Bootscootn' across Texas!

Unfortunately, due to family business, we had to turn our rig around and head back to California, which means, driving back through the big state of Texas once again!  We will have to come back here in about two months when grand baby number seven is born in June...does the word "yo yo" come to mind to anyone else besides me?  I prefer the more forward motion, instead of backward one myself, but sometimes family matters takes an ugly turn and one has to do what one has to do...  Oh well, guess Nashville will just have to stay on my list of places I want to visit, awhile longer!  Dang...

Anyway, as we are bootscootn' back, as time is of the essence, we took the route that lead us through San Antonio, another one of our favorite stops.  It just so happened that it turned out to be Easter weekend and Fiesta de los Reyes!  As usual, I had lost track of all time and didn't even realize the dates until the night before we were to arrive (Thursday) and got panicky that we wouldn't be able to find a site, but as luck would have it (yea me) we got the last of 3 in a beautiful KOA not far from town.

This campground had everything!  So, Friday evening after settling in, we just took a leisurely walk around the very large park and ordering their pizza and just set out our camp chairs and relaxed outside.  The weather was idyllic for a change, as it had been quite cold for the last few days of travel.  The next morning we indulged, once again in their chuck wagon breakfast, then donned sun hats, camera and headed off to see what the Fiesta had to offer!

Our first stop proved not to be "our type" - loud noisy music, to crowed with families of small children with lots of carnival food and rides, etc.  I had read something about an up-scale art show, so we looked that up and was able to finally track it down.  It was located in an old monastery turned art school.  Beautiful location and great show!  Some of the crafts were really imaginary and unusual, all very nice, all very expensive, all worth our time and enjoyment.

It was time to move on to our favorite part of the city...the River Walk!  It's such a soothing beautiful, yet entertaining part of the city - and filled with great restaurants!  We were hungry and ready to find THE restaurant.  You see, two years ago we wandered into a great restaurant, one that Jack found a dish that he LOVED.  That's saying a lot.  Let me explain to those who don't know us that well...I love food.  All kinds of food.  Jack on the other hand...not so much.  He's from Philadelphia, and likes pretty basic things, things he grew up with, like cheese steaks & bagels - but only the ones like they make in Philly.  Meatloaf, hamburgers, chicken...you get the picture?  Spicy foods like Mexican....not so much.  So, when we go to these types of places, I try and find foods there that he will eat so that I can have a (decent) meal and he can too.  So, I read menus.  That's what I did two years ago, and steered us into this restaurant.  So, back to my story.  We couldn't remember the name of this restaurant, but knew we would recognize it if we saw it again...wasn't sure exactly where on the River Walk it was located...but...knew we'd find it, right?

So, off we went in search!  The biggest challenge was finding a parking place!  Ugh, OK, that done, down the stars we went to the first set we came to.  Where to begin to look?  Three restaurants in, and...could it be that easy?  Yep, there it was!  The Iron Cactus!!  Same menu, same great food, same great service, same fantastic margaritas!  Same very happy husband!!

Our plan had been to spend Easter Sunday really enjoying this lovely campground, the pool, riding our bikes on one of their trails, even using our new campfire pit Jack made us - but the weather turned yucky, so I decided it was a day to catch up on chores instead.  Not the kind of Easter I've enjoyed in the past, but so far, this year it has been one with lots of surprises that I am sure will just keep on coming...and that can be a good thing!

...on the road in Texas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Close Encounters...

There are just some places you have to see for yourself.  Places you've heard about.  Places you've seen in movies.  Places family or friends have talked about and maybe even shown you pictures of.  They stay in the back of your mind, until one day...your in "the" area and you just have to go and see it!

One such place is the Devils Tower in Wyoming.  First introduction..."Close Encounters of the Third Kind" with Richard Dreyfuss, back in 1977!  Who can forget that one?  Didn't it make you want to see it for yourself?  Did it really exist?  Does it really look like that?  How big is it really?  What's around it?  Tiny questions, small enough to wonder, not big enough to bother researching...just tucked in the back of your mind.  Forgotten, long ago...at least until you find yourself within driving distance of it!

So, there we were, leaving Gillette Wyoming, heading east on I 90, heading straight for that long ago memory.  Reservations had been made weeks ago at the Devils Tower KOA because we had read that they were "the closest campground to the Tower" and that they played the movie every night!  How cool was that?

