Monday, January 03, 2005
Summary
Trailer miles 5,220; Truck miles 16,776
Parking $2432.10; Gas $3212.99
Parking $2432.10; Gas $3212.99
Desert Gardens RV Park, Florence, AZ - Dec 28-Jan 2
We have stayed here before and find it to be a very nice park in an attractive desert setting. You can walk into the desert for long distances in all directions. It is a convenient distance from Casa Grande Ruins Natl Monument, an interesting place to visit. We have reported from these areas before, so we will keep our comments brief. We were close enough to our friends Pat & Dennis Woods, who are workamping in Gold Canyon, that we could spend New Year's Eve with them for the third year in a row.Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Madison Driveway, Tucson, AZ - Dec 19-27
We came up here for Christmas in order to avoid almost daily round-trip visits from Benson to Tucson and because we enjoy parking here so much. It is one of the loveliest places we have stayed, with the desert landscaping and the closeness of the Catalina mountains. Doug's daughter Erin and her husband Bryan visited for most of the week. We also had a brief visit from Doug's brother, Rodger, his wife, Jan, and two of their three children. 
Erin & Bryan and Willie & Doug drove to Phoenix to see the third child, daughter Kerry, play in a basketball tournament. It has been wonderful to see them all.Getting into the holiday spirit, Willie donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love(www.locksoflove.org), a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under 18, who suffer from long-term medical hair loss. She still has shoulder-length hair!
We attended another concert in Tucson by the Arizona Repertory Singers. Exchanging gifts, sharing holiday meals and watching old favorites on TV have kept us all in the holiday spirit. 
On Christmas Eve we visited the beautiful lights of Winterhaven.The cats seem to be pretty happy in Arizona this time. The weather has been on the cool side, so we have had to keep the heater running more. They like this a lot. They curl up in front of it, sometimes even choosing this over a lap!
Sunday, December 19, 2004
SKP Saguaro Co-op, Benson, AZ - Dec 9-18
Our first nights on our co-op lot! We picked up the keys to our casita (small building on our lot in which we can store things, have visitors sleep over, play cards, etc) and found it very much to our liking. It is a plain no-frills place, with room to store lots of our "stuff". We are happy to have a place to hold some of our excess weight. 
We were also able to move all the stuff from Doug's dad's basement in Tucson into our casita. While here, we enjoyed all of the usual co-op activities, and visited Doug's dad in Tucson twice. We attended several Christmas activities at the co-op and one very good concert in Denver by the Reveille Gay Men's Chorus. We had a great evening of bridge at Benson with new friends Mollie & Howard Bandy, who will soonbe leaseholders at the co-op.Thursday, December 09, 2004
RV City RV Repair, Huachuca City, AZ - Dec 8
We arrived here early (for us) to have our wheel bearings repacked and to have our trailer brakes checked out. We had hoped to be done in time to get to Benson for the night, but unfortunately that was not the case. As they were inspecting our wheel bearings, they discovered that they were entirely too worn and that all 4 needed to be replaced. Then we discovered that our newly installed brake controller wasn't working properly, so we spent the night so they could adjust it in the morning. Finally, all was well and we were able to head for Benson.Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Fort Willcox RV Park, Willcox AZ - Dec 7
Another one-night stop at a PA park to rest up for our time at the repair shop the next day. The light pollution in Willcox is low enough that, using our binoculars, we were able to spot Comet Machholz for the first time.Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Coachlight RV Park, Las Cruces, NM - Dec 4-6
This is our first time to stop over in Las Cruces. We had several reasons for stopping here, but the main one was to visit our friend Jessica Piasecke, who is going to grad school here. We met her at Chaco (as you may recall), where she is doing a field study of the elk population. We visited the Old Mesilla area, one of the most colorful and historical towns in SW New Mexico. In early times, Pueblo Indians and Conquistadors used it as a camping place. In 1854, the Gadsden Purchase annexed much land in southern NM, including Mesilla. The Butterfield Overland Mail & State Line set up regional headquarters here in 1858. At that time, Mesilla was the largest town in the southern part of the NM Territory, with a population of 3,000. Pat Garrett, the famous sheriff who shot Billy the Kid, is said to have had an office here. Billy the Kid and many other outlaws contributed to the wild side of life here. He was tried in a building on the plaza and was sentenced to hang for the murder of Sheriff Brady. He is said to haunt the nearby courthouse. There are many interesting shops as well as an outdoor market on the plaza.Jessica and her friend Luke came over for dinner and a fun evening of Trivial Pursuit. As usual, Jessica trounced us!! We also were able to go to a local bridge club for an afternoon duplicate game. Again, we had fun and came in first.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
El Campo RV Park, Van Horn, TX - Dec 3
This is a real crossroads in western TX, and this PA park is about the best bargain for a one or two-night stop (at $9/night PA rates). Since we have been here so many times, we thought it was a good place for a one-night stopover. You do get free greens fees at the local 9-hole golf course when you stay here, but Doug currently doesn't carry his clubs along.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Alley Oop Park, Iraan, TX - Dec 1-2
The town was named after the original founding couple "Ira" and "Ann". It is pronounced "Ira-ann", like the two names. No one knew why it wasn't spelled with two "n"s to make the complete "ann". This is another park found through the Texas Guide. Since it has full hookups, it costs $10/night -- still pretty much of a bargain. No bridge games here, but we did happen to arrive for their first annual lighting display in Alley Oop City Park adjacent to our cg. We enjoyed seeing the holiday lights as well as attending the festivities at the nearby community center that evening. 
