Advice for the Traveler

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ Advice for the potential traveler: Especially those of you who have the idea of traveling with children. . . . and a dog. . . . in an RV. . . . for a long time. From August 2nd, 2008 to November 18th we were on a Voyage of Discovery, as our family of four (five, including the beloved dog) experienced America by more or less circumnavigating our nation in our 36 ft. Fleetwood Discovery Motorhome (affectionately called "LaFawnduh" by the girls). As she moved around the country she pulled along our Jeep Wrangler (known as "Kip" by the girls). We amassed 12,945 miles in the Motorhome and 6,560 miles in the Jeep. This blog, and all of its posts more or less are a journal of the trip. As the girls completed their homework, and as Connie prepared our meals, I made the daily blog entry (not always, but as often as possible). We were fortunate to have experienced this trip and we would most definitely do it again if possible. Our family was close before we left, and as 9 year old Audrey puts it, the trip made us all "bond". Audrey especially, gained a great deal of self confidence during her time on the road. The trip enriched all of us as it broadened our perspective on our fellow Americans and gave us a greater appreciation for its beautiful scenery; especially the lands set aside for us as our National Parks. During our travel around the nation Hannah was 11, Audrey was 9. Folks, that age was PERFECT. I can’t imagine things going better than what they did. We began planning the trip five years ago and we waited until now so that: 1.) Audrey would be old enough to have lifelong memories, and 2.) We recognized that as wonderful of a person that Hannah is, she will become a teenager who given the opportunity to travel as we did will be more likely to say, “No way!” So, for us, we saw a narrow window of opportunity in which to make the journey and for YEARS we budgeted for the upcoming trip. Now, for the advice: First and foremost: GO! Sure, it’s not cheap but if you start planning for it and saving for it, then the trip is very much doable. Cost of fuel for the trip: A lot. Cost of admission for all of the places you’ll visit: A ton. Chance to give your children a trip of a lifetime; One that they will remember and talk about for decades to come: Priceless. Now for some real advice: 1. Be flexible. I learned this early in the trip and when I did the day was much more enjoyable. 2. Establish a routine. Even though it is important to be flexible, routines are predictable and comforting. Even the morning routine of tossing the ball for the dog was something that I looked forward to. 3. The unexpected happens. Most trips are going to include traveling during the road construction months. So, there will be road construction delays; and weather delays; and delays caused by accidents on the road (hopefully not your own). 4. An air card, or Wi-Fi at the least, is a great tool to check on the above and adapt to it. By going to the various state Department of Transportation websites you can see where and when there are construction projects. This allows you to plan an alternate route instead. You can also check with NOAA’s National Weather Site and see where there are thunderstorms, high wind warnings, hailstorms, etc. The NOAA site was ALWAYS right. 5. Try to make as few reservations as possible. Now, this can be a challenge if you’re going to New England in the autumn, or Disneyworld, or any amusement park in August, but try to allow for as much time between the reservations as possible. Because there are going to be many, many, many unexpected treasures along the way. Places where you will wish you had more time to explore. But, if you have a reservation tomorrow, you will need to move on. 6. Unless you are fortunate enough to be retired and traveling, you will undoubtedly be on a time schedule. For us, both Con and I needed to return to work, and the girls wanted to get back to their friends and routine at school. So the challenge of the trip was balancing the finite time allotted for the trip with the multitude of things that you want to fill your days with. For us, it was as if eating a holiday meal. Our eyes were simply bigger than our stomachs. We tried to do too much and that only led to long days, no breaks, and ultimately increased stress levels for all. The kids faired far better than Mom and Dad did. the later were generally speaking, exhausted. So, the bottom line is to make sure that you have in your schedule the needed breaks from traveling and doing, doing, doing, going, going, going. 7. This one is directly related to number 6, but bears separate mention: As you travel you will want to spend time with beloved family and friends along the way. When you do, they will undoubtedly want to “treat you” to a good time. That means that time that you had hoped to relax, and hang out, and visit, is now spent on the move perhaps from sunup to sundown. You’ll be exhausted. Make sure that your loved ones know that you’re looking forward to just spending time with them. So, somehow budget time to be "down time". Call them flex days, call them hang out days, call them whatever you want, but just have them. You will NEED to have "Hang out on the beach times". Less time in going places and seeing things (do that as well) but also time to RELAX. Yep, pretty much a repeat of number six, but again worth repeating since folks, it is important. Remember to simply sit and sip that Sweet Iced Tea beneath of the shade of the Maple trees. 8. Keep long travel days to a minimum, or not at all. When we started out a day with a drive of 350 miles ahead of us, after an hour of driving we realized that we still had 290 miles to go. This meant that all of the passengers and the driver were not looking forward to the remaining miles; but, if instead we started out the day with an attitude of, “We’ll go as far as we want and then we’ll stop.” That day went by at a much more relaxed pace. The 11 year old in our group made that observation and she was right. Our three longest travel days turned out to be three of our least stressful since they were days when we just went as far as we wanted and then stopped. 9. Recognize at the onset that no matter how long your trip is, it is not going to be long enough. There will still be many days where you have to choose one thing at the expense of not doing another. 10. No matter how much you love one another you will still need some “away” time. Our RV is 8 ft wide by 36 ft long. That's on the outside, for on the inside it is filled with a lot of "stuff". We had two adults and two children and a dog in that space for 110 consecutive days. I looked forward to my morning jog or my hikes with the dog; Con looked forward to going to the grocery store or going to the laundry alone simply because she was able to be away from the “gang”. At the Laundromat she was able to read a good book without interruptions. 11. Not necessarily a good thing that we did: We dove right in. Meaning, we had never went on a comparable RV trip ever before. Or, even anything close to it. So, there were a lot of "unknowns" and "learning" to be done. Unfortunately this learning happened along the way. With 20/20 hindsight now, perhaps it would have been better to have been more familiar with RV'ing before we had left instead of learning as we went. For instance, our Class "A" motor home had a lot of storage space, so we originally filled the space up as a good boy scout would who wanted to be prepared; but as the trip drew nearer and fuel prices continued to climb, I thought as a backpacker would, I downsized and lightened the load. I didn't want to haul stuff around for 10,000 plus miles if I didn't have to. I thought of the mountain passes that LaFawnduh would have to climb and I thought that she needed to go on a diet. Well, guess what, I wished I had the stuff. The bicycles, the wetsuits, the motorcycle, the in-line skates, etc. LaFawnduh is the first diesel powered vehicle that Con and I have ever owned. We didn't trust that she would be able to haul all of the weight around, but as it turned out she was a torque monster. She did just fine. Heck, she did exceptionally well. Just some food for thought. 12. If your dog is a Labrador Retriever, and if she has the personality that ours has, by all means, take him or her along. In all of our travels our dog did not make a mess, or get motion sickness, or bark inappropriately. She was a breath of fresh air (and sometimes a breath of not so fresh air) that never once complained; even when we had left her alone for hours on end. She never griped during the four days that we left her at a kennel (three days at Disneyworld and once in Key Largo). The kids snuggled with her and her presence was very much a calming factor for the hours on the road. At the campsites, whenever somebody came to the door, she barked, and that is a good thing when you are with your loved ones at some strange and unknown location. 13. Purchase the annual National Park Service pass, aptly named "America the Beautiful-The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass." During our trip, the card paid for itself at least four times over. 14. Now this one is pure opinion. There are a lot of different opinions as to "how to travel" and having made this trip we would definitely do it in the same manner. In a Class "A" motorhome. Perhaps the only better way to see America would be from a helicopter, but that wouldn't have been as intimate. In the motorhome, if you were fortunate enough to have been in the front seats (passenger seat preferable) the view is as if looking out a picture window. The view is broad and your vantage height above the roadway provides a view of America that is unbeatable. As we moved around the nation the kids and Mom made trips to the potty, and often times prepared lunches on the go. There were times that the only time the RV stopped was for the driver to make a potty break. At that time, the dog was taken out by Mom or the girls. While moving around the nation the girls were able to do homework, read books, listen to music and audio books from the comfort of their "lounge" seats. They napped easily and never once suffered from motion sickness. Now, that is in comparison to Hannah who generally suffers from motion sickness within twenty miles of riding in a car (even her Mom's comfortable Denali). It was Hannah's motion sickness that made us consider getting a motorhome in the first place. We were all prepared to make the trip pulling our 30 ft. Airstream Excella trailer, except for Hannah's motion sickness. Her motion sickness was becoming the deal breaker in making this trip. Hannah claims that the openness of the RV prevents her from feeling ill. Folks if she couldn't travel without motion sickness, this trip would have never happened in the first place. 15. And related to 14, with the Diesel motorhome it was a piece of cake to pull a dinghy. For us the Jeep Wrangler 4-door which had ample room for the four of us plus the dog, extra clothes, picnic lunches, camera gear, etc. We were simply aware of where we were driving into, and never once had to disconnect the dinghy from the RV because we had gotten into a "tight" spot where we needed to back out of. Generally, as we pulled into the campground for the evening Con would go inside to register and I would disconnect the Jeep. When Con returned the Jeep was idling and ready for her to lead the way to the campsite (Related to Number 2, establish a routine). 16. My friend, Mike Hunton suggests a pre-flight checklist. I didn't do this, because I never was able to complete a finished product. All of mine were simply drafts. Mike's checklist is laminated and is something that you do step by step before pulling away (he is a trailer hauler, but that works for him just fine). With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, had I completed and followed a checklist the RV steps wouldn't have needed replaced, the refrigerator cover would still be the one that came with the RV, and we wouldn't have had that near miss as we were pulling out of Scussett Beach, Massachusetts. Fortunately for us, the Methners called us on the cell phone and said, "Hey, your antenna is still up". There will probably be more things that come to mind, so I’ll add them as they do. . . . Keep safe. Have fun. And by all means, GO!!!!!!!!!!

