The Scottsdale trip

 Scottsdale Trip June 16 - July 22 2022

6478 miles

Thursday, June 16 2022

After much preparation the cross-country journey to the southwest has begun. We pulled out of our storage lot a little after 7am. The morning gate attendant was not even on the job yet, but the owners know me very well and have entrusted me with a gate key for these early departures.

A and A Storage

The first hour or so is a route we know only too well, up 544 to 501 to 76 to Florence. We went straight through town this morning and directly onto I-20. The majority of the westerly travel will be on this ribbon of alternating surfaces, concrete and asphalt of varying condition and texture. Some sections smooth and quiet and others making the trailer hop and the tires on the truck sing.

Myrtle Beach to Cheaha Mountain (Highest point in Alabama)

The first day was one of the longer runs; we traversed South Carolina and Georgia before stopping for the night just south of Anniston Alabama. It was maybe 550 miles. Our first overnight spot turned out to be an interesting experience. We got to add another high point to our scaled peaks list. The State Park campground we stayed in is at the summit of the highest point in Alabama; Cheaha Mountain is 2413 feet above sea level. The ride to the mountain is about 12 miles south of I-20 and almost all of it in the Talladega National Forest; it was a very enjoyable cruise through the mountains.

PS: Atlanta, one of the US cities with a reputation for maniacal drivers and bumper to bumper traffic gave us a pass. We drove thru like it was a Sunday drive in the country. Or it could be I’m not easily intimidated in traffic, none of my previous trips thru Atlanta, nor Chicago or Boston, LA, Dallas, etc have rankled my feathers. Norfolk did bite me in the a$$ once, but that’s for another story. 

Friday June 17 2022

We had a pull thru site in the state park campground so didn’t have to unhook the truck and we did a minimal setup. In the morning we had water, electric and sewer lines to put away and the four corner stabilizers which retract quickly with a battery screw gun. Soon we were back on I-20 heading west; we left so hastily I neglected to get our picture in front of the high point sign.

On Cheaha Mountain Alabama's highest point

Fuel has been priced at around $4.45 a gallon for 87 octane, and this price will hold until we get to Texas. More details when I get to the Texas paragraph. One thing I will expand on know is Buc-EE’s, the new travel stop chain expanding from its home state of Texas. By the time I get thru Texas I will have stopped at three of them. All three did not print out a receipt, even though it asked if I wanted one. My cynicism rose up and formed this thought; I’ll bet they do that on purpose, just think of all the printer paper rolls and ink they save by not printing receipts at the pump. You can go inside and request one from the cashier, but who wants to do that. Each of the Buc-EE’s locations has at least 80 to a hundred fuel pumps, the saving would add up quickly!

One more quick thought on Eastern Alabama, I went to jungle school just north of I-20 near the town of Anniston. It was a ten-week survival/jungle warfare school before I went to Vietnam. Using an aerial map view I zoomed in on the base but didn’t recognize anything, expanding out to the wooded terrain surrounding the base I did recognize the area we used for nighttime escape and evasion training. Freaky how some things stick with you all your life.

Area on Fort McClellan where I did escape and evasion training in 1969

Ok back on I-20 and heading west. Alabama has some pretty country and the highway department presented it at its best by maintaining the landscaping all along I-20. We only passed thru one big city with heavy traffic, that was Birmingham. I had a very interesting experience here a long time ago. I was a pallbearer in a funeral held in a black Baptist church in Birmingham, that’s another book that needs its own cover.

An enlightening cultural experience for a young Yankee

The rest of the ride was uneventful other than the continued fine scenery along the roads. All that seemed to change the moment we crossed the border into Mississippi. Other than cutting the grass there was no effort that we could see to cut back the weeds and junk trees that bordered the road. The land did not have the vibrant collage of greenery that brightened the Alabama highway. Not only was the geography somehow less appealing, but the roadside was also blighted by rundown buildings and houses.  

We drove about halfway thru Mississippi on this leg of the trip, overnighting at a casino RV park in Vicksburg. We had planned on a two night stop here and I was looking forward to touring the historic town and the adjacent National Military Park, both locations on hallowed ground. The 47-day siege of Vicksburg during the civil war is historically significant because the loss of this Confederate stronghold on the banks of the Mississippi river meant the northern aggressors could now traverse the waterway unencumbered.

Downtown Vicksburg

The town is a mix of neighborhoods; most including the historic downtown are very run down. Even the recent effort to revitalize the main street area didn’t appear to be making much of a change in the overall feeling of desperation. The afternoon of our arrival was in the grip of a scorching heat wave, so we restricted our tour to the air-conditioned truck. We did drive thru much of the city and think we got a good feel for place.

Saturday June 18 2022 

Typical monument to the Northern Agressors

We got going early this morning, hoping to beat the heat during our visit to the Vicksburg National Memorial Park. There is a 16-mile driving tour thru the many battlefields surrounding the city. I downloaded a self-driving tour app from the National Park Service. It was supposed to be GPS guided and self-forwarding as we made our way on the tour. It didn’t work; the tour seemed to go downhill from there. We did have a printed version that we got from the park ranger at the entrance and Millie read that to me as we came to the monuments and earthen batteries used during the siege. We both noticed that most of the monuments and statues along the route were in glory of the Yankee invaders. We saw very little mention of the Confederates, the bias was blatantly obvious. The final straw was, half the park was closed off, not anyone’s fault that the roads were damaged in a storm, but disappointing.

