Flight 93 National Memorial from 9/1

Shanksville, PA

This was a very emotional and very sobering stop. I was so tearful.

The memorial shows the haunting video of the planes flying into the twin towers, walks you through the timeline and flight path for United’s flight 93, outlines the chilling takeover of the cockpit, plays recorded voice messages and conversations from passengers to families, showcases the heroism of the passengers, shows the pictures of all those that lost their lives that day and displays the pop up memorials at the site right after the crash. It was so moving and sad.

A common field one day. A field of honor forever.

……this is the inscription on the overlook to the crash site. The resting place of all those who lost their lives.

A Sweat-Fest in our Nations Capital!!

Every day we were in Washington DC there was an excessive heat warning. YUCK! It’s so much better to see our monuments on the National Mall when the sweat isn’t blurring your vision! Thank goodness for cameras.

Our “Nation’s Treasure Chest”… The Smithsonian. Of the 20 museums, we spent the most of our time at the Visitor Center and in the Natural History Museum. I loved the Panda cam, the Hope Diamond (45 ct. and $350 million), the Royal Butterfly brooch (2,318 gems), the Human Origins exhibit, and the giant shark in the cafe….how fitting! Our plan was to go back and visit more museums another day.…it was just too miserable.

For the next few days, we ended up getting into our air conditioned car to brave the DC traffic. We didn’t think it was as bad as Chicago traffic, but the road conditions and pot holes were insane!

Old Town Alexandria

Founded in 1749, there is so much history in this old port town. It’s a very cute place to walk around (in and out of shops to stay cool), a pretty waterfront, and wonderful historic neighborhoods and homes. This would be a fun place to stay when visiting DC. They have a water taxi to the National Mall.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

This is the Roman Catholic Basilica for North American and a shrine to the Virgin Mary. It’s the largest Catholic church in North America. The mosaics are amazing. There are Virgin Mary shrines from around the world.

Washington National Cathedral

It’s beautiful! There is still reconstruction going on from the 2011 earthquake that hit DC. One of the stained glass windows (see the last picture) is dedicated to the moon landing 50 years ago and has a piece of moon rock embedded in the design.

I loved the Bishops Garden….it was a little secret garden

Row houses…I was obsessed

In Alexandria, Georgetown, South Capital there were row houses everywhere. I wanted to go in all of them. The narrowest house in america is in Alexandria and it’s only 7 feet wide! Talk about a Tiny House.

The best thing about driving around DC (in addition to staying in a cool car) is that we get to see so many interesting things. The “Blind Whino” is a historic church that was painted and re-purposed to an arts center. There are lots of wall murals all over the city.

Hey! Was that Donald J. Trumps motorcade heading for the White House? Yep - that was him!!! I wanted to have a few words with him…but couldn’t run fast enough in that heat!!!

VIrginia is for Lovers (awww!)

Historic Charlottesville

Our Favorite…..POUR: a beer and cider bar with over 75 self serve taps to choose from!
Bob just couldn’t decide.

Monticello - Thomas Jefferson’s Home

Thomas Jefferson - a pretty amazing guy: Our 3rd President, primary author of the Declaration of Independence, champion for religious freedom, founded the University of Virginia, prolific writer and scholar. Here’s the rub. He wrote “all men are created equal” and wrote to support abolishing slavery yet enslaved over 600 people over the course of his life and freed only 7. After his wife died, Jefferson had 4 children with Sally Hemings - one of his slaves. Monticello is now doing a great job of telling the story of Sally Hemings and the enslaved people at Monticello. Very sobering and thought provoking.

University of Virginia

Founded by Thomas Jefferson and a beautiful campus.
I had a little bit of a challenge getting Bob to go because Bob lost his big NCAA tournament bet when UVA won! Once again, Jimmy walked away as the victor - when will Bob ever learn.

Shenandoah National Park

We had a BEAUTIFUL day in the mountains. It was 75 degrees, no humidity and sunny! Perfect.
This park is at the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway so it’s similar to the Great Smokey Mountains NP ….but with more butterflies.
(Photo tip: you have to take a LOT of pictures of butterflies to get a very few that look decent).

Ants are under control, but Bob does have poison ivy! Of course he does.

Wilmington NC (and the ant invasion!)

