Day 111 Arches Natl Park, Moab, UT-Bluff, UT

Day 111 Arches Natl Park, Moab, UT-Bluff, UT
11.19.16
The stars were incredible last night. You could see the Milky Way and Jo saw a shooting star. We woke in the morning to not as cold weather as expected only 28 instead of 18 degrees, but we still turned on the heater to take the chill off. On our drive out of park, I suggested we hike Park Avenue. The hike has an option as a one way so Kevin volunteered to be the shuttle bunny. We chose to hike from Courthouse Towers viewpoint to Park Avenue viewpoint which is probably the opposite way most people hike but we like to be different.  The hike took us up the wash through towering canyon walls. The scenery was awesome. After the hike, we left Arches and headed south.  Down the road, we encountered a police car driving down the middle of the road with its lights flashing.  So we pulled over.  Right behind the police car was another car that said wide load. And then came the wide load - a mining dump truck. Needless to say it was huge. Not 10 minutes later the same scene was repeated. Jo thought they were driving a little fast for what they were carrying, but they probably had some schedule they were trying to make. The rest of our day was spent doing laundry and shopping. Well, actually we left Kevin to do the laundry while Jo and I shopped. After that we drove another 25 miles or so to Sand Island Campground near Bluff, UT.  Campground was empty except for a couple of other campers. We chose a spot right next to the San Juan River.  Tonight was movie night in the van. So we bluetoothed the iPad sound to the van stereo and watched Star Wars The Force Awakens on the iPad with surround sound. After the movie, Jo was hungry so she got out the hummus. As Jo and I were eating it, Kevin says hey I just read that there was a recall on that hummus.  Luckily we didn't have too much but we were disappointed because we like hummus and veggies as our late night snack.

Day 110 Moab, UT-Arches National Park, UT

Day 110 Moab, UT-Arches national park, UT
11.18.16
Woke up to a gorgeous canyon wall towering over our campsite along the Colorado River.  Got moving early so we could check out Arches National Park. Watched a video about how the arches were formed at the visitor center.   Water seeping through parallel cracks dissolves the calcite that bonds the sandstone together from the inside out.  After the video, we decided that we should spend the night in the park so that we would have time to hike to some of the arches. So we drove to the end of the park road which is where the one and only campground is located-Devil's Garden Campground. Once we secured a campsite, we headed out to Fiery Furnace, a labyrinth of narrow sandstone canyons. We could only view Fiery Furnace from above as a ranger is required to hike there.  Next stops were Salt Valley overlook and Delicate Arch viewpoint.  Then on to Windows arches where we took a hike around and through the various arches in the area-north window arch, south window arch, turret arch, double arch and more. It wasn't a long hike but somehow we managed to take over an hour as we oohed and awed at the scenery and arches. The Windows arches were rock picture frames for the valley below.  Double arch is two giant arches that are joined together at one end. Standing under these arches and looking up you wonder why they don't just break apart and fall down. They are really amazing. One last stop before heading back to the campground at Balanced Rock. The name describes it well.  Back at the campground, time for one more hike before dinner to Tapestry arch. This arch is not hollow in the middle yet but you can see the arch formed in the rock wall.   Watched the sunset as it created an orangy red glow across the valley floor and on the rock formations. And then it was dark, but of course then we had the stars to gaze upon.  It is suppose to get down to 17 degrees tonight so we are bundling up.

Day 109 Durango, CO-Moab, UT

Day 109 Durango, CO-Moab, UT
11.17.16
Thanks Laurel for the gifts and great breakfast suggestion.  Morning greeted us with a brief snow flurry.  We warmed up with a delicious breakfast at Doughworks.  A short tour through Durango before we headed west. We passed by Mesa Verde Natl Park as the snow flurries would have made it difficult to see anything, but we will be back another time to see it. While the road was bare and wet, the van accumulated some ice on it.  But by the time we got to Cortez, CO, the skies were turning blue.  And in a few miles, we were in another state - Utah and on our way to Canyonlands Natl Park - The Needles section.   The park is about 34 miles off of US 191 but the drive in to the park provided spectacular views of its own. We saw a few climbers scaling the cracks of these magnificent rock walls.  Along the way, Newspaper Rock revealed its petroglyphs of horses, deer, buffalo and other etchings by historic peoples from B.C. to A.D. 1300.  The drive takes you through tight canyons of red rock and cottonwood trees and then opens up to a huge valley. Once in the park, the views continue to become awe inspiring. It is really something that everyone should experience.   We only spent a few hours in the park as this was more of a scouting mission for a future visit when we can spend more time exploring the park and hiking its trails.  As we drove out of the park and headed north, the sun was setting causing highlights and shadows across the landscape.  I love this time of the day.  We found a campsite just north of Moab on the Colorado River (Goose Island). As it was dark when we arrived, we couldn't see the river or the cliffs around us but that will be tomorrow's surprise.

