Spring Trip South 2019

The pictures show why be decided to head south for a few months.

Day 1 Monday, March 18

Heading out today.   After breakfast, finished loading the last minute stuff into the motorhome.  We stopped as normal to hook Goldie to the motorhome in front of the Spencer Lake tavern.  Off we went.  In town, Judy suddenly cried out, “Richard, the Jeep is way off to the right.”  Well I managed to stop in a good place and got out to look.   Sure enough.  One of the holders of the tow bar had come out of its holder.  As a result the bar was bent and the rock shield was bent almost in half.  I managed to get it all apart and put in the Jeep.  We went back home.  I called a Roadmaster parts dealer and went and ordered new parts.   We spent our first night of our trip living in our driveway.  No use unloading.

Day 2 Tuesday, March 19

Spent a quiet day at home.  In the afternoon I went a picked up the parts and put them on the Jeep.  Expensive lesson not to make sure the holder are put in right.   Since it was late we spent another night in our driveway.  Beautiful weather with a pretty view of the lake.

Day 3 Wednesday March 20

Well off we went again.  We made it through town without incident.  Constant watching Goldie in the rear view camera.   Stopped at a Pilot just south of Tumwater and filled up with diesel and checked and balanced the tire air.  We drove all the way to Caswell, OR spending the night at Meadowlark RV park.  Eugene, OR apparently has a no overnight camping on streets or parking lots so we could not spent the night at Walmart.

Day 4 Thursday March 21

Off we went heading south on I-5.  Only a few patches of snow along the road through the Siskiyou mts.  Beautiful Mt Shasta sticking its head out of the clouds is always nice to see. We drove through the area where they had forest fires which sent the smoke all the way up to Shelton.  Spent the night in Lakehead Campground.  A nice place in the woods but had to ford a small stream to get in to it.  They did have good wi-fi so we could watch a movie.

Day 5 Friday March 22

We woke up to a light rain and we had light rain most of the day.  The drive today was good even through Sacramento.  Only a few slowdowns.  Spent the night at Kit Fox RV park at Patterson, CA.  Our hot water heater has decided to act up.  It heat up the water to tepid and then shuts off.

Day 6 Saturday March 23

Left the RV park and headed south again on I-5.  Stopped for diesel.  Light rain off and on and mostly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-60’s.   When we got to Tejon Pass it got very foggy so much so I could not see more than a few hundred feet.   We got off at a rest area to wait it out.  We saw a state patrol car come by with lights flashing going slow in the middle of the 3 lane freeway.  Well it cleared off some so off we went.  In about 3 miles there was a huge back up which lasted 3 and one half hours of mostly standstill.  There was a big accident.  We saw at least 4 ambulances go by, 16 tow vehicles, many state patrol and sheriff cars go by plus a horse trailer.  We were only 30 miles from the RV park we were planning to stay.

Don’t want to go through one of those again.  There were still horses at the accident site, one on the ground covered up.  Apparently at least one horse trailer was involved in the accident. A few wrecked cars on wreckers were still there.

Spent the night at Castaic Lake RV park just down the mountain from Tejon pass.  Of course it was late, as in dark, when we got there.  We had dinner and went to bed planning to get up early in the am to make the dash to Sun City, AZ.

Day 7 Sunday March 24

We got up at 6:30 and had a quick breakfast and set out.  Our plan was to be in Sun City to go to a concert with Andy and Laurie at 6 pm.  The mileage was around 370 miles which is a long day for us.  California has a 55 mph speed limit for vehicles pulling a trailer.   So down I-5 we went, traffic not bad as expected and finally too I-10 east.  The road was very rough and bumpy, not too fun to drive on.  Once we got past Palm Desert I decided to go about 60 mph in order to make our date on time.  Not worried about state police as most truck and trailer were going faster than that.  At one mile in AZ we stopped for fuel and lunch.  GPS said we should get to the RV park in Peoria ( close to Sun City) about 4:30.  Well we got to within 30 miles of the exit off of I-10 and the GPS redirected us around an accident just ahead.  This cost us a few extra minutes.  We got to the park and they had a spot for us.  Whew, they do not take reservations.  We got set up and Andy and Laurie came and got us and took us to the Huey Lewis and the News tribute band.  Laurie had made a tasty picnic lunch with wine to eat at the concert.  We listened for a while then went to Laurie and Andy’s to see their refurbished house and to play a few hands of cards.  Went back to the motor home, had some tea and went to bed.

