THE HOME STRETCH

Day 151 - 2015-09-18 - Mileage 192 (19,570)

We went to Natchez MS today.  We had been intending to visit here for a while and this was a good opportunity.  We got in about 1:00 and went to the visitor’s center to buy tickets for a couple of antebellum home tours.  We went to Rosalie and Longwood.  I won’t go into the story of each one, but suffice it to say, we think we could spend a few days here and tour 3 homes a day, as well as take in the vibe of the “Under the Hill” section – along the river below the bluff where all the rich folks lived.  This city was spared the devastation of the Union’s Civil War strategy of burning everything in its wake, so much of the old downtown and residences are still intact.  Quite an interesting city that we will visit again.  Here are the two homes we visited today.

Day 152 - 2015-09-19 - Mileage 345 (19,915)

It was a driving day today.  We took Hwy 84 across MS and into Alabama.  We turned south and found ourselves at Florala (Yes, exactly on the Florida/Alabama border) State Park.  This is set on a nice lake, almost in the city of Florala, AL.  It’s been a while since I thought a campsite deserved a picture.  This one qualifies.

Day 153 - 2015-09-20 - Mileage 215 (20,130)

We made our way to St George Island State Park today.  Backroads out of Florala, a bit of I-10, and Hwy’s 69 and 98 through Apalachicola, then about 20 more miles to the park.  We are TRULY in Florida now.  We set up camp and went to the beach.  Few patrons, clear green warm water – we soaked to our heart’s content.

Day 154 - 2015-09-21 - Mileage 20 (20,150)

We just hung out at the beach today - along with hundreds of our closest jellyfish buddies.  The beach was littered with them.  So many that we did not go into the water for fear of stings.  We consoled ourselves with dinner at the Blue Parrot – gulf front dining on a nice patio. Shrimp was excellent, as was my old friend Sweetwater 420 IPA (Atlanta GA).

Day 155 - 2015-09-22 - Mileage 227 (20,377)

We made a stopover at Rainbow Springs State Park as our last night on the road.  We have kayaked the river before and wanted to see if the park would be a good place to stay if we want to do it again.  Turns out the answer is yes, so we’ll be back for a bit of a longer stay at some point.  The river was clear and pretty, although you really can’t see it in the picture.

Day 155 - 2015-09-23 – THE END

We made it home about 2:00 today.  To say the trip was special would be an understatement.  We aren’t really glad or sad to be home.  We did everything we wanted to do on the trip, we took our time, and now it’s over and we are home.  The house made it through our absence with flying colors.  Even my Gerry-rigged boat cover extension made it through the summer sun and storms.  Things look pretty good as we start to plan our next adventure.

So, here’s the Bottom Line on this trip:

Days on the Road:                            156

Miles Traveled:                                 20,477

Time Behind the Wheel:                    578 Hours, 36 minutes

Fuel Consumed:                               1,558.2 Gallons

Fuel Economy:                                 13.1 MPG

This will be the last post to this blog.  To those of you who took the trip with us, thanks and we hope you enjoyed it.  We certainly did.  

BEATIN’ FEET ACROSS TEXAS

Day 143 - 2015-09-10 - Mileage 305 (18,384)

Cloudcroft to Ft Stockton, TX today.  Oh, and we took a side trip to Carlsbad Cavern.  It’s been years since either of us had been here, so we decided to go.  They have done a really good job of building a pathway throughout the big room since the last time we visited.  I took lots of photos, but will share only a couple of them.

After leaving Carlsbad Caverns, we picked up Hwy 652 which took us back over to Hwy 285 all the way to Ft. Stockton.  REALLY crappy road.  What frost heaves did in Canada and Alaska, heat buckles accomplished in NM and TX.  We were thankful this only lasted 150 miles or so.

Days 144 through 150 – Mileage 19,378

Our time was spent on these days visiting family in San Antonio, Lake Jackson and Franklin TX.  The drive from Ft Stockton TX to Zwolle LA and North Toledo Bend Lake State Park where we find ourselves tonight was uneventful with little of note to report.  We always enjoy our family time and are thankful we were able to see as many folks as we did. 

If you have followed the blog from the beginning, you know we always have a culinary agenda when we pass through Texas.  I’m happy to report we were successful on all fronts on this trip. Unfortunately, we will be returning home with a few extra pounds to prove it.

• Schlotsky’s – San Antonio
• Whataburger – Crockett TX
• Mexican Food – El Toro in Clute, TX
• Chicken Fried Steak – Tip Top Café in San Antonio and the Mudd Creek Chop House in Franklin
• Barbecue – San Antonio

Life is Good!

