GETTIN’ OUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66

Day 17, 2015-05-07

Today started pretty cold.  Not freezing, but not far from it. After we warmed up with coffee and showers, it was time to check emails at Docs and hit the road for The Catwalks.  But first, Bettie discovered an interesting sight – nesting Blue Herons just outside our campground.  They are a little hard to see in the picture because they were so far away, so try enlarging it.  There were about 5 nests in the tree, but I think we only got 2 or 3 in the picture.

Next came the drive on NM Hwy 15 from the cliff dwellings to Silver City. The sign said “Trucks and Trailers Might Seek an Alternate Route”.  Sounded like a challenge to me so away we went.  This was one of the most fun drives we have ever taken.  Mostly 2^nd and 3^rd gear (out of 6 gears on the truck), but what fun to climb and descend and swing through the hairpins surrounded by the beautiful scenery. Motorcycles would have a great time on this road.  Slow and easy prevailed and we made the trip with no problems except the fingernail marks around Bettie’s seat.

Our next stop was supposed to be The Catwalks in the Mogollon Mountains outside of Glenwood NM.  We went here once before and really liked the way the catwalks and suspension bridges had been strung up the canyon so everyone could access it. Unfortunately, one of the rangers at Gila told us The Catwalks were closed due to a major flood a couple of years ago, and sure enough, as we drove by the site was closed.  Change of plan.  We decided to check out the area around Eager and Springerville AZ.  We ended up at Benny Creek campground just outside of Greer AZ, no services here, just a place to park in a level area among the pine trees next to a meadow around a lake.  We are the only campers here out of the 30 or so available sites.  Pretty nice.  Our first night without any utilities.  So far, it’s looking good.

You might notice a new feature on this blog post. I’m keeping track of the miles we drive each day and our total mileage.  I’ll note them like this 204 (2589).

Day 18, 2015-05-08

We drove from Benny Creek to Holbrook, AZ today.  Bettie spotted the first elk of the trip just before we got to Show Low, AZ.  The wind in Holbrook got absolutely relentless after we arrived, has been blowing 40 and gusting over 50 non-stop for hours.  I’m really glad we got here early and did not have to pull the trailer through it.  The trailer is parked, but moving all over the place.  Grocery shopping and a lot of internet work filled the day since we have a great connection at the KOA.  However, we did venture out and find ourselves on the famous Route 66 in Holbrook for a bit.  Take a look at the iconic Wigwam Motel.  Unchanged since who knows when.  

Dinner tonight was at the not-quite-so-but-still-pretty-famous Joe and Aggie’s Mexican Restaurant just a couple of blocks down from the Wigwam.  

We promised ourselves we would try local craft beers whenever possible on this trip.  Tonight it was Grand Canyon Brewing Company Pilsner for Bettie and IPA for me.  Both were winners.  111 (2700)

Day 19, 2015-05-09

We toured the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert NP today.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Yes, this is a petrified log.

Agate House, one of the few pueblos that was constructed from petrified logs.

Painted Desert

More Painted Desert

Joe and Aggies was closed tonight so we ate across Route 66 at Romo’s.  It was full of locals and the food was even better than yesterday.  Beer was Doghead IPA (Doghead Brewery, Minton Delaware) for me (I rate it good) and Barrio Blonde (Barrio Brewey, Tuscon, AZ) for Bettie (she liked the Grand Canyon Pilsner better). 84 (2784)

NEW MEXICO PLACES NEW AND FAMILIAR

Day 14, 2015-05-04

We drove from Hueco Tanks SP to Mesilla, NM this morning.  We had been to Mesilla about 30 years ago and things have changed.  It used to be a sleepy village miles away from Las Cruces.  Now it is a sleepy village in the middle of a city that has grown up around it.  It still has its old charm.  Our first visit, we ate at La Posta, but on recommendations from friends and family, we ate lunch at the Double Eagle.  Hands down the best Mexican food and “Award Winning” margaritas we have had since we can remember.  It’s almost worth the drive from Florida just for this.

After lunch, Bettie bought some chilies,

then we headed for our next stop, City of Rocks State Park on the road from Deming, NM to the Gila Cliff Dwellings.  We made a Walmart stop in Deming and were pleased to find they had a complete liquor store. We stocked up and took off for the SP.  On HWY 180 we encountered some brutal cross winds.  For the first time, I could feel the trailer moving around a bit, but it did a good job of staying behind the truck and we did not have any problems.

