Visiting Yosemite--A Mistake

Yesterday we went to Yosemite National Park. I think it is a little early in the year to do it. When we left, it was a little cloudy and chilly. We had to dress warmer than we had in months. I had to put on socks and closed toed shoes. Yuck! It was between 32 and 38 degrees. By the time we got up to the main area, parked and walked to the Visitors Center, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It started raining, sleeting and snowing . We spent a couple of hours there looking at stuff. The clouds were down to almost ground level. Just about the time we left, it started seriously snowing. It was sticking to the roads. It is a very curvy, steep downhill drive. I was a little nervous. We were on the outside with no guardrails. YIKES! Denny put it in 4 wheel drive. I was so glad we got down out of the snow. By the time we got home, it was raining very hard. It hasn't stopped. Hope it stops by the time we leave tomorrow morning.

This was taken on the way up before it got too cloudy

This is Bridalveil Falls. The most famous is Yosemite Falls, but we couldn't see it. It is the tallest falls in the U.S. Also couldn't see El Capitan ( 7569 ft) and Half Dome (8836 ft) . Those 2 mountains are very popular with rock climbers.

Yosemite is very beautiful and we really want to go again but at another time of the year.

Greetings from Yosemite

We are in a campground just outside of Yosemite National Park. We are in the Sierra Mountains. It feels like a park we would find at home. It was a beautiful drive up here from Fresno. First the rolling hills of farmland and grapes. Then we started climbing up into the mountains. Very curvy, but good paved road. Today we relaxed and didn't even leave the RV. We were tired. Yesterday we had a very long driving day. Night before last we were in Needles, Ca. We left early to cross the Mojave Desert before the high heat of the day. Because we left so early, we got to our designated goal of Bakersfield by 12:30 PM. That was too early to stop so Denny decided to keep going. It was a good driving day, no wind and not too hot, around 70 degrees. We drove 433 miles in 8 and 1/2 hours. That is our longest day so far. Glad to stop for a bit. Tomorrow we will go to see Yosemite National Park.

The view from our campsite. Sometimes there are 3 ducks paddling around by the log that juts out into the river.

This view is at the back of the park. Below this view is a swimming hole and beach.

It is such a beautiful park that we would stay longer, but this spot is reserved for Friday by someone else.

We were both surprised at the Mojave Desert. It wasn't at all what we expected. When I think of the Mojave, I think of flat, dry, and very little plant life. WRONG! The desert was very hilly. We would go UP and UP then down then Up again. There were some long pulls. Denny had to really watch the transmission and engine heat. It was a lot greener than we imagined. A lot of green scrub brush and wildflowers. Very little brown, mostly green.

Paper Delivery-just like home

We are in Cottonwood, Az., in the Sedona/Red Rocks area above Phoenix. Decided to stop here for a few days and totally relax. Traveling so many days in a row is hard on the older folk. The area is beautiful and has lots to see but we saw most of it several years ago so we are just being lazy. We are in a very nice Thousand Trails Park.

We like to sit, drink coffee and read the paper in the morning. That has become our ritual. Most of the time, one of us has to go to the clubhouse or security shack to get the paper out of a stand, but here they deliver it to your RV. Seems just like home. Certainly saves having to have quarters all the time. Sometimes the machines don't work. We feel lost if we don't get a paper. I know that a lot of people get it on the Internet now, but not us. We are from the older generation. I like to sit and have something in my hand. While we are reading, Denny and I discuss what we have read. A good way to start the morning.

As we left Holbrook traveling west to Flagstaff, we saw our first snow capped mountains since we left. Felt like we were really coming home. It was nice to see and there was even snow on the sides of the freeway. Seemed odd after all the hot weather we have been in.

When we leave here Sat, we are heading to Yosemite National Park. We have never been there. When we went thru in Dec. it was much too cold and had snow. Yosemite has to be seen in the spring or summer. We will be there for a few days and then head straight home-no more sightseeing. We think we will be home by the 2nd week of May at the latest, maybe earlier.

