After seven days at the Minnesota State Fairground outside St Paul, we decided to spend a couple of days seeing the area so we took our shortest one day drive yet – 6 miles – to Lowry Grove RV Park. It has a good laundry, full hookups and apparent proximity to everything we want to see . It is otherwise over priced and the sites are small and difficult to access amidst the broken down seasonals and mobile homes.

Friday after setting up and doing laundry we set out to see the State Capitol in St Paul and the Cathedral just down the street. Both are very impressive and worth the stop, bring quarters to the Capitol as there is no place to get them and the meters take 6 for an hour, allow at least an hour for the tour. The parking at the Cathedral was free and depending on your interests it could take 30 minutes or as much more as your inclinations suggest.

Upon leaving the Cathedral at about 4:30 PM we decided that a good plan for the day was to drive to Mall of America in Bloomington, just south of Minneapolis, and take the light rail into the Nicolette Mall in Minneapolis and have dinner at a sidewalk cafe. The drive there was uneventful and Germaine got us there with no problems. We parked in the West lot only to discover that the train ran from the East lot. This enabled us to walk through the entire mall on the second level and get a good overview of a gigantic mall with a huge indoor amusement park in the middle. Amazing! We caught the train for $2 each for 6 hour tickets and wondered as it began to fill to bursting. Only after the third stop did we notice the many Twins shirts and realize that the stop two before ours was the Metrodome where the Twins play, yup it was a game night.

We finally got to Nicolette Mall and took a nice stroll before selecting Zelo’s as the place for dinner. It was a wonderful meal and when we finally got to look inside it turns out to be a very fancy restaurant as well as having fine food. Carol and I had noted during dinner that women going in to the restaurant were very well dressed in fancy outfits and high heels, unlike many others on the street. Following dinner we resumed our stroll and were drawn in by the sound of music, well some might call it music. It was Rock. Minneapolis celebrates summer with the Aquatennial (that is not a misspelling) and it includes loud music, beer and too much smoking of all sorts. The crowd was young and in a party mood. The characteristic that drew us closer to the stage, at the risk of our hearing was a Hammond B3 organ playing at the front of the group. Too much noise and echo to really enjoy it. We bailed out and headed for the train.

Oops, the game wasn’t over but the Twins had a 6 run lead and the fans were headed home. Another train filled to overflowing. By 10:15 or 10:30 we were in the car ready to get to Gee 2 and some sleep. It was not to be for some time. You must have read that a bridge over the Mississippi has fallen down, try to tell that to a Garmen Nuvi 350 GPS, it refused to understand and would not reroute us. Worse I35W Northbound was closed further south and we could not even reach the bridge that was open. We found ourselves on surface streets with no idea where we were. A gas station operator sent us back south to the Mall of America to start over by going east to I 35E to go north. The GPS did not like this and kept trying to turn us around, I kept hoping we would get to where the I35E route would be the more direct route. We reached that point finally only to find the road closed for weekend construction. Back to surface roads, at least by now we were on the east of the river as is the campground. No one we spoke to had any idea how to get anyplace without the Interstates and we could not trust the GPS as it also assumed the interstates were open. Finally, I put in the Fairgrounds as my destination, figuring that I had gotten to the campground from there once and I could do it again. ALMOST!! we ran into two more closed exits blocking our access to the campground. Another 3 miles out of the way and we finally pulled into Lowry Grove after 90 minutes of not having a clue of how to get there. I kissed the hood on Gee 2 and Carol cheered my finally getting us there.

Today has been clean up and relax so far. There is Raptor Center not far from here and other things to see that will not require the use of interstates. We do wonder what the Republicans are going going to do here in late summer when they overlap the State Fair and the road repair will not be finished. The locals are trying to see how far away they can get!

No plan for tomorrow, yet, but I think we will head for the north shore and ultimately, Duluth and over the top of the Great Lakes.

On July 7 we left Rochester for a summer adventure. The plan is to spend a week in St Paul, MN at the Fairgrounds with a few thousand other RVers making new friends and getting some things repaired and learning new and old things about the life style and the equipment we depend on. Then we will move north for some more experiences that are dependent on our own resources. Then we think we will drive over the top of the Great Lakes and return through Niagara Falls eventually, with a stop in Toronto and Hamilton to see family. Time will tell. After a ten day stop in Rochester we will head on down to Charlottesville for a reprise of Camp Goldberg. Yechiel and company are flying in to Dulles and meeting us all at Dan’s place where we will spend the week. They are responsible for planning the events.

But I get ahead of myself.

