It was sad to see so many abandoned and defaced roadside relics from not that long ago.  What used to attract and entertain tourists during their journeys have been replaced by other interests.  Who knows how many business were shut down because of covid complications, or internet distractions, or the need for speed to get to the next destination.  Whatever the reason or reasons, I'm very thankful to have enjoyed them when they were alive with visitors.

This site used to have 2 arrows next to one another.

The original "Mother Road" winds along what is now regarded as Route 66, which winds along I40.

Finishing on the bright side, this attraction was still open.  It was featured at the end of the movie "Starman".  Naturally we had to stream the movie that night.

Here in Zuni Village RV Park, we stopped for 2 nights to visit Route 66 attractions in Kingman.  Good weather was very welcome...yay! 

We decided to stop in for a fountain drink :)

Those are donut holes plastered in butterscotch around the rim... YUMMMMM!  Of course we had to sample the lunch menu as we sat just outside the food pickup window and saw many, many delectable dishes come through.  We walked away with painfully stuffed bellies!

Naturally I just had to look inside this barrel.

WAIT FOR IT.............

Photo op :)

This could have been the Corvair we shipped to England when we lived there, back in the early 60's.  Dad needed a small car for the roads.

I figured the musicians among us might appreciate this one...

I never could figure what the next 2 pictures had to do with Route 66.

Till we meet again, get your kicks on Route 66 (I just had to throw that one in) :)

We left the Q and made our way to Yuma for some cosmetic work on "Wallace", Kathy and Chick's trailer.  We stayed 2 nights and left with some new decals on Wallace.

After Yuma we headed to an LDMA (Lost Dutchman's Mining Association) campground in Stanton, AZ, where we were from 15-17 Feb.

We were at Stanton as non-member guests to observe how LDMA operated in terms of gold prospecting.  There are a few mining properties across the U.S. but membership is a little pricey so we'll explore other options.

It appears Wen and Chick are wasting no time looking around for some nuggets :)

That Varmit Notice is a little scary!

Nice sunsets here as well.

We made it!  On time, even :)  We have the last 3 days of the big RV show to enjoy.  Cold and windy, with rain, is a pretty accurate description of the weather.  But that's ok...we made it!  The camping area at this location is known as "dome rock", named after that domed hill you see below.

The RV show was very informative and I came away with a lot of information and help from several of the vendors.

We enjoy many beautiful sunsets here :)

Plenty of solar power available when the sun's out.  Our batteries get charged up pretty quickly.

There are a few creative art displays out here, made by previous campers.

One of the things we really enjoy...hiking!  Beautiful views in every direction.

But we do need to pay attention to where we step!

The rain has stopped and Tali is a happy camper again :)

Cold winds force us to practice our music under shelter...

This old mine cave wound around on the left side (unable to see from this view) and I didn't get a good view of it as I was met by an unexpected guest when I approached.

A young couple and this guy were inside the cave and met me as I walked up to the entrance.  I think I startled the dog as much as he did me.  He turned out to be friendly and it was a good thing as he was unleashed.

Later on our hike we came upon a bonafide gold prospector and we talked for a while.  Being from Maine and having lost his wife some time ago, he settled here and has had some success prospecting.  A very interesting person to talk with.

We stayed at Quartzsite for about 3 weeks and really enjoyed every minute.  We hope to visit again next year.  We moved on from here to Yuma for a couple of days.

We left on the 13th of January bound for "The Q" (Quartzsite, Arizona).  Our first night out was a stop at a Cracker Barrel in Cordele , Ga.  It was not a particularly scenic nor exciting stopover but it was convenient and set the bar for all other stops to be better as we venture forth :)

See what I mean?

At Atmore, AL for 4 nights at a casino RV park because of frigid temperatures here and at our next destination.  We don't want to pass up the free (?) electricity.

Riverview RV Park in Vidalia, Louisiana.

Another Cracker Barrel in Lufkin, Tx.

The picture below is of Legato Winery in Lampasas, TX.  Quiet and wonderful hosts...we'll be back.
​Goodfellow AFB, TX.  We didn't get any pictures (we were there last year).  