Our Experiences

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ Our Experiences during the 2008 Corps of Discovery journey of exploration August 2008 1. North Cascades of Washington State 2. Post Falls, Idaho 3. Silverwood Amusement Park 4. Sunshine Mining Memorial, near Kellogg, Idaho 5. Bitterroot Mountains of the Northern Rockies 6. Visiting with our friend, Kelly Chadwick 7. Missoula Smokejumper Center 8. University of Montana 9. Crossed the Continental Divide 10. Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman 11. Gallatin Valley 12. West Yellowstone 13. Yellowstone National Park and the hail storm 14. RV Step Accident at East Entrance to Yellowstone NP 15. Cody, Wyoming 16. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Museum 17. Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming 18. Pole Vaulting with the RV 19. Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming 20. Spearfish, SD 21. Black Hills of South Dakota 22. Mt. Rushmore 23. Crazy Horse Monument 24. Sturgis, SD 25. Badlands National Park, South Dakota 26. Great Plains 27. Wall Drug Store, South Dakota 28. Mitchell, SD Corn Palace 29. Minnesota and the Mississippi River 30. Southern Wisconsin Farmland 31. Wisconsin Dells 32. Boat Tour along the Wisconsin River 33. Duck Ride into the Wisconsin River 34. Noah’s Ark Water Park, Wisconsin Dells 35. Illinois 36. Visiting with Bill & Sharon and Family in Danville 37. Indiana, 2-lane roads, Lafayette, Logansport, South Bend 38. Purdue University 39. Notre Dame University 40. Amish Country of NE Indiana 41. Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, Ohio 42. Lake Erie 43. Upper New York State 44. Niagara Falls 45. Utica, NY 46. Adirondack Mountains 47. Fort Ticonderoga 48. Fair Haven, Vermont was the Nicest truck stop of the trip 49. Saratoga National Cemetery 50. Saratoga Revolutionary War Battlefield 51. Queechee, VT September, 2008 52. Woodstock, VT 53. Vermont Country Store 54. Billings Farm National Historic Site 55. Maine, Lobster and Lighthouses 56. Manchester, New Hampshire 57. Foxboro, Massachusetts, Normandy Farms, Nicest RV Park of the Trip 58. Boston’s Wompatuck State Park, Hurricane Hannah 59. Boston’s Freedom Trail 60. Visiting with Charlotte Krentzell 61. Visiting with Ingrid Bartonique 62. Scussett State Park, Cape Cod, Massachusetts 63. Swimming in the Atlantic Ocean 64. Pilgrims Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts 65. Mayflower II, Plymouth, Massachusetts 66. Woods Hole Marine Institute 67. Exploring Cape Cod 68. Putt-Putt Golf in Yarmouth, Massachusetts 69. New Bedford, Massachusetts 70. Fisherman’s Memorial State Park, Rhode Island 71. Whaling Museum 72. Ancestor Elkanah Johnson Gravesite, Coventry, Connecticut 73. Mystic Seaport, Connecticut 74. Aces High Campground, Easy Lyme, Connecticut 75. New London, Connecticut 76. United States Coast Guard Academy 77. National Submarine Museum in New London, CT 78. Driving through Connecticut and New York City in the RV 79. Camping at Liberty Harbor RV Park, Jersey City, NJ 80. Ellis Island 81. Statue Of Liberty 82. Manhattan, New York City 83. Driving through NJ, PA, DEL, MD on the way to Gettysburg, PA 84. Gettysburg National Civil War Battlefield 85. Site of Green Little’s death at the Unfinished Railroad Cut 86. Gettysburg Battlefield Museum 87. Eisenhower Farm 88. Gettysburg KOA, best KOA of the RV Trip 89. Driving through Maryland, into West Virginia 90. Staying with Uncle Lester and Aunt Betty Sue at the Filicsky Bed & Breakfast 91. Church with Aunt Betty Sue in Bridgeport, WV 92. Stonewall Jackson’s Boyhood Home at Jackson’s Mill, WV 93. Touring WV and Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park 94. Philippi Bridge 95. Driving through the New River Gorge 96. Staunton, Virginia and driving through the Shenandoah Mountains 97. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s Home 98. Chancellorsville Civil War Battlefield 99. The Wilderness Civil War Battlefield 100. Camping at Westmoreland State Park, Virginia 101. Touring Washington, DC & Rain 102. National Marine Corps Museum and MCB Quantico 103. Robert E. Lee’s Childhood Home 104. George Washington’s Birthplace 105. Driving through Virginia into NC, staying in our first motel of the trip in Creedmoor October, 2008 106. Staying with Cousin Jim and Pat Little in Thomasville, NC 107. Church with the Little’s in Thomasville, NC 108. Little Family Reunion 109. Toured the Piedmont Region of North Carolina 110. Little Family Heritage 111. Alamance Battlefield 112. Friends Churches and Burial Grounds 113. Asheboro’s North Carolina Zoo and Rain 114. Old Salem 115. Moravian Church in Old Salem 116. Siler City, NC 117. Mt. Pilot, NC 118. Battleship North Carolina 119. Myrtle Beach, SC and the Beach 120. Ripley’s Aquarium 121. Putt-Putt Golf in Myrtle Beach 122. Camping at Pirate’s Land Family Campground (on the beach) 123. Charleston, South Carolina 124. Camping at James Island County Park, the second best public campground of the trip 125. Touring Old Charleston 126. Fort Sumter, Site of the Opening Shots of the Civil War 127. Travel though Georgia 128. Saint Augustine, Florida 129. Castillo de San Marcus 130. Old Saint Augustine and the Best Pizza of the Trip (Pizzalley’s) 131. Driving along the Atlantic Coast of Florida to Key Largo 132. Camping at John Pennekamp State Park, Third Best Public Campground of the Trip 133. Snorkeling at the Park 134. Dive Boat Snorkeling Trip to Reef 135. Swimming with the Dolphins. Audrey’s Personal Highlight of the Trip 136. Everglades National Park 137. Driving through Southern Florida to Naples on the Gulf Coast 138. Alligator Tour on Air Boat 139. Driving through Central Florida, Polk City 140. Fantasy of Flight Air Museum 141. Titusville KOA on the Atlantic Coast 142. Kennedy Space Center 143. Orlando, Disney World’s Fort Wilderness 144. Disney World 145. Crystal River, Florida 146. Homosassa Springs State Park and Manatees 147. Driving through northwest Florida 148. Pensacola, Florida camping at Big Lagoon State Park 149. Pensacola Naval Air Station 150. Museum of Naval Aviation 151. Driving through cotton fields of Alabama, Mississippi’s Gulf Coast into Louisiana 152. Touring New Orleans 153. Audubon Aquarium of New Orleans 154. Hurricane Damage in New Orleans Area 155. Cajun Culture & Food 156. Driving through Louisiana and Eastern Texas 157. San Antonio, Texas and Halloween in Boernie, Texas 158. The Alamo 159. The water cruise through San Antonio November, 2008 160. Driving through Western Texas 161. Carlsbad, NM 162. Carlsbad Caverns National Monument 163. Trinity Site 164. Very Large Array 165. Crossed the Continental Divide Westbound 166. Lyman Lake State Park, Arizona, best public campground of trip 167. Petrified Forest National Park 168. Painted Desert 169. Highway 66 170. High Winds along I-40 causing most harrowing driving of trip 171. Flagstaff, Arizona 172. Grand Canyon National Park 173. Monument Valley, Utah 174. Arches National Park 175. Canyonlands National Park 176. Islands in the Sky 177. Jeeping in the high desert 178. Dinosaur Tracks 179. Dinosaur Bones 180. Petroglyphs 181. Hiking to Delicate Arch 182. Hiking in the Fiery Furnace 183. Winter driving in Utah 184. Bonneville Salt Flats 185. Nevada and Casinos 186. Driving in the High Desert of Northern Nevada 187. More Wind in Nevada’s high desert 188. Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge with Burros 189. Southeastern Oregon, canyons, forests, and geysers 190. Bly, Oregon and the Fuel Stop with Chickens 191. Crater Lake National Park 192. Central Oregon Rogue & Umpqua Rivers and Canyons 193. Portland and the RV Levellers going Kaput 194. Columbia River Waterfalls 195. Great Wolf Lodge, Grand Mound, Washington

