Glacier National Park

We enjoyed our visit to Glacier National Park, although I think we could have seen and done more if we had a car.  The Park is still working kinks out of their shuttle service and so there were some delays that ate into our sightseeing time. But... I'm getting ahead of myself.

Once we arrived and got settled in to our campsite, Lynda and I walked over the bridge from the campground to the St Mary's Visitors Center to get more information about the park and transportation.  The Trek is too long to drive on the Road-to-the-Sun and so our plan was to use the Park's free shuttle service.

A ranger at the St Mary's Visitors Center said he thought it would take a couple hours by shuttle to get to the Apgar Visitors Center, which is the West terminus of the Going-to-the-Sun road.

So we made a plan for the next day to catch the shuttle at St Mary's Visitors Center and ride it up to Logan's Pass, enjoying the scenery along the way.  Once there, we would transfer to another shuttle to the Apgar Visitors Center, where we would eat some lunch. Then we would catch a shuttle back to Logan's Pass, take some time to walk on the Highline Trail, and then finish up our day of sightseeing by riding a shuttle back to St Mary's Visitors Center.

Happy with our plan, we made our way back to the campsite and took the dogs for a walk. It was at this point that we noticed posters scattered around bathrooms and bulletin boards to be on the lookout for escaped convict John McClusky and his accomplice/cousin/fiance Casslyn Welch.

Ah, these must be the convicts Lynda heard about from those men at Duck Lake Lodge!

Apparently, the whole area was aquiver with nervous excitement. Casslyn Welch had been spotted in a St Mary restaurant just a few days ago and speculation was that McClusky and Welch might come into the park to hide or to hijack a vehicle. Authorities were particularly concerned about the campgrounds and park rangers were walking around cautioning campers to be on the lookout.

Well, Lynda and I agreed there was nothing we could do except make sure the Trek's door is locked while we're in there, and keep an eye out as we walk around the campground with the dogs. So despite all the excitement, we relaxed, grilled some steaks, and watched a movie.

The next morning we woke up bright and early (well, at least early), had some breakfast and took Sydney and Barley for a nice long walk. We expected to be gone for 6 or 7 hours and so we put the dogs in their crates and then went over to the St Mary's Visitors Center about 8:30 AM. Despite the relatively early hour, the shuttle stop was already crowded and we noticed several shuttle buses parked to the side with "Out of Service" signs. Uh-oh.

As it turned out, we were able to get on the next shuttle and even managed to grab a couple seats, although a lot of people ended up having to stand. The ride up to Logan's Pass took over an hour but we drove through such pretty scenery that the time went quickly.

By the way, of the 37 remaining glaciers in Glacier National Park only 25 are considered to be "active glaciers" of at least 25 acres.  If current climatic conditions continue, it is widely thought that most of the remaining glaciers in the park could disappear as soon as 2020, but certainly by 2030.

Once at Logan's Pass, which was very busy with traffic and pedestrians, we looked around for the shuttle stop for Apgar.  It was then we learned that we actually had to take a shuttle van to Avalanche Creek first, and then catch a third shuttle to Apgar. Well OK... we would do that.

It only took a few minutes for the little shuttle van for Avalanche Creek to appear and we hopped aboard along with a middle aged couple; we were the only passengers. As it turns out, we had a good time talking with those other people.  They were traveling in a truck camper and so I asked them lots of questions about that type of RV, which they answered gladly as they were very happy with their Okanagan camper.  They had also done stints as campground hosts and so we learned more about that. Anyway, they were very pleasant and it was nice to meet them, although I probably missed some of the beautiful scenery while we talked!

Along the way to Avalanche Creek we drove through a fairly big road repair area that was causing significant traffic delays.  We figured out that these delays were wreaking havoc with the shuttle schedules and that's why the crowds were backed up at the shuttle stops.  Of course, the fact that several shuttle buses were out of service only added to the transportation problem.  I remember thinking that the park should at least warn visitors about the delays in the shuttle service. 

Once we got to Avalanche Creek, our truck camper friends went their own way and we waited for yet another shuttle bus to take us to the Apgar Visitors Center. This time it took about 10 minutes for the shuttle to come, which isn't unreasonable. But nonetheless, it was taking us much longer to get to Apgar than we expected - we finally made it there around 1 PM.  We walked around a bit, had a nice lunch (including some awesome borscht soup), and then started the shuttle dance again... working our way back east along the Going-to-the-Sun road. 

Back at Logan's Pass, we decided to walk along part of the Highline Trail even though it was much later in the day than we planned.  And we are so glad we did!

The views were gorgeous and we saw a lot of wildlife including a small herd of Bighorn sheep. Those Bighorns are impressive creatures!

We also saw mountain goats, including one that was walking along the actual trail where it winds along the side of a mountain.  That goat just kept on going and people got out of his way - it was a pretty funny sight!

Notice the green cable along the rock wall?  Its there for people to hold on to as they walk along, or not... depending on their level of comfort with heights.

And we practically ran into some Columbia Ground Squirrels.  These little critters are incredibly bold - one of them ran right up to me and made chuck-chuck sounds as though he were scolding me for being in the way.  Anyway, they are very cute indeed!

After our walk along part of the Highline trail, we made our way back to the shuttle stop at Logan's Pass. By now it was past 4 PM and there were lines of people trying to get to various locations. Kids were hungry and cranky and so were some of the adults.

We waited for the shuttle bus for almost an hour and it was really, really crowded once we got on. Somehow, pure luck, we were able to get seats. But plenty of people were standing, and there were hiking poles and backpacks crammed everywhere. It was the end of the day and no one was a fresh as they had been that morning.

To make matters worse, the shuttle driver kept stopping and picking more people up. Finally, at the third or forth such stop, numerous people on board raised their voices in protest, asking her to not stuff any more people on the $#^% bus!  Although that bus driver got a bit defensive and snippy, she relented and told the folks that they would have to take the next shuttle.  They may still be there for all I know.