We really enjoyed Wilmington NC. Beautiful beaches, amazing homes and gardens in the historic district and the only place (within a 90 miles radius) where the Venus flytrap grows naturally in the world. We had lots of rain while visiting but did hit one good morning for the beach.

Carolina and Wrightsville Beaches - so pretty.

Downtown Wilmington

These carriage rides have been in Wilmington for over 30 years. The horses are rescued Amish work horses and once retired, they live out their rest of there days on the owners farm. This was a fun way to see historic downtown Wilmington and the Riverwalk on Cape Fear River.

Bellamy Mansion Museum

This home was built just prior to the start of the Civil war in 1859 by Dr. John Bellamy. It includes the house, carriage house and slave living quarters. The tours include the stories of the Bellamy family, the free and enslaved black artisans who built the home, and the enslaved workers who resided at the home. The Bellamy’s 8 year old daughter was in her 80’s when she wrote about her life in the home. She died at the mansion in 1946.

The homes and churches in the historic district were amazing - the brick walls and walks, flowering Crepe Myrtle trees, trained ivy on many of the walls and beautiful landscaping. Just beautiful.

The Big Venus Fly Trap Hunt!

Once I found out the Venus Fly Trap only grows in one place in the world AND it is within a 90 miles radius around Wilmington….I had to see it. So I took my trusty spotter Bob to the carnivorous plant preserve! These plants are very small (full grown plants only grow to 5 inches in diameter) so they were not easy to find. We did find a few!! Poaching is a big problem - it’s illegal to remove these plants but they are big bucks on the black market. We more easily found the yellow and purple Pitcher Plants - also carnivorous!
Bob wanted to catch bugs and feed them to the plants .

It was great time to spend time with Bob’s friend Terry! Since Terry is a Wilmington native, he had great ideas of all the things to see. We really did need more time here. Thanks Terry!!!

NOW ITS THE ANTS…..

We were infested with ants at the Wilmington KOA. YUCK! I’ve been spraying for ants for the last 2 days. I HATE ANTS! So with the ants, heat, humidity and daily thunderstorms….this is turning out to be quite the summer trip. The thunderstorms and rain are SO SO LOUD when you live in a big “Tin Can” (or the “Spam Can” I am now calling it) poor Sam needs a sedative to survive big thunderstorms. We are really working hard to make the best of it!

North Carolina (white knuckle) Mountains

Our Welcome to North Carolina was a major traffic jam through the mountains….We had an hour delay and couldn’t detour on those tiny mountain roads with this big RV! For our entire week here, you just KNOW how thankful Bob was for all the great, real-time, mountain-driving tips I was giving him. NOT!

Smokey Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway - just beautiful.

Asheville

“We” (aka Richele) didn’t plan enough time here so we took a trolley tour. It was a nice way to get an overview of Asheville but we really wanted to spend more time here. We loved the historic Monteford neighborhood and homes, the historic (now Omni) Grove Park Inn, the many art deco buildings downtown, and the fun shopping areas (including a famous bookstore/champagne bar).

The Biltmore Estate

We can’t quite imagine what it would have been like to hang out with the Vanderbilts at their summer estate. The house was finished in 1895. It is 175,000 Sq. Ft and has 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces…..and there is a bowling alley and swimming pool in the basement. I loved that they had a room full of vases for making all the fresh flower arrangements!

The Biltmore conservatory and greenhouse gardens were my favorite! There is currently a model train display with replicas of the Biltmore estate structures (all made out of bark, leaves, twigs and seeds.) The cactus greenhouse made us feel right at home.

Our Digs

Two great RV Parks…..We stayed at Creekwood Farms RV Park near the Smokey Mountain National Park - the barn and silo were a great backdrop in the center of the park- very cute.
That was great, BUT for those of you Beverly Hillbillies fans….. “ then we loaded up the truck and moved to Beverlyyyyyy - Hills that is!” The Mountain Falls Motorcoach Resort was pretty sweet. I always try and find a few places where we can splurge on high-end RV parks. This one was over the top: It’s own waterfall, pools, tennis courts, a nine hole golf course, and beautiful views from every RV site. There were multi -million RVs and some of the lots had beautiful “cabins”!

