2nd log

A few people have asked what the differences are between the cruising life 
and the RV life.  Well, in the RV life we don’t have to worry about hitting 
bottom, lightning, water spouts, too much wind, not enough wind, how to get 
to land without hitting anything, not running out of water, too much water 
and low bridges…..I take that back, we do have to worry about low bridges!!  
We also have to be concerned about dead ends, sharp turns, narrow streets, 
leaving the emergency brake on in the car, having the storage lockers open 
while driving because you forgot to lock them and having the awning unravel 
in extreme high winds.  (I know you guessed that the last three items did 
happen to us!!)

We started this portion of our trip in Houston, Texas.  Our first stop was 
San Antonio. We then drove to Balmorhea where we left the RV and drove the 
car to Big Bend. We took a day to drive through the National Park and view 
the sights.

Then we drove to Carlsbad to visit the caverns and the surrounding area. The 
first day we went to the Carlsbad Caverns and walked 800 feet down in the 
caverns and then walked around the Great Room. (We took the elevator back 
up!!)  The next day we went to Roswell, drove through the Apache Reservation 
and then to White Sands which was fantastic!!!  The last day we went to the 
Living Desert, a zoo, a geographical and botanical display. It was a 
wonderful surprise.

The next day we drove to Santa Fe.  Our first stop was to visit with Tom and 
Vicki (boat name Tempest) who we met in Barcelona. Then we went to Bonnie 
and Dave’s house (boat name Icarus) who we met in Turkey and traveled with 
in Croatia and Italy.  They had planned a vacation and were not at home.  We 
decided to leave the RV there and do the Grand Circle and meet them back at 
their house. The Grand Circle is one of the world’s greatest concentrations 
of outstanding natural, cultural and historical features.

Wednesday May 10:

We did some cleaning and some chores to get ready for our trip.  Vicki and 
Tom invited us over for a wonderful meal and a little more catching up.

Thursday May 11:

After finally getting a part for my camera, we were on our way.  Since we 
got a late start, we traveled to the Painted Desert and found a hotel for 
the night.  I wanted to sleep in the Wigwam Hotel, but Rudy wasn’t ready to 
play Indian…..party pooper!!!

Friday May 12:

We experienced the Painted Desert and the Petrified Desert.  They were both 
so beautiful.  I think I took 300 pictures that day!!  The area is 218,533 
acres and Archeologists have found evidence of human occupation from more 
than 10,000 years ago.  The sad thing is that one ton of petrified wood is 
stolen each month.  I bought mine outside the park!!!

We then drove through the Badlands and up to the Grand Canyon.  After 
putting our things in our hotel room which was in the Park (Yavapai Lodge), 
we went to dinner.  It was then time to see the sunset.  As we were taking 
another 100 or 200 pictures we heard a roar go up.  We looked around and saw 
the full moon rising in the east as the sun was setting in the west.  What a 
magnificent sight!!!


Saturday May 13:

This morning we took a shuttle from our hotel and started our tour of the 
South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  After stopping at every overlook and taking 
about another 300 pictures, we drove to Zion National Park.  On the way we 
stopped at the Coral Pink Sands State Park. Actually more orange than pink, 
but what a beautiful sight!!! It came out of nowhere and it looked like 
nowhere else. We finally found a motel and took their last room.  We ate in 
a “real” restaurant called Switchback.  (We had been eating at Denny’s and 
that gets old fast!!)

Sunday May 14:

Zion is breath taking!!!  We went on some short trails to see the Weeping 
Walls and a spring.  Since I forgot my hat on one of the shuttles, Rudy and 
I rested at one of the bus stops until the same bus came around.  Luckily, 
my hat was still there.  It was special to me because Jaclyn gave it to me 
and it was Mother’s Day!!!  We then drove to Bryce National Park.  Along the 
way we stopped at Gooseneck and found out why they called it Gooseneck.

We traveled on Routes 12 and 24 which had the most beautiful mountains.  The 
effects of erosion produced the most interesting formations (called hoodoos) 
and exposed the subtle pastel colors in the layers of the stone. Black 
(manganese which is called Desert Vanish), white (Silca stone), grey green 
(volcanic ash) and pinks and reds (iron or rust).

When we got to Bryce, I was feeling the effect of the attitude (10,000 
feet).  However, as soon as we went to see the Bryce Amphitheatre, all my 
symptoms vanished when I saw the awesome sight!!  It was spiritual….everyone 
felt it because no one was speaking.  We were all taking pictures or just 
looking at the vista.  I could have stayed there for hours looking at the 
magnificent hoodoos!!!

At one of the last overlook, we experienced a short storm and a lightning 
strike that couldn’t have been very far away. There was less than one or two 
seconds between the lightning and thunder.  There are signs telling you to 
get in your cars if this happens. We ignored them.  (I thought I was safe 
anyway because I was standing next to Rudy, but not too close!!)  We 
proceeded and another lightning strike and immediate thunder startled us. 
The skies opened up and it poured mixed with sleet.  That got our attention 
and we went back to the car.  As we were driving to the next overlook, the 
rain stopped and we were able to see the last sight.

Then we were on our way again to the Arches National Park. Our drive brought 
us along the Grand Staircase and the Glen Canyon.  We found a small motel in 
Escante which was about 150 miles away from the Arches.  I had to buy a 
phone card so I could return Jaclyn ‘s and Stacy’s phone calls for Mother’s 
day.  Since we were always in the mountains, we usually had no phone 
service.

Monday May 15:

Before we got to the Arches, we went to Dead Horse Canyon and Canyonlands.  
They were both interesting, but didn’t compare with the other canyons we saw 
in my opinion.  We found a small motel in Moab and settled in for the night.

Tuesday May 16:

The next day we experienced the Arches which showed what the effects of wind 
does to stone.  The Canyons are eroded mostly by running water, but the 
Arches only have effects of wind and rain to form the amazing sculptures.  
It also had beautiful snow covered mountains in the background to add to the 
beauty.

From there we traveled to Mesa Verde in Colorado.  Here we found the ruins 
of the Puebloan Cliff Dwellers which date between 12,000 and 6,000 B.C.  
There were remains of several villages tucked under overhanging 
cliffs…therefore their name.  It was fascinating to see and to try to 
understand how these people lived.  They made hand and footholds in the side 
of the mountains to travel from their home to their crops and to visit other 
groups and families.

We went through the Four Corners as we went back into Arizona and traveled 
through the scenic route of Monument Valley which houses the famous El 
Capitan. The area was so beautiful and has its own personality just like 
each and every place we visited.  We stopped for the night at a motel in 
Bluff and settled in for the night.

Wednesday May 17:

Our last stop was to see Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Shay) about 150 miles 
away.  This canyon like the others had its own character and personality.  
Then another 350 miles back to Santa Fe.

Thursday May 18:

We ended our visit to Santa Fe like we started, with Tom and Vicki. We had 
dinner at Harry’s Road House (I had the best trout dinner!!) and then to 
Vicki and Tom’s house for a wonderful dessert.  Vicki has been going to 
cooking class and we enjoyed one of her class assignments. We even took a 
little extra dessert with us to help our travels.  Rudy and I will be happy 
to experiment with any of her class projects.

Summary

At each National Park, there was a museum and a film which showed the 
history of the people and the land.  Rudy and I found them interesting and 
well done.

We traveled over 2200 miles in a week and saw so many beautiful, 
magnificent, breathtaking and interesting sites!!! The US is truly a 
beautiful country!!

We are now in Rawlins, Wyoming and tomorrow we plan to be at a campsite 
between Teton and Yellowstone Park.

Love to all…..we miss you and hope to hear from you!!!