Summer 2013

Our trip West to the National Parks

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Greenville, SC

We left Florida at the end of March and went to Greenville SC to help Brian & Lyn remodel their kitchen and family room.  It was a lot of work but we enjoyed being a part of this remodel.  Ron loved working at "This Old House" for the month.  We got together with Jim & Bev and had some good dinners.  Jim made a smoked Brisket one night and it was great!  Another night, I prepared 2 types of Wild hog that Ron hunted in FL.  We left SC in April, we are on our way to the Louisiana Cajun country, Austin TX, Roswell NM, Albuquerque NM and points west.  Our goal is to get to Yosemite National Park.  We have never been there during our full-time experience.  Along the way, we will visit the Grand Canyon in AZ, Bryce Canyon and Moab in UT, Mesa Verde and Monument Valley in CO.

Abbeville, Louisiana at Betty's RV Park

It is always a good time at Betty's.  There is good food and great scenery.  We pigged out on Crawfish, fried oysters and Louisiana sausage.  We took a Swamp Tour with Brian Champagne on Lake Martin.  We bought fresh shrimp from the Lil Man's Shrimp boat in Delcambre.  We went to a Jam session at Touchet's in Maurice.  As they say in Cajun: " Laissez les bons temps rouler "  Let the good times roll!

Austin, Texas

We stay at La Hacienda RV Resort near Lake Travis near Austin.  This is a very nice RV Park and has grown since the last time we were there in 2006.  Our first night here, we went out for a very nice dinner at Hudson's on the Bend. We got together with Ginny's sisters and go to for haircuts at Sally's Salon. Sally is Ginny's niece.  Ron was very patient and enjoyed a day of TV. At the end of the day, all the nieces and nephews went out for a Mexican dinner.  We had big plans for Memorial Day weekend but it all got washed away when it rained all day on Friday and brought down about 6" of rain.  There were floods and the lakes were muddy.  We managed to have fun anyway. 

Heading west to Roswell and Albuquerque, NM

We drive through Texas without going on one Interstate Highway!  When you get into west Texas, it looks all the same.  Lots and lots of dry country with lots and lots of Oil Wells!  We forgot how long it takes to get through Texas.  We stop one day in Roswell NM to visit with our friends, Bill & Darlene.  He was the balloon pilot who we crewed for at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta a couple of times.  We had a great but short visit.  Then, on to Albuquerque for a hike up to Sandia mountain.  Next stop, Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

We stay at Mather Campground in Grand Canyon Village.  It is great to be there as you do not need to drive your vehicle to get anywhere.  There is a good transportation system that takes you where ever you want to go.  We go to Hopi Point to see the sunset and hike all around the park.  We  had Elk resting at our campsite and saw Condor and Golden Eagles.  What more can you ask for?  The Grand Canyon Park started something new that they do not sell any small bottles of water.  They have filling stations all over that you can fill your water bottle with fresh spring water.  That is a great idea! 

Bryce Canyon, Utah

We head to Bryce Canyon by way of Page AZ and Lake Powell.  Here we cross into really hot weather.  104 degrees in the shade!  We took a dip into Lake Powell to cool off.  And then, we head to Bryce Canyon the next day.  Bryce is hard to describe, even with pictures.  We took some hikes and toured the park.  For a change of scenery we went to  Cedar Breaks National Park.  We are up in elevation and got into some snow patches.  On our last day we took a 5 mile hike in Red Canyon.  The elevation took us up 500 feet.  It was a challenge for us, but we made it!  The scenery was worth it. 

On the road to Yosemite National Park, California

We took US 50 almost all the way from Utah through Nevada.  It is the most unused highway in the US.  US 50 goes from Ocean City MD to San Francisco CA.  The scenery was just plain boring and that is what made it very interesting.  Along the way, we stopped in Lake Tahoe to get gas.  That is when our hitch broke and gave us a flat tire as we ran over the broken part.  We were delayed getting to Yosemite due to having to get a new hitch and 2 more new tires.

Yosemite National Park, California

The drive up the mountain along CA120 to the entrance of the park is a winding, narrow road on the edge of a cliff.  It was a relief to get to our park and relax.  Yosemite was very busy at the end of June.  It was hard to get around and find places to park.  But, we thought the park was beautiful with lots of great scenery.  We hiked up Sentinel Dome and there was a man playing the bag pipes at the top of the mountain. We saw many rock climbers on the cliffs of El Capitan.  Some of them actually spend the night hanging from their ropes.  We went to Mirror Lake, Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove, Wawona and over to the east side of Yosemite to Tuolumne Lodge.  We enjoyed it very much but decide that we still rate Glacier National Park in Montana our #1 favorite! 

