Clearwater, FL

As you can see by the title of this post we are now at the Thousand Trails RV Resort just west of Orlando for the next ten days. We decided to take advantage of our membership as we were both ready for a few days away from the job of unpacking things at the house and doing some minor remodeling and painting. It is only a 1 1/2 hr drive from Sebring.

Last Sat. evening Terri, friend Donny and myself drove to the Desoto Speedway just east of Bradenton to attend the stock car races. The last race of the night was a school bus race that was run on the figure 8 track. There were 18 buses that started the race and I believe 13 finished. Terri said I can't watch this as she thought they would crash when they crossed in the center of the figure 8 so she went and stood behind the bleachers. I don't know just how they managed but there were no crashes until just after the winning bus got the checkered flag. I had never seen school bus's race before but would definitely go again if the chance arrived and i suspect it will.

Lawn Mower Races

Sat. evening found daughter Terri, friend Donnie and myself at the Avon Park Mower Plex for the monthly lawn mower races, yes I said lawn mower races. They race riding lawn mowers that in some classes will run up to 55-60 MPH. They race on an oval track, usually 15-20 laps per race. Sat. evening the most they had in a race was 8 lawn mowers, but I have seen them have 15-20 mowers per race when they have national points races. It seems that it doesn't take to much to entertain some of us retired folks.

Buttonwood Bay

We have been back in Florida for 3 weeks now. The house didn't sell so we have been moving everything back into it and we will live in it this winter until we head back to North Dakota in the spring. It was a big job moving it out and it seems to be a bigger one getting things moved back in. Nancy has been going through alot of it and has decided that she really doesn't need much of it. It has been warm and humid here and we are not adjusting very well. We are both ready to travel again so I think there is a 100 mile trip for about 10 days coming up for us right after Thanksgiving.
I got started back doing volunteer work with Horses and Handicapped this week so I feel a little more at home again and not quit so restless. We are pretty much back in the routine again playing 3-31 0n Tues. & Sun eve. and cribbage on Wed. eve. Going to Sun morning brunch after church with our friends Charlie & Almeda.

ButtonwoodBay Sebring, FL,

I see this didn't post when I posted it so will make an attempt to rewrite it. We left Campbellsville, KY Tues. morning after a nice 10 day visit with our fiends Mary & Paul and also seeing my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Louisville. This was the last leg of our 1 1/2 year long oddessy around the good old USA and living in the motor home full time. In keeping with our mission to avoid interstates we drove south and picked up US 27 north of Chattanooga Tenn. and drove 27 all the way to Sebring except for 100 miles or so in southern GA. The first night we stayed in west of Atlanta near the Ga state line. The second night we stayed in western FL near the Suwanee River. We arrived back in Buttonwood Bay around 2PM on Thur. where we were meet by daughter Terri. She seemed especially glad to see us after being gone for so long. We are so glad that she now feels that way after going through a period in her earlier life when she didn't care if she saw us or not.

Churchhill Downs

Sat. morning we drove to Louisville where we spent until mid afternoon on Sun. Visiting my cousin Barbara, Uncle Gerald and Aunt Frieda Wheeler. after arriving Sat. morning we went to the Kentucky Derby Museum located at Churchill Downs. I really enjoyed it especially the guided tour out to the winners circle. On Sun. we took a driving tour through Old Louisville. Old Louisville is filled with streets full of grand old brick mansions as well as large brick houses and apartment buildings. Both Nancy and I like to look at the old houses as we tour the country. The architecture and construction is different in every region for instance in Louisiana, MO they were nearly all wood and here in Kentucky the construction is nearly all brick.

Makers Mark Distilery

Yesterday we drove north about 25 miles to Loretto, KY for a tour of the Makers Mark Bourbon distillery. It is set in the rolling hills just outside Loretto. The distillery dates back to the 1805 when it was established as a water powered gristmill distillery, it is also a National Historic Landmark. Also on the grounds is the Quart House believed to be the oldest remaining whiskey retail store. This is where the distillery used to sell bourbon the surrounding neighbors. If you notice the road is lower than the store. This is so the people could purchase their whiskey without leaving the seat of the horse drawn wagon. The Makers Mark brand was started in 1953 when Bill Samuel's a 6th. generation distiller decided to burn the old family recipe and start with his own recipe. His wife developed the distinctive bottle that is used and the process for hand dipping in hot red wax that forms the seal on the final product. By law bourbon has to at least 50% corn and aged in new barrels that can be used only one time for bourbon aging. The barrels are made from locally grown white oak and flash burned on the inside. This burning process is what gives the bourbon its color over the six year aging process. The flavor come from the oak barrel during the same process. There are still 8 of the original wooden citrus vats in use as well as an additional 20 newer stainless steel vats. Each vat holds 9600 gallons of corn, hard red winter wheat, barley, yeast and water. After this mixture ferments for four days they then draw off about 18-20 53 gallon barrels of alcohol that is then put through the distilling process that produces a clear 180 proof liquid that is put in the oak barrels to age for 6 years before it is bottled for resale as Maker Mark Bourbon.

