Stonehedge Inn - Tyngsboro, Ma

Hydrangea

We have decided that we may have seen one too many hurricanes.  Maybe we need to move somewhere...but where.  Well maybe Vermont.  It’s fall foliage time, and we haven’t seen family for awhile (since Father’s Day).  The plan...fly to Boston, visit family, drive to Vermont, drive back, visit family, go home.  Of course, while we are here, another hurricane, Michael, hit Florida, but was still a tropical storm with 60mph gusts as it went over our house.

We have been to Stonehedge Inn several times in the past ten years, with each visit, it seems to get a little more tired, a little less inviting.  The room was a little threadbare, the Keurig system only had one coffee pod.  We are returning on Saturday and asked for a better room.

The visit with the family was wonderful.  It seems everyone has a suggestion for the “perfect” place to live.

Colony Inn - Keene, NH

Tired!

After our country breakfast, we were able walk around Woodstock.  The local gardeners were working the garden in the commons.  We checked the window at the realtor, it seemed like we could find a place we liked at a somewhat reasonable price.  So Woodstock is on the list!

From Woodstock, we went down to Brattleboro.  It’s a possibility, it’s the kind of place hippies go to die.  After a call to our next door neighbor in Virginia to make sure the house is okay (it is!), we walk around town and end up eating lunch at a brewery on the Connecticut River.  Deb had a Chicken Sandwich with French fried pickles.  I’m not sure if the pickles were the only reason but Brattleboro is NOT on the list.

The sun has come out, Deb is tired of driving, so we go for a little walk in the park.  Not that we were really dressed for it.  Loafers and a leather jacket are not my normal hiking apparel.  After the hike we ended up in Keene at the Colony Inn.  It’s right in the heart of town, close to several restaurants.  Our room is at he top of a steep staircase at the end of a narrow hallway.  This one is not so spacious, but there is a communal living room downstairs with a refrigerator full of beer.

View from trail at Pisgah State Park, NH

Diner is at a local brewery.  With all the tables full, we sat at the bar and ate smoked salmon, that was smoked by the bar tender.  Could have been the salmon, but Keene made the list!

Breakfast was included with room.  Nice!

Stonehedge Inn - Tyngsboro, MA

Jaffrey NH 

We checked out Peterborough and Jaffrey.  Peterborough was nice, Jaffrey not so much, but they had a Halloween scarecrow contest with hundreds of scarecrows.  So onward to Massachusetts.  The rain is back and we need a little exercise, so we stopped at Mall we used use when we lived in the area. According to Deb’s Fitbit, one loop around the second floor is about 1,500 steps.

After playing cards (won a game, lost a game) we all headed to Stonehedge for dinner.  The food was excellent, but oh, the service...this time it was a problem in the kitchen...  Probably, Stonehedge Inn is off the list!

Tomorrow, it off for home.

Kedron Valley Inn - South Woodstock, VT

Kedron Valley Inn

Although the weather was a little gloomy, with light rain, we were pretty happy.  The foliage is right at the peak.  I realize I haven’t been back to this part of New Hampshire and Vermont in forty years.  We drove by my old haunts...well, at least, where my old haunts used to be.  We drove through Hanover, NH and Norwich, VT.  There was a little sign for King Arthur Flour.  We decided to check it out.  With the rainy weather, it seems the only thing available to do is shop, eat and take classes at KAF (that’s what we in the know, call it).  So we had lunch and did our Christmas Shopping for everyone on our list.

Woodstock Main Street

After lunch we went to Woodstock, but it was raining too hard, so we took a scenic foliage drive over the Green Mountains.  With a quick detour through a quintessential covered bridge down a long dirt road, through a few pastures and rolling hills, we arrive at the Kedron Valley Inn.  We have a spacious room at the top of a steep stairway and at the end of a narrow hallway.  The classic Vermont Inn dining room has been replaced with a Neapolitan Pizza Eatery.  The chef went to New York City for training (it might have been more special if he went to Italy...just saying).  Several of the pizza choices were interesting...broccolini or ham, cheese, and Maple Syrup.  We settled for bacon, apple and arugula.