Typical marker for the Southern positions during the siege

We arrived back at the casino campground under a blazing noonday sun. The park is like most casino RV parks, consisting of little more than an asphalt parking lot and it was like an oven. We decided to eat lunch and then get outta Dodge! Once again having done a minimal setup, we were gone very quickly.

We will stay here again on our way home

We drove thru the rest of Mississippi and all of Louisiana stopping for the night near Tyler Texas. Our foremost recollection of Louisiana is the poor condition of the roads. The terrain and buildings along the road were like Mississippi’s, shabby. Eastern Texas is rolling hills, forests and pastureland, we liked it.

Vicksburg Mississippi to Shallow Creek RV Park in Texas

We stayed overnight at Shallow Creek RV Resort near Gladewater Texas. It was a pleasant surprise; most parks along interstate highways are nothing to write home about. Shallow branch was very upscale; everything was very neat, concrete streets and RV sites. Each site had full hookups plus cable TV and very fast WiFi. 

We weren't there long enough to get a picture

Even though it had a large population of oil patch workers living there, none of them looked junky. Most transient worker parks look like trailer trash if not policed by a strong management. Shallow Creek has somehow succeeded in integrating the workers into this very nice park without lowering its standards. We gave it our highest rating.

Sunday June 19, 2022

From Shallow Creek RV to Midland Texas

I think we pulled out of the park at 7am; our bodies are still on Eastern Time, so we have been getting up before the roosters. Traffic on the interstate was very light and we arrived at Dallas by 9am. Traffic had picked up some but was still very light, it was Sunday morning. We had no problem passing thru the big urban area.

Dallas traffic on a quiet Sunday morning

Almost like Dallas was the dividing line, the geography changed as we drove west out of the city. Gone were the forests and pastures, while not desert it became very dry with mostly earth toned scrub plants. Mesquite became the predominate tree and the winds became strong across the large empty expanses.

A common site in the oil patch

We passed Abilene; most of the businesses along the road appeared to be in support of the oil industry. The road went on and on. We stopped a couple times for fuel and once for lunch at a rest area. By early afternoon we arrived at tonight’s campground. I booked this one online, not wanting to risk having to stay in one of seedier campgrounds we had read online reviews about. It’s a KOA franchised campground, we’ve stayed in many of them across the country, some are old, but they all hold some semblance of the company standard. 

Mildland KOA aka Midessa Oil Patch RV Park

Other than the new yellow and red KOA sign this place is an oil patch trailer park. That’s ok, we’re not here to socialize or use the facilities, and in fact have not been outside since setting up. We just need a strong electric outlet so we can run our air conditioner and we have that so we’re good. As a plus we don’t have to worry about sleeping in tomorrow as the crescendo of diesel trucks should start around 4:30am when the workers are heading out to work.

PS: Fuel prices from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina thru Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and eastern Texas were an average of $4.45 when we passed thru. In west Texas the fuel changes, 87 octane is gone, replaced by 86 or 88 octane. Our truck will not run on 86 octane so we had to purchase 88 octane for $4.94 a gallon.  (Let’s go Brandon!)

Monday June 20, 2022

From the oil patch to Las Cruces New Mexico

Departure from the Midlands/Odessa Texas KOA was easy enough; we once again had been able to level the RV while leaving it attached to the truck. We’ve been lucky this whole trip so far, we have not had to unhook the RV at all so far. Our only launch duties were the electric and water hookups and dumping the tanks. From our minimal setup on these travel days, we are ready to go in minutes. Our only concern was getting out of the narrow site. NOTE: No longer a KOA franchise, it is now called Midessa Oil Patch RV Park.

I had thought all the oil patch workers who have their big pickups parked all half in half out of the road would be gone to work before dawn. Apparently, they are all laid off because we only heard one truck leave early. Millie and I scrutinized the road in front of us and the road to the rear of the site. I suppose we were a little apprehensive because on the way in I kissed a tree with awning trying to avoid a car parked half in the lane opposite our assigned campsite. I surmised that if I backed as far as I could and then moved to the right as we went forward, I would have a clear enough area to turn left even though my neighbor on that side had his truck parked partly in the road. It was a good plan and we easily got free from the menagerie of cars, trucks and RV’s sandwiched in this very tight campground.

We traveled west on business 20 for several miles before getting back on interstate 20. We noticed that the business yards of drilling support equipment were all full. I counted 8 complete well drilling rigs sitting in one lot; another huge field held acres of drilling pipe. In all the businesses equipment of all sorts was lined up waiting to be sent out to the field. Rows of white company trucks sat parked in front of idle offices. I don’t know what’s going on in the oil industry but here in southwest Texas, the heart of the oil patch, the industry seems to be at a standstill. Government interference? Oil barons manipulating reserves to drive up prices? The wells run dry? I don’t know but something just doesn’t seem right.

