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[Apr. 16th, 2008|12:49 pm] |
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Justin & Brad
Justin & Brad on a fishing weekend |
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Justin & Shannon
Shannon's dog, Xena enjoned running on the Beach- bull pulled a ligament |
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Ken & Sandy
With our Shrimp nets |
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Lopez crew
Some of the guys at the campground |
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Shrimp Winners
Ken with his hair and shrimp glasses - Jim Frieda also had the crazy hair. |
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Bob Geno
88 yrs. old and going strong - front of shirt says: You're only as good as the size of your Shrimp and on the Back: Size Matters |
We spent the winter months in Florida again this year at Lopez RV park in Oakhill, Fla. The time went by really quick as we seemed to keep busy. The weather this year was windy most of the time since we are sitting on the intracoastal. The fishing wasn't as good due to the wind, however, we did get out a few times on the boat. The wind also affected the shrimping this year. Ken went out about 6 times and I (Sandy) only went once. We were able to bag about 10 bags of shrimp, which equals around 500 - 600 for the entire season. Since Ken is allergic to shrimp - this is fine. We sent most of the shrimp home with our son, Justin, to NC. Justin was able to visit twice - once with his girlfriend Shannon and again with his fishing buddy Brad. We really enjoyed having him there - if only for a weekend each time. At this point - unless he meets up with us sometime this next year - we probably will not see him until Dec. 08 around Xmas.
Ken & I were the shrimp host and hostess for our shrimp contest. Ken even wore a black wig and was a hoot. We also presented our good friend Geno- who turned 88 this year - with some honorary awards since he had been the host for 10 yrs. He had some prostrate problems this year and bowed out of the duties. Once Ken & I took over we realized how much work Geno had put into this duty in the past. We had a T-shirt made up for Geno, along with a shrimp wind chime. Geno just loved it.
We spent a few days a week at the local Casino's playing the slot machines. You basically play for gift cards at Walmart, Lowes or the local grocery stores. They match you with $5.00 & most of the time you either win or break even. We definitely came out ahead of the game when we left Florida.
Here in Florida we do eat out alot - however - we ate alot of fish - so didn't put on any extra weight while there. We had a standing date with one couple (Grizz & Tixie) that each of us would decide once a week of a new place to go, usually out to eat and some form of entertainment. We tried alot of new places, plus went on the Sterling Casino Cruise ship, the Dog races in Daytona, a concert of the official Coast Guard Band, the Marti-Gra parade and the St. Patricks' Day activities. We also ate Gator Tail - which isn't half bad.
We were also able to meet up with Bill & Helen who we met at our Full-Timing Rally in Arizona twice while in Florida. Bill & Helen bought a lot in Ocala and stay there approximately 6 months. We took them to a European & German Restuarant in Ormond Beach which was really good.
Our campground is only 20 miles north of Cape Kenedy and we were able to watch (2) shuttle launches right off the docks of our campground. What a thrill -- one was at night and was really magnificent.
All in all we really had a great time in Florida, there's always something to do between the Flea Markets, Fishing, Shrimping, eating out and just hanging out with friends. |
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| Nebraska |
[Nov. 4th, 2007|07:35 pm] |
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Rooster Pheasant (2)
Hiding in the roadside |
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City Park
Beaver City, Neb |
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Ken & Jim with Cheyanne in the lead
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Ken's one shot
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Free lots about 1/2 acre
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Downtown Beaver City,Nebraska
The street is wide for the tractors to park in the center |
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Jim & Sharon Northup and Cheyanne
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A few days after leaving Yellowstone we received a call from Jim & Sharon Northrup who spend about 2 months each year in Nebraska Pheasant Hunting. They stay in a very small town called Beaver City. Beaver City has a small City Campground at the Ballfield. It was very nice with full hook-ups and $30/week. Can't beat the price. This area has lots of farms and open land (mostly corn fields). We scouted the first few days looking for the Pheasant hide-outs. We were quite successful. Opening day the guys put up quite a few pheasants - I think they shot around 10 rounds and ended up with 1 bird. To Ken's credit - the bird he took down he did shoot in one shot. Day 2 was just as fun - but Cheyanne (an English Pointer) was putting up the birds too far ahead of the guys and they couldn't get a shot. Oh well! The grass is extremely high and poor Chey got pretty cut up by day 2 - so she took the next 2 days off to rest. That was the end of the huning trip for Ken. We really enjoyed our time in this samll Nebraska town. The town is really quiet and has (1) small grocery store, a local bar/restaurant and a Post Office and a really nice Craft store. It also had a gas station that actually had free Wifi (and a small restaurant). Ken & I would stop there to check messages on E mail and such. This area is beef country and we also took a ride to the next town over to visit the local meat market. Would you believe fresh hamburger for $1.49/lb, T-bones for $5.49/lb? Anyway - we stocked up on some farm fresh meat. I (Sandy) did not hunt since I haven't shot a gun in 30 yrs., however, next year I plan to come back prepared. Those birds haven't seen nothing yet!! By the way, there are several nice 1/2 acre lots in town that are "free" if you build at least a 900+ sq. ft. home. That's a first! No wonder everyone was so nice to us -- they need tax dollars!! |
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[Nov. 2nd, 2007|06:08 pm] |
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Greyjay
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Buffalo Butt
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7 x 7 Elk
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The Locksmith
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Fishing Bridge RV Park
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Hiking
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Red Fox
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Buffalo
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Ken, Sandy & Poncho
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Snow
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Great Gray Owl
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The Grand Tetons
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Bull Moose
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Well, our time in Yellowstone has come to an end. We really had a wonderful time. We will especially miss the Wildlife that surrounded us each and everyday. It's amazing to walk out your door each day and have to look each way to ensure safety. However, it's really exhilarating to see the Wildlife in their own habitat. No matter how much Wildlife you see each day - you look forward to seeing something else the next day. You never get tired of it. We also had fun meeting new people from around the world, along with getting to know all our co-workers. We were camped next to Garry & Jenny Summers who we met in Quartzite, Arizona in Jan. of 2006 and they were just a delight. Each and every Monday night we took turns coming up with a recipe for a Dutch Oven treat. You would have thought that we should have put on weight, however, apparently the high altitude increases your metabolism and we lost weight. Ken & I lost an average of 10lbs(that we put on in Florida) so let's hope we can keep it off.