Oct. 11th. Campbellsville, KY

We left Edwardsville, ILL yesterday morning around 9:30 AM. In keeping with our goal to avoid the interstate system we went south on ILL Rte 4 To Lebonon where we turned east on US 50 driving across the flat fertile farm lands of western ILL these turned to more the rolling but still good farm lands of eastern ILL and western IND. At Loogootee, IND we turned south on US 231 driving through the rolling hills that were sometimes farmed and sometime wooded. Shortly after crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky we turned east on US 60 driving through the fertile river bottom farm lands that turned to wooded rolling hills after leaving the river bottom. At Garfield we turned right onto KY 86 a very narrow two lane road that wound through the hills to Elizabethtown. After crossing I-65 we then drove on KY 210 arriving at Campbellsville around 7PM EST. On the drive across ILL and IND we saw very little harvesting taking place but we did note that about 1/2 of the corn was flat on the ground so when they do start harvest it is going to be at a very slow pace. In southern IND and into Kentucky we did see corn being harvested. There was some soybean harvest taking place all along the route but we also saw many fields that were still completely green.
In the wooded areas the trees are starting to change color with the most color being in Kentucky. In MO and ILL they are expecting a lot of color because they have had a lot of rain this summer.

Daniel Boone House Defiance, MO

We were driving north on St. Rd 47 after crossing the Missouri River north of Washington toward our friend Ardath's house, I spotted this sign that said Daniel Boone house 2 miles right on 94. I told Nancy lets drive over there and take a quick picture. Well after 2miles there was another sign that said 1 1/2 miles to the right guess what another sign any way after driving about 15 miles through the beautiful Femme Osage valley and surrounding wooded hills we arrived at The Daniel Boone House. You don't just drive up and take a picture you have to pay $6 a person for a guided tour. I might add that it was $12 well spent. When Daniel Boone was in his 60's he left Kentucky to explore the vast land to the west for the Federal Government. He was given 640 acres to homestead for his efforts. His son Todd came west a short time later but wasn't given a homestead so he purchased 540 acres near where his fathers land was. They erected a large 3 story limestone house on Todd's land in which Daniel Boone lived the remaining 20 years of his life so this is the house that he died in. Todd and his wife also raised their 14 children at this location. A lot of this house is original but some parts have been replaced or added over the years. The square holes on either side of the windows on the main floor were where they stuck their rifles out in case if an Indian attack.

Louisiana, MO

Fri. we went to historic Louisiana, MO on the banks of the Mississippi River. Louisiana has a lot of big grand old houses. The kind of house that if one were younger it would be really interesting to try to restore to its original grand state. While there we also toured the Whittle Shortline Railroad hand crafted wooden toy train factory. As the name implies they make wooden toy trains as well as Volvo trucks, UPS trucks and Fed-ex trucks. They are also starting to make several different multi tiered wooden puzzles that that they cut with a laser cutter. Later in the afternoon we drove across the river to Pleasant Hill Ill. to my cousin Gail & Chris Ball's house. In the evening we went to Kampsville Ill. and ate catfish at a restaurant on the banks of the Illinois River.
The trees here are just starting to show a little bit of color change, once in a while you will see one that the top has turned a bright red. With all of the moisture they have had this summer they are expecting to have a lot of color in a week or two.
They are harvesting corn and soybeans in the fields in the Mississippi river bottoms. Seeing the combines out in the fields still gets this old farm boy/seed corn salesman excited. It just makes me want to pull over and go ride on the combine to see how it is doing.

Bowling Green, MO.

After spending the last two weeks in Omaha cleaning out a house and getting it ready to put on the market we are finally on the road again. Yesterday morning we left the KOA Kampground at Gretna, NE heading south on hi-way 5o after crossing into Kansas we turned east at Seneca KS on US 36. we continued east on 36 crossing the Missouri River at St. Joe . driving east across MO on 36 we saw many fields of corn and soy beans but very little harvest activity has occurred yet. Just west of Hannibal, MO we turned south on us 61 and stopped at the Lazy C campground at Bowling Green, MO. We are about 12 miles west of the Mississippi River that is the boundary between Mo. and Ill. We have enjoyed not driving the interstate since leaving ND and have decided that we will go all the way to Sebring without using the interstate system.Today we drove to Pleasant Hill, Ill. where we visited my 99 year old aunt Inez and 3 of my cousins. Aunt Inez is another of my amazing relatives she is the only living aunt or uncle on my fathers side. She has lived at her home in Pleasant Hill until this last spring when she fell and broke her arm and had to go to the nursing home in Pitsfield, Ill. To look at her you would swear she wasn't a day over 75 and her mind is so sharp that she puts us younger people to shame the way she can tell you all about when different people were born, things about the family and her life.