Breakfast was available next door at the country store.  It’s starting to feel a lot like New England

First Landing State Park - Virginia Beach, VA (Deb’s Birthday)

This is the one day a year that Deb gets to decide what we do.  Her reaction to having to make all the choices - “This is some version of Hell!”  After walking the Osmanthus Trail (to save you from Googling “Osmanthus,” it’s a flowering shrub also known as Devilwood...well isn’t that appropriate.).

Back to the RV for lunch, Greek Salad with chick peas and Greek Olives.  Off to the beach, dogless,  where Deb took a swim.  I managed to drop her phone in the water, but it seems okay.

I was particularly brave and on two occasions interacting with total strangers.  They are building a large deck right next to our site, and I went over and asked what they were doing. It’s a platform for a handicapped yurt (the last of 33 yurt platforms they are building this year).  The camp store was closed so I couldn’t buy any firewood.  Walking back, I saw the camp host had a pile of firewood, so I asked him if he knew where I could get some.  With a small huff, he gave me 4 pieces of wood, asking nothing in return (I did, later, bequeath him with a full sleeve of “Dragon in a Box” firestarters)

Dinner at Hot Tuna, a great little seafood place, where Deb had a cheeseburger(?!?).  Back at the campsite, we burned our four pieces of wood and reminisced about our three hundred or so days on the road in our cute little tardis RV.

First Landing State Park - Virginia Beach, VA

We we’re going to come here in September, but when we were getting ready to leave, storm clouds rolled in.  Checked the weather - flash floods, high surf advisory, rip currents, rain, thunder, lightning.  So we decided to reschedule.  How mature is that!

It’s Deb’s birthday, and we are having an Indian summer.  As usual, we head out on a week-middle (Tuesday-Thursday).  Deb has asked for a birthday cake (not happening), a dinner date (probably will happen), a campfire (might happen), a hike (delightful), a stroll on the beach (romantic), and then a nice movie (I’ll tell her how it ends, tomorrow...zzzz)

We hung out at the beach with our beach chairs.  There were dozens of dolphins really close to shore, breaching, smashing their flukes on the surface of the water, swimming back and forth in front of us.  Drex is still miffed by wave action and indignantly struts back to shore after being buffeted around, until he decides to try it again.

Dinner was shredded Brussels sprouts and eggs...interesting...with rice and chicken.  After dinner, we watched the sun set (from the other side of the “don’t walk on the dunes” sign...shhhh).  And then we watched the first two episodes of M*A*S*H. (A birthday present).  I’ll tell her how it ended, this morning!

Wytheviile KOA - Wytheville, VA

We have decided that it’s time to quit our nice little trip and focus on the powerful hurricane that is barreling toward the East Coast.  We should be home 48 hours before the hurricane strikes.  It’s planned to hit North Carolina, but we would still get lots of rain.

Well the governor has decided that our home is in a mandatory evacuation area.  We have never approved of people staying put and putting first responders at an unnecessary risk.  Therefore, we are going to stay here til the storm passes.

Barren River Lake State Park - Glasgow, KY

Kentucky Dam

It’s a short day, but the clouds are threatening...they have been for days.  There has been no place to fly fish on the western part of the state so it’s time to improvise.  We start with a short walk across the TVA hydroelectric dam.  At the power plant, there is a visitor’s center, manned by a husband and wife team.  He worked for TVA for thirty years, in the personnel department (way before it became Human Resources!). We know way more about TVA then before.  By lunch time, we were in Fairfield, KY.  The birthplace of Jefferson Davis.  In his honor, the daughters of the Confederacy built  a 351ft obelisk (the tallest

Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY

concrete obelisk, and the fourth tallest of all obelisks). We know way more about Jefferson Davis than before.  By late in the afternoon, we decided to check out the Corvette Museum, where several cars were sucked into a sinkhole.  We learned way more about Corvettes than we knew before.  We finally made it to Barren River Lake State Park.