Back in Washington State

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ November 21st, Friday: Re-Entry, or, back in Port Angeles and things are much the same as before we left. But, that isn’t such a bad thing. We have been unloading LaFawnduh, cleaning her, and putting her cover on for her winter nap. It is incredible to think of how long we spent in her and how far she took us with nary a hiccup. 12,945 Miles in LaFawnduh, 6,560 Miles in Kip, countless miles with Uncle Lester & Cousin Jim. Con has been in touch with the girl’s teachers and Principal Hayman and the girls are now catching up on Math before re-entering school on December 1st (which happens to be the first day of the new trimester). December 1st is also the first day that Con returns to work (Mondays and Wednesdays at the Hospital). The girls are very anxious to be back with their friends. Audrey is playing her violin. Hannah is playing her piano with zeal. Now we all speak of the trip with gratitude and with a smile on our faces. Strangely, after all of our travels, and contacts with thousands of people, on the second day home Hannah came down with a fever and flu. She said, “Sure is a good thing that we’re home, I wouldn’t have wanted to be sick in the RV”. I go back to work on Tuesday, November 25th. I’m looking forward to being with my friends and colleagues but I’m not looking forward to having to get up in the middle of the night when the pager goes off. Yesterday as I was unloading LaFawnduh I had left the door open. Cocoa was her normal self being my shadow as I moved between the RV and home. She had free run of the place and I thought she would take the opportunity to be in her own comfortable bed, located in our bedroom. But, Cocoa was reluctant to leave her blanket on the couch in LaFawnduh. It had been her home for almost four months and apparently in her mind, LaFawnduh had become nothing more than Cocoa’s own, personal dog house. As I write this I haven’t even ventured away from home yet. It's nice simply to be home. Con’s done the grocery shopping, dealt with the mail, car tabs, etc., while I have enjoyed simply being at home. Since coming home I’ve smiled as I’ve watched a bald eagle, a peregrine falcon, The King (those of you who have been here will know who I’m referring to), and the Coast Guard drilling near the home (helicopter and boat), P-3’s are flying overhead, and a carrier was out in the Strait today (I couldn’t tell which one it was as I couldn’t make out the number from the roof (I was de-mossing and cleaning out the gutters at the time)). To make up for the lost time of being away from The King I gave him a can of tuna. He was appreciative but I could tell he was a little disappointed that we had abandoned him for so long. I am mostly overwhelmed with thankfulness. Thankfulness for the trip of a lifetime; for being able to experience it with my wife, and my two kids. The kids with their nine and eleven year old perspectives making it far more worthwhile than if it were only Con and I on the journey. Thankfulness for having seen many of my beloved family and friends and making new friends along the way. Thankfulness to be back in Port Angeles amongst my friends and natural beauty here. Thankfulness for those who helped us prepare for the journey. Kudos to Mobuilt RV Repair in Port Angeles, and to Eric’s in Sequim, for readying both LaFawnduh and Kip for the ‘round the country journey. Gratitude to Fleetwood, Cummins Diesel, Freightliner, and Allison Transmission for putting together such a dependable product as LaFawnduh. Thanks to our friend Brian S. at Les Schwab Tires in PA for personally mounting the new tires on LaFawnduh the week before the trip. It was incredibly reassuring to know that six new Michelins were beneath us on the hot asphalt in August, over narrow bridges, and down steep descents, not to mention the puncture resistance that they provided as we ran over all of those dead gators in Florida. I began the trip checking the air pressure daily, then weekly. Brian, the tires never lost a pound of pressure. 100 at the beginning of the trip, 100 at the end. Money well spent on the safety of Connie, Hannah, and Audrey. As we prepared for the journey we had some apprehension leaving the home for such a long time. We ultimately left the home in the caring hands of Alex V. of Port Angeles. He has a landscape business that was recommended to us by numerous people here on the Bluff; the first of which was our old friend, Hardy Hansen, many years ago. Alex looked after our properties and our home and when we came home, he had done a better job than I could have. I thought of the Andy Griffith episode where Aunt Bee leaves for a couple of weeks to visit relatives and was dismayed when she returned only to find that Andy and Opie had gotten along just fine without her. If you have any landscape needs in the Port Angeles/Sequim area call Alex at 452-7249, you couldn’t do any better. Speaking of money well spent. Folks you should begin planning a trip like this. This trip for us was FIVE years in the planning. The rewards will hopefully be life-long for the kiddies. For me, it has been the single best experience of my life. The memory that I hope to hold onto is that of Hannah and Audrey over the seemingly countless miles, singing with one another, carrying on conversations, and Hannah helping Audrey with her comprehension of math. . . . When Con and I were hitting a dead spot in conveying a concept, Hannah would patiently converse with her sister until Audrey said, "I get it!" The girls walked hand in hand practically everywhere we were. Audrey developed a new sense of confidence during the trip that Con is quite thankful for. Sure, I’ve got a few regrets. First, that the trip is over. Secondly, that time and circumstances kept me from spending more time with Bill & Sharon, Uncle Lester & Aunt Betty Sue, and Cousin Jim and Pat; I regret not having seen Paul & Marlene F. (Montana), Randy & Cathy D. (Illinois), Steve and Lori L. (Utah), Dan & Pat S. (Idaho), Cousin Carolyn & Tony (Colorado), or Dawn & Richard C (Idaho). My perspective on my family, friends, and country has changed drastically as a result of this trip. In spite of our many differences we are all Americans who should face the challenges of the future with confidence and optimism. What a great country! I’ve seen a great deal of it with my own eyes and I have never been more confident in making that comment, “What a great country!” We are so fortunate to be alive today and to be living in America. November 18th, 2008, A Tuesday here on the Bluff: Ten minutes before arriving home we were all more or less feeling the melancholy. The trip of a lifetime had came and went and as Audrey put it, "Everything looks just like when we left." Albeit, gas prices have come down quite a bit. We were all sad that the trip of a lifetime was over. Then we turned the corner and our home was staring at us. Our friends, the Fritschlers, had posted some unexpected WELCOME HOME signs and that brought a smile to all of our faces and a warm feeling inside. Our friend Alex had taken exemplary care of the home and our yard and folks, "it looks great!" After backing LaFawnduh into her off-load spot the girls and I ran onto the deck and there were smiles all around. Cocoa looked as if she knew she was going to get a good nights rest in a bed that she recognized. Folks, it is good to be home. LaFawnduh looks quite small sitting next to our real home. We are thankful for the opportunity to have had this trip. We are thankful for travel mercies. We are thankful to be home all healthy and happy. We are thankful to be back in PA amongst our friends. November 17th, 2008, Monday: Con knew that it was parent-teacher conference time at Roosevelt and throughout the Port Angeles schools. She was secretly hoping that as we made our way to Great Wolf Lodge that there would be fellow Port Angeles parents and kiddies here. Guess what? We ran into Scott and Brenda K., with their three girls, Chrstina, Veronica, and Angelica. Then we ran into Bart & Martina B. with their children Nick and Amber (a former classmate of Audrey). And, we ran into Sarah Methner's sister Annie and her family. They were up from Vancouver, WA on a whim. . . . . The Methner's journey is more or less over when they spend Thanksgiving with Annie and her family. . . . . . . . Folks, we are back. Our destination of Great Wolf Lodge may have been one for this weekend had we never left Port Angeles on this little trip. We normally do "something" whenever the kids have an extra day off school. Another indication of being back is the fact that we woke up to temps in the 40's and heavy fog (common this time of year). Also, the familiar faces on the local news were there (Joyce Taylor & Rich Marriott of KING 5's morning news broadcast). Con has headed down the hallway to retrieve the morning Starbucks from here at the Lodge. Audrey remarked, "Man, Dad, I'm so glad that we aren't seeing Casino commericals every fifteen minutes!" I think she was making reference to our one night in northern Nevada. Since folks there are casinos here in Washington State; albeit only on Native American tribal land as opposed to everywhere in Nevada. The Tulalip near Marysville, Seven Cedars east of Sequim, and Lucky Eagle in Rochester, just to mention a few (I've only been to Seven Cedars and that was to purchase Native American Art). In fact, this place where we are staying, The Great Wolf Lodge was largely (if not entirely) financed from Casino revenue of the Chehalis tribe. I'm not sure what that says about our society? But, I'm pretty sure there is a message there. I'll let you figure it out for yourselves. LaFawnduh has carried us from Port Angeles, Washington to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington where we are giving the kids a break from school with all the other little kiddies from Port Angeles. We just got lost along the way and took the long way round. I asked the kiddies if they wanted to drive down to Mt. St. Helens today. As a reminder that they are back, and around friends from HOME they both remarked, "No way dad!" This great trip is on its last gasps. In fact, it has essentially expired.