Omaha, NE

We left Hazen Bay Sept.3 rd. arriving at Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford, NE for a 3 day reunion with my 3 sisters and their husbands. This is something we try to do every year. I am so blessed to be from a family that gets along so well and not one of us harbors any bitter or harsh feelings. That is tribute the way our parents raised us. From there it was a short drive back to Hart Ranch near Rapid City for the region 4 Newmar Kountry Klub Rally. While in the Rapid City area we revisited many of the places that we had visited about 25 years ago. I must say they have all undergone major improvements and are now much better than they were in the past. We also drove the wild life loop and the Needles hi-way in Custer State Park. After leaving Hart Ranch on Sept. 13 th. we drove to Imperial, Ne where we set up camp in our sons lush buffalo grass yard. While there we had the motor home serviced and took care of some business as well as seeing friends and relatives. I have to mention my 85 year old uncle Wesley that we visited. We called their house in the morning to see if they would be home and Aunt Marjorie said he was moving cattle from pasture to the feed lot at home and she would check with him. He called back in a few minutes and said that he would be free from 2 until 4. We drove into the yard about 2 and the last truck was just backing up to the loading chute to unload. After watching them unload and looking at the cattle we went to the house for ice cream and banana bread and a nice visit. We left around 4 as he needed to get the cattle into the proper corral and fed yet that afternoon. I really think that is amazing for an 85 year old man. Yesterday we left Imperial and traveled hi-way 6 to the KOA here in Gretna, NE. It was a nice leisurely drive with little traffic and much better scenery than traveling I-80.

Hazen Bay Sept. 2nd.

As the sun sets on another great summer experience here at Hazen Bay on Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota it's hard to believe the summer has gone by so fast and that tomorrow we will be on the road again. I guess it is time as I am getting itchy feet and need to be moving again. I don't know what we will do when we get to old for this and I can no longer scratch that itch. Our plans are to arrive in Florida late in Oct. hopefully in time for Oktoberfest at Buttonwood Bay. We definitely have fall in the air here in northern ND. Sat. & Sun we had temps of 95 to 100 degree's and yesterday the high was 57 degree's with rain showers and more of the same forecast for today.
The labor day weekend again saw us with a full campground. We had many familiar campers along with some new ones. One of our regulars brought their cotton candy machine and supplied cotton candy for the whole camp ground. This is the second time this year they have done this. Sat. evening we sat around the another campfire and had a pre wedding celebration for one of our seasonal campers daughters who is getting married next weekend. We also were invited to numerous campsites for delicious meals and farewell toasts and chats. Mon. morning it was a steady stream of people stopping by the motor home or the office to bid us farewell. Being the softy that Nancy is there were also a few tears shed. For some reason that we don't understand we have grown fonder and bonded closer with the people here than any other place we have ever been, even more so than Buttonwood Bay. We like what we do here and the people so much that after analysing the cost of our planned Alaska trip we have decided to return to Hazen Bay and do this all over again in 2009. We have seen the lake level come up 20 feet this year and hopefully it will rise that much next year and we will be able to see the bay full of water.

Medora

On Tues. of this week we took a day off to journey to Medora, ND. Medora is home to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the De Mores State Historical Park also the Medora Musical and Pitchfork Fondue take place at the open air amphitheater.
The Chateau De Mores was built in 1883 by the Marquis De Mores a French aristocrat and was used from 1883 until 1886 as a summer residence for the Marquis and his wife Medora and their children. The town of Medora is named after her. The Marquis had this idea that it would be cheaper to slaughter cattle in North Dakota and send them in refrigerated rail cars to Chicago that to ship the live cattle to Chicago for slaughter. He built a packing plant, bought cattle and land, started a stage coach line to Dead wood and built most of the town. The plant was capable of processing 150 cattle a day but due to drought in the area and finding good quality cattle it never processed more than 80 cattle a day. After losing nearly 1 1/2 million dollars by 1886 his father in law the banker closed it down and they returned to New York.

Medora the Musical and Pitchfork Fondue are held at the outdoor amphitheater atop a hill overlooking Medora and the Chateau De mores. The Pitchfok Fondue consists of rib eye steaks cooked in hot oil while stuck on the tines of a pitchfork. This makes for a very delicious and tender steak. The musical is a 2 hour production held in the outdoor amphitheater.

Theodore Roosevelt National park is located in the badlands of ND. There is a 30 mile loop drive through the badlands where you see very pretty scenery, a buffalo herd, a herd of wild horses and many prairie dog towns. Teddy Roosevelt came to ND after the death of two close family members in 1883. He fell in love with the area and established two cattle ranches in the badlands of ND. He said that he would not have become president if not for his experiences in the Bad Lands. While here he became aware of the needs for conservation and thus became known as a great conservationist while he was president.

July 18th. Hazen, ND

Here it is the middle of July and we are at the half way point in our stay here at Hazen Bay. It hardly seems possible, my how time flies when you enjoy what you are doing and where you are at. We continue to have the camp ground nearly full every weekend and seem to be having a few more people here during the week than in the past two years. I did a count over the 4th. of July weekend we had 85 RV camper units and 7 tents. The RV park is being discovered by more and more people every year. Nearly all of them comment on what a peaceful undiscovered gem it is and nearly everyone of them return. We are also listed in several discount camping books and get such great comments from those travelers also. The fishing has really been slow this year, but as you can see by the picture on the left it has been pretty good the last couple of days. Some of the seasonal campers have put up light displays this year. The picture shows one of the more elaborate ones done by one of the really energetic and talented ones. It is directly across from our motor home and you will find us most weekends sitting around their campfire.