Well, we finally got back to the St Mary's Visitors Center about 5:30 PM and walked back to our campsite as fast as we could. Sydney and Barley were sure glad to see us... poor things had been in their crates for 9 hours!  Anyway, they were fine and we took them for a very long walk around the campground.

Click here for photos of our visit to Glacier National Park.

And now we're getting ready to leave for Great Falls for an oil change and to have the Autopark brake worked on.  Stay tuned!

How are Sydney and Barley Doing?

Over the past few months the dogs have evolved to the point where we can leave them loose in the Trek for up to 3 hours or so. Although we never have problems with them messing, they get bored if we leave them alone much longer and then they start chewing on things, such as the area rug. Oh yes, there is a 12-inch stretch along one edge that is a little shredded. But I just spun the rug around and hid the bad spot under their food bowls - no problemo!

Actually, we're pretty sure that Barley does the chewing. Although Sydney has other "challenges", she prefers to chew on her toys and not household objects.

Anyway, our rule of thumb is to crate Sydney and Barley whenever we go somewhere for longer than 3 hours.  And we have left them for as long as 8-9 hours, although only rarely.

They don't seem to mind their crates; in fact, they go right into them without any cajoling whatsoever. Nonetheless, this crating process can be a hassle. We have to empty the storage compartment to pull out the crates, and then empty everything out again to put the crates away. Also, Barley drops so much hair when he's in his crate that I have to vacuum when we return.  Although he seems happy enough, I think this shedding is a sure sign that he does suffer from some crate anxiety.

Anyway, we leave the TV on if we can pull in a station or leave a DVD movie playing.  This seems to soothe them, although camping neighbors sometimes report barking and scratching noises while we're gone.  We're pretty sure the scratching noises are from Sydney dancing on the bottom of her crate.

Barley is getting better about other dogs. His behavior is not so Alpha and he often will ignore another dog entirely, unless it is bouncing around and barking at him.

Although we continue to socialize her, Sydney is often unfriendly to other people and will sometimes bark and look ferocious when we cross paths with others.  But if the other person is unafraid and just walks up to her, Sydney backs down and becomes their friend.  Several people in our caravan group have taken this approach, including Roger, Spike, and Debbie. Still, we're careful with her around other people, particularly children.  

Lynda and I are so glad to have Sydney and Barley with us - they may not be perfect, but they are wonderful companions and have settled into our traveling lifestyle very nicely! 

So how are the dogs doing?  They are just great!

Salt Creek Recreation Area on the Strait of Juan De Fuca

We arrived at the Salt Creek Recreation Area, which is just west of Port Angeles, on Friday.  After a pretty rough week, we were definitely ready to relax and this was just the place for it!  First of all, this campground is on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, which is a little slice of paradise in of itself.  Secondly, the Salt Creek itself is excellent - well maintained but still rustic, with well placed sites of various shapes and sizes.  Some sites are back in the woods in cosy, well-shaded spots. Others are out in the open, facing the open water of the Strait of San Juan De Fuca - this is the type of site we had and the view was awesome!

We took ourselves and the dogs on a walk around the area and went down to the tidepools, which involved some tricky scrambling over jumbles of wet rocks.  Lynda and I laughed that her physical therapists would be very impressed!  We found ourselves on Crescent Bay beach, which at low tide is a broad expanse of dark grey sand... close to a quarter mile wide in some areas. 

I took Sydney into the water and she had a great time rushing at the waves and splashing around with great vigor!  And then Barley went in with me but he was scared of the waves at first.  Once he realized they were not incarnations of pure evil, Barley began to enjoy himself - he was pretty entertaining, jumping around and being silly.

And so a good time was had by all four of us at the Salt Creek Recreation area.  Click here to see more photos.

We would love to stay longer but we have to catch the ferry tomorrow to go over to Victoria on Vancouver Island... but that will be another story.  Stay tuned!

The End of the Brake Saga

So we headed to Stockton purely because a person that works at the Chevy dealership there said they could work on our ABS issue.  But, sure enough, when I called the Service Department Monday morning the service manager told me that he was sorry but they are not authorized to work on the P30 Workhorse Chassis. Fabulous!

So I got on the phone and went online and finally found a Chevy dealer in Petaluma who assured me they are authorized to work on Workhorse chassis.  So we headed to Petaluma. To make a long story fairly short, they began work Monday afternoon and also found issues with the Air Conditioning.  Once we had approval from the Good Sam Extended Service Plan claims department, they ordered the parts.  But, parts would not come in until Wednesday morning and so we were in Petaluma with a wounded RV for 2+ days.

We stayed at a bad RV park in Rohnert Park, a few miles from Petaluma. This place was fairly small and very crowded and a lot of people were actually living there in broken down, sad old RV trailers.  The cops showed up the second night and we scuttled back into our RV and locked the door.  Scary place and not at all recommended, unless you’re bored with life and want to inject some action.

But, we made the best of things anyway.  We rented a car and spent all day Tuesday driving along the Northern California coast – from Bodega Bay to Mendocino (the town featured in Murder She Wrote) on US 1 and then back along an inland route.  We even drove through a section of Redwoods forest.  It was as beautiful as I remembered from when I was stationed at Travis Air Force Base, which is located between San Francisco and Sacramento, back in the late 1980s. Northern California is truly a wonderful area!  The dogs came along for the drive and so then we had to spend an hour cleaning the car out so the rental company would not bust us for having pets on board.   It was worth it… they had fun also.  Check out some photos here.

We returned to the Chevy dealership on Wednesday to have the parts installed.  Along with Barley and Sydney, we were hanging out in their Service waiting room, prepared to spend the day reading and catching up on email, etc.  But it was not to be:  after sweet, people-loving Barley lunged at 4 or 5 other customers and the service manager, he (the service manager) very politely ejected us from the waiting room.  For those that have never been there, northern California in early June is cool and even chilly. There we were, sitting outside for hours on some old plastic chairs they rounded up for us - Lynda had on several layers of clothing and a coat and I was under a blanket.  And Barley was in deep doodoo - I was not happy with him at all.  Oh well, you think you got your dog figured out and then he surprises you.  I guess that dear dog is much more protective than I realized.

