That's a Wrap!

Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!  When you camp in an area that doesn't have any WiFi service (or cable) the two pretty much merge together!  ;-)  So this "end of year blog" is a little late getting out...

Looking over our "goals" for 2017, which was pretty much to "complete our US map" and to take things a bit slower, spending more time during our travels, exploring...I think we were successful.  We checked off our last state, which was Ohio! by thoroughly enjoying that state.  We visited 6 cities/towns in Ohio, sampling their food (chili!), their attractions, and their beauty.  We never guessed Ohio could be so much fun!  We ended up spending 19 days there.

After 5 years on the road, and always visiting Texas (because it's there, and because it's where one of my son's lives) it's always a fun challenge to find a new place and/or a new route to take.  This year we managed to do both.  We also checked off another National Park to boot!  Visiting Big Bend in Texas was quite an experience, and like all of Texas, you can only get a taste of it because it's so very large!  Then later, after visiting my son, going through the Piney Woods area of Texas was such a lovely surprise.

Another state we were able to enjoy and spend some time exploring this year was Colorado.  In the past, it has only been for a few days, and only to visit our friends around the Denver area.  This time they met us in Colorado Springs for a week, but we camped several weeks before and after throughout the state as well and really got a great sense of what a beautiful state it is.  Having the opportunity to visit it in August was ideal for us, since their mountains are so high, most of the time one takes a chance of getting hit with snow or ice or road closures...but not so in August!  Yea!

I was also able to knock off a long time item off my "bucket list" this year, and that was to walk into and photograph a slot canyon in Utah.  What a wonderful experience that was!  Oftentimes something you've wished for, for years, doesn't always live up to your expectations, but this time, it exceeded it.  We ended up with a private tour because no one else had signed up for it that day, and the guide knowing my feelings, stayed longer, and took extra time showing me photo shots to take.  It was the highlight of our summer and one I will never forget!

With all that, we still managed to be at the birth of my last grandson, to get in (very) quick trips back east with family, and then the fast trip back to the west for a friend's wedding (phew!).  So no "vacation" out of the RV this year.  A longer than usual family visit in Washington...then to Arizona to "dry out".

Looking over our stats, they aren't to much different than last year actually...

We stayed at 62 campgrounds, for a total of 295 nights
Total campground fees: $10,758.63
(That averages about $36.47 a night, which is a little less than last year...maybe because we didn't stay in California very long this time)

Mileage for the RV: 12,945
Mileage for the toad: 11,823
Gasoline for the RV: $4,800
Gasoline for the toad: $1,130
Propane: $143
Maintenance & Repairs RV: 5,800(4 tires on toad, 6 tires on RV, generator exhaust, etc)

When you have a 10 year old RV, she needs a little TLC once a decade, then she's "good to go" again for awhile.  Now that that is done, we can relax a bit and see what 2018 brings us!

...kicking back in sunny Arizona,  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/

The OTHER Side of the Grand Canyon!

For as far back as I can remember, I've wanted to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Like most people who have traveled much, Jack and I have been to the South Rim (for me, more than once), but at our ripe ages...never have gotten to the North Rim!  Due to it's limited "open time" because of the weather, it's always been a challenge.  Because "we don't do snow" we tend to use a lot of our summer time visiting areas that we can't get to in the winter, thus, it limits us.

This year, because we came back west for a wedding, we were in this area that we usually are not at this time of the year, soooo, yea, we finally had the opportunity to check a couple of places off our bucket list...this one being "the big one"!  ;-)

So, luckily we were able to find a campsite not to very far, in Kanab UT as our home base and booked it for 5 days.  Weather is clear and in the high 80's, low 90's, not bad!  Yea!

Well, off we went to spend the whole day at the North Rim!  Wow, it was wonderful!  I really didn't know what to expect, I knew it would be different, but hadn't really spent any time researching it, and I was glad, as I like to just take it all in.  It was an hour and half drive to get to, but the drive itself was beautiful as well.  I took a dozen pictures before we even got to the gate!  Changing scenery every few miles.

Not even feet from the gate, we were greeted with one of the largest herds of bison we've seen thus far in our travels.  At least one that was all together in one spot!  Hundreds all grazing, enjoying the fresh green grass with their young calves.  Sweet.  Of course there is always the crazy tourist that ignores the ranger's statement not to stop in the road and not to get out of your car and walk towards the bison...jeez...

By the time we made it into the park itself, it was lunch time, so what better place to take a break, than at the Grand Canyon Lodge?  We lucked out and got a beautiful table right at the window with a wonderful view of the canyon, our first real view of it!  What a great way to really start our adventure!

After lunch we walked the short trail to Bright Angel Point and got a really beautiful view.  A nice couple took our picture and we headed on our journey.

Each stop was more beautiful than the next.  As the ad's say, it's not crowed like the South Rim, every stop had plenty of parking spots, the people there were friendly and never got in the way to take pictures.  There never was any "traffic" to speak of, it always seemed like a leisurely drive with plenty of time to get from one place to the other.  The only gift shops, food, etc is at the beginning where the Lodge and Visitor's Center is.  All much smaller than at the South Rim.  There is a shuttle service from rim-to-rim as well.  But that's it.  As you can imagine, I took many, many pictures...I'll spare you here and just give you a small sample...the rest, if you want are in my flickr account!  ;-)

I'm so glad we finally made it, if you haven't been...do put it on your list, you won't regret it!  As you will see in the pictures, it's very different from the South Rim, and so lovely in it's own right.  I'm just so sorry it took us so long to get here...but sometimes good things just take a while to happen...

We have one more adventure to check off our bucket list, and that's happening tomorrow!  Look for more beautiful pictures from this fabulous place!

...kicking back in Kanab,  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/

History lessons...

Day 1 in Huachua City (pronounced wa-CHOO-ka) was spent at Ft Huachuca, much to Jack's glee, something he's been looking forward to for quite some time.

Ft Huachuca was originally set up in 1877 as a temporary camp for the US Calvary from Tucson. It's strategic location near the border made it a key Army post in the American West. It also played an important role in the development of the Buffalo Soldiers.

In 1954 the fort became the site of the Army Electronic Proving Ground. The 73,000+ acres is hdqrs of the Army Information Systems Command, the Army Intelligence Center and various other military organizations (think I spy and Mission Impossible). Their museums were quite impressive (and very educational, I might add).

Day 2 was spent at Kartchner Caverns State Park, to my glee! Something I was really looking forward to, having heard so much about them from friends who stressed that they were a "must see". We were not disappointed! "WOW!" Doesn't cover it. There are two tours to choose from, we went with the "Big Room" which is only open part of the year (closed during bat birthing season we later found out). The cave system is over 7 acres! A great deal of that is in the Big Room. When they say "Big", they mean BIG! Jaw-dropping BIG!

I saw so many new forms and learned so many new terms to go with them, it was mind boggling. Things like: helicites and rimstone dams and canopies and birdsnest quartz needle formations and soda straw formations and on and on.

No pictures to show you, so I can only suggest you go on their website (even that doesn't give you any great pictures). Because they are fastidious about keeping this cavern pristine as possible they take every precaution they can. No cameras, no loose clothing, we went through a misting to keep the lint down, low lights that only come on as we entered, etc. All I can say about this place is put it on your bucket list - it's a MUST SEE!!

Afterward, we drove through the lively town of Benson (not) came back to our little RV Park (nothing to brag about here) pulled out our chairs, took out the books we've started, propped up our feet, and used the rest of the afternoon to read! Ahhh, life in the retired lane is good, indeed!























































































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/

...kicking back in Arizona, Marie