Day 8 Monday March 25

Andy and Laurie came over and Judy and Laurie went shopping.  Andy helped me look at the hot water heater.  Well when all was said and done, the problem of low temperature hot water was a valve turned the wrong way diluting the hot water.  Good as it saved some money on a new thermostat.  The fluorescent light was flickering and Andy the electrician said that the problem was the bulbs.  Instead, we went to Home Depot and got a LED light to replace the existing light.   Andy left to go golfing and I put in the new light and put the hot water heater part back on.   One of the window latches was broken so I went to the neighboring RV store and bought and put on the new one.  After lunch, Judy and Laurie came and we went to the rec center for a swim and do the walking exercises.  Laurie invited us for pizza dinner and cards afterwards and of course we said yes.  Fun evening.  So nice to see our dear friends and be together again.  


Day 9 Tuesday March 26           

Slept in today.  After breakfast called Joyce and Briant who are our neighbors in Shelton to see about getting together for lunch.   They ran over something on the freeway which tore out the exhaust system on their Mercedes motorhome and it is getting fixed here in the Phoenix area.  They had hoped to be on their way home by now.  We met them at Babbo Italian restaurant just off 101N loop road and 67 th.  We enjoyed several hours eating and talking together.  We went back home for a while and then headed over to Laurie and Andy’s.  Well we were supposed to be there around 4 and we lost track of time and did not leave home until quarter to 5.  All was ok until I realized I had left my camera at the restaurant.  When we got to Andy and Laurie’s we called but they said no one had turned it in.  Drats!  Laurie had a very nice dinner and we played cards (hand and foot).  Great time, especially when the guys won at cards.  We headed to the restaurant to see about the camera.  We got their just about closing and yeah they had the camera.  They were supposed to have called if they found it.  Oh well, all is good.

Day 10 Wednesday March 27

We slept in this morning and relaxed most of the early day.  Went to Fry’s grocery store and bought a few items.  Lunch.   At 3 pm we went over to Andy and Laurie’s and had dinner.  Laurie’s father was there today and it was nice to see him again.  Laurie made spaghetti for dinner.  We brought garlic bread.  Andy and I went to a neighbor’s house to help them switch out and old bed for a new one.  While Judy and I watched Survivor, Andy and Laurie took her father back home.  We planned getting together tomorrow to go to the cave creek recreation area for a hike and picnic.

Day 11 Thursday March 28 

We picked up Andy and Laurie and headed north of Phoenix to Cave Creek Regional Recreation Area for a hike and picnic.  The area is hilly with lots of cacti and other desert plants.  We hiked about a mile in a loop.  Too hot for us Washingtonians to be in the heat that much.   We found the covered picnic area and had lunch. Some flowers and cacti were blooming, no snakes, one lizard and some birds. There are horseback rides available and there was lots of horses on the trails.  Dropped the “kids’ back at their house and we came home.  Had chicken for dinner and later went to Dairy Queen for a chocolate-vanilla swirl cone.

Day 12 Friday March 29 

We had a relaxing morning.  Went to the Lutheran thrift store and looked around.  Judy bought a few outfits.  We picked up a TriOminos game cheap.  Went to Fry’s grocery and CVS pharmacy getting ready for company for dinner.  Joyce and Briant came over for dinner.  We got fish dinners from the Peoria Café.  The fish was very good.  Fun evening.

Day 13 Saturday March 30 

Rockhounding day today.  The first place we went was Burro Creek which is north and west of Wickenburg.  Part of the way is a seven mile trip over a dirt road and then 2.5 miles on a 4-wheel drive road.  Unfortunately, on one curve on the 4-wheel drive road the road was very sloping and rough and Goldie slid and had a little run in with a Joshua tree.  The tree decided to rip the right front fender off of Goldie. It appears that is all the damage.

check out the fender area.

  We did find lots of pastilite which the area is noted for.  Somehow we missed the turnoff to the next site.  So we decided to go somewhere else.  Not too far from the huge open pit Baghdad copper mine was an area which was loaded with agate.  There was supposed to be some red and yellow jasper but I think most of the material near the road was already picked up.  Lots and lots of agate here. May need to go back and look further from the road. We headed the 80 miles back home.  Judy made ham, beans and salad for dinner.  I called Safeco and made arrangements to take Goldie in to see what it will take to fix her up like new.