Oregon

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ November 16th, 2008: Happy Birthday Connie!!! She’s proud to say that she’s 53. We’ve spent a lot of birthdays together, her and me. However, she has had one birthday more than me during her life, so if you didn’t know, you now know my age. To begin with we are back in Washington State. There will be no more additions to the US map on the side of LaFawnduh. The girls have made it a practice to count the number of states that we have been in but now it is far easier to count the state that we have not been in. 1. California 2. North Dakota 3. Nebraska 4. Colorado 5. Oklahoma 6. Arkansas 7. Michigan 8. Missouri 9. Kentucky 10. Tennessee 11. Iowa 12. Kansas Twelve states out of 48. We hit 36 states during this trip. We were within 10 miles of Michigan when we were in northern Ohio, and we were within 30 miles of Colorado when we were in Monument Valley. Finally, when in northwestern Nevada we were a short ten miles from California. At the time the "numbers" weren't important to us but now it seems as if we wish we had also made it to those three states (at least) Geez. I can’t tell you how strong the wave of depression was that came over me when I first saw “Seattle” on a road sign. Now, Seattle is a great city. But, this trip was in the planning for FIVE years. It was always so far in the future that it seemed unreal; then as it came closer it continued to be unreal because, well, I don’t know why, but I never thought it would actually happen. Kind of in the way that I never actually thought I would ever be 52, simply because it seemed so distant in the future that it would never actually get here. Then we were on the road and driving across Washington State towards Idaho and even after the first month, the remaining portion of the trip seemed as if it would last almost forever. Then, we left Florida and pointed LaFawnduh towards home. Halloween came and went in Texas and November was bringing the trip to an end. Now, we are clinging to threads. Holding on to the trip for fear of it ending. In a couple of days it will be nothing more than a memory. Folks, that is depressing to me. But, even today the trip was full of wonderful sights and sharing of experiences with the girls who have made every day joyful. Con chose to abandon us on her birthday and if you think about it, she has been putting up with all three of us in the 8’ by 36’ box that we Call LaFawnduh since August 2nd. That seems like forever ago (and in another sense it seems as if it were yesterday). On her birthday we dropped her and LaFawnduh off at a mall east of Portland and then the girls and I piled into Kip and explored the Columbia River Gorge. The waterfalls along I-84 are fairly spectacular especially now that recent torrential rains have added to their size and fury. We went on short hikes with Cocoa into damp forests that are still showing the colors of autumn. Northwest forests with broad leaf maple, red cedar, and ferns galore. We reunited with Mom and headed across the mighty Columbia into Washington State. . . . . Geez. Then we drove a few miles north of Centralia to Great Wolf Lodge where I am writing this as the family is caroming down water slides (again). The last hoorah for the Corps of Discovery. I feel as Clark must have as the original Corps of Discovery made their way into St. Louis. Life afterwards could not live up to that experience. Ours is nothing like the original Corps of Discovery but no matter what Con and I do in the future, it will not be with the wonderment of having a 9 year old and an 11 year old to share it with. This trip has been nothing less than an absolute GIFT. I am so thankful to have shared almost four months in LaFawnduh with Connie, Hannah, and Audrey. Thank you Lord. Happy Birthday my beloved Connie! November 15, 2008, Saturday: We woke up to a typical Northwest Autumn morning, cool temperatures in the mid forties, fog, and when you inhaled a breath of outdoor air, you wanted to smile. It was refreshing, invigorating, and it felt as Con puts it, “G-O-O-D!!!!” When Audrey woke up she was sobbing. We went to her expecting to console her after a nightmare but as it turned out she told us the problem was, “I can’t believe the trip’s almost over. I don’t want it to be over.” But, we moved on. Northward along I-5 we had lunch in Eugene before moving to our campground at Fairview, Oregon (selected by Audrey as our destination). Along the way we enjoyed fall in the Pacific Northwest. Native broad leaf maples that were golden. Cottonwoods that were brilliantly yellow, and other deciduous trees planted by farmers, and home owners that were golden, orange, and red. Here we are still in Autumn even though it is mid November. Then as we moved into Portland we saw the Cascade volcanoes of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier (all in Washington State) and Mt. Hood east of Portland. This made us all keenly aware that we were almost at the end of this wonderful, magical journey. Melancholy was the feeling for the day. Tomorrow is Connie’s birthday. To celebrate we made reservations at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington. I’m sure Con is looking forward to this indoor water park for I know the kiddies are!!! Con has on numerous occasions this evening had to ask Audrey to stop singing their theme song. Now Audrey has a very pretty voice and she does the song proudly, but after 120 times, well, you get the idea. On the other side of the coin we experienced our third “BAD” driver of the trip. The first was near Miami, the second was outside of Houston (a trucker on a cell phone), and today the third wins the prize: As we were driving north on I-205 east of Portland this middle aged gal in her Saturn Vue didn’t anticipate her exit early enough and cut us off moving from the fast lane to the slow lane (that we were in) in order to make her off ramp. We missed hitting her by inches and I was happy to use the air horn for the first time during the trip. Sadly, she didn’t seem fazed by it (alright, to let the truth be known I have used the air horn in tunnels for the kids’ entertainment whenever there wasn’t any other traffic to be seen). Con took a marvelous photograph of this inept driver since she was holding the camera awaiting views of the Cascade volcanoes. You are more than welcome to view this photograph of this terrible driver on the Flickr site (find the link above if you don't already have it). Then to end the day’s driving we pulled into one of those great luxury RV parks (Portland Fairview RV) and set up per normal. After assuring that LaFawnduh was in the right spot, we let the air out of her air suspension and then lowered the jacks for leveling. I've done this umpteen times over the past four months. Then I shut down the engine (as I leave it idling to cool it and the tranny down during the above process) and then I move outside to connect the electricity and water at the campsite. But, this time there was an unfamiliar “whine”. Upon investigating the source of the noise we found the pump for the hydraulic jacks to be running. Folks, it shouldn’t have been. I pulled the electrical connectors at the pump/hydraulic fluid reservoir and it had no effect. Con and I hunted down the fuse for the leveling system and found it. I yanked out the 10 amp fuse and the noise continued! How dare it! I decided it was time to disconnect the battery lead to the motor. I had the necessary 9/16” socket but could only get a few thread turns before I ran out of enough room to get the socket wrench out. So, I looked for a 9/16” wrench and there was none (at the start of this trip I treated it (incorrectly so) as a backpacking trip and I tried to keep weight to a minimum instead of using the adage of the Boy Scout as I should have, "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it") so I used the crescent wrench. The nut came off after quite a bit of effort, the washer followed, but the connector was attached to another, harder to get to post, so I decided to work on the other lead instead. I finally got this second nut off and removed the battery lead with a flash of sparks that made Con jump. I wrapped the lead with electrical tape and then just to make sure, I cut open one of Cocoa’s tennis balls and stuck the lead into it. Folks, this was the LAST time during the trip that we were going to use the Motorhome to sleep in. The next two nights we are going to be at Great Wolf Lodge and I think we are most likely going to sprint home to PA after that. All of these times that we have used the leveling jacks without a hiccup and now, on the very last time that we use it, it goes Kablooey! Geez. It's like the defense is digging in as the opposing offense nears the goal line. Today they threw 1. Bad Drivers and, 2. Mechanical Issues, at us as we are nearing the goal, home on the Bluff in PA. November 14th, 2008, Friday: Quote of the day provided by Hannah: “I want to ball my eyes out. We’re so close to home and I want to be there; and I want to ball my eyes out because the trip is ending.” She pretty much speaks for all of us. We left Lakeview and headed towards Crater Lake. During a fuel stop in Bly, Oregon (population maybe 500) we watched a chicken family walk by while the station attendant took a tour of LaFawnduh. She told us that she had never been in a Motorhome before and the girls were eager to give a tour. In Oregon there are no self service gas stations. They pump the gas (diesel for LaFawnduh) for you. We were happy to be back amongst the trees after our drive across Nevada’s high desert. The conifer forest made us all realize that we were close to home. Even though in Port Angeles there are no Ponderosa Pines (my personal favorite conifer). We drove highway 62 into Crater Lake National Park and left LaFawnduh as low as we could. Kip carried us to the rim of the lake. Smiles all around as we were in snow, brisk temperatures, and the wonderful aroma of mountain air. Audrey remarked, “This smells like home!” We reunited Kip with LaFawnduh and drove out of the park to the northwest. Highway 138 wound around the canyons carrying the Rogue and Umpqua Rivers. Beautiful canyons and waters full of trout. Artificial Flies only in this area. The day was one of mixed feelings. Beautiful scenery but harrowing roads for driving. Especially when we turned west onto County road 400 to knock off about 40 miles of road (going further south than we wanted). Now, if you’re looking for a retirement spot because you happen to be an avid fly fisherman, this is a spot to consider. Absolutely magnificent scenery along the Umpqua. If you’re looking for a great drive or motorcycle ride, this is the place to be. But, if you are driving a 36 ft. long Class “A” Motorhome towing a dinghy. Well, you could probably do better than this. Literally a roller coaster of a drive, winding around sharp curves, and a roadway lacking in a shoulder. A sign along the roadway read, “Negative Shoulder” and we all wondered what that meant until a few yards later we looked just beyond the fog line and saw the ground about twenty feet beneath a 60 degree slope. Con said, “I’m having the pucker factor too much this week.” Con continues to contend with vertigo and unfortunately, it is detracting from her enjoyment of the trip. We are camped in Oakland, Oregon just off of Interstate 5. We are only 324 miles from Seattle. Can you believe that? We can’t. Saturday’s activities are up in the air. Again, being largely dependent on the weather forecast. But now that we are on the west side of the Cascades we are not concerned about encountering snow. Do we move towards the coast? Towards Portland? Tour the Columbia River waterfalls? Me, I’d prefer going to have breakfast at the T-Ville Diner. Dang, that seems like such a long time ago.

Nevada

November 13, 2008, Thursday: Frankly I'm not much of a fan of northern Nevada. There are a lot of prisons along I-80 and there are numerous signs warning motorists not to pick up hitch hikers. The largest vegetation is seemingly the sagebrush since trees are non-existant. The economy seems to revolve around the slot machine. Sorry, it's just not my cup of tea so we're moving on. As quickly as LaFawnduh can carry us. We are moving according to the weather forecast. Anywhere there is high wind or snow, we are hoping to avoid it. RV'ers will understand this while those of you who only get around by cars might be questioning are rationale? Believe me, it's necessary. But, even though we are trying to avoid the wind, sometimes it is just there. So we can either sit still or move onward at a reduced speed. So, today we moved westward on I-80 and lo and behold we were immediately in gusty winds slamming into this sail that we so fondly have named, LaFawnduh. Fortunately, the winds were much less than along I-40 east of Flagstaff and that, along with light traffic leant to a fairly easy travel day. Over Emigrant Pass (elevation 6,115 ft.), pass Pilot Peak, and on to Winnemucca, Nevada before saying ado to the four lane highways for awhile. We then turned north on US 95 and pointed LaFawnduh towards the northwest on Highway 140 through a unique National Wildlife Refuge, into OREGON (our last state on the journey). The only animal that we saw on the refuge were burros. Descendants of beasts of burden that hauled ore in the local mines. Onwards through the Fremont National Forest, and into Lakeland, Oregon where I write this blog from. Light, spotty rain in Nevada was inconsequential. Here in Oregon we were greeted with mostly sunny skies and clouds that were pink from the sunset. Controlled burns in Fremont NF at dusk leant to a truly Western scene as we drove by forests that were ablaze. The Forest Service were doing what they could to reduce the likelihood of large, catastrophic fires by burning away the underbrush at a time of year when the trees and plants had a high water content, the humidity was low, low air temperatures, and wind speeds are low (it was calm as we drove through and I believe that the USFS regulations are that the winds be below 10 mph for a controlled burn). Now, along highway 95, and also on 140 we had absolutely straight as an arrow sections of roadway that were up to 80 miles long as we moved along the east side of the Black Lake Mountain Range. No trees for 130 miles, until we were about ten miles into Oregon. In Oregon we drove pass a magnificent gorge along a river with numerous waterfalls, yellow leaved aspen and green pines in the Fremont NF. Lakeland has hang gliding, a ski area nearby, and geysers as in Yellowstone. As we drove into town from the north we passed homes next to erupting geysers. Hannah was impressed. LaFawnduh did great today. At least six passes that she leapt over and 452 miles of pavement beneath her. A record total for one day of driving during this trip. We started out the morning moving to “somewhere” and we ended up moving further than anytime during the trip. Hannah remarked that if we start out with a destination that is 200 or 300 miles away she feels that it is a long day; but if we start out without a destination then the days driving is much easier for her. Hmmmm. Tomorrow, well, we'll wait and see what the mornig weather forecast is for central Oregon and the coast.

