Texas!

Jan 19-20

We are at an impasse…not sure where to go!  Looks like a cold front is sweeping down the East Coast and into Texas…we were considering going back to Lake Havasu but that was 600 miles back.  So, it looks like we will just continue East.  

We were getting low on groceries but we decided we could just make do with what we have instead of wasting another hour or more shopping. As it was, we crossed into the Central time zone and lost another hour.  We (I should say Scott) drove most of the day, about 300 miles from Las Cruces, NM down thru El Paso, TX and into Ft Stockton.  I spent half of the trip back in our bed reading and dozing.

Ft Stockton, TX

Our campground host, Jackie, with his 15 inch braided beard...he was FULL of stories!  He said I looked like his ex-wife and daughters...the day before he said he was in a gunfight with his ex-wife...hmmm 

Jacks breakfast, leftover hamburger in between blueberry pancakes

We literally just stayed at an RV park along the highway.  This park happened to have a small cafe serving dinner, lucky us! It was like having dinner at the Community Center in our town.  The food was pretty decent…chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, ribs….ice cream for dessert! No cooking or cleaning.  A family from Bar Harbor, Maine work the cafe.  Their son, who was in the 7th grade was our waiter.  We had a nice chat with a couple from Washington State (Sue G…this was your Mom all day long!) they had a 1980’s Airstream trailer that they were towing.  We went back in the cafe for breakfast and continued our conversation with them.

Ron & Sydney, if you are reading this, you made a mediocre pit-stop much more fun and interesting!

We are currently driving to San Antonio…another 300 mile day.  

SOME QUICK STATS:

7,000 miles, 75 days on the road, averaging 93 miles a day and there have been 3 teeth that have fallen out!  The boys have probably grown another 3 inches between them!

~Linda

Like No Place Else on Earth

January 16-18th

We had a bit of a drive from Tombstone, AZ into New Mexico.  We spent the night at an RV park in Las Cruces, NM about an hour or so from White Sands Monument, our final destination.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat at the Adobe Deli, recommended by the family we met the other day.  What a hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere, but a great meal!

Known for their French Onion soup, so we tried that.

There are not many places to stay that are close to White Sands because they still do missile testing there.  We did, however, find a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campground for $3.50/night! What a bargain! 

Aguirre Springs Campground
The high wall, needle-like spires of the Organ Mountains curve dramatically around a semicircle of Chihuahuan Desert habitat at the Aguirre Spring Campground. The campground, nestled at the base of spectacular cliffs, overlooks the Tularosa Basin and White Sands National Monument.

We arrived early in the afternoon and just relaxed. 

White Sands National Monument
This is what I have been waiting for and it did not disappoint!

Welcome to White Sands!  We all wanted to go, especially my Mom, and now we‘re here!  It was just sand dunes, kids having fun, and a beautiful mountain background.  We bought a saucer and waxed it, but where would we sled?  On the sand dunes!  They were really steep and high.  First we had to climb up.  That was the challenge.  It wasn’t that hard for me, but for my Mom, she shouldn’t have bothered.  It looked so funny to see her on all fours slipping and trying to climb up.  We only had one sled, so Tyler and I had to share.  We rode the sled together most of the time.  Once I rode alone on my belly. At the bottom there was a big bump.  When I hit it, I flew through the air and then landed back on the sled.  It hurt, but it was pretty cool.  Once we got bored, we left.

~Jack

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dune field. 

Sledding is the thing to do here!  Nice cold sand, warm sun and steep dunes! Way better than sledding in the real stuff in New England!

This was definitely a highlight of our trip for us!  Everyone had a blast and were all tired out at the end of the day!

~Linda

Tombstone, AZ

That name means many things to many people. It creates images of gunfights and dusty streets, whiskey and Faro games, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and a plethora of old western movie scenes. But what many folks don't realize is that Tombstone Az is a real town with real inhabitants who have lived here throughout its history and still do today. That is part of the reason Tombstone has been called "The Town Too Tough to Die".