Our normal driving day is 6 hours or about 250 to 300 miles. On Monday we rolled out at 8:45 AM with no real objective other than to get past Toledo, OH. Somehow as we rolled through Toledo at 4:30 or so, it seemed too early to stop. There was plenty of daylight left and neither of us was road weary yet. So on we rolled. Eventually as we were approaching Elkhart, IN we decided enough is enough and I logged on to OvernightRVParking.com and determined there was a Wal Mart that permitted overnight parking just off the Interstate. While we were there I figured out that we were less than 6 miles form the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum. Click here for the site. How could we not stop there? After some minimal shopping and a good night’s sleep, we drove to the Museum for a visit. Admission was $6 each and we saw many historical RV’s starting with 1916 trailers and progressing through some stunning machines from the 30’s. There are also RVs from the 40’s through 70’s represented and of course several brand new models in an area labeled “Go RVing.” We tore ourselves away and rolled on down the road headed for Madison, WI to see Mimi (my cousin) some of Madison and to go kayaking on Lake Mendota. As we traveled we were in contact with several people including Janet and Bob Corin, fellow members of CHAI, our Jewish Chapter of FMCA. Since we were headed in together we agreed to meet in Madison and travel together to the Convention. We surprised ourselves, and Mimi, by arriving in Madison in mid afternoon. We had called ahead and told her to expect us and she invited us to dinner at her house for that evening. We reciprocated for the following night. Wow, Madison, WI about 800 miles in two days. It may not seem like a lot to many, but we seldom do two long days back to back and while the second day was about 300 miles, that included driving right through Chicago on I 90.

As we were driving to Mimi’s the Corins called to let us know that they too were running a day ahead and they were set up next to G 2 in the campground. We promised to drop in when we got back and continued on to dinner. We had a wonderful evening with Mimi and the vegetarian meal was wonderful.

We parted exhausted and looking forward to kayaking and dinner on the coach the next night. We spent some time with Janet and Bob when we got back and then we turned in. By now the cold I had left home with was starting to clear and Carol was coming down with it. Wednesday dawned clear and we took the Corins into Madison with us to tour the Capital see what else there was to see in that area. After the tour we met Mimi for lunch and then we went on to Olbrich Gardens, which had been highly recommended and then back to meet Mimi at the coach. She and I went kayaking for about an hour while Carol got the basics of dinner together. On our return it was getting dark and we buttoned up and settled in to dinner and conversation. Eventually it became time for even that to end and we said goodbye and started to square away for two more road days. Thursday to reach Fairchild, WI and a lovely campground called Briarcliff. At a roadside cheese store the staff suggested we listen to weather radio as the weather was getting dicey.

As we drove on the sky turned stormy and the winds began to blow. There were several rain squalls and plenty of thunder and lightening. We reached the park and settled in and prepared for an early departure on Friday to reach the fairgrounds before noon. The weather news was not comforting and there were no storm shelters near the campground. Not a really happy idea, either way. As we turned in we were slashed by a vicious storm and there was a second sometime in the middle of the night. The third started at 5 AM, at least that was when it reached a pitch to wake me, and battered us with high winds, blinding rain, nonstop lightening and hail for a couple of hours. At one point everything seemed to slow down and there was the sound of constant rolling thunder that went on and on. We have since been told that that is the sound of a tornado. Thank you, the next time I hear that I want the sound in digital from a very good speaker, but not live in person. By the time we began our breakfast the sky was clear and the fields were glistening with water in the sunlight. The Corins were ready to roll but had to listen to the endless screeching of an alarm triggered by a hydraulic problem with their leveling jacks, the jacks were properly stowed for travel but the sensor didn’t believe it. They rerouted to a dealership to get it fixed before entering the fairgrounds. Although we agreed to ask the parking crew to hold a space for them next to us, we both knew that it was unlikely they would do such a thing, the rules specifically says they may not. In the event, the way we are stacked there is no way for an interior coach to move in or out without moving several others to make room.

And here we are at the FMCA Convention in St Paul. Carol and I have already put in half our volunteer hours and by 1 PM Sunday we will have completed our task which is stand at the road side on a major route into the fairground with a big sign to welcome the arriving coaches. It seems like a small thing, but the arriving coaches sound their horns when they see us and the occupants smile and wave. It’s nice to make people smile and feel happy so the mechanical job that could be done with a sign board is much better done by a “late middle aged” couple who are part of the club.

For those who read to the bottom of the last post and expect us to be
headed for Alaska soon. We have had to postpone that trip yet again.
My mother's continued decline and frail condition does not permit us to
under take a trip where we will be out of communication for several days
at a time and unable to get back to Rochester in a couple of days once
we know we need to return.

We do plan to get out of Rochester in July and probably head north and
west. It remains to be seen when and where.