Day 108 Santa Fe, NM-Durango, CO

Day 108 Santa Fe, NM-Durango, CO
11.16.16
Left the Camel Rock casino camp spot and headed toward Camel Rock.  It's a rock shaped like a camel.  As a teenager, Kevin used to climb all over it, but now there is a barbwire fence around it keeping us out.  Stopped at Abiquiu, to see Georgia Okeefe's home and compound but it was closed. So we wandered around the gift shop and made some purchases. Drove up a dirt road to see the Ghost Ranch with an incredible view. Cabin was open and empty with a rope hanging over one of the rafters. Jo and I were wondering was there a hanging here lately. Continued driving north on US84 with incredible views. Echo amphitheater, a big natural concavity in a cliff face offers free acoustic thrills. We amused ourselves with Bobdog howls and echoes. Reached another state border between New Mexico and Colorado.   That makes 26 states and 2 provinces.  Final destination is Durango to our friends Laurel and Paul's home.   Enjoyed great conversation and dinner at Animas Brewery.

Day 107 Glenrio, NM-Santa Fe, NM

Day 107 Glenrio, NM-Santa Fe, NM 11.15.16
Back on Route 66 through the town of Tucumcari to check out the historic buildings - Teepee Curios, Blue Swallow Motel, LaCita Mexican Foods, and others. In Santa Rosa, checked out the Blue Hole.  A circular, bell-shaped artesian pool that is popular for SCUBA diving and training.  It's depth is 81 ft, diameter is 60 feet and water temp is 61 degrees. The water was very clear with a deep blue tone.  Chatted with a couple guys diving there. They said not much to see other than a few toys and other odd items. They were just there to brush up on their skills. Quick stop at Clines Corners Travel Plaza which has been around since the 30s to see if there were any trinkets we need. While they had a lot of items, we came out empty handed.  In Santa Fe, we visited the cathedral basilica of St Francis of Assisi, beautiful church stain glass windows and interior. Walked through the Plaza with its street vendors and then west to burro alley where we posed with a bronze burro carrying a heavy load.  Then on to see the Miraculous Stairway in the Loretto Chapel which is now a museum.  So the story goes that the church was built but the stairway to the balcony was never finished. The sisters prayed for someone to finish the stairway and their prayers were answered.  A man walked into their church and offered to build the stairway but while he was building it no one could be in the room.  So each morning after the sisters prayers, they would lock the doors so the man could build the stairway.  When the stairway was done, the sisters went to pay the man but he had disappeared. There are three mysteries of the circular stairway  1. Who was the man who built it? 2. Where did the wood come from that was used in the stairway since it is not local? 3.  How was it engineered so that it didn't require a center post?  Last tourist activity was to see the oldest house in the US which is an adobe pueblo built in 1646.   Now the search was on to find sopapillas (fried pastry).  We found it at Tomosita's. But first we had the best Mexican food I've ever had and Kevin had a tasty margarita. Then we dove into our hot sopapillas with lots of melted honey butter. Yum yum!  Tonight we are stopped at a Camel Rock Casino.  Decided to get a players card and lucky me I got $10 to gamble, a deck of cards and a card bungee.  After gambling with their money, I walked out with $5 of their money.  Not a bad deal although the slots were anything but loose.