Anyway, the service guys finished up around 5 PM and the work totaled over $2200. Our share was $665… that extended service plan more than paid for itself! And so, a chunk of money and five days later the brake issue was finally fixed and our RV travels could resume. And not a moment too soon, as far as we were concerned.

We gleefully hit the road, so happy to be mobile again. After driving through miles and miles of pretty farm lands, we are now overnighting at a Walmart in Yuba City, California.

Tomorrow we head to Salem, Oregon.

Scootering Around the Grand Canyon North Rim

It was sometime yesterday evening when I made a remark about not getting too settled in because we would be packing up in the morning to drive the Trek to the North Rim. And Lynda said, “Why don’t we take the scooter?” Hmmm… why not? I checked with Davy Crockett and he said the scooter would be fine on the road into the park, and that the speed limit varied between 35 and 45 MPH. No problem! We were pleased at the prospect of just jumping on the scooter and heading out first thing in the morning. 

The only fly in the ointment was that the dogs would be left in their crates in the Trek for 8-9 hours. Well, we reasoned, we’ve left them at house-home that long before. The weather was forecasted for a high of 74 degrees and we could leave windows and the roof vent open so they would get plenty of fresh air. And so it was.

We got on the scooter just before 9 AM this morning to ride to the Grand Canyon… and what an adventure that proved to be!  About 10 miles into the ride, the wind started gusting like crazy. Lynda was holding on for dear life and so was I!  We still had 30 miles to go just to get to the park entrance and then another 6 or so miles to the Lodge, where we were scheduled to meet the mule riding people at 12 noon. Also, before heading to the lodge, I wanted to ride up to Point Imperial, a famous overlook spot for the North Rim. So I knew we would be on that little scooter for at least another 50 miles.

And it was cold! Although it was the middle of May, it was downright chilly - between the gusting wind and the frigid weather, scooter riding conditions were definitely not ideal. But the ride was grrrreat anyway!  'Lil scooter was also having trouble going fast enough for other vehicles, so I would sometimes pull over to let the occasional car or motorcycle go past.

We rode through the Kaibab National Forest which had burned in some areas. Perhaps controlled burns? Whatever the cause of the fires, the scorched ground and warped trees formed a peculiar landscape that was both striking and creepy. I noticed altitude signs - we were at around 8,000 feet.

And then the scooter starting acting up. Yessir, that little booger decided she was not going to run properly.  She would be going along just fine and then bog down, as though she was not getting any fuel.  We would pull over, the engine would die, we would wait a few minutes, and then the scooter would start back up again.  After this happened two or three times, I realized we could pretty much rely on the bike starting back up and so I stopped worrying about getting stranded. Yes, it would take longer to get where we needed to go, but we had plenty of time. And even if she did quit for good, cars were coming along every so often and so we could make our way into the park one way or another.  Lynda was very good-natured about the whole thing and we agreed to keep going.

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I thought the high altitude might be impacting the carburetor, which is tuned for sea level, or that we had a pinched vacuum line or some other fuel flow problem.  I could see gas was pooled at the fuel filter and so I knew fuel was flowing from the tank. I will work on this issue while I'm waiting at Lemoore NAS for Lynda to rejoin me.

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Finally, we reached the park entrance. Using my America the Beautiful annual pass (a must-have if you are going to visit more than 3 national parks within a year), we made our way into the Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim.

By now, the forested area was behind us and we found ourselves riding through mountain meadows. There was still snow on the ground in shaded areas, providing wonderful contrast to the spring greens of new foliage and grass.

What a gorgeous sight it all was!  We really did not care about the wind or the scooter issue; we were just happy to be there.

We checked the time and discovered that, despite all the unplanned stops, we still had time to ride up to Imperial Point.

And so we did.  And when you look at the photos, you’ll see that this little side trip was more than worth it! 

We made it to the lodge area with minutes to spare and left the scooter and helmets in the Visitors parking lot. After checking in with the mule riding people, we got some lunch and relaxed for a bit before going on the mule ride. That mule ride is another story… I’ll just say here that it was most excellent, although a bit scary at times!

I have to say I think the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is even better than the South Rim. It is more rustic and the canyon itself is more intimate. That is probably not the right word, but I can’t think of a better way to put it. At the North Rim, the canyon is more narrow and, although still hugely spectacular,  I could wrap my mind around it better. If you’re planning to visit the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend the North Rim!  From there, you can easily visit other noteworthy attractions, such Zion national Park in Utah.

During our ride back out of the park, we spotted a coyote in one of the meadows. This was the only wildlife we saw that day, aside from a cute little momma chipmunk we met by the Lodge, and some hawks and other birds.

Our 50 mile trip back to Jacob Lake Campground was a repeat of our ride in: the wind was still gusting, the air was still chilly, and that darn scooter quit on us more times than I kept count! But we didn’t care… we had just spent a great day at the North Rim!  We rolled in to the campground just before 6 PM and Barley and Sydney were just fine, although glad to see us and very happy to get out of their crates.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

Carlsbad, located in the Chihuahuan Desert, seems like a nice area and I got the sense of more going on there than other places we’ve driven through so far. We arrived mid morning on Friday, May 7th passing several small ranch-like farms and well-kept homes. There were horses everywhere. We made a stop in town at the Super Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries and adult beverages and then got back on highway 285.

We stayed at the KOA campground a few miles north of Carlsbad, just off highway 285. This is a very nice campground with modern, clean and well maintained facilities, including two good-sized fenced dog parks that are irrigated to sustain a nice carpet of grass.

There are apparently endless numbers of wild rabbits on the campground, which really got the attention of Sydney and Barley. One of our neighbors was a round tailed ground squirrel that located his burrow a couple sites away from ours -he also provided entertainment for us and aggravation for the dogs.