The last 6 weeks in Yellowstone, Ken & I started hiking and that was a true joy. You really can appreciate the true beauty of the Park if you get out and hike. The longest hike was about 11 miles round trip - so next year we hope to do better. And yes, we plan to come back next year - who would have thought it?
The week before we left - it snowed everyday for a solid week. It finally warmed up to around 50 a few days before our departure and melted it off. Thank goodness! Yellowstone did plow our Campground and the main roads, however, they only plow up and to November 1st. We left on Oct. 15th - just in time. |
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| Living in Yellowstone |
[Jun. 22nd, 2007|11:11 pm] |
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Herd of Elk
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Small Waterfall
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Grizzly getting ready to cross the Road
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Coyote Puppy
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Sandy Flyfishing
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Elk in our backyard
This bull elk is just starting his antlers |
As of today we've lived here in Yellowstone for 2 months today. Time flies when your having fun! As you can see we've seen lots of Wildlife - the Bear sightings have slowed down a bit-and will be seen now about twice a week. When we first arrived we saw bears just about everyday. Ken is enjoying his job as the Locksmith for the Lake area. In this position he is in charge of approx. 4000 keys which includes the Lake Hotel, the cabins, the Lake Lodge, and 2 campgrounds (Fishing Bridge & Bridgebay). He can pick any lock and has even made a key for a lock where someone lost the key. Pretty amazing. Ken's hours are 7:30AM-5:30PM 4 days a week and 7:30AM-11:30AM on the 5th day.
I am at Fishing Bridge Campground where I check in and make reservervations for all the Campgrounds in Yellowstone managed by Xanterra. The Fishing Bridge Campground is the only full hook-up campground inside Yellowstone. We are very, very busy right now with 100 sites checking in and out everyday. The Fishing Bridge Campground has 350 sites. You wouldn't believe how many people arrive without reservations in a 40'RV - amazing. Most of the time we are able to book them a site down the road at Bridgebay Campground with no hook-ups. Bridgebay is right on the Lake and looks like a typical forestry type campsite. Most families with kids like it there since they can have a fire and also provide picnic tables.
Many times they cancel the FBridge site and head down to Bridgebay 4 miles away. My hours are a bit varied with one night working from 2:30PM to 1030PM, two days @ 7:00AM to 2:30PM, one day @ 11AM to 7PM then then 8AM to 3:30PM. It's not that bad since I have free time and a few mornings to myself. I average around 35hrs per week. It's really fun meeting people from all over the Country (literally)and our co-workers are really great too. Ken & I have been really fortunate to work with great people and have a great Management Staff. Believe me - we've heard war stories from other employees that work in other areas. The Park has 3 management companies that Manage the stores and restaurants: Xanterra, Delaware North and Yellowstone Association. At this point Xanterra seems to be the best and treats their employees very well. We've seen the Delaware North employees working extremely long hours (up to 12 per day) and many employees have quit and moved over to Xanterra. That's really a shame. Most of the employees have prior long glowing careers and deserve respect from their employers. At fishing Bridge a major part of the employees worked in Education and have a Masters Degree. However, they never gloat and only mention it if you ask. I have so much respect for these people who just want a simple life and little stress.
Ken & I have Tues & Wed off each week and try to make the most of our days off to tour the park. Employees have the opportunity to join any of the tours for free if seats are available. Yesterday we took the Lake Cruise on Lake Yellowstone which was great. The weather was gorgeous with the highs around 75. Most weeks we've gone fly-fishing - which is great fun - but the fish don't seem to like our flies! Ken has caught (2)fish and (0) for me. We've thus far have fished the streams - but next week we plan to try Yellowstone Lake & use real lures -look out fishy. Fly-fishing is suppose to be elegant - but last week I stepped into what I thought was hard sand & sunk up to my knees and then fell over - boy was I muddy. Ken had to help me out - it was actually like quicksand. Thank goodness no one was around to see this sight. The best part was on our way back we spotted a liter of 7 coyotee puppies. That was really neat.
