Fall visits in Oklahoma, Arkansas, travel back to southern California

Sept 30 thru October 14

Spending two weeks with Jeanne has been a nice visit and busy time. Sitting with Jeanne in Tulsa has given Pat and Kristy time to visit Mandy and Seth in Vermont. With Jeanne, we shopped, dined, toured, and spent some quality time at home too. We had some excitement when two tornados passed us.

During our two weeks in Tulsa, I read some enjoyable books on Oklahoma history, notable people places and things, famous outlaws, Indian Territory, and Will Rogers. I visited the Will Rogers Monument and Museum in Claremore and learned so much more about Will Rogers. I also visited the impressive, hilltop Rogers State University campus, overlooking Claremore. We made several trips to the Claremore Indian Hospital, so I took advantage of the waiting-time by touring around Claremore. Jeanne has an Indian card and qualifies for the Indian Hospital services, a valuable benefit for her. The last two weeks have provided opportunity to add to our Tulsa and Catoosa experience.

Upon Pat and Kristy’s return, we had a good visit with them and enjoyed the pictures and narrative from their Vermont-trip. Next, we head to Little Rock for a camp-out visit with Rose and some get-togethers with cousins Rusty and Marian. We’re sure looking forward to all that.

10-15/10-19 (Ride to Little Rock and visiting with kin)

What a terrific visit in Little Rock! Rose met us for a campout at Maumelle Park on the Arkansas River. We played tourist, dined, shopped, and just spent some relaxing time visiting together. It was great to have Rose hang-out with us at the Arkansas River camp. We also enjoyed visits with our friends AND cousins Rusty and Marian. Rusty and Marian are cousins AND “good friends” that we really enjoy visiting!

Our favorite outings were;

Maumelle Park on the Arkansas River

Dinner with Rusty and Marian (Rusty’s good cooking)

Lobster Dinner with Rusty and Marian (Pay-back from last years lobster feast)

River Market

Downtown Trolley Tour

Pinnacle Mountain

Rattlesnake Ridge

Lots of lunches, riding around, and hanging-out with Rusty

Friday, 10-19

We said goodbye to our Arkansas cousins and headed to Dallas. We’re remembering the fun times we enjoyed with Rose, Rusty, and Marian, at Little Rock.

In the Texarkla region, we encountered a heavy rain storm. At Texarkana, we decided to take a site at the St. Michael Dr, KOA, for a hunker-down night. It rained most of the night but we had a good dinner and a comfortable night’s rest. The morning broke sunny, clear, and cool, facilitating a good travel day. We had a nice blt-California style breakfast and headed on to Dallas.

At Caddo Mills Texas, we took a site at Dallas NE Campground, for a nice sunny afternoon and breezy evening. College football was the main pursuit today!

Sunday, October 21, 2018

On Sunday, we moved just west of Dallas, to Traders Village RV Park at Grand Prairie, Texas. Traders Village is a giant open-air market with shopping, rides, food, entertainment, and events. Pickers, Flea Market, and Mercado enthusiasts pack-in every weekend, for bargains, eats and treats, thrill rides, and fun. If you like this stuff, it’s worth the trip to Dallas!

(Monday) From Grand Prairie, we drove into Dallas and took a guided tour. We covered all the attractions on the mini-bus-tour,

Our “Welcome to Dallas Tour” visited the following places:

Founders Plaza   ••   Old Red Court House   ••   John Neely Bryan Cabin   ••   JFK memorial   •• Pioneer Plaza (largest bronze collection in the world) And Convention Center  •• Dallas City Hall (design by I.M. Pei)  ••   Thanks-Giving Square   ••   First Baptist Dallas Fountain Plaza   ••   Deep Ellum  and Farmers Market ••   The Wilson Block (historic neighborhood, Queen Anne/Victorian Style Houses)   ••   The Art District (the largest in the world!)  Loads of Museums and Performing Arts (Symphony Center was stunning) ••   Klyde Warren Park   ••   The City of Highland Park (5th richest suburb in USA, home to many celebrities)   ••   Uptown the McKinney Avenue restaurant district   ••   West End   ••   Dealey Plaza (JFK assassination Point) •• American Airlines Center ( Home of the Mavericks) •• Reunion Tower •• State Fairgrounds and Cotton Bowl •• ••

My favorite was the Romanesque architecture of “Old Red Courthouse” (1892) in Dallas County. The workmanship and craftmanship are exquisite, right down to every minute detail!

We had lunch downtown in the old West End neighborhood. Dallas also offers a Trolley-tour with two-options and it looked really alluring. They’re reasonably priced and give you more flexibility for touring.

On Tuesday, we shopped IKEA, had lunch at Grand Prairie, did some walking-around and sightseeing.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Heading out west to Carlsbad New Mexico, we took US 180, from Weatherford to Snyder, a route that’s like “turning back the clock”. This is an unfamiliar or new route for us, and we’re really enjoying the scenery. Many of the towns are county seats and have grand old courthouses. The ranches retain their historic buildings and every piece of equipment ever owned, can be seen around the barns. This old route traverses the headwaters of the Brazos River, which marks the boundary between East Texas and West Texas. The route also passes through the Palo Pinto mountains, northern part of the “hill country”. The mountains are tree-covered and had nice Fall colors”.  

Willa’s “hurricane rain” fell on us the entire day, all the way. Immediately leaving the rain, we took a campsite at the Snyder Coliseum RV lot. It was basketball night and I was disappointed when they only met at the coliseum to travel to the away-game. No basketball game for me!

Some notable towns along the way:

Weatherford: Known for growing great peaches, Weatherford is also the birthplace and was the home of Mary Martin, a Broadway star, known for her portrayal of Peter Pan. Her son, Larry Hagman, became a TV star, best known as J.R. Ewing on the television melodrama “Dallas”.

Cool: A cool little town

Mineral Wells: Known for its famous mineral wells, the town boomed in the early 19^th Century. The abandoned Baker Hotel is stunning proof of the town’s lucrative past.