The only thing that could have been better at the campground was the WiFi service: it was up, it was down, it was up, it was down, and so on. Even when the service was up, the bandwidth was so restricted that we were unable to upload photos. Thankfully, however, we were able to send and receive email and post some entries to this blog. Despite the WiFi issues, I would stay at that KOA again.  Click here for some photos of the campground.

Unfortunately, the scooter was not much use to us at the KOA. The RV sites and roadways are all constructed with crushed concrete and riding the scooter on that type of surface is not pleasant. So, we hoofed it around the campground which was probably to our benefit anyway.

We scrapped our original plan to go to Carlsbad Caverns because the bats have not yet migrated back in full numbers and so the famous dusk bat flight out of the cave is not yet happening. As far as seeing the bat flight, the best time to visit Carlsbad Caverns is from the end May to end of September. Anyway, Lynda felt that viewing the Caverns themselves is not a big enough draw to go to the effort renting a car (the road up to the Carlsbad Caverns Visitors Center is too windy for the Trek) and kenneling the dogs. I was fine with this because I visited Carlsbad Caverns several years ago and was fortunate to view the bat flight, when millions of bats leave the cave at dusk to hunt for insects. It’s quite a sight to behold!

We relaxed on Saturday, catching up on email and blog articles, watching hilarious “Glee” episodes, and playing with the dogs in the dog park area. On Sunday, we disconnected the RV from the hookups and drove just a few miles towards Carlsbad to visit the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, which we really enjoyed and highly recommend. While Sydney and Barley rested in the RV, we toured the facilities to learn more about desert flora and animals found in the Chihuahuan Desert.

As luck would have it, this was also the last day of the 24th annual Mescal Roast being hosted by the Living Desert Zoo. We witnessed the Mescal Pit Opening and then had a taste of the cooked agave heads. We both liked it - the flavor reminded me a little of boiled apple. According to the office press release, The Mescal Roast provides a better understanding of the Mescalero Apache people and the importance of protecting the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem. The mescal plant, also known as agave, was a staple for the Apache who once lived in the Pecos River Valley and Guadalupe Mountains of Southeastern New Mexico. Nearly all parts of the mescal plant were used, including the leaves, flower stalks, blossoms and seeds. The leaves and stalks were traditionally roasted in large cooking pits and eaten or pounded into cakes and dried.

Click here for some photos of our visit to the Living Desert.

After our visit to the Living Desert Zoo, we ate lunch and drove to Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area , which is in the Lincoln National Forest. Although less than a 40 mile drive, it took us about an hour to get there because of the narrow and winding road. On the way, we passed what appeared to be several ranches and a handful of oil donkey pumps. The smell of petroleum was unmistakable and seemed out of place in this otherwise rugged and wild area.

When we arrived at Sitting Bull Falls, we parked in the lower parking lot and hiked about .6 miles to the Visitor Center. The trail was very stony and steep in places and the wind kept whipping up in gusts. I had to chase my hat a couple times. After catching our breath, we took the dogs on the concrete path up to the Falls area. While we enjoyed our visit and recommend it to other visitors, Sitting Bull Falls was unexpectedly crowded when we went, perhaps because it was Mother’s Day. It was a bit of a challenge keeping Sydney and Barley out of people’s way and under control. Anyway, despite the number of people, Sydney did get to swim and her antics attracted several admirers. Barley was also a big hit, particularly with a group of young guys, one of whom declared, “that is one bad dog!”

Unfortunately, we managed to take only a few photos of Sitting Bull Falls because the camera battery ran out of juice. This was my fault for taking so many photos at the Living Desert Zoo and not recharging the battery afterward. Oh well…

Once we got back from our outings, we did laundry and made some preparations to leave this morning, Monday May 10th. The plan was to head to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument but this was not in the cards… some extremely windy weather rolled in overnight, with frequent gusts exceeding 40 MPH. Driving the Trek in “normal” breezy weather is a little like driving a billboard and so it did not take much consideration to decide to play it safe and stay here one more day. And so we are hunkered down in the Trek (which is swaying from the wind gusts) napping, reading, and generally being very lazy. From time to time we emerge to take the dogs for a potty break and then scuttle back inside, away from the wind and dust.

We hope to be able to make our way to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument tomorrow… stay tuned!

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Driving west from Del Rio, we arrived at Marathon, Texas around 3:00 PM on Tuesday, May 4th. Because we would be “dry camping” (no hookups) in Big Bend, we planned on running the on-board generator and so we gassed up the Trek before turning onto highway 385 and heading south into the park. The generator runs off the same gas as the Trek engine.

I saw two gas stations in Marathon and they were both selling Regular Unleaded for $3.35 a gallon… yikes! Well, at least the man working at the gas station was nice. In fact, he was very friendly and helpful.

The 75-mile drive from Marathon to the Rio Grande Village campground in the Big Bend National Park took almost two hours, but it is certainly a gorgeous drive! The scenery is breath-taking and also a little intimidating: this is not an area you would want to find yourself in alone and without water. Big Bend is made up of almost 1 million acres of land that includes mountain, desert, and river environments. You could spend a week here and just scratch the surface. This area is also still very “wild”, offering a wide array of geological formations, many varieties of desert flora, and wild life ranging from mountain lions, to coyotes, to javalinas (peccaries), to rabbits, to snakes… well, you get the picture.

Although we had already pretty much decided to camp in the Rio Grande campground rather than the RV park a short distance away, we swung over there first to check it out. Sure enough, the Rio Grande RV Park in Big Bend is essentially an asphalt parking lot with hook ups. This is really not our thing and so we went on to the Rio Grande campground. The temperature was around 85 degrees when we arrived around 5:00 PM. Not too bad, we thought.

We found a site with some shade trees and spent that first evening relaxing after all the driving. The next morning, we got up pretty early and walked the dogs around. It was still quite chilly in the morning from the cool of the desert night. And this was when we saw our very first Roadrunner! Right there in the campground! We were so excited and I took several photos. It’s funny to think about that now because we have since seen innumerable Roadrunners and realize that they are about as common in this desert region as gray squirrels are in Tennessee!