Old Courthouse

The town of Holbrook has quite a history. it was quite the wild town. It was known as a town too tough for women and churches. This courthouse was built in 1898 for $15000.00. It housed the jail and was in use until 1976.

Can't imagine being in there.

Doesn't seem like it could of been in use until 30 years ago. There are pictures painted all over the walls made by the inmates. There were some pretty talented people. Amazing that you can still see the drawings

These are pictures of the Painted Desert part of the Park. Very sutble shades of red for miles. It was from all the iron.

More pictures of the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.

Millions of years ago this area was a tropical forest. There was a flood and all the trees were several thousand feet below the water. Over millions of years, the silica from the sand turned all the wood to stone. Because of eruptions, the trees came to the surface. They are lying all over the Park. Some are cut in lengths. No saw was used, all from nature.

This picture is a little out of order. I took a picture of Denny at the base of the tree. This picture shows the length. It is called Old Faithful.

This is Newspaper Rock. Large boulders fell off a cliff, exposing petroglyphics made by ancient Indian people. Wonder what they are trying to say?

The Petrified Wood is lying all over

I took this to show the size of some of the trees. Remember, this tree is millions of years old. It was much larger at one time. This is the root of the tree in the first picture.

I took so many pictures. This is just a few.

Hello from Arizona, again

We are now in Holbrook, Az. When we were in Southern Az., I read about the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, but it was too far north. On our way home, we are in Northern Az., where the National Park is. So off we went sightseeing. It was good to stop for a few days because we have been traveling several days in a row.

These are views of the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. it is one National Park with 2 different areas. The colors don't come thru as well as seeing it in person. Amazing to see.

Don't Mess With Texas, so long for now

We spent a little over 3 weeks in Texas, mostly visiting relatives. We were there one night going back home., It is such a big state, certainly very diverse from top to bottom. In most areas except for the Hill Country which is in the middle of the state, it is also pretty flat. Lots of desert and prairie.

It was very interesting to see the area along the border of Mexico. Makes you feel very lucky to have as much as you do. One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier blogs about the area is the Mexican cemeteries. Mexican really revere their dead. All of the cemeteries are filled with plastic flowers. Not just one bunch to a grave. Many, many arrangements on each one. At first, it looked quite gaudy, but then beautiful at the same time. There are several people buried in the same spot. When it is full, the top is covered with cement. There is also a little box for the spirits to go into. People really tend to the graves. No weeds or anything.

The park we were at Mission, Texas was nice. We were there because that is the park my relatives from IL. winter at. Every Saturday, there is a Mexican that comes at 10:00 am with fruits and veggies to sell. He has a stall on the weekends at a flea market, but on the weekdays goes directly into the parks. Smart man. I bought 3 plastic grocery bags full for $8.50. I couldn't believe it. Would have cost alot more at a grocery store. The best veggie I bought was Jicama. Sometimes it is hard to find a good one at grocery stores up north. It is from Mexico, so it was the best I had ever bought. I wasn't sure how long they would last or I would have bought more. I bought 3, but we went thru that fairly fast.

There are lots of freeway signs, Don't Mess With Texas. They all are for littering, following speed limits, seat belts, etc. Before the sign says what it is for you see in very large letters, DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS. There are fines for littering from $10 to $2000., depending on the area. I will say that the littering one isn't really enforced. We saw some of the most littered highways in Texas, mostly plastic bags from the grocery stores.

I had mentioned earlier about the beautiful wildflowers along the freeways. I found out that it is because of Lady Bird Johnson. When her husband was President, her cause was beautifying America. She had the wildflowers planted along the freeways. I guess that means they really aren't wild. I had said the blue ones were Blue Bells. WRONG. They are Blue Bonnets. The salmon ones are called Paintbrush.