Back in jail, those bad boys!

I mentioned that we saw a "star show" in the observatory last night.  We saw a young family come in with 3 kids but it was very dark inside.  I did chat with their one son a couple of times.  During our day trip to Tombstone, I saw them in a gift shop and said hello.  We got to talking and they are 6 months into a 1 yr journey.  They were staying at the same park and mentioned they would be grilling out by the pool for dinner.  We decided to head over there and see if we could meet up with them.  The kids had fun swimming in the pool and we enjoyed exchanging stories while the kids ran amok!  I wouldn't be surprised to be bumping in to them again as we are on the same trek.

Jan. 15, 2014 Full Wolf Moon, the first full moon of the New Year is also the smallest.  This moon appeared when wolves howled outside villages vocalizing their hunger. It's also known as Old Moon or Moon After Yule.

How I got this image:

This was a big crowd pleaser on Facebook which I found entertaining.  I love to be able to be in the right spot for a full moon rising and when comes up 2 minutes before sunset, the timing is amazing.  We are in an RV park that backs up to a shopping mall.  It's a busy area, for Benson, AZ anyway.  I walked to the back of the park and there is a metal bridge that goes over a dry bed and gets you to the shopping plaza.  There are thorny bushes growing up and around.  I wanted to get a bit higher so I climbed the fence and hooked the outside of my nose on a thorn which instantly started to bleed. I had to get my shot...but this is what I was looking at, buildings, wires, there were some telephone poles in there too.  Bloody nose, I carried on and continued snapping away thinking something is better than nothing...

A lot more zoom and some good cropping and this was my final result.  Sometimes you never know what you have until you share it with others!

Heading into NM today. and will more than likely be out of contact for a few days.  

~Linda

Tucson, AZ

January 15, 2014

Wow! This is my 50th post!  When I first created this blog, I tinkered around with it for a month so I would know how to use it when I hit the road.  I had no idea if I would be consistent with it or what it would be exactly.  I am so glad I did it because, without it, I'm not sure I would know where I was or what we have done!

Jan 14th

Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, and the largest non-government funded aviation museum. There are more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft including many of the most historically significant and technically advanced craft ever produced, both from the United States and throughout the world.

I enjoyed the artsy painted planes. 

Scout was more than welcome to tour the entire museum and outside grounds that covered 80 acres.  The only problem was that Scout did not want to be there. He went outside and then just basically stopped and laid down.  He would not move.  We ended up bringing him back to the RV.  The thing is, it didn't take the rest of us that long to figure out that we were not that into it either.  Too much negative energy.  The kids came across a disturbing video of Viet Nam that they couldn't "un-see".

Top Gun

I'm just not into planes, trains or automobiles...don't get me wrong, I find them fascinating, but I also find Mt. Everest fascinating and have no desire to go or climb it.

We carried on to the RV park which boasted an Observatory.  We went to the Star Show tonight and got a very cool astronomy lesson. It features a Meade LX-200 GPS 16 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. This university quality installation is housed in a 15’ diameter electrically operated dome.  We got to see the moon, Jupiter, blue giants (massive stars with short lives) and red giant stars Red giants are (stars that have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in their cores) and a nebula.  It's almost a full moon so it wasn't the best time to be viewing stars but I really enjoyed it.

Tombstone, AZ tomorrow!

~Linda

I'm talking to YOU!

I love hearing from so many people as we travel across the country!  I love that we can spark a really great childhood memory for someone just by visiting somewhere you grew up or vacationed with friends and family. 

We know that we are not the first to make this trek and we have this great resource online, Facebook, that connects us all instantly.  I ask for suggestions and they come pouring in! I read them all and I even paste them in a new document to keep it all organized for when I need it!