Day 106 Canyon, TX-Glenrio, NM 11.14.16

Day 106 Canyon, TX-Glenrio, NM 11.14.16
We awoke to the local deer and turkeys in our campsite. I think they were looking for a handout.  Drove through Palo Duro State Park.  Magnificent views of colorful canyons and plateaus. A short hike took us to a viewpoint of the Lighthouse which is the geological signature of Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  Roadside America provided the rest of the day's entertainment and it was a full day as we barely got out of Texas into New Mexico.  First stop Jack Sisemore's RV museum.  This place was filled with vintage motor homes, trailers and motorcycles.  We must have spent over an hour wandering through all of the displays.  Some of theses are original and others have been restored back to their original glory.  Here are just a few on display: first production serial #0001 Xtasca built in 1975 as a prototype for Winnebago. It has only 6,000 miles.  1953 Fleetwood trailer that they bought from an 84 year old lady that was traveling across the country.  She said it was time for her to quit camping.  The Flexible bus from the movie RV with Robin Williams. There was also a huge motorcycle collection. I could go on but you just have to go see it for yourself.  Next stop the Helium Time Columns.  A 66 foot tall stainless steel sculpture.  The sculpture commemorates the large amounts of helium in the Texas panhandle and the processing plants in Amarillo.  Each leg is a time capsule from 1968 stored in an inert helium to be opened in 25, 50, 100, and 1000 years.  Attached under the sculpture is a model of the helium atom and it's a sundial as well.  On to the next stop the 2nd amendment cowboy and Cadillac ranch-esque RV park. These are displayed at the Amarillo West RV Park along the old Route 66.  Then onto Cadillac Ranch were 10 Cadillacs in 1974 were buried nose down in a field. Over the decades the cars have gone through many changes. Today, they are splattered with spray paint from visitors.  It was amazing to see how thick the paint was on the cars. And no we didn't participate in graffiti of the cars as we didn't have a can of paint.  Next stop Route 66 Midpoint - 1139 miles in either direction to Los Angeles or Chicago.  As the sun was setting, we  ambled over the Texas New Mexico border. Our last stop was Russell's Truck and Travel Center which has a huge collection of restored vintage autos, toys and other memorabilia. We chatted with Art, the director of the museum. He retired and was looking for something to occupy his time so he started working at Russell's. He does all sorts of jobs for the museum from vacuuming to finding cars and memorabilia to be added to the museum.  The collection is quite impressive and they are constantly changing it so the next time you come back it will be different. To top off the day, we dined at Russell's cafe for down home cooking.

Day 105 Mt Park, OK-Canyon, TX 11.13.16

Day 105 Mt Park, OK-Canyon, TX 11.13.16
Leaving the Great Plains Park via the dam route and then through Mt Park, OK.  Not much happening there. Looks to be a dying bedroom community of Synder.  Most of the houses are in disrepair, cafe was closed and a couple of other businesses. In Synder, OK, Kevin posed next to the giant tire man (roadside America attraction). Off to see Tipton, OK the birthplace of Bob Tice aka Kevin's dad. Other interesting facts about Tipton: Hottest recorded temp in the Oklahoma in 1994 of 120 degrees.  "Tipton loam" is considered to be among the most ideal soils (farmland) in the USA branch camp of Ft. Sill was opened in Tipton on Oct. 20, 1944 and held 276 prisoners, reportedly troublemakers from the Ft Sill camp. The camp closed Nov. 1, 1945.  Four escapes were reported.  The town of Duke, OK was a tale of two cities.  The citizens of East and West Duke feuded over where to put the new school. It became so intense that the railroad moved its depot to halfway between the two towns. Five years passed before "the hatchet was buried" both figuratively and literally (a grave was dug and a hatchet was buried). The mural in Duke shows their history and industry.   Passed through Hollis, the last town before the 100th meridian which marks the Oklahoma/Texas border.  Crossed over a huge mostly dry river bed which turned out to be the Red river.  Passed more cotton fields and milo fields (feed crop for cattle).  We are in the plains now.   To our surprise, Turkey, TX was the home of Bob Wills.  We love his music. And for those of you who don't know - He's the King of Western Swing and had a big influence on music. The town has great monuments and murals in his honor as well as the Bob Wills and Texas Playboys' bus.  Tonight we are camped at Hackberry campground in the Palo Duro State Park. The canyon is approximately 120 miles long, 600 to 800 feet deep, and is the second largest canyon in the US. The first being the Grand Canyon.  We enjoyed the sunset on the canyon walls and then a full moon.