This is being posted on the blog as well as direct to all of you.

Paul

Well a week has passed since I last wrote in the journal. That week has been mostly Pesach here in Covesville in Hungrytown Hollow. We got in mid day on Friday in time for Carol to pitch in with Malena to prepare a lovely Sedar meal. Dan ran the Sedar, as he described it, at 78 RPM. This was to keep the boys interested and from falling asleep. After the meal there was the inevitable meltdown and we delayed the completion of the Sedar until they had gone to sleep. The next day they demanded that we finish the Sedar as they felt they had missed something. This resulted in a rather unusual meal as we did not do a complete Sedar, however after the repeat meal we did “finish” the Sedar for the boys still running at 78 RPM.

While here I have received the replacement part for the Tow Defender which had broken a second time and I have installed that part. I sure hope it holds together for a while now. I also pulled out the drawer I repaired earlier in the trip and redid the track so it is more level and square. It should be smoother than it has been now. Other than an expiring NYS Inspection I have no other service issues for the moment.

This weekend the 26^th and 27th we are taking off with the boys to a nearby Federal Campground for a Saturday night overnight in the coach. We have not told them the plan yet, but will probably set it up tonight over dinner. It should be fun for all of us and it will give Malena and Dan a 24 hour break that I am sure they can use. The weather has gone from hot and sunny on our arrival to chilly and gray and rainy and back to hot and sunny, so far. Carol and have taken several hikes, mostly in the neighborhood. Yesterday we went off to Ragged Mountain Natural Area right in Charlottesville and had an incredible 2 hour hike with a lot of elevation change (read that as several stiff long climbs) and lots of beautiful views. Dan tells us that most f the territory we hiked will be submerged by a new dam being built to increase the areas water reserves. A really significant loss to the area, but necessary nonetheless.

This will be either the last post or the next to last post of this trip. We will be in Rochester not later than May 2 as we have company coming to town and we need to catch up with Rochester before we head off to Alaska in June.

The last posting elicited a response from the Topfs who we last saw in January at Deer Creek in Florida, where they were wintering. At the time of their response they were in Jackson, MS headed for Memphis, TN. A quick look at the map showed that with a minor adjustment Memphis could be on our route. It took us a few minutes to decide that Land Between the Lakes, KY would be there another year, but the Topfs were heading our way now. We set out from Springfield, MO headed toward a campground in West Memphis, AR on the banks of the Mississippi. The rain and stms we had experienced and that had preceded us were playing havoc with the rivers and streams. As we drove we saw that everywhere we turned the water was over the banks, in some places seeming to threaten the highway itself. Many side roads were inundated and we saw parks and campgrounds ad lakeside houses all underwater. Soon we had a call from Shelley, the Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis was underwater and did not expect to reopen for three weeks. Shelley located a campground in T O Fuller State Park on the Tennessee side of the river that was above the floods. They went in there on Friday and we joned them eaerly Saturday having spent the previous night in a Wal Mart Parking lot in Jonesboro, AR. (actually, as I write, we are in a Wal Mart parking lot in Smithville, TN).

On our way into Memphis we realized, with my sister Sandy’s help, that my cousin Bob Levey teaches in Memphis during the week. A phone call and an email yielded contact and a date to have dinner together on Monday night. After some confusion, the restaurant Bob suggested is located on a back alley and is hard to locate for the uninitiated and it also is closed on Monday, we met in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel, the home of the trained lobby ducks. We had a drink there and then moved on to Club 61 for dinner and much more talking. We certainly have gotten together with many people in many different ways on this extended trip.

Tueday we waited for the FedEx package with the tax returns that needed to be signed and posted with the appropriate checks enclosed. Having dealt with that, we went back to Memphis to go to the Cotton Museum. This museum is located on the old Cotton Exchange trading floor which has been preserved as it was when the business faded away from a live exchange to traders sitting at computer terminals with even faster access to pricing and news. In the process we learned just how important cotton was and is to Memphis. This was the center of the cotton trade not just for the US but for the world in its time. That time was as recent as the 1960’s The coming of electronic communications moved the trading away from the street and government grading eliminated the jobs of many people who had graded and blended cotton before the standardization. Still much of the cotton trade is based in Memphis. Carol and I were both fascinated with the videos of the many characters giving their oral histories and the history of cotton, the blues and Memphis that is housed in that museum. Earlier we had taken a tour of the Sun Recording Studio which was the place that first recorded Elvis and Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins and Howlin’ Wolf and . . . well this list seems almost endless. The actual studio is as it was 40 years ago and the microphone that they all used for vocals is prominent in the studio.