The Mountain Towns

There are so many great mountain towns to visit, we loved Waynesville (the Gateway to the Smokies and the town where we found a great drop-in tennis group), Brevard (the home of the unique White Squirrel), Cashiers and Hendersonville (with it’s fun Main Street).

Chimney Rock State Park

It was a bit foggy and cloudy on the day we visited the park, but that made it cooler to climb the 500 stairs to the top. Bob and Sam drove into town to visit the Lake Lure and then came back to pick me up after the big climb.

This is Bear Country….
but we only saw Wild Turkey -
(and no, not the Bourbon)

Bob wouldn’t let me leave any hamburger meat outside the RV to see if we could get any bears to visit.

The Big Picnic Table Incident!

Who clipped the picnic table when they were pulling out of our RV spot this week??? Come on take a guess???

Picture it….Bob screaming STOP STOP STOP…..I didn’t hear. Sigh.

Honky Tonkin' through TN

Nashville

Broadway. This was my first visit to Music City. Great music at almost every bar (even at 10am in the morning.} Our favorite music that day was at Legends Corner!

Nashville history… Old Christ Church, Union Station (now an Autograph Hotel), the Woolworth’s on 5th - the location of the 1960’s lunch counter sit-ins (we had lunch at the counter!)

Franklin, TN

This is a very cute and historic town south of Nashville. An old Magic Chef oven factory was converted to retail shops, they have a beautiful Main Street and there is lots of Civil War history. Franklin was one of the later Civil War battles. It resulted in 10,000 casualties (mostly confederate soldiers). 44 homes and buildings in town were converted to field hospitals for many months. Many of the confederate soldiers are buried on the Carnton plantation. That cemetery was established and maintained by the family of that home.

A Special Thank You!!!!

When we started out with our crazy plan to sell the house in Chicago and buy an RV, Cathy and Joe Moore were a HUGE help to us. Cathy is a very passionate RV guru….she was able to help us navigate the purchase of our new RV, get started, travel ideas and trip planning. Joe and Cathy have been amazing resources to us - we had such a wonderful visit with them in Crossville, TN.
THANK YOU CATHY AND JOE (and ZEVA)!

Memphis (AND Mississippi!)

We stayed at an RV park in Mississippi so now we can both say we’ve been to the state.
We spent most of our time in Memphis, which we really enjoyed. So much history and great old buildings!

The Historic Peabody Memphis

OK, so are we the only ones who didn’t know about the “Internationally” famous Peabody Hotel Memphis Ducks? These ducks come down from their rooftop pond and jump into the lobby fountain at 11 am and 5 pm every day. There is a Master of Ceremonies, an elevator trip and a walk on the red carpet as these ducks run to the lobby fountain. It all started 90 years ago with a bunch of drunk hunters and their live decoys…hmmm, that’s surprising! The Peabody even has has signature cocktails to celebrate the fun!

Beale Street

The Home of the Blues - “the Memphis Blues”. Think Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, B.B. King. They block the street off on the weekends and most of the bars have live music all day long.

MLK

Now the home of the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King was assassinated on the balcony outside Room 306 on April 4, 1968. A wonderful Civil Rights and MLK Tribute.

Victorian District

Well this ls not really a district…but a single block of huge Victorian homes. “Millionaire’s Row” in it’s day.

Elmwood Cemetery

I just finished the book Before We Were Yours (I couldn’t put it down.) It was a story about the Memphis branch of the Children’s Home Society run by Georgia Tann. She was the engineer behind stealing children from poor white families to sell to wealthy families. A horrific scandal. It is estimated that 5,000 children were stolen - 500 of them died from poor care, disease and abuse. We went to see the Memorial at Elmwood Cemetery for those children.

Graceland and Elvis

Wellllll, we didn’t go in to do the tour, but we did stop at Graceland!

You can just hear the comments in this heat…..ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TAKING A PICTURE OF ME WHEN I’M SWEATING LIKE A DOG?? TURN THAT CAMERA OFF! Look at these happy faces……

Arkansas.....a number of firsts for us!

Our First Time in Arkansas and our first time of seeing a fez of armadillos!

Hot Springs National Park

We love the history of our National Parks! These Hot Springs have always been thought to have medicinal properties starting with many Native American tribes who visited the area. The area was federally protected in 1832, grew into a “spa town” and was made a National Park in 1921. The area boomed from the 1920’s - 50’s (that’s when organized crime moved in too!) The water from the Hot Springs is 143 degrees when it comes out of the ground. It is centrally managed, stored and tested by the National parks System and then pumped to the remaining bath houses and fountains around the city.