The park (which features a huge bust of Alley as well as a life-size statue of Dinny the dinosaur) and cg are named after the cartoon character, whose creator grew up in Iraan.Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Schreiner City Park, Junction, TX - Nov 29-30
We found this free boondocking spot in the Texas Guide to Public CGs, available at any TX info center. It was a lovely park along the South Llano River, beside a lake formed for the town's water supply. From the park, we walked to the downtown area and visited the library and bought some delicious locally grown pecans. We had just downloaded a guide to duplicate bridge games from the ACBL web site, and found we had arrived for one of their two weekly bridge games. We had a good time and came in first.Sunday, November 28, 2004
Cedar Breaks COE Park, Georgetown, TX - Nov 27-28
This is a lovely COE park located just outside Georgetown, with the usual cheap OFR (Old Folks Rate). We were about 2 miles from a great HEB grocery store, a Texas chain that we like very much. This park is located on Lake Georgetown, which had such a high water level (due to all those storms) that all the boat ramps, hiking trails, and camp spots near the water were closed.
Friday, November 26, 2004
Park on the Lake, Willis, TX - Nov 24-26
This stop was planned in order to spend Thanksgiving with friends Dave & Diane West, who were working at Hickory Farms in nearby Conroe for the Holiday season. This is another PA park, though not as cheap as Mission Dolores, at $13.50/night. As usual, we had a good time visiting with Dave & Diane. Many meals and good conversation were shared for the brief time we were together. Adding to the Thanksgiving spirit, Larry & Claudia King, SKP friends working for Hickory Farms in Beaumont, TX, met us for Thanksgiving dinner at Humble TX (a central meeting place). It was fun to see them again.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Mission Dolores RV Park, San Augustine, TX - Nov 21-23
If you are Passport America members, this park is a bargain you won't want to pass up! For only $7.50/night, you get full hookups in a park-like setting, with a few hiking trails nearby. There are interesting historic areas nearby to visit. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad while we were here, so we didn't do much. We visited the Visitor Center at the park and learned of the mission that used to be here, and walked around the town square to admire the Christmas lighting. The storms brought tornadoes, which fortunately missed this county. We just had several hours of fairly exciting thunderstorms!
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Country Livin' RV Park, Libuse, LA - Nov 18-20
This small RV park is behind a gas station, conveniently located about 4 miles from our cousins Joe & Marilyn Black in Pineville. We enjoy visiting with them, sharing meals and catching up on family news. While we were here, we took a day trip to historic St Francisville, LA, which has many restored homes & businesses. St Francisville is the second-oldest incorporated town in LA and began as a burial ground. 
We visited Locust Grove State Historic Site (SHS), a small cemetery that is all that remains of Locust Grove Plantation. We also met some new-found friends (Jane & Trish from the Stonewall BOF) at Audubon SHS which contains Oakley House, where James Audubon lived for a short time and completed or began 32 of his famous bird paintings.
One interesting thing we learned was that Audubon only painted the birds; his apprentice (at this time James Mason) painted all the background vegetation. Audubon remained at Oakley House only 4 months, due to a misunderstanding with the owners regarding financial arrangements for his tutoring of their daughter. He continued to live & paint in the region, called "The Felicianas".
We are happy to report that our cousin, Marilyn, is still the best pie maker we know!!Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Rocky Springs CG, Natchez Trace, Port Gibson, MS - Nov 17
This was the fifth time we have stayed at this beautiful free cg along the southern portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. It continues to be our favorite of the 3 cgs on the Trace. We always enjoy walking along the trails which pass by the old Natchez Trace footpath and Sand Creek. The "creeks" in this part of the country are rivers in Colorado!
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Legion State Park, Louisville, MS - Nov 4-16
We moved down here in order to facilitate Ann's move to Noxapater. We knew there would be lots of errands associated with getting her settled in. This is a very nice state park, with full hookups ($12/night for over 62), located within the city limits of Louisville, but in thick woods with a small lake.