NEW MEXICO GOAT TRAILS

Day 138 - 2015-09-05 - Mileage 206 (17,509)

Driving mode today – but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have spectacular scenery to keep us company along the way.  We left Cimarron headed east on CO 50 and picked up CO 149 South which took us to Lake City CO, former home of our good friends Robert and Cathy S.  We had visited there a few times in the past (30+ years ago), but honestly, didn’t recognize much except the old downtown area.  Leaving Lake City, we climbed Slumgullion Pass (11,200 feet) and Spring Creek Pass (10,900) on our way to Alamosa CO.  The drive up Slumgullion and Spring Creek Passes was breathtakingly steep and extremely pretty.  We picked up US 160/285 in South Fork and, as we continued on the downslope into Alamosa, we drove through some really nice valley country, but still very high at about 8,000 feet.  We are at the Alamosa KOA tonight which gave us the opportunity to do some laundry before we headed into the San Luis Valley Brewing Company for libations and sustenance.  Bettie had the Valle Caliente Especial Lager, a Mexican lager infused with locally grown Pueblo Chiles.  She had two so it must have been good.  I partook of the Alamosa Amber and the Grande River IPA, both good, the IPA was the better of the two.  No pics today.

Day 139 - 2015-09-06 - Mileage 85 (17,594)

Today’s adventure took us to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and to Walmart.  The park was much more than we expected.  This is a most unique geological phenomenon in that it takes a particular placement of mountains, plains, creeks, sediment type and prevailing wind for this to occur.  It makes for a most unusual juxtaposition so see the highest sand dunes in North America and some of the highest peaks (at over 14,000) feet at the same time.

The major activity here is “sand boarding”.  Yep, climb the dunes, slide down on a board – standing, sitting, laying on your belly – all seemed equally popular and garnered whoops of approval or moans of despair from the many onlookers depending on the outcome of the ride.

Won’t say too much about Walmart except that it’s nice to be back in the good old USofA where the shelves are stocked full and you can find what you want.

Tonight’s dinner was Mexican Food at Calvillos.  This place was the most crowded place in town so we decided to give it a try.  Didn’t know until we got inside that they offered a buffet as well as menu service.  Most of the crowd was doing the buffet but we elected for the menu.  Top rate margaritas and absolutely great food.    Colorado Mexican Food is just like New Mexico Mexican Food except they use their locally grown Pueblo Chiles instead of Hatch or some other NM variety.  We rate it equally as good as any we have eaten.

Day 140 - 2015-09-07 - Mileage 221 (17,815)

We left Alamosa on US 285 to Tres Piewdras, NM where we turned east on US 64.  This took us across the Rio Grande Gorge Suspension Bridge.  What a treat.  We didn’t know this was coming up and were surprised to find a big crowd in the middle of nowhere.  Great views of the river and gorge.

We continued through Taos, NM, crowded on this Labor Day Holiday.  Pretty nice looking town, not so pretentious as some other ski towns we have been through.  From there we took NM 434 through Angel Fire, an even less pretentious ski town, toward Mora, NM. 

Bettie is great at selecting scenic backroads, and today may have been her greatest accomplishment.  The further we got from Angel Fire, the narrower the road became.  At one point, it was down to about a lane and a half – pretty much a wide, almost paved goat path.  It was a great drive through beautiful country.  If we ever wanted to see NM off the beaten path, this was the way to do it.

We finally made our way to NM 3 and the Villanueva State Park on the Pecos River.  NM 3 is somewhat better than a goat path, but not by a big margin.  Another fun drive, but through some pretty disadvantaged areas – not so pretty as the outback – at least not until we arrived at the park.  Great setting along the river with cliffs in the background.  Good day.

Day 141 - 2015-09-08 - Mileage 207 (18,022)

Today we drove from Villanueva to Cloudcroft, NM.  Once again, Bettie was able to find some of the lesser traveled back roads and goat paths, so it was a LONG but interesting trip.  We ended up at the Scenic Canyon RV Resort about 6 miles out Hwy 82 from Cloudcroft.  No pics today.

Day 142 - 2015-09-09 - Mileage 57 (18,079)

Did a little sightseeing around Cloudcroft today.  Main stop was the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM, about 20 miles from Cloudcroft out NM 130 and NM 6563.  This place, essentially a small town, was built in the late 40’s/early 50’s.  It was kind of cool to see the old architecture, but even cooler to go inside and observe the technicians monitoring the sun – using modern equipment, but mounted in racks and housed in a building that look like a relics of the Cold War.  I took one picture of the Dunn Solar Telescope.  The tower is 136 feet with another 228 feet underground.