Bathhouse Row

This was our favorite. There are 8 historic Bath Houses (built in the early 1900’s). There are only a few that have been renovated to provide bath or spa services today. Bob and I went to QuaPaw Bathhouse for a few hours to soak in the mineral pool. Just to be clear…..it’s not really a spa…..but we had to do it!

The Fordyce Bathhouse

This was the creme de la creme in it’s day. It’s no longer a bathhouse - it’s the National Park museum. They have all the institutional tubs, steam cabinets, bathtubs, showers and treatment areas on display. It looked a little scary but the beautiful stained glass helped the ambiance.

The Fez of Armadillos we saw

How much do you know about armadillos? A ”group” of armadillos is called a fez. Females can choose when they want to give birth (within 2 years) after they get pregnant! They almost always give birth to identical quadruplets (that’s what we saw)! The armadillo young are more pink than the adults. Who Knew?

Bob’s long time friend Jim drove down from Little Rock to spend the day with us. Thanks Jim!

The heat, humidity and storms continue to follow us East…..UGH

"SEE" the fun we had in Dallas!

It’s so much more fun to go to a city as a tourist, rather than for business! And thank goodness we visited downtown Dallas the day before the big Federal Building shooting!

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The giant eyeball is in the Main Street district of downtown Dallas. Its on the lawn/property across the street from the Joule Hotel. The Joule would be a fun place to stay if you didn’t have an RV. Swanky hotel, cool artwork, rooftop pool with a glass wall that overhangs Main Street. (On a personal note: Jamie Keen, this would be the perfect photo op/place to celebrate when you finish your Ophthalmology Residency!!)

A wonderful night with friends

Bob and I had a great time with the Hillebrands at their beautiful new home…. a great margarita, fajita and fruit pizza night. Nana Lana is a new grandma….little Sophia is 4 months old.

JFK - The 6th Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza

The museum has a wonderful audio tour that chronicles the life and times of our country at the time of JFK’s presidency, his impact on the country and the world, his tragic assassination, and the conspiracy theories that swirled around his death. Loved it!

Pegasus: the Big Red Flying Horse

I always thought of this as “just the old Mobile Gas logo”. The giant neon sign was set atop the Magnolia Oil building in 1934 and watched over the city. The beloved mascot and guardian of the city was taken down because of structural issues and a new Pegasus sign was installed a year later. The original Pegasus was lost for 15 years and was in a storage barn outside of town when it was finally found. It’s been restored and now sits in front of the Omni Hotel. There are now 2 giant winged horses in Dallas and symbols everywhere! Who knew?

Deep Ellum (est. 1873)

We loved this cool old warehouse area of Dallas. (Thanks ED!) It was initially an old commercial area and then in the 20’s it’s claim to fame was the jazz and blues music scene. The wall art was beautiful, tons of cool restaurants (which were all booked on Sunday), and just a great place to walk around - loved it!

Look what Sam and I found for Bob for Father’s Day! GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!

For All You FIXER * UPPER Fans

Ya’ll wanna see your Fixer * Upper?????

We are at the Chip and Joanna Gaines Mecca in Waco.

It really was fun…..the big Silo’s, the Magnolia Market store, the Silo Bakery, the beautiful grounds, the fun food trucks at the base of the Silos…..it’s a giant fair-like atmosphere. We also visited the original Magnolia store, the Magnolia restaurant on the other side of town and got to drive by one of the houses - The Shotgun house. We saw Jimmy Don, the guy who does all the beautiful metal work signs but missed Clint.

FYI the novena candles were not sold at any of the official Magnolia shops

Some of the other Waco sights and shops….including the Dr Pepper Museum.

Our New Motto!

It’s all part of the Journey!

We're Changing our Plans!

The Hot, The Humid and the Ugly!

We had a bunch of rough days with upper 90 degree days and high humidity. Here is what we learned:

• The RV only cools 15 - 20 degrees below the heat index…when it’s hot and humid outside, the inside of the RV is pretty uncomfortable!!

• Sweating all day, taking showers twice a day, doing tons of laundry and not being able to spend time outdoors is NOT fun!