Derelict oil well

We ramped up the speed and entered the now 80 mph speed zone on I-20 west. I ran mostly 70 mph yesterday with 75 mph speed limits and decided to maintain that speed again today. Traffic was very light and anyone who wanted to go faster could just pass me. I will speed up or maneuver as necessary so as not to hinder the flow of traffic. 

We had no problem all day and in fact had vehicles of all sorts and sizes driving the reduced speed in the right lane. Gas is over $5 a gallon everywhere now. 

We said goodbye to I-20, the road we got on at its beginning in Florence South Carolina and rode all the way across the country. I-10 is another long interstate highway, it stretches from Florida to California, we jumped onboard in the middle of nowhere in southwest Texas. The terrain is still desert but we are starting to see some hill and will eventually see mountains. In fact, at one point on the road we climb to over 6000 feet before going through a pass and descending down the other side. For a brief few minutes the temperature went down into the high 60’s.

We passed through Juarez and were surprised to see how this area has prospered and grown. All the name brand stores and hotels, etc are there. It all seems strangely out of place. Soon afterwards we crossed the state border and entered New Mexico. We would not go far into the state, overnighting in Las Cruces. 

Our site in the Las Cruces KOA

We stayed in a KOA campground; it is virtually a new RV park build on the site of an old KOA franchise. The new owners have done a very commendable job of creating this oasis in the desert.

Us at the Las Cruces New Mexico KOA

Tuesday June 21 2022

Las Cruces NM to Scottsdale Arizona

Continuing west on I-10 we noticed a large area in a shallow valley south of the road that was green with foliage. It went on for many miles and contained groves of pecan trees as well as cultivated crops. I assumed it had a river in the bottom of the valley but when I checked my mapping program it shows as desert. It must be ground water irrigated. Every other direction as far as the eye could see was desert and barren rock mountains.

We're in the desert now!

We exited I-10 and went north on route 191. We thought it would just be a short cut to Scottsdale, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The road meandered upwards to a ragged rock mountain range. First, we went through an area that still had an active copper mining operation. You could see several huge open pit mines and at least one mountain made from the tailing of the ore extraction process.

Salt River Canyon

Soon you come to a vast canyon very much like the Grand Canyon but not as large. 

The cool thing about the Salt River Canyon is you get to descend to the river at the depths of the canyon by vehicle. The snake like road descends thru a series of switchbacks before bottoming out at the bridge that crosses just a few feet above the river. You then repeat the process of windy road and switchbacks as you ascend the other side. There are several viewpoints where two or three cars can park and take in the view.

Bridge at the bottom of Salt River Canyon

After the Salt River Canyon you are generally traveling down in elevation. There are several six-degree declines that run for several miles.

We went through two towns of decent size, Safford and Globe as well as a reservation belonging to the Apache Nation. We stopped for lunch in Globe, buying chicken tenders and rolls at a Fry’s grocery store and making our own sandwiches in the RV.

Soon we were reaching the outlying cities and towns that circle Phoenix. Apache Junction was like a boom town. We passed by many new developments and huge condo/apartment complexes, all still in the process of being completed.

City owned and operated fairgrounds

Almost as soon as we reached Scottsdale, we entered the limited access road they call the 101 loop. This whisked us up thru the city and goes right by Westworld, the city owned venue. It is like a fair ground but most of the facilities are equestrian oriented. There are 498 RV hookups in several different lots throughout the complex. We are camped next to the polo grounds, this week it is the practice field for soccer teams. They are here early in the morning and later in the afternoon. There are only four RV’s parked along the field and we only saw one other one parked down in the back.

Our RV parked at Westworld

We are in direct sun, but the AC is keeping the interior cool. We keep the windows covered most of the time and the awnings help keep the sun of the sides. We finished the day by visiting the family. They live 8 hours north of here in Los Alamos New Mexico but have rented a house (Airbnb) for the two weeks they plan on being in Scottsdale.

You get accustomed to the heat, but the scorching sun is another story!

June 22 – June 27, 2022

Rae Anne Tate

Millie’s daughter Rae Anne is a 50-year-old professional woman who works at the Los Alamos Nuclear research Lab in New Mexico. She is married and she and her husband have enjoyed a full life, travel, adventure, quality education and good careers. About 12 years ago they adopted two newborn children and have become devoted parents. 

Opening a belated birthday present.

Recently Rae Anne has been experiencing gastrointestinal problems which progressed steadily until she was in constant pain and hadn’t eaten solid food in months. Her medical trail went through the local doctors, specialists in Albuquerque and finally to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale Arizona.

She has been under the care of a gastrointestinal specialist who does nothing else; he is highly regarded and has a waiting list of patients. It was decided that surgery was the only option and Rae went on the waiting list for that. 

The whole family would move to Scottsdale for the required two weeks of medical treatment. An AirBnB house was rented, Dave and Rae Anne could work remotely, and the kids, Marcus and Evan would be with them.