Well - off for now - keep those e-mails coming - we miss everyone. |
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| Yellowstone National Park |
[May. 23rd, 2007|10:48 pm] |
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Buffalo Jam
On the way to Mammoth for our orientation |
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Prong Horn Sheep
On the way to Cody, Wy. |
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Grizzly
Outside our campground |
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Big Horn Sheep
On the way to Cody, Wy. |
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Yellowstone Lake
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No visitors - only employees
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Opening gate to Yellowstone National Park
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Our first day at the Employee Campsite
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We've arrived! Entering the Park the first day was the highlight of our trip. Yellowstone does not open for about a week or so and we were given the combination to the North entrance in order to enter the park. How exciting to drive through Yellowstone Nat'l Park and be the only vehicle on the road. I (Sandy)even drove the coach for the first time on a main road through the park since there were no other vehicles. What a thrill. If you've ever been to Yellowstone, you know there are typically thousands of visitors and the going can be slow due to traffic. The lakes were all iced over and there was still snow on the ground. Not as much snow as expected (thank goodness). We spent the first few days getting acclimated to our campground and going through orientation in Mammonth, Wy. We both got uniforms, name tags, meal tickets, vehicle tags, etc. The park is so serene with no one here - unbelievable. The first week we took many pictures already of wildlife- including Elk, Bison, Grizzlies, Big Horn Sheep & many coyotes. As a matter of fact, there is a coyotee here in our campground that seems to be stalking out Poncho. I {Sandy) took a walk late one afternoon and there stood a coyote about 30' from me and Poncho. I swear it was a wolf since it was much, much bigger than a typical coyote (over 100lbs.)- but everyone thinks it was a coyote - whatever! Me & Poncho got out of there fast - it scared me to death. Then not but 4-5 days later - I was out again around 9AM walking Poncho & there again was another Coyote staring at me & Poncho. A Ranger happened to drive by at the same time and offered to drive us back to the RV - but it was within eyesight - so we hurried back to the RV. Since that time - I've purchased some Bear spray. Hopefully I never have to use it. The day we arrived we actually had all 4 seasons in one day (snow, rain, sunshine, wind) you name it. When we pulled into our campground many of the other employees came over to greet us - it was really neat. Since Ken is assigned to Maintenance, we are camped with other maintenance Staff in our loop. They all share trucks to drive back and forth to the Lake Hotel (but more about that later). We had our choice of 5 different sites and picked (2) sites that backed up to the woods. Our frinds Garry & Jenny will be coming in about 4-5 days & we picked (2) sites next to each other. By the second day Ken was asked to consider being the Locksmith for the Lake area - which he did accept. More about our jobs later. At this point we are very excited to be here and ready to get started. |
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| Westbound April 07 |
[Apr. 23rd, 2007|01:56 pm] |
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Grand Ole Opry
Nashville, Tenn. |
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Grand Ole Opry
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Fishing in Missouri
Just baby Bass |
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Black Squirrel
A Marysville Black Squirrel taken from the window of RV |
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Marysville, KS City Park
We stayed here one night free of charge with full hookups. |
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Marysville, Kansas
Sign in the Park outside the RV |
April is the last month we will travel with the RV before settling down for 5 months in Yellowstone, Wyoming. As most of you know, Ken & I have accepted jobs in the park starting May 1st through September 30th. More on that once we reach Yellowstone on April 29th.
Thus far this month has been fun and exciting. We decided to travel through NC in order to see our son Justin one more time since it will probably be Xmas before we see him again. We stayed in NC in Mocksville, NC at our Thousand Trails Park which is approx. 1 hr. from Charlotte. This worked out great since we didn't have to pay for camping & we knew people in the Park. From there we headed West on Rt. 40 into Tennessee. Nashville, Tenn. is only approx. 6 hrs. from NC - however - we had never experienced this area. We found a nice Park called Two Rivers Campground which is aprox. 1 miles from the Grand Ole Opry. Since Ken & I spent the last 27 yrs. in NC - we have come to a real appreciation for Country music. Especially since our son grew up in the South, that's all he listened to everyday. During check in I asked about the Grand Ole Opry and we were lucky enough to get tickets to the show that night. I didn't realize they only have shows on Tuesday, Friday and Sat. night. We were very lucky that we got the last 2 good seats. For you Country Fans, we got to see Vince Gill, the Oakridge Boys and The Wreckers. For you old Country fans, also on stage was Little Jimmy Dickens, Stever Wariner, Porter Wagoner,Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Bill Anderson, Jimmy C. Newman and Raul Malo. I have to admit the only group we were familiar with was Vince Gill & the Oak Ridge Boys, but have since learned to appreciate the other entertainers just as much. They were all just great. Our seats were only 7 rows from the stage, so we really, really enjoyed it. The problem was that we forgot the camera that night and could have gotten some great pictures. Oh well!