We worried that we had made a mistake by making the move when they were still so unfinished and also unstructured. However, just being in Noxapater with friends around has made up for any lack of completion. Ann is quite happy. Two of the owners, Steve & Patricia Weeks, are former "square-dance buddies" of Willie's parents, and Ann is enjoying their company immensely. They are moving quickly to complete the final cosmetic items, and truthfully, Ann is too blind to notice or care about most of them. She is the only resident until late this week. She is being pampered in every way and is loving it. We only hope she won't be disappointed when they have more residents. They will only have 15 at full capacity, so it will still be quite individualized treatment. Plus they won't have the patients with dementia, which were the overwhelming majority of the people at Homeplace. Ann has been eating all she has been served and has come out of her room to socialize. Her room is a bit smaller than the one at Homeplace, but she has all she needs, and it is quite cozy. Her phone and cable should be installed in the next day or two.And we have some sad news to report. Gertie, companion of almost 20 years to Doug's dad Gayle, passed away late last week in her sleep. She had recently become so ill that she was staying at a nursing home in Tucson near Gayle. We will all miss her very much. We are looking forward to being near Tucson so we can spend some time with him. Doug's daughter Erin and her husband Bryan will be visiting Tucson, along with us, at Christmas time.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
DeWayne Hayes Rec Area, Columbus, MS - Oct 24-Nov 3
This is a wonderful campground, located on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, just north of Columbus, where Ann, Willie's mom, was in the assisted living home. Of course you remember that the purpose of this trip (actually a "detour" on our way from CO to AZ) was to move Ann to a new assisted living home being built in her home town, Noxapater. Most of our time here was spent in preparation for this move, but we did take "time off" several times a week to play bridge with the local groups we enjoy so much and also to play dominoes with the church group in Noxapater. We were unpleasantly surprised at how unfinished the new place, Lakeside Village, appeared to be. We had to change the planned moving date from11/1 to 11/6, and that still seemed to be pushing it.Saturday, October 23, 2004
Warfield Point Park, Greenville, MS - Oct 22-23
This nice county park ($10/night for over 50) is located right along the mighty Mississippi, between the levee and the river, so you don't want to be there during flood season! The warm humidity continued, along with heavy rains, but not enough to cause alarm, just enough to keep us inside most of the time. The views of the river were quite lovely, and it was nice to watch the barges moving slowly along.We visited the River Road Queen Welcome Center, which was built as an exhibit at the 1986 Louisiana World Exposition to look like a 19th-century stern-wheeler.
We also visited the Winterville Mounds, located about 5 miles north of town, the site of a prehistoric ceremonial center built by a Native American civilization that thrived from about 1000 AD to 1450. There were originally at least 23 mounds, but now they are striving to protect 12 of the sites largest mounds. Many mounds were destroyed by "civilization" before their importance was realized. Only the highest-ranking officials lived at the actual mound site; the rest of the people lived in scattered settlement districts throughout the Yazoo-Mississippi River Delta basin. By 1450 AD the site appears to have been completely abandoned.
Greenville has a couple of dinky-looking casinos, located along the river (the legal requirement seems to be that they be on the water). Greenville is noted as the "cradle of the Blues", as many famous musicians rose from this area. Greenville has also produced several Pulitzer-Prize winning authors, including Shelby Foote.Thursday, October 21, 2004
Lake Columbia County Park, Magnolia, AR - Oct 21
Another one-night stop! This time more for convenience than anything negative about the park, although at $15 it was more expensive than we like. We had planned to go a bit out of our way to camp at an AR state park near Camden, but found this park, right along our route, listed at a book we picked up at the AR Welcome Center in Texarkana, so changed plans on the spot. The weather continued its oppressive warmth & humidity, so hookups were welcome! Again, a very peaceful setting butthe weather was too unpleasant to even walk around outside.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Coffeemill Lake, Caddo Natl Grasslands, Honey Grove, TX - Oct 19-20
This was a GREAT stop -- cheap ($4 regular and $2 OFR -- "old folks rate") and lovely dry camping. We are a little curious, though, why an area with 2 lakes surrounded by woods is called a grasslands. If we had it to do over we would have camped at West Davy Crockett Lake, since it didn't have a boat ramp and would have been even nicer (less traffic and boat noise). Still, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We visited the little town of Honey Grove to pick up some mail. The postmistress said "We don't get much General Delivery mail here" and wanted to know our "story". The local library was friendly with good computers. We enjoyed the peaceful setting, but the second day the temperature went up about 15 degrees and the humidity alsorose. It became quite oppressive.Monday, October 18, 2004
Wichita Bend RV Park, Wichita Falls, TX - Oct 17-18
This is a nice city-owned park ($10/night) located beside the Wichita River near the Visitor Info center in Wichita Falls. On the drive here and during our stay here, we saw many Scissor-tailed flycatchers. They are locally common enough to be considered a "trash" bird (not worth looking at), but for us they're truly a beautiful and unusual-looking bird. It's hard to imagine how they maneuver about with that long, cumbersome-looking tail.Wichita Falls was named for an impressive waterfall on the Wichita River that was, unfortunately, washed away by a flood over 100 years ago. The existing falls are man-made and were completed in 1986. There is a nice trail system along the river that starts at the RV park and takes you by the new falls. Wichita Falls was also a good stop for some city-type shopping errands.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Kincaid Park, Clarendon, TX - Oct 16
The drive to Clarendon took us through Dumas, TX, reported to be the home of the "ding dong daddies" (Dumas AR also makes this claim). This is an old song sung by, among others, Louie Armstrong. You can search for more info on the web if you are interested. The local radio station is KDDD for "Ding Dong Daddies". Dumas is also home to a lovely, and conveniently located, city-run RV park with full hookups, which is free for the first night and $10 after that. It would have made a much better stop and will be noted for future reference.