We also spotted a turkey vulture sitting on a campsite grill with his wings half extended, closely watching two men who were eating breakfast. It was a funny scene and I wish I had the camera. I said something to one of the men and he said, “Oh, he’s our best buddy now that he knows how good we cook.” As we walked around, we saw lots of turkey vultures around the campground. I guess they are Big Bend’s equivalent of seagulls.

National and State parks do not allow pets on the trails and Big Bend is no exception. So we left Barley and Sydney in the RV while we walked around on some of the trails near the campground. It was late morning by the time we went over to the day area and then down to the Rio Grande River itself. The day area was under a couple feet of water – we think this was planned flooding for irrigation purposes, to help the cottonwood trees thrive to maintain some shade for visitors. We spotted lots of Vermilion Flycatchers and saw some humongous Ravens.

The Rio Grande River was surprisingly narrow: the water level is low this time of year and the river (at least where we stood) was only around 50 feet across. In the rainy season, July-August, the river expands and rages but the day we stood there in early May, only a narrow strip of brown, lazy water separated us from our neighbors in Mexico.

While we were exploring around, we came across some handmade articles left alongside a trail with a note listing prices and a jar in which to place your money. These items are left by Mexicans who come across the Rio Grande at night and leave them at different spots for tourists to buy on the honor system. Then they come back at night and get the money. The prices are good and the items are attractive but it’s illegal to purchase these items and the border patrol is very serious about enforcing the law. We did not buy anything.

By the time we returned to the campground, it was around noon and getting warmer. By mid afternoon it was close to 100 degrees and still climbing. We were very glad to have the air conditioning in the RV (understatement) and decided to lay low until an hour or so before sunset to take a scooter ride over to the Boquillas Canyon overlook - it would be cooler then and much more pleasant to ride around.

And so we did, and it was a lot of fun! The scenery at the Boquillas Canyon overlook was gorgeous and a kind lady there took our photo.  I refused to remove my helmet because of "helmet hair"  syndrome.  We saw more Mexican souvenirs and spotted a horse and man in the shade across the Rio Grande River. We were both hoping and fearing to see a mountain lion - it would have been perfect to have spotted one at a safe distance. Oh well, we didn’t see a mountain lion but we did see a coyote lounging along the side of the road about a mile from the campground. This guy was almost twice the size of the ones we have in Tennessee – he was about Barley’s size, looked very well fed, and had a fine coat. We were within 15 feet of him. He looked right at us, did not bother to adjust his speed, and just kept going. Apparently the exploding bunny population at Big Bend is resulting in some very happy coyotes!

The next morning (Thursday), we got up around 6:30 and left the campsite by 7:15 AM to ride up to Panther junction with stops along the way. As we rode, we were very glad to have on our fleece jackets – it was downright chilly in some spots and at least cool in the others. It was a beautiful ride, with the early morning light casting a different look on the countryside and the coolness a welcome relief from the heat.

I spoke with a ranger at the Panther Junction visitor's center and he said that, in his opinion, the best time to visit Big Bend in November. I agree with him when he said that visiting between mid April and end of September was not a good idea... too darn hot!

We were gone a total of two hours and had left the dogs loose in the RV.  We have crates for them, but hate to cage the dogs up for short periods of time.  We've left them loose before, but only for around an hour, so this was stretching it a bit.  Well... they were mostly good.  But someone (probably Barley) must have become bored and turned his attention to one of the sofa cushions.  Too bad, but stuff happens!  We'll put the cushions away next time and leave dog toys out for them. 

Yes, the heat at Big Bend this time of year is immobilizing - by early afternoon after our scooter ride,  it was again too hot to do anything outside. Instead of sitting in the Trek with the air conditioning blasting, we decided around 3:30 PM to leave half a day early and head towards our next stop: Carlsbad, New Mexico.  So that is exactly what we did!

I would definitely return to Big Bend again... I feel we barely scratched the surface of this magnificent park.  But my next visit will be in November, when the temperature is more bearable.

Click here to see our Big Bend photos, and stay tuned for more about our travels!

Heading to Big Bend National Park, Texas - My First Exposure to the Desert

After a pleasant evening last night at the great FamCamp on Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, we got on the road this morning at a reasonable time (they sound reveille at 0700 hours on base!)

We started heading west on Hwy 90 to make our way to Marathon, where we planned to gas up the Trek, fill the jerry can for the scooter, then turn left on Hwy 385 to head south into Big Bend. Hwy 90 runs just along the Texas/Mexico border and we saw plenty of Border Patrol Agents. In fact, Sydney and Barley successfully passed through their first immigration checkpoint when the inspector asked if it was just us four traveling in the RV.   Border Patrol trucks became a common site as we made our way toward Big Bend.

We drove through land that appeared very desolate and scrubby – certainly compared to what I'm accustomed to in East Tennessee! Consuelo has visited New Mexico, Arizona and Utah previously so she was prepared for the American Southwest, but I’ve never been in this part of the country and the experience is completely new to me.

I found myself fascinated by the desert... the ground is all broken rock with some areas at the bottoms of dry gullies resembling crushed concrete. It’s amazing to me that anything can grow here, yet it does. We’ve seen a few things we could identify: the tall showy flowers sprouting from the spiky yucca plants, the splashes of yellow with the clusters of wild asters, and of course, the stubborn prickly pear cacti.

But, we’re more in wonder at all the plants we’ve never seen before: Consuelo said to me at one point, “Look at that brave tree.”  Short and lush trees grow abundantly along the sides of the road. We’ve seen some wild and wondrous plants: one that is tall and fingery and reminds us of an aquatic plant reaching for the surface of the water. When we stopped at a rest area and looked at one up close, we discovered it is covered with the tiniest little leaves that hide a bristle of thorns. Later on in our drive we saw some more of these plants with bright orange flowers at the end of each branch.