L to R Evan, Grandma, and Marcus at the Airbnb

Millie and I made plans to travel to Scottsdale pulling our travel trailer, we are here because we’re concerned and also to watch the kids during the hospital stay and recuperation. There was no way that Millie would not be here with her daughter.

We go to the Airbnb in the morning so Dave can go to the hospital, then we visit with Rae Anne ourselves when he comes back in the early afternoon. We switch again in the evening and Dave goes back until visiting hours are over. We get back to the RV about 8:30 or 9pm.

Pool at the airbnb

Even though we had seen her regularly via Skype, Rae Anne looked frail and without color when we saw her in person. Normally tall and slender she has lost forty lbs and it was obvious this was a very serious situation. 

The surgery was performed on Friday and was deemed a success. They removed 12 inches of diseased colon and were able to reattach all the plumbing to working order. Only Dave was allowed to see her on Friday, we have seen her Saturday and Sunday as of this writing and she looks better every day.

The children

Marcus and Evan, 12 and 11 years old are good kids and comfortable with us so it has been a very enjoyable time for Millie and me to be with them. Of course, as Grandparents, we get to spoil them with candy, fast food and extended iPad game time. Their parents only allow two hours a day of iPad time, which is reasonable but we’re the grandparents, it’s our job to break the rules!

Grandma supervising the 2 hour time limit on IPADs

 

 

June 28 2022

Rae Anne was supposed to be released from the hospital yesterday, but a staff miscommunication postponed that until Tuesday. It’s probably a good thing, she is recovering steadily but slowly and another day of rest in the hospital was probably good for her.

The rest of the week we could see improvement every day. On Friday’s post operation doctor’s visit, she was released from their care. Everyone involved will be forever grateful for the care she received at the Mayo Clinic here in Scottsdale Arizona. 

The Kolman family decided they would leave the Airbnb house on Saturday and return home to Los Alamos New Mexico. They will drive north and then east staying on the main roads so they could stop occasionally to let Rae Anne stretch as sitting upright is still uncomfortable for her. They also plan on taking two days to drive the almost 600 miles to their home.

Different routes to Los Alamos

Millie and I also departed Westworld, the city owned equestrian event center in Scottsdale on Saturday morning. We left early, getting on the road at 7:30am. We would be taking a different route because we wanted to avoid the interstate and enjoy roads less traveled.

Crossing the mountains when we leave route 60 and go east

We backtracked for a bit on the road we entered the Phoenix Metro area on, routes 60/70. After you get down the road a bit, away from the population center there is some nice mountain scenery, but what a surprise we got when we turned east. At Globe Arizona, an old copper mining town routes 60 and 70 separate. 70 is the route we took from Las Cruces on our cross-country journey, route 60 was new to us. 

Trees give way to dryer climate east of the mountains

Leaving Globe on route 60 the Superstition Wilderness is a vast untouched land of rugged exposed rock mountains for many miles. At about where you enter the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the bare rugged mountains give way to some forested peaks. It is not a dense forest, just sparsely spaced evergreens somehow finding water and nutrients in the rock. 

The Indian Reservation ends at a long ridgeline that pretty much marks the end of the mountain range. It is national Forest land and like all the rest around here it has multiple names. Somewhere around where route 60 crosses the mountain peak the Sitgraves and Apache National Forests meet, there two is the town of Show-Low. 

Town of Show-Low where route 60 crosses a mountain range.

Show-Low was not at all what I expected; I imagined it to be little more than a village where people escape from the desert heat on weekends. It’s a decent sized town with a college, airport and even a Walmart! The businesses along Main Street (route 60) seemed to be prospering, we saw no empty storefronts. For the entire length of the business district, the sidewalks were lined with lawn chairs, sun canopies, and areas claimed with ribbon, I guess for families or kindred partiers. This was two days before the fourth of July, I don’t know when they were having their parade, but obviously it was a very popular event here in Show-Low. 

Leaving Show-Low you gradually leave the mountains. The trees give way to scrub foliage as the mountains gradually flatten and we start to see range grasses on the ground.

The road went on like this for a hundred miles.

For the next 200 miles the two-lane road is laid out straight in front of us for as far as the eye can see. Every time you pass over a rise in the road the vast expanse of range land repeats itself. You see very little evidence of human habitation and can easily imagine herds of buffalo in the endless expanse. 

The very small village of Pie Town

You do pass thru several small villages; one in particular looked like it could have been around since the old west days. Another was called Pie Town, it was a small cluster of run-down looking buildings, but it did have a small restaurant called The Pie-oneer. About 50 miles west of Socorro we passed thru an area with what looked like big satellite dishes randomly placed in the prairie. It wasn’t until I got access to the internet that I discovered what we had seen. 

Listening for a call from ET

It is one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories; it consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Each antenna is 25 meters (82 feet) in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 36km (22 miles) across, with the sensitivity of a dish 130 meters (422 feet) in diameter.

I assume someone who is listening to all this interstellar static is waiting for a call from ET!