We had called ahead to Kincaid Park and were told we could camp with hookups for $12/night and dry camp around the lake for free. We headed there intending to pay for hookups and stay two nights; however, when we arrived we found that this was in addition to a $3 per person per day "usage" fee. That annoyed us enough that we dry camped for only one night. It was an attractive enough area but difficult to find a large enough level spot.
We had called ahead to Kincaid Park and were told we could camp with hookups for $12/night and dry camp around the lake for free. We headed there intending to pay for hookups and stay two nights; however, when we arrived we found that this was in addition to a $3 per person per day "usage" fee. That annoyed us enough that we dry camped for only one night. It was an attractive enough area but difficult to find a large enough level spot.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Rita Blanca Lake Park, Dalhart, TX - Oct 15
This was our last stop with Fred & Linda Lanoue, and we were undecided whether to stay one night or two.
The state of Texas, Hartley county, and the city of Dalhart have been playing Hot Potato with this park for the last few years. It's currently in the hands of the city. Rates are posted for camping with or without hookups ($12 and $6), but there are no obvious places to dry camp, so we set up on the edge of a large dirt parking area by some picnic tables (what we were supposed to do was park in the hookup sites but not hook up). Late in the afternoon we were told that we couldn't park there (even though it was obvious that we could since we were) but we pleaded our case and she grudgingly allowed us to stay there one night. This resolved the issue of whether to stay for one night or two. Our parking area turned out to be a favorite place for Dalhartans (Dalhartians?) to "cruise" through. Some of the younger people seemed to enjoy carving doughnuts in the lot. In a classic "good news/bad news" scenario, this activity was cut short by a cold front that dropped temps from 80 to 50 and buffeting our trailers with sustained winds of 30 mph (and gusts probably twice that). It was sad, as always, saying good-bye to Fred & Linda -- we are unsure when we will next see each other but hope it will be later this winter.
The state of Texas, Hartley county, and the city of Dalhart have been playing Hot Potato with this park for the last few years. It's currently in the hands of the city. Rates are posted for camping with or without hookups ($12 and $6), but there are no obvious places to dry camp, so we set up on the edge of a large dirt parking area by some picnic tables (what we were supposed to do was park in the hookup sites but not hook up). Late in the afternoon we were told that we couldn't park there (even though it was obvious that we could since we were) but we pleaded our case and she grudgingly allowed us to stay there one night. This resolved the issue of whether to stay for one night or two. Our parking area turned out to be a favorite place for Dalhartans (Dalhartians?) to "cruise" through. Some of the younger people seemed to enjoy carving doughnuts in the lot. In a classic "good news/bad news" scenario, this activity was cut short by a cold front that dropped temps from 80 to 50 and buffeting our trailers with sustained winds of 30 mph (and gusts probably twice that). It was sad, as always, saying good-bye to Fred & Linda -- we are unsure when we will next see each other but hope it will be later this winter.Thursday, October 14, 2004
Two Buttes State Wildlife Area, Springfield CO - Oct 8-14
We filled up with water & dumped our holding tanks in Lamar and headed down here. This could be one of the prettiest spots in Colorado, but unfortunately the vast quantity of trash left by hunters, fishermen, and riff-raff really detracts from the area. More unfortunately, when we arrived at the place to stop while checking out the spots below for availability, Fred & Linda discovered that the wheel bearings on their trailer had failed and one wheel was almost falling off. 