As we’re whizzing through the desert at 60 mph (the posted speed limit is actually 75 mph!), I kept looking out and thinking about the things that must be out there but I can’t see: scorpions and rattlesnakes and coyotes and other creatures that manage to survive in this dry and dusty place. While driving, Consuelo saw a lizard-type critter start to dart into the road. She thinks it was an iguana and we discussed whether iguanas are jungle or desert creatures or are there different varieties that exist in both climates?

A short time later, a bird ran across the road in front of us. I got a good look at it as it ran into the vegetation at the side of the road… We agreed it looked like a small hen turkey… or did we see our first roadrunner? We’ll have to Google that one!

We saw very few signs of human habitation – occasional entrances to ranches with roads leading off into the desert; windmills here and there (only a few of them actually turning). Fencing ran along the side of the road, indicating a rancher containing his cattle… we only saw a few scattered cows and I saw one small herd of goats. The towns along Hwy 90 are few and far between, and very small by all appearances. When we drove through these small towns we wondered at how these people stay in business and how they survive – several had little restaurants, few-room motels, scrubby RV parks and shop-worn souvenir shops, certainly geared toward the tourists driving through on their way to Big Bend.

We also noticed, scattered along the way, the occasional old RV trailer (usually a Fifth wheel) sitting out in the desert under the baking sun with nothing around.  People are living in these trailers...hard to believe, but it's true.

Click here to view photos of our drive through Texas to Big Bend.

Key West - Sun, Fun and More!

After weeks of dreary winter weather, Lynda, Barley and I headed down to Key West in early March to spend a week with good friends in a vacation rental house. We loaded up my little SUV and set off for the two day drive - we were so excited at the prospect of warm weather and no chores!

Day one went without incident - we got as far as Gainesville, Florida and looked forward to the next day’s drive down to the Keys. The weather was already warmer! We spent the night at La Quinta Inn – this hotel chain is very pet friendly and has no issue with big dogs.

Day two, however, was a different story. Around lunch time, we pulled off into a Florida Turnpike rest area and I bought each of us a Stromboli from an Italian fast food place. I was not that hungry and found my Stromboli to be very unappetizing... In fact, it was room temperature instead of warm and I threw it away after only two bites. Aside from being somewhat peeved about paying $6 for a mediocre Stromboli that I could not bring myself to eat, all was well and we set off once more. It was within moments of Lynda taking the wheel to drive that it hit me - I felt a knot in my stomach and then, seconds later, it seemed that my diaphragm was completely constricted and I could barely draw a breath. I did not want to panic Lynda while she was driving, and I managed to voice a fairly normal sounding request that she pull off at the very next rest stop. Thankfully, she did not question why we needed to stop again so soon and so we pulled into the Port St Lucie rest stop.

By this time, within a few short minutes of the initial attack, I could hardly breathe at all and I was trying not to panic. Once the car was parked, I told Lynda to call 911, which she did immediately when she realized I was serious. An ambulance arrived a few minutes later and carted me off to the St Lucie Hospital. En route, the EMTs administered an EKG and took my vitals – all seemed normal except my blood pressure, which was elevated. At the hospital, the medical staff administered another EKG, drew blood, and took several chest and abdominal X-rays but none of these tests showed show any abnormalities. The doctor said all indications were that I was in excellent health. So, we talked about that darn Stromboli and she said that it must be food poisoning! No nasty things that we normally associate with food poisoning were happing to me… except unbelievable abdominal cramps that left me gasping for breath.

After four hours of observation, I was released and took a taxi back to the rest stop where Lynda was waiting with Barley (I had asked her to stay there with him). We were very glad to see each other! Apparently, Barley had made numerous friends while I was at the hospital. We set off driving again for a while but I was still too sick to tackle the rest of the drive to Key West. So we pulled off and spent the night in West Palm Beach.

The next day, we set off for the final leg down to Key West and we were very happy to arrive and see our friends. With the help of Pepto-Bismol™, I recovered over the next four days. I have to admit, however, that the remnants of my food poisoning put a damper on my food and adult beverage consumption. But, maybe this was not a bad thing - Key West has other things to offer a visitor than just bars and partying!

Between us all, we had five dogs on vacation with us – they ranged from around 4 lbs to 70 lbs and we were quite a sight walking around town! We even took them up and down Duval Street, which is the very crowded main street for shops, restaurants and bars, and into the Jungle restaurant for dinner. We walked those dogs at least three miles every day and there were several days that we walked much further than that. They LOVED every moment of it!

Anyway, the highlights of our trip to Key West were hanging out with our friends, getting some good exercise walking around town, kayaking in the mangroves, riding the Conch train to learn more about the Conch Republic (Key West), visiting the Pirate Museum (which is moving to St Augustine in April), and exploring side streets and residential neighborhoods to view beautiful flowers and trees and see some beautiful old Key West houses. Did you know that the historic Old Town district of Key West contains the largest collection of wooden frame buildings in Florida? In fact, there are over 3,000 historic homes and historic sites in Key West, 300 of which are registered under the National Register of Historic Places.

Click here to view our Key West pictures..

Although many people think of Key West as a party destination, there is a much more to this community than bars and T-shirt shops!  Visit the Key West Attractions Association for more information.  For example, some attractions I did not see this trip but will be sure to visit next time include the Hemingway House, the Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters Museum, the Harry S. Truman Little White House, and the Heritage House. I also want to take a day trip out the Dry Tortugas on a catamaran... doesn't that sounds wonderful?

Yes, I definitely want to go to Key West again… but NO FAST FOOD STROMBOLI next time!

Nitty Gritty on Trip Planning

Consuelo and I have gotten down to the nitty gritty details of our trip-planning. We’ve spent the last 4 or 5 days with our heads together and both notebook computers burning up the internet.  And we really appreciate the suggestions readers have sent us... there is so much to see and do!