Day 14 Sunday March 31  

Andy and Laurie took us to Lake Pleasant Regional park which is just north of Sun City/Peoria.  It is a huge reservoir.

 Lots of three foot carp in lake

There are lots of picnic areas, camping and boat launches.  And trails.  A very pretty place. 

On the way home stopped at In-and-Out burger joint and took their special burgers and fries to Laurie and Andy’s to eat.  Played cards, Hand and Foot.  Us guys could not lose as we were getting all the right cards.  Poor ladies.  Switched to Tri-Ominos.  Fun evening.

Day 15 Monday April 1 

I took Goldie to the fixit shop to get an estimate on repairs.   Well, only $990 dollars.  I have set up to take her in Wednesday to get her put back together.  Had lunch and went to office to do email. After wards we went to the grocery store to pick up a few items and to get Judy’s pills.  We had pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.  Met Andy and Laurie at the rec center and went for a swim.  It felt good.

Day 16 Tuesday April 2 

We went rockhounding today southwest of Wickenburg.   We drove south on the Vulture mine road to the Aguilla road and went another 8.7 miles on a dirt road.  The rockhounding area was about a mile off the main road on a smaller dirt almost 4-wheel drive road. The little mountain was rhyolite with crystals and crystal filled geodes.  While the area was well picked over we did find some nice samples.  I did not want to spend my time with a big hammer and chisel to break apart the rock looking for new veins.  

Very pleasant day in the boonies.  On the way back home, stopped to wash off Goldie getting ready for her new fender tomorrow and Judy and I bought a few items in Wickenburg.  Andy and Laurie came over for a dinner of soft tacos and cards.  Fun day and evening.

Day 17 Wednesday April 3

I took Goldie at 8 am to the repair shop to get the fender and bumper fixed.  Got a rental car and went back home.  While I was taking the car in, Joyce our Shelton neighbor visited Judy. Judy did the laundry and I swept and vacuumed the floor.  In the afternoon we went to the Sun City Del Webb museum.  The museum is in one of the first five model houses for the city and the museum tells the history of Sun City and the story of Del Webb.  Laurie brought her father to see the museum also.  We went to spend the rest of the afternoon at Andy and Laurie’s house. They made a very nice dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes and salad.  Yummm.

Day 18 Thursday April 4 

We went with Laurie and Andy to a small little restaurant not too far away for breakfast.   It was very good.  Afterwards we went to a few garage sales and a Estate Sale store which has lots of beautiful things.  We dropped them off at their house and went home.  While making dinner the power went off.  Lucky dinner was ready.  I called the office about the electricity and they sent a man to check.   The 30 amp system was not working and appeared the breaker was good.  Could not find the problem.  Plugged into the 20 amp 110 v system.  The repair man said the main repair man will be in at 8 am tomorrow.  In the evening, read and knitted and listened to classical music.

Day 19 Friday April 5

We got the power plug fixed this morning by the RV park and now we are back on 30 amps.  The sprayer for the toilet was leaking so I went looking for a new one and found one at Home Depot.  After lunch we went to pick up Goldie.  She looks great.  They left off a protective panel under the bumper and did not admit to it being there.  I think it was part of the skid package we bought some time ago and not a regular Jeep part.  If I find it the repair place will buy it and put it on.  Did puzzles and knitted before Andy and Laurie picked us up to take us to the Peoria Café for their fish dinner.   Laurie bought some gewertztramiener  wine to drink.  One of the waitress said it was her favorite and had a sip with us.  Later she brought us some of her homemade Bailey’s Irish cream.  Fun time.

Day 20 Saturday April 6

 We picked up Laurie and headed out rockhounding.  We went to the geode place we went to a few days ago.  This time we went to the other side of the mountain.  There were a lot more geodes unfortunately they were very hard to get out of the host rock.

Laurie looking for one more rock.