For our regional meal, we had a huge plate of Kentucky Cheese and Crackers, Dinner was a large plate of Pork Chops, with dessert a large bowl of fruit cobbler and ice cream.  Nothing was really unique, but the portions were huge!

Jefferson Davis Memorial

Kentucky Dam State Park - Calvert City, KY

Pennyrile Lake

We are at the western terminus of our fall sojourn.  In planning our trip, I was trying to follow the Culinary Trail - Better in the Bluegrass.  There are nine state parks that are participating, but for some reason, I only planned for eight of them.  A quick search, and I realized that I had missed Pennyrile State Park.  So as luck would have it, at noon, in the rain, there was the sign for Pennyrile State Park, only 10 miles away.  It was a gorgeous little park, overlooking a gorgeous little lake, we drank strawberry lemonade,  with Burgoo for an appetizer, and BBQ mutton, with baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad.  Peach Cobbler for dessert.

Peach Cobbler

Back on the road, into the rain, got to campground, waited for the rain to stop, went to dinner.  Of all the meals we have had, this was the least enlightened, we might have been more into it, if we weren’t still stuffed from lunch.  We did have a nice Kentucky Dam Iced Tea (not your mama’s ice tea...this one had bourbon in it).  Back at the campground, we got hooked up just before the rain.

Tomorrow, we head back east.

Pennyrile Lodge for lunch

Rough River State Park - Falls of Rough, KY

Tasted better than it looked

It’s a fairly short trip to Rough River, through some serious horse country.  We drove by huge estates and beautifully manicured stud farms.  I thought it might be nice to visit a bourbon distillery.  There was a sign for Woodford Reserve Distillery, of course, it was fifteen miles away, but we managed to drive down some beautiful tree lined lanes by miles of horse pastures.  It seemed more a place for a surrey ride than for an RV but you take what you got.  The distillery was lovely, we weighed the options of the distillery tour, but in the end opted for a nice lunch and a bottle of Kentucky’s finest. We won’t tell them that we’re going to make BBQ sauce with it.

Oops! Should have taken the photo before eating it!

There is no campground at Rough River, instead, we have a room in the lodge.  Maybe not quite the room that you might picture as a room at Rough River Lodge...think more Motel 6, but it works. Dinner is Bib Lettuce with a cucumber, cream cheese dressing and then Hot Browns and succotash, an open face ham sandwich with mornay sauce and a tomato slice, with some bacon.  Desert was bourbon bread pudding.  All in all, a nice meal.

Blue Lick Battleground State Park - Ewing, KY

Battle of Blue Licks Monument

Blue Lick State Park is a remotely located state park on a fairly small tract of land which celebrates the “resounding” defeat of the American Colonialists against the British (with the help of American Indians).  The campground is...interesting...power and water are both 50 ft from the site.  Fortunately, we were ready for them.

But we are here for our first Kentucky culinary treat, and it bested our expectations.  First, tomato pie.  We had just tried making this at home, but this one was made with Mayonnaise instead of yogurt.  Dinner was Goette (pronounced get - uh) with potato cakes.  Goetta is a sausage made from ground meat and pin oats.  Desert was transparent pie.  Which is made from everything bad.  The filling is sugar, eggs, butter and heavy cream.  I think it’s called transparent pie because right after they put it in front of us, it disappeared.

Maybe some fly fishing on the Lick River, but it looks pretty muddy and difficult to get to.

Daniel Boone fought in this battle

Pipestem State Park - Pipestem, WV

Drex keeping some workmen company.

This is the first day of our Fall Trip.  Our plan is to explore the culinary delights of Kentucky with a dash of fly fishing.   Kentucky is more than a day’s drive so we are stopping at an old haunt in West Virginia.  The last time we were here, we avoided the gourmet restaurant at the bottom of the gorge in favor of the completely packed Blue Mountain restaurant on the top of the ridge which was serving an all you can eat seafood buffet (so wrong on so many levels).  This time we opted for the gourmet restaurant only to find that it closed during the week.  We had dinner back at the Blue Mountain.  It was not crowded and we got a nice table with a lovely view of the sunset.  We ate West Virginia appropriate cuisine (trout and chicken), drank West Virginia craft beer and even brought a small sample back for Drex.