Palo Pinto: After Palo Pinto County was created the town was built to become the county seat. It thrived until the railroad bypassed it.

Caddo: Founded on an old Caddo Indian campsite, the town prospered from oil discovery, now the oil boom is all gone, but the old town reflects its former success.

Breckenridge: Lunch at Ernie’s Spanish Kitchen was good. This was a major oil producer in the 1920’s and a railroad town. The “boom” ended but left a historic record in its buildings and main street.

Albany: Attractive county courthouse. Famous for its annual Fort Griffin Fandangle musical.

Anson: A stunning Jones County Courthouse and other historic buildings. Famous for its annual "Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball".

Roby: The current Roby Courthouse is on the site of two former Courthouses. The town boomed with the railroad and now has declined due to insufficient water.

Snyder: Snyder was a nefarious “trading post/buffalo camp” before Scurry County was created. A statue of an albino buffalo on the grounds of the Scurry County courthouse in Snyder pays homage to the town's beginnings as a buffalo-trading post. Our campsite is at the Scurry County Coliseum RV lot, next to the county’s collection of historic, pioneer buildings. The coliseum is part of Western Texas College. The old town had early railroad and oil success and now a diversified industrial economy makes it less susceptible to cycles of boom and bust. The area also has a huge windfarm.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Today, a cloudy, cool day, but no rain, so we plan to travel on to Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Some notable Texas towns along this leg:

Union: A rustic arm center, with a gin, store, and school

Gail: The Borden county town and county are named for Gail Borden, Jr., the inventor of condensed milk. Near Gail, we saw a large herd of Pronghorn.

Key: A Dawson County “ghost town” of abandoned building and houses.

Los Ybanez: Smallest town in Texas with a very strange west Texas story!

Lamesa: A picturesque little town! Mainly a large ag center. Several large potash plants nearby. Also has a large solar power array and a large wind farm.

Seminole: The county seat of Gaines County and home to Plautdietsch-speaking "Russian" Mennonites. They’re still around!

We crossed several West Texas counties that are heavy industrial and oil services. At Lamesa, a huge, flat agricultural expanse extends beyond the horizons, in all directions. Cotton, sorghum, hay, wheat, cattle were most predominating.

We bid ado to Texas and Hello to New Mexico.

Continuing west, we noticed the steady rise in elevation. We took a campsite at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, at 4,000-feet. From here in the Guadalupe Mountains, we have a panoramic view of the Chihuahuan Desert and the sedimentary, Permian basin of SE New Mexico and west Texas to the east. It’s good to be back out-west!

Friday, October 26, 2018

A clear, cool, sunny day, just right for a visit to Carlsbad Caverns. After breakfast, we explored the Visitor Center and then explored the cave system. The Visitor Center has an excellent video presentation, very detailed diorama of the cave system, and some excellent graphic displays. This got us oriented on cave routes, regulations and safety, plus up-to-date on cave terminology.

We took the elevator down to the 750-foot level and began the 1.3-mile self-guided tour route. The cave system is an incomparable realm of gigantic, subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations, and extraordinary natural decorations. Ironically, I remembered the intersection of the natural entrance and Big Room. It was 1953, and I recalled the cold and darkness. (They momentarily killed the lights to total darkness.)  We were so glad that we made this revisit to Carlsbad Caverns National Park!

Saturday, October 27, 2018

With a cool, clear morning and riding on our minds, we left Carlsbad and headed on a route to Meteor Crater, in Arizona. We planned a scenic route, we’ve never traveled, which zigzags across New Mexico. After lunch at Artesia (3380 ft), we headed west across the high desert plains, we then followed up the Rio Penasco River into the Sacramento Mountains. After a steady climb from Artesia to Cloudcroft (8600 ft), we took a campsite at Sugarpine RV Park. Our night in Cloudcroft was cold and the air was noticeably thin. The town was busy with their Halloween festival and hunters (a popular outdoorsman area). This ride today was very scenic on a historic route.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Saturday’s ride from Artesia, in the east to Cloudcroft, on the west Sacramento Mountains summit, was a steady-climb from 3,000-ft to 8600-ft.

Surprise! Surprise! Immediately leaving Cloudcroft, US 82 plunges down to the Chihuahuan Desert, White (gypsum) Sands, and Alamogordo (4336-ft). Descending steep Mexican Canyon, offers fantastic views and thrilling excitement.

We shopped Alamogordo, then continued west, crossing the Organ Mountains at San Agustin Pass (5719-ft) and down to lunch at Las Cruces. From there, we took NM 185 up the Rio Grande to Donna Ana county’s Hatch, and a campsite at Hatch RV Park, right in town. Hatch is the “Chile Pepper Capital of the World”. Thanks to irrigation from the Rio Grande, numerous other crops are produced in the surrounding valley. It’s warm but a nice evening for a stroll around Hatch! In the afternoon, we met the camp-hosts and had a nice chat with them. They apologized for their poor English and I apologized for my meager Spanish. After dark, she came over with a batch of fresh, hot Chile Rellenos, and they were the “real thing”(and they were chile-pepper-hot). A delightful gesture from the young camp-host couple!

Monday, October 29, 2018

After breakfast at Hatch, we went north to Caballo, then took Mew Mexico Route 152 to Silver City. This took all day but what a fantastic route! WE saw desert, ghost towns, Mimbres Mountains, abandoned gold mines, rivers, deep canyons, high, narrow, one-lane bridges, Emory Pass, spectacular rock formations, and the largest, most horrid, pit- copper mine ever. With a surprising variety of tree species, over the fluctuating elevations, we observed a smorgasbord of “Fall colors”.

Paved for its entire route, NM152 winds westward for some 75 miles, across the northern Chihuahuan Desert, the Mimbres Mountains, the Mimbres River Valley and the Piños Altos Mountains southern foothills. It ends at Santa Clara, at the eastern edge of the historic area surrounding the quaint and charming community of Silver City. The drive begins innocuously enough, with a straight segment passing occasional small homes, ranches on a sagebrush prairie. About 10 miles into the journey, we realized that our rig had been climbing and winding gently, but steadily higher. At an elevation of some 5,000 feet, you come to the first of Highway 152’s “S curves”. Now you climb a steep treasure trove of S curves, with panoramic views overlooking your tracks. We love our truck, the gear options and our compression brake! It had hard pulls up and strong pushes down, but effortlessly handled it all.