Hazen Bay

We have been here at Hazen Bay for 6 weeks. It has been a busy time as it seems that this year the Army Corp. of Engineers has picked Hazen Bay as the place to harass, so Nancy has been spending a lot of time tyring to resolve those issues after their weekly inspections. It has been a cold summer here to date. Two weeks ago we finally broke 70 degrees and then a day later 80 and on tues. of this week 90 degree's and it is a cool 55 degree's as I write this at 9AM. The nights are still cool however. The pictures at the left was taken about 9 last evening. Our weekends have found most of our camping spots in use. This weekend July 4th. we are full to capacity. The fishing has been very slow until about 10 days ago, but now the fisher people seem to be doing pretty good. The lake is rising at a very fast pace. It has risen 10 feet since our arrival and they talk like it may rise another 8 ft. That means that the Hazen Bay may be about 1/2 full by the time it quits rising. It is already higher than we have ever seen it since we have been coming here. When you stop and think that this lake is 70 miles long and 3 or 4 miles wide in places that is a lot of water.

Hazen bay, ND

We arrived at Hazen Bay on May 19th. Unlike the last 2 years upon arrival the grass didn't need mowed and the trees were just budding. It seems like winter was having a hard time turning into spring and now spring just doesn't want to let go for summer. Yesterday was one of two nice warm days we have had so far. Today it is rainy with temps around the mid to lower 50's, however the wind isn't blowing. Memorial weekend was cold windy and wet with most of the campers staying inside. The fishing has been very slow with most anglers struggling to catch 2 or 3 fish a day.

Grant, NE

May 3rd. we left Branson MO. for Omaha NE. After spending ten days in the Omaha, NE area visiting relatives and taking care of some business there we drove west to my sister Gloria & Ron Patrick's and are currently parked in their driveway. We arrived here on Tues afternoon (May 13th.) and will be leaving on Sat. (May 17th.) around noon for our final two day drive to Hazen Bay, ND our final destination until after Labor Day. While here we have been busy visiting old friends, relatives and taking care of some of the farm business that our tenant isn't able to do for us.
Driving across NE the other day on I-80 I got to thinking about all of the people that say they hate to go across NE because there is nothing there and it is boring. Well I decided that I would much rather drive across NE than the vast desert and wastelands of Calif. Ariz. & New Mexico. I guess it is just a matter of where one grew up and what they perceive as nice scenery.

Kountry Klub Region 3 Rally

On Wed. morning we departed ABC RV Park and went across town to the KOA RV Park to attend the Newmar Kounrty Klub Region 3 Rally. It was real change of pace as we went from being constantly scheduled with activities to a much less busier schedule. Thur. evening was a buffet meal at the Rails restaurant next door to the RV Park and then we spent the evening playing pegs & jokers at the community center. Fri we enjoyed the lunch Cruise on the Branson Belle. We had a very delicious noon meal along with a great variety show. Unfortunately the winds kept us tied to the dock so we didn't get to cruise Table Rock Lake. Then Fri evening we attended The Pierce Arrow Show. This show is 5 men and 2 women that sing a variety of country music with a heavy emphasis on Gospel. The bass singer of this group is the worlds lowest bass singer according to the Guinness book of records. It also has several comedy acts done by one of the best comedians I have ever seen. The ten days spent in Branson have added many more people to our list of new friends, we also were able to spend 5 days with our good friends Paul & Mary from Kentucky. Aren't we so blessed and lucky?

Branson Day 5

Dick Clark's American Band Stand Theater was our afternoon and evening destination after having a free morning at the RV Park. The afternoon matinee was an enjoyable hour listening to Dave Sommerville the lead singer from original Diamonds. Their hits included "The Stroll" and "Silhouettes" and much much more. The second hour was the 3 remaining members of Bill Haley's Comets whose hits included "Rock Around the Clock," "Shake Rattle and Roll," and "See Ya Later Alligator". They included the original sax player 73 years old the original drummer 84 years old and the original bass player 74 years old. The drummer still plays a mean set of drums, he was featured on a drum solo that must have been 5 minutes long. Next was a tour of 57 Heaven. That is a collection of nearly 70 beautifully restored 1957 cars all owned by one person. After touring the museum we enjoyed the dinner theater featuring Bob Anderson's musical tribute to Frank Sinatra & Friends. He is a fantastic singer and it was a very enjoyable show. All in all it was a very nostalgic afternoon and evening.

Branson Day 4

Shoji Tabuchi Show All one can say about this show is that it has to be the most extravagant and well produced show in Branson. Shoji can and does play any type of music on the violin. He is accompanied by a cast of 29 performers that are equally talented. His daughter Christina is also featured on vocals several times through out the show. His wife Dorothy is the producer and choreographer of the show. At the end he told us that it requires a total of 80 people to put the show on. The rest rooms in the theater are the most elaborate you have ever seen. The men's features a huge pool table as you enter. You then enter the main rest room that features black marble latrines, sinks and stools on lion head pedestals. The women's rest room had orchids on each sink, Chrystal chandeliers and sink lighting, private stalls, many bouquets of flowers and much more.