They had no option but to park in the upper area near some abandoned buildings and call for roadside service. We went ahead and parked in the area by the water about 1/4 mile down a side road. After the service guy determined that the axle would have to be repaired, he removed it and took it back to Lamar in order to get it worked on, leaving F&L pretty much marooned for at least a week. While we enjoyed the lovelier lower area, it was too much hassle having to trudge up & back to spend time together or eat dinner together, so on Sunday we moved up to where they were. If all goes well, their repairs will be done by Friday, when we have to leave to start heading east.
It is a very peaceful area with pretty much no radio & TV reception. F&L are able to get a couple of radio stations, but we can't. The birding is pretty good, and there are many interesting places to explore whether birding or just walking.Thursday, October 07, 2004
Lamar Roadside Park, Lamar CO - Oct 7
We had planned to stay at another state wildlife area near Lamar (Mike Higbee SWA) but could not find a suitable place to camp. While looking around at the Visitor Center in Lamar, Linda noticed that there was a town park with free overnight camping. It turned out that the park also has water & a dump station, which we both needed, so it was a perfect place to stop for a night, and get in some needed shopping. Right across the street from the park was Lamar Community College, where we could use computers to get on the Internet. The only down side was the truck noise along US 287 which was quite loud. Luckily, it finally slowed down during sleeping hours.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Flagler State Wildlife Area, Flagler CO - Oct 5-6
We finally got away from the city lights & noise!! We had a planned meeting with our friends Fred & Linda Lanoue here at this isolated area. It is quite peaceful and no one else camped here during our two-night stay. It was great fun to see Fred & Linda again, since ithas been almost a year since we last saw them. Monday, October 04, 2004
St Vrain State Park, Longmont, CO - Sept 21-Oct 4
This was just a continuation of our visit to the Boulder area. This state park (formerly Barbour Ponds) has no hookups, so it was not suitable for the time we needed a/c. However, once the weather turned cooler, we were able to save a lot of money, plus enjoy a much more peaceful setting by staying here (even though it is within earshot of I-25). Unfortunately, Doug had to start carrying water again! While talking to the head ranger one day, we learned that they will be "upgrading" the park next year and will be needing many more cg hosts at that time. So we have put in our application to be hosts there for late summer and early fall of 2005. That would be a good way to visit in the area and not have such high RV site rental. It is a lovely park, although quite near I-25, and we both hope that improving it will not ruin it.
On our last day here as we were driving to meet Bill & Becky for a birding outing, we saw what turned out to be an injured western grebe in the middle of the road. We stopped, and after moving it to the side of the road, decided it would be better to take it along, so we wrapped it up in a towel and headed off, now running late. Fortunately it was only a 10-minute drive, because after only 4 or 5 minutes the bird starting perking up (no doubt it had been in shock). Bill & Becky knew exactly where to take it, so after covering its head (it was now quite active), we all zoomed off. Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary (www.greenwoodwildlife.org) happily took possession, saying they expected a full recovery. We drove back and began birding. We were rewarded by seeing our only "lifer" (first sighting of a species) of our stay, a Clark's grebe. That was quite a treat and we definitely needed B&B's wonderful spotting scopes to make a positive ID.Monday, September 20, 2004
Westwood Inn & RV Park, Longmont, CO - Aug 24-Sept 20
Located behind a motel on noisy Main St, this was about the cheapest & most convenient place we could find in the area for a month-long stay. We wanted full hookups in case we needed to run the a/c, since it was still pretty hot. Luckily, the traffic noise died down most nights so it was tolerable for sleeping. It also turned out to be within walking distance of many stores and two truck maintenance shops. After many trips to the shop we are finally happy with our truck's brakes.
We played duplicate bridge at several locations up here and found them to be friendly & challenging (except for the beginner group which Willie & friend Sue Horne won quite handily).
Willie enjoyed several stitch & chat get-togethers and also was able to get her former quartet members together for several afternoons of chamber music. The violin remains in Mark & Susan's basement for now, since the micro-climate there suits it so well.
We went birding with different groups: the Boulder Birding Club, which has weekly outings on Weds; Bill & Becky Eeds who are friends and excellent birders; and Wild Bird Center, which has biweekly outings from the Longmont store (also within walking distance). We enjoyed get-togethers with too many friends to name in here, but it was all wonderful fun, very much enjoyed by both of us.
Despite the fact that we have changed a lot of our medical things to Benson AZ, we still needed to see eye doctors & dentists while here, and also took the cats to "their" vet for annual checkups & blood work. They all passed with flying colors, we are happy to report. And for 4 glorious weeks, Doug did not have to carry fresh water.
We played duplicate bridge at several locations up here and found them to be friendly & challenging (except for the beginner group which Willie & friend Sue Horne won quite handily).
Willie enjoyed several stitch & chat get-togethers and also was able to get her former quartet members together for several afternoons of chamber music. The violin remains in Mark & Susan's basement for now, since the micro-climate there suits it so well.