I sometimes make fun of Consuelo and her unfathomable (to me, at least) need to be organized, but after our Fall Foliage trip, I’m a true believer in her methods. She’s created a spreadsheet itinerary to outline our trip—from the day we leave home until we meet up with the Alaska Caravan Tour—then from when we finish with the tour, until the day we get home. Her spread sheet reflects where we’ll be spending each night, how many miles we’ll travel each day, how much it will cost us for campground fees, and if we’ve already made reservations. Of course, we’ve agreed that we will depart from this itinerary whenever we want to… we want to enjoy the freedom to change our minds and so the itinerary will provide us an “anchor” but not a ball and chain! And we’ll be giving a copy to friends and family so they will have an idea of our whereabouts.

For popular family vacation spots like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, we’re making our reservations now! We don’t want to be disappointed because we can’t get a site at a popular park. With the exception of one place, we can pretty much get our deposits back with only a couple days notice and so this approach is the best of both worlds – peace of mind and flexibility.

Whoever would have thought all this planning would be so much work? But we believe our efforts will pay off with a truly great RV escape—it certainly was worth all the work on our Fall Foliage trip. Planning the Fall Foliage trip was simple compared to this undertaking… 3000 miles in 3 weeks versus 15,000 miles in 23 weeks!

This trip planning effort has also allowed us time to look into ways to save money here and there, such as…

• Many military bases and facilities have small campgrounds, called FamCamps, with full hookups and, since they’re located on base, most offer many extra amenities such as laundry, grocery store, fuel station and other things we wouldn’t use (like golf courses, swimming pools, athletic gyms, etc). Since we’re both retired from the Air Force, there’s no problem in staying in these places; they’re usually far more affordable than most private campgrounds. Military FamCamps are typically available to Active Duty members, Guard and Reserve troops, Retired military, and DoD civilians.  Check out this web site for more information: http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/state-listing
• The Army Corps of Engineers operates many low-cost campgrounds with at least basic amenities. You can purchase Camping With the Corps of Engineers: The Complete Guide to Campgrounds Owned and Operated by the U.s. Army Corps of Engineers through Amazon.
• Boondocking is a not-to-be-overlooked option. See the Resource links posted on the right side of our Blog.

We also realize that traveling back and forth across the Canadian border with two large dogs could present some challenges – of course Alaskan Discovery RV Tours had already advised us about the necessary veterinary paperwork required for each dog. But Consuelo had received an email from a friend who works in the dog agility competition circuit and she warned that Canadian customs would seize any open bags of dog food. So, I started researching to find what I could about visiting Canada with dogs in tow. After looking at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website, and not really finding answers to my questions, I submitted an inquiry and received a very polite email response within a couple of days. Here’s what it boils down to: We can only bring dog food that will be fed to the animal that accompanies us across the border; the food must be commercially prepared in the United States; it must be in its original package (they said nothing about it having to be sealed); and we are limited to 20kg, which is about 44lbs. That last bit may require some careful thought on our part, these 2 big dogs chow through their food pretty quickly! And I guess we won’t be dumping big bags of dog food into plastic containers to keep it fresh like we usually do…

Meanwhile, we’re continuing with our house cleaning efforts and getting ready for a trip to Key West. Yay… sunshine and warmth! We’ll be in Key West with some friends for about a week… not with the RV, however. Once we get back from Key West, we’ll have about 4 weeks until we leave on Our Great RV Escape!

Things Still To Do

We're planning to set off on Our Great RV Escape the middle of April... about 11 weeks from now.   That seems like a good amount of time away, but if I've learned nothing else in life so far I have come to appreciate just how quickly time flies!  We still have lots to do to get ready for our RV travels:

Major house cleaning to (hopefully) include clearing out closets and drawers and other spaces where "treasures" accumulate

Clean out the basement which will be a big nasty project unto itself

Dispose of unwanted/unneeded stuff via Craigs list, donation, garage sale - whatever it takes to lighten the load

Clean up the garden beds because we let them go so much this past summer;  now we're going to have to do double-duty to whip them into shape before we leave

Get my motorcycle license which requires a written exam and a practical assessment. No worries, except for the chilly weather

Tear apart the scooter and put her back together so I'm confident she is ready to go.  There's some great info about prepping a new Chinese scooter posted on X1Scooter.com

Accomplish some preventive maintenance on the Trek such as caulk the roof seams, get another oil change, have a thorough inspection of belts, hoses, etc

Update the dogs' shots and get official copies of their health records to meet Canadian requirements

Pack clothing and personal items for ourselves and for Sydney and Barley (RVing dogs need stuff also).  Packing for 6 months will take some thought as the Trek has a lot of storage space but it's not endless, and we need to be careful about weight

Provision the kitchen, pack books, DVDs, computer and camera gear, and so on - we're not going to Mars and so if we forget something we can purchase along the way

No doubt there are at least a couple things I'm forgetting right now...  Yes, the next 11 weeks won't be impossibly busy but we definitely have plenty to do.  We'll keep you posted!

Travel Notes: Houston for Christmas

After our Nashville Thanksgiving trip we were feeling more confident about RVing in the coach and we immediately started looking forward to our next RV adventure.

We already had plans to travel to the Houston area to spend the holidays with family and friends and, after looking at airfares and the price of gasoline, we were able to justify driving the RV instead of flying. It didn’t take much to convince me to make the trip in the Trek – I was quickly getting addicted to the fun of RV travel!

So we made arrangements to leave Sydney and the cats in Tennessee and got an OK from Consuelo’s sisters to bring Barley with us. We also needed to figure out what to do with the RV once we arrived - we could not park the RV in front of anyone’s house. Luckily, Consuelo’s older sister and her husband live on a private air strip in Baytown and they offered to make arrangements with the owner for us to park the coach in the Flight Base Operations area. As is typical of most Texans, the owner was very generous and accommodating and so that is exactly what we did.

As part of our trip planning, we decided to test the waters of Boondocking by overnighting at Wal-Mart stores along our route. We plan on doing a fair amount of Boondocking during Our Great RV Escape and so this was an opportunity to test it out. I have to admit that I quite enjoyed our Wal-Mart stays. It was very convenient having the store right there and being able to run in and pick up something for dinner.  The biggest challenge to spending the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot turned out to be taking care of Barley’s needs - there are very few grassy areas for a dog to do his business and get some exercise.