The next day we visited the Grand Ole Opry Museum and the Grand Ole Opry Hotel. Both were quite impressive. The Hotel has a river passing through it with huge fish and a guide boat that you could pay $9.00 and tour the entire Hotel. We were too cheap to pay - so we just walked it. It's all undercover with lots of greenery, flowers, trees, etc. There were many shops & restaurants also inside the Hotel.
There is also a huge mall next door to the Grand Ole Opry and we headed over there for lunch. We found a restaurant called "The Rainforest Cafe" in the mall that was really fun. In this restaurant they have Zoo animals on the walls (such as monkeys, gorillas, elephants) and every 15 minutes they come to life. Also every 15 min. they have sound effects of a lightning storm (without the rain - thank-goodness). The ceiling was also covered with the night sky with stars. It was really neat & the food was good - however- it could get a bit noisy with the storms and animals screeching.
From Nashville we headed into Missouri where we found a beautiful RPI park "Lake Paradise Camping Club". This park has 5 fishing lakes and 600 campsites. Since this is one of our membership parks we only paid $8.00/night. We camped right on one of the Bass Lakes and had a gorgeous view. It was a bit tricky getting in there since they have lots of low hanging trees and the roads need some work due to the snowfall this year. It was all worth it though once we got settled. The weather was just great while we were there with the highs in the low 70's. We ended up staying here 3 nights since it was so peaceful and the price was right.
The next 3 days the weather was extremely windy going through Kansas and was a bit frightening keeping the RV on the road. We stayed the first night in Kansas in a small town called Marysville that had free camping in the City Park. This was a beautiful park & extremely clean and well kept. There was no attendant and they had full 30 or 50 amp hookups, with water & a dump station if needed. You could actually camp there for 5 days for free - Wow! This is an area with Black Squirrels as pictured on our Website. Also shown is our RV at the site - we were the only ones camped there - so it was very private & we felt very safe. We walked two blocks into the cobbled stone streets of town - but was disappointed to find the Pony Express Museum closed for the season until April 21st. This was the next day, however, we had not planned to stay that late. On we went the next AM thinking the wind had died down. This was not to be true as the wind started up again as bad or worse that the previous day. We stopped early that day in Nebraska which had even more wind than Kansas. Once we stopped the rain started coming down with tornado warnings in that same County. The next day was again really bad with a side wind that just about blew us off the road and torrential rains where you couldn't see the car in front of you. We ended up pulling over for a few hrs. at a restuarant until the rains stopped. At this point Kansas and Nebraska is not one of those states we would be interested in staying on a long term basis.
Today we are camped at a small campground in Nebraska about 100 miles from Wyoming. The wind has settled down and this campgound is really nice with free Wifi - all for just $10/night on Passport America. The only problem is it's right next to train tracks and the train blows it's whistle as it goes by every hr. all night long. After awhile - you don't even hear it. At this point we are scheduled to be in our site in Yellowstone by next Sunday - will update again once we are settled. |
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[Apr. 14th, 2007|03:10 pm] |
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Ken & Justin
Justin's 2nd visit to Florida |
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Fort
St. Augustine, Fla. |
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Lopez RV Park
Early AM sunrise |
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Bob Geno & Ken
3rd largest shrimp |
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Poncho
Poncho's jacket for Yellowstone |
March in Florida was much warmer with the highs in the 80's most days, however, we did have high winds. Our very good friends Jack & Patsy came in for the month. We've known Jack & Patsy for 25 yrs. and they are family to us. As a matter of fact our son calls them Mamaw and Papaw. We really enjoyed spending time with them. We also had the opportunity to visit St. Augustine this month which is a very histoical town in Florida. It happened to be St. Patricks day and the town was full of tourists, however, it was a very good time. It reminded me a bit of Savannah which is another one of my favorite places to visit. Ken & I went by the Lighthouse, however, they were having a festival there and the parking was very scarce - so on we went to Fort Castillo de San Marcus. The fort was really, really impressive and we happened to be there on a day they were firing the cannon. They made it very authenic & really loud. We also had a personal tour by one of the Rangers at the Park of the entire Fort (aren't we special).
Justin & his new girlfriend, Shannon, visited in March and it was really good to see him. Shannon was very nice and seemed to fit right in with all of us & Mamaw & Papaw. Shannon actually grew up in Florida and her family lives only 45 min. from where we are camped. She is the maid of honor for a wedding in May - so she spent a good part of the weekend having a bridal shower.
Our friends, Pat & Larry hosted a cookout this month and deep fried 3 turkeys. The turkeys were awesome and we all feasted heavily on turkey and all the trimmings.