We went birding with different groups: the Boulder Birding Club, which has weekly outings on Weds; Bill & Becky Eeds who are friends and excellent birders; and Wild Bird Center, which has biweekly outings from the Longmont store (also within walking distance). We enjoyed get-togethers with too many friends to name in here, but it was all wonderful fun, very much enjoyed by both of us.
Despite the fact that we have changed a lot of our medical things to Benson AZ, we still needed to see eye doctors & dentists while here, and also took the cats to "their" vet for annual checkups & blood work. They all passed with flying colors, we are happy to report. And for 4 glorious weeks, Doug did not have to carry fresh water.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Chatfield SP, Littleton, CO - Aug 17-23
We stopped here so we didn't have to drive through both Colorado Springs AND Metro Denver on the same day. When we tried to pay for a week, we were told we would have to make reservations (through an independent service that charges extra) since there were only 4 spaces left for the weekend. We chose electric-only over full-hookup to save money (plus it was all they had left), and after 3 months at Chaco, Doug was used to schlepping fresh water to the trailer. Chatfield Reservoir is popular for boaters, but the park is also popular for hot-air balloons (there is a launch area in the park) and radio-controlled model airplanes (ditto). We were, unfortunately, very near the construction for a new camping loop to open next summer. We used our time here to scout out possible camping areas closer to Boulder and to plan our route through Denver; plus, it was a good way to see friends who live further south. Since we had convinced our friend Penny to start playing duplicate bridge, we wanted to go with her one time to see what her group was like. It was certainly a lot more formal than the groups we are so fond of in Columbus MS. Our friends Bob & Carolyn Thiessen from the Hi-Lo camping club visited one evening and drove us over to the Northwoods Inn for dinner. You have to wait a long time to be seated and get full on peanuts while you wait. Then they bring you REALLY HUGE dinners! Pretty tasty too. We were also able to get together with Sue, Erin's mom, for dinner at a delicious Thai restaurant. Friends Rick & Joyce Comin, whom we met on the road but who live in Arvada, also came by for a visit. They wanted to see what the state park was like and to hear what life on the road was like for us.
All the time we had lived in Boulder, we had never taken the long drive down to the Castle Rock Factory Outlets. This seemed like a good time for that outing. We had a fine time shopping & eating and actually found some very good bargains (things that we actually needed!).
All the time we had lived in Boulder, we had never taken the long drive down to the Castle Rock Factory Outlets. This seemed like a good time for that outing. We had a fine time shopping & eating and actually found some very good bargains (things that we actually needed!).
Monday, August 16, 2004
Lathrop State Park, Walsenburg, CO - Aug 15-16
We took US 160 directly east from Alamosa over LaVeta Pass (9400 ft), taking a different approach than usual to the Denver area. The pass was quite easy, despite the threatening weather. Since Willie turned 62 last year, she can get the Aspen Leaf (senior) pass for the state parks, which gives us a very good discount for camping at CO State Parks. We will be here two nights and then head up to Chatfield State Rec Area, just southwest of Denver.
The cats weathered the 16 miles of rough road out of Chaco well and have settled into the travel routine without much complaining. It seems that every time we spend several months and then start traveling again, they get a little more mellow.Thursday, August 12, 2004
Aspen Glade NFS CG, Antonito, CO - Aug 12-14
While there is an unmistakable harsh beauty in the desert, there is also something to be said for high-mountain forests, especially when you're situated by a gentle river. Aspen Glade is a beautiful cg that has been recently updated by the NFS. Its location at 8500 ft guaranteed the cool nights that we had missed at Chaco and Abiquiu. Recent rains provided an abundance of wildflowers of every color. We picked a spot that offered good sun (for our solar panels) from around noon to 4pm, plenty of time to recharge the batteries, and still be beside the lovely Conejos River. Unfortunately, the pattern every day was to cloud up at about 12:30. Still, we received sufficient power for a 4-night stay. We are enjoying birding here, seeing lots of "old friends" absent from our viewing for several years, and saw one "lifer" -- Dusky Flycatcher.
We drove to Chama, NM our first day. We stayed in Chama 2 years ago over July 4, and everything (NFS campgrounds and the train) was shut down due to extreme fire danger, so Chama itself was pretty deserted. This time we arrived just in time for Chama Days, so things were hopping. We strolled Main Street, ate (again) at Viva Vera's, an excellent Mexican restaurant that may have actually been better than before, went to the grocery store for a couple of items, and headed back. Viva Vera's far outshines El Bruno, in Cuba, NM, and a favorite of many Chacoans. We ate there once with a group from Chaco and were seriously disappointed. We highly recommend Viva Vera's in Chama! The drive over Cumbres Pass and La Manga Pass has fantastic scenery. We also went into Antonito to eat at Dos Hombres Mexican restaurant. Antonito has none of the charm of Chama and the food is not as good.Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Abiquiu Dam COE Rec Area, Abiquiu, NM - Aug 10-11
Leaving Chaco was unbelievably difficult, but we finally did it. We met some fine people there and hope to return next spring. We came almost due east to the little town of Abiquiu, hoping to get an electric site for a few nights -- it was a little hot during the day so we felt we needed to be able to run the a/c. 