The panhandle of Texas is where it is so windy. I thought it was windy in West Texas, but nothing like the panhandle. Again, why would you live there. It is windy every day. One person told me that if the weather says no wind, it will be 10-20 MPH. There are other parts of Texas with no wind at all.

The Thousand Trails park we were at in the Hill Country was very nice. Felt like home with all the trees. Amazing that all the hills are only in Central Texas around San Antonio.

I apologize to all my relatives in Texas if I have my facts wrong.

So long Kansas and Oklahoma

Since we are on our way home, I thought I would put some thoughts down about where we have been.

We only went to Kansas to see the factory that built Hitchhiker. I can't imagine any other reason to go there. It is pretty flat, not much to see. Not much green. There were some rolling hills, but not much.

I will say that Oklahoma was a little more scenic. Green rolling hills with some trees. When you think of small town America, Guthrie was exactly what you'd be picturing in your mind. If I HAD to live in Oklahoma that is where I'd be.

I can't imagine why anyone would live in Oklahoma or Kansas. They are right in the middle of Tornado Alley. WHY, WHY? Why live in a place known for tornado's! You can lose everything in a second. I know there are a lot of people who live there that love it. This is just my opinion.

I can't imagine why Dorthy wanted to go back to Kansas with Toto. We passed the area where the Ingalls family had their farm in Little House on the Prairie books. After seeing it, I can certainly see why Papa Ingalls had such a hard time making a living.

Stressful Driving

We have had several days of driving to get closer to home. On Monday, the 12th we left Guthrie, Ok to go to Amarillo, Tx. Besides being a long day, Denny had to fight the wind. For most of the 318 miles, we had a side wind of 30 MPH. Denny said it was almost a white knuckle day, very stressful. As we went thru Oklahoma City, we saw the new stadium for the Sonics. We booed as we went by.

By the time we got to Amarillo Tx., the wind started to get worse. When we got out of the truck to go to the park office, my hair was horizontal. When we were setting up, you couldn't even walk in a straight line. We were bent over. When we opened the door to the RV, we couldn't let go until it was closed. It got worse as the evening and night went on. I bet we had winds at 45 mph. I asked the clerk and she said it is always like that. Why would you want to live in such wind? The park was so nice, but no way will we be back. Too bad, we thought it was our 2nd best park. I can't imagine staying more than 1 night unless you were visiting relatives.

That night there were severe storms warnings for the areas we were going to the next day. I checked weather.com before we left. Winds had died down, so off we went. The next day was so much better. Just a little breeze. We went to Grants, New Mexico. It is 80 miles west of Albuquerque. It was our longest day, 363 miles. We only did it because we gained an hour going from Central to Mountain time. Most of the time we don't even like to go 300 miles, 200 to 250 is good. We haven't done this much daily driving since we left Renton to go to San Diego.

Today we got to Holbrook, Az. Since we had such a long day yesterday, today was short. We only had to drive 155 miles. That is about right. We spent over 2 months in Az. before. I wanted to see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest but it was so far north. Well, here we are. We got here so early today that I'm trying to play catch up. Tomorrow we plan to go sightseeing.

4 months, 2 days and coming home

Yesterday we had our 4th month traveling anniversary. The city park we were in said they had Internet but they didn't. A lot of parks we are at have such weak signals that we can't get on.

We left the Dallas area to go to Chanute, Ks. to see the factory where our Hitchhiker is made. Drove straight thru Oklahoma to the border of Kansas. The park we stayed at was pretty bad. It looked good in our magazine. Glad we were there for only 1 night. On to Chanute. Hitchhiker has a city park that we can stay in for free. It backed up to the golf course, so we had a great view. Went on the tour of the factory this morning and left from there. It was more interesting to Denny than me.

