April 3, 2017
Today, our winter season at Lake
Cahuilla ended and we departed for Oklahoma, and a few weeks with Terry’s Mom
and the Oklahoma kin. We drove the desert-route (CA 177/CA62 to Parker, then AZ
95 up to Havasu City, on Lake Havasu.
Ca 177 crosses the Chuckwalla and
Palen Valleys, along the Coxcomb Mountains, in the Mojave Desert, passes along
the southeastern Joshua Tree National Park boundary and several dry lake beds
and follows a large section of the California Aqueduct. It was a cool morning
and the desert was still in bloom, as a result of the unusual winter rains. We
had a very pleasant, scenic drive along this desert route. We enjoyed this
“rubber-necking” drive across the desert.
CA 62 parallels a large portion of
the California Aqueduct. Californians in a hurry to put their speedboats into
the
Colorado River water at Parker,
Arizona, are familiar with Highway 62. The flat stretch between Rice and Vidal
Junction is paralleled by a railroad track, and if it weren't for a tradition
inspired by the black rocks in its embankment, it would be just another desolate
desert road. The tacky graffiti is
strangely entertaining and invokes imaginative interrogations of the “taggers”
concerning their concepts and motivations. An interesting drive on a fast-paced
desert route. We were amused to see expensive pleasure boats being towed across
the desert. However, when you arrive at the California/Arizona line and see the
Colorado River and Lake Havasu, you understand it all.
Crossing the Colorado River to AZ
SR95 north, is a stark change from desert-road to river-road. Following up the sapphire
blue Colorado River, along the east side of the canyon, past Parker Dam to Lake
Havasu City, is a picturesque experience. Looking down on the river, every cove
is a cluster of river-resorts, contrasting with the high, rugged canyon walls
enfolding them. Upon catching glimpses of river resorts from the canyon rim, we
wondered if the Colorado River has ever inundated any resorts, like rivers
often do.
Lake Havasu (Mojave word for blue)
is the heart of this Arizona river-resort community and is the “west coast” of
Arizona. The 45-mile-long lake averages about 35-feet depth, with deepest part
at 90 feet. The beautiful lake provides water for Arizona and California
consumers via elaborate, extensive aqueduct systems. Touring the side-canyons
by water is a stunning experience and the lake is a mecca for water sports. Chainsaw
entrepreneur Robert McCulloch obtained the land of an old Army Air Corp base
and developed the resorts. He purchased the old London Bridge (the world’s
largest antique) and moved it to Lake Havasu, “bridging” the Havasu City mainland
and “English Village” to the resort island. “London Bridge Was Falling Down”,
now it’s funneling tourist dollars into Lake Havasu City! Great place to visit
for the resort experience and we thoroughly enjoyed our days here!
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Driving along this afternoon we
decided to take a campsite at the next opportunity, so here's where we landed:
Seligman, AZ on Old Route 66
Seligman is at 5,280 feet and it
was 37 degrees this morning. We had dinner last night in shorts/tee shirts and
this morning we're digging-out long-pants and jackets. After a winter in
southern California, it's good to feel the cold mountain air! Seligman is situated
alongside Chino Wash, in a northern section of Chino Valley. The wash is a
major tributary of the Verde River. We have a fine view of the wash bed and the
mountains toward Grand Canyon.
To me, the best part of
riding-around our country is the people you meet. At this small campground at
Seligman, we talked to people from Switzerland, Germany, and a number of U.S. States
were represented. We never miss an opportunity to talk to people and they all
have an interesting story to share. Talking to Europeans makes us want to
re-visit Europe. Well, we just renewed our passports, so that's "food for
thought"!
We stopped-off at Flagstaff, AZ
for lunch at “Salsa Brava”, a local Flagstaff landmark, and the best Mexican
that we’ve had in a great while. Riding along from southern California to
Holbrook, AZ, we have thoroughly enjoyed the spring flowers. In response to
unusual winter rains, the hills and valleys are radiant with a “super-bloom”,
the best in decades. A virtual Monet! Also, a recent snow at Flagstaff has left
visible drifts in the pine forests around town, and Humphreys Peak (12,633),
Arizona’s highest, is covered down to tree-line, with new snow.
Tonight, we’re camped at Holbrook,
AZ. We were amused to discover that we’ve been here (in this campground) before.
