2009.08.14 - Friday - Day 14 and the last day of our "Do North Carolina" trip. We headed home today and our first stop was the water front at Elizabeth City.

Brandon & David are taking in the Pasquotank River and downtown Elizabeth City.

Merchants Millpond State Park was our main destination today and we got an early morning start on a one-hour canoe paddle through the bald cypress trees and a chance to experience the swamp-like look of this state park. This park has suffered significant tree damage from recent hurricanes since I was last here. The recent level of precipitation has been low also so the small plants that grow on the pond surface have not been washed over the dam spillway as they usually are to provide some clear water. It is a very unique setting anyway. The boys spotted several frogs.

Our last stop was Medoc Mountain State Park that is not a mountain at all but a small granite ridge that peaks at about 300' above sea level. Medoc Mountain got its name from a vineyard that was here in the 19th century that was named after a province in the Bordeaux region of France famous for its vineyards. The vineyard was a significant part of North Carolina's distinction of being the biggest wine producing state in the country during this period in the 19th century. Prohibition put an end to the winery and many years later (early 1970s) the land was acquired for a state park for this area of the state (1.5 hours northeast of Raleigh).

Medoc Mountain SP has a nice visitior center with a lot of wildlife displays. Here David is checking out one of the exhibits. There are a lot of hiking trails at the park but we did not have time today to explore any of them.

David was dropped off in Raleigh in mid-afternoon and then Brandon made it home to Winston-Salem in time for dinner. Here is Brandon reunited with his brothers Trevor and Aubrey.

The CQ has been unloaded and put back in its stable at our mountain place. Now it is back to Raleligh tomorrow to get ready for a move of residence there on Thursday.

2009.08.13 - Thursday - This morning everyone woke up about 7:00 a.m. so a beach visit was decided on before breakfast since the sun was with us again.

That would be a sun rise for you that are not morning people.

More searching for shells and shark's teeth.

After breakfast we stopped in at the Bodie Island lighthouse but this lighthouse does not allow climbing to the top due to safety concerns with the spiral staircase. Between lightning and old staircases, our quest to climb to the top of a lighthouse was foiled.

Next stop was Kitty Hawk Kites across the road from Jockey's Ridge State Park. They had quite a sand sculpture in their parking lot.

They were having a watermelon festival that included outdoor games. Brandon and David decided to try a little jousting.

Inside Kitty Hawk Kites, they tried their hand at a stick tossing game being demonstrated in the store.

A little further north brought us to the Wright Brothers' Memorial where the boys traced the flight path of the Wright's first four flights in December, 1903. David observed that he could run as fast as the planes moved in these flights.

Looking back along the flight path from the marker for the longest 4th flight.

We ended the day at North River Campground near Shiloh, NC.

We have Internet access at the campground but no cell phone service. We plan to stop by Merchants Millpond State Park early in the morning and then head toward Raleigh for a mid-afternoon arrival. David will be dropped off and then Grandpa will take Brandon home on his way to return the CQ to its stall in the mountains.

2009.08.12 - Wednesday - Today we drove east from Jim & Emily's to Swan Quarter, NC and the ferry to Ocracoke on the Outer Banks. This photo was taken just as the ferry was heading out to Pamlico Sound.

It was sunny as we began our trip across the sound.

The trip to Ocracoke from Swan Quarter takes 2.5 hours. David and Brandon spent some time exploring the ferry and its vending machines.

We've had two requests to get yours truly in a photo so here are two, the first with grandson David...

...and one with grandson Brandon.

We encountered porpoises in large numbers on the sound (at least 40-50) doing their thing of surfacing in groups very close to the ferry. Here is an attempt to capture two with the camera.

Even though the day started out sunny, by the time we got to Ocracoke it was raining and when we got to the Hatteras light house we could not climb to the top due to lightning in the area so we had to settle for a photo from the ground.

We ended up at the NP campground just north of the Oregon Inlet bridge. It was still raining, but the boys searched for sea shells and sharks teeth on the beach in their bathing suits after dinner. The beach was just behind the dunes from our campsite.

2009.08.11 - Tuesday - Today we left Topsail Island and headed up US-17 to Bath, NC to visit friends and spend the night in their driveway. For lunch we stopped at this NC Wildlife boat launch near New Bern, NC for a shady lunch spot.

In Washington, NC we stopped at the Esturarium where David encountered this bear.

Then it was on to Goose Creek State Park where we hiked out to this lookout on the estuary. It was a little hot for a hike.

At Jim & Emily's temporary residence, we drove out to visit their home on the Neuse River and its renovation that is nearing completion.

David and Brandon checked out their kitchen work in progress.

Jim gave each of the boys a ride around their neighborhood on his motorcycle. Here Brandon is taking his turn...

...and then David got a turn.

2009.08.11 - Monday - Today we visited with David & Brandon's cousins and family at Topsail Beach. Here are David & Brandon with Roxey and Maris.

The ocean was the main attraction of the day, here Brandon is headed for the next wave.

David was building a sand castle in harms way, not sure how he ended up in this position.

Roxey on her bicycle.

David had the knack for winning the jackpot at Docksiderland Family Fun Center that involved dropping quarters into a football with a quarter-size hole rotating below the quarter drop slots.

Roxey at Docksiderland.

Maris in her usual good spirits.

Looking at the hermit crabs on the sound behind Roxey's house.

After we were treated to a great spaghetti dinner, we observed the end of the day watching the sunset on the sound.
Well, it wasn't quite the end of the day. Brandon, David, Lance, & Grandpa scoured the beach for crabs after dark and the boys caught and released a large assortment of sand crabs and blue crabs.

2009.08.09 - Sunday - We continued from Lumberton to the NC Coast today and rode the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher south of Wilmington. David & Brandon enjoyed the feeding of the sea gulls.

The CQ tucked onto the ferry. We arrived 45 minutes early for the 10:45 ferry and that was good because the ferry was completely full when it left port and some had to wait for the next one.

First stop after the ferry was the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. This was one of the touchy-feely exhibits with crabs.

After lunch we visited the battleship North Carolina in the Wilmington harbor. The boys immediately hit the guns.

It was a hot day in Wilmington and the tour of the ship is pretty long so it was a good simulation of how some of the sailors must have felt below decks on warm days.

2009.08.08 - Saturday - The NC Transportation Museum was our activity for today. We are headed east in NC and expect to reach the coast tomorrow.

Rides on the turntable are available and here are the boys on this "wild" ride. The turntable was used to position steam locomotives for entry into the shops in the roundhouse. I think it was only the heavy duty mechanics of the turntable and the noise that made this ride interesting to David & Brandon.

Nearing the end of our two revolution ride on the turntable.

The boys checking out the cab of a steam locomotive in the roundhouse.


David and Brandon were fascinated with all the railroad equipment on display in the roundhouse.

This is the interior of a Railway Post Office (RPO) rail car. These were in extensive use during the days of steam engines. Mail was sorted on the train as it was picked up and dropped off in towns and cities before the days of pre-sorting and air mail.

2009.08.07 - Friday - First stop was one of the water falls along US-64 as we were headed to Highlands, NC from Franklin, NC where we spent the night..

This is Dry Falls that is anything but dry.

A view from behind Dry Falls.

Sliding Rock in the Pisgah National Forest has been ruined by its popularity. For our visit today, the waiting line for one slide was over 20 minutes. All those many years ago (many, many years) when the boys parents were young, you could just drive up and park and slide down the rock. Now there is a changing area, life guards, and board walks to observe the action at the top of the rock and below the pool at the bottom.

After Sliding Rock, we drove to Chimney Rock and had a pleasant visit in the early evening. Most of the crowds were leaving and we were some of the last to leave before the park closed at 7:00 p.m. Lake Lure is in the view below taken from on top of Chimney Rock. Like Grandfather Mountain, a large portion of the land here has been acquired by the state of NC for a state park. In both locations, the actual tourist attraction is still run as a private enterprise.

And the requisite ice cream at the end of the day.

2009.08.06 - Thursday - Nantahala Raft Trip day, Brandon & David in the Natahala Outdoor Center parking lot and ready to go.

Here we are running the rapid called Nantahala Falls. This is the biggest rapid on the trip and is located just before reaching NOC and the take out point. NOC has a camera here so that everyone can buy a photo of their successful or unsuccessful navigation of this rapid. You get wet either way.

We ended up at Big Pine RV Park near Franklin, NC for the night.

2009.08.05 - Wednesday - Today we took the 41 mile Great Smoky Mountains Railroad excusion train from Bryson City.

There are many views of Fontana Lake along with lots of kudzu.

On one sharp curve the train has to slow down to 5 MPH which provides a photo opportunity for all.

The train parallels the path of the Nantahala River for some distance. This is what we will be doing tomorrow.