Tomorrow the Kentucky adventure begins in earnest.

Dalpe Park - Pelham, NH

Our trip came to a conclusion just before Father's Day.  So we spent four days visiting with family and relaxing.  Went to see Mame! at the North Shore Music Theater.  With our kids visiting from the west coast, it was a wonderful week-end.

Of course, looming in the background was the trip down the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Virginia.  This is not a particularly camper friendly part of the world...roads that are passenger car only, state parks that are not pet friendly, expensive gasoline...so we decide to make the trip in one shot (650 miles).  We were able to stop along the way,  took a few naps, made lunch, made dinner, which made it bearable.  But still, it took almost three hours to get around Washington.

We left before sunrise and got home after sunset...but it was over!   Nothing left to do, but clean the RV for our next trip!

Watkins Glen State Park - Watkins Glen, NY

Gorge at Watkins Glen

As promised, we had an early start out of Findley State Park in Ohio.  As I went to throw our trash in the dumpster, I was met by four beady eyes.  Two raccoons had gotten stuck in the dumpster and could not get out.  I felt I should let someone know.  The camp host was right next to the dumpster, so I knocked on his door, figuring he should be up by 7:00.  He told me that the same two raccoons get stuck in the dumpster every Wednesday, because they can’t get out until it s half full.  They put a stick in the dumpster so they can crawl out.

After a nice Interstate drive, we arrive at Watkins Glen with enough time to walk through the Gorge. As Deb said, “It was gorge-ious!”  Lots of tourists.

This is really our last night out.  Tomorrow, we visit with family for a few days, and then home to whatever awaits us after being away a month and a half!

In the morning we decide for a very early start and leave in our PJ's! 

Findley State Park - Wellington, OH

We are now on the final part of the trip.  We pass through the birth place of Thomas Edison, and the town that Archibald Willard painted “The Spirit of ‘76” without even batting an eye.  We head right for the campsite, make dinner, change the sheets, catch up on e-mail.  It has rained really hard here in the past few days and everything is muddy.  So instead of hiking, we make meatloaf (slow cooker style) and garlic bread (pan cooked).

It will be an early start for the next two days, at least early for us...half the time it seems like the campground empties before we wake up.

Bay City State Park - Bay City, MI

The scenic trip down the eastern coast of Michigan was in a word...scenic.  We arrived at one of those campgrounds where each site is really defined by whether or not you can reach the electric plug for the site, if you can you are in your assigned site.  Within fifteen minutes of arriving, Deb’s Fitbit was bored and wanted to go for a bike ride AND a hike!

There are some storms looming around us, but we have been spared.  Everything in Michigan says “Pure Michigan.”  When Mathews paid $100,000 for “Be Here” we were a little miffed, but it makes you wonder what “Pure Michigan” cost and if they would like to buy “Be Here” from Mathews.

Tomorrow...Ohio

Main Street Inn - Mackinaw Island, MI

Mackinac Bridge (5 miles)

The last time we were here we boarded Drex at Suzie’s Kennel and Quilt Shop, in St Ignace on the upper peninsula, but Susie retired.  So we rebooked to Mackinac City KOA on the lower peninsula which had a kennel right across the street.  With Drex boarded, we headed for Mackinaw Island.  Mackinaw Island does not have cars, or franchise restaurants, just fudge shops, bars and thousands of bicycles for rent.  So, first lunch, then a bike ride around the island, with a brief side trip to Lookout Point, then a nap, then a walk around the town to find the perfect pre-dinner drink place.  Then a walk around the town to find the perfect dinner place.