The Houston trip also gave us an opportunity to practice conservative consumption of our fresh water and finding places to dump our tanks. The RV fresh water tank holds 80 gallons and so with brief showers, cautious dish-washing and frugal toilet flushing, we were able to make the water supply last the three days it took us to drive to Houston. In fact, our water supply could have stretched at least one more day. As for dumping the tanks, we easily found Flying J truck stops with dump stations.

We were very excited when we left for Houston the Friday before Christmas. All was well as we pulled out, although we were in a cold and miserable pouring rain. Consuelo had checked the air pressure in all the tires, as well as the oil and power steering fluid levels. Even so, after a little more than an hour on the road, the Service Engine Soon light on the dash came on... and we also had developed a steady drip of water from the overhead light fixture in the cab area. We pulled off at a rest area so we could look up the dash light in the owner’s manual. We learned that this light indicates an emissions problem or that something in the electrical system is damp. So we tightened down the gas cap and debated if we should drive on or turn around for home. We decided to press on, thinking that surely something was damp, considering the heavy rains we were driving through, and that must be what’s causing the light to come on. We got back on the road and made it to Tuscaloosa, Alabama before we pulled off for our first overnight at a Wal-Mart.  Once set up in the Wal-Mart parking lot, we removed the lens from the dripping light fixture, dried the light as best we could, and left it apart to dry overnight.

Although we were hoping the Service Engine Soon light would be off after sitting overnight, it was still on the next morning when we set off for day 2 of our trip. Then I had a thought that perhaps if one or the other of the dipsticks wasn’t seated properly, it might also trigger the light. So we got off at the next rest area and reseated the dipsticks, and that did the trick! It was while we were at this rest area that we saw something pretty cool… A fairly large truck hauling a big horse trailer pulled in behind us. The driver unloaded three or four of his horses and, keeping them on their halter leads, he jogged up and down the grass at the side of the parking area to stretch their legs. Barley was astounded—he had never before seen such big creatures!

The rest of the drive to Houston was uneventful. We spent the second night at a Wal-Mart in Crowley, Louisiana. I particularly enjoyed the drive on I-10 over and through the bayous of Louisiana – this is such a different landscape from anything in my experience.

After we arrived in Baytown at the Flight Base Operations where we would be keeping the RV for the duration of our stay, Consuelo climbed up on the roof with a silicone caulk gun and put a bead around the FM antenna mount, where she suspected the water was coming in that dripped through the light fixture. We have not had a leak since so I guess that did it!

We had a wonderful time over Christmas with family and friends... there is no better place to be at Christmas than with extended family! As always when visiting Houston, the week went by very quickly and then it was time to head home.

Well, the trip back to Tennessee proved to be quite challenging. On the morning of our departure, Consuelo checked the air pressure in all the tires but she couldn’t get any reading on the rear right inside tire. Not sure if the valve extender was just flaky or if there really was an issue with the air pressure, we set off anyway but with a level of anxiety. Our plan was to pull off at the first Truck stop we came across and check the tire out with another pressure gauge. About 50 miles later, we pulled off at a Petro truck stop with a Bridgestone Tire Service Center. 

Sure enough, the Bridgestone service technician confirmed that the tire was completely flat! They charged us a flat price of $45 to remove, inspect and repair - the culprit was a loose valve stem. This episode made us quite nervous because Consuelo had not felt any difference in the way the coach handled with a flat on the inside rear. And we had no way of knowing how long we had been driving on only one tire on that side, which is not a good thing at all. Anyway, we made it without further incident to our overnight stop that night.

The next morning, quite paranoid now, we again checked the tire pressure on all the tires before setting off once more. A few hours later, we stopped at a rest area for lunch. Feeling a little silly, but doing it anyway, Consuelo once again checked the tire pressure. And this is when she discovered there was no pressure in the rear inside left tire – unbelievable! Using our handy Garmin truckers’ GPS, we looked up Tire Repair and found A1 Tire Service in Laurel, Mississippi.

We had to backtrack on the Interstate about 25 miles and it was pouring down with rain when we arrived at the tire repair shop. It turned out that the tire wall was blown out. We already knew from the imprint on the rear tires that they were 5 years old. But we had been unable to tell how old the front tires were because someone had mounted them with the dates on the inside. So the tire technician crawled under the RV to look – the front tires were 8 years old! Well, considering we had two flats in a 24 hour period and were getting ready for a 15,000 mile RV trip, it did not take much discussion to decide to replace all 6 tires.  We resumed our journey home about an hour and half later with shiny new tires all around. 

The Houston trip taught us about roof leaks, Service Engine Soon lights, and the importance of checking tire pressure. A BIG take away is that you need to pay attention to how old your tires are - just because they look good, doesn’t mean they are good.  Once we got back, we did some reseach and learned that the common wisdom is to replace Class A coach tires every 5 years no matter how few miles are on them or how good the thread looks.  Now we know!

Sydney and Barley - RV'ing Dogs!

Sydney goes with us on our our RV adventures. She is a 7 year-old Shepherd-Border Collie mix (or some such concoction) and is convinced Lynda is her mother, or perhaps a minor diety. An avid protector, we pity the person who tries to enter our RV univited. Sydney loves to swim and fetch frisbees, balls, sticks, and other toys. She is not friendly with other female dogs but has a thing for the boys, so Sydney and Barley get along just great.

And this is Barley... who also travels with us. He is a 2 year-old German Shepherd-Siberian Husky mix and a beauty. He is extremely people friendly but has a special place in his heart for Consuelo. He loves to be outside, getting any and all kinds of exercise and attention. He is 70 pounds of love. Barley gets along very well with Sydney... if she gets out of hand, he puts her in her place and that's the end of it. Barley likes to ride up front in the RV, like the figurehead on a ship's bow.