We had a good rain shower while on the train and it left wisps of water vapor rising in the mountains.

A part of the ticket price of the GSMRR includes free entry to their model railroad museum. They have the largest such museum in North Carolina.

After our railroad excursion we drove to Fontana Dam. This is a view of the lake as we neared the dam. All the land across the lake to the left in this view is part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

David & Brandon were impressed with the size of Fontana Dam. I was wondering what happens when it reaches its "expiration date." It was built in 1941-1942 during the war to supply electricity for aluminum production. The concrete seems to be showing its age.

Looking down at the power generating station at the bottom of the dam.

And David & Brandon looking at the lake from the dam.

We ended the day at Cable Cove national forest campground about 5 miles from Fontana dam. The boys were out riding their bikes in the campground when this photo was taken. We head to the Nantahala Outdoor Center in the morning for a raft trip down the Nantahala River.

Since writing the above, the boys and I did the Nantahala raft trip on Thursday and are in the NOC parking lot using their guest wifi to post yesterday's activity. We had great weather and a successful trip (everybody got wet) and no one fell overboard. We also did not turn over the raft. I didn't take the camera on the trip since I had no way to keep it dry. We will begin an easterly direction of travel when we leave here.

2009.08.04 - Tuesday - This morning we got an early start and headed to the Linville Falls visitor center (that wasn't open yet) and hiked to the top of the falls.

Having done that without any mishaps, we headed back up to the trail that leads down to Linville Gorge below the falls.

We all were quite impressed with the scenery at the bottom.

Looking back down the Linville River from the base of the falls.

An interesting overhang below the falls. I equated the possibility of a rock falling on us to the chance of winning the lottery. No concern whatsoever.

And then it was time to hike back up to the parking lot at the top of the falls. The boys considered it a test of their sugar level. I was thinking more and more about the need for an R&R day midway on this two week trip.

From Linville Falls, we headed on down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Mitchell.

Again, the boys were impressed with the altitude. Since I was here (many years ago) they have built a new observation tower at the top.

And have put in a super highway of a trail leading to the observation deck from the parking lot.

We are heading to Asheville and then on to the Bryson City area for some activities the next two days.

2009.08.03 - Monday (continued) - After lunch we headed to Grandfather Mountain. The swinging bridge was the first attraction.


On the rocks on the other side of the swinging bridge, the boys staged this shot for me.

This is a retake at the swinging bridge location of a photo we keep in our bedroom of six of our grandchildren when David was about 5 years old.

David and Brandon were impressed with the altitude of the bridge.

We then hiked the Black Rock trail that starts in the lower parking lot at the top of Grandfather Mountain. A black bear had been sighted on this trail earlier in the day but I was confident the constant chatter of these two would prevent a sighting now. Perhaps the bear was feasting on these huckleberries that we found at the lookout at the end of the trail.

The berries were quite appetizing.

From Grandfather Mountain we headed to the Linville Falls campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We found a great campsite and the price was right ($8.00 with a Golden Age Passport) but no hookups.

2009.08.03 - Monday - We began the morning by heading for the trail to the summit of Stone Mountain. We saw many deer in the park including these as we left the campground. The boys were able to ride right up to several in the campground last evening.


A rest stop on the loop trail to the Stone Mountain summit.

Success!

David and Brandon set out to explore the summit.

Some great views from the top.

They are not really on the edge of a precipice.

Boundless energy on display.

We proceeded to McDonalds in Wilkesboro for lunch where we are posting these blog entries. We head to Grandfather Mtn after lunch. More posts the next time we have Internet access.

2009.08.02 - Sunday - We finished prep for our trip this morning and headed to our first stop, Stone Mountain State Park. It had been rainy all morning and this view from the Blue Ridge parkway near Doughton Park shows some of the clouds.


David and Brandon taking the path of least resistance.

Entering Stone Mountain State Park after recovering from the Garmin trying to take us down a closed road.

The boys quickly found the stream running by our campsite and got wet as is required behavior.

Fortunately they both brought crocs-like footwear.

We decided to bring the bikes on the trip, so when the creek obsession passed by it was next to the bikes.

The SP campground was a great place to ride bikes...

...for those that didn't have other objectives.

2009.08.01 - Saturday - Today David picked up grandsons David and Brandon as the beginning of our 2-week "Do North Carolina" trip in the CQ. We drove to the mountains to ready the RV for the trip. David and Brandon got into a little fishing in the pond and then eating their catch.

2009.06.18 - Thursday - After spending a day at the home of Margaret's cousin Raye, we drove the last leg of our journey home today. Yesterday David noticed that one of the CQ tires was very low after sitting for a day. It was necessary to put on the spare and drive the CQ into town this morning to get the tire fixed and put back on. It was leaking at the valve stem. It was sort of surprising to have this happen after driving for about 5 weeks, but it could not have happened in a better situation.

We took a photo of Raye's place as we left.

On the approach to the CQ's home at our cabin, the road (US-58) goes through the Mount Rogers National Recreation area in southwestern Virginia. The mountain stream that it follows was flowing more swiftly than normal from thundershowers earlier in the day. Click on the arrow to view the video (with sound for full effect).

Trip mileage: 5,130
Time on road: 5 weeks + 1 day
States visited: (13) Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee

2009.06.16 - Tuesday - Last evening after driving about 90 miles of the lower Natchez Trace, we pulled off at a RV park in Clinton, MS for the night. This morning we got back on the Natchez Trace and our first stop was the Mississippi Craft Center at Ridgeland, MS.

Lunch found us at French Camp and it was an unbelievably great lunch.

When we arrived at French Camp, 40 members of a San Antonio, TX area hot rod club had preceded us. It added to our wait for lunch but provided a unique experience. They were traveling in a caravan with two large RVs following with trailers as support vehicles and were driving the entire Natchez Trace to an event in Kentucky.

The Natchez Trace also goes through Tupelo, MS so who could resist a stop at the Elvis Presley Birthplace. This is the house where he was born.

Raye and David with a statue of a 13-year old Elvis.

Our next stop was the gravesite of 13 Unknown Confederate Soldiers on the original Natchez Trace.

Although the Natchez Trace is not in a mountainous area like the Blue Ridge Parkway, it nonetheless has some view sites in its more northern reaches.

We left the Natchez Trace in northern Alabama at milepost 320 and turned east on US-72 to reach Raye's home. The exit road had a turnoff to this spring. It wasn't as big as those we saw in Missouri but quite impressive anyway.

2009.06.15 - Monday - Margaret's cousin Raye was obsessed with Yogi as we left our RV park this morning.

We took a turn off into the Catahoula Nat'l Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana this morning and ended up on this unimproved road. A 3-point turn got us back onto a more hospitable road.

Margaret and Raye's shopping instincts brought us to this isolated craft & gift shop on a Louisiana bayou.

Crossing the Mississippi into Natchez, Mississippi from Louisiana.

A view back to the Mississippi from the Natchez visitor center.

The afternoon found us entering the Natchez Parkway which we plan to follow to move across Mississippi from the southwest to the northeast. We covered about 85 miles today on the Natchez Trace and plan to cover another 150 miles or so tomorrow.

Typical roadside scene on the Natchez Trace, little traffic and a speed limit of 50 MPH with pleasant scenery (no urban sprawl or traffic lights to be seen).

We stopped at Emerald Mound, one of many turn offs on the Natchez Trace. Natchez ancestors built this ceremonial mound--nearly eight acres--about 1400 AD.

Another turn off was Sunken Trace that has a short trail to the original Natchez Trace that today's parkway parallels.

A view of a short section of the original Natchez Trace, an Indian and pioneer trail that was highly used to travel from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee before the arrival of the steam boat that made a return trip up the Mississippi River practical.

2009.06.14 - Sunday - Since it was Sunday, we took I-10 directly through Houston to get to points east. A shot of the Houston skyline from I-10.

We continued on I-10 toward Beaumont and the Louisiana border but dropped down to Port Arthur and crossed the border near the Gulf coast on Louisiana 82.

We stopped and waded in the Gulf where 82 drops down right to the coast. Water was warm! This area of Louisiana is right at sea level and sustained a lot of damage from hurricanes in recent years. Lots of homes recently rebuilt and up on stilts or on raised mounds.

The "girls" loved walking in the surf.

We couldn't figure what was going on at this construction project out in the Gulf. There appeared to be smoke rising from near its base but it was too far away to tell. This was taken with a 20x zoom.

We are in Port Charles, Louisiana tonight and will be angling up toward the Natchez trace in Mississippi tomorrow.

2009.06.13 - Saturday - Wedding day for Margaret's niece Honey. Margaret and her cousin Raye are ready for the festivities.

David was pressed into service to take a video of the wedding, a sign of Honey's desperation to find someone. Fortunately another family member was taking a video. They also had a photographer.