COLORADO CANYONS

Day 135 - 2015-09-02 - Mileage 296 (16,930)

Another Chamber of Commerce day in the Grand Tetons.  We headed out of the park toward Jackson, WY.  We picked up WY 191/189, a scenic highway that took us through the Hoback River Valley.  This is as pretty a drive as we have taken – nice slow curves, right at the river level and then winding up the side of the canyon.  At Daniel WY we took the 189 split and headed south.  We took the WY 372 cutoff toward Green River and then continued down WY 530 toward the Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area.  This is maybe one of the most under appreciated parks we have ever seen.  The Green River flows through the gorge and the multi-colored canyon walls and the green water of the river make for an absolutely beautiful park.  And the drive around the south end of the lake and canyon was both fun (read that steep and curvy) and spectacular in the views it offered.

We visited the Red Canyon area of the park which has some of the best views of the Green River Canyon – 1,700 feet deep and 4,000 feet wide.

To give you some perspective, the little white dot on the river looked to me to be about a 23 foot deck boat.

We happened into the Red Canyon Rim Campground and were able to get a site only a few hundred feet from the rim.  On the way in we were joined by a herd of bighorn sheep.  

After setting up, we wandered over to the canyon rim and found a nice deck that overlooked the canyon and river.  Not a bad way to end the day.

Day 136 - 2015-09-03 - Mileage 170 (17,100)

We arose to bighorn sheep grazing in the campground – pretty cool way to start the day.  Today’s destination is Fruita, CO, just outside of Grand Junction.  We drove the last leg of the Flaming Gorge scenic road on UT 44, another one of those up, down, curve around kind of roads.  It was another fun drive and gave us views of several different canyons.  This took us through Vernal, UT.  We have been here before and were amazed by the flower displays throughout downtown.  We were not disappointed today.

From Vernal, Hwy 40 took us to Rangely, CO where we picked up CO 139 for the trip into Fruita.  CO 139 was an absolutely amazing drive.  The geography changed almost immediately after we got on the road, and took us through shallow canyons until we reached the approach to Douglas Pass (8,268 feet).  In the very short run up the MANY switchbacks we gained about 3,000 feet – all on a bad two lane narrow road with no shoulders and cliff-like drop-offs. The trip down was just like the trip up.  I rarely got out of 3^rd gear either direction.  No pictures to share because I was busy and Bettie was clawing the upholstery.

We arrived at the Monument RV Resort in Fruita about 2:00.  That gave me time to get the fuel filters changed on the truck and Bettie time to make our last reservations for our trip home

Day 137 - 2015-09-04 - Mileage 203 (17,303)

I’m running out of ways to describe narrow, tight, twisty, rising, falling, switchback laden roads – so I’ll just say that today we drove three of the finest.

Before leaving Fruita CO, we took the short trip to Colorado National Monument.  This is a canyon that stretches from Fruita all the way into Grand Junction.  We drove the 23 mile rim road and were in absolute awe of the scenery.

Balanced Rock

Independence Rock

Same Rock, Different Angle

After this tour, we drove to Cimarron CO and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  We had only heard about this park and didn’t really know what to expect.  The park consists of three roads, one that travels along the south rim and offers 12 overlooks, one that drops into the bottom of the canyon on a 16% grade, and one that goes along the north rim.  We drove the first two. 

The Canyon and Gunnison River

The “Painted Wall” (also known as the “Dragon Wall”) the highest cliff in Colorado at 2,250 feet

We arrived back at the Black Canyon RV Resort and were greeted by a rainstorm during dinner.  OK, it delivered an afternoon rainbow to brighten our day.

And a terrific sunset over the valley and mountains.

SMOKIN' OUR WAY TO YELLOWSTONE AND GRAND TETON

Day 128 - 2015-08-26

Smoke still sucks!  Calgary was thick with it this morning.  Worse than yesterday.  We are heading southwest, toward the Washington state fires, so we didn't expect for this to improve much until we get well south.  Turns out that prediction held true, as we drove all day in thick smoke. 241 (15,412).

We headed out of Calgary on AB 2 and stopped at the little known, but truly exceptional, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. 

Yes, this is an actual buffalo jump where thousands of buffalo lost their lives by being driven over a 60 foot cliff.  UNESCO has erected a sensational 5 story exhibit building that leads you from the top of the jump to the bottom of the ravine below.