Since all we could get was dry camping, we decided to only stay two nights. even though we had a much nicer view of the lake than we would have from the hookup sites. We had a wonderful day trip to a detached part of Bandelier Natl Mon called Tsinkowe (sank-an-WEE), which contains an ancestral Pueblo village used in the 1400s and 1500s, well after the people had left the Chaco area. Although this area contained only one pueblo of about 350 rooms, many other villages were located on nearby mesas and in canyon bottoms. There are a large number of petroglyphs throughout this small section of the park. The 2-mile loop trail passes along a sandstone mesa, and at times is worn 8-12 inches into the rock from so many centuries of travel. It is amazing to see such deep trails in what seems like "solid rock". There are also several ladders to go up and down along the trail. Luckily, none of them were high enough to scare Willie off!
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Chaco Culture NHP, Nageezi, NM - May 17-Aug 8
Our last month here was as good as we hoped for. With the increasing number of afternoon thunderstorms (the "monsoon" season), we had fewer nights of really good telescope viewing, but still managed to find new & interesting objects. Leaving the telescopes was especially hard. Hopefully we will retain some of our knowledge for our next time here. We became good friends with GB, head of the astronomy program, and will miss him greatly -- both as a mentor and friend.
We also learned about Iridium flares -- satellites that flare out and gather a lot of light at predictable times. By going to www.heavens-above.com you can enter your latitude & longitude and receive a list of ones in your area. Some are so bright you can see them in the daytime. It's quite impressive to be able to tell people to look at a certain spot in the night sky and then see a bright flare. It almost looks like some sort of UFO approaching. Willie became the one who kept track of them for the rest of the volunteers.
We became friends with a young grad student (Jessica) working on an elk study for her thesis at NMSU in Las Cruces and spending the summer studying the elk in Chaco. We went out "elking" with her one afternoon and got to see some new & different parts of Chaco and the surrounding area, plus got to see several elk. The elk are radio-collared and then tracked later with an antenna and receiver. Jessica roams around pointing her large antenna this way & that until she gets a signal, and then off we go in that direction looking for the elk, either by vehicle or on foot.
The area was lovely and a pleasure to be in -- seeing the elk was an added bonus.Willie had a birthday at Chaco, and it was a fine day. We woke up to a cloudy, slightly rainy & cool day, which was a treat in itself. We had many nice activities during the day, culminating with a surprise visit with Jessica in the evening. All in all, a very different but wonderful way of celebrating.
Our time ended with several potluck celebrations. It's amazing what good food people can come up with so far from the grocery stores. You quickly learn to keep enough on hand to be able to provide for a couple of potlucks at a moment's notice.
We also saw three life birds while at Chaco. Sage Sparrows are common there, and we managed to see some while on the Penasco Blanco Trail with GB and a group of students. Then on our last evening there, we went to look for a pair of Barn Owls reported to be nesting in a hole near Chetro Ketl. The Loop Road closes at sunset, so we needed permission to be on the road late -- the ranger who gave us permission actually joined us to watch. And it's good that he did, since he had a spotting scope. The faces of the owls looking out at dusk would have been unmistakable with binocs alone, but with the scope they looked adorable. Barn Owls are not listed as being in this area, but there is nothing else they could be. When darkness finally drove us from our watch, we managed to spot a Common Poor-will in the headlights on the drive home, another "lifer". We stopped and watched it taking advantage of the beams of light, eating numerous bugs attracted to them. Two "lifers" in one evening! What an ending to our time here.Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Chaco Culture Natl Historical Park - May 17-Aug ??
We have extended our stay here until at least Aug 1, maybe 10-15 days longer. We wanted to update you on our activities here as well as tell of possible changes in our plans for the fall.Despite the fact that we have always been notoriously inefficient grocery shoppers, with lots of advance planning we have been getting by with only trips to "town" about every two weeks.