Originally, we planned on spending the night in one of the several campgrounds in Socorro but we arrived much earlier than expected. The reason is the road is wide open all the way across the plains. Often, we were the only vehicle in sight and the speed limit was often 65mph. We looked at the map and realized we could be in Los Alamos before the sun went down. 

I-25 is the interstate that runs past Socorro and all the way to Santa Fe. There is another limited access state road (SR 85) that goes the rest of the way to Los Alamos. As predicted, we arrived well before sundown and had plenty of time to park the RV. I had previously thought much about backing the trailer down the curved drive and maneuvering it into the small side apron. I have done this many times in the larger motorhome, but that I s easier than backing an RV with a tow vehicle. It took several adjustments, but with Millie’s help guiding me, we got it done.

Kamp Kolman with Los Alamos National Forest in the background.

July 4 2022

Three of the four baby skunks living under the deck.

The Kolman Family arrived home yesterday, we had some interesting news for them, four baby skunks and a mama (we presume) living under their back deck. I washed the trucks at the local DYI car wash and did some grocery shopping at Smiths just because it was in the same parking lot. Note: Smiths is part of the Kroger chain of grocery stores.

Marcus and his father Dave went out early for a running race, Marcus came in fifth, not bad as many of his competitors were much older than him. They were supposed to go to a community 4th of July event in town, but they decided not to go because it rained most of the day here. That is quite an unusual event here in Los Alamos. The boys have been here with us in the RV most of the day, playing on iPad and watching a movie with Millie. I have spent the time writing this blog. PS: Millie gave Rae Anne the birthday present she made for her 50th birthday, which never got delivered last year because of the chinavirus.

Happy Birthday!

July 5-9 2022 

We are continuing to do what we can as Rae Anne recuperates at home. Millie is spending time in the big house with her daughter; I have been doing whatever is asked of me. I have provided taxi service for the boys to and from the Tween Center. This is a community service that provides a supervised place for young people to hang out with friends and do whatever it is they do. They also have the freedom to sign out whenever they want to play in the adjacent park or visit any of the stores in the downtown area. Shocking I’m sure, but Los Alamos is not the real world. It is a very unique isolated community that seems to be free of all the evil that prevails off the mountain. They may be in for a rude awakening someday but for now, it’s their utopia.

It's like Disney world but scary, a nuclear research facility sitting on top of an ancient volcano.

I am restless when I don’t have something to do and offer my services to the Kolman household whenever we are visiting. I was very pleased when they had a few repairs for me. I repaired an LED lighted Mirror in the master bath, installed a new garage door opener, balanced a wobbling ceiling fan and hung the charger for a battery-operated vacuum on the wall in the laundry room. 

It wasn't all work; we went out to eat at the hottest restaurant in Santa Fe

Hatch Valley Green Chili's on a chicken burrito

On Friday, Millie and stopped at the guarded check point and then passed thru the one public road on “the Lab”. Home of the atomic bomb in World War two, it is now a diversified facility. A lot of what they do is classified, but with the limited knowledge I have I can say this place is more important than you will ever know.  The road is flanked by impressive but oddly out of place buildings, secretive looking windowless structures and lanes with names like Area T-57. 

The Lab

Soon the somewhat eerie feeling fades as we leave the mysterious complex and drove the zig-zag road through the mountains. Finally cresting the crown of an ancient volcano, we gaze upon the concave solidified core that is several miles wide. Dormant for 3 million years it is now covered with prairie grass. At one of the overlooks, we spotted a large herd of elk grazing of in the distance. This whole area is nationally protected land; the volcano is called Valles Caldera. There is a small visitor’s center and several historical cabins located in the basin, from the road they appear tiny and far away. BTW, In the TV series Longmire, scenes of Sheriff Walt Longmire’s cabin home were filmed here. The vast expanse of prairie you see from his porch is Valles Caldera. 

Millie gazing out over the ancient volcano called Valles Caldera

We continued on the windy road as it passed thru the rugged mountains, we could see burnt areas from the wildfires earlier this year as well as scarred areas from the 2011 fire. All too soon we reached our destination for the day, the small village of Jemez Springs. While there is evidence of human presence in Jemez valley dating back to 2500BC it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that its commercial possibilities were realized. Historically, the village catered to patrons who came for the therapeutic mineral hot springs. There are still one or two places where you can pay to soak in the hot mineral water, but it’s more of a curiosity to the passersby nowadays.  We decided to eat lunch instead of the baths.

One of the mineral Hot springs

Our first choice was an old bar/restaurant, the one waitress was overwhelmed, and we decided to try the only other place in town a small café/bakery. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be, our lunch was excellent, the dining area was clean and the owners very pleasant. A small mystery: we are usually very good at recognizing ethnicities, but these folks have us stumped, definitely not regional, they appeared kind of oriental, but none of the familiar races. No matter, we wish them well in their small café out here in the middle of nowhere.

The village of Jemez Springs

Retracing our route through the mountains, my thoughts turn philosophical. Seeing the huge upsurges of rock, each exposing the many layers of material that could only have been laid over a millennium I realized what a small part we humans have in the history of what we call earth. 