The exhibits in the building explain everything from how the jump was planned and orchestrated to how the Indians used and preserved the buffalo.  Really, quite an intriguing experience.  We had to do some searching to find out about this place, and how to locate it.  Too bad it’s not better known.  It’s worth the trip to see it.

We made our way from HSIBJ through Pincher Creek, then south on AB 6 to Waterton Lakes National Park, the Canadian component of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park complex.  On the road into the park we got our first view of the Prince of Wales Hotel on Waterton Lake – only our view was clouded by the smoke.

We got our campsite with a view of the lake and then set out on some sightseeing.  We got a better view of the hotel up close.  It overlooks the lake from a tall knoll.

We had time for some scenic drives.  First up, a nice set of falls right in the Townsite of Waterton Lakes.

Second, Cameron Lake, a 9 mile drive up a poorly maintained two lane blacktop hung on the side of a canyon.  This was a fun drive, but I wouldn’t recommend it on a 2-wheeler – very rough.  Cameron is a gin-clear mountain lake with a glacier at one end.  If you use your imagination, you can almost see it in the picture.  Damn Smoke!

Last stop was Red Rock Canyon, a steep rocky canyon and creek located at the end of another bad 10 miles of road – but the reward is worth the effort.  Figure for yourself how it got its name.

On the way back to town we stopped at the Prince of Wales Hotel and went out on the back lawn overlooking the lake.  Somewhere down the lake, obscured by smoke is the USA.

We will leave here tomorrow as the forecast is for continuing smoke.  Hope we can make our way out of it soon.

Day 129 - 2015-08-28

The smoke up here is just awful!  We drove today from Waterton Lakes NP down the east side of Glacier NP, then turned west and skirted the south side of the park until we arrived in Kalispell, MT.  212 (15,624).  We were in smoke all day long and visibility was limited to ¼ mile max.

The drive down the east side included 6 miles of gravel road, water truck, and pilot car action.  We thought we were back in Alaska.  We stopped in East Glacier, MT at the Two Medicine Café for a piece of the best huckleberry pie and vanilla ice cream known to man! 

Continuing west around the bottom of the park we encountered another pilot car delay – only this one was for the purpose of taking us through an active forest fire zone.  We didn’t see any flames, but there were obviously a lot of hot spots on the mountain.

We camped tonight at the Rocky Mountain “HI” RV Park and Self Storage.  Actually, it’s a pretty nice place and has great services.  After setting up, we drove to Whitefish, MT for a look around.  It’s a very well done 1905 downtown that is now full of tourist shops and related businesses.  It’s a real nice place and would be a good base for spending some time in the park.

After touring Whitefish, we drove into downtown Kalispell.  It too is full of early century downtown buildings and makes for a nice environment.  We stopped in at the Kalispell Brewing Co for a couple of coldies.  Bettie had the Dunkel and I had a 4 beer sampler.  None were particularly noteworthy, so we passed on seconds.

Good thing, because we made one of the best food stops of the entire trip on the way back to camp.  The Los Caporales Mexican Restaurant.  I’m happy to report this was some of the best Mexican food of the entire trip – maybe absence makes the taste buds grow fonder, but maybe not – this stuff was darn good.   The Double Eagle has been seriously challenged if not bested.

The air quality today is rated as dangerous – small particulates.  We are back at camp and staying indoors.  We may be forced to change our return trip itinerary because of the smoke.  We’ll evaluate over the next couple of days as we head south and see how things shake out.

Day 130 - 2015-08-29 - Mileage 231 (15,855)

Today looks like a bust. We got up to very dense smoke in Kalispell.  We took off south down the west side of Flathead Lake.  The road promised great views of the lake.  We got the great viewpoints, but the lake was impossible to see – maybe an eighth mile visibility.  From what we saw, Flathead looks to be just as spectacular as other big mountain lakes we have seen.  Too bad we couldn’t enjoy it to its fullest.

Oh well, we are headed south and east, hopeful to escape the smoke.  We turned off US 93 on to I-90 East and headed toward Missoula, MT.  We got off the interstate at Drummond MT and turned south on MT 1 toward Anaconda.  This is a scenic drive according to the map.  The first several miles made us wonder why, but it finally took us up a canyon, on a curvy road, up and down the side of the eastern slope, over a 6,000 foot pass to Georgetown Lake.  It looked like a very nice lakefront area – reminded me a bit of Lake LBJ the way the rolling hills dropped into the lake – but the smoke was too thick for any pictures.

As we arrived in Anaconda, the smoke lifted a bit and we found an interesting town from the late 1800’s.  Pretty well preserved buildings and a nice ambience.  We checked into the Big Sky RV Park and learned that there was a street festival downtown tonight.