Our favorites were:

Hillsboro- This community was founded in 1877, when gold was discovered in the Mimbres Mountains, at the southern end of the Black Range.

Percha Creek, which flows between rugged rock walls and the road follows.

Kingston (1882) Black Range Silver mines and the Spit and Whittle Club

Gila National Forest

Emory Pass 1846 (8828-ft) fantastic views

Descending down, along Iron Creek was awesome, and our mountain-air “picnic lunch” near the Kneeling Nun rock formation was pleasant.

Descending down, the ponderosa pines of the higher country have given way to the pinon and juniper trees of the mountain flanks. We were also amazed at the Mountain Mahogany, virtually loaded with their feathery, spiral seeds.

10-30 Tuesday

Following shopping, a good night at Silver City RV Park, breakfast and a hot latte at “Gila Beans”, we resumed our travel west on US 180. A scenic drive, US 180 leads us further along on our unexplored trail. This entire “new trail” for us has presented lots of ancient Native American, Spanish, and early American settlement history. We ended our day at Show Low, in the Bar K RV Park.

Some noteworthy encounters:

Gila: A quaint ranch community with a tiny Post Office.

Gila River: A beautiful tributary of the Colorado River, with deep canyons and radiant Fall colors in the Cottonwoods and Willows. Ancient Cliff Dwellings

Cliff:  a town with Stunning cliffs

Buckhorn: Old west with Post Office and tavern.

Mogollon Mountains on east: Home to the huge Gila National Forest with antient Native American and Spanish history.

Peccary: We spotted several groups of (Javelena or Skunk Pigs) in the mountain washes

San Francisco Mountains on west: (Named by Hopi Mission Friars in 1629) Rugged peaks, deep canyons, and unnamed gulches, enormously scenic and historic.

San Francisco River: This river is a tributary of the Gila River and another very picturesque stream.

Pleasanton: Founded 1882 by Mormon polygamist Jacob Hamblin who had 24 children. Must have been the water!

Skirting the Arizona line: We could see lots of Arizona landmarks long before we crossed the line.

Glenwood: A ranch in 1878 and a “silver and gold” rush in 1889. An old mining “catwalk” built along the rock wall of Whitewater Canyon, remains a major attraction for thrill-seeking hikers. The “volcanic” region yielded rich gold and silver deposits.

Alpine (8012-ft): Founded 1876, in beautiful Bush Valley, settled by Mormons.

Reserve: “Reserve”  Ancestral Pueblo pottery type (black on white) was named for the Reserve area, where it was first found.

Tularosa River: A scenic tributary of the San Francisco River with picturesque cliffs, canyons, and huge, colorful  Cottonwood trees along the riverbed.

Luna: In the 19th century Luna was part of the extensive lands of Don Salomon Luna, and the valley was used for sheep ranching. It briefly was an outlaw hide-away, but was settled by Mormon ranchers in 1883 and subject to Chiricahua Apache attacks until the surrender of Geronimo. The town was named after Don Salomon Luna. The post office was opened in 1886

Viya con dios New Mexico and Buenos dias Arizona!

Springerville: At 7000-ft, they had 4 inches of snow a few days earlier. In a vast round valley, it was named for Henry Springer’s 1876 trading post. The Springerville volcanic field contains over 400 volcanoes within a 50-mile radius of Springerville, making it the third largest volcanic field in the continental United States. Basalt piles are visible for miles around and we saw huge cinder cones too. Both the Hopi and Zuni people still consider Casa Malpais a sacred ancestral place. The ancient people cut a steep basalt staircase, set into a crevice of the high, red cliff wall, which leads to Casa Malpais, at the top of the mesa.

Show Low: With an elevation of 6345-ft, Show Low just recently had a wet, heavy snow. The 1870 town got its unusual name from cutting cards to settle a ranch ownership argument between two partners. The Marion Clark challenge; If you can “show low”, you win! Corydon E. Cooley turned up the deuce of clubs and said “show low it is”. As a tribute to the legend, Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs".

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

After a night of thunder, lightning, and rain, we departed Show Low and headed to Meteor Crater, west of Winslow. We stopped for lunch at Holbrook and then drove to our campsite at Meteor Crater.

At Holbrook, we were back on a familiar track. The unfamiliar drive from Dallas, Texas to Holbrook, Arizona over the past 8 days) was a real treat and loads of fun with terrific scenery, natural wonders, and fascinating attractions.

We had lunch at Holbrook and talked to some locals. It’s a sleepy little town, but county seat of Navajo County, with a fine courthouse. Holbrook is right on Route 66 and has more petrified wood than we have ever seen. The parks all have collections and Holbrook has a large market selling all sizes of petrified wood. We saw huge, entire petrified trees, from a prehistoric, a hard-to-imagine forest. We admired snow-capped Humphreys Peak (12633-ft) (Arizona’s highest point), some 80 miles distance. We took a campsite at Meteor Crater Park, just west of Winslow.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

From our base campsite at Meteor Crater, we visited the crater. The Visitor Center is an interesting and educational complex, with theater, museum, crater overlook, and great views of the surrounding Colorado Plateau. The massive meteorite impact crater occurred 50,000 years ago and remains an incredible site. We enjoyed the open country, beautiful sunsets, and cool, clear, starry nights.

From the rim observation platforms, we could see Arizona’s Humphreys Peak (12633-ft), Arizona’s highest point, at 70 miles to the northwest. We could also observe traffic, crossing the plateau, on I-40. Remarkably, we could literally watch an 18-wheeler for one-hour, in traversing the flat plateau. That’s a lot of real estate! The desert is wide-open, with no discernable structures. One of the most geologically intriguing features of the Colorado Plateau is its remarkable stability. Relatively little rock deformation such as faulting and folding has affected this flat, high desert. Today was cool, but sunny. Curiously, we were comfortable in the sun but too cool in the shade. The Meteor Crater National Landmark is a fascinating place and we recommend it for a visit!