College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a 4 year college with enrollment capped at 1500. To be accepted the student must show financial need, academic ability, sound character and willingness to work. Each student must work a set number of hours at one of 80 campus jobs or industries to pay for part of their tuition. With that and the help of scholarships and donor contributions every student graduates from college debt free. Some of the things they work at are the dairy, the fruit cake and jelly kitchen, the restaurant located in the huge Keeter Center, the grist mill or the green houses. The Keeter Center was built in 4 years by 250 of the students. The Ralph Foster Memorial Museum is also located on the campus. A person could spend a whole day in the museum.

Branson Day 3

We boarded the bus at 9 AM for the ride to down town Branson and Branson Landing. Branson Landing is a reclaimed area of down town along the river that is all new shops and eating places. I guess this must be a trend at many tourist areas. I don't know that I agree with it as they seem to destroy a lot of old & historic areas to put in a fancy shopping area. The afternoon found us at the Yakof Smirnoff show. He is a Russian comedian that puts on a two hour show featuring his comedy along with Russian dancers. The show has a deeply patriotic theme that really makes you think about ones self and this great country that we all are so privileged to live in. From there it was on to the Plaza View Restaurant for Dinner. We then went to the Clay Copper Theater for the Clay Cooper Country Music Show. This was another great show featuring Clay Cooper, his very talented wife and 4 year old son Colt along with some other very talented musicians.

Branson -- day 2

Acrobats of China
What can one say about this show but amazing. A two hour show featuring amazing acts of balance & strength performed by a troupe of young Chinese acrobats. I swear I had acquired a whole new set of aches and pains after watching this show.

The Duttons Show
I can't believe that one family can possess this much musical talent. All members of the family play the violin and in the final curtain call of the show they all appear on stage along with the grandchildren down to 3 or 4 years of playing violins. The 5 adult children that are in the show could all play a multitude of musical instruments. They all have beautiful singing voices as well. Evidently none of them play the drums as the drummer was the only non family member

Branson, MO

We arrived at America's Best Campground shortly after noon yesterday for the Good Sams Branson Spring Samboree. We will be here until the 30th. when we will move to the KOA Campground for the Newmar Kountry Klub regional rally through the morning of May 5th.
We enjoyed a great kickoff supper along with entertainment last evening. This morning was breakfast of pancakes & sausage along with 2 hours of great country music. This afternoon we have the Stony Hill Winery tour and the Acrobats of China and then this evening it is The Duttons show. As you can see we are going to busy for the next 3 1/2 days.

Calico Rock, AR

We arrived in Calico Rock Sat. evening this is our 3rd. major stop as we will be hear until Fri. morning. We stopped in Amarillo, TX and due to high winds and bad weather forecast for Oklahoma City we stayed an extra day there. We stopped over night in Bethany, OK and enjoyed a brief visit with cousins there before proceeding on to Calico Rock on Sun. Most of you know that Nancy has relatives here in Calico Rock and this is usually a spring & fall stop over for us. We left I-40 north of Little Rock and traveled up Rte 9 to Mountain View and then Rte 5 to Calico Rock. Along I-40 we saw many fields under water and coming north on Rte 9 into the Ozarks we saw many trees blown over from the tornadoes in Jan. or Feb. Some times you would see entire hill sides fattened. We were going to stop at Jo-Jo's along the White River north of Mountain View for catfish but found they were closed. After arriving in Calico Rock we were told that the floods had completely covered the restaurant & camp grounds on two different occasions. Here in Calico many buildings in the down town area were flooded twice. This was the second highest recorded river level in history. If any of you recall seeing the house going under the bridge on national TV last month that is the bridge over the White River at the south end of Main street here in Calico Rock. Needless to say I have not even purchased a fishing license as the river is to muddy and to high for fishing.

Grants, N

This morning finds us in Grants, NM. the second stop on our indirect journey back to Hazen Bay,ND. We left Cottonwood, AZ yesterday morning after spending 8 days there. We drove north on I-17 to Flagstaff and the east on I-40 to Grants, NM. We had strong south southwest winds most of the day but this motorhome seems to be real stable in the wind so it wasn't much of a problem. We did have a one of the NASCAR semi's pass us that the wind blew the back of his trailer over about 3 feet just as he got by us. It is supposed to be windier today so if it is to bad we will probably stop until the winds go down.

and pretty 4 hour ride. We also visited the town of Jerome and learned some of the mining history from that area. Jerome was the sight of some copper mines the largest being one that was owned by a man named Clark thus the name of While in Cottonwood we got to visit several of the tourist attractions in the area. On mon. we rode the Verde Canyon train that runs up the Verde river from Clarkdale to Perkinsville. It was built in one year 1912-1913. It served to connect the Verde Valley with the town of Drake. The town of Clarkdale sprung up around the United Verde Copper mine smelter that served the the copper mines just up the mountain at Jerome. The railroad is still in use to Drake but the tourist train only goes to Perkinsville. Perkinsville. is where the Perkins family had a ranch and a station & water tank were there for the steam engines of the era to take on water. It was a very scenicClarkdale where the smelter was located. Jerome is located on the side of a mountain and was nearly a ghost town until the 70's when the hippies & bikers move in and revived it to it's present day charm. Because of the location and the views from there it is a major destination for artists. The shops reflect the hippie & artist influence on the area. Jerome is only 4 or 5 miles up from Cottonwood and Clarkdale is just a mile or so up the Verde River from Cottonwood. We also really enjoyed the town of Sedona located in the red rocks between Cottonwood and Flagstaff.

