo gallery, and some old picture of the town)

The Western New Mexico University Museum had a lot pottery collection on the main floor, the top floor had history about the university and the basement had a few older items as well as an old mockup of a class room.

We did drive around a little to explore the town.  The town is not built on flat ground.

Dinner we returned to the Red Barn.

Note: I talked with the park owner and told him about the problems I was having uploading photos, so he removed the bandwidth limitation.  The limitation was not working properly for uploads, by removing the limitation, I now can upload photos to my Smugmug account.

2010/07/16 – Friday – Gila Dwellings

We took NM15 to get to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.  The drive took us through the forest with lots of twists and turns and steep elevation changes and I noticed several road I could explore in the jeep.

We stopped at the visitor center so Amanda could get her JR Ranger book.  We were informed about Senior Ranger Program, so Mom M and I took a booklet to also do.

We went for the hike to the cliff dwellings.  Mom M and Eric went ahead and walked back to the van, while Amanda and I waited for the Ranger to do the 1:00 talk.  The talk was about an hour long.

During the talk Mom M was talking with other rangers at the parking lot, she also was able to complete her program, so she got her certificate and patch.

Amanda and I returned to the van, then we all headed to the visitor center so Amanda and I could turn in our programs.  Amanda got her badge, while I got a patch, and both of our certificates where printed on a printer.

For the return trip, we took the NM35, NM152, NM180 back.  It has a little less dramatic drive and its about 20 miles longer, but it might be a little faster.

We went to Wrangler’s Bar & Grill for dinner.

We also did a load of launder to cap the night off.

2010/07/15 – Thursday – Searching

Our first stop for the day was at San Lorenzo – Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.  We did go into the visitor center, but they really had nothing else (especially with the RV).

A necessary stop for gas was required.

Our next stop was at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  We stopped into the visitor center, but they also do not have really anything for the RV can do.  I did receive some information about the route I was planning to take, based on that info I had to change plans.  We headed back the way we came.  We stopped at one of the viewing areas for lunch.

We had passed highway 60, so we backed track to get to the 60.  The other route would have had us drive on gravel roads for several miles!

We stopped at the Very Large Array (VLA).  We watched the video about the place and we opted out of doing the walking (self guided tour).

Our next stop was at a very small (one store town – Datil) to get gas.

We crossed the continental divide.  We have been watching the lighting for about an hour before we finally was driving through the rain.

We finally made it to Silver City KOA.  We paid for three nights.

We went out to eat at a place called the Red Barn (owned by a May family – no one we know)

2010/07/14 – Wednesday – Missions With A Little Salt

Today is our second day here at Mountainair.  On the agenda is the three missions. 

We drove back to Gran Quivira to tour the ruins.  On the drive back into town, I got a call, so we pulled over to handle some issues. 

Back at the RV, we had lunch.

The second mission is Quarai.  Amanda got her JR Ranger book and with that being completed,  we did the walking tour.

The last of the three missions is Abo, Amanda again asked for the JR Ranger book, and completed that – so she was able to get all three ribbons.

Going back through town, I stopped to check out a different place for dinner but they were not open for dinner – hmmmm

We noticed on the map from the monuments that it shows salt lakes, so we dove out to them.  There was no signs about the lakes, but they were mostly dried up lakebeds.

Returned back to the RV and watched a movie.

Dinner was at the same place as yesterday (the only place in town).  We stopped at the very small grocery store and another store to get a few items.

We loaded the van onto the trailer when we returned to the RV, getting ready for the drive tomorrow.

2010/07/13 – Tuesday – Billy the Kid

When we left the RV campground, we stopped just down the road to get propane for the RV, the meter was reading empty.  We then stopped to get gas.

During the morning drive, we were climbing into the hills.  One of the towns we came through had a museum.  Lincoln boast about Billy the Kids  resided in the town and he shot the sheriff.  We did purchase the necessary ticket to tour the town.  We also stopped in one place to have lunch.

Our next stop was a Fort Stanton, but they are closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the grounds look big.