We keep notes on our travels but do not keep a record of the many campgrounds
that we visit, so now we can get surprised when we repeat one. This area,
around Petrified Forest National Park, is “petrified- wood central”. The
campground has an awesome collection of “intact” petrified trees. We had a
relaxing and restful stay, with restaurants and shopping within walking
distance. I shopped TSC (Tractor Supply Company) and studied every product on
every isle!
Friday 4-7
Departing Holbrook, we decided to
make some miles toward Oklahoma. We drove I-40 to the New Mexico line, enjoying
the high-desert views. Deciding on lunch at Gallup, we hit a traffic jam and
detour on I-40, around to the east side of Gallup. During our late-lunch, we
discovered that I-40 eastbound was closed due to a shooting investigation. A
New Mexico patrolman shot a gun-wielding motorist during a routine
traffic-stop. Glad we missed this one!
Continuing on I-40 east after
lunch, we just enjoyed the sights along the way. The Red Rock area just east of
Gallup in a curious sight along the route. It’s an Indian sacred-ground area,
with a park, rodeo arena, nice trails and campground. We have enjoyed camping
and hiking here on previous trips.
On the Continental Divide, passing
the curious lava formations of Bandera Volcano, we speculated on how powerful
the blasts must have been. Piles of lava and Basalt rock everywhere!
Mt. Taylor (1,130) had new snow all
the way down below tree-line and the view kept us company for many miles. Just
east of Laguna Pueblo and Mission, we took a campsite at the All-American RV
Park, overlooking Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley. A mostly-driving day,
but very enjoyable! This is a very accommodating and relaxing stop.
Spending a couple of days at Santa
Fe, we revisited some familiar sights and some new ones too. Santa Fe, New
Mexico has a “hypnotic sense of place” and was a magical, exuberant, and colorful
experience for us. The legendary history, culture, and architecture did, again,
fascinate and absolutely inspire us.
We used the convenient bus system
to get around and it was very comfortable and economical. Our highlights were:
Old Santa Fe Plaza
Cathedral Basilica
Loretto Chapel
Palace of the Governors
Walking Tour of Historic
Buildings/Homes
Shopping
As before, our days at Santa Fe
were loads of fun!
Monday, April 10, 2017
After a couple of fun and relaxing
days in Santa Fe, we continue our ride to Tulsa, Oklahoma. We decided to take
the US 56/450 route and skip the Texas Panhandle, in favor of the Oklahoma
Panhandle.
We stopped off at Las Vegas for lunch
and saw New Mexico Highlands University, a very attractive campus with majority
Latino and American Indian students. Next, we saw Fort Union National Monument,
the Adobe remnants of the mid-1800 military fort, and change-agent, for
political and cultural transformation, throughout the Southwest.
Skirting around the Sangre De Christo’s,
we enjoyed stunning views of the new-snow-covered peaks. Of all the Ranges
composing the Rocky Mountains Chain, and we have been up and down them all, the
Sangre De Cristo Range dominates in uniqueness, diversity, and extremes. This
would be a perfect setting for “Easter Sunrise Services” and I’m sure they do
take place. We saw Wheeler Peak, (New Mexico’s highest point at 13,167),
standing sentinel over Taos and the “Enchanted Loop”. Heading east from Springer, we had the road
and the high-plain, generally to ourselves. We saw some large groups of
Pronghorn, Meadow Larks, Hawks, and beef cows, on huge ranches.
We crossed the Old Santa Fe Trail
at “Point of Rocks”, a landmark, popular spring, campsite, and burial place for
early Indians and pilgrims, traveling along the historic trail. Looking at all
this in my “rear-view” mirror, we were strangely sad at leaving the high plains.
We had a peaceful, solitary, and scenic drive across the high-plains today!
We took a campsite at Clayton, New
Mexico, just west of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Trees around the campground were
alive with Robbins, and we saw Western Meadowlarks, Swanson’s Thrush, Ring-necked
Doves, and a Kestrel. We had a very quiet, restful evening!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Along US 41, from Clayton to
Oklahoma, we saw basalt and lava all around. Now,(thanks to Google) we know
that this area was the sight of over 100 volcanos that erupted (intermittently)
massive amounts of molten material. Glad it’s all over, for now!