March 21st was the finale of the annual shrimp contest of which Ken came in 3rd place. First place was won by Bob Geno, who by the way is 87yrs old & is in great shape. The winning shrimp was 7.5" , 2nd place was 7.0" and 3rd place was 6.13/16th". We had a cookout on the last day & Geno presented all the prizes. Geno put on a wig, mustache and eyebrows and was a hoot. It was great fun by all. Sandy did measure a shrimp @ 6.3/4" - but it was too small to place, as did others in the contest. |
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| Feb 07 in Florida |
[Mar. 10th, 2007|11:32 am] |
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Fire Dancer
This guy was really spectacular! |
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Anniversary Dinner
The ribs and chicken were delicious |
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Hula Dancer
Sandy with a tan (Ha) |
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Rocket from Kennedy Space Center
Dale Earnhardt No. 3 |
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Sandy tied to chair
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February in Florida turned out to be a colder than normal month. The lows were in the high 30's and highs on certain days was not over 45. Good thing we have winter coats. Every once in while the weather would warm up to the mid 60's. Those were the days we took the boat out fishing. February 14th or Valentines Day was our 26th Wedding Anniversary. However, Ken & I have been together for 30 yrs. this April. We celebrated by going to a Polynisian Luau in Orlando in Disney. The weather was a bit chilly & only 58 for a high. The dinner and show was under cover in a Tiki Hut with open air seating - so we had to wear our jackets. This was a sit down dinner with all the chicken & ribs you could eat (& no we didn't order seconds). It started out with a wonderful salad with fresh pineapple & the best homemade bread I have ever eaten. The bread was a coconut, pineapple bread and just yummy. There was also unlimited wine & beer and the server just automatically kept it coming without asking. We were lucky to have front row seats to see the show. The show lasted 2 hrs. and was just great - however, the best was the fire dancer.
Also this month, our son Justin and his friend Brad came down for a long weekend. Unfortunately, the weekend they picked was really cold and rainy. That didn't stop the boys from fishing or shrimping - I think they were the only ones out there.
We spent one day going out on the Sun Cruz gambling boat with a group from the campground. Unfortunatly, Sandy lost at the tables & we haven't been back since. However, Sandy started a Wed. night poker night here for the ladies and has done pretty well. They only play nickel/dimes - but you can hear them laughing across the campground.
Here at our campground you can see the Rockets and/or shuttles being launched out of Kennedy Space Center. A rocket was lauched at the same time the Daytona Speedway had race weekend and by chance the trail of smoke spelled out a no. 3. It was pretty eerie since this was Dale Earnhardt's no. We had one mishap when Sandy sat down to watch the gang play Monkey Bar golf and flipped over backwards taking her and the lady sitting next to her. The next morning one of the guys had strapped down a chair with a sign on it for that said "Reserved for Sandy". She hit her head pretty hard - but the worry was about the poor 75 year old woman that went with her. This was Maxine who had a bad back - but she said it actually made her back feel better. (I doubt it)
All in all it was a great month and the weather warmed up by the end of the month - so we're looking forward to a warm and sunny March. |
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| Dec / Jan in Fla |
[Feb. 10th, 2007|08:01 pm] |
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18 ft. flat boat
We keep this boat in Fla. to use for fishing & shrimping. |
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Sunrise over Mosquito lagoon
Our view from the window of our RV in Fla. |
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4 PM in Oak Hill
Cocktail hr. everyday playing Monkey Bar Golf |
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Sign on RV
What we found on our RV upon returning from Xmas in NC. |
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| Wintering in Florida |
[Jan. 28th, 2007|07:55 pm] |
It's been a couple months since we've posted since we are now in Florida for 3 months surviving the freeze bitten USA. We arrived here in Oak Hill, Fla. early on Dec. 15th since the roads back to NC showed snow and ice all the way. Once here we headed to NC with our Vehicle to spend a week with our son, Justin. This is the first time we are actually visiting our adult son and staying at "his" house. Pretty cool. We had a really good time even though Justin had not put up a tree and I had to decorate - Ha! We spent Xmas day with Ken's brother, David and his wife Gigi and son Robert. They have a horse farm and it always feels like home having Xmas with them. The first 3 weeks of January the weather was really warm and the average temperature was 72 degrees. However, this last week it has turned a bit chilly with the lows in the 40's and the highs in the 60's. Hey -it's still beats snow and ice. Our campground is an old Marina where we keep an 18 ft. flats boat with a center console. We go fishing at least 3 times a week and have mostly caught Sea trout, Catfish and Stinrays - the goal is to catch Red Fish, however, at this point Ken has caught one only and I haven't nailed one yet. We've only gone out once shrimping and got 200 - which was a good night. However, since then it's been too cold (since you shrimp at night) and I'm a weenee (Sandy). Most of you know that Ken is allergic to shrimp and can't eat them anyway. We have lots of fun here at our Campground, even though Ken and I are a good 15 yrs. younger than most of the people here. However, this group knows how to have a good time and can drink Ken and I under the table. We have a 4PM cocktail hour everyday and play Monkey bar golf or as we call it here "Testes Toss".