The mountains between Jemez Springs and Los Alamos

Los Alamos, the town we are staying in has only been in existence for around 80 years, the jagged ridges and plateau it is built on were formed by ash from the volcano. The ash turned to stone has a compacted depth of 900 feet. How high was the ash before it compacted to 900 feet I wonder? How many thousands of years of rain did it take to erode the valleys that weave their way through town? 

Aireal view of Los Alamos 

The tremendous forces that forge the mountains, change the climate, and carve out the valleys and rivers have been going on for millions of years and will continue to do so for millions more. We humans are just a blip in time of this magical sphere and in the big history book will be but a short blight that self-destructed. 

Strange rock formation outside Jemez Springs

The earth will continue to rotate without us; it will eventually recover from the damage we inflict upon it and in time we will be forgotten. For the earth that may be a good thing. 

July 10 2022 Sunday.

Los Alamos to Guymon Oklahoma

We departed Los Alamos this morning. It was a sad departure actually; living at opposite ends of the country Millie and Rae Anne don’t see enough of each other. We have to be back to Myrtle Beach later this month for appointments, primarily my eye injection, which is required every seven weeks. We also didn’t want to have to drive marathon days on an interstate. Pulling an RV, it takes us five days to cross the country.

view when driving down off the mountain

We drove north leaving Los Alamos and headed for Taos, the northeastern New Mexico dusty little town that bills itself as an artist colony. We just passed by and entered the Carson National Forest. The road through the mountains follows a passage dating back to the pioneer days and I’m certain the Native American Indians before that. The area on the eastern side of the mountain gap is called Angel Fire. It is a snow skiing resort in winter and a mountain retreat from the desert heat in the summer.

Exiting Palo Flechado Pass to Angel Fire

We continued on, the land flattening and covered with prairie grasses. We crossed I-25 the interstate that runs the length of New Mexico from its border with Texas to Colorado in the north. We crossed the border into Oklahoma, passing over the upper west corner of Texas as we did so. Our destination for the day was Guymon Oklahoma which we reached around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Overnight spot at Corrall DriveIn RV Park

We overnighted at Corral Drive-In RV Park; the curious name is attributed to it being built on an old drive-in movie theater. The screen is still there and when we were here years ago, they showed a movie on it on Saturday nights for the guests. 

July 11 2022 Monday

Guymon Oklahoma to Coffeyville Kansas

We continued east thru the panhandle of Oklahoma, the terrain flat as a pancake and either prairie used for grazing cattle or agriculture if it was irrigated. All the towns we passed look old and tired. They are only here to cater to the farmers and cattlemen. The town of Enid is the only exception; it is like an oasis in the desert with its many businesses. It can thank the nearby Vance Air Force base for its prosperity. 

Just a few miles east of Enid we headed north on I-35, this interstate runs north/south from Kansas to Mexico. This is the first time on an interstate on our eastbound trip and we would only be on it for forty miles or so. Crossing the border into Kansas we took the first exit and continued east on local roads. The land, now with a bit of texture to it was predominantly farmland, and like almost everywhere else in the country it was irrigated. Lord help us if we run out of water.

Overnight at the fairgrounds in Coffeyville Kansas

Our target stopover tonight was in Coffeyville Kansas at a campground on their fairgrounds. It was not bad for an overnight stop, there were several other RV’s there and it had the obligatory railroad adjacent to it. Nothing like train sounds at 4am! The camp site was only $15 for the night with water/electric and a sewer dump on the fairgrounds.

July 12 2022 Tuesday

Coffeyville Kansas to Table Rock Lake COE Campground near Branson Missouri

We continued our trek east for 60 miles before entering Missouri at the southeastern corner of Kansas and the Northeastern corner of Oklahoma. We also had to board the parade of truckers and other travelers on I-44, but only for 20 miles before exiting to a series of local roads that would take us to Table Rock Lake COE campground, near Branson Missouri. We probably would have gotten here quicker if we stayed on the interstate, but that’s like being on a boat on the ocean. Ten minutes after leaving shore, the scenery never changes. This may not be true out west, but it certainly is in the east.

Mill Creek Campground at Table Rock Lake

We had a waterfront site at Table Rock Lake, it was absolutely beautiful. We extended our stay from the original three days to five it was such a nice place. We saw three shows while in Branson, two were Motown tribute shows at the Hot Hits Theatre in old town Branson and one was an outdoor drama called Sheppard of the Hills. Sadly, both of the Motown shows were somewhat disappointing. We enjoyed them, but they were less professional than all the other Motown shows we have seen. The Sheppard of the Hills play was such a disappointment that we left at intermission. It was not at all what we expected it to be. 

Our site at Table Rock

I readjusted the equalizer hitch while at Table Rock; it was causing excessive wear on the brackets. I had over adjusted the hitch before we left because the air bags on the rear of the truck leak and I didn’t have time to deal with them before we left. That was a mistake on my part, but I have a plan to eliminate the air bags when we get home. For the remainder of this trip, I will adjust the airbags each morning before departure. 