Into the Oklahoma panhandle we saw:
Black Mesa (4973) highest point in
Oklahoma
Boise City bombed in 1943
Round agricultural fields Area =
3.14(r*r)
Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs
Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers
(Oklahoma State Bird)
Fort Supply- Early, high-plains
Indians Wars Fort
Camping at Woodward, in a
campground populated mainly by transient workers, we wondered what type of work
they did. (They came in late and left before daylight) The area has oil and gas
wells, lots of agricultural business, and industrial plants.
With a little research, I
discovered that Woodward (situated on the North Canadian River) has an interesting
story. Boiling Springs was sacred-ground (now a State Park) for the early Kiowa,
Comanche, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. During the early days of pioneer
settlement, George Armstrong Custer, and General Philip Sheridan, led
expeditions against the Plains Tribes, during the Indian Wars. After the Civil
War, Woodward became ranked among the most important rail-depots in the
Oklahoma Territory for shipping cattle to the Eastern and Northern markets.
It’s the birthplace of “Sonic Drive-In” and the U.S. District Court for the
Oklahoma Western District. An old cow-town with a fascinating past!
4-12
From Woodward, we continued on US
412 to Walnut Creek Park, a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control lake
and Park.
We stopped off for a Chick-Fil-A
lunch at Enid, Oklahoma and did some walking/shopping at the mall. We
discovered Braum’s Ice Cream Shop and just had to take advantage of their
double-dip cone special! It was still as good as we remembered! We understand
that Enid got named during a big cowboy chuck-wagon cook-out feed. A “DINE”
sigh on the chuck-wagon got turned around and the name “ENID” stuck. Sounds
like a bunch of cowpokes! Currently, wheat and rape seem to be the more
important agricultural crops. We found out that wheat came first and then rape
became popular as a complementary crop in a crop-rotation practice. We also
found out that rape was changed to “Canola” as a marketing-ploy to make canola
oil more appealing and marketable. Ain’t that a hoot!!!
Along the way, we traversed the
hills of Pawnee County and stopped-by the old Pawnee Bill Ranch. The Wild-West
Showman, “Pawnee Bill” built the early 1900’s ranch to preserve the history of
the old-west. We were impressed with the beautiful “Blue Hawk” land, the
historic buildings, and the bison herd. Bill respected the importance of the
bison in the history of the west and wanted to preserve a herd. He did a fine
job!
At Keystone Lake on Walnut Creek,
we had a beautiful campsite, on the lake, at the US Army Corps of Engineers Park,
nestled between sandstone bluffs and sandy beaches. The US Army Corps of
Engineers flood-control projects, around the country encompass outstanding
recreation parks with campgrounds, and we absolutely enjoy the parks. We relished
our walks and the numerous birds, animals, and trees, in the park.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
After camping at Walnut Creek, we
made our way on east to Tulsa and an Easter visit with Terry’s Oklahoma family.
The route from Southern California to Tulsa has been scenic, surprising, and
educational, thanks to our social networks, and Internet information. We use a
GoPro video camera when driving and it gives us a record of things that happen
along the way. Fortunately, we had only one incidence of road-rage and it
“passed”! Also, we feel that people will respond more favorably when they see a
video camera in the windshield. It’s a good “witness” and cheap security!
From Facebook:
Kaye, after seeing the recent
South Pike reunion pictures, especially the Progress students, I realized I
can’t recall most of my teachers and Principals. I think you had the same schedule
as mine, on grades 1-8 at Progress. The only exception is that I was sent to
Magnolia Elementary in the Sixth Grade because mother wanted me to ride with my
sister June. Can you fill-in some blanks and even correct me on my below
attempt?
·
1st grade Ms Olie Pearl Brock
Principal ?
·
Second
·
Third
·
Forth Ms Paulene Jackson/ Principal Mr Melvin
Jackson
·
Fifth Ms Trixie Johnson/
·
Sixth Ms Wetta/ Mr KB Davis Principal
·
Seventh
·
Eight Ms Guice/ Mr Albo Ott
Kaye Allen
Prescott: At Progress Mrs. Ollie Pearl Brock was our teacher in first and
second grade, Mrs. Pauline Jackson taught third and fourth grade, Miss Trixie
Johnson (my favorite teacher) taught fifth and sixth grade, Mrs. Guice taught
seventh grade, and Mr. Albo Ott taught eighth grade. I will never forget those
wonderful innocent years.
Sunday, April
16, 2017 Have a blessed and thankful “Easter Sunday”!
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