• Sam hates to walk when it’s really hot…..so we go out for a million short walks.

• Bob has resorted to setting up the RV without his shirt on and that’s a little too close to looking like one of the regulars…..and he is getting lots of cat calls from some of our “neighbors”.

• Bob and Richele are pretty fussy when it’s too hot and humid…and that is not a good recipe for a successful summer in a small space!

So What’s the Plan?????

• I have spent the past few days reworking our summer trip! Sending “we’re sorry” notes to family and friends we were looking forward to seeing, cancelling reservations for the southern part of our trip, adding up the deposits we lost, and trying to book new places!
  Not fun. This how the plan changed.

Corpus Christi

This wasn’t our favorite place (maybe the weather didn’t help)….but we didn’t really love it. Perhaps the Giant Shark head (think Jaws music) was an omen. The waterfront oil rigs and refineries were not picturesque along the beaches but I guess that’s the price you pay for cheaper gas.

The USS Lexington is now a museum in Corpus Christi. We enjoyed visiting the WWII Navy aircraft carrier…sweaty as we were.

The Texas Hill County

We stayed in Marble Falls at a very pretty park on Lake LBJ. We were right in the middle of a Tornado Watch when we first arrived…..that was a bit dicey. Our next day was brighter…..they have a cute downtown with a famous pie shop (shocking we would find that ??? NOT).

Fredericksburg

This was a little gem we didn’t know much about……and we didn’t spend enough time there. Fredericksburg is in the heart of Texas Hill Country - north of San Antonio and west of Austin. It’s a historic little town settled by Germans in 1846s …… There are an amazing number of wineries in the area - you could wine taste for a week. The shops and restaurants were fun…..and it was a little cooler and less humid. It’s also Peach Country and we hit that just right.

Our favorite Wine Label: Fat Ass Wines. Hmmmm, we have to be careful about RVing when it’s too hot to do anything outside or we may be the new picture on the label.

San Antonio....and France and Spain!

Where Texas meets France: Castroville

Well, this doesn’t really look like a Texas town….that’s because in 1844 Henri Castro had a contract to bring over French farmers (of German decent) to colonize vacant Texas land. Over 2100 colonists came to the area, built European looking homes and businesses and spoke their native language for many years to come.

The Mission Trail in San Antonio

• We loved the mission trail. Between 1632 and 1793, Spanish Franciscan friars traveled through Mexico into Texas to set up missions and military forts to protect, feed and house struggling native americans and spread Catholicism. Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) was the first mission. The other 4 missions are part of the National Park System and are beautiful to see.

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The Riverwalk

We spent an afternoon doing the touristy thing at the Riverwalk. Hair in a pony tail….hot and humid. I think it will be this way for the rest of the trip!

Some of our other highlights…..

The drive through liquor store with Margarita’s to Go!
They put scotch tape on the styrofoam cups so you can’t drink and drive.

Sam met a cow by the fence at our RV park and decided to he would bark to let him know who was boss!

…………………The cow didn’t care - bark all you want buddy!

The Stars at Night.........

……are Big and Bright (clap clap clap clap) Deep in the Heart of Texas.

This was the song from Richele’s first tap dance recital when she was in first grade. It’s a very catchy tune, but I was told if I sing this song and clap one more time, Bob will leave me on the side of the road “deep in the heart of Texas”. Humph.

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There is not a lot to see on the backroads from El Paso to San Antonio but there are a few fun little towns and roadside attractions.

Alpine, Texas

Alpine is one of the closest towns to Big Bend National Park. Some cute shops and restaurants

Alpine also has this cute little baseball park styled after Wrigley Field - Ivy and all. We felt it when we drove by…..The Alpine Cowboys team has played here since 1946

Marfa, Texa

This is a little modern art town in Southwest Texas. The Hotel Paisano is the most beautiful boutique historic hotel. If you’re EVER in Marfa for a weekend, you have to stay here. In 1950’s this is where all the stars for the movie Giant stayed during filming (Liz Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson). Its also the town of the “paranormal” lights. Of course, Bob I couldn’t stay up late enough to see them - so we can’t comment.

Other Road Side Attractions!