July 17 2022 Sunday

Branson to Pendleton Bend to Vicksburg

We departed Mill Creek Corp of Engineers campground (c-42) at 8am this morning. We were on new road to us immediately upon leaving the campground. We had arrived from the north and departed to the south, heading for a COE park in Arkansas called Pendleton Bend. 

This whole length of Arkansas along the border with Mississippi is a series of rice paddies; it probably goes on for a hundred miles. We will discover that the river our next camp site is on has several large rice storage and ship loading facilities on it.

We arrived at Pendleton Bend before 2pm, much earlier than we estimated. The park was nice, as most COE’s are, and our site was right along a large river. But it was blazing hot, too hot to do anything outside and the guy in the next site had two large fans set up under his awning and we knew the bugs would be bad in the evening. 

 Pendleton Bend COE Campground

With our Senior America the Beautiful Pass we only paid $9 for the night, so we figured our time would be better spent traveling toward our next destination. We had backed in the site, but only plugged in the power cord for the AC, so we ate a quick lunch, unplugged and hit the road again. 

Mississippi crossing at Vicksburg Mississippi

We continued down the state border, crossing into Louisiana and then to I-40 where we crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. We stayed overnight in the same casino campground as we did on the westward leg of the trip. Ameristar Casino Campground $26 a night. 

Back at Ameristar Casino RV park for one night

Today we traveled in four states Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

July 18 2022 Monday.

Vicksburg to Laurel Mississippi

The drive to our destination of Laurel Mississippi was a relatively short 150-mile ride. We drove a short maybe 20-mile distance on I-40 before exiting south to travel the rest of the way on local roads, which is our preferred way to see the country. 

Only one of the six televisions we have in our home is not internet capable, or as I like to say, it is a dumb TV. It is in the kitchen, and we only watch it at lunch time. Without exception we are looking at either someone rebuilding cars or houses. Our favorite house show is “Hometown” which is filmed in Laurel Mississippi. 

Ben and Erin from the show "Hometown"

So, are we star struck fans here to stalk Ben and Erin, the husband-and-wife team from the show? No, we’re not and realize we will probably not see a glimpse of them. The town itself is what interests us. It appears to be a well preserved charming old southern town on the show. The kind of quiet place you’d want to retire too, sit on the porch, drink sweet tea, and talk to your neighbors.

residential street in Laurel

We did find some of that hometown charisma, but it’s mostly in a small neighborhood on, as they say the good side of the tracks. The town also has a large lower economic zone and a commercial business area on the main road outside town where all the businesses seem to have moved. You could see that in the not so distant past the downtown business district was mostly vacant. 

The town has good roots; it has a long history of being a major producer of yellow pine lumber. At one time it produced so much saw dust during the milling process that they invented Masonite board to get rid of the saw dust. Particle board is the hard smooth sheet composite made from sawdust and glue and used on countertops. 

There is probably a lot of “old” money here and when the young energetic Ben and Erin started rehabbing houses and then turned it into an enterprise complete with TV show, it breathed new life into the town. There is a major revitalization going on in the town center and it looks like it may turn into something that will draw both locals and tourists.

Sleepy Hollow Campground

We stayed in a commercial campground called Sleepy Hollow RV Park. It was an old park located a few miles outside town and it too has been improved upon. Some of the roads had been asphalted and many new concrete pads had been laid in the RV sites. Overall, it was a very clean nice place. $42 a night.

At the Scotsman Woodshop 

PS: We didn’t see Ben and Erin but when we visited their workshop/gift store we did have a nice conversation with Mike, one of their employees who told us much of what I wrote about the town.

July 19 2022 Tuesday

Laurel Mississippi to Gulf Islands National Seashore

We decided we had seen all that interested us in Laurel and decided to move on. We had a day before our reservation in Pensacola Florida, but I went online, and our site was available for tonight, so we took it and made a hasty exit from Sleepy Hollow.

Our route had us going through Mobile Alabama and I decided to take a parkway that would skirt around the city. Unfortunately, on the side of Mobile we entered, there was almost no signage. Street signs and highway signs were gone, apparently stolen for scrap metal value. I say this because it was definitely the wrong side of the tracks. In this time of political correctness, we’re all supposed to be the same, but I’m here to tell you that’s just not true.  

our initial entry to Mobile Alabama

Anyhow, we missed the turn to the bypass and had to drive through the old narrow streets until we found the road that would take us across the bay. It made for an interesting ride, we didn’t have any trouble and the few times when I hesitated at an intersection or slowed to squeeze thru a narrow spot the local drivers were all very civil about my holding up their commute. 

Passage through downtown Mobile

Now across mobile bay we stopped in a shopping center and had lunch, a very good sandwich (Cajun Chicken) from that Fireman themed franchise, I forget the name at the moment. 

Instead of riding the interstate to Pensacola and then another limited access road down to the ocean, I decided to go down what I thought would be a rural road. Boy was I wrong; it was lined with commercial businesses of all sorts the entire way to the coast. And of course, it had all that business traffic plus all the folks coming or going to the beach. You can’t win them all, and we made it unscathed but a couple hours later than the interstate would have delivered us.