Cottonwood, Az

Here we are in Cottonwood, AZ the first stop on our journey back to Hazen Bay, ND. We arrived here on Sun and will move on next Tues. It was 39 degree's here this morning and we both asked ourselves why we had left Parker Dam. Oh well we can't have the weather we want all the time. We will plan to arrive in ND on Mon. before Memorial Day. We have certainly enjoyed our time i the west this winter but look forward to being back in Florida this fall.

Oatman, AZ Ghost Town

Today we went North on us 95 past Havassu City to I-40 and then on North to the old gold town of Oatman, AZ. It is located in the Black Mountain range about 20 miles SW of Kingman or 20 miles SE of Bullhead City, AZ on historic Rt 66. Gold had been found in the area and the town was established in 1906. By 1931 over 1 million lbs. of Gold had been taken from the mines in the area. By the mid 1930's the boom was over and in 1942 the last gold mine was closed. Burro's were used in the mines and were released into the wild as the mines closed. The burro's that came into town on a daily basis are descendants of the original burro's. We arrived in town about 11 AM and by 12 noon we had not seen a burro. I asked one of the shop keepers about them and he said they do come into town daily but at no set time. About 12:30 they just started showing up on the east end of main street. You can tell that certain ones have their favorite shop keepers as they seemed to hang out around certain shops. I think some of them feed them more than the carrots that the tourists feed them. When we left town around 2:30 the burro's were just standing around on main street sleeping. They were full and wouldn't eat any more when people tried to feed them carrots. I believe a burro is like a mule and stops eating when full, unlike a horse that will continue eating until they founder themselves. Today Oatman is a tourist town with tee shirt shops a couple of restaurants and other novelty shops. More pictures can be found on my web album site. www.picasaweb.google.com/millerkmtrue

Parker Dam, CA

Tomorrow brings us to an end of our month here at River Lodge Resort. It is so nice here on the Colorado river that we have decided we are going to move down river about 5 miles and spend another 5 days in this area. We have not seen any of the burro's that frequent the area yet, but do see evidence of them being in the park during the night. One night I did hear one braying near the motor home. We have really enjoyed the 85 degree weather here and are not looking forward to the cooler weather we will encounter as we move east & north on our way to Hazen Bay.

Redwood City, CA

Yesterday morning at about 7:30 AM we left Parker Dam, CA and drove 600 miles by car to Redwood City, CA arriving some 12 hours later. Daughter Chris had a few days off again so we decided we should make the trip and spend a couple of days with them again as we probably won't be back on the west coast for a couple of years. One of our reasons for spending the winter out here was so that we could spend some time with them. We went north on 95 to I-40 and then west to Barstow where we picked up US 58 through Bakersfield. From there it was north on I-5 to hi way 152. We then proceeded west to Gilroy and then north on US101 to Redwood city. This is somewhat the same route we traveled last month when we returned to Salome. We were amazed at the change we saw in the farming area around Bakersfield and north on I-5. The grape vines are starting to get new leaves and many different kinds of trees are in bloom. Coming west on 152 through the Diablo mountain range the hills were so green and the late afternoon sun shining on them only added to their beauty. After coming down Pacheco Pass just east of Gilroy the white blossomed cherry trees made for a very picturesque sight. I suppose after being in the dessert the green probably seems more pronounced and deeper. The temps are about 15-20 degrees cooler here that at Parker Dam so it is back in long pants again. It is only for a couple of days as we plan to return to Parker Dam on Sat.

Swansea Copper mine & Ghost Town

About 39 miles south east from Parker Arizona you will find the ruins of the Swansea Copper mine and former townsite of Swansea. To reach the site you travel about 10 miles on a paved road and then another 20 miles on what is called a primitive road through the desert and into the Buckskin mountains. In Arizona they have all of these roads in the desert that have a sign saying warning primitive road not regularly maintained travel at your own risk. They run from a fair road to just trails through the rocks. You can tell that they occasionally have a road grader go over them. Prospectors began working this area in 1862 when a small amount of silver was discovered. It soon ran out and then in 1908 a Welchman named George Michell and some French investors bought the claim for the copper. He built a blast furnace, smelter, power plant & water system. By 1909 it had a population of 500 and boasted saloons, post office, general store 7 even a movie house. The first trains arrived on the new railroad in 1910 and by May they were producing 50 tons of a copper a day. Unfortunately Mitchell invested to much above ground and not enough below ground in the mines and they declared bankruptcy a year later in 1911. In 1915 Ernest C Lane became manage and ran it successfully for different investors until the declining copper market of the great depression caused it to fail again. the last reported milling was in 1944. It was then dismantled for the steal that the mill contained. Today all that is there are the ruins and the workers cottages that are being restored.