Here we are in Phoenix...I know I should hike Camelback Mtn but I also know that my friend wasn't lying when she told me it took a couple days to recover from that hike!  We have had several people tell us to go to the Pima Air a Museum. This is not tops on my list, but so many say to go, that we are going to go! 

Some of you would love to do a cross country trip like this, others prefer the 5 star resort, but we all have this big, beautiful country in common.  If you told me you enjoy seeing my pics everyday, thank you. Even if you are a quiet observer, I hope you are enjoying our adventure.  Thank you to those that openly comment and whole heartedly support us every mile of the way.   

I could have kept our family blog private but my intent with sharing is simply to inspire others as others have inspired me.

~Linda

Lake Havasu, AZ

January 13, 2014

I have wanted to come to Lake Havasu for many years after hearing about from friends.  Actually, I really wanted to see Havasu Falls, but few people actually make the 8 mile hike in, then, there are no amenities etc.  I guess this fabulous resort will have to do! It was slightly out of our way but definitely worth the extra drive.   This is probably in our Top 3 resorts.  It has the ever important beautiful, clean bathrooms, lots of laundry, a heated pool and spa.  There is a nice trail along the water that we can bike and walk, great views of the lake and mountains.  The mild temps feel great!

Scott spent all day cleaning the RV with a kitchen sponge...people are meticulous about their RV's and ours was quite dirty.  Most parks will not allow you to wash your vehicle. I cleaned the inside if anyone is wondering.

The kids have been enjoying a bit of freedom on their bikes.  Most resorts we stay at have 24 hr gated security.  This has to be the friendliest and happiest place we've been  too.  Everyone we have met has been so nice and quite intrigued by our travel story.  Many of us are on similar journeys but not many are as young as we are and have young kids in tow.  

We had spent the better part of a week "dry camping" between Huntington Beach and Joshua Tree. I was lucky if I get a shower because I have to think about how much water I will use and what we need for dishes and cooking etc.  This morning I said that I might actually do my hair and put on makeup.  Tyler's response was "Mom, you don't need to do that, you already have a husband!"

We have a tv on board but we only get regular TV, no cable or satellite.  The kids love all the old shows we grew up watching...MASH, Dragnet, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, Giligans Island...all of them.  

Tyler is obsessed with all the different types of RV's.  He likes to bike around and check them all out and then take us on a tour.  At this place, most people have some sort of toy vehicle.  It's either a golf cart, dune buggy, unique 4x4.  There is even a yellow Ferrari here.  One guy had a remote control boat on the lake that was quite large and loud.  Scott found out it was powered by 2 weed whackers!

We went on a nice bike ride today to see the famous London Bridge!

Originally, the deserted Lake Havasu vacant land was given to the State of Arizona by the Federal government. The federal property was an abandoned landing strip for the military. McCulloch made a deal with the State of Arizona and received the property for free with a promise to develop the land. The problem was that the real estate agents could not bring in prospective buyers, because the land was in the middle of nowhere and very arid and hot. McCulloch's real estate agent, Robert Plumer, learned that the London Bridge was for sale and convinced McCulloch to buy it and bring it to the area to attract potential land buyers. The initial response from McCulloch was "That's the craziest idea I have ever heard.", but after consideration, he decided to go ahead with the purchase. 

In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London began to look for potential buyers for the London Bridge. Lake Havasu City founder and entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch placed the winning bid of $2,460,000 on April 18, 1968. McCulloch came by this figure by doubling the estimated cost of dismantling the structure, which was $1.2 million, bringing the price to $2.4 million.  He then added on $60,000 -- a thousand dollars for each year of his age at the time he estimated the bridge would be reconstructed in Arizona.  Each block was meticulously numbered before the bridge was disassembled.  The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. Following reconstruction of the London Bridge, Lake Havasu City rededicated it in a ceremony on October 10, 1971. 

The London Bridge, Arizona tourism’s second-largest attraction after the Grand Canyon.

Jack definitely takes the road less traveled!

Next Stop, Phoenix!

~Linda