Our site at Fort Pickens campground loop A

Fort Pickens Campground is on Santa Rosa Island, located off the coast of Pensacola. About half the island is federal parkland called the Gulf Island National Seashore. The sites as well as the roads in the campground are all paved with asphalt. The section we were in had many shade trees and some vegetation between sites. Our section also had Water and electric hookups, some of the other camping sections where primitive with no utilities.

Beautiful white sand beach

We had the first site (A-42) in the section, giving us a shorter walk to the gulf beach. There was a trex boardwalk from the road across the dunes to the beach, which was all pure white fine-grained sand. It was as nice a beach as you’d find anywhere, actually a lot nicer than most anywhere. It was also isolated on the end of the island and therefore uncrowded. The only other people on the beach were our fellow campers from our section A. The other campground sections located about a half mile down the road has their own beach.

Fort Pickens

On the very western tip of the island sits the campgrounds namesake, Fort Pickens. The fact that it’s mostly intact is remarkable considering it was built in 1834. It was used off and on over the years and has a varied history. During the Civil War even though Florida had succeeded from the union, the fort was held by northern troops. After the Indian wars Geronimo, the legendary Apache chief was held prisoner here (1886-1887). During almost every hostility up to and including World War Two the forts artillery was upgraded. It was finally deactivated in 1947 and is now administered by the National Park Service.

We decided that on our departure day we would get up early and hit the road running. We always seem to wake early on travel days anyhow and the day would start on busy I-10. We had the RV 90% ready to go the night before and we were on the road at 5:05 am Friday morning.

July 22 2022 Friday

13 hour drive

There was actually traffic on the long winding road within the park as we left before dawn. They were entering the park, fishermen I presume. The road and bridges to the mainland had the normal light traffic you’d expect. We soon on the elevated expressway that took us nonstop over the city to the interstate, I-10. It is one of the longer interstate roads, going across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. We were heading east, heading home.

I stayed on I-10 longer than I would normally, but we planned a 400-mile travel day and I thought I would put some miles behind us while the morning traffic was light. After traveling east for 228 miles we exited and started our local road dissection of the southeast corner of Georgia. 

As we neared at our planned destination of Richmond Hill Georgia for the day it wasn’t even 2pm in the afternoon. Passing Fort Stewart, the sprawling US Army base at Hinesville Georgia I regaled Millie with stories of the time I worked there 50 some years ago. I was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah but my work assignment was as the sergeant in charge of an aerial gunnery range ground crew on Fort Stewart. 

Note: I have no photos of Hunter, Fort Stewart or myself during my time there. Here is a picture taken at my previous duty station where the army taught me everything I needed to know about being a leader of men! lol

1969

Before we arrived at the KOA, our planned overnight stop, the beeline Syndrome had kicked in and I told Millie we could be home in Myrtle Beach before dark. We entered the north bound traffic on I-95 and soon we crossed the border into South Carolina. Now we were truly on the home stretch. Next, we had to decide which route to take; local roads or stay on the interstate until we reach latitude about equal with our hometown. Normally we prefer Hwy 17, but I decided the 70mph nonstop speed of the turnpike would get us home faster.

A and A Storage

At exit 135 we diverted east on hwy 378 which took us on a nearly straight line to Conway. About halfway across to Conway we encountered rain which at times came down in a deluge. That was convenient because both the truck and the RV needed a washing. We stopped for the last fuel fill up of this trip and then proceeded to our storage lot on Forest brook road, about five miles from our home. Arriving right at 7pm I told the gal at the gate we would be about ½ hour unloading but she didn’t have to wait for us because I have a gate key and could let us out. We unloaded a minimal amount, mostly the food and finished the trip in a short ten-minute drive home.

Summary

By all accounts the trip was a success. Rae Anne had the necessary surgery in Scottsdale Arizona, and we were there to help in any way we could during the two weeks she was under the care of the Mayo Clinic Hospital, we explored new roads on our way to their home in Los Alamos New Mexico where we once again helped in any way we could as Rae Anne continued to recuperate. 

It's been so long since we’ve been to visit them (due to the China virus scare) that we felt we should have stayed longer, but Rae was on the mend and Millie and I both have a bunch of medical appointments scheduled for the beginning of August. It was time to go.

We took a zig-zag path home, not wanting to repeat the grueling five-day marathon of our outward-bound trip. We revisited places we haven’t seen in a while and created new adventures. The truck and the RV performed flawlessly for the whole 6489 miles we traveled. This was in spite of the fact that everywhere we traveled we had to endure extreme heat. Millie and I cohabitated in the 320 square foot living space of the RV for 5 and a half weeks and never got cabin fever, suicidal or homicidal. 

Our RV

Considering we left home with no campground reservations, we did exceptionally well, spending every night in a paid campground and only spending $616 for lodging. (Excluding the week we camped in the Kolman’s driveway) The only detrimental thing I can say about the trip was the cost of fuel in the truck. We spent $2644.85 on gasoline; two years ago, it would have cost less than half that amount. 

Worst President ever!