11-2-18 Friday

Our next stop is Flagstaff for a campsite at Flagstaff KOA, and some Fall shopping and touring. After lunch, we did a walking tour and shopping spree in downtown Flagstaff. We visited the old railroad depot visitor center, right on Route 66, for some local info. Flagstaff is a “history book brought to life”, with buildings, ruins, and roads that tell the stories of Flagstaff’s past. We admired some of the old hotel lobbies, railroad artifacts, Coconino County Courthouse, and numerous landmarks. Nestled at 7000-ft, at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff rewards us with clear air, cool Ponderosa Pine forests, and stunning historic and natural attractions. Great afternoon and evening!

Saturday, November 3, 2018

This morning, we made Chile Rellenos with some of our “Hatch peppers”. Terry used a “casserole recipe” and it came out very enticing and delicious.

Next, we cruised out to Walnut Canyon for some hiking and sightseeing. The canyon is a natural wonder, with its colorful layers of Kaibab limestone, resting on Coconino sandstone, with Arizona Black Walnut trees, in golden Fall color, on the canyon floor. The numerous cliff dwellings, perched high, under the overhanging cliffs, made us wonder how often an ancient Sinagua resident fell, with certain, fatal consequences. After several previous sojourns to Flagstaff, we’re glad we visited Walnut Canyon National Monument.

Sunday 11-4

On a fine Fall day in Flagstaff, we toured the Coconino National Forest Loop and visited Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki Pueblo National Monument. Back in Flagstaff, we celebrated Terry’s birthday with a delicious dinner at Pato Thai Restaurant.

Sunset Crater, part of the 4-thousand square-mile, San Francisco Peaks Volcanic field, was an awesome exhibit of lava, cinders cones, and a Ponderosa Pine forest. We enjoyed the Visitor Center, overlooks and pullouts, in the peculiar lava fields.

At Wupatki, the Visitor Center offered a video, garden, and lots of artifacts depicting the lives of the ancient pueblo dwellers. We walked the trails and admired the pueblos. These pueblos, constructed in the “red rocks” area, are very different from the Walnut Canyon cliff dwellings. The masonry pueblos, built high on the red rocks, were advertising their presence and willingness to trade. Archeologists have determined that they were very successful farmers and traded with other great-distance groups. Their descendants, the Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo people still remain in the area. We had a marvelous day at these National Monuments.

After an early Sunday-evening birthday dinner for Terry, we walked around downtown Flagstaff and then took a tour of the Northern Arizona University campus. Tomorrow we head down to Camp Verde.

Monday, November 5, 2018

If it’s a little too cool in Flagstaff, Verde Valley, just 60 miles south is much warmer. So, we headed south to Camp Verde, and descended from 7000-feet to under 4-thousand. We took a campsite at Rancho Verde Resort, an attractive spot in the Verde River Valley. In the late afternoon, we visited Montezuma Castle National Monument, an ancient Sinagua cliff dwelling, on Beaver Creek. This five-story dwelling, under a white-sandstone cliff recess, about 100-feet above the creek, is the most impressive cliff-dwelling we have seen. The valley, along the creek is shaded by huge Sycamore and Walnut trees. We were glad we went to the site.

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018

With an early start, we left Daisy in charge of the campsite, and headed out on a loop-route to visit Montezuma Well, Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, and Cottonwood. This area is the stunning red-rock country, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Montezuma Well, a gigantic, deep, limestone sink, formed ages ago, is continuously fed by underground, flowing springs. This is also a cliff-dwelling site and the outflow water was used to irrigate the prehistoric farming plots, of the ancient Sinagua fields. The canal ruminants are still flowing with the cool, clear water. We also saw the curious red-winged grasshopper. The Montezuma Well National Monument is a very impressive antiquity!

Sedona is surrounded with towering red-rock formations, where the scenery will “take your breath away”. We had lunch at Sedona then drove up to the vortex, for some great overlook views.

 Oak Creek Canyon, between Sedona and Flagstaff, is a deep canyon, with high precipices and scenic, shady trees along the creek bed. The Fall colors were stunning!

At Cottonwood, we explored the old town and the historic buildings. We enjoyed the geological wonders, Native American culture, and red rock scenery. The red-rock area of northern Arizona is a spectacular place to see!

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Leaving Camp Verde and the Verde Valley, we headed to Prescott and a campsite in the desert at Aguilar. We had lots of ups, downs, and arounds, crossing the mountains, and we were amused at our plastic water bottles crackling, with altitude changes.

Traveling from the Verde Valley to Prescott, we crossed a high desert plain. The grass and plants were mostly brown and dry, except for the green Creosote bushes and Cholla. Crossing the mountains, we came to Dewey-Humboldt, an old gold mining settlement town in Yavapai County. The mine tailings are presently being reprocessed into iron-rich Ironite fertilizer. (Good luck with that!) They also had a successful pioneer gristmill on the Agua Fria River.

Next, we entered Prescott Valley and Prescott. The area was another rich gold strike on Lynx Creek. It’s also another location of ancient Native American ruins. Now, it’s a busy town with lots of everything. We shopped Safeway, then had lunch and headed southwest.

What a surprise! Arizona 89 becomes a 39-mile rollercoaster and scrambler, all the way to Yarnell. It will take you up to some elevations to 5900 feet, through some high desert, twisties, along some high precipices, the Prescott National Forest and some very pretty roadside scenery. At the Yarnell descent, the road is divided, with the westbound on the high track and the eastbound below, on the same slope. Sometimes we could catch a glimpse of the eastbound climb and it was way below us on the same canyon wall. We are often reminded that; lower-elevation mountain ranges often present the steepest, curviest, narrowest, scariest, routes. Very exhilarating!