Our next stop was in Capitan to see the Smoky Bear Museum.  It was interesting to see the history about Smoky Bear.  I had left the RV running to keep the inside cool, but when I looked at the gauges, the engine was hot as well has the transmission temperature was hot – not good!  I started to drive and both temps started to drop – so all is ok.

Next stop was in Carrizozo, NM for gas.

Street Atlas was trying to route me on some farm roads that would require a 4x4, so finally we found the correct route to our next destination.

The road from the south is very remote.  We stopped at Gran Quivira (part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions).  Amanda was able to get her Junior Ranger badge from this location – it only took about an hour for her to complete it.

We have made camp in Mountainair for two nights so we can explore two more missions.

Once we unloaded the van, we headed out for dinner.

I also worked on a load of laundry.

2010/07/12 – Monday – Visit the Water

The first thing on our agenda was to go see Bottomless Lakes.  We took the high road and looked over the different lakes.  The southern most lake allows swimming and it even has a roped of area for the more sallow area.  All the lakes are sunken lakes with artesian feed water and are anywhere between 30 to 100 feet deep.

We came back to the RV to have lunch and we watched a movie.

Our next stop was at Bitter Lakes Wildlife Refuge.  We got into the visitor center before it closed for the day.  We watched one of their movies.  We did the driving tour around the Refuge and Amanda took lots of photos.

A quick stop back at the RV and it was time for dinner, so we headed into town and ate at a Golden Corral Buffet.

2010/07/11 – Sunday – Heading to Alien Town

The drive started at 9:00, most of the morning we had very little traffic on the road.  What was on the road was tarantulas, millipedes, and turtles.  Also we noticed a lot of signs warning about water on the road.  And the recent rains have really made a mess of the farm roads.

Lunch was at one of Texas picnic areas

At the gas stop, you really didn’t want to look on the ground, it was just crawling with lots of bugs.

Our stop for the next two nights is in Roswell, New Mexico.

We did go into town and found a IHOP for dinner, on the way back to the RV, we stopped at a market to get a few things.

2010/07/10 – Saturday – Drive Across Texas

We left the campground headed for DFW airport.  We dropped of Cheryl for her flight back to home.  Getting in and out of the airport was easy, but the lady at the toll both asked if I picked up the Van at the airport – NO

We headed west on state route 380 – not a bad two lane road, the small towns along the route.

We stopped early in the town of Haskell at a city run
RV camp spot.  The first night is free – what a deal.

We walked about four blocks to a DQ to have dinner.  As we returned back to the RV it started to rain on us. 

2010/07/09 – Friday – Grassy Knoll

Today we slept in,  because both of the kids are not feeling.  Eric has an ear infection and Amanda is having stomach problems.

Amanda stayed home, while the rest of us went into Dallas to explore.  We stopped by the Grassy Knoll and looked around, but we did not do the 6th floor tour.  We did stop at Subway for lunch.

Our next location, we drove over to Grapevine to do some wine tasting.  We did buy one bottle that had a apple taste.

I wanted to see if the departing terminal at the DL-FW airport could handle the RV, and it can, I had to do some driving around, but we finally found the correct route.  Also we did have to pay to do that – they have toll booths to exit (even if you just drive through.)

Cheryl did talk to the kids doctor to get a prescription for Eric’s ear, so we made our way over to a CVS.

I loaded the van onto the trailer right before it started to rain for the night.

Cheryl did make dinner.

2010/07/08 – Thursday – Drive

Today all we did was drive to Dallas (not the most direct way.)  The traffic was not to bad, except in the downtown area of Dallas. 

We are staying at a park were the wifi is terrible, very slow, and cost us to log on.

We did go out to dinner, but Amanda stayed back at the RV, because she has not been feeling to well all day – not sure what is going on.  And Eric seems he is trying to have an ear infection, so we stopped by Walgreens to get him some ear drops.

2010/07/07 – Wednesday – Diamonds Are To Be Found?

After leaving the campground our first stop was to get gas.

Today was a drive not on a freeway, but the smaller highways.  I had to drive a little bit through the rain.