Saddleback RV Park in Balmorhea, TX.  Very interesting bar...I can't say why :) 

Rio Grande Winery in Las Cruces, NM.  Not a particularly great stop for us :(

On the way to our next stop we decided to visit a roadside attraction, "The Thing".  Back 1n 1998 we stopped here when we were traveling with Wen's parents.  Her dad went in to partake of the display and wouldn't let us in on the experience since we needled him a little for spending money to see it.  We finally caved, 26 years later, to stand in the spot he stood and experience the same thrill he enjoyed :)

One final stop at San Pedro Resort Community in Benson, AZ.  Next up...."The Q"

Hello Hello Hello !!!
It's been so long since my last post and I am hoping some of you are still with us.  Our last post was WAY back from late Oct 2023 and we made it to Pinopolis, SC in 1 week, via Louisana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.  That went very quickly and smooth, thankfully.  From the beginning of November 2023 to 13 January, this year, we spent time with our dear friends Gwyn and Veston in SC, and took a week to visit Wendy's family in Ohio, for Christmas.  I'm posting just a few pictures of those times and hope to be much more punctual going forward ... where have we heard that before?

We were blessed by the invitation to gather with long time friends at Tripp's home on the creek.

Believe it or not, Kay is opening birthday gifts for the 100th time.  We love her dearly and look forward to sharing her 101st event :)

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Veston and Gwyn's home, they were visiting family out of town.  My oldest son Joseph, with the hat, nephew David and wonderful girlfriend Lorrie!  It was a such a blessing we were able to be with them :)

David and Joseph reminiscing... 

Greg, Gwyn and Veston's oldest son, and family, at an annual Citadel gathering.

Leena, above the lady in blue jacket with gold sleeves, competes in a high school cheer team event.  She's that good...invited to compete as junior high school member.

On the way to Ohio, and from, we stopped at this B&B (Rockwood Manor) near Blacksburg and Radford, Va.  Although cold, I managed a brief walk around the grounds.

I like these lyrics :)

Here is a brief Christmas visit with Wen's family in Ohio.  This visit was way too short but at least we got to catch up, a little, over dinner.

Blanco successfully supervised yet another White Elephant gift exchange :)

BORING...thinks Kit Kat.

One last visit to Nasties for a final "duck party".

We don't miss many opportunities to visit an ice cream parlor :)

They named a road after me, though I can't remember where it is!!

Gwen, Veston and us in 2024...a little blurry, as expected.

Proof that Santa Clause (Griff) takes post Christmas vacations to Pinopolis, SC.

Wendy is not too concerned with the competition :)

Veston finally caught up to me in age and we celebrated at the Chophouse :) ​

I keep finding this weird stuff at Publix.  I did not try the tree stump!!

Good times at the morning coffee gatherings :)

An Ukulele lesson after a playing session behind our site.

Our event host, Frank, performs recitals of "Cowboy" poetry at our swap meet.  His original material is very entertaining. 

Here are a couple of pictures of Fort Davis from one of our hikes.

We left Ft Davis and spent a couple of nights at the home of our new friends, Jim and Terry.  Our dear friends Kathy and Chick (cousin to Jim) introduced us and the 6 of us had a wonderful time in Camp wood, Texas.

Many deer visit us throughout the day :)

Next stop was Rocky Point COE in Somerville, TX for 3 nights.

A one night stop at Alexandria RV Park in Alexandria. 

After 4 days in Biloxi, MS, we headed to Blue Angel Park on Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida, for another 4 days. Then we'll have one more stop, somewhere, before we get back to Veston and Gwen's in Pinopolis, SC.  We're excited about that.  I think Veston saved me a little patch in his field to bush hog...yay!!!

At Pensacola Naval Air Station we found this quiet semi-secluded spot and relaxed for a couple of nights before our last leg home.

They like disc golf here and have 3 courses around the campground.

What is this in the fruit section at Publix?  It turns out to be a jackfruit!  Jackfruit is a tropical tree fruit grown in Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia. It belongs to the same plant family as figs and mulberries. Individual fruits can weigh 120 pounds...so you don't want to hang around its dropzone!!!

Yikes!!!  A picture from Wikipedia.

A picture of our campsite during a 4 night stay at Hard Ridge Creek COE in Abbeville, Alabama.

We then stayed 1 night at a Cracker Barrel in Statesboro, Georgia.

We've finally made our move eastward...
​Being now in Biloxi, MS, we have run into warm and humid weather but are excited to be moving back to where we're from...SC :)
I am posting MANY photos from Montana to here, and I hope you enjoy them!