Very pleasant temperature.  After eating lunch there we headed off further down the Aguilla road to an area to get apache tears and chalcedony roses.   We found some even though this is a very popular place.  We headed back to Wickenburg and hit a few of the shops.  Bought a few things in Gina’s.  Dropped Laurie off at home and stopped to say hi to Andy.   Judy and I made nachos for dinner.   Went to bed early to get up early to head south to Tucson.

Day 21 Sunday April 7   

We took off from Sun City/Peoria driving south on 101 Loop to I-10.  There was construction south of Phoenix which led to a many mile detour around the construction.  Stopped for lunch a Picacho peak state park. We heard the wild flowers were good there this year but we were too late for the show. Arrived at the Prince of Tucson RV park and got space 73.  We got all set up and relaxed.  Craig and Wanda were at the symphony and arrived home at 5.  We went out to dinner at Mexican restaurant then to their house for ice cream.  It was sure great to see them again.

Day 22 Monday April 8

Craig drove us to Madera Canyon in the Coronado National Forest.  This is a prime bird watching area.  Besides, it is high up in the mountains where it is much cooler.  Got to 93 degrees today.  Whew.  We saw lots of hummingbirds, Mexican jays, goldfinches, pine siskins, wild turkeys, etc. ( The etc. was my favorite  a beautiful red cardnal ! Judy) Ate lunch at 5400 feet.  When we got back they made a very good pork rib dinner.  Yummy!!  We had a nice day.

Day 23 Tuesday April 9

We (Judy, Craig and I) went to the University of Arizona Mirror Lab where they make mirrors for telescopes,  Wow, it was very impressive the technology and time which goes into making the mirrors.  The basic mirror takes a few months but the final polishing can take up to two years.   The building where the mirrors are made is kept at 75 degrees plus or minus 1 ½ degrees which felt good since it got into the high 90’s today. The 28 foot diameter mirrors if spread out the equivalent of the size of the US would have hills no higher than one inch. Now that is smooth.  The final polish is made with cerium oxide which is the same material I use for my polished rocks. The program was an hour and a half with a very good presentation of the history of the U of Arizona Astronomy Department and how they got started in making mirrors for telescopes and some of their discoveries in space.  Craig and Wanda came over for to our place for stir fry.

Day 24 Wednesday April 10

We went with Craig to the Santa Teresa Tile Shop which is a non-profit organization which uses its profits to support charitable organizations.  You can use their ready-made ceramic tiles to create wall hangings, table tops etc. or you can take classes where you make your own pieces, fire them, then decorate them.  The place is not cheap but seemed to be lots of fun.  Judy bought some small tile pieces to make things when we get home.  Craig took us to a special sausage place which serves special Mexican sausages.  Very tasty.   Later in the day, Craig and Wanda took us to their book club meeting at a private house in the northeast part of Tucson.  A fun time with interesting and friendly people.  After the meeting many of the participants went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.  We got home and had to say good-by to our special friends Craig and Wanda.  (We are so grateful to them for sharing their time and Tucson area with us. Judy).

Day 25 Thursday April 11

We left Prince of Tucson park about 10 am and headed west on I-10.  Windy but not too gusty today.  It was really gusty yesterday and we would not have left Tucson in that wind.  Pleasant drive.  Took 101 Loop north to Grant and to the RV park.  This time we got a space further from the bathroom so we will not have people walking past all night.

Day 26 Friday April 12 

We packed up two medium flat rate boxes of some of the rocks we collected and sent some to the rock club and some to our house.  The rest of the morning and afternoon we read and knitted.  Andy and Laurie picked us up and took us to the Peoria Café for their fish dinner.  This time the fish seemed better than the last time.  They brought us home and we had some Tillamuck mudslide ice cream. 

Day 27 Saturday April 13 

We picked up Laurie and headed to a place called 4^th of July peak to do some rockhounding.  The area has been hit hard for many years and we did not find much at the peak or several stops along the way.   On the way out we went to an area called “the chimney” because an old chimney was there.  We found some small chalcedony rocks with fortifications but no real big ones.  It was too hot to be digging.  The peak was 67 miles from the motorhome.  Judy and I stopped at Dominos for a deluxe pizza.