We have started to back track to go home. We don't plan on being there until mid May because it is still raining and cool at home. We are used to 75-85 degree weather now. No rain and cool temps for us. We are in beautiful little town tonight, Guthrie, Ok. Tree lined streets and old, well kept homes. Tomorrow we plan to be in Amarillo, Tx and then Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then on to Flagstaff, Az and Verde Valley, Az. We plan to stay there 1 week. We have been in the area before, but there is a beautiful Thousand Trails park there. It is very close to the Red Rocks area. Plan to see that again. Next we plan to go to Yosemite National Park. Have never been there. We went by it when we went thru Ca., but the weather was too bad to stay. We plan on being back about mid may. Hopefully the weather will be better by then. I'm telling you all this now in case I don't have much luck with the Internet.

I have some pictures to upload, but I'm so tired. Long traveling days are very tiring and I'm not even driving. I just wanted to give an update.

See you when I find another place.

We will certainly do something different about the Internet when we start traveling next fall.

Our shortest move

We had planned to leave this morning, but it is so nice here decided to stay a few more days.

We wanted 2 more, but this park is completely booked for the weekend. Their busy season starts after spring break. That is the opposite of a lot of winter places. They start emptying out after April 1st. I think it is because of all the sport teams here.

To get our original 3 days here, we had to move to another spot after 2. Then we got 1 more day. This is our shortest move. Before, we have gone from 50 miles to 381. We usually don't like more than 200-250. That makes you stop around 3:00 pm. Nice to get unhooked and settled in early. This move we went only from area to another.

This is the view from our 2nd spot. It is a lot more level than the first one.

Denny took this when I was outside on the computer. Life can't get much better than this.

This RV is across the way. Such a tiny little thing. Not much bigger than the little teardrop RV I showed you in an earlier blog. At least with this one you could stand up. Still not much room. I like our size.

We are leaving tomorrow morning for Chanute, Kansas. That is where our RV was built. We are going thru the factory and Denny wants to ask a few questions. Can't imagine any other reason to go to Kansas. After that, we will probably start for home. In 2 days we will have been gone 4 months. We aren't heading straight home. Too rainy for us! We thought we might go to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite Park. We went by Yosemite on the way down, but they had snow. Not good for the RV.

Tonight we are going to have our first fire. Most parks won't allow fires and we forgot our little outside gas firepit. This park has firepit ring and sells firewood. Looking forward to it.

On to Kansas!

The reason we came

The main reason we came, was to visit my first cousins.

Sharon, pictured below, is from IL., but has been here so long, she is a native. She lives in Plano, north of Dallas. She came to the RV to visit because she knows the area. Last time we were here in 1996 we got lost going to her house. Of course, now we have Bertha, the GPS. Had a really good visit. More one on one than at our family reunions.

This is Carla and her husband, Dan. They live in Southlake, north of Fort Worth. We had first thought of pulling into her driveway, but decided that wouldn't work. Last time we were here we did that, but we only had a 24'. Quite a difference now. After going to their house, we saw it was a good decision. It wouldn't have worked out at all. She first came over to see the RV, then a couple of nights later, we went to their house for dinner. On the way to her house we saw several mansions. Amazing. They were like ones you see in magazines. There are alot of major sports here. Alot of the players and coaches live in Southlake.

The Windy City--and it's not Chicago

We got to Grapevine, Tx. last Monday, April 5th. It was another long day of driving, 380 miles.

I have 2 first cousins in the area. We are at the Vines Campground in Grapevine. It is the most beautiful park so far. Too bad it is way down in Texas. It is a little spendy, but the best park we've seen. I think it costs more because we are the closet to the Fort Worth/Dallas area. It is the first park that doesn't have a swimming pool or hot tub, but still worth the money. There are alot of trees and it is right on the shores of Lake Grapevine. It has been voted the best mid-size park in Texas. I can see why. Since we have been here it has been very windy. All of west Texas is windy, windy, windy.