City of Rocks SP is a unique place, a rocky volcanic upthrust in the middle of the prairie.  This place looks like it dropped in from outer space.  NM has done a great job in this park, with many of the campsites located back in the rocks, which give them an other-worldly feeling.  Bettie wants to come back for another longer stay.

Day 15, 2015-05-05

Huey, Huey!  It’s Cinco de Mayo. We started the day with a walk through the City of Rocks SP.  The more we walked the more we were taken with the beautiful views and the excellent campsites hidden back in the rocks.  We will definitely make a return trip here.  

We made the short 67 mile drive to the Gila Hot Springs Ranch, just 4 miles from the cliff dwellings.  Our motorcycle friends would really like Hwy 35 – lots of ups and down and many turns.  I rarely got out of 3^rd gear.  We stopped at an overlook and ran into a guy who was an Ice Road Trucker travelling with an Israeli guy who has already hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Coast Trail, and is now hiking the Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada.  The IRT guy said they were going to the hot springs so the Israeli guy could recuperate a sore heel.  Little did we know there were natural hot springs in this area, but when we checked into our RV park, they were part of the deal.  The ranch has created three naturally heated pools that are really a treat.  We walked down to check them out and there were the two guys from the overlook.  We didn’t join them in the pool.  We went back later and got one of the pools by ourselves.

While soaking in the pool (all afternoon), we were joined by a young couple who are working for the park service doing a bird survey of the area and an RN who has just retired in Silver City, NM.  Amazing how friendly people are in a hot tub.  The conversation was non-stop.  Then the owner came down to check on things, mostly to make sure everyone had paid.  The Campbells have owned the property since the 1940’s and it was interesting listening to his stories of the past.  The pool was a little hotter than he wanted it to be and he told us the only way he can control the heat is by the amount of water he allows to enter the pool.  He has to rely on evaporation to cool it since the spring water is between 140 and 165 degrees.  Big problem today because it was so humid the evaporation was slow.  Humidity was all the way up to 8%.  Damn!  All-in-all, we enjoyed great conversation and had a really enjoyable afternoon soaking in the heat.  It was margaritas and taco salad tonight to commemorate Cinco de Mayo.  Not a bad way to celebrate.

Day 16, 2015-05-06

Today we visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings, then decided to take it easy for the rest of the day.  The cliff dwellings are just as spectacular as they were 20 or 30 years ago when were last here.  Here are a few pictures for you.

Doc Campbells Store is just across the road from our campground at the Gila Hot Springs Ranch and has good WiFi, so I’m taking advantage of the down time to do this blog post – and probably eat some more their excellent homemade coffee ice cream.

TICKIN’ OFF THE TEXAS FOOD BOXES - HITTIN’ THE ROAD

When we come to Texas we have certain culinary requirements.  This week we were in Franklin, TX visiting Bettie’s Family and in San Antonio, TX to visit mine. What better time to eat than when you are with family? 

Whataburger – Jacksonville TX - double meat, cheese, and jalapenos, plus grilled onions for Bettie. The second location of Whataburger was just around the corner from us in Corpus Christi when I was growing up there.  A sentimental favorite that is still the best fast food burger around.  And yes, I washed it down with a root beer, just like in the old days.

Schlotsky’s – San Antonio – we ate at the original location in Austin while we were in college at UT and this has always been one of our favorites.

Mexican Food – San Antonio – Matecumbe – Our first time there, Good Food, Margaritas left something to be desired.

Texas Barbecue – San Antonio – Bun N’ Barrel – since the 50’s in the same location.  Hard to beat it.

Chicken Fried Steak – Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains State Park – with mashed potatoes and green beans.  I feel like a Texan again.

After leaving San Antonio our first stop was South Llano River State Park.  The river runs for a couple of miles in the park and is ideal for tubing.  We saw a few kayaks in the park, but did not have time to use ours.  Maybe next trip.  We met Don & Pat from Victoria, TX who have made 4 trips to Alaska.  We had an informative, but too short a conversation with them and got some good pointers.

  On Day 12 we drove from SLRSP to Davis Mountains State Park, between Ft. Stockton and Van Horn, south of I10 about 40 miles. The park is at about 5,000 feet elevation and it was a long uphill haul against stiff West Texas headwinds all day long.  That combination cost us about 1 mpg for today’s driving, but we’re still averaging 12.2 mpg for the trip so no complaints about that.

The Davis Mountains rise from the West Texas high plains, and the landscape shows a sudden transition from flat plain, to lush valley, to scrub covered mountains – a very striking place to visit – and a great park, except for some reason they expect our sewage to run uphill.  Oh well, a minor inconvenience.