The groom (Lonnie) with Margaret and Raye.

The preacher and the groom.

Reception goodies.

The lovely couple, Lonnie & Honey.

A photo before we departed after the reception. We drove east in Texas and ended up at 9:45 p.m. about 90 miles west of Houston.

We woke up on Sunday morning to find four other class B RVs (van conversions) in the KOA RV Park with us. They were a group of Quebecois traveling together. They spoke a little English also.

2009.05.12 - Friday - We picked Margaret's cousin Raye up at the San Antonio airport this morning and stopped for a stroll and lunch on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio so Raye could see it.

After lunch we took the river taxi for a guided float trip on the river.

The River Walk is a great feature of the city.

There's a downtown mall right on the river complete with wildlife.

The trees along the river are impressive, including very old live oaks and cypress trees.

From the River Walk in San Antonio, we moved on in the evening to the site of tomorrow's wedding. The wedding is in the country about 50 miles south of San Antonio.

Decorating was going on in the reception hall.

The wedding will take place under this live oak tree behind the reception hall. It was over 100 degrees when we arrived. Fortunately there is a nice breeze (or some might call it a hot wind) in the shade.

A view of the back of the reception hall from the site of the wedding ceremony.

2009.06.10 - Wednesday - We visited with David's brother Jim today. He has about 20 acres of property near Carl's Corner south of Ft. Worth/Dallas.

Jim's fairly successful fitness strategy is to mow a good part of this property with a push mower.

His mowing this morning flushed out a roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote was not seen however.

There are some impressive wild flowers on the unmowed portion of the property.

Watching grass being mowed is sort of in the category of watching grass grow, i.e. not very strenuous.

Jim is not one to toss a car until it has done its duty. We got a ride in this Lincoln to lunch. He has a newer vehicle, a Ford Ranger pickup with 345,00 miles on it.

Lunch was at Willie's place at Carl's Crossroads, a quite impressive truck stop with a theater for live entertainment, a great restaurant (we had an impressive meat loaf lunch), clean restrooms and Willie Nelson touches everywhere. It's in the total boonies along I-35E and has a steady stream of trucks pulling into the parking lot/fuel stop. Jim's place is one exit up I-35E.

Some of the Willie Nelson stuff in the restaurant. There is also a Willie Nelson walk of fame with much more stuff. It was a first class establishment and more than we had expected.

One of Jim's endearing qualities is that he sloughs off all his brother's kidding about his technology (still using dial-up for Internet), his transportation, etc.

2009.06.08 - Monday - No photos today, just a leisurely trip south on US-69 after leaving family in Oklahoma. We are in North Texas tonight and will drive just south of Dallas/Ft. Worth tomorrow to spend two nights with David's brother Jim. It was 95 degrees today when we stopped for the evening, the highest temperature we've encountered on this trip. We're not looking forward to the hot weather we expect for the rest of this week while in Texas.

2009.06.07 - Sunday - Easy day today with pool activities...

and some hi jinx.

Jacob, Dillon & Emily by the river.

Then it was dropping the Oklahoma three off at their house and ready to leave for Texas on Monday morning.

2009.06.06 - Saturday - River time. Waiting for the bus for a float trip on the Illinois River north of Tahlequah, OK.

On the bus...

and putting into the river.

Dillon and Jacob began in the 2 kayaks, the rest of us in a 6-person raft.

There are numerous outfitters along this section of the river and so there were many other people on the river. We almost immediately ran into this group that have a tradition of doing a float trip in costume on the 1st weekend in June.

Lunch break.

Some of the raftees.

Grandson Tommy and great granddaughter Bailey.

Another river break on a rock ledge.

Bailey and Jacob looking for critters in the water under the raft (the raft was pulled up on the rock ledge).

Cast of characters.

The girls.

Take out.

And on the turnpike through the Oklahoma countryside to our RV park.

2009.06.05 - Friday - Today we drove up to Wagoner to pick up some of our grandchildren to spend the weekend with us at our RV park. At the pool are Jacob & Dillon.

Emily & Tommy.

A little afternoon refreshment complements of Tommy & Amanda.

Bailey, Emily, & Jacob focus on Bailey's new puppy.

Tommy and Grammar Margaret.

Jacob & Dillon wading in the Illinois River adjacent to our RV Park.

The MarVal Family Camping Resort is a large park. Most of campsites are in the trees with lots of shade but David caught this photo of the two back rows when he walked to the dumpster. The park has an unusual arrangement for trash, no trash cans and only one dumpster that is far in the back of the camp.

2009.06.04 - Thursday - Today was a "get from point A to point B" day with a lot of highway driving. We drove west through southern Missouri, turned south at Springfield and drove through Branson, MO just to see what it looked like, then headed west across northwest Arkansas and ended the day in east central Oklahoma. The photo below was taken heading south on US-65 just before entering Branson, MO.

Crossing Lake Taneycomo in Branson, MO.

Our target for the day was Oklahoma. Our oldest grandson and his family met us here this evening and three of our other grandchildren will join us here also for a long weekend. Our RV park is on the banks of the Illinois River near Gore, OK and near the Lake Tenkiller dam.

Tommy (grandson) & Amanda with Bailey (great granddaughter) and her new puppy joined us at our RV Park near Gore, OK.

2009.06.03 - Wednesday - We were back in the quest for SPRINGS today. Big Spring was just down the road from our RV Park.

The road there was dubbed Skyline Drive and it lived up to its name.

And it is a very big spring with an average daily flow of 286 million gallons. It is the largest spring in Missouri and one of the largest in the world.

Another view of Big Spring.

And today I couldn't resist a video. Be sure the sound is on for full affect.

The grounds around Big Spring were very tranquil since we were here on a weekday and before tourist season here really begins.

We ended the day by looping down through some back roads in the Mark Twain National Forest south of our RV park. This photo is of some farmland in the area.

We encountered a number of "roller coaster" roads that are typical in this area of Southeast Missouri. We had a few raindrops that caused the spots on the windshield.

And lastly a typical section of US-60 as we returned to our RV park.

2009.06.02 - Tuesday - We made a loop today as shown here.

Our first stop was Alley Spring near Eminence, MO.

Alley Spring was the power source for a mill that still has workable hardware today.

The spring has an average daily flow of over 80 million gallons. Springs in Missouri are really SPRINGS.

A still photo does not capture the volume of water coming out of the ground here.

As it turns out, a crew from the University of Kansas was conducting an archeological dig at the mill site.

Lunch time found us at a bank in downtown Rolla, MO...

...and then at a locally recommended (by a bank teller) bar and grill.

We were fixated on springs today so we stopped at Maramec Spring after lunch.

Again, a staggering volume of water coming out of the ground that the camera does not capture. David took videos but too much trouble and storage requirements to post. Aren't you glad.

Maramec Spring is the home of the Maramec Trout Hatchery that produces about 100,000 trout a year.

Maramec Spring also had iron ore nearby so it became the site of Maramec Iron Works that produced iron from 1827 to 1891. Some ruins from the iron works are visible near the spring.

2009.06.01 - Monday - We drove west from Cape Girardeau, MO on MO-72 and lastly on MO-21 to the area of Van Buren, MO. We were amazed at the amount of wind damage in almost this whole area of Southeast Missouri. The amount of area with damage was such that we were curious as to what kind of storm had caused it. The Internet revealed that on May 8th there was a large thunderstorm system that some call an inland hurricane.The following photo is blurred since it was taken from the van window while moving, but it is representative of the damage.

One resident told us that the local power company had done an aerial survey of southeast Missouri and estimated that a million trees had been damaged by the storm system.

This photo was taken in Fredericktown, MO. The large tree had fallen just to the side of the church and damage seemed to be limited to the rain gutters and trim.

Southeastern Missouri features rolling hills and this roadside scene had the additional beauty of a lake.

We had lunch across from the Fort Davidson State Historic Site (of Civil War note) and then as we headed south on MO-72 we stopped at this roadside park with a view worth capturing. The view that can be seen from this roadside park is in the 2nd photo below.

This is the view from the roadside park.

Our RV park campsite this evening is backed up to Current River.

The red arrow on the map shows our location. We are going to spend three nights here and use the days to explore some of the Southeast Missouri area that is covered in our book "The Most Scenic Drives in America."

2009.05.31 - Sunday - After spending 10 days in Indiana, this morning we crossed the Wabash River at New Harmony for a Sunday drive in southern Illinois.

Our first stop was at the Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest.

A 1/4 mile trail led through the rock formations from which the area gets its name.

Some very interesting rock formations...

...but the views on top of the rocks were the most spectacular.


We then drove south toward the Ohio River and stopped at the Cave-in-Rock State Park. Click on the link for the story of pirates that used the cave in the late 1700s. Margaret decided to take up another mode of transportation here.