Utah

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ November 12th, Wednesday: The local news here in Utah is showing the rain in the Seattle area. Which is making us really, really, really want to get back. So much so, we are not sure of our route through Washington State. . . .For all of the flooding and road closures. Geez. Speaking of weather, that is becoming the dominant factor in our remaining journey. We have always depended on the NOAA National Weather Service for their forecast and we did so again today. And, again we weren’t disappointed. The shortest route between Moab and Salt Lake City is over Highway 6 from Green River, through Price and then down the west slope of the Wasatch Range. But, the NWS showed heavy snow in the mountains west of Price so we chose to take the longer route over I-70 to Utah 50. This particular section of I-70 west of the Utah 24 turn off (to the Maze and Hanksville) was one that we had never been on before. Our maps didn’t snow any passes but we were expecting at least one (over the Wasatch Range). As it turned out there were three, up to 7,800 feet elevation. But, the roads were sparsely traveled, winds were light, temperatures were in the upper fifties, LaFawnduh was strong as ever, and the drive was pleasant. Moving down the west slope we pointed out two old railroad tunnels along the side of the road. The tracks had been removed and Hannah said that it would be a great bicycling trail. About a half mile further we came across three wranglers driving about a hundred head of Angus beef along the former track bed. One was leading on his horse, while two were following up the rear. It was quite a sight. Further down the mountain we chased a “snow bow” (rainbow except with snow) down the hillside. The snow was above us and on the roadway there was a light sprinkle. The girls would comment, “We’re almost catching it. Oh darn, it got away.” So we had a discussion of light and physics and the miles flew by. We were soon on I-15 moving northward and all was good for traveling. Occasional light rain, and as we passed Spanish Fork where Highway 6 meets I-15 there was snow in the mountains, so we were happy with our choice of routes. There has been so much snow in Utah that Brighton Ski Area is already open and two other areas are scheduled to open this weekend (including Park City). Diesel at Flying J’s along the I-15 corridor was $2.86.9 per gallon, the least that we’ve seen on this trip. After all of our scenic driving through the high desert, Canyonlands country it was a bit difficult to be back in the traffic of the Salt Lake City area. I asked Con if there was anything that she wanted to do here and she said, “No.” So we turned westward on I-80 and drove along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. West of the lake we saw where your table salt comes from, a Morton Salt Company plant that had piles of salt next to conveyors that were probably a hundred feet high. Then keeping with the salt theme we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats, made infamous by folks such as Craig Breedlove, Rollie Free, and the recent movie, “World’s Fastest Indian”. A few more miles and we were in West Wendover, Nevada. Casinos are everywhere albeit they look pretty much the same as if my Mom and Dad had visited here during their drives to California in the 50’s. But, most importantly the hotel prices are cheaper than some of the RV parks that we’ve stayed at on this trip. So, I am writing this blog entry from our hotel room at the Red Garter Hotel and Casino. How about that? The route home is still in the air due to the weather. I can’t predict which route we’re going to take at this point. We’ll just have to be flexible as we move out today. BTW, today LaFawnduh turned over 10,000 miles in this journey. I'll have to check on the mileage in Kip, but it is more than what I thought it was going to be. November 11th, 2008, Tuesday: Con decided that we should have a day of relaxation, study, and chores before heading westward. So, the laundry got done, the kids studied, and then it was time to explore. Audrey has been wanting to obtain some sand from the area so we drove to the biggest sand pile that we were aware of. The sand hill near the entrance to Arches NP. But, seemingly the sand at the bottom of the hill was of a lesser quality than the sand at the top of the hill for the kids were up the hill in a flash with Cocoa on their hills. After being threatened with a slow, painful, death, the kids reluctantly left the biggest sand box that they had ever played in. This again reiterates my belief that the best toys are the simplest. A pile of sand provided a TON of fun. Then we were off to one of my destinations for the day, the spring along the Castle Valley road near the Colorado River. I don’t know if it is because whenever I drink from this water source it has usually been after I had just finished a day long mountain biking trip, but I believe that this water is the tastiest, most refreshing water to be had on the planet. Con suggested that we should drive towards Dead Horse State Park and we were off. But, as we were nearing our turn off Con saw that it was an easy drive to Grand View Point in the Islands of the Sky District of Canyonlands, so we altered our destination. We had never been to Grand View in all of our trips to Moab and after making the easy drive we wanted to kick ourselves for not doing so in the past. Geez. The pictures on the Flickr site do not do any justice for the view was from horizon to horizon and was awesome! Audrey said, "This is better than the Grand Canyon." Reluctantly, after checking out the National Weather Service forecast for the Pacific Northwest we have decided that it is time to begin heading that direction. For presently between Moab and Port Angeles are areas of snow, high wind warnings, heavy rain, and flood warnings. During this trip I have told folks along the way that we were heading home during the worse month of the year. You know, the month that I wish I were leaving the state instead of returning to it. Well, it seems that the good old rain train and low pressure systems common to November are not letting us down. Good for us. So, tomorrow after breakfast we will hitch up Kip to LaFawnduh and start moving towards the northwest. The exact route is still up in the air. We will be checking with the NWS forecast as we near intersections before committing ourselves to north or west or holing up. For instance, do we take Highway 6 or Interstate 70? Do we go North on I-15 into Idaho or west on I-80 into Nevada??????? So, we sadly bid ado to Moab . There are a number of things that I would have liked to have shared with the girls: The Needles District, mountain biking, The Great Gallery, The Flint Trail, etc., but amazingly, after all of our trips here the past few days have provided us with a number of firsts: New dinosaur tracks, new dinosaur bones, new petroglyphs, new areas that we had never seen before such as Islands in the Sky and the Grand View. I guess we’ll just have to come back (when we do it will be my sixteenth trip here). Quote of the day provided by Hannah: "I've decided today that this is wonderland!" November 10th, 2008, Monday: After a day spent in Kip, the family was eager to hike. We left it up to Con to decide the destination and she easily chose Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Cocoa was happy to be left in LaFawnduh as the previous day was an indicator to her that maybe it is a good idea to not always tag along with these folks. On Sunday the miles of jostling led to hours of floor hugging for our canine companion. Today, Cocoa was very content to be left behind and occupy her spot on the couch in order to simply “chill”. We have a National Park pass for this trip and on its face is a picture of Delicate Arch. We’ve been here many times in the past and our friend Jeff Chikusa even wants his ashes spread in the area (many decades from now). The spot is magical. Weather was near perfect for the hike in to the arch. Pass the Wolfe Ranch, the Petroglyphs and up the petrified sand dunes. Moving from one cairn to the next Audrey and I appointed ourselves the unofficial cairn repair crew and we would pile rocks higher into the air and bedeck them with a high tower finally capped with the smallest of rocks (maybe even as small as a quarter inch in diameter). During our return trip from the Arch we even saw hikers taking photos of our cairns. Audrey thought that was pretty neat. Delicate Arch occupies a prominent spot all by itself at the head of a sloped Estrada Sandstone canyon. Its standing alone makes it special in this land of over 2,000 arches. We all enjoyed the view, the experience, the warmth of the sun, and the coolness of the air. Perfect hiking conditions. Con had an ear-to-ear grin on her face that her children noticed. But, alas we had to move on for we had a reservation for a guided hike into the Fiery Furnace. We had to say, "See you later" to Delicate Arch sooner than we may have preferred. Con elected to sit this hike out so Audrey, Hannah, and I met with our 8 other hiking companions and our Ranger, Dick Tolt, for the 3 hour, 3 mile hike into the narrow canyons so aptly called “The Fins”. I have been in the Fiery Furnace on numerous occasions dating back to 1985 when Bill Koeppen and I first discovered this place. Frankly, I was reluctant to take a guided tour but as it turned out Ranger Tolt took us to places that I had never been before, seeing sights that I had never seen before, and providing us with a narrative that was very educational (to even me). Now, I understand the geology of the area like never before, and have a working knowledge of the plant fauna, so much so, I think I could walk through the desert for a week with no provisions and be able to sustain myself (don’t worry, I’m not going to do that). Audrey displayed a boldness during the hike that was not present before the beginning of this little RV trip as she declined my assistance (hand) to negotiate the cracks, walls, and narrow shelves of the canyon. Our hike into the Fiery Furnace was a highlight of this entire trip for me and I’m sure for the kiddies. Audrey says that it is number two, right behind swimming with the dolphins. If you are ever in the area, are relatively fit, and would like a memorable experience I recommend this guided NPS tour. Sign up at the Visitors Center near the entrance to the park. Con picked us up at the end of our hike and we went into Moab for the evening. We love the town that this place has become. Back in ‘85 it was a dying former Uranium mining town, almost qualifying for “ghost town” status. The national parks alone weren’t enough to bring the tourists as most would bypass this area for the more famous Grand Canyon to the south or Yellowstone to the north. Mountain biking became a big thing and this area is now known worldwide as the mountain biking Mecca of the world. The mountain biking getting its beginning on a off-road motorcycle trail, the famous Slickrock Trail. Seeing that it is autumn most of the tourists here are European. Moab today is a tourist town, but one that has somehow remembered its roots. I love this place. We could spend months here just exploring Canyon country; on foot, on bikes, on my motorcycle, in the Jeep. As far as I'm concerned this could have been the single destination of our entire trip and we would all have went home very happy. We could stay many more days but for the past week Con has been struggling with vertigo. This daily event (she wakes up with it) has greatly affected her ability to enjoy the remaining days of the trip. It even prevented us from taking our helicopter ride in the Grand Canyon since none of us wanted to go without Mom. Hence, we are at a point of reevaluating our remaining itinerary. It may even require us to sprint home (1,000 miles from Seattle to Moab). Tuesday, November 11th, will most likely be a day of decision. . . . November 9th, Sunday: Audrey wanted to go four-wheeling so I could think of no better place to go than the most remote area of Canyonlands National Park, The Maze District. So we piled into the Jeep and drove over 330 miles, 140 miles of which were on pavement and the remaining 190 miles wasn’t. Some of these latter miles taken at about a half mile per hour while climbing over the slick rock trails. Actually as our day began our destination was the Great Gallery, but the hike was deemed too long in this almost winter environ. Temps were in the 40s, rain clouds would come and go, and there was a 40% chance of rain. We did experience rain albeit for about two seconds, leaving one drop over about every six square inches of windshield. The girls reluctantly adapted to not venturing into the Great Gallery and we had an amazing time rock crawling in one of the most remote areas of the lower 48 states. That is Audrey and Hannah treated the experience as a roller coaster ride, Con, on the other side of the coin was heard on numerous occasions remarking, “Where the heck are we?” Or, “Let me out!” When we were finally on pavement (it was dark by that time) and headed back towards home (LaFawnduh) Con laughed and relaxed and said, “Now I finally understand what they mean by pucker factor.”I thought, “Now?” I’ve had the same peculiar sensation on numerous occasions during our years together. Most vividly while kayaking the Albertson Gorge way back in 1983. I think Con is one tough gal to have taken this long to “finally” understand that particular sphincter closing sensation. I've known about it for years. Geez. Meanwhile, Hannah and Audrey hooped and hollered and Cocoa clung to the floor. November 8th, Saturday: Quote of the day provided by Hannah, “I am a Moab Girl!” The magic continues. Moab, Utah continues to bedazzle us. Today we explored Arches National Park in the morning before going into Moab for shopping and dinner. The highlight in Arches NP was our hike to and climb around Double Arch. This is the arch made famous by the young Boy Scout Indiana Jones at the beginning of "Indiana Jones The Last Crusade". Then Hannah and I roped up and we scrambled up to the Cove of Caves, also in the movie's opening scenes. Audrey scrambled higher than she ever had as she experienced first hand the traction that one can have with the right shoes on Slickrock (dry slickrock as opposed to the wet variety which has about as much traction as an ice cube). Then in the afternoon we headed to the dinosaur tracks that Con and I have been going to since 1993. The road off of Highway 191 was unfamiliar to us. So much so that we thought we might not be at the right place. We later learned that a flood in 2006 had drastically altered the area. So much so that the road turns in a different direction and moves to the right around a rock formation where it had previously moved to the left. Then as we neared the area of the dinosaur tracks we came across signage about of all things, dinosaur tracks. But, the area was unfamiliar to us. So much so, we don’t believe that the dinosaur tracks that we had seen in the past are the same as what we saw today. The signs said that there were five different dinosaur tracks in the area including that of a large plant eater (we had never seen this before). While we were there we came across a couple from Grand Junction, Colorado. They had read in the Denver newspaper an article about the dinosaur tracks near Moab and had found them that way. They told us about dinosaur bones that were nearby. Word of mouth continues to be the source of amazing surprises for us on this trip. Today was another example of this. For this is my fifteenth trip to Moab since 1985 and I had never seen dinosaur bones before. But today, I did. Dinosaur tracks and dinosaur bones, the kids were in Moab Heaven. Another quote provided by Hannah today, “This place is better than Disney World.” November 7, 2008, Friday: Before heading to Moab we left LaFawnduh rest for a few hours in Blanding and then we headed to our Anasazi Ruin in southeastern Utah. First stop was the excavated site near the roadway, a Kiva, and dwellings. The kids were amazed by the age of all that they were looking at. 1275, the archaeologists tell us. Then we drove off road, through the gate, through the pinion and juniper and over the red rock to the mouth of the canyon. Audrey was ecstatic about the towers and the canyon and we happened upon a grave that Con and I had never seen before. Hannah and I down climbed into the canyon while Con and Audrey watched us with binoculars. The site seemed to be as magical for Hannah and Audrey as it was for Con and me. Amazing to think of families living on the cliff sides. Toddlers. Mothers carrying infants. Then north of Highway 191 towards Moab. The Needles District of Canyonlands NP on our left, red rock surrounded by white capped mountains rising to 11,000 feet. After setting up camp west of Arches NP we went back into Moab for our BBQ ribs. We drove by the restaurant and to our dismay it was a funeral home. Plan B - Eddie McStiffs pizza. A great restaurant in itself that Con still wears a tee shirt from. The waitress told us that the proprietor of the BBQ place retired. Sold the building and yes, it is a funeral home. I'd tell you the name of the restaurant but I'm so disappointed in its demise that I'm not going to bother. Okay, I will, it was a great place, Fat City Smokehouse. We love Moab, Canyonlands and the area. All four of us. November 6, 2008, Thursday: 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. The decision to go through Moab or California was a toss-up. Which way to go? Which way to go? At the Grand Canyon campsite, in the 20 degree weather it was decided to head towards California. So, off we went. Then we got to the “T” in the road where left was towards Moab and right was towards Death Valley, California. As we neared the intersection I was prepared to turn right when Con said, “I sure was looking forward to that barbecue.” I immediately knew what she was referring to and what she actually meant. After 32 years of marriage I know that she was actually saying, “I want to go to Moab, for a lot of reasons, one of them is to have BBQ and bread pudding at that Marine’s place. You know the restaurant, the one with Chesty Puller’s picture on the wall”. Without any further conversation, I turned left. We enjoyed the drive along the south rim to the East Entrance of the Grand Canyon. We wouldn’t have seen these sites had we not gone to Moab. The openness of the terrain through northeastern Arizona again reminded us of the movie, Cars. When we intersected with highway 98, Con and I were back in familiar territory. We knew to drive to Kayenta, Arizona and stop at the Burger King where there was a Memorial to the WWII Marines known as the Navajo Code Talkers. We were in the land of the Navajo. The land was red rock, occasionally interspersed with green pinion pine and juniper. Con said that it looked like Christmas year round. Smiles were all around. The highlight of the day was our driving the Jeep through Monument Valley, background of many John Ford movies and John Wayne westerns. Con was driving Kip and had it in 4-low with the sway bar disconnected. The girls especially enjoyed the sandstone pillars known as the Mittens, but they treated the Jeep ride as if it were a roller coaster. Screams and extended arms were the song and dance of the day. After the slow drive around the Grand Canyon, the stop in Kayenta, and the two hours spent in Monument Valley the evening found us falling short of our destination of Moab, but that’s alright for tomorrow is another drive in the Jeep to my secret, non-advertised destination of an unexcavated Anasazi Ruin. I’ve been going there since 1985 when a University of Utah Archaeology professor told me about it. It is a magical place that Con and I love to go to. It will be Hannah’s and Audrey’s first trip there. I can’t wait for them to experience it. Then it is on to Moab. We know we’re getting close because we are seeing cars with bicycle racks and Mountain Bikes. Unfortunately, although I’m writing this on Thursday night at our Bluff, Utah campground; I won’t be able to see it until tomorrow (hopefully) since the Verizon Air Card doesn’t have any reception here. The pictures of Monument Valley will have to wait as well. . . .