Of course, we have been lucky enough to have friends come (mostly from Boulder) to visit, bringing interesting fresh food that we wouldn't otherwise have had access to throughout the 2-week period. This lack of shopping ability, even with internet access and the possibility of on-line shopping, has really helped keep our expenditures low.Willie had a bout with sciatica and visited an orthopedic surgeon in Farmington a couple of times, including an MRI at the local hospital. Nothing of note as a result, just some high-powered (read: very expensive!) anti-inflammatory drugs. She seems to be doing better and we are hiking a bit more, despite the heat. The days get quite warm though not much above 90 so far. The nights are often below 50, which is wonderful for sleeping. Willie has been using the half quilt she made quite a lot.
We have had only 1/10 inch of rain since we last wrote. It didn't do much to improve the flower output. The Mentzelia plant, or Stick-leaf (because the leaves stick to you like Velcro), actually had lovely yellow star-shaped blooms for just one day after that brief rain. We felt lucky to have seen them.We have been invited along on training trips that are held almost weekly for the SCAs (Student Conservation Alliance -- students here for about 3 months on a sort of scholarship/training program). We have been to several Chacoan outlier locations, Aztec Ruins (for a behind-the-scenes tour with their resident archaeologist), Salmon Ruins, and Acoma Pueblo, a living (inhabited) pueblo, giving us an interesting look at how the pueblos are currently used.
We seem to have finally recovered from Solstice Week, which, although not nearly as crowded as they were expecting, was still exhausting. The Summer Solstice, as you probably know, falls around 6/21. This year was confusing, because it fell on the 21st shortly after midnight Universal Time, so most calendars showed it on 6/21; however, it was actually on 6/20 here (six hours earlier), so the main celebrating was therefore done on the 20th. On that day, people from the nearby San Juan Pueblo prayed as the sun rose at Casa Rinconada (the largest known Chacoan kiva, which also has a solstice marker window) and later they danced in the plaza at Pueblo Bonito. 
Tuesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday we did Night Sky, staying up until at least 11pm and usually later, and Wed, Sat, Sun & Mon we had to be at the kiva by sunrise (6am) for the solstice marker, which meant getting up no later than 5pm those mornings. We also did traffic control at both parking lots throughout the day. It was exhausting but also fun to be a part of this.
Helping with the Night Sky program is rewarding in many ways. It is great to be learning so much about what can be seen in the sky. In addition, it is neat to be able to show things to visitors who ooh and aah and thank you profusely. Very gratifying and educational. We will also be taking on duties as Solar telescope operators on Sat & Sun. The sun changes daily, with prominences and sunspots often visible. And throughout our stay, the night sky changes enough to give us new deep-sky objects to try to find..1.jpg)
We are also enjoying our duties as campground hosts. The couple we share duties with (and whom we like quite a lot) will be leaving on the 14th, so we will probably be the only hosts then. That won't be too much of a problem, since we are getting only about 10-20 sites (out of 49) taken per day. We fit in well as hosts, since we have always been quite nosy about other campers anyway. Especially enjoyable is being able to tell someone to turn off their generator when it's not generator hours. 
We have met some really wonderful people here. The summer crowd also has an unusually large abundance of "flaky" people. You'll tell them about 4 times to put their dog on a leash and they'll say "you mean now??". An hour later you'll see the dog running loose again. They are a good challenge in patience!!No new birds to report. However, there has been a Phainopepla spotted in the employee housing area, which is a first for the canyon. Everyone is quite excited about that, and we have both seen it too.
We have had more friends from the Denver/Boulder area stop by since we last wrote. Carolyn & Bob Thiessen, friends from our days in the Hi-Lo Camping Club in Denver, who have met us one other time on the road and also visited us in Lafayette, came for a brief two-night surprise visit. It was fun to see them, and we sent greetings back to the other Hi-Lo members. Also my friend and fellow quartet player (violist) Judy Cole and her artist friend Sue just spent 4 days here. They brought THE MOST WONDERFUL FOOD!! One night there was so much that we had an impromptu dinner party for 11 people.
As you can tell, this is turning out to be a wonderful summer, and we are quite happy we took on this volunteer position. It's nice to be giving something back to the NPS for all the enjoyment we have received over the years.As for our fall plans, they may again be changed. Willie's mom is doing quite well at the assisted living home in Columbus, MS. However, a new assisted living facility is being built in Noxapater (which I hope you remember is where Willie's parents lived for 30 years after Tony's retirement), which should be ready for residents around the first of September.
Ann wants to move there, and we feel we need to be there to assist with the move and then be around a bit while she gets settled. Rushing up to Boulder before we head east seems too impractical with the current price of gas and all, so we think we will just head east when we leave Chaco. However, something might happen to change this, so we will just have to play it by ear for a while.The cats are doing quite well. When they start looking a bit too warm we know it's time to turn on the air conditioning. It's easy to see that they would prefer life in one spot. Gracie is especially happy to be in one place for so long. They also seem to cope with the travel a bit better because they may know that sitting still for a while will be in the future. Or maybe that's just our imagination.