Wednesday we left for the east and found ourselves, after heated debate, headed for Malena and Dan’s for Pesach. We had set out to drive a piece of the Natchez Trace Parkway again and so we did. Eventually we got off looking for a road to I 40 that did not go through Nashville. After many twists and a couple of wrong turns we found ourselves in Murfreesboro and on the road toward Smithville, not too much of an improvement, but at least in the right direction. Thus we find ourselves in the aforementioned Wal Mart which was in no database or book we had with us. But Carol’s sharp eyes spotted the sign hidden behind a tree and here we are. Now this Wal Mart store will soon be in the “Overnight RV Parking” database for other back road wanderers to locate and know they are welcome to spend the night.

I wrote last seven days and 1260 miles ago. We have added two more states to our map, Colorado and Kansas, and some wonderful time with friends. After leaving Moab, with a promise to ourselves to return, we drove to Simonne and Steve Shuey’s new house in Glade Park, CO. The nearest real town is Grand Junction. For those who do not trace our family, Simonne is Dan’s sister-in-law, or more pointedly, Malena’s sister. Dan described the house as being “on top of the Colorado National Monument.” I did not quite grasp the meaning until I got the directions to the house. From Grand Junction one takes the Monument Road eight miles and at least 2,000 feet up through the park to a turn out for Glade Park about a third of the way up. We had been warned that there was a low clearance tunnel that we ought to be able to negotiate, but we had our doubts. For the complete story on that read Carol’s piece “What a sight we must have been” at http://cgstudio.net/mim/ I cannot improve on her telling. We had a wonderful visit and finally got to know Steve and Simonne as individuals and not as part of a family mob. Don’t get me wrong, I love family mob time, but we had nice time with them and plenty of time to talk, ride and hike.

We kept asking ourselves, out loud even, what route will we take from here and where will we go next. I have been getting a bit itchy to get east, as we have only three weeks left in our planned outing and Carol wants to get further south to get warmer. I 70 did not seem to be a compromise so we set out on US 50. Thank you NPR! They have done two pieces on the election process interviewing people who live along this most central US highway that predates the Interstates by many years. We asked about the weather and whether the road was in good shape. We never got around to asking how it crosses the Rockies. The short answer is it climbs from 7000 feet to 11,000 feet in 7 miles and them come right back down. We crested the summit in a very low gear going about 28 mph, I had time to read the speedometer and check all my gages as the engine, for the first time I can remember, was starting to miss and it clearly was laboring from the climb and the altitude. The trip down was in the same low gear and not much faster. I did not want to lose control on the descent. We motored on into Canon, CO and found the Fort Gorge RV Park, not open, but willing to take our cash and provide electric and sewer, water not turned on yet. Having plenty of fresh water and a surplus of gray water the combination was perfect for us. We used our on board water supply and left with empty holding tanks in the morning.

While we were brooding over the route we kept staring at the maps as if they had the answer to what route we should take. We noted that Kansas City was “only” a couple of hundred miles out of the way and we had friends, Dianne and Marty Lustig, who we had not seen in many years and when last heard from were in Prairie Village, KS a suburb of Kansas City. A quick internet search revealed that a couple of that name still lived at the address and with the phone number Carol had in her paper address book. We waited until a seeming appropriate hour the next morning to call to see if they remembered us and wanted to see us. They did and they did. A review of the maps showed that continuing on US 50 no longer made sense so while Carol continued to drive east I reset the mapping software and found a route up to I 70. We crossed the rest of Colorado, the high plains, and half of Kansas that day. Enough said. We alternated drivers every two hours through four shifts and called it quits at a roadside RV park in Russell, KS, birthplace of Robert Dole and Arlen Spector.

The next day, found us stopped at an auto parts store looking for a replacement for the windshield wiper that had had enough sun, sand, salt and whatever and started to shred as we drove through the rain. Thirty minutes of fussing and finally cutting down an oversize replacement and we were underway, having noticed that our Tow Defender, which is supposed to protect the car, has broken in a new and different way. This is not a show stopper, but it is very annoying and I will be having words with the manufacturer soon. A $400 safety item should stand up to the normal abuse we dish out. If not, it is worth nothing.

We had a wonderful visit visit with the Lustigs and the five grandchildren they are helping take care of. As we know about grandchildren under our care there are two wonderful moments. Hello and Goodbye. Of course by the time they are 16 they are much easier to spend a lot of time with.

Our route out of Prairie Village has taken us south to Springfield, MO where we are camped in the yard of a large truck service company. They are authorized Allison service people and we are here to have the 50,000 mile service on the transmission done tomorrow. It is really hard to believe that we have pushed this wonderful coach over 50,000 miles already and we still have a couple thousand before we get home. On the way we passed through Butler, MO the birthplace of Robert Heinlein, one of the all time great science fiction authors. We skipped Lamar, the birthplace of Harry S Truman.