Arizona

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/

November 6th, Thursday: We are re-thinking the trips itinerary after last nights cold weather. We checked the National Weather Center's forecast for Moab and it is more of the same. Hmmmmm. More later.

Alright, I've been preaching flexibility in this trip and it is time to practice it. The weather forecast for the Moab area and entire region is for more sub-freezing nights, which poses a logistical challenge for us in RV's (at least here in LaFawnduh). So, the route to PA is now a different one. Pass Lake Meade, Las Vegas, Pahrump, Nevada and into California. Through Death Valey, Yosemite, and onward to the California coastline and the Redwoods. Up 101 all the way home. . . . . Most of the above trip will be NEW to Con and me as well as the girls.

Moab will have to wait until perhaps Spring.

November 5th, Wednesday: Hiking, exploring, more of the same. We are loving our time in Grand Canyon National Park. Tonight's forecast: Cold. November 4th, Election Tuesday: We are stopped at a visitor center in the Petrified Forest Natiional Park. Another, unexpected but well worth the effort side-trips of this trip. The girls are inside turning in their Junior Rangers Workbook and will hopefully return with a badge from the park. From here we will get onto I-40 and head westward for awhile before turning north to the Grand Canyon. Verizon reception is spotty at best. This is the first time that I could connect to the internet since entering Arizona. The kids are back, Audrey yelling, "I'm a Junior Ranger!" Got to go. (for now) A new, historical President for our country! God bless America! God bless Presidential Elect Barack Obama! And, God help him becuase he is going to need it. The challenges of the nation are great right now, so we stand by our new President! Because that is what we do in America. We put our differences aside and we stand as one people, Americans. This trip has made us realize that there is more to America than what we experience in our wonderful community of Port Angeles. The girls’ eyes are opened to its diversity. To its wide open, natural beauty, to its cities, to its towns, and to its wondrous people. They have witnessed that we live where positive values abound, even in unexpected places such as Grand Central Station, in New York City (the gentleman who returned my wallet with nothing but a smile). We have experienced America like never before and we were on the rim of the Grand Canyon as the ballots were tallied and as her people went to the polls and lifted their voices for the new president. We are looking forward to the future. Hannah and Audrey’s America is just fine. It continually improves and tomorrow will be better than today. Speaking of today, the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest were well worth the time to experience these unique locations. But, after leaving these parks we drove westward on I-40 (the old US Route 66) and experienced the most harrowing driving of the trip. LaFawnduh has five awnings. One is 20 ft. long on the curb (passenger) side, while there are four, smaller awnings over individual windows. Three of these awnings are on the road (driver) side. The large awning has a mechanism by which to lock it down but the smaller awnings don’t. Side winds of a steady 40 mph and of gusts above 60 unfurled the smaller awnings on the road side. Wind would hit the side of LaFawnduh and move upwards along her side to move over her. As the strong wind moved upwards it encountered the bottom side of the awning and simply unrolled it as if one of us were pulling on it on purpose. We pulled LaFawnduh off of the road five times in order to address the problem, finally solving the dilemma with plastic ties around the circumference of the awning cover. Whenever we pulled off of the highway at an exit, we joined semi trailers, fifth wheelers, other motor homes, and even a motorcycle that had moved off of the road because of the high winds. They were all stopped waiting for the winds to subside but we would move on (at a reduced speed) after making our “fix” of the awning dilemma. We experienced the winds all the way from Hollbrook to Winona where we finally entered into the Kaibab National Forest and stands of pinion pine and juniper; short in height but high enough to provide a windbreak. The drive through Flagstaff to the turn off for the Grand Canyon was uneventful after all of the wind. We felt as if we were driving through a song, “Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona. . . . “ In fact the girls were singing the song! We were at our campsite just south of the Canyon’s Rim in time to watch the sunset over the Grand Canyon. . . . . Then we watched the results of this historical election for our great Nation. Oh yeah, the overnight low at our Grand Canyon campsite, 28. Cocoa is curled up in a ball.

