Little Quilts Blog: Sweet Sixteen Block of the Month Starts Soon!

Little Quilts Blog: Sweet Sixteen Block of the Month Starts Soon!

LOTS OF MILES

Forgot to post this at the end of our trip.  We were glad to be home and have finally began to feel like we have caught up with everything that needed to be done at home.

The days since we arrived home have been very, very hot – many over 100 degrees but cooler weather is finally here.

Here’s the total miles we drove:  From Arkansas to California totaled 3,085.  Total miles from Arkansas to California, then back to Arkansas were 7, 820.  Wow what a trip.  One we will never forget and we thank Carrie and Jerry for inviting us to share this adventure with them and praise God for a safe and happy journey.

THE END!!

June 8 – Almost home

Day 28 – A day of steady driving through continually changing landscapes.  The hills are still rolling but foliage is becoming more dense, giving evidence of a wet spring.  We caught up with the cyclists in Bentonville, AR.  It was extremely hot and humid, they had just come through a terrible section of road construction where traffic had been terribly bad.  Carrie had fallen and scraped her knee so they opted to continue to the other side of Bentonville to the RV park with us.

We finished the day with a dip in the pool and a dinner of smoked sausage on the grill. (Carrie being a vegetarian opted for a garden burger.)

We cannot begin to express how we feel about this trip and the awe and pride we feel in Carrie and Jerry.  This has been an amazing journey, one in which we have grown to appreciate the wonderful woman our daughter has become and the love and respect they have for one another.  They get up each morning eager to get on the road and meet the challenges of the day with courage and determination.  What a couple!  We love you both!

June 7 – Boring, Boring

Day 27 – I went in early to have a new water pump installed in the truck.  Much to my amazement, Chevrolet no longer makes the 8.1L engine, the best engine ever put into a Chevrolet truck.  No water pump was available anywhere in town, one had to be ordered from Tulsa.  However, delivery could not be made until 2 p. m., then it would be a two hour job to replace the pump.  I didn’t get back to the campground until about 5 p.m.  I read every magazine in the Chevrolet dealer’s showroom, and went into sticker shock at the prices posted on new cars and trucks.  But I returned back home with a functioning truck and a lighter wallet.  It was too late to proceed on down the road so had to wait for the next day before leaving.  In the meantime, Carrie and Jerry again had to “motel” it.

June 6 – Murphy strikes again!

Day 26 – We are now in wooded rolling hills which are a prelude to the Ozark Mountains.  The humidity is up along with the temperature.  Nothing else to do but go into town and do laundry and make a Wal-Mart run while awaiting the cyclists to catch up with us. We finally know where we all are by use of cell phone, no problems, right?

While parked in front of the Laundromat known as “Bubba’s Bubbles” (no kidding), I noticed a large pool of water forming under the truck.  You guessed it – I have a water pump problem and, of course, it’s Sunday and everything is closed.  Having a trusty supply of coolant in the back of the truck, we replenished the loss and proceeded back to the campground.  Carrie and Jerry arrived and we spent a very pleasant evening planning the next day’s event – getting the water pump replaced.

June 5 – We lost them!!!!!

Day 25 – The plan for the day was to travel to Ponca City, OK., a distance of 50 miles straight east – “no big deal.”  We would arrive early at a pre-selected campground, establish camp, and hang out until the cyclists arrived.  Nothing unusual, our usual routine.

Upon arrival we found our pre-selected campground was full and over-flowing and the same was true with the campground across the road and all campgrounds in the area.  Ponca City is an oil town and a major pipeline was being constructed.  Hence, all the campgrounds were filled with construction workers.  In our search for campgrounds we wound up on the far west side of town.  It is now late in the afternoon, the sun is scorching, we have not been able to perform our duty in finding accommodations and we haven’t been able to contact the cyclists.  When finally making contact by cell-phone we understand they are on the east side of town and they are really on the west side of town.  In reality they were not even as far as Ponca City.  After much driving and phone calling we finally catch up with each other on the west side of Ponca City.

After a brief discussion, Carrie and Jerry being hot and tired, opted for a motel in town and we proceeded on to the next day’s destination, Osage Hills State Park, about 10 miles west of Bartlesville, OK.  

June 4 – A Day of Rest

Day 24 – A quiet day spent around the campsite resting and recuperating. 

Just a comment in passing, the Oklahoma State Parks are very nice and very well maintained.  There is a consistency about them throughout the state. 

Resting and Recuperating

Our shady campsite

We did do some additional exploring of the lake and dam.  The lake is formed for the damming of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.  

Salt Fork of the Arkansas River

A day of rest and relaxation came to an end and tomorrow we start again on the home stretch!

June 3 – Great Salt Plains

Day 23 – The Great Salt Plains are a nearly perfectly flat 11,000 acre barren area with a wafer thin salt crust.  The salt was formed by sea water millions of years ago.  The sea water evaporated and deposited thick layers of salt. 

Many animals would come here for the salt and this made it a favorite hunting grounds for the Indians.  Today it is a major migration rest area for thousands of shorebirds.