The whole area of Fort Worth/Dallas/Southlake/Grapevine/Arlington and Plano is called the Metroplex. If you aren't from the area, you would think it is one large city. In a few years they except a population of 6 million people. Years ago, there was 30 miles of empty land between Fort Worth and Dallas.

There are alot of ducks wandering all over. These were eating right out of Denny's hand.

Also lots of geese

The only thing wrong with the park was the concrete pad we were on was very uneven. Most pads or gravel areas are fairly level so you don't have to do too much leveling. This was the most Denny has ever had to do. He doesn't think he could have done it if we had the old RV that you had to drive up on blocks to level. This RV has automatic levelers.

You can see by the next 2 pictures how much we had to level. Notice how uneven the 2 hydraulic levelers are in the back.

Also in the front

This picture was taken from outside our front door. There is alot of boat morage on the other side. There is a spot for people here to put their boats in the water.

This is our RV-what a life!

8315 miles and still counting

We went from almost the southern end of Texas to West Texas. It was quite a drive-2 days. We went to Odessa where my aunt, uncle and niece live.

When we arrived, I checked our total miles--8315! WOW.

Seems like alot, but we have been gone over 3 1/2 months. Had a good time visiting. It is very windy anywhere in West Texas. It is flat so there is no break for the winds. On our way up, we saw our first oil wells. Sometimes as far as you can see. Lots are dead, but quite a few still pumping. Wouldn't it be nice to have an oil well on your land.

In this picture, you can see how windy it is by my hair. We are in the back yard of my cousins new house. There are 3 bench swings in the back yard.

This is my Dad's sister, Laura and her husband Emmett. They were born in IL., but they have lived in Odessa since 1959. After a while, you acquire the Texas accent. They talk like natives.

This is my first cousin, Denise, her husband, Richard and their 2 twin boys. We are at their new home. They will move in April 17th. It is a beautiful 5000 sq. ft home. The back yard is huge and faces the golf course. The kitchen is over twice as big as ours at home.

We were in Odessa over Easter weekend. Sat., we went to the Country Club for lunch and Easter egg hunt. Amazing. The club hid 5000 eggs for the different age groups. At the drink table, there was ice tea, lemonade and water. It was all in the huge urns with spigots. Instead of getting it yourself, there was a lady to pour it for you. The lemons were the biggest I have ever seen.

On Sunday, we went to the Easter brunch. This is how the other half live. Most of the men had suits/ties or sport coats on. We didn't bring real dressy clothes. Denny had on a dressy shirt and slacks. No tie. I had brought one pair of dress slacks and a few blouses. At the last minute, I had to put on another blouse. One shrunk in the drawer, just like my bathing suit. Wonder why. We looked like we belonged.

Alot of the kids were very dressed up. Some boys had suits on. Even if they didn't, they all looked dressed up. I think the South dresses for occasions more than other area's. No polo shirts for guys. The food was excellent. The Country Club was a very nice place.

Had a great time visiting with my relatives. Denny did some maintenance on the truck while we were there.

On to Dallas!

What is a ROPA Store?

We had planed on leaving Mission on Monday, March 28th, but our mail didn't arrive on Sat so we had to stay another day. I'm glad because we had a great day of sightseeing, which we hadn't done yet. Too busy visiting relatives. Charles Lee and Elsie drove us around in the area.

There are many ROPA stores in the area. Everyone said they were quite the experience to see. They were right. ROPA stores sell clothing by the pound. There are huge piles 2' to 3' high. Some are as big around as our living room. People ( Mexicans) sit in the middle of the pile and sort thru the clothes. They have a large bag to put them in. One guy was even lying down and once in awhile, would pick up a piece and look at it. You can also buy large bundles about 4'x4' for $600. People buy those, sorth thru it and sell the pieces individually for 10-25 cents. That is how lots of people make their living. Everything is in Spanish.

Beware if you have to use the restrooms. Quite a way from the restrooms was a cardboard box on the counter. It was labeled "paper for the Banyo'. It was just single sheets of toilet paper. If you didn't see it, you were out of luck. If you buy by the pound, it is 25 to 35 cents. per pound.