Day 28 Sunday April 14 

We went to Safeway and Walmart to get our prescriptions filled.  Judy got some stuff for her hair at a place called Ultra beauty supply.  A very productive morning.  Judy took a nap and I read.   We went to Laurie and Andy’s who took us to the Sun Bowl to listen to a concert.  The band was called Jumping Jack Five and they were a Rolling Stones tribute band.  Very good and lots of fun especially with the temperature in the mid-70’s.  Back at their house we finished a game of Hand and Foot and the good guys managed to eke out a win after being behind for the first three hands.

Day 29 Monday April 15 

We picked up Laurie after breakfast and headed to the Glendale city library where they have a small botanical garden.  Well it was small but very nice.  One section identifies many of the desert trees and bushes and one part has cacti.  There were many peacocks on the grounds some of which were displaying the prowess.  Well worth is short visit.   After lunch I packed up some more of the rocks we have found and sent them home.  This way I have made room for more rocks.  We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and knitting.  Pork roast and scalloped potatoes, broccoli and salad for dinner.

Day 30 Tuesday April 16 

Spent the morning relaxing doing puzzles, knitting etc.  Checked the email.  In the afternoon went to Andy and Laurie’s for dinner and cards.  Guess what? It rained some, enough for water to run off the roof and the temperature was 59 degrees when we left their house.  There was even a rainbow.

Day 31 Wednesday April 17

We did some grocery shopping in the morning.  In the afternoon we went to Andy and Laurie’s where we visited and had a very good dinner.  We had brought some salmon from home and Andy cooked it on the Tragger.  Yumm.  Laurie’s father was there again as usual on Wednesdays and was painting a roadrunner.

Day 32 Thursday April 18

 I picked up Laurie and Andy and we headed a few miles south of Wickenburg to the Vulture Mine city for a tour.  Judy was under the weather so she stayed home.  The Vulture mine which was the richest gold mine ever discovered in Arizona was found when a man shot a vulture so he could take the feathers to make a broom.  The mine has over 7 miles of underground tunnels.  Today gold is still being mined.   They currently are processing 50 tons of quartz gold bearing ore recovering about one ounce of gold per ton.  Not bad at $1300 an ounce for gold.  The mine is off limits to visitors.  The town site which once had 5000 residents is being restored.  The salvageable buildings include the post office, bunkhouse, Henry Wickenburg’s house, brothel, assay building with vault and guard house and a few others.  All the restoring materials are from onsite or lumber from the Payson area where all the original wood came from.  The grounds are littered with old mining equipment like engines, compressors, pipe, drills and drill bits. It was a fun day.  After dinner Judy was feeling fine so we went to Homegoods just to see what they had.  Of course, they had something.

Day 33 Friday April 19

Judy and Laurie went shopping at estate sales in the afternoon.  Judy got a whole bunch of 4^th of July decorations for 2 bucks.  I went to a RV parts store to find a new cupboard latch which had broken.  Amazingly I found one since the stuff in the motor home are old.  All four of us went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Day 34 Saturday April 20

After lunch we went to Laurie and Andy’s to help move the new used bed that Laurie had bought.  The mattress was very heavy as it was a queen size and very thick.  Lucky the people she bought it from had a nice big hand truck.  After that we played some cards.  I helped Andy hang a door for their new bathroom.  They cooked dinner for us.   Laurie and Andy made steak on the smoker and sliced it and put it on a salad.  It was very tasty.  It as hot again today.  High 80’s which was just slightly cooler than yesterday.   Whew.  I guess it has been cool and rainy back in Washington.

Day 35 Sunday April 21  Happy Easter

After lunch we went to the store to get some groceries and for Judy to get some prescriptions filled.  We had dinner and then went to Laurie and Andy’s who took us to the Sunday night concert at the Sun Bowl.  The group playing was a local group called “Faded Jeans” and are a local band who plays a wide variety of music including rock, country, and blues.  They were good and lots of fun to listen to.

Day 35 Monday April 22 

Judy and I headed out rockhounding to a place called Date creek which is supposed to have seams of quartz crystals.  The place is 23 miles north of Wickenburg on highway 93.  Well, the site is easy to get to and has been dug for years.  We found some crystal pieces that others have rejected and I dug up a few myself.   For us northwesterners, the heat gets to be too much after a while.  It was still fun to be there.  The cacti, flowers and the desert bushes were blooming. Beautiful.   After dinner, we went to Laurie and Andy’s to pick up their old queen pillow-top mattress to bring it to our motorhome.  Tied it on top of Goldie and hauled it home.   Not too much effort to get it in the motorhome and on top of the other mattress.   The new one is a few inches longer than the current one.  