We are always looking for a good place to eat and we lucked into a great Sunday Buffet lunch here at the state park, it was great. We actually dined in since the patio was in the direct sun but we still had a great view of the Ohio River.

While we were eating lunch at the Cave-in-Rock SP, a trusting soul parked their bike in the shade behind the CQ.

We ambled on across the southern end of Illinois on IL-146 that partly follows The Trail of Tears across Illinois from Golconda westward. We crossed the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Missouri this evening and are at the Cape RV Park here. We have Internet access for the first time in three days.

2009.05.30 - Saturday - State Park sign as we left this morning to do some sightseeing in New Harmony, Indiana. New Harmony's historic 19th century structures include buildings important in the history of the town's two communal societies. New Harmony was first a spiritual sanctuary for the Harmonie Society and then a haven for international scientists and scholars led by Robert Owen.

Margaret walking the Cathedral Labyrinth in New Harmony. In the background is the Atheneum, the visitor's center for Historic New harmony.

The Cathedral Labyrinth is a single path labyrinth "with no deceptions within the path, no tricks or dead ends. The deeper level of this single path labyrinth is to give you the opportunity to look within as you follow the path to the center and retrace your way to the beginning, completing the journey of a walking meditation."

The Roofless Church in New Harmony.

The Roofless Church set up for a Saturday Wedding.

After lunch at the Red Geranium Restaurant, we took a guided walking tour of New Harmony that included the Granary. Built in the early 19th century, it was left to decay for over 100 years before being restored to its current state in the late '90s. Lower part is original but much of the building had to be rebuilt during the restoration.

David walking the Harmonist Labyrinth before we returned to the Harmonie State Park for the night.

2009.05.29 - Friday - We left Last Resort RV Park (below) at Nashville, IN this morning and headed to New Harmony, IN via scenic IN-135 south.

If you go far enough south in Indiana, you come to the Ohio River and the is what we did near Derby, IN in the photo below.

We found a delightful lunch spot complete with native palm tree near Cannelton, IN.

Just west of Cannelton before getting to Tell City we took a short side trip to the observation area for the Cannelton dam and locks.

Many of these dams & locks are found on the Ohio that serve as navigation and flood control aids.

After driving through Evansville, IN, we ended the day at Harmonie State Park near New Harmony, IN. We have no Internet access at the park and we will be here two nights so we may not post on the blog again for a couple of days.

2009.05.28 - Thursday - Today we drove south from our RV Park on Indiana 135 and turned left at the Stone Head. This marker has been here since 1851, and was here in '64 when Margaret was a camp counselor nearby.

That led us to Happy Hollow Children's Camp.

Talking about the "old times" in the way-back machine with Bernie who is the current Executive Director of the camp.

We received a personal tour of the campground...

The dining hall has a recently completed "Happy Hollow Then and Now" wall that had a photo from one of Margaret's years at the camp.

Leaving the dining hall...

We drove out to what used to be called an Outpost Camp...

After Happy Hollow and lunch at the Hob Nob in Nashville, IN, we drove out to the T. C. Steele State Historic site which is the last home and studio of Indiana artist Theodore Clement Steele (1847-1926). This is a view of their home, The House of the Singing Winds.

David hiked a couple of their short trails.

We ended the day touring Brown County State Park near Nashville, IN. The next two photos were taken when David climbed the fire tower on the park property.

2009.05.27 - Wednesday - Margaret was in the way-back machine today as we visited Indiana University. We drove to Bloomington, IN from Madison and visited friends from her IU days; Bill & Karen Stucky. Bill and Karen are RVers also and have a 37' class A that they use to escape Indiana winters by heading to Forida when the temperature goes south.

Our IU tour included lunch at Nick's just outside the campus.

We walked from Nick's onto the campus that Margaret strolled those few years back.

Leaving the campus, we had a view down Kirkwood Ave in the city of Bloomington.

A look back at the clock tower as we left the campus.

One of the places Margaret worked while attending IU was at the Von Lee movie theater just outside the IU campus and visible in the background of this photo. The theater is on a historic register, but only the facade remains from the original theater. A whole new building has been built behind the facade and the original theater entrance leads to a restaurant .

2009.05.26 - Tuesday - We visited family members in David's home town of Madison, IN today. First stop was to go to lunch with David's aunts June and Helen and then to visit the riverside park along the Ohio River.

We passed by the Madison courthouse that burned just a few days before we arrived. It had just been renovated for Madison's Bicentennial.

We spent the afternoon and had dinner with David's cousin Phyllis and her husband Dan. We were pleased to see Dan in good spirits and doing better after life threatening medical issues over the last six months.

At Clifty Falls State Park (where we are camping) we stopped for a view of its namesake falls but the trees prevent seeing its full height.

2009.05.25 - Monday - Today we drove to southern Indiana from Muncie and in doing so passed David's boyhood home (2nd through 8th grades) at this farm house between Napoleon and Osgood, Indiana. The home at that time was a white frame house but it has been faced in brick and upgraded from those days. David's father was a teacher and the family rented this home in the middle of corn fields in all directions.

Monday evening, we arrived at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana for a two night stay. This is the park campground just post Memorial Day weekend activity.

2009.05.24 - Sunday - Today we drove down to Muncie, IN to visit David's mother who lives in a nursing home there. We drove by hundreds of properous family farms in northern Indiana, but this one stood out with a barn that was past its prime.

David's great uncle Monroe Vayhinger was at one time president of Taylor University in Upland, IN. His cousin Gil told us that he thought the university had named a street after him so we drove by the campus on our way south. This photo was taken on campus to verify that indeed a street was named after him.

We had a gourmet lunch stop at DQ...

David's mother visiting with Margaret and daughter-in-law and care giver Vicki.

Another photo of David's mother who is 92.

While in Michigan City with David's cousin Gil, he showed us several photos of David's grandparents that we had not seen before. David's mother is in them and the photos may help explain David's fondness for travel. The photo below was taken in May, 1927 when his grandparents were traveling from southern Indiana to northern Michigan in their "house car" as his uncle had described it. David's mother is standing at left front in the photo when she was 11 (over 81 years ago). Brothers Clyde and Charles and sister Eleanor are also in the photo.

Another photo of David's mother standing with one foot on the running board and one on the fender. Her brothers Charles and Gilbert are also in the photo. Her brother Gilbert must have been taking the photo above as he was the only one not in the photo.

And the last photo shows the utility of this vehicle, with a canvas "tent" out to one side for sleeping. David's grandparents are to upper right and his mother at front left. Several in the photo are apparently owners of the property where they had stopped for the night. No RV parks back then.

2009.05.23 - Saturday - We started the day at Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets, a 120 store outlet mall in Michigan City, Indiana. The holiday weekend filled up the parking lots and it was as packed as any outlet mall we had seen. We found several things we couldn't live without.

Then it was on to lunch at Swingbelly's in Michigan City.

The restaurant has excellent views, just across the railroad tracks is the Northern Indiana Public Service Company power plant.

Also the Amtrak train came by to give us a little excitement.

Looking back at Swingbelly's from across the railroad tracks.

What cannot be seen in these photos at Swingbelly's is the beautiful view of Lake Michigan directly out from the restaurant.

After lunch, we took in the Rag Tops Museum of antique automobiles. Margaret is standing by the Edsel she took driver's training in, except it was not a convertible.

And we ended the day eating on the patio at Hammer's restaurant in Michigan City. All in all, a very successful day.

2009.05.22 - Friday - We've had a pretty leisurely two days. Thursday we drove the 250 miles from Vermilion, OH to my cousin Gil's home in Michigan City, IN. That was almost all on I-80 so an easy drive. Below we were saying goodbye to Pat

We arrived at Gil's in late afternoon and parked the CQ in the shade. It's a beautiful setting for relaxation.

Another of Gil's cousins was in town (on the other side of his family) so he had them and some friends over for a cook out.

Some good conversation on the deck before dinner...

And a little karaoke after everyone got into the "spirit." This is Gil and a friend. Gil is doing some remodeling on his home, hence the warehouse look.

Friday we did some touring in Michigan City and had lunch at a local golf course. We didn't play, but Gil plays several days most weeks. He says he is into quantity rather than quality with his golf game.

After lunch we visited one of the hangers of Gil's friend that was singing with him last night. He owns three planes (he was a pilot by trade) and this is one of his two Piper Cubs.

Saturday we expect to be another laid back day before we head down to visit David's mother on Sunday.

2009.05.20 - Wednesday - Today we took a short 18 mile trip from Pat's to Milan, Ohio, the birthplace of Thomas Edison. The weather is again providing a near perfect day for being outside.

Edison was born in this house in 1847 and lived there until he was seven years old. Later in life, he purchased his childhood home back and it has been in the family ever since.