The first time the Tower came into view, it was a pure "Wow" factor!  It lived up to all the expectations, and more.  The closer we got...the better it was.  This thing is BIG...and beautiful...and right in the middle of nowhere.

After the initial "photo stops", it was time to head to the official Visitor's Center to learn about the Tower and what and where we should see.  So, if you are not up to date on all the "data" on the Tower, only knowing it from the movie, like I was, here's some basic info that I found pretty interesting...

In 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as the nation's first national (and natural) monument.  It's actually the core of a volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fouche River and the weather.  It stands 865 feet high. Rock climbers love to climb it.  There are loads of rocks and boulders around the base of the tower that are actually broken pieces of columns having fallen from the sides. The Tower is a sacred site to the local Plains Indians and they still practice some of their rituals on the Tower.  The Park Service sets June aside and asks climbers not to do so during this month.  There are various prayer sacks, cloths, dream catchers, etc. tied to the trees during this time as well. 

Enough "facts", it was time to go take a walk around it!  They had several nice trails, some easy ones (our kind!) and some longer ones (for the more hardy types).  The day was beautiful, so we started out, camera and hat in the ready.  The path was steep, but they were kind enough to have benches along the way, to rest and just gaze at it.  We also caught sight of a fast moving Great Basin Gopher snake...that we left alone.

As we left the park and headed back down the hill the red sandstone and siltstone cliffs above the Belle Fouche River stood out against the green Ponderosa Pine forest east of Devils Tower beautifully.

The first and last thing you encounter on the drive is the black-tailed prairie dogs in their own town at the base of Devils Tower.  Those little guys are a hoot!  There are hundreds, well, probably thousands of them scurrying about in and out of the millions of holes they have dug.  They are so used to the tourists that they almost pose for pictures as all of us stop and snap away!  (I had to take some for my grandson, he loves them!)

Our campground was right at the base of the Tower, so we enjoyed the view from all angles, but no matter how often we looked, we never saw any extra-terrestrials!

 ...on the road in South Dakota,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Lovely Lake Havasu City!

Traveling is fun...most of the time...but we all know, nothing is perfect. Case in point - Our trip to Lake Havasu...

We have this wonderful GPS system, the Rand McNally Tripmaker but it's only as good as the information going into it. Sooo, when we were given the "address" of the campground, that's what I put into the system. Well, I should say, that's what I tried to put into the system. It kept fighting me (that was my first clue), not "finding" it in Lake Havasu or Parker. As the sun started setting and we started getting closer to Quartzsite we started getting more and more worried that we were indeed lost. With hundreds of rigs heading on the long stretch to Quartzsite, and not a turn-out in sight, it didn't look pretty. Quartzsite was the last place Jack wanted to be, and I was failing fast as the navigator. Tempers were starting to flare! This was not going well. We finally spotted an area large enough to pull over and recalculate the situation. That done, Jack saw a way to pull the rig around and go back the way we came and retrace our route. Long story short, we finally found the place, well hidden, I might add! Once there (Havasu Springs Resort), the staff couldn't have been more accommodating and friendly. Luckily they had a restaurant and it was still open too! Good food, a glass a wine and some live music later, and all was well. Phew! Lesson learned...don't fight the GPS system, she knows best, if she can't find it, the address or directions given were wrong!!

In the light of day, we saw that the campground (called a "resort") was really quite nice! Jack had won this when he was having some work done on the rig in San Marcos before we left, at Camperworld. They had called him on his birthday, no less, and told him he had won $1000 worth of free nights at a Colorado River Adventures campground of our choice. He explained that we were right in the middle of moving, etc. and we would have to call them back to schedule something. When we were in Pahrump, I told him to give them a call and see if we could go ahead and book their Lake Havasu location - that's how we ended up there! We had to attend a "sales meeting", we knew, but what the heck?

It ended up to be a good call. We met with some very nice folks, explained our new style of living for the next year or so, and actually worked out a really good deal for us (and them, of course). We decided to go ahead and purchase their membership. It's through CRA (Colorado River Adventures) and covers RPI (Resort Parks International) that includes Thousand Trails and Enjoy America campgrounds as well. That along with our KOA membership should pretty much cover us across the US! I was actually a little concerned about "peak season" camping, but now I don't have to be, yea for us! And that's now at $10-$15 a night even! I'll keep you posted on how it all works out.










































...kicking back in Arizona, Marie