On Hwy 90, There are two crazy little things you see on the road…..If you didn’t have a 40 foot RV you could probably pull off the side of the road for a photo op. Prada Marfa is an art installation just outside the town of Valentine. It’s only a store front, not a store. The little Target is just outside Marathon Tx, someone just decorated an old railroad building . I’m more of a Target girl, so I like that one the best.

Hey Y'all, we're in Southwest Texas

FIRST STOP: El Paso Ford. Our tow car was acting up. Luckily it was fixed in an afternoon and it was under $500!

If you look a little closer, you can tell this isn’t Bob………………...he doesn’t own a cowboy hat :)

The Wall

(…our first sighting of the wall, barrier, fence. No commentary.)

We visited 3 National Parks….

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

This is the tallest peak in Texas. A very pretty “drive by” on the way to Carlsbad Caverns.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM)

GIANT!! The caverns are 80 stories down, once you make the decent its the size of 14 football fields, and its the home of hundreds of thousands Brazilian Free Tailed bats! I took the elevator down and walked up…I had to go by myself because Bob doesn’t like caves.

SPELEOTHEMS: the word of the day. That’s the umbrella term for the stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, draperies and popcorn formations in the caverns….they were amazing!

The bats fly every sunrise and sunset, but we aren’t allowed in the bat cave during the day…..the bat guano (aka bat poop) is 40 feet deep….you can smell it from the entrance to the cave….yikes!

Big Bend National Park

There is a LOT (LOT) of driving to see the sights…..and with 188 miles of the Rio Grande river bordering the park….it took a LONG drive to get a little glimpse of the muddy river…..can you find it in the pictures???

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Note: They do call the Rio Grande, the “Rio Sand” in Las Cruces at this time of year. I found a great bike trail that I thought was along the river…… but when I got there, there was no water (just sand!) It takes a while for the snow melt to make it this far.

Old Historic Mesilla

This was a major stop on the stagecoach route between San Antonio and San Diego. The quaint town square is anchored by the Basilica of San Albino with cute shops and restaurants. Wonderful old world Spanish homes.

You’re never too old!

Even with oxygen, you can’t keep this gentleman from singing and his wife from playing the tambourine.

White Sands National Monument

This is a 275 square mile area of gypsum sand dunes (the largest in the the world.) It’s like being at a beach without any water anywhere. Kids even bring saucers to sled down the dunes. We were just lucky that it was overcast and not very windy on the morning we visited. The sand is blinding!

White Sands Army Base: Missile Range and Museum

How many of you knew that Bob was is the Rocket Club in High School? He can tell you LOTS of things about rockets. Well this was Bob’s dream stop…rockets rockets everywhere.

Hatch NM - The Chili Pepper Capital of the World

Hatch has been on Richele’s list of things to do for a long time. They have an Annual Chili Pepper Fest over Labor Day, but since we were in the area, we decided to take a side trip to see this “famous” town. Well I hope the Chili Pepper Fest is fun…but the town without a festival was a little sad. Not sure we’ll be back. They do have a restaurant in town that has all these giant statues….but that’s about it.

And, do YOU know what to do in a dust storm?

Let the Fun Begin....First stop: The RV Repair Center of course!

We are finally on the road after delaying our departure date. It ended up being a good thing since the weather in in Arizona this May has been glorious and the weather where we are headed is scary. The Southeast is getting hammered with Tornadoes, rain, and early tropical storms…now we’re just hoping it calms down as we start heading East.

There was a recall on the RV so had to stop in Tucson for the fix. It was a short fix, until we got back on the road and realized that now the radio wasn’t working (FYI….it WAS working). Grrrr. U-turn back to the service center.

Our first RV park was kind of interesting……This was the 2018 Best Megapark of the Year! What is a Megapark?? 1100 Mobile Homes in a park in South Tucson that invites RVs to visit. It was pretty nice but the barbed wire around the fence was a bit concerning. Our plan was to explore Tucson, but instead we just caught up on our sleep, rode bikes and played tennis. The life of great adventurers! JUST TOO TIRED!

Don’t forget…..if you want off the Email list, just let us know!! Our feelings won’t be hurt.

The Last Leg of Our Journey!

Capitol Reef National Park

This is a smaller and more out of the way National Park, but it’s so beautiful. It was named for the domes that look like the top of the Capitol building.