Here, in East Glacier, golf was a nice, beautiful, relaxing break from all the recent health distractions.  We had a ton of fun and actually came back for more punishment a couple of days later.  WE BOTH BROKE 90!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ride along "Million Dollar Highway" had us cross 2x 11000 ft passes and another over 10600 ft.  Our truck had no problems except for our tire blowout.

We had to stop for a while at the first pass while a crew replaced phone lines.  They had to tie their parts and equipment to lines in order to pull them up the mountain slope and secure everything.  Many pieces still fell across the road and could have hit passing vehicles if the road was not blocked while they were working.  As we waited it began to sleet and snow.  Luckily it didn't amount to much!

The weather followed us to our Santa Rosa SP campsite in New Mexico.

We were spared any violent weather and treated to a beautiful sunset :)

I barely got started with my catch-up posts and am once again without a cell signal. We are at Ft. Davis, TX for our fiberglass trailer rally the next 2 weeks and taking advantage of a signal at the laundromat in town.

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  We had a person drive up behind us at highway speeds and start flashing his lights at us, we looked out both side mirrors and saw nothing wrong so we continued on.  After several miles he was still behind us and started flashing us again.  I found a satisfactory spot to pull over and saw the problem....we had no idea.  The rim was trashed as well.  We installed the spare and went on into town to get a new tire and rim.  Sure glad to have a 2 axle trailer :)

While I have a signal, here are a few more random pictures from Yellowstone.

New friends and plenty of music :)

2 old timers hanging out together :)

Here we are at St Mary CG in Glacier NP, MT.  Bears were spotted in the park,  but the spotter didn't know the difference between a Black and a Grizzly so its identity remains a mystery.  It's mostly common knowledge to the hikers we encounter that they feel pretty much at ease when they see me as my ability to scramble (from a bear) has severely declined over the years!

On a hike in Glacier NP.  I didn't intend to steal the show but 1 more picture of my failed attempt at photobombing a photo reveals I lack talent in this area :)

​From Yellowstone NP, WY.

As you can tell, I'm watched closely from all sides :)

Even these guys are watching!!!!

Yellowstone is roughly 3500 square miles and it's a place where you can spend so much time and not see everything it offers!

After many weeks of no internet and mostly no power, I'm finally able to make a post.

The above statement in null and void!  I started this post 3 weeks ago when I thought I had internet so I made a lengthy post and saved it for later updating.  But to my chagrin, my "save" didn't happen and now I will attempt once again.

From my last post we were at the Pine Tree Inn and then made it to 2 Medicine CG in Glacier NP Montana (2 weeks), Bridger Brewery Harvest Host in 3 Forks Montana (1 night), Beaver Creek CG Montana(1 night), Baker's Hole CG West Yellowstone Montana (24 days), Uinta Lanes Harvest Host in Evanston Wyoming (1 night), Cabela's parking lot in Grand Junction Colorado (1 Night), Sky Ute Casino CG in Ignacio Colorado (2 nights), Bandelier National Monument in Los Alamos New Mexico (3 nights), and are currently in Santa Rosa SP in Santa Rosa NM (3 nights).

​It's good to be back with you...Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

I'm becoming remarkably lax with my posting of our recent adventures.  I'll try harder!  Since my last post (in June) we've camped in Lost Moose Meadows outside of Lincoln, Montana, St Mary's CG in Glacier National Park and are currently at the Pine Tree Inn in East Glacier, MT.  The Pine Tree Inn is really just a B&B with a couple of spots for rv's.  We're holed up here for a few days awaiting our spot to become available in Glacier NP, this time at Two Medicine CG.  I'm posting recent videos this time and will follow it up soon with pictures.  Our upcoming 6 day visit to Two Medicine will be without cell service or internet or electricity so my follow-up post, with pictures, may come after that stop.

After spending about 12 hours of effort with many video editing programs....I QUIT for the night and am posting this one video.

The Plymouth Park COE was decent and quiet for our one night stopover.  Good thing we had electrical hookups, the A/C was much appreciated in the 102F temps!

On the way there we passed through Mt Hood National Forest and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  Very beautiful and very hot.  Mt Charleston weather spoiled us!

We are now at Pink House Recreation Area, near Orofino, Idaho, a place we visited back in August of 2020.