We went to South Padre Island. That is on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It was quite a contrast from seeing how the Mexicans live. This is an expensive resort town. All for tourists, but beautiful beaches. I went to a store to look at bathing suits because somehow mine shrunk in my drawer since I last used it. I saw one for half price. I thought "what a deal". WRONG! It was still $100. I'll keep looking. We strolled the beach. There were alot of men sitting in beach chairs along the shore. They had fishing poles in the water. Not sure how much they catch being so close to shore.

This view is from the restaurant on the mainland that we stopped at for lunch. The bridge on the right goes to South Padre Island. It is a very narrow strip of land, probably only 1/2 mile wide. As you drive down you can see water on both sides.

This is the wall that the U.S. is building along the Mexican border. It is about 14' tall. The problem is that there are large gaps every once in awhile. That is because some Mexican live in the U.S. but their farms are in Mexico. They need to get back and forth. What is to stop the illegals from just going to one of the gaps and walking thru. I have heard that they go under the wall.

Denny makes quite the pirate. This was at the restaurant we stopped at before going on South Padre Island. He grumbles when I make him to that, but he does it anyway.

We went along the border for quite awhile. It was very interesting to see the contrasts of how the Mexicans live compared to us. We are so lucky. In the town of Mission, where we stayed, we went into a gas/connivance store. We were the only ones speaking English, except for the clerks, who were bilingual. Alot of the food is labeled in Spanish and English. I thought we were close to the border before, but this is the closest we have been. We went to a restaurant on the banks of the Rio Grande. Across the river was Mexico.

On to West Texas!

Can't get much farthur and still be in the U.S.

The land around San Antonio is called the "hill country". Traveling south to Mission, the fields are covered with wild flowers. They are all shades of blue to purple to salmon to yellow to white. Not sure what the flowers are, except the blue ones are bluebells. You go for miles and miles and this is all you see.

Some of my relatives from IL. winter in Mission. Mission is only about 50 miles from the tip of Texas, Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. They were all my fathers first cousins. Had a great time getting to know them all better. Charles Lee made homemade ice cream. Homemade ice cream is much colder than regular. Charles Lee FORCED me to have 2 bowls. I was so cold I couldn't even zip my sweatshirt up. Also had 2 blankets and it still took me a while to get warm. As you can see, it didn't bother Denny at all.

There were 4 couples. Great people. Laughed a lot. Glad we went down. It was a long way. Texas is huge. It is 801 miles between the east and west coast, 630 miles from north to south.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

On our way to Mission we stopped at Lake Medina, a Thousand Trails park 15 miles NW of San Antonio. We really liked the park. Every site had a lot of trees around it. Felt like home.

There was a lot of deer wandering all over the park. They come right into your campsite.

This was taken from the front steps of our RV

We have been to several caves along the way. This cavern was different than any of the others. It is a wet cave, with several pools of water. It even had a 90' waterfall in the back. This picture shows how far we had to stoop to get around the cave. As short as I am, in several places, I had to bend over at the waist to get thru. There were several ferns growing. A lot of people thought they were fake because it is very unusual to see anything green growing in a cave. The walkway was very primitive and sometimes slick. I almost fell. I put my hand out to catch my fall and touched the wall. That is a no no. Touching harms the formations. We were walking so close that it was instinct to catch my fall. Luckily the guide didn't see it. OOPS!

We had to go to the next town for groceries. It was Bandera, the Cowboy capital of the world. A lot of the small Texas towns have beautiful old courthouses. This was built in the early 1800's.

Isn't this the cutest little thing you have ever seen? We saw this in a camp where we stayed in El Paso. I have seen the inside at RV shows and it certainly doesn't hold much. We can't imagine this for even just a weekend. Too small for 2 people ,can't even imagine even 1.