Making fudge

Then a walk around town to find the perfect after dinner drink place, followed by the perfect place for a nightcap with some Fried Green Tomatoes.  Of course, the highlight of any hotel visit is a large shower, with unlimited hot water.  The only place open in the morning was Starbucks, with an 8:00 ferry ride back to Mackinaw City.  Even after a 10 mile bike ride, several miles of bar hopping, Deb’s Fitbit was not satisfied, and we had to walk the mile and a half back to the KOA.

Today is either a short drive on the Interstate or a scenic drive along the coast. Well, we have to be in Boston on Thursday, but how we get there is our business! (...scenic...)

Mackinac City KOA - Mackinac City, MI

It was 400 miles, it was a time zone change in the wrong direction.  Left at 8:00, arrived at 5:00...enough said.

The drive along Lake Michigan was pretty, and it’s always fun to drive over the Mackinaw Bridge. Stopped to get some Pasties (that’s with a short “a” as in “ball”).  As the woman said, with a long “a” it’s a totally different thing. Pasties are a stuffed pastry that is famous on the U.P. (that’s the upper peninsula to non Michiganers).

Mirror Lake - Wisconsin Dells, WI

Mirror Lake is another redo for us, but only because it’s next to the Ishlana Supper Club which is right on Mirror Lake.  On one of my early cross country road trips, I saw a sign for the Spam Museum, but didn’t stop.  This time, we were driving by right at lunch time...call it destiny.  What an exciting place! Just oodles of information about the history of Spam, how it was the single advantage that the Allied Forces had in WWII!  How it changes the war effort in Vietnam!  There was a chance to test your skills as a canner.  Deb tried it but, alas, will not be asked to return for the job interview. It’s the only place in the world that sells all 15 different flavors of Spam.  We bought several to give as Christmas presents (it’s sort of like buying one of those flowery Hawaiian shirts...it seemed like a good idea at the time)

It was Friday night at the Ishlana Supper Club, so we had a fairly long wait for dinner.  We sat at one of the bars and tried to talk but a trio of loud women next to us kept drowning us out.  Finally, we got away when they called us for dinner, but, yes, five minutes later, they were seated at the table next to us.  Oh well.

It’s 399 miles to Mackinaw City and we have our last time zone change, so it should be an early start.

Palisades State Park - Garretson, SD

It’s a short drive (don’t get too used to them).  We get in early enough for lunch...Deb has been wanting to make potato salad since Idaho.  We have a couple of Idaho Russets, just waiting. Delicious.

Palisades Park is the second smallest state Park in South Dakota.  It is a small stream that runs through palisades of catlinite.  Catlinite is a pink rock, also called Sioux Quartzite.  This is the only place it is found, and primary use is to make Indian Peace Pipes.  My father had a piece of catlinite that he carved into a pipe and polished.  With well established trails and mowed fields, we took in the entire park in about an hour and a half.  We looked at the palisades from the top, from the bottom, from the north bank and the south bank.  We studied the historic bridge built with Platt Girders in 1908, as well as foundations of Pattens Mill.

Sioux Quartzite

By 3:00, we had it covered, but it also started to shower, which was an ideal time to go back to the campsite and make some pizza dough.  By 6:30, we were eating personal pepperoni pizzas right off the Barbie.  We finished the evening eating popcorn watching “San Andreas”

Kennibec KOA - Kennibec, SD

Lunch in Badlands NP, SD

We are heading home, with a few interesting places on the way.  When I plan the trips, the days have to be shorter than 400 Miles, AND they have to end up someplace where there is a place.  We are at the awkward area, South Dakota, where there are not many “places.”  To try to make up for an embarrassingly short day, I suggest renting something so that we can drive the Needles Highway, in Custer State Park. It has tunnels that are only 9’ high and 8’ wide (a little small for our RV).  Although there were several rental places, none of them were particularly convenient...so we have placed the Needles Highway on our bucket list.  With that option gone, I suggested climbing to the top of Mount Rushmore, but Deb’s knees wouldn’t take it, so that went on our bucket list.  In desperation, I found the “National Grasslands Visitors Center.”  Really?  That’s what we’re going to do for the day?  Okay, maybe not that exciting, but it was interesting.  Finally a little detour to drive through the Badlands helped.  We ate lunch at the first overlook, which of course, makes me a little sleepy.  After a few brushes with the shoulder of the road where there was a 500’ precipice, Deb offered to drive so I could look at the view...let’s go with that.