The drive to Boulder City, Nevada from Needles was uneventful, hardly memorable. We covered the 89 miles in under two hours and soon we were settled into Canyon Trails RV Park. A fairly nondescript RV park on the northern edge of Boulder City, not more than 11 miles from Hoover Dam and the entrance to the Lake Meade Recreation Area. Also about 20 miles from the Strip in Las Vegas. We are no fans of the Las Vegas night life on the strip, but the airport is close and there is at least one direct flight to Rochester a day at an almost reasonable fare.

After our arrival, we got in the car and headed for the historic part of Boulder City. It is a very nice shopping area and the buildings that were put up in the 30’s when the city was built to house the army of workers imported to build the dam have been preserved and cared for. Having exhausted the immediate shopping and gallery looking we drove on to the Lake Meade Recreational Area, thanking the government for the Golden Age Passport which grants free or 50% off access to the park land we own as citizens. $20 saved here and there does mount up. We found little to do in the time we had that day as I had to get back and prepare for my departure for Rochester. We did stop in the Boulder RV park for a look see. It says in the campground guides that the park cannot take coaches with slideout rooms. Indeed many of the older sites are too tight for our coach, but in the high priced area near the lake there are lovely new sites with plenty of room and there seemed to be many that were unoccupied. During our exploration we found the entrance to the old railroad tunnel trail that passes along the right of way that was built to service the construction of the dam. Carol got to hike that while I was in the frozen north.

I was in Rochester from Wednesday evening until late Friday afternoon. I spent most of my time with my mother as planned. I stopped in the office, just to see f they knew who I was, and I went o the Jewish Community Federation to hear Megillah read on Friday. Thursday night I took grandson Josh to see Mom and then to dinner with the Perlmans, Morgans and Rita Narang before the RPO Concert. This is getting to be a regular happening. Well two years in a row anyhow.

Back in Boulder City we have gone to see Blue Man Group at the Venetian and had dinner there. The show is fantastic. I had assumed that having seats in the balcony would exempt us from direct audience participation. I assumed wrong. One of the blue Men climbed to the balcony and handed me three pieces of candy (not real candy) to throw into his mouth from a distance. I did succeed with two which, after he raised my arm in victory, he promptly deposited back in my hand. This was all captured on camera for the entire audience to see on a big screen on stage. Before I could try to figure out what to do with the wet candy, an usher appeared to take them away and give me an alcohol swab to clean my hand.

The next day, Easter Sunday, we set out for Hoover Dam for the tour of everything that the public can see. Some areas had only been reopened to public tours last fall after the post September 11 panic and security shut down of everything the government could think of. I will include pictures of and from the interior in my next photo update. The total tour took over two hours including many items that you can just walk into with no ticket at all. We left the dam at about noon and the traffic was backed up all the way into Boulder City, some five miles. This included tourists wanting to see the dam and many people just wanting to get to the other side in Arizona. This is a direct route to Grand Canyon and used to also be a trucker route. Trucks are now banned on the dam and will be until the new bypass bridge is completed sometime in the next decade. The bypass is taking longer and costing more than the dam itself and I mean in adjusted dollars.

We stopped at a dam overlook and ate the lunch we had brought along and then drove out the Lake Meade access road to Las Vegas Bay Campground where we found a promised trail on the bluffs above the lake. It was a glorious 4 mile round trip hike with enough elevation change to let us know we had hiked. Monday we sort of sat around and caught up on mail and bills and other “stuff.” Late in the day we drove back to Lake Meade and hiked the Railroad Tunnels, me for the first time and Carol for the second. We did not go through to the dam as that was much steeper and we might not have made it back before sundown when the trail closes.

Tuesday morning we were up and about early and set off for Nevada Ste Park Valley of Fire. We had planned on camping at Overton Beach CG, but when we mentioned it to the ranger taking tolls (swiping National Parks Pass in our case) she said that although the maps were not updated there is no longer a campground at Overton Beach. We decided to stay at Echo Bay as it was the closest NP campground and we had no need of hookups for a one or two night stop. The first campground we came to seemed to be deserted so we went down the road a couple of hundred feet through a one lane construction zone to a much busier RV Park (note the change in terminology). There was a phone to call to register and a rather uppity young lady informed me I had to present myself at the hotel to register and besides there were no reservations available. We went back through the very narrow construction zone to the NP Campground which was very lovely and had plenty of room for our 36 foot motorhome, contrary to the listing that said 35 feet was the maximum. For $5 a night it was delightful, thank you all you underage taxpayers, we really do appreciate the benefits you are paying for us seniors. The fee for the young family across the road was $10, still a bargain. From there we drove the car up to Valley of Fire. The fire is apparent as you approach the park, the red sandstone walls stand up from the desert floor and their jagged tops look like flame. After 4 hours and two substantial hikes much of which were on deep sand, we were ready to have dinner, read a book and crawl into bed. We decided to head for Zion National Park the next day with a stop at the Overton Lost City Museum.