New Mexico

November 3rd, 2008, Monday: What a great travel day! The weather was absolutely perfect. So much so that we drove the ENTIRE day with the windows open in LaFawnduh. The fresh mountain air made us invigorated and we ended up at Lyman Lake State Park, north of Springerville, ARIZONA!!!! Geez we're getting used to this RV'ing. We drove north from Carlsbad and went through Roswell, New Mexico. We felt a bit anxious that the person that we were speaking to may actually have been an alien that we continued with haste. Cocoa acted a bit strange, we couldn’t put our fingers on it, but she acted differently as we were in Roswell. We moved westward. The terrain changed from predominately sagebrush to a combination of pinion pine and juniper. We moved over a pass into the valley of the sun. This also happened to be the place where the first nuclear device was detonated and we got as close as we could. In the post 9-11 world the site is closed to the public. Back in 2000 when I was last in Socorro you could visit the site. Strange what a few extremists have done to our society. Shame on us for having such a "knee jerk" reaction to the attack of 9-11. But, even though we couldn't drive to the old visitor center we could gaze across the plain to where it happened, southeast of Socorro. I preached again to the girls that they are here largely because of the use of the Atomic Bombs in August of 1945. Their grandfather, Bernard Filicsky was onboard a troop ship bound for Japan when the B-29's ended the war. Thankfully for him and millions of American and Japanese alike, the war ended before the amphibious assault of the mainland of Japan happened. We continued westward. We happened upon some land for sale, 23,000 acres non-dividable. Con said, “No.” So, we continued westward. The highlight for the day was most definitely our stop at the Very Large Array (VLA). There we took a self guided tour of the site and had the place completely to ourselves. A German couple was leaving as we were arriving. They told us that they were going to Roswell and later Con remarked that they didn’t look very German to her. Hmmmmmmmm. The Very large array is a group of 27 radio telescopes, that are arranged in three rows (120 degrees). If they are spread out to their maximum distance they are the same as a single radio telescope that is more than 16 miles across. . . . 9 Nobel Prizes for Astronomy have resulted from work at the VLA which began operation in 1980. The site was central in the movie, “Contact” based on the Carl Sagan book (I enjoyed the book far more than the movie). The kids “got it” and grasp radio astronomy as much as a fourth and sixth grader can. Audrey was explaining things to her Mother quite accurately. For me, it was almost as good as being at the Kennedy Space Center. Before we began the tour I tossed the ball for Cocoa and as she ran for it 5 jack rabbits scattered. You should have heard Hannah and Audrey as they saw these “large” rabbits run. Back on the highway we continued westward climbing to over 8,400 feet in LaFawnduh (she knows she’s back in the west) and crossing the Continental Divide (7,796 feet) near mile marker 56 on US Highway 60 in New Mexico. As we neared the Arizona border we were back into stands of Ponderosa Pine (my favorite tree). We were nearering home. Our campsite for the evening is one of those unexpected and absolutely marvelous finds. On the shore of a lake surrounded by hills on all sides. So much so that we don’t have any Verizon reception, or antenna reception for the TV, and the stupid ol’ satellite is only picking up European channels. Geez. Tomorrow we move northwest towards The Grand Canyon, That is if I fail in my attempt to have a rest day here at this beautiful spot, paved sites, long enough for LaFawnduh and Kip without disconnecting, 50 amp service, covered picnic tables, full hook-ups and all of that for $19 a night. Best value in my estimation for the entire trip. FYI: Mileage for the day: 426 in LaFawnduh Quote of the Day: provided by Hannah, “Do you know what I like about this road? No dead animals.” November 2nd, Sunday: It’s good to be back in the west. We are all feeling as if we are “close” to home, reminding me that it is simply a matter of perspective. For we are the closest we’ve been to home in the past three months albeit a long ways away. Two friends of ours, NPS Rangers Marge Koehler and Mike Murphy were stationed at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. There they met and were later married. Mike, a geologist always raved about the caves in the area and today we were able to see them with our own eyes. Not to mention the 3-1/2 mile hike we made in the cavern, at least 750 feet beneath the surface of the earth. It was fascinating. Although there were others in the cave at the same time we were, people were speaking as if they were in a cathedral, which in a way was exactly where they were. A natural cathedral whose beauty was remarkable. We all had a good time. At times we all pierced the solemn atmosphere with our laughter. There are over 3,000 known caves in the Guadalupe Mountains. The cave that we were in and almost all of the others have bats, unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) the bats had already left on their migration to Mexico, so where we were there were none, other than their guano. We were told that in one of the neighboring caves (in Slaughter Canyon) the guano dates back 200,000 years. Unfortunately we ran out of time to see that particular wonder of the world. Shucks. Maybe next time. While we were at Carlsbad Cavern we met a gal wearing a tee shirt which read, “I Am a Mexican Not Latino”. I struck up a conversation with her and one thing led to another. She ended up being from Carlsbad (United States last time I checked) and she recommended a restaurant to us. The girls and I went to the off the beaten path, Rojas Mexican Restaurant, and we happened to be the only white people there (out of thirty or so patrons). I enjoyed traditional menudo, a soup made of . . . . Stuff. Things that you might not want to know what they are. But, it was pretty good and the meal was finished with Sopapillas, similar to my family’s fried bread, but dusted with cinnamon and sugar and drizzled with honey (because the sugar alone wasn’t sweet enough). Con raved about the handmade tortillas. H & A had huge smiles on their faces as well. Nearly every female at the restaurant (including our waitress) looked like Sonia Robledo, or at least as if they could be her cousins. To finish the day’s activities we stopped by the Department of Energy’s Visitor Center which happens to be next door to our campground. There we learned how the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is disposing of defense related nuclear waste (processing material and the old warheads). The waste is being buried 2,150 feet underground in 250-million year old salt formations. I suppose you have to do something with it as it isn’t yet feasible to launch it into space and plunge it into the sun. So today we studied geology, physics (nuclear decay), desert ecology, botany, zoology (desert mammals, reptiles and birds and discussed how animals have adapted to living even in Carlsbad Cavern 750 feet beneath the surface and in total darkness (bats, spiders, crickets, and of course the always adaptive ant). Oh yeah, and we learned of the four S’s to avoid down here. Snakes, spiders, scorpions, and skunks. Last night Connie and I were both awakened by a familiar, obtrusive odor. That of a nearby skunk. Today we also discussed how different our experiences of today were when compared to our experiences of New York City. That gal is probably still working at the New Jersey toll booth, taking everyone’s buck fifty, and probably still there with an attitude of “this sucks”; While we felt very fortunate to be looking at cactuses in bloom and even spied trees in red fall foliage. Man, the air smelled great even though a relatively short distance away were barrels of decomposing uranium and plutonium and other chemicals. Of all the branches of the government to work for, I think it is a good thing to avoid working for the Department of Energy. But, that is just a personal opinion. I’d hate to be that schmuck in the salt mine. November 1st, Saturday: This past Monday we were in Florida. Today we crossed the border from Texas into New Mexico and as we did we entered the Mountain Time Zone. It was instantly an hour earlier at the border crossing. Tonight we roll our clocks back and it will be another hour earlier. So, we gained two hours simply by stepping across a border. I don’t know why but as we crossed the border the number of oil wells greatly diminished from what the number had been in Texas. To the untrained eye (mine), the land looks identical. Strangely, what we see in abundance here in the southeast corner of New Mexico are cotton fields (I was expecting to see bean fields, not soy beans, but bean beans). We pulled into Carlsbad, NM after putting 425 miles on LaFawnduh. This is the highest single day total of the trip thus far (surpassing day one when we put on 421 miles driving between Port Angeles and Post Falls, Idaho. It has been a long week of driving LaFawnduh. Quite a change from the mostly leisurely pace that we had from Danville all the way to New Orleans. Our reason for being here is of course Hannah. She has insisted that we see a cave for more than a year before the trip began. She had begged to see Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but we didn’t go to Kentucky. Sunday Hannah will be in Carlsbad Caverns. She is looking forward to it.