We purchased a ticket for the museum and birthplace home tour.

The museum had several of his early inventions related to the phonograph and movies. Thomas Edison held 1,093 U.S. patents as well as many patents in the UK, France and Germany.

Our guide was in his 70s and had been working for the Edison family in Milan, OH for 44 years. He knew many of Edison's descendants and provided a very interesting although a bit long two hour tour.

Leaving the Edison birthplace in Milan, OH.

A late afternoon low calorie snack...

And a lakeside view of the sunset...

2009.05.19 - Tuesday - We only drove 86 miles today from Cleveland to Pat's family lake cottage on the shore of Lake Erie in Vermilion, Ohio. Today was beautiful with temperatures about 70. The CQ parked at Pat's cottage.

The view from Pat's door step.

And the sun setting over Lake Erie from the end of Pat's street.

2009.05.18 - Monday -Today after a leisurely start, we rode the Cleveland Rapid Transit downtown for some shopping and sightseeing.

From Tower City that is just above the downtown train station, you can see the Cuyahoga River that flows through Cleveland. Here a sightseeing boat is moving up the river.

Soldiers & Sailors Monument to Civil War dead in downtown Cleveland.

A short walk from the train station is the Lake Erie shore.

After lunch, we jumped on the Lolly Trolley for a guided tour of Cleveland. One interesting trivia item we learned is that Harriet from Ozzie & Harriet was from Cleveland. Many readers of this blog have no idea who Ozzie & Harriet were.

Downtown Cleveland has some impressive architecture in some of the older buildings.

The required skyline view...

The tour took us by the world renowned Cleveland Clinic. It employs over 30,000 people in Cleveland.

Waiting for the train to take us back to Pat's place.

Day's end as we walked back to Pat's apartment from the train.

2009.05.17 - Sunday - We drove the easy 50 miles from our RV rally to Cleveland today through some scenic Ohio wine country east of Cleveland and are now ensconced in our friend Pat's apartment in Cleveland for a four day visit.

2009.05.16 - Saturday - The RV rally had an "open house" in the morning, so here we are with ours open and another couple (Fred and Michelle) sharing our parking spot.

Margaret beckoning another visitor into our RV...

Michelle giving Margaret a tour of their DIY conversion. Fred has done an impressive job with his conversion and cabinet work.

Some more of Fred's conversion work on their van.

And more of Fred's conversion work...
Margaret took a photo of David at lunch, she says he never gets in a photo.

2009.05.14 - Thursday - We drove 470 miles on Thursday and arrived at the 6th Annual RV.net Class B rally (in Geneva-On-The-Lake, Ohio on Lake Erie) abut 5:30 p.m. Hot dogs for dinner at the rally and some good visiting around the campfire with the other early arrivals (rally starts Friday afternoon). Photo above finds Margaret today catching some sun and reading a book (two of her favorite pastimes). Weather is great today but thundershowers are expected tomorrow afternoon to mess with our rally activities, but there is a really nice enclosed pavilion that should make it tolerable.

2009.05.13 - Wednesday - The CQ is loaded and tomorrow we begin a 5-week trip that will take us to Ohio and then west and south to Texas. We will attend an RV rally, visit family, see some sights along the way, and attend a wedding in Texas before returning to NC.

10/10/08 - Friday - Nearing Knoxville today we closed the loop of our western trip. Starting out on Sept. 4th, we traveled west on I-40 and turned south on I-75 at this interchange. So returning east through Tennessee on I-40 today, we closed the loop here.

The scene as we drove northeast on I-81 in Tennessee. We left I-81 at Abingdon, VA to follow US-58 east in southern Virginia before dropping down to our cabin in Ashe County, NC. The mountains in northwest NC dictate a circuitous route to our destination.

Passing through Damascus, VA there were numerous bikers coming off the Virginia Creeper trail into town. Even though it is a Friday, there were many riders taking advantage of the fall tree colors for a scenic bike ride.

One photo of the fall colors along US-58 in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

And another example along US-58,

We arrived back at our cabin about 4:00 p.m. on a misty afternoon.

And the CQ has a little rest among the trees. We'll put it in the garage after getting it unloaded and cleaned up a little bit.

A few trip statistics:

Duration: 5 weeks and 2 days
Miles traveled: 7,420
Highest fuel price: $4.46 Lowest fuel price: $3.70
(fuel prices generally went down during the trip)
Total spent on fuel: $1,560.00
States visited: Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
National Parks Visited: Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands.

10/07-09/09 - Tuesday-Thursday - Tuesday we visited with three of our grandchildren in Oklahoma; Zack, Dillon, and Emily.

Wednesday morning we continued east on I-40 into the hills of western Arkansas.

We exited I-40 at Conway, AR to visit our great granddaughter Bailey and her parents Tommy (grandson) and Amanda. We got so caught up in playing cards with Tommy and Amanda on Wednesday night that no photos of the parentals were taken.

Thursday morning it was more of driving east on I-40 and crossing the Mississippi River at Memphis...

...and entering Tennessee at Memphis.

We got through Nashville at 4:00 p.m. just before the evening rush got too bad.

We began seeing a little more tree color east of Nashville...

...and ended up at a KOA Campground near Crossville, TN on the Cumberland Plateau between Nashville and Knoxville on I-40.

Tomorrow we have an easy day with only 237 miles to our cabin in the NC mountains where we keep the CQ.

10/07/08 - Tuesday - As we traveled across Oklahoma today we stopped in Oklahoma City pictured below.

We don't parallel park the CQ very often, but when that is the only kind of parking available it can be done (with the proper spot). The new federal building is the lower building in left of photo.

Our objective in Oklahoma City was to visit the National Memorial on the site of the Murrah Federal Building bombing that occurred in April of 1995.

It is a moving and peaceful memorial.

It was a beautiful morning in Oklahoma City, much like the April morning when the bombing occurred.

The "chairs" on the memorial grounds represent those that died on that morning, a total of 168. They are in rows by the floor of the building where the deaths occurred. The day care center was on the 2nd floor and the small chairs in that row represent the children that died.

The museum is in the building on the left that was also heavily damaged in the bombing. The museum is very well done and is an integral part of the memorial in its presentation on terrorism in general and of the Murrah Building bombing in detail.

After leaving Oklahoma City, we drove on to visit our three grandchildren that live southeast of Tulsa.

10/06/08 - Monday - The Balloon Fest went on as scheduled this morning in Albuquerque but the ascension didn't result in balloons staying aloft very long. We were on the east side of the city along I-40, so we couldn't see any balloons until we got on the road. As we were at the I-40 entrance ramp, there was this one yellow balloon still aloft over Albuquerque as we headed east on I-40

After crossing the Sandia mountains east of the city, the wide open spaces of New Mexico were before us.

We ate lunch in Tucumcari, NM on old Route 66. As we returned to the RV, another couple from Oregon pulled into the parking lot next to us in a Roadtrek Sprinter-based RV similar to ours. They used the same restaurant guide we did, a parking lot full of cars. They had left on their trip in early September just as we did, only in the opposite direction. They had been on the east coast and were just returning to their home in Oregon.

A vintage motel from the Route 66 era across the street from the restaurant.

Leaving Tucumcari, more of the New Mexico open spaces.

We entered Texas soon after lunch to more open spaces.

For something to do, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo, Texas.

The ten Cadillacs are buried nose first in a farm field. There is no admission and one can just walk the ~100 yds. to the site and wander among them.

Or add to the graffiti which is encouraged. For those without enough to do, click here for more information on this "public art installation and sculpture."

Back to what drove us to the Cadillac Ranch to begin with, more farm land on the high plains of the Texas Panhandle.

We ended the day about 50 miles into Oklahoma at a KOA campground. Tomorrow we plan to stop by the Museum and memorial dedicated to the victims of the bombing in Oklahoma City of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. We will then go on to visit three of our grandchildren in eastern Oklahoma.

10/05/08 - Sunday - Today we drove from Moab, UT to Albuquerque, NM. The intermittent rain we had yesterday in Moab produced snow at the higher elevations as can be seen in this photo looking east from US-191 as we left Moab.

In this photo also taken of the mountains east of Moab, you can see the yellow of the Aspen trees and then snow at the higher elevations of the mountain on the right.

One of Utah's famous arches, this one along US-191 south of Moab.

We turned east on US-491 and entered southwestern Colorado.

Southwestern Colorado has a lot of farms (with irrigation)...

...and mountains with some unusual rock formations.

Soon US-491 turned south and we entered northwest New Mexico near the "four corners." We had been to the four corners before so we skipped the picture opportunity of standing on legs and arms and occupying space in four states (NM, AZ, UT, & CO).

A view of the northwest New Mexico landmark "Ship Rock" from a distance.