We all go to the No Name bar on Sundays for the $1.00 breakfast and $1.00 Bloody Mary's. Ken likes Bloody Mary's and I can't drink alcohol that early in the AM. On Thurday's it's wing night and we usually have about 20-25 people. We like to walk to breakfast everyother morning which is about 1/2 mile one-way. There is also a flea market within a mile of the park on the weekends - so we really keep busy. I organized a New Year's Eve Party here that just about everyone attended and that was really great fun - however - to my knowledge -no one lasted till midnight. By the way- when we arrived there was a sign on our RV renting out the RV for nightly guests - Ha. We left a key with one of the ladies that camps behind us and she had to guard it with her life. The guys wanted to put beer cans all over and mess up the bed. Ken would have freaked! Anyway - we're off to the Daytona Flea Market today - we'll update again next month. |
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| Week of Thanksgiving |
[Dec. 7th, 2006|03:35 am] |
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John & Carla Foard
Thanksgiving Dinner 2006 @ Thousand Trails, Verde Valley - Carla cooked the Turkey |
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Red Rock Loop
Trip around Red Red Loop |
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Red Rock Loop
Spectacular Scenery around the loop |
The entire month of November was spent in Verde Valley, Arizona going back and forth between the Thousand Trails Park and Western Horizon which are less than 10 miles apart. Both parks are nice - but the TT park is by far the most scenic park in the country. We really loved it there. While in Verde Valley we met a great couple who happen to have a Motor Home like ours and we ended up spending lots of time together, going out to eat, playing Pickle ball and just hanging out. It's rare to find people (our own age) who you can really click with - so this was a real joy. For Thanksgiving Carla decided to cook a Turkey rather than eat at the Clubhouse & it was just great. This was our first Thanksgiving full-timing and theirs too - so it was very special. Carla and John just started full-timing in July of this year - so they are real new-bees!! However, they did live 5 years on a boat - which is not much different than RV'ing. The difference of course was they were still gainfully employed during that period of their lives. I'm sure we'll run into them again down the road and look forward to meeting up again.
During our last week in this area we did take a tour of the "Red Rock Loop". The first phase of the route was very scenic with magnificent red rock formations at every turn. The last 10 miles turned out to be lots of dust and gravel driving at 5mph- with very little scenery. Oh well - you have to take the good with the bad. Of course- I was whining to Ken the whole time.
The weather was fabulous during the entire month with highs in the low 80s and lows in the 40s. The last 2 days there the weather took a drastic turn and turned extremely windy. The last night the low was 12 degrees. Ok - I'am a sun-seeker so time to move the RV to warmer weather -- onto Florida!!! We had planned to head to NC for Xmas - but the map shows all of route 40 with snow and Ice - so our plans have changed. We will now park the RV in Florida and drive our truck to NC. |
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| Thousand Trails, Arizona |
[Nov. 19th, 2006|10:36 pm] |
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Sedona, AZ
The picturesque town of Sedona is surrounded by the Red Rocks. |
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Jerome, AZ
A historical mining town sitting atop Cleopatra Hill. |
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Thousand Trails Park, Cottonwood, Az
This is the view looking out our front window. |
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The Bull
Weekly visitor at TT waiting for the pool to open. |
Our next stop is at the Thousand Trails Resort in Cottonwood, Az. which is appprox. 20 miles from Sedona. The campground is massive with very large sites situated on the Verde River and surrounded by the Red Rocks to the north, the Mingus Mountains to the west and the Hackberry Mountains to the south - just spectacular. Our site over looked a beautiful mountain view. While here we visited Sedona, Az. and ate lunch at the Cowboy Bar that was highly recommended by our friends, Rich & Laura. We were brave and tried the "Cactus Fries" which are made of real cactus and are green with a breaded coating. Not bad - but I probably wouldn't die if I didn't have again. Also famous in this area is the Prickly Pear Margarita - which we did try - good - but very, very sweet. Sedona is absolutely breathtaking and surrounded by the rich overpowering red rocks - just gorgeous. We next visited the small town of Jerome. This is a historical mining town that is said to be haunted. The town sits atop a mountain whereas you can see for miles - you definitely get your exercise touring this town. This area is so magnificent that time just flies by before you know it. The weather has been 80 everyday with the lows in the 30's.