Making it down to Yarnell, we talked to a local that had some interesting observations to share. The main economy is ranching, mining, and retiree homeowners. On June 30, 2013, the Yarnell Hill Fire destroyed half of the town and killed 19 firefighters. Quail hunting and rattlesnakes are the main topic in November.

Crossing the desert to the McMullen Valley and Aguila, we traversed an expansive, flat plain, with irrigated agricultural fields to the horizons. Melons, vegetables, nuts, fruit, and hay are the main crops. We took a campsite at Morenga Palms RV Park. Isolated, in the desert, we were surprised to find a good company of “snowbirds”, passing the winter here, in the desert. With the Harcuvar Mountains north and the Harquahala Mountains to the south, we enjoyed a spectacular sunset.

November 8, 2018

Thursday morning broke calm, clear, and sunny. We had a leisurely morning and then headed further west to California. At the Colorado River, we crossed the river from Arizona to Blythe, California and took a campsite at Mayflower Park, on the west bank of the Colorado River. We had a nice afternoon and evening at Mayflower, a Riverside County Park. The majority of campers were “snowbirds”, spending the winter at the park. I joined them for an “ice cream social” and heard about some of their winter plans. The majority of the snowbirds have been coming to Mayflower for many winters. Blythe is an agricultural, industrial, and trucking center. The campground is several miles upriver, bordered by vast, flat, irrigated agricultural fields. The campground is gren grass, completely shaded by rows of giant Eucalyptus trees.

Friday, November 9, 2018

At mid-morning, after breakfast, walking and doing some maintenance, we headed west to the Coachella Valley, La Quinta, and Lake Cahuilla Park. Approaching Chiriaco Summit, we encountered high wind gusts from the prevailing Santa Ana winds. We had to slow down for the next 50 miles, down to the Coachella Valley. With moderate winds in the valley, we had lunch, then drove over to the park. After welcoming greetings, updates, and mail, we setup on our winter site and spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening on mail and computer updates. It’s good to be back in southern California!

Late Summer and Fall in NW Montana followed by travel from Flathead Lake to Tulsa Oklahoma

Well, it's already October and I am way behind on posting my notes. I determined to catch-up this week and also plan the rest of the year, agreeing that we will close-our 2018 in Southern California. 

Wed. 7-25-18

With a few days off, we decided to visit Missoula, for some exploring and relaxation. Missoula, nestled on the Clark Fork River, in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, has lots of history and interesting attractions.

Fort Missoula, an 1877 US Army post, established during the Indian Wars, is now a historical park, and large Parks and Recreation complex. We liked the old buildings and the shady, tree-lined avenues.

University of Montana and Mount Sentinel; the University is set at the foot of Mount Sentinel, with a constant view of the enormous “M” logo, up on the mountain slope. Prehistoric, horizontal, wave-cut shorelines of ancient, glacial Lake Missoula can be seen on the mountain slopes. We toured the beautiful campus and perused the impressive academic and athletic facilities.

Caras Park on the Clark Fork River, in downtown Missoula, is a popular outdoor attraction. We walked the river-trail, talked to kayakers and bicyclists, and admired the clear, cold, swift Clark Fork River. We met a young man who is bicycling from the east coast to Astoria Oregon. See him on Fb: Ride for Life 2018.

Historic Downtown was fun to see, with its historic buildings, nice parks and landscaping, and loads of attractions. Missoula is a Salish Indian name referring to the abundant trout in the rivers or the cold water. It’s at the confluence of the Bitterroot (south) and Blackfoot (northeast) Rivers, with the Clark Fork River, where five valleys intersect. Last evening, we walked up the slope, by our campground, for a grand sunset and had a nice overlook of the valley, with its surrounding mountain ranges.

Southgate Mall was a cool retreat from the midday sun. We walked, shopped the Mall and had a nice lunch, at the food court.

Saint Frances Xavier Church immediately reminded us of the Mission Valley, Saint Ignatius church. Now we know, it was built and finished by the same Jesuit Brothers.

Friday, July 27, 2018

With a little Missoula investigation and research, we elected to visit the Smokejumper Center, National Museum of Forest Service History, and the Boone and Crockett Club.

At the Aerial Fire Depot and Smokejumper Center, we learned about smokejumpers and wildland fire management. On a guided tour, we were astounded by these incredibly dedicated folks, who fight wildfires, using the training, tools and equipment at the depot. Yes, they jump from a perfectly good airplane into an inferno, to fight the conflagration. Also, by tradition, they maintain and repair their own equipment. They do hire and train parachute packers, who must make a certification-jump, using a chute that they themselves pack. Talk about a serious performance-review!

Our greatest surprise was finding a 1959 Smokejumper, from Progress, in the veterans’ honor roll. Yep, it’s public record!  Wincel E. (Dubby) Raborn was a Missoula Smokejumper. Also found John McMahon (Bud’s cousin) who was a smokejumper too. This visit was another example of how a small, elite group of people accomplish amazing tasks in saving lives and property. Talk about unsung heroes!

At the National Museum of Forest Service History, it’s a story about dedicated people who encouraged a whole new way of thinking about our country’s rivers, mountains, grasslands, and forests. Conservation is now an American tradition, making us stewards of our public lands, for the greatest good. Good visit, interesting, educational, and inspirational!

For lunch, the Montana Club serves scratch-made entrées of home-style cooking, where comfort and Montana style meet. It was a soooo good lunch!

After lunch, we visited another conservation tradition, at the Boone and Crockett Club. Founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt, after a trip out west, it’s dedicated to protecting wild land and wildlife conservation. Located in the historic, Renaissance Revival style, Missoula railroad depot, the Club is an outstanding attraction. For outdoorsmen, it’s worth the trip to Missoula, just to see it! Yep, they have the world-record whitetail! (and many other full-mounts) Unbelievable!

We had a good time in Missoula and learned a lot about the area. The weather was great, the attractions interesting and educational, and the architecture and landscaping were admirable.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

My Montana interests this summer owe a great deal to the many people (locals and visitors) that I have met and conversed with. Gaining a better understanding of Montana antiquity was initially an interest but we spent more time just exploring around. However, I was never able to completely dismiss it, and eventually realized that it was something that I really wanted to do.