River Lodge Resort Parker Dam, CA

Sat. March 1st. we traveled some 70 miles northwest from Salome to River Lodge Resort at Parker Dam, CA this will be our home for the month of March. We are on the California side of the Colorado River about 1 1/2 mile below Parker Dam. Our spot is about 50 from the bank of the river where it makes a bend so we have a view out our front and left side windows of the river. The picture is taken from right in front of the motorhome. The river has these rugged rocky mountains on both sides in this area making it a very pretty area. The weather here seems to be a little warmer than Salome, perhaps because the elevation here is 450 ft compared to 1600 ft. at Salome. It looks like there are several things here to visit so will have more to add as the month progresses.

Calico Ghost Town

Just a few miles north of Barstow, CA is where you will find the Ghost Town of Calico. It was established in 1881. From 1881 until 1907 there were as many as 500 mines producing silver and borax. In 1887 the population was 1200 and included 22 saloons a red light district and China Town. By 1893 the population had dropped to 300 and by 1907 it was a ghost town. At some later time Walter Knott of Knotts Berry farm purchased the town consisting of four original adobe buildings and and a few wood buildings. He rebuilt the town to what you now see and in 1966 donated it to county of San Bernardino. It now has many craft shops that make and sell leather goods, pottery, wood products etc. that would have been consistent with the time that the town existed. There is an old mine that you can still go into as well. In short it is a very affordable tourist trap. The price of admission is $6 a person.

California Again

We returned to Salome, AZ late last eve after spending 5 days at Morgan Hill visiting our Daughter Chris and her husband David. It was somewhat on the cool side and rainy while we were there. They came out to Morgan Hill and stayed in a rental trailer for 4 nights. That sure did cut down on the driving as it is about 50 miles to their apt. in Redwood City from where we stay in Morgan Hill. We were able to tour Mission San Juan Bautista with them as they hadn't been there for years. We also stopped at Casa Del Fruita about 15 miles east of Gilroy on Rt 152. Casa Del Fruita is a huge fruit & vegetable market that has been expanded over the years to a small amusement part, RV park, Restaurant, and truck stop. Of course mother & daughter got to spend a couple of days shopping together. We left Morgan Hill Fri. morning and drove in steady rain for a couple of hours and then just intermittent showers on down 101 to Paso Robles. We then went east on Rt. 46 to Rt 99 and south to Bakersfield. At Bakersfield we went east on Rt 58 spending the night in Barstow. When we arrived in Barstow the wind was blowing sand and dirt. Sat. morning we drove just north of Barstow to the Calico Ghost Town at Yermo, CA. We spent a couple of hours there and then ate lunch at Peggy Sue's Diner on I-15. Peggy Sue's Diner is an interesting place it is a 50's diner full of 50's memorabilia. It also featured 50's music like you heard from the juke boxes. Our waitress was the typical 50's gum chewing waitress like you saw in the 50's movies. Will have another blog on the Ghost Town. We then proceeded east on I-40 To Thermal, CA. It was then south on US 95 to Parker, AZ then south and east another 6o miles to Desert Palms in Salome. I will have to say that it is a sharp contrast from the now green hills and valleys of western CA to the brown desert of eastern CA and western AZ. But the 10 degree's warmer temp here is sure welcome.
Chris called us yesterday after her first day back to work and said she found out she has another week off later in March and wondered if we wanted to come back then. We told her probably not but I guess time will tell as we have learned not to close any gates until they are behind us.

Morgan Hill, CA

Here we are in Morgan Hill again. Our daughter Chris had 5 days off so we decided to drive the 500 miles from Salome, AZ to see her again while we are in the west. Isn't retirement nice? We traveled the same route that we took when coming here in Nov. It was very interesting to see the change from fall to spring. As we were coming west across the desert in Calif. we could see snow covered peaks in the distance. AS we came down into the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs area they were a sharp contrast to the green in the valley and really quit a pretty sight. Going north on I-5 in the area before we stopped for the night in Lost Hills the alfalfa was green and several of the fields had green wheat?? growing in them. There was an occasional herd of sheep grazing in them. This morning going west on 46 the fields of grapes were all barren of leaves and the workers were busy pruning the vines. The rolling hills to the east of Paso Robles had turned green and were dotted with cattle. Nancy made the comment that it seemed so peaceful in that area and that she really liked it. The fields in the Salinas valley were either being prepared for planting of vegetables or some had some new vegetable already showing down the row. I wonder where our vegetables come from during the winter months when they aren't grown in this area.

We stopped at Mission San Miguel Archangel just north of Paso Robles. It is one of the old Spanish missions built in the 1700's. It is one of the 11 most endangered historical sights in the nation. Due to the 2003 earthquake the church part has been condemned. The only part that was open the the public was the original side built in 1797 that served as living quarters. Those rooms still have the old baking ovens and sparse furnishings from that time. Also a couple of windows have the sheep stomach linings that served as glass in the windows. The other 3 sides are in use by the Franciscan Padres for retreats, meetings and training of young Franciscans. It also serves as the local parish.We learned to day that what is now Rt 101 is what was originally the El Camino Real. This is the trail that connected all of the missions back when then were in their early times. The trail was marked by crosses that were attached to trees.