American Avocet

Carrie and Jerry arrived at our campsite late that afternoon, very hot and tired.  After some discussion we all decided it would be a good thing for all of us to have a day of rest .  The heat was oppressive.

When we arrived at this park we were virtually alone in the campground.  However, we were surrounded quickly by the “Paxton Family Reunion.”  The Paxtons had been coming to this park for 40 years for an annual reunion.  Two of their young members told us they had attended every reunion.  One of them was 23 (he came to his first reunion when he was 2 weeks old) and the second was 20.  The 20 year old had brought his girlfriend to meet the family.  America will remain a strong country as long as there are families that are bound together with such strength.

June 2 – Destination: Great Salt Plains State Park

Day 22 – We drove into the little town of Beaver, Oklahoma and stocked up on ice and biscuits and gravy and filled the gas tank of the truck.  Gasoline is very much less than what we had been paying further west.

Driving mile and after mile through wheat fields, we finally left the Oklahoma Panhandle.  The panhandle was originally known as “No Man’s Land” simply because the strip of land was not claimed by any of the surrounding territories.  Hence, it was ungoverned by any form of law and was a favorite refuge for those fleeing from justice.  In 1890 by act of Congress it was made part of the Oklahoma Territory and was subject to Oklahoma Territories law.

We left the Panhandle and arrived at the Great Salt Plains State Park hot and tired and happy to find a nice shady spot to spend the next two days.  

We will be here for two days R & R (laundry, clean-up and other assorted duties).  Carrie and Jerry had a short day and are staying in what Carrie describes a beautiful “motel” in Buffalo.  It is actually several store front buildings that have been restored into a beautiful two room apartment-type complex.  She says they even have a little patio to go out in the late evening and have their glass of wine before bed.  Boy, this cycling is sure hard work!  Maybe Jerry will post some pictures on their blog.  I hope so.

Tomorrow we will explore the salt plains and report on them.

June 1 – Beaver Dunes Lake State Park

Day 21 – One of the joys of traveling in the southwest is anticipation.  Just think, around the next bend or over the far hill could lie one of the 7 cities of gold.  They must still be there because Coronado never found them when he was exploring the southwest in 1541.  Instead you find the small towns and rural communities that make this country great.  We did pass a large meat processing plant, Seaboard Hog Processing, as we left Guymon this morning.  Seaboard Hogs are to the Oklahoma Panhandle as Tyson Chicken is to Arkansas.

The countryside is semi-arid yet it produces cattle and wheat in abundance.  The humidity is much higher than the 8% we experienced in Taos.  The winds we experienced coming across the high plains is terrific. We really admire Carrie and Jerry having the courage to ride in this wind.

We arrived at Beaver Dunes Lake State Park and set up camp in a grove of cottonwood trees with a hot, humid high wind blowing, turned the air conditioner on in the trailer and hibernated until time to leave the next morning.

May 31 – Guymon, Oklahoma

Day 20 - Panhandle RV Park and Campground was our destination and we nearly missed it.  We are currently using a State of Oklahoma guide to RV parks in the state and this had a really good write-up in that booklet.  But after driving several miles past the beaten up old sign that said “RV Campground” we decided that that must have been it.  So we turned around and went back.  It indeed was the park  so we set up camp under a beautiful big old shade tree, put our money in the slot of a beat up old building that said “Office” and awaited the arrival of Carrie and Jerry.

That evening we were treated to one of nature’s beauties that we had missed for a number of weeks, a good old-fashioned thunderstorm with wind, rain, hail and rolling thunder.  It was a beautiful but frightening work of art.  The next morning dawned bright and clear so off we were again.

May 30- Clayton, NM destination

Day 19 - Just a comment in passing. I am surprised in the variations in the taste of drinking water in different towns and cities we have camped in.  Most of the time it is not very good and sometimes it is downright undrinkable.  I am sure the water is safe and pure, but we travel with several gallons of bottled water just in case.  Springer and Clayton fit the category of undrinkable water.   We are thankful for Yellville's good drinking water.
Travel on this date was routine and very similar to yesterday.  We arrived at Clayton before lunch, a typical small town that has seen better times.  There were many boarded up businesses and they can't blame Wal-Mart, as there is not a Wal-Mart here or anyplace close by. We spent the night at a KOA campground only because there was no place else to stay.  This KOA lived up to their reputation of promising more than they deliver, very high fees, very run down sites.  KOA's are on the bottom list of all places to stay.  No pictures today.  God bless until next time.

May 29 - Changing landscapes

Day 18 - Taso is in a valley between two mountain ranges.  We headed eastward over the the last mountain range and topped out at 9000 ft. down into eastern New Mexico.  Again we drove through beautiful country, Cimarron Canyon is gorgeous and Lou saw a bear in the bushes.  We had planned on staying in a state park in Cimarron Canyon but, being Memorial Day weekend all campgrounds were full to overflowing.  We met Carrie and Jerry at the campground we had planned on staying in, they were still fresh and full of energy so we just kept traveling.  We found a nice shady pull-off by the side of the road and had a  nice lunch before we said good-bye again.