On the road to Moab, Utah

After Yosemite we start our trip back east.   This time we drove along I-70 and US-50 through Nevada.  We came across the salt flats and temperatures over 100 degrees.  The forecast for Moab is to be in the 100's while we are there. 

Arches & Canyonlands National Parks, Moab, Utah

It is over 100 every day while we are in Moab.  It is July 4th week and there are crowds.  In order to beat the heat and the crowds, we get up at 6am, get out to the parks and trails by 8am, and be done by noon.    Still, we hiked a few trails and got to see everything we wanted.  Canyonlands National Park is much different than Arches.  Next stop, Monument Valley Utah.

Monument Valley, Utah

It is an easy, short drive to Monument Valley.  We took a tour of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  It was a really good idea since the roads were very soft and bumpy and we got to go into areas that were off limits to those not on a tour.  Many western movies have been filmed here and the latest one is The Lone Ranger. 

Mesa Verde, Colorado

On the way to Mesa Verde we stopped at The 4 Corners, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico & Arizona meet.  It is a tourist trap, but something you cannot miss.  Mesa Verde is a very interesting place with its cliff dwelling houses.  You have to book a tour given by a Ranger to see most of the dwellings.  From here, we drove up to Telluride.  The drive is on the list of the 10 most scenic drives in the USA.  It reminded us of some areas in Alaska.  We also took a drive to Durango, which is an old western town.  On to South Fork & Creede Colorado.

South Fork, Colorado

It is a challenging drive up Wolf Creek Pass to South Fork.  The pass is 8 miles up 2000' at an 8% grade.  The truck made a weird noise and had to have it checked.  When we got to South Fork the place was empty.  The valley was evacuated because of fires in June and many people did not return for the summer.  When we took the truck to Alamosa to have it checked, we found Great Sand Dunes National Park.  Interesting that all the sand in the area has been blown into this area over many, many years and created a huge dune.  The surrounding area is fertile farm fields with miles of potato farms.  We took a little train tour of the Rio Grande Forest valley where the Rio Grande starts.  We drove up to Creede which is another little old Western town.  We took a hike around the Big Meadow reservoir and to see the Giant Fir tree, the largest tree in the Rio Grande Forest.  On the other side of the pass is Pagosa Springs, a town with natural hot springs.  It was not appetizing as the water rushing down the river was full of ash from fires above.  When we leave this area we head east to Wichita Kansas.  The southeastern part of Colorado is a desert, very dry and not very scenic.

Kansas, Iowa & Indiana

We are ready to head east. Ron wanted to stop at Dodge City to find out why they quote "Get out of Dodge"!  It is because there is no reason to be there.  After crossing into Kansas, there are miles & miles of corn, soy, grain and other crops.  We are happy to see "green"! We also see miles of cattle getting fattened up before they go to market.  We make a stop in Wichita and visit the Botanica Gardens.  Then we go to Manhattan Kansas and stay at Tuttle Creek Army Corp of Engineers park.  The park was very nice, but it rained every day.  Then on to Amana, Iowa which is a German Community.  We picked up some German specialties.  We have never stayed in Iowa, so that almost completes our goal of staying in all 50 states.  The only one left is Wisconsin!

We get to Indianapolis for our birthdays in August.  We parked at the State Fairgrounds and went to the fair on my birthday.  The next day, on Ron's birthday, we went to the city  to Garfield Conservatory and then had a nice lunch at the Capital Grille and walked along the canal. 

Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

We stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park for a few days.  It is beautiful country and we never knew there was so much to learn about horses.  We saw the Champion Horses and the Horses of the World.  The properties around the horse park are huge ranches worth billions of dollars and they raise the champion race horses.

Greenville, SC & Lake Toxaway, NC

We head back to Greenville SC to be with Brian to celebrate his 40th Birthday! He has 2 birthday parties, one with the family and then one with friends.  Both were fun.  We stay at Riverbend RV Park in Lake Toxaway NC which is one of our favorite parks until we head back to Florida for the winter. 
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