This is our "temporary" site.  As soon as a shaded site opens, we'll snatch it up :)
Only 2 sites were available when we arrived.  As soon as we took one of them the other was filled at the same time.  Phew!  That was close!  This being the 4th of July weekend and all.  Now to put Amazon and UPS to work :)

From Mt Charleston...

From eastern California and Oregon...

After leaving Mt Charleston, we headed for Hawthorne, NV for one night and then to Alturas, California.  These 2 overnight stops were uneventful, except for the scenery along the way.  

After quite an altitude drop from 7000 ft to 3000 in 16 miles we were on our way to Hawthorne.  The traveling was sooooo beautiful.  Eastern California and eastern Oregon, along US Hwy 395, is worth a revisit one day.

Arguably a highly desirable parking spot in a hotel parking lot, we felt safe and the price was  acceptable... free :)  Our arrival was blessed with a double rainbow! 

This is our next stop.  Another safe parking lot, this time in Alturas, California.  Again...free :)

Today's travel was indeed a very beautiful drive.  It is soooo nice to be free from distractions in a setting such as this!  We stopped several times in the middle of our driving lane and got out to stretch and take pictures.  For at least 125 miles, we enjoyed traveling 15 to 20 minutes at a time, several times, with no traffic in sight!!!!!!

​

This Corsair was actually the one used in the movie Devotion.  Most of the aircraft in this collection still fly and are used in regional airshows.

But not for 2 more days.  That will put us 12 days here at Kyle Canyon Picnic Area, 22 miles north of Las Vegas.  The pollen from the Ponderosa pines has finally subsided but not without taking its toll on our lungs.  We've taken the last couple of days off from our hiking and are just about back to normal.  Today is our wedding anniversary so we are taking it easy today and will start preparing for our Monday departure tomorrow.  We definitely hope to visit here again!

Everything seemed to be in bloom :)

​The Bristlecone Pine—the oldest living trees in the world—are found throughout Mt. Charleston. Interestingly enough, this wilderness area contains 18,000 acres of them and is considered to be one of the largest Bristlecone Pine groves in the Intermountain West. The Mt. Charleston Wilderness Area also is home to 15 endemic wildflower plants as well as the Ponderosa Pine and White Fir, which are home to the Palmer’s Chipmunk — a species exclusive to the Spring Mountains. Rocky Mountain Elk also are found here, along with wild horses and burros, desert tortoises, deer, coyote, foxes, bobcats, songbirds, hummingbirds and various birds of prey.

Even the lichen and mosses are getting in on the act :)

We've seen evidence they're around but have yet to see one :)

Let's go this a way!

​The first 1/4 mile was brutal but the rest was fine!

On a challenging hike to Mary Jane Falls we were not disappointed.

Wendy caught this little guy in mid-air :)

He came up for a reward for his performance but since it's illegal to feed the wildlife he had to settle for a simple clapping of our hands :)

Paul A. would be proud of us to know we took a ski lift ride :)

As you can tell by Wendy's grip, she doesn't care much for being airborne.

Artificial snow machine? 

Here's where it gets interesting.  How do we get off this thing?  Almost everyone got off at the top to ride bikes down the trails so we had no one to watch as they got off.  The lift never stopped the entire time we were on it so we were obviously concerned by getting run over by the chair as we exited our seat.  I reckon my white beard tipped the attendants off that we might need some assistance... they gave us directions on how to lift the restraining bar on our approach and stopped everything so we could safely exit our chair...whew!   :)

We have truly enjoyed our hikes and adventures on Mt Charleston and hope to be back one day!

A change of sites made for better times.  We were next to a double tent site that brought about many people this 3 day weekend, and after being challenged by a pretty big unleashed dog we decided to move to another site.  We are happy here and will probably stay for at least another week.  Many more pictures to follow of this beautiful area in a couple of days.

What a difference an hour's drive makes!

From the streets of Las Vegas you can see snow capped Mt Charleston above the speed limit sign.  It was on the way to being another 100 degree day...arggg!

As you can imagine there are many local visitors from Vegas trying to escape the heat.  Thanks to my dear friend, Veston, for telling us about this place.  There seem to be many, many hiking  opportunities ahead :)   A picture of our site below.

The views from our picnic table.