We made our way to “Alive After 5” to check it out.  There was one block of downtown that was closed off for the party.  There were many vintage cars and hot rods on display, a not-too-bad local band, and one booth where we were able to get a corn dog.  Not the culinary event we had hoped, but it seemed to fit the occasion.

The locals here make the clientele at our hometown Walmart look pretty sophisticated.  But, this is a superfund site (heavy metal contamination from copper mining and smelting), so that makes sense.  It really looks like the people here have been affected by it – too bad.

The good news was that Thompson’s Bar was on the closed block and cold beer was available.  Their motto refers to the frigidity of their beer, and their logo supports it!  Now THAT’S some COLD beer.

We’ll overnight here then move southeast to Gardiner, MT – just outside North Yellowstone.  We continue to be hopeful we will get south of the smoke, but as I write this at 8:00 PM in Anaconda, the wind has shifted from the west and smoke is much heavier than it was earlier.  We can only hope.

Day 131 - 2015-08-30 - Mileage 187 (16,042)

Mostly a driving day today.  We left Anaconda, MT and picked up I-90 East.  The smoke in Anaconda was real thick this morning and got worse as we travelled – it became much more acrid and irritated our throats and eyes as we drove.  Finally, around Butte, MT, we started to get clear of it.  We turned south on MT 89 at Livingston which took us through the Yellowstone River Valley.  This was some kind of scenic – and we could actually see some of the sights.  We arrived at out campsite in Gardiner, MT just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone mid-afternoon.  Thankfully, the air is mostly clear and we were able to run a few errands and give the truck a MUCH needed wash.  Tomorrow we sightsee.

I’m constantly amazed at how many RV’ers are from Florida.  At our campground in Gardiner MT about a third of the plates are from Florida.  We met couples from Weeki Wachee, Palm Harbor and Panama City, and I had a conversation at the grocery store with a woman from Key Biscayne.  I’m not sure what that says about anything, but I sure find it interesting.

Day 132 - 2015-08-31 - Mileage 281 (16,323)

Today we drove the Beartooth Scenic Loop.  We entered Yellowstone at the North Entrance and took the road on the east side of the park to the Northeast Entrance.  From there, we were on the Beartooth Scenic Highway, bound for Red Lodge.  At Red Lodge we circled back to the south and west and came back into the Beartooth on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway.  We are definitely back in sightseeing mode, and this was one of the top 5 most scenic drives of the entire trip.  To our motorcycle friends, this is a MUST DRIVE for you.  You’ll see why in a minute.  The road, for the most part, was good asphalt, that took us up to 11,000 feet through more switchbacks than we could count.  And at every turn, the views were some of the most magnificent we have seen anywhere on the entire trip.

Here’s the “Beartoooth”.

We saw falls

And, from the summit, a gorgeous mountain lake and vista above the treeline.

Here’s the “theory” and the “practice of our driving day.

The road “up”.

The road “down”

The road “circling back”

We saw buffalo, elk and a grizzly on the trip today, but no pictures to share. Quite an outing.

Day 133 - 2015-08-31 - Mileage 281 (16,323)

Up early this morning to get the oil changed in the truck.  Success!  Many thanks to Derek and Wylie at the NAPA Service Center in Gardiner, MT for getting me in first thing without an appointment.  Then off to Fishing Bridge RV Campground on the southeast side of Yellowstone.  We made camp by noon then drove the “lower” loop of the park roads.  This took us through the geothermal areas, to the Yellowstone River falls, and through the Hayden Valley, where most of the evening animal viewing is available.  We scored a LOT of buffalo, some elk, and another grizzly on the drive.  The park is a joy this time of year.  The campground is not full, we pulled into every stop and were able to get a parking place without any problems, and the crowds, while still large, were not oppressive like they were in Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.  What a much better experience.  I won’t even begin to describe the amazing sights this park has to offer – I’ll just put up a bunch of pictures.  Hope you enjoy.

Day 134 - 2015-09-01 - Mileage 141 (16,634)

On our last trip to Grand Teton NP a couple of years ago the smoke was so dense that we never actually saw a teton.  We say a shadowy outline of something on the horizon, but to say it was a teton would have been total conjecture.  So, we were thrilled to awake to a glorious clear day today.  We broke camp and drove straight to the Signal Mountain Campground about half way down the west side of the Grand Teton Loop Road – first come first served – so we didn’t want to waste any time getting there.  We secured one of the few remaining sites and took off on the loop road.  I couldn’t recount the many overlooks we stopped at, or the view from each one.  So, here’s a few shots that pretty much tell the story.