We met a great couple, John and Carla and all of us play pickleball every morning. John is kicking all our butts since he is a former racquetball player. Here at the TT Park there has been a bull that shows up everyother day that gets loose from a nearby ranch. I happened to run into him walking to the pool one day - I only noticed him at the last minute. He didn't seem too interested in me - but in guarding the pool entrance. Ha! Ranchers come by on horseback trying to find him about once a week- obviously he likes it better at the resort. |
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[Nov. 13th, 2006|02:41 am] |
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The Hoover Dam
Here is a shot of the Hoover Dan from the AZ side. This was real fun negotiating the road into the dam and up the otherside in a 40ft moterhome. |
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Montezuma Castle
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From Vegas we headed to Arizona. Our route took us over the Hoover Dam which borders Nevada and Arizona - spectacular views. Since 911 the Dam is guarded by military personnel and it is required that all vehicles are stopped and inspected. Poncho was not too excited about a uniformed man walking through the Coach. On our way to our next stop in Verde Valley, Az. we pulled into a rest area not 45 min. from the campground and found a flat tire on the outside back tire of the RV. What a shock! We called Good Sams and after 4 hrs. the tire was repaired. Lukily it was a nail that they were able to patch - so we didn't have to spend $400 on a new tire. Whew!! We were just glad to be safe and sound and didn't have a major blow-out on the road. We arrived at the Western Horizon Park in Verde Valley around 7:30PM and it was very dark and the front gate was closed. (I guess they close it up around 4PM). We headed to the Camphost site and they were very gracious about letting us in and directing us to the site. I don't recommend pulling in campgrounds at night - it was extremely dark with no overhead lighting and you don't know what kind of site your getting. This campground is very nice - not as luxurious and you would expect from a Western Horizon Park - but nice. We moved to a better site the next AM and had a real nice view of the mountains. The people in this park are extremely nice and we met several couples around our age. We all went to dinner that night and Karaoke-- no we didn't sing. At this park we learned to play Pickle Ball (which is a form of tennis). Since we haven't played tennis or exercised regularly like we should - we were a bit sore the next day. However - we both liked the game and plan to keep it up - we did very well considering we were new players. While here we visited the Montezuma Castle which is a preserved Indian ruin which at one point housed 100 Indians (like a sky high apartment complex). A spectacular site and very tranquil - you can really feel the presence of the Indians. |
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[Nov. 6th, 2006|03:40 am] |
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Fountains of Bellagio
More than 1000 fountains dance in front of the Hotel enhanced by music & light. |
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Dinner at Buca Di Beppo
An Italian feast with our friends Garry & Jenny |
Oct 06
From Oregon we headed into California to Lake Tahoe. Ken had been to this area around 10 yrs. ago and was anxious to show me around. Lake Tahoe was gorgeous with stricking blue water surrounded by mountain peaks. We stayed at a Thousand Trails Park called SnowFlower in Ca. This park was more like a State Park with lots of trees and limited sites for large RVs. We camped next to a guy who was 96 yrs. old in a converted city bus. This guy was actually in extremely good shape for his age, but 96 is a bit old to be on the road!! He really talked our ears off since his wife is now deaf (I wonder why??)
From here we headed into Nevada to meet up with our friends, Garry and Jenny in Fallon, Nv. We stayed at a Casino parking lot for $15/night and was able to meet their Son, Wife and Grandaughter while there. Their son Tom taught Sandy and Jenny how to play Paigow Poker in Reno, Nevada. Sandy had always wanted to play the tables but didn't want to play alone. They both broke even that night, but Garry won $260.00 within 30 min. on a penny slot machine.Go figure!
From here we headed to Las Vegas, Nv. This would be Sandy's first time to Vegas, Ken had been there a few times on business some 10 yrs. prior. Las Vegas was so much more than expected - but incredible. Garry and Jenny met us there and we ended up staying for 2 weeks. Thank goodness they were there to show us around or we would have surely been lost! We hit all the big Hotels & Casino's on the stripe - such as Caesars' Palace, The Wynn, The Bellagio, Circus-Circus, MGM, the Aladdin, etc. We also hit about every buffet in Vegas (or it seemed). Our favorite was hands down at Ceasars Palace- extremely elegant & the food was top quality. We also spent time on Fremont St - which is a section of the historic street that started it all years ago - Las Vegas Blvd. The streets have been converted to an undercover walkway and they do a light show on the ceiling. There are bands playing and Vendors everywhere - very exciting. All in all, Ken & I lost more money than we won - but Garry and Jenny ended up winning over $1000 between Reno and Vegas. (Most of it was won when Jenny hit a straight flush bonus on Paigow Poker.) At one point Sandy was up by $100 on Paigow Poker - but lost it all within the next couple days. Our last night in Vegas was spent having dinner at a great Italian Restaurant called Buca Di Beppo. This is a family style Italian Restaurant that is known across the country where the entree's are shared by the table. This was our first time at one and we highly recommend it - however - be sure to order the entree's in the small size. We had enough food in one entree for eight people. |
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| Our Travels to Nevada |
[Oct. 18th, 2006|04:58 am] |
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Lake Tahoe
This was taken from an overlook at Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe. |
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Our New See Ya
Our new Home |
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Now this is a dune buggy
Here is Sandy with the dune buggy we rode on the Coast of Oregon. It is a converted school bus. |
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Here we are in Reno
Great city, and we made our contribution to the local economy. |
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| Oregon Coast |
[Sep. 23rd, 2006|05:54 pm] |
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Sandy and Poncho
Off leash at last... free to run... |
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Black Bunnies of Pacific City
Here are some of the black bunnies that were all over the park. |
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Heceta Head Lighthouse N. of Florence, OR
Picture taken from overlook of Sea Lion Den |
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Different species of Rabbits
Taken at Thousand Trails, Florence, Or. |
We are continuing South on the Oregon Coast staying at our Thousand Trails campgrounds. The Pacific City campground was virtually on the side of a mountain - with only 61 W&S hook-ups and over 200 with W&E. We did not have full hook-ups, however with our new antenna we were able to have cell-phone service and internet via verizon. They did have Wifi at the Clubhouse - but you had to drive to it. So all was good. There was a nice wooded trail to the Beach which was spectacular - large rocks and boulders lined the side of the Ocean. The rocks in the water are actually called HayStacks since they look like a pile of hay. We are now in South Jetty, Or. at another TT Campground. This one again is very wooded with only 40 full hook-ups and 130 E&W sites. We have a very nice site - but again no sewer. We do have cell service and satellite though - so we're satisfied. This campground is just outside of Florence, Or which has a very nice "Olde Town" on the ocean with lots of shops. They also have the largest Sea Lion Den within 11 miles of the campground. We visited the Sea Lion Den yesterday - the weather was fantastic (65 with sunshine and blue skies). The Sea Lion Den was pretty cool - but we were expecting a much larger cave. You take an elevator 208 feet down to view the cave with the Sea lions. They also have a viewing point of the Heceta Head Lighthouse by climbing 200 stars. This was good exercise and one of the most spectacular views we have ever seen. Wildlife sightings have been of rabbits at both of these campgrounds - they're everywhere. At the Pacific City Campground all the rabbits were dark brown and black, however, here at Florence the rabbits are all different colors - white, tan, grey - we've attached some pictures. By the way - Poncho loves the Beach and especially loves to run off Lease on the Ocean sand. We may either rent a Dune Buggy or go on a Large dune buggy that seats about 50 people to tour the sand dunes.