The red rocks in the park are like Sedona on steroids. There are cliffs, huge spires, the Canyon Gorge, and massive canyons.

The Fruita area of the park is where you can see Freemont Native American Petrogyphs along with orginal buildings and fruit orchards from the early mormon settlers. You can even pick fruit at the orchards for $1.00/pound (but at this time of year the pickins’ are slim. We didn’t even get one apple). Fun Idea though.

Just outside Capitol Reef the little town of Torrey welcomes you with a dummy sitting in a police car to slow down traffic. It works, because everyone is taking pictures of the dusty car/policeman dummy. I don’t think this car has been moved in years. The town also has this fun band that plays at the farmers market on Saturday afternoon.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon

A perfect last stop for us - Breathtaking!

We made it home safely. After 8,970 miles and 5 months on road, we’re still talking to each other!!! We overcame the bumps in the road and overall had such a great time.

This trip is all behind us now….

THANKS FOR COMING ALONG FOR THE RIDE!

Our Antics in Idaho and Utah!

We spent time in Idaho and Utah on our way to and from Wyoming.

Potatoes

Bob was so disappointed that we heard nothing about Idaho potatoes on our time in Northern Idaho, but we hit the jackpot at the Idaho Potato Museum. History of the Potato (from South America), Potato Queens, Potato movers (the Spudnik) and they even had a Cafe that served all things potatoes (potato cupcakes??)

Our Book of Mormon Experience

We visited Temple Square in Salt Lake City and even had the chance to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra perform. Of course the first question Bob asked our guide: “Do you have more than one wife?” I guess we didn’t know that polygamy was banned in the Church of Jesus Christ and the Later Day Saints in 1890.

Olympic Park, Park City Utah

Ahhh the “BOB”SLED!

We felt like we were revisiting the 2002 Winter Olympics with the great exhibits at the Park’s museum. That was until we started watching the “ski jumpers” practicing by jumping into the pool! That was amazing to watch.

Park City, Utah.

A walk along historic main street on a beautiful afternoon.

And we even had a chance to see some Fall colors - before we start south to Arizona.

The Grand Tetons....and the BIG night ride.

From the minute you drive into the park it’s just so majestic!

Jenny Lake….the beautiful lake views and the smell of the pine trees.

AMAZING! This moose walked right next to our car!!!

Mormon Row Historic District (and the famous old barn). The 2 Chapels at the base of the Tetons (Chapel of the Sacred Heart and Chapel of the Transfiguration). Wouldn’t you love these views if you were bailing hay or going to church!

The Million Dollar Cowboy Boy Bar in Jackson is fun! Well we didn’t want you to think that the only thing we like to do is look for bars in old towns….but you all know us too well. All the bar stools are saddles (not that easy to get on and off of!)

The BIG Night Ride!

We normally go to bed early….but this night we decided to go in search of the elusive BEAR! (along with a bunch of other “bear hunters”!) We haven’t seen one in 2 years of travel in “bear country”. Alas, this is the best we could do!

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is so massive….we were too busy and tired after running around to blog! And we met 5 other couples here so there was lots of evening fun too!

Yellowstone:

• The First National Park (est. 1872)

• It’s 2.2 million acres with a very diverse landscape ….so there is a lot of driving to see everything.

• 4 million people visit each year…..by the bus loads…. so it’s crowded (and we were here AFTER school was back in session!) We were up at the crack of dawn to beat the rush and to try and see animals. Each morning it was in the 30s….Brrrrrr!

• Much of the park is a caldera (crater) from a giant supervolcano (the last eruption was 630,00 years ago). It’s still active and it’s what feeds all the hot springs, geysers, mudpots and travertine terraces in the park.

Old Faithful!

The granddaddy of the 500 geysers in Yellowstone.

A sample of the other 10,000 thermal features (geysers, hot springs, fumeroles, mud pots and travertine terraces).

Canyons and Waterfalls

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with it’s upper and lower falls, Gibbon Falls, Tower Falls

THE WILDLIFE!

We loved the “bison or elk jams” on the roads. We all stop in our cars to see them and just block traffic even though all the signs say DO NOT STOP IN THE ROAD! You just can’t help it!!!

The Beautiful Park Lodges

Sam looking out the RV front window waiting for us to get home at night!

Grand Tetons next!