One of my goals is reading, research, and exploring the history of a given area, during our seasonal work assignment. This summer has been special because Montana is a special place, with a long history, even if most of it is not recorded. The earliest people came the area ten-thousand years ago. Native American oral history totally rejects the concept of their coming via the “Bering Land Bridge”, claiming that the “Creator” put them here, long before. Regardless, the written history is divided into two distinct sections; (before Lewis and Clark) and (after Lewis and Clark).

The following books have been my reading selections for the summer:

Montana Curiosities

It Happened in Montana

David Thompson; A Life of Adventure and Discovery

Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri; The Personal Narrative of Charles Larpenteur

Montana’s Historical Roadside Markers

Tribes and Trappers

My last book just happened to be one that brings it all together, by exploring the geology, geography, anthropology, and politics of Montana. Geology has proven that the eastern Montana Plains were an ancient seaway, bordered by lush, green, jungle-like forests. Abundant marine and dinosaur fossils are still being discovered. Dinosaurs were plentiful in Montana and the most fossils are found here.

I have gained a greater appreciation for the Native American story too. Everything in US history has had an effect on Native Americans. Early eastern US settlement pushed Native Americans west, displacing Indians that had been here since ancient times. By 1800 nearly all Native Americans had moved to new ground. The Crow, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre, Kootenai, Flathead, and Pend d’ Oreilles remain a presence in Montana. The famous Shoshone people of Sacagawea, sadly, no longer have a presence in Montana.

In the early 1800’s US expansion, exploration, and the fur business brought more disease and hardships to the Indians, with men like Lewis and Clark, followed by Fur companies, Manual Lisa, John Colter, Jedediah Smith, and Jim Bridger, to name a few.

In conversations with Indians, it’s obvious that they’re still trying to find their place in Montana. They hold on to their traditions while slowly assimilating into American culture.

The most interesting story, is a hungry Indian refusing pork from the US government. When pressed, he responded, “we Indians view Whites eating pork, like you Whites viewed us eating dog”. So, you better know their ways, when dealing with Indians!

Opportunely, Montana is the first State in America that has a constitutional law requiring that all students learn about the distinct and unique heritage of American Indians.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Regardless of the smoke from the Pacific Northwest fires, we decided to make a three-day visit to the Kootenai River, in NW Montana. We took a nice campsite at the Woodland RV Park in Libby. Our objective was to visit the Libby Dam, Lake Koocanusa, and Kootenai Falls. The smoke was an annoyance but did not “steal the show”!

At Libby Dam, we explored the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center, a very pristine, interesting, scenic, and educational site. The gigantic concrete structure dams the Kootenai River (ancestry home of the Kootenai Indians), to form Lake Koocanusa, situated in the USA and Canada. The enormous lake was a cooperative project between Canada and the USA, to dam the Kootenai River for flood control, recreation and hydroelectric power. In an obliging effort, the designated name honors the Kootenai Tribe, Canada, and the USA; Lake Koocanusa! My favorites were the mountain views, the birdwatching, and the sky-blue lake views.  A remote and beautiful place!

Overlooking Lake Koocanusa, along the east shore and the west shore, a circuitous route connected by the dam and a bridge, provides access and stunning views of the lake. We highly recommend this not-so-traveled destination to enjoy and reconnoiter!

Exploring Kootenai Falls, a thundering, whitewater attraction, sacred ground to the Kootenai people, is a natural and geological feature. Scurrying around the rocky ledges of the gorge, and crossing the high swinging bridge, we saw fishing Osprey, giant trees, sheer rock walls, and tumultuous pools. The entire area is refrigerated by the cold, cascading water and spray of the river. Our favorites were giant Western Red Cedars, wildlife, the obvious evidence of an ancient sea-bed and the enormous forces of plate tectonics, in uplifting and bending the massive layers of rock, from horizontal to vertical. WOW, a must-see place!

Also, Libby is an inviting, small-town Montana experience, a place that radiates a classic, rural Montana lifestyle. This bucolic area of NW Montana is abundant in natural wonders and well worth the visit! Blast the smoke, we had a ball!

On this trip, we resolved a question that every driver in Montana ponders. If you have driven in Montana, no doubt you have noticed the “white crosses” placed at the sites of highway fatalities. The crosses are placed and maintained by the DOT, through a supportive effort led by the American Legion of Montana, in an ongoing determination to remind drivers to “Please drive carefully”. Many families place wreathes and other decorations, which serve as a memorial. They are a sobering reminder of a fatal traffic accident, a place where a human being lost his/her life.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

We completed our assignment at West Shore State Park and headed for a visit with Terry’s folks in Oklahoma. It was melancholy to leave our summer friends and associates at the Park but we were also excited about traveling. We headed south, down the Mission Valley, to Missoula and then followed up the Clark Fork River to lunch at Deer Lodge. We saw the old Montana Territorial Prison, which looks like a medieval stone castle (with concertina wire). Deer Lodge is situated in a high valley, encircled by picturesque mountains. We drove around town and discovered a nice walking trail along the Clark Fork River. Over the summer, we explored NW Montana fairly extensively, so our current objective is to make our way down to Columbus, Montana, and take a new route down to Yellowstone.

Continuing east, we stopped at Butte, for a campsite. The campground afforded nice views of the Silver Bow Valley. We also enjoyed the hiking trail along Blacktail Creek. Butte has suffered from the mining industry but is capitalizing on tourism because of the history and architecture in town. 

On Sunday, we headed east, crossing the Continental Divide at Homestake Pass, then down to Three Forks, confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin Rivers, and the headwaters of the Missouri River. Following up the Gallatin River for a while, we then arrived at Bozeman, crossed the Bozeman Pass, and joined the Yellowstone River at Livingston. Following down the Yellowstone River, we headed south at Columbus, to Red Lodge and a campsite on Rock Creek. Red Lodge coal mining attracted European miners and the town still reflects this cultural influence. A Crow Indian Chief, an original inhabitant, had a red teepee, thus the name “Red Lodge” stuck.