The side trip plus losing an hour going to Central Time, got us in at a respectable 4:00.  Our next day is only 181 miles...maybe I can find another visitor’s center!

Bluebell Campground - Custer State Park, SD

Bison (not Buffalo)

Before leaving Casper, we refilled our propane tank (normally we can do a summer trip on a single fill-up, but this trip has been a little chilly), we washed the RV in a car wash with high ceilings, and used our gas credit card for the last time.  Chase has been sending us potential fraud alerts since Texas, and I guess the last place where we bought gas put them over the edge.  I checked the receipt and it was called “The Giggle Stop,”  in Dubois, WY.

As we approached Custer State Park, we realized that the park abuts Wind Cave National Park.  We drove through it, but couldn’t find anything exciting, except for a herd of bison.  We settled into our campsite.

Moose Drool Ale

 My plan was to reprise our dinner from our last visit...Moose Drool Ale and a Bison Burger.  I suggested a quick trip to the lodge to make sure it was still there.  There was a major fire here last December, started from a downed power line that burned thousands of acres.  Fortunately, the lodge was still there, and still serving Moose Drool.  As we were leaving the lodge, Deb’s Fitbit started acting up again, it made her ask about hiking trails in the area.  We ended up taking a lovely drive through the park with a bike ride tucked in.

A thunderstorm threatened dinner, but it turned out to be all bark and no bite!  Moose Drool Ale and Bison Stew!  We are going to look for some frozen bison meat to take home with us.

Casper KOA - Bar Nunn, WY

The day started like any other day, well any other day when you didn’t have internet access so you drive to the first vista point with a view of Jackson Lake and the Tetons as the sun is rising while drinking your coffee and checking your mail.  With one final pass to climb to get to the continental divide, we are on a downhill slide to the Mississippi River.

The Casper KOA is at the old Casper Airport.  The land was bought by Ronnie Nunn in 1954 To start a horse ranch called Bar Nunn.  He eventually parceled it out and it became the city of Bar Nunn. The airport hanger, which is right across the street from the campground, has been

The Hanger (our dinner spot)

repurposed as a sports bar and restaurant.  We had to check it out. It’s the best place to eat here, Bar Nunn!

Colton Bay Village - Grand Tetons NP, WY

We left our already reserved spot in paradise for an unknown destination.  This is not what we do! We are Type A people, we plan everything out months in advance and we keep to the plan no matter what.

In the morning, over oatmeal (the breakfast of choice when there is frost on the picnic table), we review the flight plan.  The preferred landing location is Colton Bay in the Grand Tetons National Park.  It sits right on Jackson Lake and the Grand Tetons rise from the other side.  I have seen this place twice before and it always looked interesting.

There is a small RV campground, but it is full.  There is a huge, first come first serve area, with no utilities.  We gladly take it, lock in our site, and search for internet (we found it at the gas station, along with 20 other people).  With our need for internet sated, we’re off to tame the Fitbit...it’s like one of those Furby’s that always needs some sort of attention.

Back at the campground, it’s time for chili and pan cornbread. After this we are back on our Type A plan, with a stop in Casper, WY.

Skillet cornbread

Teton Canyon - Alta, WY

Alaska Trail

On our last trip, we tried to learn the song “I’ve been everywhere, man” made famous by Johnny Cash.  It has about 200 places sung rapidly in succession.  One of those places was Pocatello, so we had to make a Walmart stop (mostly to refresh our DVD supply).