The high plains occupy 1/3 of eastern New Mexico.  We are talking big time ranch operations, one of which was a game preserve for hunters.  Miles and miles and miles of beautiful grazing land, punctuated with small mesas and high winds.

The Great Plains of New Mexico

We arrived at Springer, NM, spending the night at the Old Santa Fe Trail RV park.  The park must have been established for the covered wagons on their way west.  However, we had a good evening there, showers and a good night's sleep.  Free WI-FI coming in from who knows where, but not the park.  Carrie and Jerry arrived mid-afternoon and we treated them to a soft ice cream cone at Minnie's Dairy Inn.  How good can it get.

May 27, 28 - Taos, New Mexico

http://carriebsbigadventure.blogspot.com/
Day 16,17 - We arrived at Taos, New Mexico about noon and will be here for some R&R, catch up on laundry and other activities associated with everyday living.  We are in a lovely campground, Taos Valley RV Park and Campground.  Of course, when in New Mexico one dines on guacamole, green chilies, enchiladas, etc.  So we headed for Antonio's in the historic district of Taos.  We had a wonderful dinner, a good time and enjoyed it so much.

Be sure and visit Carrie and Jerry;s blog at http://carriebsbigadventure.blogspot.com/ for their daily experiences.  They have some very interesting tales to tell and we think you will enjoy it.  In the meantime, hopefully we can keep you updated in a more timely manner.  Only time will tell. 

May 26 - On to Hopewell Lake Forest Service Campground

Day 15 - We arrived early at a Forest Service Campground at a small lake known as Hopewell Lake, 9800 ft. altitude.  Tall pine trees, aspen trees, and a very friendly campground host.  Once again we are living off the grid, using our generator when needed and our holding tanks, but the price was right.

While sitting around the campfire, these two individuals with beards and backpacks wandered into our campsite to ask directions to the lake.  We gave them proper instructions and on their return to their campsite, they stopped again briefly to chat.  We had just finished dinner and asked them if they would like to share it.  They were very happy and went back to their campsite to put on jackets and bring a third party with them to dinner.  This proved to be a very positive experience for all of us.  They were "extreme long distance hikers" and opened up a whole new world for  Joe and I.  They were hiking the Continental Divide Trail from the Mexico border to the Canadian border and expected to finish their hike at Glacier National Park in Montana.  After dinner they entertained us with tales of how they got ready for this hike including the food they ate, where they slept and, in short, how they survived.  "Chief", the hiker from Israel lived on dry Raman noodles and Snicker bars; Jason (the big talker) spent all of last winter dehydrating his own food and making all his own camping gear (sleeping bag, packs, etc.)  Jack spent the winter working hard to finance his hike.They had a tent but they seldom used it, preferring to sleep in the open.  Below is a picture of the three young hikers.  From the left - Jason, Chief and Jack.

May 23-24-25 - Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico

Days 12,13,14 - The plan this morning is everyone rides by truck to Navajo Lake State Park.  This was due to terrible dust storm (60 mile and hour winds, dust and debris).  On the way our faithful truck developed a cooling problem, so every few miles we had to add anti-freeze, water, branch water and anything else we could think of.  Of course, we were climbing up a steep grade going over a mountain range, it was Sunday and it was HOT.  We had to turn our wonderful air-condition off and rough it into Bloomfield, New Mexico.
We spent the night at The Desert Rose RV Park (cannot recommend but it worked in an emergency).  The next morning, the 24th, we found a wonderful truck repair place, Sweetland's Truck & Auto Repair Service in Farmington.  Randy Sweetland replaced hoses, etc., added the proper mix coolant and I am out of there by noon and on our way to new destination of Lake Heron State Park where we registered for two night.  We all needed a day of rest.
The kids rode their bikes as far as Dulce, NM and spent the night in a Best Western Motel and rejoined us on the 25th at Heron Lake.

May 22 - Canyon de Chelly

Day 11 - We drove from Monument Valley to Canyon de Chelly in a dust storm and high winds.

The beginning of the storm

In many ways Canyon de Chelly is more picturesque than Monument Valley.  It has an interesting history and I would urge you to check it out via the internet at your leisure.  We are still on Navajo Tribal land and the bottom of the canyon is farmed by Navajos in much the same way as it was done in days gone by.  They also raise sheep, fruit and other crops to sustain themselves.

These are pictures taken randomly while at Canyon de Chelly of some of the valley farms, ruins and rock formations.  Enjoy!

May 21 - Monument Valley

Day 10 - Director John Ford and actor, John Wayne, put Monument Valley on the map back in the 1930's.  John Wayne made about 8 or 9 of his famous western movies over a period of years here.  The pictures say it all about this "monumental landscape."

May 20 - Navajo National Monument

Day 9 - We are now in the Navajo Nation Tribal Reservation in north central Arizona and will be for the next 3 days. Indians reservations are seperate entities, however, they do observe state and federal laws.  We spent last night on this beautiful plateau at 7000 ft.  It was a campsite in the Navajo National Monument.

Living off the grid and loving it!

View of Navajo National Monument from campsite

The next morning we broke camp and set out for Monument Valley.

This is where we are headed!