Into Nebraska

20^th June – Cheyenne, Wy to North Platte, NE

Duke

We said our farewells to Bev and Dave.  Their dog, Duke, must have sensed we were leaving as he attempted to get under the RV again. He did this on our previous visit last year just before we left; it was as if he didn’t want us to go. Two days later Cheyenne had a terrific hail storm, with hail over 1 inch in size. This could have done a lot of damage to the motorhome.

The 260 miles along I-80 must have been downhill; Cheyenne is at 6300ft and North Platte at 2700ft.

Last year we visited 28 states.  This is our first time into Nebraska so this makes State Number 29!

We also enter another time zone.

21st June – Nebraska Land Days Rodeo

It turns out that this is North Platte Rodeo week, which they call Nebraskaland Days. 

View of west bound "Hump"

In the morning we visited the Golden Spike Tower which provided a panoramic view of Union Pacific Bailey’s Yard – the world’s largest train yard of it's type.  We learnt many things today.

We now understand how the diesel engines (which regularly number 3 per train) do not ‘pull’ the trains but generate electricity to power the train. Also the wheels and the axles are not actually attached to the cars, they just rest in place by sheer weight. 

We also learnt how train ‘cars’ from the west get directed to their eastern destination and vice versa; via Humps.

Part of the parade

We then headed into town for the 1pm Rodeo Parade through the streets.  The children in the crowd seemed more intent with collecting the sweets that were being thrown to them than what was actually going on in the Parade.

Bill Cody's Ranch House

Afterwards we visited ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody’s Ranch. Bill Cody

certainly had a varied life. At age 14 he was the youngest rider for The Pony Express, riding 322 miles in 21 hours.
He earned the name ‘Buffalo Bill’ whilst employed to provide bison meat for the Railroad workers in Kansas.


In 1877 he established this ranch and then went on to gain international frame with his famous Wild West Shows which toured USA and Europe and England during the late 1890s and early 1900s.  His show came to Salisbury on 6 August 1903.  One of the original carpets in his house was Royal Wilton.  He also brought thoroughbred horses and Hereford and Angus cattle onto his ranch.

22nd June – North Platte to Omaha, NE

We drove further east along the I-80 to meet up with friends Jo and Woody who were travelling from North Carolina to Oregon. 

 

Great Platte River Road Archway

On the way we  passed under The Great Platte River Road Arch way which not only commemorates the important part the river played in the development of the West but also marks the middle of the USA.

 

Relaxing by the lake.

We met up in the Louisville State Park, just outside the city of Omaha, and were horrified to discover there was a quarry right beside the park with trains running twice an hour, day and night.

 

 

 

23rd June – Louisville, NE

 

Kingfisher on the other side of the lake

When trains weren’t running this as a lovely spot by the North Platte River.  We were surrounded by Cottonwood trees which were shedding their downy seed in the slight breeze. Camped next to a lake Paul caught a couple of small catfish.  We saw several birds such as Heron, Kingfishers, Orioles, Robins.  Blackbirds were nesting just above us and took exception to Pumpkin, Jo and Woody’s cat.  They made a lot of noise and periodically would dive bomb her. At 16 years of age she was not about to start climbing trees!

Pumpkin

 

Tomorrow (24th) we head for Iowa.

Cheyenne

13^th –19^th June.

We have now been in Cheyenne for close on a week. In that time we have caught up on one or two maintenance tasks on the Motorhome and car. On the journey to Cheyenne the car sustained a rather big stone chip to the front windscreen, so that has now been fixed. One or two screws had come loose (no comments please) on the Motorhome, so they have also been fixed.

We have been shopping to restock the larder, and in-between we have soaked in the Hot Tub and spent some pleasant evenings with Bev & Dave.

Today (Thursday) Alison and Bev have gone out for the day riding the horses, so having some time to myself I decided to have a walk around the Botanic Gardens in Cheyenne. I was amazed to see that a pair of Geese had sixteen youngsters.

The gander had obviously be doing his bit for wildlife conservation.

Tomorrow we leave Cheyenne and head east into Nebraska, first stop will be in North Platte and then on to Omaha, where we will meet up with friends Jo & Woody.