From there it was onward through the potato fields of Idaho to the western side of the Tetons.  The last four miles to the campground was on a “forest road.”  The potholes were incredible.  As we were going through the first set, a local coming the other way gave us some good news and some bad news.  The good news was that the potholes were only in the first quarter mile, the bad news was that a few of them might actually be bottomless.  Then he said, “don’t worry, you’ll make it!”  

Our campsite was tucked in the woods, but with the temperature hovering in the fifties, the host suggested that we find a sunny spot with a view.  There are several endless hiking trails that start here.  We took the Alaska Trail, that basically follows the valley of Teton Canyon.  It was an easy, scenic hike.  We met lots of locals out for a warm day stroll, many of them exercising their dogs and horses.

We were slated for two nights here, but we have decided that we have done all that we want to do and are heading to Jackson, without any real plan for where we are going to stay.

Massacre Rocks State Park - American Falls, ID

Snake River

The last two days have been pretty much traveling northeast, from Yosemite to Idaho.  The scenery is nice, but not dramatic.  There is still snow on the Sierra Nevadas.  I’m not certain that we have actually put out the awning since we got to Texas a few weeks ago.  It’s spring, and every afternoon the wind kicks up too much.

Chris and Drex

Massacre Rocks is a redo.  It sits above the Snake River with cliff faces going down to the water.  We got here early enough to take a short hike along the rocks.  With 30 mph winds, it is difficult for the pelicans to make a smooth landing on the river, although the ducks don’t seem to have a problem.

We watched “Watchmen,” for nearly three hours!  It’s our last DVD.  Looks like it’s going to be a Walmart kinda day heading to the Tetons

KOA of Ely - Ely, NV

Tioga Pass

This was going to be a fairly long day, about 377 miles, so we get an early start. It starts out with a 60 mile ride over Tioga Pass, reaching just short of 10,000 ft.  Then on to Route 6, which claims to be even lonelier than Route 50, “the loneliest highway.”  We stop for lunch near Tonopah, right by the Crescent Dunes Solar Project, a 1.1 gigawatt solar power plant, with a 10 hour 1 gigawatt battery.  You’d have to google it for details,  but let’s just say our 200 watt solar panel felt just a little inadequate. With a fuel stop in Tonopah, we drove confidently past the “Next Gas 187 Miles” sign.

The highway goes over small mountain passes and then into flat valleys before heading over the next pass.  At times you can see the road twenty miles ahead.  Finally into Ely for laundry and grocery shopping.

Yosemite National Park - Yosemite, CA

Vernal Falls

Leaving Death Valley by the west exit required us to go over two mountain passes, while still in the park.  After leaving the park, we drove up the eastern side of the Sierra, which are still snow covered.  We have been talking about the Tioga Pass and the crowds at Yosemite, to a point that we are not even sure we want to go.  We finally decide that the pass is doable and if we get to the park late, we will avoid the crowds.  It all worked! The pass was really nothing compared to some of the places we have been, and it was easy to get around the park.  The campground is pretty tight, but we have nice spot that is pretty private, and with a little finagling, we got the front end of the RV off the road.  What’s really nice is the campsite is at the trailhead to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.

We have been to Yosemite several times...the exact number has been another point of discussion, but we have never been here in the spring, when the waterfalls are at their peak.

Nevada Falls

With a moderate bike ride, we got to lodge for a bowl of chili at the bar.  Because this is a two day stop, we spent the second day hiking to the falls.  We decided to take the Mist trail, two seconds of thoughtful contemplation would have allowed us to understand why they would name a trail “The Mist Trail” especially at the height of the spring run off.  It was clear day, and we dried off rather quickly.  For our second evening, we had a bowl of asparagus soup at the bar.  

Stovepipe Wells Lodge - Death Valley, CA

We visited Death Valley years ago with the kids.  We took a few hikes and did a horse ride.  This time, it’s a two night stop, so we have an entire day to do things.  So first of all, it’s over 100 and our generator has gone a little fritzy.  Second of all, we keep finding full campgrounds.  So while we were in Flagstaff we reserved a place at the Stovepipe Wells Lodge.  It’s a basic parking lot, but it’s got hook-ups.  But it also has a saloon and a pool!  The other thing that we decided was that the RV was not the right vehicle for the job, so we rented a Jeep.  It had a hardtop and A/C which really helped.  In the morning we visited Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, and then went to Dante’s View which is on a 5000’ Mountain right next to Badwater Basin.  Just because we could, we took a few 4 wheel drive detours along the way.