Resumed a week later:

WE got to our campground in Kannaraville, UT with no trouble other than the fact that Kannaraville is right next door to No Place. 45 miles from the entrance to Zion and 100 miles to Bryce. But for cheap is cheap. We paid in gasoline almost what we saved in campground fees, but we didn;t have to change campgrounds to see both parks. We spent a long day in Zion covering 12 miles of hiking in three different hikes and seeing the entire shuttle circuit. We also drove though the Zion Carmel Tunnel and took the hike up the far side of the canyon wall to look down in from yet another viewpoint. The next day I was quite ill with a cold, but we elected to press on to Bryce with Carol driving. We did the entire loop but no hikes. At 9,000 feet it was quite cold and icy and I did not have much energy. The next day, after doing laundry and some other chores we got a latish start and returned to Zion to undertake the Hidden Canyon hike. The hike to the mouth of the canyon is about 2 miles with a 900 foot altitude gain. I was recovered enough from my cold to enjoy the hike and the additional mile or so in and out of the canyon on an unimproved trail.

In case you notice that I am not raving about the views, please understand that too much eye candy leaves one unable to continue to express awe at the beauty of this part of the country. Our pictures, which will poste soon, are wonderful, but they are not much different from what you can see by going on the web and searching on the parks. We did not go off to places where no one goes, there is no such place. We saw what the active involved tourist sees and we have exclaimed WOW and similar words many times over. After four days, we moved on to Arches and Canyonland where I sit writing tonight. It is not tht I have not had what to write, but it feels like we have been on vacation and have been so busy sight seeing that I have had little time to compose my thought.
The trip to Moab, the center for all things Arches, Canyonlands, Deadhorse Point SP and any outdoor activity you might consider was uneventful, if you ignore the repeated WOWs as we entered this magnificent section of the Grand Staircase. The short story is that we have hiked in Arches and will take a ranger guided hike in the morning. We have been in touching range of Delicate Arch which is the iconic arch of this area. We took the car on a jeep trail that was rated easy and found out that easy was beyond the vehicles capability, fortunately before incurring any damage. I will not comment on the driver’s capability. We continued on Jeep Roads (note the difference between Roads and Trails) for many miles and saw a lot of out back countryside. I never knew there were two features called Monitor and Merrimac and they are next to each other and we both thought that was what they should be called before looking at the map to see what they were.

After that taste of 4x4ing or as they say around here Jeeping, we asked for the name of a reputable jeep guide and we were lead to Dan Mick by the Visitor Center person we spoke with. Dan is a wonderful character. We spent four hours in his bright red Rubicon Unlimited (the last one off the assembly line he assured us). His web site is DanMick.com and a view of Dan driving the Rubicon up Hell’s Gate which we did with him can be found on youtube He regaled us with stories of rescues and road closures by BLM and people doing stupid things getting themselves in trouble in the backcountry and he told jokes and filled us in on the geology and plant and animal life of the region all while guiding the car effortlessly through some of the most amazing obstacles I can imagine. One experience, the Belly Button. It is a hole in the rock with the bottom just a bit bigger than the car. I cannot begin to describe the walls, suffice it to say that I would not attempt to climb down them without a rope and they are bare slickrock. He descended one side of the hole and we sat and talked at the bottom for a while. I could not have climbed out by standing on the roof the car did not have. After tellilng a story about a previous trip to the bottom, Dan restarted the engine and engaged four wheel lockup in low range low and walked the car up the far wall and out onto the surface. I was leaning so far back in may seat that I could not reach the dashboard. This was only one of the many obstacles Dan handled without stopping the flow of chatter. We did have a blast and I learned a lot about extreme car handling.

To cap off the day we took the RAV4 and found a couple of way back roads some paved and some not to explore on our own with Dan’s guidance as to what we ought to be able to handle safely.

I will post this now and try to get caught up and get my picture posting to work too.