On the road again.

6th June – Tucson to Holbrook, Az

Paul’s birthday!  So after he had opened his birthday cards we set off north from Tucson.  Driving 270 miles was not the most exciting way to spend a birthday but when we arrived at Holbrook we went for a very nice Italian meal in the evening.

7th June – Petrified Forest and Painted Desert NP

I think its wood?

The camp site provided free coffee and muffins for breakfast and then we drove up to visit the Petrified Forest National Park.    Trees that lived over 200 million years ago have become stone.  Petrified trees are in other parts of the world but these ones in Arizona are particularly noted for their variety of rainbow colours.  Before the area became a park souvenir hunters collected a lot of the ‘wood’ so sadly large tree trunks are scarce. This is a finite resource as they aren’t making any more these days!

At least this far north the temperature is cooling – it was only 33C today!

8th June – Holbrook to Chinle

We set off north again, towards Chinle.  The area of Arizona that we now enter is a Navajo reservation.  The first thing we have to do is change the clocks forward an hour as this part of the state operates Daylight Saving Time (unlike the rest of the state).

We stopped for coffee at the Hubbell Trading Post which is of historic significance for this area.  The Navajo had been ‘removed’ from the area in 1864-68 (known as The Long Walk) and upon their return they needed a central point to aid trade etc.

It was set up in 1876 and became the main point for the Navajo to trade goods.

We then carried on to our final destination of Canyon De Chelly National Monument. Many Navajo families still live in the canyon so local guides were available for visits to the Canyon floor.  However we decided to drive around the South Rim, that afternoon, viewing the many ruins which could be seen across the canyon.  The Canyon walls stand at over 1000ft and some of the ruins are over 1500 years old. 

 

 

9th June – Canyon de Chelly to Monument Valley

In the morning we drove the North Rim and checked out the various overlooks across Canyon del Muerto, which converges with Canyon de Chelly.

At the bottom of both canyons are rivers and we could see areas that have been planted for farming, as well as horses and cattle.

After lunch we set off to Monument Valley, the classic icons of Western Film sets.  This area was very busy with tourists and we had to dry camp in the campsite car park for the first night as the campsite was full.  However we got to use the amenities, such as the swimming pool, and then after dinner we drove to the parks visitor centre to watch the sunset on the Valley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th June – Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Navajo guided jeep tours are available but we decided to take the car as we could see many other people were not having any problems with the dirt track road.  So after we relocated the RV to a site within the camp ground, we drove the 18 mile route stopping for sandwiches part way round.  Some of the monuments are up to 1500ft tall and seem so familiar to me, having been brought up with the Westerns directed by John Ford, many of which starred John Wayne. 

Harry Goulding, a local trader, went to Hollywood to meet the film director and showed him photos of the Valley. We learnt that the films did not boost the local economy as much as we might have thought. 

 

 

 Although local people were employed as ‘Extras’, the film crews brought everything else with them such as food, accommodation and livestock.  However judging from the number of tourists around I am sure the local area has made up for it now.  We understand there used to be just four Jeep Tour companies now there are 27!

In the evening we had a meal at the “View Restaurant” in the park and watched the sun setting whilst we ate some traditional Navajo stew of lamb or chicken.  There was an exhibition explaining the situation of the Navajo and how oil and uranium had been found on their land and how the working populace had been exploited.  There was also an interesting exhibit about the Navajo Code Talkers contribution to the war in the Pacific during WWII.

11th June – Arizona and Utah to Colorado

Monument Valley is right on the state line of Arizona and Utah.  So today we are covering 3 states as we set off for Colorado.  We drive through Moab and past Arches and Canyonlands National Parks; two places that we visited just 12 months ago. We stop for a couple of nights at Highline Lake State Park near Loma.

12th June – Highline Lake State Park

It has been a busy few days so we take some time to chill out.  Paul goes fishing on the Lake – with some success!  Fish for dinner. (a 3lbs Trout) caught-cooked and eaten within two hours. During our stay we watched a Robin feeding her young in the tree next to our Motorhome.