Beginning at Columbus and continuing to Yellowstone via the east entrance, will be a new route for us. Tomorrow, we take a day-trip ride over the Beartooth Highway, a curvy and high route to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone, at Cooke City.

8-27-18

Today we had breakfast and headed to the Beartooth Highway. With rain, fog, heavy clouds, and low visibility, we resigned the switchbacks at 8-thousand feet and headed back to Red Lodge. We were disappointed but that’s the nature of high Montana mountains. We were told that the Pass had snow, so we were glad we didn’t go on up. Next time! We were glad to get back to the warm, dry places in town!

Tuesday 8-28-18

Departing Red Lodge, on a cool, clear, frosty, blue-sky morning, with coffee, we took MT308 over to Belfry, and then, headed south on WY120, up the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone. At the Wyoming line, we left the River and cut down to Cody, for lunch and supplies. Being in Cody is like going back in time. It’s just an old-west town, with a western attitude! From Cody, we took US14, following up the N. Fork of the
Shoshone River, into the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

This was a totally new route for us and it was stunning! Between Red Lodge and Belfry, we traversed some amazing terrain. Up, down, and around hills, we saw the Smith coal mine, site of the famous disaster. One things that strikes me about western, abandoned mines, is that the old buildings and equipment are deserted. They make no attempt to salvage anything.

Along the route, we saw obvious glacial evidence in the form of U-shaped valleys, scarred rock, and moraines. We researched moraines and learned how to determine the various types of moraines that we encounter. (A fascinating phenomena) The lower Clarks Fork valley is a pastoral scene with sprawling ranches and neat, colorful agricultural crops, all irrigated by the Clarks Fork and shadowed by the rugged Beartooth Mountains. In the valley, we saw Sand Hill cranes, Pronghorn, and lots of birds, but no “new sightings”. The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone takes its rise in the Beartooth Range, near Cooke City, Montana, and flows in a horseshoe-shape, through NE Yellowstone Park, dipping into Wyoming, and then along the east Beartooth Range, into Yellowstone River, at Laurel, MT. The upper Clark Fork flows through one of the deepest, most remote (Wyoming) canyons in the U.S.

Entering east Yellowstone Park, we cruised over Sylvan Pass (8,541’), along Yellowstone Lake, to Fishing Bridge. Along this stretch, we saw Bison, Elk, Bluebirds, Deer, and some high overlooks of Yellowstone Lake. Far, on the distant shore at West Thumb, we could see the steam rising from the thermal vests. Crossing over the Yellowstone River, around the West Thumb, and then down to the south entrance, we had terrific views of the mountains and lakes. We took a campsite at a campground just south of the Yellowstone and Teton Parks, in Buffalo Valley, on a tributary of the Buffalo Fork River. This valley affords some spectacular views of Tetons and the valley. The Aspens were turning orange and yellow, making a floral design with the Conifers, on the high mountain slopes. This route was awesome and we highly recommend it!

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

After laundry and chores, we headed down to Jackson Hole, for lunch and some sightseeing. The usual tourist crowd was about, but smaller numbers this late in the season. We enjoyed Jackson and did our shopping, then headed to Grand Teton Park.

Cruising from Moose Junction to the headwaters of the Snake River, we kept a sharp eye for wildlife, but the valley and sagebrush flats (did see Pronghorn) are now too dry for feeding. Our main attention today was the glacial moraines and observing how the Tetons rise tersely from the west valley floor, towering to snowfields and lofty heights, very abruptly. The jagged peaks and deep canyons are magnificent views, which provoke wonder. Powerful geologic forces continue to shape this youthful landscape. Jenny Lake, and Jackson Lake were beautiful, crystal-clear water, with the clear blue sky above. The Jackson Lake Dam was busy, with fisherman trying to catch a big-one, coming up the Snake River. Along the headwaters of the Snake River, we observed very noticeable gold colors of fall. Here, they say there are two seasons, “winter and getting ready for winter”!  We had a real nice day with some amazing sights!

Thursday, August 30, 2018

On our second day to visit Yellowstone, we focused on a deeper investigation of some familiar marvels. At Moose Falls, on the Lewis River, just upstream from its confluence with the Snake River, we had an undisturbed experience with nature. The evergreen smell, waterfall, quaking Aspens, and massive stone boulders all had something inspiring to say! I’m always amazed at granite boulders and how they weather-down into round jumbles of gigantic, monkey-bread-like masses. Leaving here, we saw an Elk with twin calves.

Next, we visited Lewis Falls, on the Lewis River, just south of Lewis Lake. We walked the trail upriver for some spectacular sights, sounds, fragrances of nature, and astonishing volcanic evidence. Here, is found massive exposures of obsidian beads, incorporated with layers (striations) of basalt. The black, glossy beads have been weathered and worn from the sarsens, and the ground is blanketed with the tiny, black, lustrous, glass beads. As I gathered a sample in my hand to photograph, a lady asked what they were and I just replied that it happened long ago, on a very hot day!

At Lewis Lake, the water was clear and cold, and almost transparent, a remarkable body of water. We had a nice picnic lunch and walked around the area. Large conifers around the lake provide shade and afford surprise views of the lake, from around the shore. We saw those noisy, clicking grasshoppers here, seasonally common and impossible to miss. Ironically, our picnic was too cold in the shade and too hot in the sun. Another drastic contrast we discovered on an August day in Yellowstone!

After lunch, we visited the West Thumb Geyser Basin and walked the entire boardwalk trail system. The pools were all unique, with splendid color and varied hydrothermal activity. Some were boiling, others steaming, and some bubbling. The colorful bacteria along the outflows ranged from ochre, orange, and black depending on the water temperature. Sometimes the very thought of being in this giant caldera is a bit unsettling. We learned that West Thumb is a splendid winter Otter-viewing area. The thermal vents create open-water on the frozen lake, facilitating excellent Otter fishing spots. Winter in Yellowstone would be amazing!  Very interesting visit!