Before turning in on Saturday night we pulled in the living room slide because the wind was tearing at the topper awning (there is an awning that extends over the top of the slide out room to keep dirt and wet off of it). It is fixed to the slide out so the only way to retract the awning is to pull in the room. This makes the interior even more cozy than normal while camped. Sunday morning was bright windy and cool. We drove the 16 miles to Mitchell Caverns and bought our tickets for the 10 AM tour. This entails a mile and half hike, including the caverns and the views as we climbed to the cave entrance were wonderful. The entrance is called the eyes of the mountain. Both Carol and I thought it looked more like the nostrils.

We returned to Gee 2 for lunch and to decide what to do with the rest of the day. There was no vote for sitting still and listening to the wind. We had heard about a lava tube that it was possible to climb into and explore so that became our objective. This lava tube was formed when the lava flows from the volcano stopped and the remaining hot lava flowed out of the tube leaving behind an empty shell of cooler solidified lava (this is NOT a scientific explanation which would take a textbook). This area of the Mojave has 34 cinder cones the most recent of which is a very young 10,000 years old. The area is not an “improved” visitor site and thus there are no signs. The directions, in part, are after you find the unmarked turnoff from the highway proceed 4.8 miles up an unmaintained dirt track past the corral with the water tank. At the second corral bear left then look for a wide spot to park and follow the beaten path (over cinders) to a hole in the ground, actually the second hole is the entrance. Amazingly we found the way to the entrance and climbed down into the tube to marvel once again at the power of nature. To see pictures click here.

By this point we had done a lot of driving and the gas gage was getting below half. In the desert this is not a good idea and we were “only” 25 miles from the nearest gas station in Baker, CA. Baker is primarily a line of gas stations and road food joints off I 15. We bought gasoline at an exorbitant $3.799. The next day we filled the motorhome tank at $4.179, now I know how to spell gouge. The price was less further from the highway, but still over $4.00. Returning to Gee 2 cost almost ¼ of that new tank of gas.

The forecast was not improving. We were expecting snow above 4,500 feet (campground is at 4,200) and high winds to continue or get worse. For a third night we pulled in the living room slide and turned in to the sound of howling winds and the coach rocking as the gusts battered us. In the morning the ground was covered with something white! We are 3,000 miles from Rochester and the snow has found us! Since we had nothing loose outside, getting ready to leave was a simple as putting the bikes back on the car and stowing the rug under our entrance (held in place with a large rock). Instead of two more nights in in the high desert we headed for Needles, CA and a civilized campground with water, sewer and electric hookups and maybe as important access to NPR for news. The Needles KOA was actually no more pricey than its neighbors and it offered shaded sites. Here we are.

We have already driven to Oatman, AZ which is on the historic alignment of Route 66 and is a line up of more tourist trap shops than even Gruen, TX. It also features many wild burros wandering the streets looking for handouts. The burros are descendants of the miner’s burros from the gold fever days. This town was the center of the Gold Highway and was a movie site in How the West was Won. Now it is a large tourist shop that closes up at 5 PM. There is no place to stay and the food options are road food lunch at best.

Tomorrow we move to Boulder City, NV another short road day, so I can fly to Rochester on Wednesday and return on Friday night.

We actually stayed on in LA until the morning of the 13th. We reached
the point that the air traffic faded into the distance and the only
noise that disturbed our sleep was an unmuffled (broken muffler?)
motorhome starting up at 4:30 AM to get an early start on the freeways
two slots over from us. We had planned to go to Santa Barbara and then
swing east to get to Las Vegas where I am catching a flight to
Rochester next week. Plans do require planning and as a RVer I have
failed planning several times. There is no space on the beaches near
Santa Barbara that will hold our not so gigantic 36 foot motorhome this
week. It appears that Californians plan months in advance for these
beach sites. We are not interested in a large, expensive inland RV park
with too many amenities and not enough easy access to the sites we want
to see.

This brings us to our present location, Hole-in-the-Wall Campground in
the Mojave National Preserve. This also brings us to our next set of
adventures. Having determined the destination we selected a route.
This route too in three Freeways in LA; the 105, the 605, and the 210
and finally on to the 15 (note as usual in California the use of the
definite article THE to describe these freeways). I had failed to read
the directions for access to Hole-in-the-Wall Campground carefully. WE
knew we did not want the Midhills Campground because the website said
that the road was not suitable for RVs. The route I chose went past
Midhills Campground, the long and hard way. Instead of paved road all
the way from I 40 we found ourselves on poorly paved road for 30 miles
or more from I 15 and the pavement stopped with 16 miles to go. Unpaved
roads are not necessarily bad, these were. The washboard in places was
six inches deep. Try to drive a 22,000 pound coach over this washboard
with the entire suspension floating. We drifted back and forth over the
road while taking and merciless pounding. In the end we had a yogurt
shake in the refrigerator, which was a miracle since we had dumped the
pickle juice in there at the previous stop, I hate to think of a pickle
juice and yogurt shake. One piece of molding came adrift in the rear
lavatory which was easily fixed with an application of glue. Our nerves
required some soothing too which was a applied at Happy Hour at new
found friend Bob and Nita Harvey’s fifth wheel just across from us.