 

13th June – Travel to Cheyenne Wyoming

We travel the I-70 east towards Denver, following the Colorado River. Then head north on I-25 to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  A total of 385 miles – the longest we’ve driven in one day!

The route takes us up through the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. We passed many ski-resort areas with pretty Alpine-style  buildings.

Our lunch stop was at 10500ft where there were a number of vehicles parked. 

People bring their bicycles up here and then use the cycle path to cycle back down (presumably someone meets them at the bottom to go back up to collect the car as it would be a long way to cycle back up!).

We encountered a lot of traffic around Denver which slowed us up a little, finally we arrived at Bev & Dave’s ranch about half five.

After a long days traveling a G&T was in order and then something to eat, we were glad to get to bed that night.

We will now chill out here for a few days before resuming our journey north east.

 

 

We Are Back

29^th May – 5^rd June  - We’ve arrived!

We arrived in Tucson at 10pm on Thursday 29^th after a gruelling 21 hours of travel.  Spent that night in a hotel near the airport and were then picked up by our friends Susan & Reve on Friday morning.

We were a little apprehensive on what state the Motorhome and car were going to be in after being stored for six months.  Reve had already managed to uncover the car and get that going so at least one less job to do.

Now for the motor home; the huge cover came off and Alison went inside to open some windows.

Now to get it started, one turn of the ignition and the engine roared into life. A great relief all round.

Susan & Reve's Home

Our (slightly smaller) Home

We then moved both vehicles to a better site to spend the next week.

We had already planned for the motorhome to go to a garage for servicing on Monday. We soon found out that we had a problem with the car as the water temperature gauge and the AC did not work. (Driving a car in temperatures of 40C without AC is not good). All fuses checked and OK so into the garage would go the car as well.

Saturday Alison dragged me along to a horse show and then on Sunday evening we went to a concert in the park with Susan & Reve.  It was lovely to be sat watching the sunset as the Tucson Philharmonic orchestra played.

Monday we found out that the problem with the car was “Pack Rats” eating through some of the electrical cables.  (Why can’t they eat normal food).  So Monday evening both vehicles were back in the park with $550 less in our wallet.

Gambles Quail

 We do not do too much during the daytime as it is so hot.  Tucson is having record temperatures for this time of year ie 42C – the swimming pool is a welcome cool down later in the day.  The RV resort is almost empty for the summer so the wildlife is quite active.  We regularly see families of Gambles Quails, with their tiny chicks, running about.
 The Saguaro cacti are flowering.

Rabbit outside our door

Today is Thursday, and having spent a great week with Susan & Reve we say our goodbye's as they pulled out of the park this morning. They are heading north east towards Detroit, much the same as us but a lot faster as they will be back in Tucson by August.

We have now worked out our route for the next couple of weeks, so we will be leaving Tucson in the morning heading back up into Colorado.    

Return to the US

We have now come to the end of our six months back in the UK. On Thursday 29th we will return to the US hopefully for another year of travelling.
Our motor home is in storage in Tucson, Arizona. so that is were we will start our second journey around America.





For several months in the UK we rented a flat in the Cathedral Close, at one point around Christmas we had to contend with the flooding river. And then Spring came.

Watch this space for updates on our new adventures.

The RVs Last Few Miles

1 Nov – Tucson

The RV did the last few miles down to Desert Trails RV park in Tucson where it will be staying for the next 6 months.  We had stayed at this park for a month back in March and met a few familiar faces when we checked in. 

We had been in touch with the jHavelina Hash who were organising the Hash De Tucson this weekend.  So we met up with them for some drinks Friday evening.  They were all dressed up in Halloween/Waking Dead theme costumes and makeup.

2^nd Nov – Hash De Tucson

The Hash De Tucson was to be 4 consecutive trails totalling around 16 miles.  We joined them at the half way halt and did the afternoon trails which took us through the desert for a couple of hours

before arriving at somebody’s house for the ‘Après’.

 

A very friendly bunch and we had an invite to join some of them for the All Souls Parade the following day.

3^rd Nov – All Souls Parade

Mid-afternoon we set off to join Geno and his friends for a pre-parade party and preparations.