National Hoop Dancing Contest

Sat. our friends John & Mary invited us to accompany them to the Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Arts in Phoenix to watch the National Hoop Dancing contest. Native Americans from all over the US & Canada were competing. the tradition of dancing with a hoop has an extensive history among Native people. The hoop or circle is symbolic to all Native people. It represents the Circle of Life and the continuous cycle of summer and winter, day & night, male & female. Some Native tribes us the hoop dance as part of a healing ceremony to restore balance and harmony in the world. This dance is not performed publicly. In the hoop dance the dancer manipulates their body through one to fifty hoops to the beat of drums and chants. They compete in age divisions ranging from tiny tot (5 and under) to seniors (40 plus). Pictures have been added to the web album.
The museum features an exeinsive collection of Kachina Dolls as well as Native arts such as basket weaving, silver smithing and much much more. It would be a place to spend a day sometime as we just saw a little bit of what was there.
The last couple of days has seen the weather warm up to what we had expected nearly 70 in the daytime and 40's at night. It sure seems nice to not be using the furnace all day long.

Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Sun. Jan 20th. found us in the motor home heading southeast on Dead Cow Rd. (Salome Road) to I-10 going east to US 85 south to Gila Bend AZ Where we roudevued with some 50 of our fellow Newmar Kountry Klub Rvs. It is a pretty impressive sight to see 50 plus Newmar motor homes lined up in rows of 8. We dry camped in the Elks Club parking lot and departed Mon. morning in groups of 8 every 20 minutes. Our destination Playa Bonita RV Park, Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) Mexico on the shore of the Sea of Cortez. We didn't have a lot of activities planned a few meals and mostly relaxing and shopping for Mexican junk. We had all arrived by noon. After getting set up we enjoyed a Mexican sampler meal at 4 PM along with meeting new friends. Tues morning we had a car caravan city tour. One of the high lights of that was stopping at a bakery. IT was located in an alley in a run down residential section. They made the rolls and pastry in the back and cooked them in a stone oven built into one wall with an open fire. It certainly wouldn't pass inspection in the US but the pastries were good and no one got sick from eating them. Wed. was a day of shopping and relaxing with a 6 PM dinner. Thur. late afternoon we enjoyed the Folklore Dancers and the Mariachi Band. Then had a great Mexican Fiesta Buffet. Fri was a day filled with more relaxing and strolling through the Mexican junk shops. Sat. was another great day of relaxing and shopping. At 6 Pm we enjoyed a very nice dinner and were entertained by 6 Hula Dancers. Sun. we enjoyed the Brunch Buffet as well as a final day to get that Mexican junk that we had not purchased earlier in the week. It also rained most of the day.
Mon. morning we all departed for the return trek back to our respective destinations. We were all able to get our freshly washed & waxed RVs & cars wet and muddy as the streets had dirt and water in them from the rain on Sun. Most of us had taken advantage of the $1.50 price per foot for washing & waxing. Returning through customs went fairly fast, they did take our eggs that were in the refrigerator. They took fruit & potatoes from our two friends rigs that we were traveling with. we had a great week and made many many new friends. I am sure we meet many of them again at future Kounry Klub events or in our travels. We are now back in Salome for the month of Feb.

Salome, AZ

Here we are in Salome,AZ 50 miles from the nearest stop light, over 1 hour to the nearest Wal-Mart and 100 miles to Phoenix. We will be here through Feb. except for a couple of short excursions we have planned. The weather here is a little warmer than Morgan Hill, however we aren't always feeling chilled to the bone like we did there. I guess the dry desert air is the difference.
We are at Desert Palms RV & Golf Resort probably the nicest RV Park in the area, also one of the newest. Salome is a town of less than 1000 population. It has one cafe, one small grocery store and a couple of gas stations.
We received our mail today so I think that was the last batch of Christmas cards. Thanks to all who sent them we enjoyed hearing from each and every one of you. As a child growing up we always were at the mail box by the hi-way anxiously waiting Mrs. Briggs delivery of the daily mail. Now with traveling full time we only get mail a couple of times a month but once I know Teri has forwarded it I still look forward to it just as I did when a child growing up.
I just did a spell check and guess what ain't is now one of the options if you misspell aren't.

Tournament of Roses Parade

We had our New Years supper & dance last eve. We celebrated The ringing in of the New Year at 9 PM with the people in New York. The reason for that was that we had to get up at 4 AM this morning to be on the buses ready to leave by 5 AM. It was a one hour bus ride to within 1/2 mile of the exit and a 1 1/2 hr ride the last 3/4 mile. We were worried that we weren't going to make it but we did with about 15 min. to spare. Our bleacher seats were about 1/2 mile from the start so we were back on the buses by 10:30 and back here to the RV park just shortly after 11:30. Our seats were 2nd row about 20 feet from the floats. It was amazing to see the finished version of the floats that we had observed being worked on Sun. morning. The floats are awesome and beautiful works of art. I saw on the news yesterday that the cost of the floats ranges from $100,000 to $450,000. The Chinese float was surrounded by police officers as there was a lot of controversy about them having an entry. The bands were all very good and to me seemed very large. Most of them had to have over 200 band members besides the flag drill teams etc. I am sure some of them were at least 2 or 3 blocks in length. The equestrian entries to this old farm boy were first class I especially enjoyed them. The banners and crowds that fallowed the parade were a surprise to us. All in All it was an amazing parade and I am so glad that we were fortunate enough to have been able to be a part of it.