Day 36 Tuesday April 23 

We went with Laurie and Andy in the afternoon to use paddle boats on the local Sun City lake.  However, when we got there we found out we needed our guest card which was left back at the motor home.  So we decided to walk around the nice little park they have at one of their rec centers. There were two blue heron nests with babies in the trees. Some nice ponds with trout. A waterfall.  After the walk we went to Andy and Laurie’s to play cards and have a Papa Murphy’s pizza we brought.  Well Judy and I finally, but barely, beat Andy and Laurie after they had beaten us badly two times in a row.  We said goodbye just in case things did not work out getting together tomorrow.

Day 37 Wednesday April 24

We went again with Andy and Laurie to take a paddle boat ride on one of Sun City lakes.  It was fun. Then we headed out to In-and-Out Burgers and got double doubles burgers with fries.   We ate at their house and everything was very tasty.  Played cards and said our goodbyes.  They will be heading home on Sunday.  We are leaving for our property tomorrow.

Day 38 Thursday April 25
We left Sun City about 9 am taking Loop 101 north to I-17.  Traffic was good.  There are a few long steep hills going to Flagstaff which required our motor home to go slow to keep it from overheating.  Had to stop for fuel in Winslow, AZ.  We got to St. John’s about 4.  Judy made hogies for dinner with corn on the cob.  Good.  We took a drive out to the property.  Driving through town we could see that more businesses have closed and the town looks like it is dying.   The shelter at the property was still standing although some of the wood we had cut was blown around.  We watched the sun set before heading home.

Day 39 Friday April 26

In the morning I went to pay the rent for the RV space and met the new owner of the park.  A husband and wife team bought the RV park in January and changed the name from Moon Meadows to St. John’s RV Resort.  They are fixing it up as the previous owners did only the minimum to keep the park up.  We checked our emails and had lunch.  Then off we went to the property. We cleaned out almost all of our fire pit, picked up more nails, etc, and put all the wood back that the wind had blown around.   I walked the property to see how the fence was and there is some work that can be done.  It looks like the cows have not been around lately.  In fact we have not yet seen any roaming.   The culvert I put in last year seems to be working just great. I dug out a few pieces of petrified wood from a tree I had never dug before and found some quartz crystals.  Wow, now I need to dig up some more.

Foot print in sand, cougar?dog? look close and print looks like wolf.

 Fun day.   Pork chops, salad and fried potatoes with onions for dinner.

Day 40 Saturday April 27
After breakfast we headed out to the property.  Judy spent time cleaning up some scrap lumber we never got finished last year.  I finished cleaning out the fire pit and then did some road maintenance. It was warm late in the afternoon, 84 degrees, so we headed home.  We decided to stop to see if some people we met several years ago were there.  Yes well at least the man was and we spent about an hour talking.  He at one time managed the Blue Bird flour company.  His wife was taking care of her ailing father.  They have bought a laundromat here in St. Johns.  They also have built a small off the grid house in River Springs Ranch and in a few years plans to retire there.   Ham, rice, mixed veggies, and salad for dinner.

Day 41 Sunday April 28

We went to the property for a while.  I worked on the road which is now in pretty good shape.  Judy read her book.  There are a lot of little yellow flowers all over the place.

One of many bunches of yellow flowers around.

The cacti are just beginning to bloom apparently slow because of the cooler spring weather. We went home and had lunch and rested the remainder of the day.

Day 42 Monday April 29

We went to Springerville which is about 25 months south of St. Johns.  We looked in some junk aka antique stores then went to lunch at Booga Reds.  Safeway was next on the list of stops.  We had a lot to buy to stock the larder.  Very windy and a cool 72 degrees compared to 90’s in Sun City. I put in a new thermostat in the hot water heater.  It has not stayed hot as it is supposed to and we have had to turn it off and on. Rain when we went to bed.

Day 43 Tuesday April 30

We went to the property again and I spent time getting some more petrified wood with crystals growing on it.

Log with crystals

Close up of log with crystals (brown area near bottom)

Judy picked up a small bag of broken glass which seems to be appearing after each rain. Also I went next door to the BLM property and found that someone had busted up most of the petrified logs there.