Titus Canyon

The man who rented us the Jeep, threw out a suggestion for a nice little 4 wheel drive experience. He suggested we visit Titus Canyon.  So the first thing you do is drive to Nevada, then come into the park over a 27 mile, 4 wheel drive road.  The first challenge is to drive over two 5000 foot passes with switch backs, boulders, and a few sections of washed out trail, while hugging canyon walls.  Then comes a few miles of driving through a slot canyon, in some places ten feet wide with rock faces, over a thousand feet up on both sides.  Once back at the Lodge, we headed for the saloon for dinner where we mostly just gloated and said “We did it!” And then looked at our pictures, again,  to make sure that we really did!

Joshua Tree National Park - Joshua Tree, CA

Indian Cove Campsite

Joshua Tree is another redo from our 2014 cross country trip.  It is extremely popular in the winter and spring, but deserted in the summer and fall because of the high heat.  Memorial Day is a peak time at the park.  Unfortunately, with a 24’ motorhome, it can be difficult to find parking places when the park is full of people.  We got to drive through the park, and fortunately, most people come in from the North.  We came in at the South Entrance, drove the 40 scenic miles to the North entrance.  As we were leaving the park at 4:00, there was still a half mile of cars trying to get in.

As serendipity would have it, the only campground that we could make reservations at (they have added more reservable sites since we booked) was Indian Cove which has a separate entrance from outside the park.  It’s quiet and remote and just as amazing, with huge boulders.  We are camped next to a fairly small boulder, maybe 40’ tall but a good practice rock climbing place.  Our camp neighbor is using his newly learned skills to climb our rock.  His kids are having no problem, but he is just a little too out of shape for this.  As he struggles with each step, Deb is squirming more and more.  As he gets to about 30’ up, she can no longer handle the angst, and decided that her Fitbit is calling her to walk away and keep walking.  He survived, she survived, we all lived to eat tuna casserole.

Lost Dutchman State Park - Apache Junction , AZ

Who new Saguaro cactus was so tall?

Lost Dutchman SP is a redo from our first cross country trip.  We were here in early September and the temperature was above 100.  Now we are here in Spring with a balmy 96 degree day.  After hiding in the RV for an hour, Deb’s Fitbit is having fits.  She suggests a short hike, or something.  I suggest the little bike ride around the park.  After about three minutes, Deb decides that she may have a mountain bike, but she is more of a paved path kinda of girl, so we return the bikes and walk the trail.  It turns out to be a four mile hike in the heat.  To paraphrase an old saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you very tired!”

We had the same site we had before with a spectacular view of Superstition Mountain.  We watched the sun set, and the moon rise, sat at the picnic table and ate hanger steak with corn on the cob.

Jumping Cholla cactus 

Flagstaff KOA - Flagstaff, AZ

Colorado River

Except for a stop at Navajo Bridge, the only place that you can cross the Grand Canyon, the drive was eventless.  Mercifully, it was also fairly short.  The Flagstaff KOA is tired, rundown, dirty place. But all the washers worked, they were cheap and available.  Deb did enough laundry to get most of her fitbitting done, and I fixed a loose hinge.

We decided to make tonight our eat out night, since last night at the North Rim didn’t totally work out.  After a brief Trip Advisor review to find some interesting restaurants and a Google satellite review to see what was RV accessible, we ended up at the Horsemen’s Lodge.  A nice Arizona style steakhouse.  We try to limit our meat consumption, but Deb always tells me to go up a size and save some for the dog.  I did, and as we were finishing, Deb told me she couldn’t eat all of hers, so I might as well finish it...I did!