Texas

Have you seen the pictures lately? If you haven't remember to go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30520769@N06/ November 1st, Saturday: It was a good couple days in the San Antonio area but it was time to keep moving. LaFawnduh is moving northwest on Interstate 10 towards Port Angeles. Recall my comment that Texans do it differently, today is another example of this fact for the speed limit out here in Western Texas is 80 mph. First time we have ever seen this (ever, Montana used to have open highways, but not any longer). Just west of San Antonio the scenery changed as well. Rolling hills made up of mostly live oak and juniper. The consensus of the family is that this was prettier than swamp land. The road kill changed as well. Less in number and more variety (Florida was reptilian, now the majority of the poor creatures are mammalian). Near Junction, Texas over a 200 yard section of roadway we saw a raccoon, a snake, and a fox. We never see any creatures out by the highway during daylight so the thought is that the animals are all perishing at night when they come onto the roadway for warmth. For the most part, these southern states (Texas included) has road kill that is more or less indiscernible. We haven’t seen a single road crew on Texas' I-10 and we have been on it for hundreds of miles. Shredded tire tread and animals are very abundant. We haven’t even seen anyone mowing in Texas. There isn’t grass as you and I know it, but there is something that is akin to grass along the median and road side. It is straggly and about eighteen inches high. Sparse. At Fort Stockton we headed northwest on a 2-lane highway (with a wide shoulder no less). We were considering stopping in Pecos, until we actually drove through it and decided to pass. North of Pecos on US Highway 285 we saw our first mountains since North Carolina. There were shouts of joy in LaFawnduh. An observation: This land is what you and I would refer to as being desolate. However, the original immigrants to the area were folks trying to farm (unsuccessfully) or ranch (we have seen more goats grazing than beef cattle). So, these folks were hard pressed to make ends meet. Then oil was discovered at the same time our culture decided that it couldn’t exist without it and these dirt farmers were almost instantly wealthy. Con has a former colleague in Missoula who has so much wealth from her family’s oil royalties that she owned Ali Sheba, a pretty fine racehorse in his day. Horse racing was a hobby for Pam S. You do such things if you have Texan oil. That is until the easy oil has been removed and all is left is the more expensive crude oil (requiring steam extraction techniques, etc.). We saw a number of capped wells but don't worry, these resilient Texans have been replaced the oil wells with wind generators. So, the moral to this little paragraph is that Texans take nothing and become filthy rich from it. Land that was thought to be useless. Air that is driven by the sun. Geez, Texans are bright people. Or at least very lucky, or very adaptive. As we neared the New Mexico border we saw the first large farm. A dairy farm. Probably 300 Jerseys in the pasture. Circle irrigation platforms were nearby providing water for hay (and cotton). There were also a number of drilling rigs working the land. Belching diesel exhaust into the sky as the RPM’s turned up to drill another pipe length. There are two grades of diesel. On road and off road. On road has practically no sulphur content these days and is actually very clean. I see this grade of diesel fuel as being an alternative fuel to gasoline powered passenger cars (Volkswagen for instance is providing diesel engines in most of its line, JEEP is even going to have a diesel option for the Wrangler). If you see black smoke belching into the air (as when a locomotive begins to move or as we observed on the oil platforms) that diesel fuel is “off road”. It has a different standard and is chalked full of sulphur. The worse fuel for pollution is however one that we have passing by us in Port Angeles. Bunker oil. One tanker produces as much air pollution in one day as 100,000 cars. And, we have seen a dozen ocean going vessels in front of the Bluff House at one time. Ponder that one friend. October 31st Trick or Treating in Boerne, Texas (pronounced Bernie), We drove the short distance into the small community of Boerne. The girls were glad we did. After a short while there were nothing but smiles and two jack-o-lanterns full of candy. They would have had more candy except the kind Boerne folks would inevitably ask, “Where do you live?” When they did this they expected to hear “two blocks from here on Oak Street”, but what the girls told them was, “Port Angeles, Washington”. And, the five-ten minute conversation was begun. One gal even took the time to call her sister and describe the girls to her. She also gave Con a newspaper article describing the founding of Boerne (German immigrants). Comments from this evening: Audrey: “This is the best Halloween ever! People are so sweet!” “Let’s go home I have enough candy to last until Christmas!” Hannah: “It’s a Halloween miracle!” “Dad, I’ll remember this Halloween for as long as I live!” Connie: “I think I’m going to cry.” Halloween is one of those holidays that we hold dear as children. For me it was a combination of quantity and quality. I hoped to reap enough candy to last me until Thanksgiving (Audrey apparently fares better than I). But, I also remember that the Baumgartner’s gave quarters, and Harry Lambert always gave full size Hershey bars, no little miniatures from him. Tonight will undoubtedly be a Halloween that the girls do remember. How couldn't it be? It was 72 degrees out. But, somehow I don’t think it is going to be the weather that the kids remember. Oh yeah, Cocoa was a hot-dog. We took her with us and she was a hit with the kids and adults alike. Tomorrow, unfortunately is November. August, September, October, three solid months of adventure and exploration and wonderful, unexpected treasures such as the people of Boerne, Texas. November means the end of the trip. Now that is sad. October 31, 2008, Friday here in San Antonio: Another one of those days where we experienced a destination that in itself could have been the reason for the trip. The Alamo is a place that we had never been before and it was worth the effort to see it. You know the history of the place and I won’t bother to repeat it here, absolutely fascinating. We know the names, Crockett, Bowie, and William Travis, who as commandant of the fort wrote the eloquent letter asking for reinforcements. To The People of Texas andAll Americans In The World --February 24, 1836 Fellow citizens & compatriots, I am beseiged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country -- VICTORY OR DEATH William Barret TravisLt. Col. Comdt. Only 32 men came to the Alamo to reinforce the garrison. All from Gonzalez, Texas. They would all die in the end. Then there is downtown San Antonio. The River Walk and the River itself (actually flood control canals). Picturesque and the closest thing that we have in the US to rival Venice. Right now there are 3-1/2 miles of waterways and another six miles are under construction to go north (to a brewery) and there is talk of another construction project to further the waterways south. The girls enjoyed the cuisine, the walk, and the boat ride. Right now Con is napping in preparation for tonight’s trick-or-treating, and the girls are playing tennis. For it is Halloweeen in Texas. October 30, 2008, Thursday: Driving around the Houston area a few things were apparent. First, gas was cheap in this oil rich state. $1.99 per gallon of unleaded gasoline, and $2.49 per gallon of diesel at the TA Fuel Service Center off of I-10 approximately 20 miles east of Houston. They are similar to Flying J’s and they proudly display their prices on signs that can easily be seen from the highway. Secondly, there are skyscrapers in the Houston area, but they are difficult to see for all of the POLLUTION. . . . I haven’t seen pollution like this since I was a teenager and we drove through Detroit on the way to Grandpa Bob’s in Capac, Michigan. I've recently been in Los Angeles and for whatever reason, it was nothing like here. This place has air pollution that makes the sky brown. POLLUTION. Made for a great environmental science discussion in LaFawnduh. We drove southwest from Houston towards San Antonio and I was surprised by the heavy traffic volume, which lasted sixty miles or so before finally easing a bit. It was as if we were driving north on I-5 from Seattle on a Friday evening, but it was only Thursday morning. Go figure. Road kill has finally subsided. It seems that in the south they don’t bother to pick up road kill since they realize that eventually vultures will haul the pieces away or the semi trucks will flatten them out to indiscernible masses. Not so much in Texas, but definitely in Florida and Louisiana. Geez, there have been dead things all over the place. Not just a few, but folks, lots of them. So many, I'm getting tired of looking at them. Another thing that I have noticed here in the south. Right now the temperatures are very pleasant and I would expect to see a plethora of bicycles on the roads. But, alas I have only seen one in the entire south, and that was way back in Florida. One of the reasons may be that these southerners do not understand the concept of road shoulders. There are absolutely none on many of the 2-lane highways around here. Beyond the fog line (the continuous white line on the edge of the roadway) is dirt. I would not ride a bicycle on these roads. One could write a song, “Where have all the bicyclists gone? A long time passing.” With the cheap gas Texans have an abundance of Chevy Suburbans and Dodge one ton pickups. And, they drive these things like they were in Boston. Meaning very aggressively. A guy on an on-ramp is not going to yield to LaFawnduh and Kip who is in the traffic lane and is unable to move to the right for the heavy traffic. Geez. Another observation of mine. The roadways in Texas are different than any that I have encountered in America. Seems as if the Texans play by a different set of rules. They don't care what America does, they are simply going to do as Texans care to do. For example, the off-ramps and on-ramps onto I-10 are nothing like anywhere else. Signage is different and good luck in deciphering it. At home I have a collection of US Historical flags (about a dozen which I rotate on a daily basis, but not now, there are no flags at the house). One of them happens to be the “Gonzalez” flag. It is the simplest flag that I have. White with black letters saying, “Come and Take It” and a drawing of a cannon barrel. Pretty simple. It seems that a bunch of Texans had stolen a canon from the Mexican army and hauled it off to a fort in Gonzalez. The Mexicans wanted their canon back (a small, six pounder) so they attacked the fort. After awhile the American flag (stars and stripes) had been so riddled by musket fire that it was indiscernible. The Texans took a sheet and drew on it the cannon and added the above words. The fort held. The above is one of two versions of the Gonzalez Canon story. The second one is boring and I won’t bother to tell it. But, at mile marker 618 is a GREAT Texan rest area where we saw our first cactus of the trip, and the kids played on the playground (safe enough for Andrew to play without requiring suturing). And, there is a replica of the Gonzalez flag and the canon plus the story at the rest stop. I still hold Mississippi in the Number one spot, and West Virginia as number two, but this one now edges out North Carolina for the three spot of rest areas. Sorry, NC. The only reason that the West Virginia site is in the number two spot is that it had a spectacular view of mountains plus unfortuantely, a prison. If the prison weren't there, WV would occupy number one. Rest stops in Louisiana were absolutely non-existent. Most of the rest stops in Texas are actually called, “Picnic Stops” since they lack restrooms but do have covered picnic tables. Geez, that is great. I would not want to walk into the nearby “woods” for the stench of human urine and feces. Not to mention the diamondback rattlesnakes. But, at mile marker 618 on I-10 (westbound) is a great rest area. It is however after the well advertised Buckee truck-stop. This is advertised almost as much as Wall Drug is while driving across South Dakota. Buckee is apparently renowned for their restrooms. Apparently, being in a state where the rest areas lack restrooms means that the private sector has to step up to the plate and provide a place for citizens to go number one and number two. Thank goodness for capitalism. Strange to see billboards bragging about a place to take a pee (no fooling, one read: "Our Restrooms are so Clean You have to Pee our Restrooms, to Believe it"). The parking lot for Buckee was nearly full (on a Thursday afternoon on the day before Halloween no less). But, there was no place to park LaFawnduh and Kip so we had to reluctantly move on. This made for the second day in a row that we’ve been foiled by the lack of parking for our nearly 56 ft. long pair. Alas, I can’t comment about the Buckee restrooms. Oh darn. That’s about it. We are nestled in San Antonio. Actually, we are camping within the city limits, but that is a misnomer, for the city limits extends for miles around what you and I would call the city, heck, we are out in cactus country and we are still in the city of San Antonio. Tomorrow we hope to be tourists and go to the Alamo. For tonight, we will string our lights on LaFawnduh in preparation for the big day, Trick-or-treating RV style. October 29th, Wednesday: 34 degrees in Slidell, Louisiana overnight. Who would have thunked it? We made a list of the things that we wanted to do (see) on the way back to PA. Counting the remaining days in the trip (I do have to get back to work after all and the kids do have to go back to school) and considering the potential unknowns (illnesses, breakdowns (of people and machinery) and the weather), we decided it was time to continue this little venture westward. Fair the well New Orleans. We aren’t going to be at Big Al’s for the all you can eat crab feed on Wednesday night after all. A perfect day for driving. No air conditioner needed, so the windows of the RV were open and the air felt fresh and invigorating. A perfect temperature. There was an elevated section of roadway (I-10) near Baton Rouge that was miles upon miles upon miles of straight roadway above swamp. Swamp. And more swamp. We said, “Hello” to Saint Charles, childhood home of Ivy as we passed by. We tried to stop at the “Boiling Cajun” restaurant west of St. Charles but the parking lot was full and there was nowhere nearby to park the RV-Jeep combination. So, it was back onto the interstate and more smiles and miles. Gasoline in Baton Rouge was $2.11 that’s right. Two dollars and eleven cents per gallon of unleaded regular (87 octane). No typo, no 2 that was supposed to have been a 3 or a 4, Folks, it is a 2. Diesel in and near Baton Rouge was $2.99. After all, those are drilling platforms in the gulf and oil wells in the fields that we are driving past. I wished I had a 900 gallon tank instead of the 90 gallons that it is. Folks it had been up to $4.99 per gallon in PA, and when I filled up in July before the trip I’m pretty sure I paid $4.59, so $2.99 is almost fuel for free. Almost, not quite, but it is $144 cheaper per fill up. That’s significant. There were rice fields in Louisiana. Some recently harvested some near harvest, and some actually being harvested as we drove past. I had never seen that before. We entered the Lone Star State and felt closer to home until we looked at the mile marker. 880. Yep, 880 miles across the state on I-10. I sure wish Con could drive a bit. Her total driving contribution for the trip thus far was 43 miles or so in Minnesota and 1 mile in North Carolina. Around Durham there had been an accident and traffic had slowed to a crawl (stopping from time to time). During one of the stoppages I switched places with Con so that I could use the “head”. Con slipped into the driver’s seat. At the next stoppage we switched again. It was roughly a mile and had taken about fifteen minutes.. Today we are stopped just east of Houston. Today’s driving was 350 Miles including the failed attempt to eat at the Boiling Cajun. That brings the official total for LaFanduh to 8,055. The only reason that we stopped here was to get out the textbooks for the kids. As I’m pecking away at this letter, the girls are working on Math (again). If all goes well, tomorrow we will be in San Antonio and visiting the Alamo. It will soon be November, our last month of this journey and this trip that we have looked forward to for such a long time will soon be in the rear view mirror. That’s kinda sad, so I guess I’ll go toss the ball for Cocoa.