Our property from public land. See the Jeep?

Did I run over a petrified Winnie the Pooh?

 Stopped at the post office to get some more shipping boxes to send rocks home.  I call the mail place in Shelton to see if they had gotten the boxes of rocks I had shipped home which should have gone there.  They had not so I called the neighbor to check at the house to see if the boxes were there.  Sure, thank goodness, they were.  Don’t know why the post office left the boxes at the house instead of taking them to the address where I had our mail transferred.

 Day 44 Wednesday May 1 

I packed up two more boxes of rocks.   They contained petrified wood and chalcedony from our property.  I hope they make it home like the others did. We visited the couple next door who were the same age as us.  They have been full time RVers for 30 years.  They were a hoot to talk to.  We went into town to the post office to mail the boxes and went to an antique store in town.  Nothing very special so we drove around town a bit just to see new areas.  Some very nice houses and some dumps.  Soft tacos for dinner.

Day 45 Thursday May 2
Rockhounding day.  We drove south to Springerville and continued south on hwy 180 for about 9 miles then took FS road 257 for 13.7 miles as the rockhounding book said.  No FS 577 road around.  We took a road close to the mileage and it obviously was not the right one.  So we headed back to hwy 180 and saw a road just a couple of tenth of a mile before the 13 mile marker.  As we drove down we saw a sign that said 577.  We drove down 1.2 miles as directed and started looking.  We soon found lots of Luna agates most of them small.  Judy found a pile of really nice large specimens and then I found a pile too. We ate lunch and decided to take 577 to FS 220 down to Luna, NM.  Well, we had driven only 0.1 mile further and found the area described in the book.  Could the guy who wrote the book have a bad odometer?  In Luna we looked for another site 10 miles further down hwy 180 but could not find the right place.

Herd of elk on the way out of the mountains.

Headed home stopping in Springerville to pick up a few items at Safeway including a pre-cooked chicken.  Very fun day.  Beautiful drive through the pine and aspen forests in sunny 61 degree temperature at 8400 feet elevation.

Day 46 Friday May 3

We were heading out to the 6040 road to a rockhounding place when we stopped at a garage sale place.  Judy was looking for a small foot stool.  We ended up meeting a guy named Michael who lives with the man who sold me the property here.  Well we talked a long time and got a lot of info about him and about local goings on.  Off we went again going out the 6040 for about 8 miles.  We were then supposed to go 7.8 miles along the power lines and railroad tracks to a spot to get agates.  Well at 6.5 miles there was a gate and a sign from the power plant that the road from there on was private property.  Back home we went and stopped at the local thrift store.  I bought some books for 25 cents and a new ice cube tray (our other one broke) and Judy got a book about knitting hats.   We decided to have dinner at the property.  We built a nice fire, put on our foil packets of red potatoes and onions and carrots and onions.  Had some wine while they were cooking.   Then put our marinated meat on the grill.  Added a salad and we had a great treat.  Watched the sun set while sitting around the fire.  Great time.

Day 47 Saturday May 4 

We went out to the property again.  I did some fence repair and Judy did some clean up around the shelter.  Had lunch.  I roamed around the area for a while and then we came home.  I made my world famous mac and cheese and ham while Judy made the salad.  Yummy dinner.

Day 48 Sunday May 5 

Happy Cinco de MayoWe drove to Show Low to the White Mountain Gem and Mineral Society monthly meeting.  They have a real dinner potluck before the meeting.

Club in VFW hall.

President Rose conducting the meeting.

They spent a lot of time talking and planning their rock show in July.  The program was about gold ores especially in Arizona and how to identify the ores.  Apparently there is a lot of gold to be found in the Wickenburg area just lying on the ground.  Very informative.  They do a monthly rockhounding trip and there are many fun places to go in the area.  Judy won one of the door prizes.

Judy talking to the club president's husband.

When we come back again they promised to take us to where we can get blue Luna agate. Can’t wait for that.  Stopped at DQ on the way home and had a vanilla/chocolate swirl cone.  Fun day.

Day 49 Monday May 6

We went out to the property and had lunch.  Then I went and got a big piece of petrified wood with crystals.  We cleaned up the last pallets, at last.  We sat around and read our books for a while.  I brought back a large piece of petrified wood for the neighbors here to put in their garden.  Quiet day.