And guess who’s here – Don & Pat.  We think they are stalking us so they can talk more about Alaska.  Pat joined us for a long conversation and they are now our Alaska gurus.  We are so thankful for all the advice. Priceless.

Just for my Mom, here’s a picture of the campground with Indian Lodge in the background and a picture of the courtyard.

Day 13 finds us in Hueco Tanks State Park just outside of El Paso, TX.  We left DMSP and drove to Ft. Davis TX where we needed to get fuel.  No luck on a Sunday morning in this part of the country.  So, we tapped into the 10 gallon diesel reserve we put in the bed of the truck.  Lesson learned.  Stay full!  Today is one of those days that exemplifies why we took this trip.  This drive took us through a valley surrounded by the Davis Mountains. We took Farm to Market Roads out of Ft. Davis, then headed north to Van Horn and continued to the Guadalupe Mountains (highest peak in Texas at about 8700). This drive was one of the most serene and beautiful we have taken.  The West Texas scenery is hard to beat. 

We ended our day at Hueco Tanks State Park. These are natural tanks that hold rain water when everything else around has dried up. There are supposed to be good pictographs here, but we were not able to get one of the guided tours so we can’t say for sure. Don’t waste your time on the self-guided tour unless you just like walking in the desert.  We do, so it was a good day.

Day 14 we cross into New Mexico.  I’ll be back in touch as soon as I can.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE, THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Monday, April 20, 2015 3:00PM:  We can’t believe it.  All that stuff we had been staging in the house for the last 2 months actually fit in the trailer with a few cubic inches left over.  We are ready to travel.  


Tuesday is departure day and we find ourselves in Falling Waters State Park in northwest Florida – claim to fame – the tallest water fall in Florida.  It was more than we expected, but less than astounding. 

Day 2 we made the drive to Clarkco State Park in Mississippi – claim to fame – it’s on Lake Ivy and is a really pretty park.  Few patrons this time of year, so it was a nice relaxing place to stay. 

On Day 3 we took time to drive through the Vicksburg Civil War Memorial Park, where we saw the "Cairo", the only Union ironclad to be raised and restored.  We were impressed by the whole park and wished we had more time to look around. We arrived later that night at the lake house of our “dear friends” Robert and Cathy on Lake D’Arbonne in northwest Louisiana.  Day 4 was a rainout, but gave us plenty of time to catch up.

 The next day we were treated to a kayak tour on Corney Creek, a feeder of the lake.  Cypress trees along the creek really showed off “Old Louisiana”, just like we brag on the look of “Old Florida”. 







Today, we are 1,011 miles into our trip and are staying at Caddo Lake State Park in northeast Texas.  This is another piney woods park that surrounds a mill pond full of moss covered cypress and borders the Big Cypress Creek that feeds Caddo Lake.  







Built in the 1930’s by the CCC, there are still many of the original buildings in use in the park.



Next leg of the trip finds us in Texas to visit with family.  Then we head west.  I’ll be back in touch sometime after that.

 


  

Trying to Figure Out This Damn Blog Thing / Trip Plans

This is my first attempt at a blog, so please cut me some slack if it's a little less than professional.

I'll try to make occasional posts here as we wend our way to Alaska and back this summer.  However, much of our trip will take us to places with no internet coverage, so posts may be few and far between.  I'll do my best to send out an email to everyone who has expressed interest in our adventure to let you know when a new blog post is put up.

Here's our Home for the next 5 months.  200 square feet of pure pullable paradise. Should be "cozy". (And can you believe it?  I actually figured out how to put a picture where I wanted it.  Maybe this blog thing isn't so hard after all.)

We leave on April 21 and plan to return home around the first of October. 

The basic trip plan is to visit friends and family in Louisiana and Texas as the first leg of the trip.  Bettie's brother Billy hopes to join us for the next few weeks as we make our way through some of the western National Parks. We'll say goodbye to him in Salt Lake City, then continue on our way.  

We expect to cross the border into Canada around June 1.  Then make it to Alaska a month or so later.  We'll drive the Al-Can highway to Fairbanks, then make the long sojourn to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay so I can dip my toes in the Arctic Ocean (why that seems to be a "thing" I really don't know, but it is, so I'm gonna do it). After that, it's on to Denali, Kenai, the fjords, and various other stops as we head back south.  We're not so sure about the return route yet.  Figuring that out will just be part of the adventure, but we will make it to Texas in time for another family visit before heading home.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.  I hope you enjoy.