A closer view of Ship Rock as we entered its namesake town of Shiprock. This is Navajo reservation country (and the site of the Tony Hillerman detective series with Navajo tribal police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee).

Mountain scenery along US-550 as we headed southeast toward Albuquerque, NM. the mountains have a lot of yellow Aspens here also, but it's hard to see them in the photo.

And the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque as we neared I-25 and Albuquerque to the south.

Since the Balloon Fest week in Albuquerque started this weekend, we were expecting the RV parks to all be full but we got to the KOA in time to get one of their two open sites. This morning's Balloon Fest Mass Ascension was canceled due to rain but they were expecting to have the planned evening festivities. Unfortunately, we are on a tight schedule to get back to NC by Friday evening so we will just have to enjoy the essence of the Balloon Fest via the Balloon Fest Schedule of Events and the Guest Guide which the RV Park provided along with a hefty boost in campground fee for Balloon Fest week.

10/04/08 - Saturday - Today was generally rainy in Moab. Some of our rally group did some sightseeing. Some of us improvised as in the photo below.

Rainy day activity at lunch. Some of us played cards after lunch.

The rain stopped just in time for our pot-luck dinner in the following photos where there was plenty of food and conversation.




After dinner, a costume contest for pets was held. Both pet owners and non-pet owners enjoyed the show. This contestant was caught on camera with coon skin cap and accessories.

Tomorrow we bid the B Out West folks a goodbye and begin our trek home to North Carolina via Albuquerque and then I-40. Maybe we will see some hot air balloons as we pass through Albuquerque as this is the week of the balloon festival there.

10/03/08 - Friday - Today we drove out to Canyonlands National Park near Moab. These two monoliths (nicknamed the Monitor and the Merimac) were seen on the road to the NP.

The Schaffer trail/road in one of the canyons. The trail was originally for driving cattle down to the Colorado river for the milder climate in the winter. In the 40s, uranium mining was responsible for the trail being improved to a road for ore trucks. It goes down 1400' to a plateau and then another 600' to the river valley. We (well just David) would have liked driving the RV down it but sanity ruled.

One of the views at the end of the park road, Grand View lookout point.

Another photo at Grand View lookout.

A view near where we ate a picnic lunch. For scale, there are some people on the ledge that is one down on the right top of the photo. You will have to click on the photo to enlarge it to see them probably.

A view of the Green River canyon near where the river merges with the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park.

A "teetering rock" on the way back to Moab.

Margaret back at the RV park.

A few of the class B RVs at the rally we are attending. There are about 30 class Bs participating.

A few of the participants at the B Out West rally. Everyone was gathering for the pizza delivery person.
The photos we took today do not have the brilliant colors that you usually see at Canyonlands due to the overcast here today. Rain and snow (at the higher elevations) are expected tomorrow and into Sunday.

10/02/08 - Thursday - Today was another day of visual WOW's in Utah. Here is a view of our RV park as we prepared to be on our way. Margaret had so much fun yesterday keeping the CQ on the pavement instead of over a cliff that she decided to drive again today.

Early on we entered Capitol Reef National Park.

Some really unique rock formations were to be seen.

A stop at an observation point.

And a stop to learn something about the park.

Margaret always loves to visit a school house. This one room school house was built of logs in the 1880's by the Mormon settlers that settled along the Fremont River that flows through the area that Capitol Reef NP now occupies.

The school house has survived over a century so we guessed that the rock pile behind it wouldn't be too much of a threat today.

The story goes that the area got its name due to explorers with seafaring backgrounds that thought the barrier they were trying to cross resembled an ocean reef and that the white domes such as the one in this photo resembled a capitol dome, hence the name of Capitol Reef.

After leaving Capitol Reef, we proceeded north on UT-24 that crosses through a desert portion of Utah.

More of UT-24 as we neared I-70.

We took I-70 east and then US-191 south to Moab, UT. Spring and Fall are heavy with tourists in Moab due to all the mountain biking opportunities in the area as well as the two national parks (Arches & Canyonlands) that are nearby.

We will be in Moab for three nights while we attend a class B RV rally at our RV park. We have met quite a few of the attendees at other "B" rallies in the last three years.

10/01/08 - Wednesday - Today we saw so much beautiful scenery that it is hard to select just a few photos for the blog. We started the morning heading south on I-15 from Cedar City, UT headed for Zion National Park.

The migration of retirees to Arizona must be overflowing up into Utah based on all the development we saw in southwestern Utah on the way to Zion NP.

We seldom are both in a photo, but here we are in Zion Canyon.

This photo taken as we climbed out of Zion Canyon in Zion NP.

At lunch in Zion NP, David took a hike (when he took this photo) and Margaret was about ready to call out the rangers by the time he returned. From a Paul Newman film, "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

Entering red rock territory as we neared Bryce Canyon, NP.

As we headed from Bryce Canyon NP on UT-12, Margaret said she would be glad to drive if there weren't any shear drop offs along the road. Neither of us had ever been on this road so we guessed it might be OK.

We soon were traversing roads like this...

...and this (affectionately known as the hog back) where it dropped off precipitously on each side of the pavement. Talk about sholders that drop off.

But Margaret persevered and soon we were in the higher elevations where the Aspens were spectacular.

We were around 9600' elevation at this lookout point. The photo doesn't even begin to show the majesty of the scene.

We ended up the day at an RV park in Torrey, Utah and had a "western dinner" at the campground. Steak for David, ground buffalo steak for Margaret and all the fixin's.

09/30/08 - Tuesday - Today was a shorter travel day. We drove south through Lake Valley in southeast Nevada and then east on NV-319/UT-56 to Cedar City, Utah. We haven't seen a movie since leaving NC so we made use of the afternoon time after getting to Cedar City to see a movie. The photo below was taken on US-50 just where we turned off the "Loneliest Highway in America" and right onto NV-319 that is labeled a scenic route in the RM road atlas.

Entering Utah.

Heading east on UT-56. Lots of signs to look out for elk and deer but no sightings.

And nearing Cedar City, UT. The city is mostly up on the plateau in right center of the photo. Quite a pleasant little city with all the usual American chains. We ate at a local restaurant, the Cafe Orleans where we had seafood chowder and crawfish etouffee. Such a Utah standard menu item.

09/29/08 - Monday - This morning we said goodbye to Sam & Maryo (who are the very best hosts) and began our trek back East. Heading down from Donner Pass on I-80, the photo below was taken as we passed through Reno, NV.

East of Reno, we took US-50 billed on signs as "The Loneliest Highway in America." This photo was taken a little east of Fallon, NV.

Lunch stop at a historical marker on US-50. There certainly is a low population density along US-50 in Nevada but the scenery is spectacular.

Looking back west at the valley we had just crossed and the small town of Austin, NV snuggled in the mountains. We crossed numerous summits/passes and broad valleys in between. Most of the summits were in the 6000' to 7500' range. The valleys dry and warm (low 80's) and desert like, the mountains cooler and some with quite a few trees. This is Pony Express country, many historical markers about them and some ruins of Pony Express way stations.

There were scattered showers around us during the day but not much in the way of rain.

We ended up for the night at the KOA RV Park in Ely, Nevada. We had pizza delivered to the door of our rolling condo. Parking surface is typical of desert areas, i.e. gravel/sand.

09/28/08 - Sunday - We spent our last day with Sam and Maryo by driving down to Genoa, NV via Lake Tahoe. One of the photos we took of Lake Tahoe.

And another Lake Tahoe view.

Driving east from Lake Tahoe toward Genoa, NV.

Having lunch at Genoa, NV street fair (Candy Dance).

Great setting for street fair. There were many booths on side streets and many people.

Looking into valley east of Genoa.

Heading back to Sam & Maryo's via US-395 to Reno and then west on I-80 back over Donner Pass.

We finished up the day with a game of Bocce Ball with Sam & Maryo.

09/27/09 - Saturday - This morning we drove down to Truckee, CA to Donner State Park and the Donner museum to learn more of the history of the ill fated Donner Party. The photo below was taken from I-80 headed east from Donner Pass. Donner Peak is in the center and Mt. Judah is just to its right. These two peaks where Sam and David's destinations on Thursday starting from the Pacific Crest trail intersection with US-40 off the right of the photo. The railroad route through Donner Pass can be seen crossing in front of the two peaks.

At lunch time, we drove down to Squaw Valley, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.

The shops and condos at the base of the ski area.

One of the ski lift towers can be seen at top of photo.

Taking a break in the condo/shops area.

Photo opportunity while drinking root beer floats.

Part of the namesake valley that the ski area is named for.

09/26/08 - Friday - Today Sam & David took another hike in the Sierras and Maryo & Margaret did their thing. Photo below is look west from near Donner Pass. Railroad tunnels can be seen in left of photo and I-80 heading down from Donner Pass in lower right.