Day 50 Tuesday May 7.

We went again to the property for the last time on this trip.  I finished up some final touches on the fence line and Judy cleaned up at the shelter and read.  We had lunch and the temperature was only 61 degrees, the wind was blowing because of thunderstorms in the area with a few rain drops.  I took some final pictures, loaded up some last minute rocks, and put the shelter in mothballs for next time.  Then to Springerville Safeway to do some grocery shopping.  We had crepes and ham for dinner.  Yummmm.

Day 51 Wednesday May 8

We spent the day reading books and getting the motorhome and Goldie ready to leave in the morning.  Rainy and stormy most of the day.   Sent two more boxes of rocks home. 

 

Day 52 Thursday May 9

We left our spot number #96 at St Johns RV resort and headed north on 191 to I-40.  We drove into New Mexico and in Albuquerque took I-25 north.  We drove past Santa Fe to exit 290 and to an RV park we stayed in years ago.  In the pines and junipers.  It got really gusty windy in the afternoon blowing from the side. Hard driving the last few hours.  Cold here. It is 46 degrees here at 7 pm.

Day 53 Friday May 10

We woke up to 36 degrees and snowing.  Not sticking too much but we decided to take off driving just in case it got worse.  Lucky the road drops in elevation as it heads north.  However, there were areas where the snow was sticking on the road.  There was enough traffic in the right land to keep it from building up too much.  We drove in the falling snow for over two hours.  Some areas of the freeway were very nice and others were rutted and falling apart.  Not easy for the old motorhome to drive in.   Lots of construction and one lane and slow driving.  Very heavy fog and one lane traffic at Raton pass (glad it was not snowing).  Stop and go driving in Colorado Springs.  Whew.  Spent the night in Monument in an expensive RV park.  Very few parks around here.  Fresh snow in the trees and on the shaded areas.  Long drive today, much more than I usually drive.

Day 54 Saturday May 11

Lots of deer all over.

 We left Monument and traveled north on I-25 to C470 getting off at Morrison.  We arrived at cousin Lee and Diane’s house and parked the RV in their circular driveway. To get in partway Lee had to cut off a branch off a buckeye tree. It was great to see them again.  We had lunch and while we were sitting in their dining room, two bobcats walked across the lawn into woods.

Lee with his fish pond.

After lunch then showed us around their house and then drove us to a site with dinosaur  footprints in the rocks.

Lee's wife Diane

Very cool place.  We went to dinner at a restaurant called Redlands and had a very good dinner.  Everyone was tired so we all retired early.

Day 55 Sunday May 12
We got up and had breakfast and then went in their house to have coffee and talk before we left.  We had to cut some more branches off trees in order to keep the limbs from tearing stuff off the roof of the motorhome. 

Diane in her yard.

Then we noticed that the right front mud flap was half off.  So Lee got some bolts, nuts and washers and we put it back together.  Needless to say we got a late start.   We said goodbyes again and took off heading north.  In Cheyenne, we headed west on I-80 and drove to Laramie.  Very gusty winds so we stopped early.  Stayed at a KOA campground in Laramie. 

Day 56 Monday May 13

We got up early and left the campground at 7 am hopefully beating the usual the late afternoon gusty winds.  We continued driving west on I-80.  There were hundreds of antelopes during the day sometimes in herds of 25 or more.  Not too gusty most of the day.  We decided to spend the night in the Evanston, WY Walmart parking lot with fellow travelers and truckers.  Unfortunately, some of the semi’s had refrigerator units which ran all night.  Nice beautiful day driving across the plains and up and down the mountains.

Day 57 Tuesday May 14

In the morning I noticed that the cover over the radiator was flapping and it appears that the latch that comes down to hold the cover tight was gone.  Checked with Walmart and a local hardware store but they did not have one.  The drive from Evanston down into Utah was very pretty with the red rock rims and green grass.  Stopped for lunch at the first rest stop in Idaho.  Continuing north we ran into thunderstorms and also at our RV camp where we stayed for the night.  We stayed at Anderson Camp space 35  just off I 84 at exit 182.  There was an RV parts store a short distance away and they had the new cabinet latch with key.   I put it on and all is well.  Definitely more humid now with the rain and we are not used to it.