This will end our structured schedule for about 4 months, when we will then return to SC through Texas after a rally in Ft Davis, TX.  We will definitely try to do a better job this year in finding cool weather during the summer months.  Altitude will be our friend :)  Believe it or not, we can see snow covered Mt Charleston while we sit at our campsite, surrounded by 100 degree heat.  Guess where our first stop will be :)
We found our way to Las Vegas to see Wendy's first cousin, twice removed, marry the love of her life.  Lauren and Lawrence graciously invited us to their awesome event.  I mean it was AWESOME.  3 days of celebrating, dancing, and eating with, 300 or so, family members and guests left us in need of the next 4 months off :) :)  The food was 5 star quality and always at hand.  Most of the time I didn't know what I was eating but I can assure you it was stellar.  The waiting staff must have been 50 strong and they made sure we were all well taken care of.  The music and performances were of Broadway caliber.  Their beautiful, Jewish, wedding will always be remembered!

Our campsite on Nellis AFB.

Wen caught a pretty nice picture on the way into Las Vegas.  A lot of haze and smoke around so I couldn't do the picture much justice in post editing.

Just a couple shots of downtown...drivers are nuts here as well.

The city has greatly changed, not in a good way, from 1998.

Here is a link to a very short clip of the reception.

The first day was a pre-wedding day meal where everyone got to meet one another.  Wedding day and reception was the following day.  My head finally hit the pillow at 2:30 AM!  And day 3 was the brunch, which was actually a party from 2 PM until midnight.  We only stayed a few hours as we were so worn out from the day before.  I suspect that was probably a good thing!

In no particular order I'll just post 3 days of wonderful times :)

A first for me...sherbet served over a glowing ice cube :)

All who were invited were given a pair of Nike shoes for the dancing :)

And a bottle of wine sent with the invitation.  Ours was sent to our previous residence we moved from in January of 2020.  We were able to retrieve it from the current residents, who kindly called us about it.

A long day took us through Monument Valley for one night at Zion Vineyards.  The wines were top notch as all of their 10 entries at the state level won medals last year.

The town of Mexican Hat, named for this rock, is just outside Goosenecks SP.  Wen and I and her parents spent the night in a hotel there...in 1998 :)

I keep looking for cowboys and Indians every time we go through Monument Valley :)

Goosenecks SP outside of Mexican Hat has been quite a stop for us.  It's quite beautiful and relaxing (both physically and spiritually).  Here is a link to Wikipedia for the area .
​en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goosenecks_State_Park

I just couldn't stop with the picture taking :)

Our new canine friend, Cora, is prepared for departure :)

One of the things we love the most is to run across new friends, even if we only spend a few minutes together knowing we may or may not cross paths again.  Carrie and Kamal...may you enjoy safe travels and good health :)

After the mountain pass we ended up in the Sky Ute Casino RV park.  It was a nice stop as we washed clothes and went into Durango.  A fast wash job at the gas station and fill-up on a propane bottle and we're ready to move on. 

After leaving the casino we traveled to Gooseneck SP in Utah.  We passed by and stopped at the 4 corners of AZ, CO, UT, and NM.  We were there 25 years ago with Wen's parents while traveling all around our wonderful country!

At the suggestion from our friend, Dwaine, we went for a Navajo Taco...kinda messy but VERY tasty!

After leaving 4 Corners we enjoyed the sights towards Mesa Verde and on to Gooseneck State Park in Utah.

We didn't stop at Mesa Verde as we've been there several times.

We are now at Goosenecks State Park, UT, close to the town of Mexican Hat, and I have a bazillion pictures for you in my next post :)

After we left Colorado Springs we went through Wolf Creek Pass at over 10,000 feet.  It was raining and snowing.  No trouble going up, but coming down was another story.  In order to "stay off the brakes" we had to shift down into first gear in areas to maintain 20 mph and 4000 rpm.  I still had to occasionally use them to maintain 4000. Thankfully we had 2 lanes so the speed demons could use the other lane.  All went well.

After the descent we came into this valley with such beautiful views :)

Stress relief ... Wolf Creek Pass in the side view mirror :)

We're now in Colorado Springs, CO, for just one night.  We're staying at a Cracker Barrel again.  We dined out at our first ever Red Robin.  The food was actually pretty good :)  This is a view from our trailer.  That's Pikes Peak in the background.  The 14,115 foot ascent will not be attempted this time!  We're currently at 6478 feet and I can tell you it had an affect on our 1/2 mile hike to Red Robin.