I will not try to describe this Preserve in detail. The campground is
at 4,100 feet. We are on a plain surrounded by ridges and mountains.
The winds have been gusting to 60 mph and the temps have dropped from
the 80’s when we arrived to the 50’s. This is the desert, sun warmed by
day and chilly as soon as the sun descends. The sky is clear and the
only light pollution is from our few coaches in this small campground.
Oh it is QUIET. The only sound is the wind. I woke up several times
last night wondering where the planes were. There is no traffic, the
nearest highway is 30 miles away over the mountains. Amazingly there is
cell phone service and internet connection via cell phone is fine. I
will post some pictures soon to give you an idea of what we see out our
windows.

Today we took a hike and a drive. The hike is called “The R ings”. It
is a mile circle around the butte that is near the campground. Going
clockwise it ends in a canyon with an ascent up a slot to reach the
picnic area for return to the visitor center or the campground. This
ascent is so steep and forbidding without technical equipment that the
rangers have set large pitons with 6 inch diameter rings in them to
enable the those of us who lack technical ability and equipment to
complete the hike. These rings make the ascent merely difficult as
opposed to life threatening. We felt entitled to lunch after completing
the circuit. The drive was less challenging. We went looking for
Desert Turtles, we are still looking. Then we went to Kelso Depot,
still in the Preserve. If there is a train buff reading this Kelso
should ring a bell for you. It is at the base of the longest 2 ½
percent grade on the Union Pacific line. In the days of steam it served
as a base for the helper engines that would connect to freight trains
east bound up the grade to Cima 20 miles and 2,000 feet higher. It was
a company town and was almost completely dismantled in the late forties
with the switch to diesel electric. The depot was saved and as been
restored as a museum. It is a wonderful building and an excellent museum.

Tomorrow we expect to go to Mitchell Caverns and then take it easy until
the ranger talk in the early evening. The wind storm continues to blow
around us and there are advisories that suggest we are best off staying
put for another day or two.

After ten days on strict water conservation and limited use of electric
(batteries and four to five hours a day of generator time) in the desert
we set out for Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio, CA. We were looking
forward to spending time with the Hoggs who are members of the Western
Horizon Club which owns the resort. Our price for the four nights was
to sit in on a ninety minute sales pitch to join the system. Things
were not quite as we expected. The resort is very nice, but has some
limitations. After our time in the desert we did not want to be on a
site with no sewer connection, free flowing use of water is a primary
luxury, it was not to be. A third of their sites have no sewer, Indio
wanted too much money. I want a sewer! The sales pitch was over
bearing and the presumed close was a bit over the top. When we finally
said NO! The response was "you can't even ask to join for four years!"
Right, and they won't take my money if I decide to buy next month, which
I won't! And they forgot that their own documents say two years. Stuff
and nonsense!

OTOH (internet speak for On the other hand) the pool was delightful the
showers in the restrooms were clean and pleasant and the rest of the
people were very friendly. We had happy hour with Pat and Bob and Bob's
nephew Drew and his wife Carol a couple of times and went out to dinner
with them as well. We also went together to the Living Desert Museum
which is well worth the trip. We went expecting to spend a couple of
hours and were there almost five hours.

The four days flew by and we were soon on our way into the inferno of
Los Angeles traffic. Fortunately it was mid day on a Sunday so traffic
was only just a bit greater than Rochester at its worst. We drove
directly to Dockweiler RV Park just off the departure end of the LAX
runways. The din of the planes is so regular that it has already
subsided into the background. Miriam, Yechiel and the boys arrived
about an hour after we got here and we played together in the coach and
on the beach most of the afternoon. Yechiel and I took bike rides with
Avtalyon and by ourselves. What a delight. After that I got out one of
my kites and took it on to the beach with Miriam and the boys to have a
kite fly for a few minutes. The breeze was strong and steady and the
kite leapt into the air. Unfortunately this was beyond the capability
of the boys to hold, so I kept the reel and let them tug on the line.
They also assisted when it was time to go, by walking the kite down to
the ground (I held the reel and they went hand-over-hand up the line to
pull the kite down out of the air). It did not want to land. After
dinner in their neighborhood and bedtime activities, we returned to the
coach and got a good nights sleep despite the air traffic, which neither
of us heard.

Enough details of our visit. We will be here at least until the 10th
and I will not provide any more hour by hour descriptions unless
something of importance or humor happens.