We hike to three lakes after climbing up to the plateau from the trailhead. We hiked a total of about 6.5 miles and climbed about a 1000' to the lake area. This is Lower Loch Leven Lake.

Next lake was Middle Lock Leven Lake where we had lunch on the point in the center of the photo.

A gourmet lunch of left over steak, cheese and crackers, apples, and cookies.

After lunch activity.

Hiking on to our third lake, Salmon Lake.

It turns out Salmon Lake has catfish in it. Here Sam is feeding them leftover lunch crackers.

On our return, a photo of our hosts' mountain cabin with our CQ tucked in beside it.

09/25/08 - Thursday - We drove from Benicia to the Donner Pass area today where Sam & Maryo have a cabin. This photo is approaching Donner Pass on I-80.

Margaret & Maryo came in a separate car so Sam & David headed out for a hike. In the photo below we had hike up the Pacific Crest trail above Donner Pass and were ready to take the Mt. Judah loop trail.
Photo taken on Donner Peak with I-80 climbing up to Donner Pass from the east in the background.
David and Sam on Donner Peak.
Donner Lake taken from Mt. Judah peak.
Returned to the Pacific Crest Trail for our return back to the car.
The moss on trees fascinated David since it didn't grow all the way down to the ground. It turns out that this is a general indiator of winter snow depth.

09/24/08 - Wednesday - This is a photo of our friends Sam & Maryo's home in Benicia, CA with the CQ tucked in beside the garage.

Today, we ventured into wine country. Margaret and Maryo ready to go.

Grape vines everywhere. We were headed to the Sonoma Valley area. Our friends recommended skipping Napa Valley because it has become overcrowded with tourists.

Our first winery was Viansa that is a pretty large operation but a winery that does no retail selling (with the exception of two stores in Sonoma) nor does it use distributors. They sell all their wine from their tasting center/store, their Tuscan Club via monthly shipments, or their web page.

Maryo, Sam, and Margaret entering the Viansa winery. We had beautiful weather which is exceptional in this area according to our hosts. It is usually cooler and foggier here.

After the Viansa winery, we stopped in Sonoma for items for a picnic lunch and then drove to our 2nd winery. After buying a bottle of their wine we had lunch in their small park. This was Bartholomew Park winery, a very small vinyard. We were really roughing it today.

This is a photo of the sunlit hills behind Sam & Maryo's home just before the sun set. The locals call these the Dolly Parton hills for reasons that I shall leave to the viewer.

We ended the day by attending a play at a nearby local theater. It was a very enjoyable day.

09/23/08 - Monday & Tuesday - Monday we drove west from Gilroy to the Santa Cruz, CA area to spend a night at the beach. All went well until we got within a few miles of our destination and ran into a complete closure of CA-1 because of an 18-wheeler that had overturned and burned closing both north and south lanes to traffic. We eventually left the highway at an exit but ran into complete gridlock on the local streets due to others doing the same thing. Below was a typical scene during our delay of over an hour.

We eventually ended up at Seacliff Beach State Park on Monterey Bay and were lucky enough to get a beach side campsite. You can barely see our RV tucked in among others below.

Margaret immediately hit the beach with David joining in for a little reading.

And Margaret had to get her feet wet.

There's a sidewalk along the beach that locals in the neighborhood as well as campers use. We later moved up by the RV to sit where people watching was one of the attractions. We also walked down to one end of the state park and this was the view of "RV row."

Sunset was beautiful, this was the view out our back window.

On Tuesday, David took a walk up the steps to the adjoining neighborhood and took this photo looking back down to the CQ. Just before we left, we met the couple with the travel trailer barely visible in the right of the photo below hidden by the tree. They (Darryl and Jan) live in Livermore, CA now but both their grandparents lived all their life in Eastern North Carolina. They recommended a restaurant in Capitola just north of the state park for lunch. We took their advice and ate at Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria and had a great lunch. Thanks Darryl and Jan.

We left Monterey Bay just before noon on Tuesday and headed north. California (the Golden State) has many golden hills this time of year and this is just one example. We are told that all the grass is emerald green in winter to early spring but neither of us has ever been to California during this period to observe the grass in all its glory although the golden look is pretty glorious.

Benicia (on the north side of San Francisco Bay) was our final destination today where we are going to visit for a few days with friends we met on our United Kingdom trip in the spring of 2007.

09/21/08 - Sunday - We began the day at the visitor center.

David couldn't resist climbing this granite dome, so Margaret relaxed while he checked it out. The 9000'+ elevation makes one aware of their limitations.

A view back down to the CQ.

The dome top provided a great view of the meadows for which the area is named.

Following the park road west brought us to this picturesque lake.

On the beach behind Margaret in the above photo, two guys were just coming out of the water in their bathing suits. The air temperature was in the low 50s and the water was cold.

This is the view from the lake shore back to where the CQ was parked. Lots of granite in Yosemite.

A little further east we had this view from a distance of Half Dome that borders Yosemite Valley. This is a zoom image, we were farther away than this photo appears.

We ended up looping through Yosemite Valley before exiting the park. This is El Capitan that also borders the valley. David was in Yosemite in 1960 while in San Jose for 4 months with IBM. He camped in Yosemite valley for two nights on a weekend trip. It was crowded then, but the place is overrun now. The unbelievable beauty of the valley is today overshadowed by the infrastructure to handle the crowds and all the vehicles (including ours).

We ended up in the garlic capital of the US, Gilroy, CA.

Out motel-on-wheels parked for the night.

09/20/08 - Saturday - Today we headed up into the Sierras past the Mammoth Lakes ski area to the Devils Postpile. Photo here is of our RV park as we left.

David at the Devils Postpile National Monument ranger station. The elevation as noted on the building is 7560'. Visiting Devils Postpile was also a suggestion of Don & Joyce that we stayed with two nights back. Thanks again for your suggestions.

A little information on how the Devils Postpile came into being. We have seen similar phenomena in Yellowstone NP and Devils Tower in Wyoming. The difference here is the ability to climb over the top and see the glacier-polished tops of the columns.

A side view of the columns.

David took the loop trail over the top of the monument and took this photo. It looks like a current day patio paving, but each octagon is the top of a column of granite.

Margaret on a bridge over the stream that flows by the monument and the meadow by the stream. The scenery here is one awsome view after another.

After leaving Devils Postpile, we headed back north on US-395 and then up over the Tioga Pass to the east entrance of Yosemite National Park. This is looking back down toward the desert east of the Sierras and the route of the Tioga Pass road we had just climbed.

We ended the day at the Tuolumne Meadows Campground in the high country of Yosemite NP (elevation 9750').

This photo is of the metal box behind the picnic table in the above photo. Evidence that we are in bear country is everywhere including this food storage box. Signs warn of it being bear country by saying the "bears live here." We didn't see any, but there were hundreds of tent campers in this campground so we figured they must be easier targets.

09/19/08 - Friday - Don & Joyce, our hosts last night.
It was a beautiful morning in the Kern River valley. We spent a leisurely morning visiting with our hosts before heading out about 10:00 a.m.
A picture of our campsite in the morning sun. Don & Joyce's RV is to the right, a class B RV (van conversion) like ours.
As we left this morning, our timing was just right to see the launching of a para glider on the lake near Kernville.
The boat pulled the para glider down the lake and it was released as they came back up the lake. It was circling around at such a high altitude as we left the area that we could hardly see it.
A view of a valley traversed by the road to Kernville. The trees follow a tributary of the Kern River.
Back on US-395 heading north toward Mammoth Lakes. The Sierras are on the left.
Don & Joyce recommended taking a short side trip to Convict Lake. It was quite a picturesque setting. Thanks for the suggestion. It was windy and the temperature about 60 so it was a little chilly.

Another view of Convict Lake. The sun angle was such about 4:30 p.m. that the full beauty of the setting was hard to capture. It's a small lake but is 138' deep at its deepest spot.
We are in Mammoth Lakes in the Sierras near the east entrance (via Tioga Pass) to Yosemite National Park. That's where we are heading tomorrow.

09/18/08 - Thursday - We headed north in California from the San Diego area by going inland to I-15 and then skirting Los Angeles to the east on I-15 before turning north on US-395 up the east side of the Sierras. We stopped at the 395 exit at a truck wash to get the CQ washed. It had quite a coating of bugs on the front end from the trip west across Texas and New Mexico.

This photo is on I-15 heading north to the LA area.

We decided the railroad freight business must be doing well because we saw many freight trains as in the photo below taken northeast of LA on I-15. Highways I-10 and then I-8 across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California often parallel a Southern Pacific rail route. We saw many "container trains" along this route going in both directions with mostly Chinese names on them. There was one in sight a large percentage of the time. Each container on the train represents one less 18-wheeler on the highway.