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| Seaside, OR |
[Sep. 16th, 2006|07:28 pm] |
Our time at Seaside, Oregon has gone by extremely fast as we are getting ready to leave in the AM. While here we visited the local aquarium (which is very small - but worth it) walked on the boardwalk and of course Sandy had to hit some of the local shops. Downtown Seaside is a very nice Oceanside town with plenty of unique shops. The 1000 trails park here in Seaside is very nice, they have wifi at the club house, a heated indoor pool and hot tub. along with all the typical stuff in a nice resort.
It's also only about 5 min from a huge outlet mall and grocery stores. The stop here could prove to be an expensive undertaking.
We are now headed down to Pacific City, OR. for about 3 days -- talk with you then. |
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| Long Beach, WA |
[Sep. 13th, 2006|01:04 am] |
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Mt Hood
Here is a shot of Mt Hood as we were traveling down the interstate |
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Cape Disapointment
This is from our campground looking at the rocks off Cape Disapointment |
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Dog off leash
Sandy and Poncho enjoying the beach |
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Horses on the beach
Ride'em cowboy..... or maybe cowgirl.. |
Here we are at the Washington / Oregon coast at last. Right now we are in Long Beach, WA, which is about 14 miles over the Oregon state line. Here at Long Beach there is the "Rod Run at the end of the World" and there are cars and more cars of all ages and makes. If you are into old cars this is the place to be, as well as if you just like the rumble of a well tuned hopped up engine you will find it here.
The park we are staying at is Long Beach which is one of the many Thousand Trails Parks on the west coast. This park is just a short walk down a sandy path to the ocean with a view that is never ending. As for sites, their all gravel with some trees and grass.
I have some more pictures to post, that will have to wait until our next stop. Next stop, about 45 miles south of here, leaving in the AM....See Ya
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| Travels to the Oregon Coast |
[Sep. 6th, 2006|09:00 pm] |
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This Mt was on our side of the river
Earlier we watched wild horses worked their way across the top of these Mtn's. |
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Looking up river
We are looking up the river from the CG |
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What a view
This is the view looking out the front window of the coach. |
We left Tuesday from Mt Home and headed towards the Oregon coast and then south to many of our Thousand Trails parks We've been in Idaho for 6 weeks - so it was good to see Oregon. Last night we stayed in a park right on the Snake river with the mountains on both sides of the river. We had a great sunset on the otherside of the River while wild horses worked there way along the mountain top on this side.
Today was a another great day with views that just go for miles and miles. Tonight we are in a very nice park in Hermiston, OR where they have free wifi, 50amp service, cable, a paved site and if your a Passport America member you only pay $15 per night.
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| Glenns Ferry and Carmella Winery |
[Sep. 5th, 2006|01:17 am] |
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Carmella Winery
Here is the Carmella Winery... |
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Three Island Crossing
This is a view of Three Island Crossing. This is where the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake river. |
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3 Island Overlook
We are at the top of the mountain over looking Three Island Crossing. To the left of the truck is where the covered wagons came from heading towards the crossing. |
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Three Island Crossing SP
Here is a look at 3 Island State Park and Glenns Ferry in the background. |
Yesterday we went to Glenns Ferry to visit the Carmella Winery as well as Three Island Crossing SP. The winery was very nice but small. Our friend Garry would love this place since on one side of the road is the winery and on the other is a campground and behind that is a golf course. All this is part of the winery... We enjoyed the wine tasting and a buffet lunch.
Then it was on to Three Island Crossing. We drove thru the CG which was very nice with two loops all with water and electric. Nice size sites and very clean. After the CG was inspected we headed down to the visitors center, very nice. The exibits and the writings were very interesting and educational. We then headed to the overlook on the other side of the river to get a better view of the islands and just where the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake river.
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