Our next stop was at the Crater of Diamonds State Park.  This park is where you look for the diamonds out in the field and what ever you find you get to keep it, but of course it cost to go out into the fields and of course they do have items (tools) to help in your search.

Well, we did not found any diamonds, so no new bling for anybody – sorry dear.

We did have a late lunch at the cafe on site.

We made it to Texarkana (on the Texas side) to a KOA for the night.  We got the RV setup just in time before the rains started for the night.

2010/07/06 – Tuesday – Fun in the Park

Today was a day to go play at the Magic Springs/Crystal Falls Amusement Park.

The KOA park shuttled us to the amusement park.  We did all the roller coasters that we could – one of them was emergency stopped, so we could not ride that one.

We called for the KOA shuttle so we could return back to the RV to change and have lunch.

Once we returned back to the amusement park, we did get rained on while we were playing.  We played in the water park until it was closing time. 

2010/07/05 – Monday – Hot Springs

We toured around the area of the Hot Springs.  We drove the northeast side of the park and went up into the lookout and loved the view from the top.  Back down into the old town, we finally found a place to park.  But before heading to the visitor center, we stopped for lunch.

Amanda got the paperwork for the Junior Ranger Program.  We toured the three floors and the basement.  Again it only took about two hours for Amanda to complete the booklet.  We also toured an art gallery that had some Ansell Adams pictures on display.

We then drove through the southwest side of the park and enjoyed the drive.

We also made the drive to the ORV Offroad Park (only 3.5 miles away from the KOA campground) to see the location, but of course the van is not able to go on the trails.

Back at the RV, we reviewed our route and added a few more places to stop before we get to Dallas/Fort Worth. 

We also made a decision to stay here another day to do the amusement park (Magic Springs).

We did go out for dinner – Waffle House.  Then a stop was made at Wal*Mart to get a few things.

2010/07/04 – Sunday – Bye King, Hello Hot

We left camp and headed to the airport to drop off Mom D.  We could not get very close to the terminal, but we did drop her off at one of the airport shuttle parking lot areas.

Along the route to Little Rock, we stopped at one of the rest areas on the I40 for lunch.

We stopped at the Little Rock Central High School and again, Amanda was able to get her Junior Ranger program done in about two hours.

Our final stop for the day was at the Hot Springs KOA and by some miracle, we are able to get two nights.

We ordered pizza from the campground for dinner.

2010/07/03 – Saturday – The King

We took the tour of the Graceland and other attraction, like the car museum and the planes. 

The day was hot and the internet connection was terrible, the RV park was having electrical problems because of the heat.

  We had dinner at the Hart Break Hotel. 

2010/07/02 – Friday – More War Time

We lift our camp which only had one other camper – a troop of boy scoots tent camping.

Our stopped at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center was an unplanned stopped, we spotted the signs so we had to stop.  Amanda was able to do her Junior Ranger program.  It took about two hours to complete it and return back to the RV.

We stopped somewhere in-route to Memphis for lunch. 

We pulled in the RV park across from Graceland and yes they had a spot for us for the two nights.

We called Marlow’s and they came to pick us up in a pink limo.  The place was good and then we also returned back to the RV in the pink limo.

2010/07/01 – Thursday – Natchez Trace and War

We left camp about 9:45.  We made our way around / through Nashville. 

We made our way to the start (Northern End) of the Natchez Trace Parkway.  We stopped at several of the turn-outs along the way.  At around noon we stopped and had lunch at one of the turn-outs.  We only did about 70 miles of the Parkway.

Our next stop was at the Shiloh National Military Park.  Wow I did not know it was a big battle area of the civil way!  Amanda was able to get her JR Ranger Program completed.  And we did part of the driving tour.

The park ranger was able to give us a list of RV camp sites close by, so we picked on just down the road from the park.  When I pulled off the road I was not sure about it.  It is a small park and it had nobody manning the office, so I left and at the next intersection went into the store and asked about it. 

So we returned and set up camp.  Some time late the owner drove by and asked for some money ($15).   The only amenities is water and electric, so no internet tonight.

Amanda and Cheryl made dinner and we are now relaxing.