This photo was taken along US-395 going north on the east side of the Sierra Mtns. Desert and Joshua trees mostly. And long distance views.

We left US-395 temporarily to visit some friends in Kernville, CA. This photo was taken at Walker Pass in the Sierras.

This was our destination, Don & Joyce's home near Kernville. We "met" Don & Joyce on RV.net, a set of forums for discussing all things about RVs. When they learned we were going to be traveling in their area, they invited us to stop by. We had a lovely evening with them and camped in their driveway with water and electric hoop ups and WiFi. Such hospitality!! This area of the Sierras is desert like but the Kern River that runs near their home was running nicely.

09/17/08 - Today was a lazy day. The photo below is our RV park for last night and tonight, Oceanside RV Park in Oceanside, California just up the coast from San Diego. David lived on the wild side and got his hair cut at Oceanside School of Beauty, a local hairdressing school a block from our RV park. The price was right ($4.50). We ate at the beach, sat on the beach , read, etc.

Our lunch spot reminded us of Quartermasters (Lance & Sharon's place) in name only.

Margaret's kind of day - lunch with a view.

We got our feet wet in the Pacific - much colder than the Atlantic..

The beach at Oceanside, nearly wall-to-wall houses with a rock seawall.

While we were sitting and reading, we had company.

Tomorrow we head away from the coast and up the eastern side of the Sierra's. We have been invited to stay overnight tomorrow in the driveway of a couple in Riverkern, CA. They will also be attending the "B Out West" class B RV rally in Moab, Utah that we will be attending in early October.

09/16/08 - Today we visited with Paul & Sherry in the morning and saw some of the sights in San Diego in the afternoon.

Paul & Sherry outside the court house where Sherry works as a Clerk of Court.

The bridge over San Diego Bay. We figured the chances of us being on the bridge and an earthquake occurring were about the same as winning the lottery.

The Hotel de Colorado just across the bay from San Diego.

A view of downtown San Diego from across the bay.

And a view of downtown San Diego from the bay bridge.

The San Diego Convention Center in downtown San Diego.

Some Tall Ships in the San Diego harbor.

A street scene in La Jolla, California near San Diego.

We are camped at an RV park near the beach in Oceanside, California tonight and will spend a lazy day here tomorrow also.

09/15/08 - A photo of Norm & Jayne's home in Goodyear, AZ where we stayed last night.

Headed west on I-8 toward San Diego after breakfast with Norm & Jayne.

Large sand dunes along I-8 in California's Imperial Valley.

We have been through several of these Border Patrol check points in Arizona and California.

Baled hay stacked in large piles in California's Imperial Valley.

Headed into the mountains east of San Diego. There is a 12 mile 4000' climb out of the Imperial Valley.

The eastern slopes of these mountains are pretty much very large rock piles.

A wind farm along I-8 in the mountains east of San Diego.

Out destination of the day, the home of David's cousin Paul and his wife Sherry in Escondido, California. David hadn't seen Paul in abut 50 years. David & Paul's fathers were brothers.

Paul operates a photographic studio out of his home under the name of Wild Rose. Their home is in the Escondido Historic District and was built in 1910.

09/14/08 - Today we visited Saguaro National Park in Tuscon as we headed west. This loop drive through the Saguaro "forest" and other desert cacti offers a very interesting look at an ecosystem far different from our NC home base.

Margaret in the "garden" at the Saguaro NP visitor center.

This Saguaro cactus was a standout specimen. [David's attempt at humor?]

More of the Saguaro forest. We had a nice low 80's temperature for our tour of A Barrel cactus in bloom.

More of the Saguaro forest. The temperature was in the low 80's as we toured here in Tuscon which was pleasant with the low humidity.

Downtown Tucson on Sunday afternoon. We had lunch at the exotic local Breuggers Bakery. We drove on to Phoenix from Tucson and experienced "real" Arizona weather with a temperature of 104 as we entered Phoenix.

Margaret with Norm and Jayne. Norm worked with David at IBM in Fort Worth, TX in the '60s. Norm and Jane live in Goodyear, AZ (a western Phoenix suburb) where they treated us to a real bed for the night. Norm and David dwelled in the "way-back" machine for a while and we all went out for an Arizona Bar-B-Que dinner.

09/13/08 - We awoke today to clear skies and escaped the affects of hurricane Ike that caused so much damage along the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The photo below is of I-10 as we headed west from Fort Stockton, TX. One thing that impressed us yesterday as we approached Fort Stockton from the east was the massive wind farms that are being built on the mesas east of Fort Stockton. David estimated that there were at least 1000 wind turbines there now and we were told at our RV park last evening that they were going to build between 3000 and 4000 turbines all together. For those that have seen these massive wind turbines up close, you know the scale. The rail yards in Fort Stockton had many dozens of rail cars sitting with wind turbine components waiting to be erected. It's a bustling place that is participating in the beginnings of a revolution in the energy industry. This area of West Texas is so vast that the wind farms are sort of a nit in the overall scheme of things.

Today was a "moving west" day. After lunch we entered New Mexico west of El Paso as seen in the photo below and ended up in Willcox, Arizona for the night. We drove a total of 475 miles today. It was all on I-10 where the speed limit in west Texas is mostly 80 MPH and is 75 MPH in New Mexico and Arizona so it was at a pretty fast clip. We generally do shorter driving days.

The map image below shows our approximate route for this trip. Click on the image for more detail in the map.

Our stop on Monday in Vicksburg, MS on our way west to Texas. We drove around the National Military Park that was established on February 21, 1899, to commemorate the siege and defense of Vicksburg.

We spent two nights at David's brother Jim's place south of Dallas/Ft. Worth near Milford, TX. Here are Jim and Margaret with Jim's three grandsons: John, Grant, and Daniel.

The brothers Rose at Lake Whitney southwest of Ft. Worth, Texas. On Wednesday we took a driving tour that included Lake Whitney and Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas.

We had lunch on the town square in Glen Rose, TX.

Some information on the making of the dinosaur tracks at the state park.

A few of the actual dinosaur tracks captured in stone in the Paluxy River.

This water snake was warming itself on the rocks near the dinosaur tracks.

On Thursday, we drove from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to Poth, TX southeast of San Antonio to visit with Margaret's niece Honey and her two children. We were keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Ike that was headed this way.

Our peaceful campsite behind Honey's house.

Today, we left Honey's house behind and headed west from the San Antonio area to put some distance between us and Ike.

We skirted the San Antonio area and drove part of the Texas Hill Country Trail southwest of San Antonio. This photo is of some of the Texas hill country.

Then it was west on I-10 to Fort Stockton, TX.

We stayed at the Fort Stockton RV Park tonight and had another "small world" encounter. Pictured with David are Brad and Susan that we worked with on the Habitat Build in South Dakota last summer. We ran into them in the park and couldn't believe it. They are full time RVers and they do some work camping where they work for an RV park for a short period in return for a parking spot and some compensation. They have been at this RV park just a couple of weeks. They have participated in two more Habitat builds since our joint experience last summer, one in Michigan and one in Muncie, IN where David's brother and mother live.

Margaret and I began a trip on Friday that will take us west across the south and southwest to San Diego, up through the Sierras in California to Lake Tahoe and back to NC through Utah and will include visits with grandkids in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

We began down memory lane by heading South to Birmingham, Alabama to visit some of Margaret's cousins and to Auburn, Alabama to visit a high school classmate of Margaret's.
Not only personal history, but real history lessons via US-80. We crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama and Margaret briefly considered marching instead of riding; then we ended the day in Vicksburg, Mississippi on the river visiting the museum and battlefield, and ended up in Monroe, Louisiana for our first night in an RV park.

Our Alabama welcome...

Margaret's cousins Betty, Raye, Margaret and Ben

Dinner out...

There are over 400 piano rolls stacked around cousin Margaret's player piano...

Margaret's high school friend Teeny...

Our portable bedroom was parked two nights next to Teeny's house. Her two dogs plus two she was baby sitting for her daughter pretty much had claim to the house. The tiger tail on Teeny's car gives evidence of her Auburn University loyalty.

June 25, 2008 - Trip Summary

Total days on the road: 42 (6 weeks)
Miles driven: 5,547
Total fuel cost: $1,348.00
Average MPG for the trip: 22.21 (higher than our overall average of 20.37 due primarily to lower speed limits in Canada and New England.
Highest diesel fuel price paid: $6.10/gal - Youngs Cove, New Brunswick (06/02)
Lowest diesel fuel price paid: $4.18/gal - West Jefferson, North Carolina (05/12)
States visited: North Carolina, Virgina, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland. Total 10.
Canadian provinces visited: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Price Edward Island, Nova Scotia. Total 5.

Total Mileage on LTV (CQ): 53,352.