This involved food, alcohol and face paint. 
We then walked into Downtown Tucson where thousands of people were gathering to watch the parade in honour of loved ones lost.  The majority of people were dressed up for the occasion.  Many people carried mementos of their lost ones.

We walked with the parade for about 20 mins and then stood and watched it continue down the streets.

4^th – 11^th Nov Desert Trails

We spent the rest of our time here in Tucson preparing the RV for storage including trying out its new cover.  We met several familiar faces at the resort that we had met back in March and did a bit of catching up with everyone’s adventures over the summer. 

  We played bocce ball a couple of afternoons enjoying happy hour after spending a hot 2 hours in the afternoon sun.  The day time temperature is between 25-30C but at night it drops down to 5-8C.  Every evening we listen to the coyotes howling our in the surrounding desert.
The resort had a number of musical evening entertainments that we attended and also a ‘soup & salad’ lunch one day.

On the last Saturday we visited with the jHavelina Hash again for a trail that took us around the northern outskirts of town for around 5 miles. After the hash we joined them at a local pub.

12^th Nov – Last day in Tucson

We have spent our last night in the RV.  We park the RV in the spot where it will spend the next 6 months and secure it and get the cover over it.  We say a fond farewell, and a friend gives us a lift to the hotel near the airport ready for tomorrow’s flight to Austin Texas.  We will be joined in Texas by Louise and all three of us will spend the weekend at the 2013 Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas before flying back to UK on 20^th November.
 

This marks the end of Our Big Adventure which we started nearly 16 months ago.  We return to UK

for 6 months and then will fly back out to Tucson on 29^th May 2014 to begin all over again……….

This has been our home for 16 months, it seem strange to be leaving it covered over.

To be continued…………………………………….

Still in Arizona

28^th Oct – Travel to Casa Grande

We said our goodbyes to our neighbours Bill and Shirley and set off east along I-8 to Casa Grande.  We stopped on the way at “Dateland”.  General Patton had a couple of training camps in this area in the ‘40s including an air-strip . 

 

However the construction of the runway could not cope with the B25 Bombers.   This place is now home to a Date Farm as it has ideal weather for growing dates.  So we stopped and had a Date Milkshake before continuing to Casa Grande just south of Phoenix.

29^th Oct – Casa Grande Ruins NM

We visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument an ancient dwelling built around the 14^th Century.  The local people living here at the time had built irrigation ditches along the valleys where  the rivers flowed and it is estimated around 2000 people may have lived here in those days. Stonehenge was mentioned as there is a window in the building of this dwelling which aligns with the summer solstice sun.

We got back in time to join residents of the RV park for Happy Hour.

We had considered driving to Picacho State Park for a hike up the mountain there, but having seen the weather forecast of ‘bad air quality’ due to dust we decided to leave it until later in the week.  We were glad we had made that decision as later we heard on the evening news of a fatal accident involving a 19-vehicle pile-up on the I-10 by the State Park.  Where there is bear earth the breeze had created a cloud of dust across the interstate which was as thick as fog.

30^th Oct – Az State Fair, Phoenix

Phoenix was just over an hour’s drive so we spent the day at the Arizona State Fair.  There were the usual attractions; fair-ground rides, craft displays, farm animals.  We sat in on an Ice carving demo, a talk about wolves and some Native American Indian dancing.  The highlight for Alison was the Star  Trek Exhibition. (Paul was conned into going) It was one of the largest exhibitions featuring sets and costumes from all five TV series and 11 films.

Alison even got to sit in Captain Kirk’s chair. 

Unfortunately photography was not allowed.

31th Oct – Picacho Peak

The weather was just right for our climb up Picacho Peak – and we do mean “climb”.  The Peak is only 3374ft high; 1500ft above our starting point.  However the trail took us up to the ‘saddle’ at 2960ft, we then had to climb back down 200ft the other side of the mountain, with the aid of cables, to discover we had to climb straight back up again with the aid of more cables.  The 2 miles up took us an hour and 40mins and almost the same coming back down.  At the top we had 360 views all around the valley.  The state park was surrounded by agricultural land and one of the crops is cotton.

Picacho Peak is of historical significance in that it was the only place in Arizona to witness a battle during the American Civil War.