What are you favorites; hot springs, geysers, hot travertine terraces, fumaroles, or mudpots? It’s all so captivating, stunning, and overwhelming!

Friday, August 31, 2018

Heading south today, we left frosty Moran Junction and made it to Rawlins.  We crossed the Continental Divide at Togwotee Pass(9548’), in the Absaroka Range. Sweeping vistas of the craggy, lofty Teton Range are visible, in the distance, from the western slope of the pass. Immediately, down the eastern slope, we caught the headwaters of the Wind River and followed it down to Crowheart. On the Wind River Indian Reservation, Crowheart is named as a result of a battle over hunting grounds. Chief Washakie of the Shoshone defeated Chief Big Robber of the Crow. Washakie cut out Big Robber’s “Crow heart” and stuck it on the end of his lance. Talk about a stiff penalty for “hunting without a license”!

The Wind River and Wind River Mountain Range are fascinating to me. The eastern slope of the Wind River Range is dry, with Sage, Rabbit Brush, and other low-growing, high-plains vegetation. Lots of Rattlesnakes too! The Pronghorn browse on the Sage and there is plenty of it! Irrigation from the river facilitates contrasting green fields in the valley. Long before settlement and land reclamation, natural irrigation along the river banks produced a green-belt that still exists today. I saw some notable Cottonwood trees where Chief Washakie may have climbed or basked in their shade. Along the river, we observed some towering red-sandstone precipices that were stunning. The history, geology, hydrology, and ecology all make a fascinating story. Words and pictures can not describe it!

My favorite encounters today were:

Lots of Pronghorn

National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center at Dubois

Ice Slough

Fort Washakie

Lander is where the first paid rodeo took place

Split Rock

Windy Gap

Bairoil

Great Divide Basin (lots of sand and sand dunes)

We took a campsite in Rawlins and had a windy, but peaceful night.

Saturday, September 1, 2018

After a good breakfast and dog-walk, we shopped Rawlins City Market for supplies, then headed for Walden, Colorado. We detected petro-chemical odors well before we saw the Sinclair refinery. So that’s where a lot of Wyoming crude goes to be refined!

Heading south, we encountered the North Platte River, at Saratoga. We remembered the hot springs from years past and decided to visit again. Saratoga has totally renovated the springs area and now they have a swimming pool, visitor center, walking trails along the North Platte River, and of course the original hot spring (104 degrees). It was a hot day, so we vetoed the “hot spring soak”. We explored the landmark, had a picnic lunch at the Park and then continued south.

This is a very scenic route but it’s closed in winter. There are some ranches along the route, so I guess they have to snowmobile in winter.

At Riverside, the Encampment River is the main attraction and the small river-town would be a great get-away place. The Encampment River, a tributary of the North Platte River, runs through an impressive canyon, just upriver from Riverside.

Cruising on down to the Colorado line, we had some terrific views of the Medicine Bow Mountains. We were reminded of the hike we made to the Medicine Bow summit, some years back. We could still do it but it would be too risky!

In Colorado, we took a campsite at Walden, the only town in Jackson County, and yes, it’s the county seat. The area is sparsely populated by “real cowboys” from large ranches. When they come to town, it’s obvious that they live way-out on dusty, washboard roads. They were very friendly to us and we always felt welcome in town and country. Walden is situated in a high mountain Valley (8800’), called North Park. North Park gets its name from being the northernmost of three large mountain valleys (or Parks) in Colorado. The others are Middle Park and South Park respectively. We are very familiar with Colorado after living here and exploring it extensively for summer and winter sports. Near the campground is a U.S. Forest service facility with maintenance shop, bunkhouse and horse stables. Feeding around the horses, we saw a large flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Robins, and Brewers Blackbirds.

At the Walden High School, one block east, a high school football game was going on. I struck-up a conversation with a young alumnus and he answered my questions. I learned that their school days are held Monday-Thursday and on Friday the kids are off to help on the family ranches. Saturday is game day (the school has no field-lights), and it’s six-man football. Walden has 13 players on the team. Unfortunately, they lost to Cotopaxi!

On Main Street, there is a popular restaurant and painted on the glass picture window reads; “You’ll go nuts over our oysters”. Yep, they do serve “mountain oysters”, not something I wanted to try. It did inspire me to wonder about their supplier. It there a “mountain oyster” vendor. I’ve never seen it in stores or advertised on television! We had two relaxing nights in Walden, very quiet for Labor Day weekend!

Sunday, September 2, 2018

After breakfast, we departed Walden and cruised on down to a campsite at Kremmling, Colorado. The route was scenic and we recalled traveling it many times when we lived in Colorado. On the west, we got a good view of the towering twin megaliths that mark Rabbit Ears Pass, on the Continental Divide, some 25 miles distant. On the east, we could see Rocky Mountain National Park, 28 miles away. The high Aspens and valley Willows were gold. The hay fields of valley ranches were cut clean and the new haystacks are ready for winter. We saw haystacks of large round bales, small square bales, and large rectangular bales, hay for every requirement. South of Muddy Pass, clouds were building on the east side of the of the mountains. Soon we saw streaks of rain falling but evaporating before reaching the ground. This is a common, high-elevation spectacle seen on the eastern-slope, rain shadow of mountains ranges. It soon passed and was sunny again.

Kremmling is situated in the Colorado Middle Park, a high basin (8,000’) on the southwest slope of Rocky Mountain National Park, headwaters of the Colorado River.

On this trip, we have often started a sentence and run out of breath before completion. We spent the Montana summer at 5,000 feet, but Wyoming and Colorado have carried us to much higher elevations, and we often feel it. I have formerly, in years past, suffered altitude-sickness several times, on 14-thousand-foot Colorado mountains, so I know to stay hydrated, avoid overexertion, and adjust my pace. However, extended periods at 7 to 12-thousand feet can abruptly ambush you. The best cure is descending to lower elevations. Not fun! We felt if but thankfully, no problem!

Monday 9-3

Continuing our ride-to-Oklahoma, we decided to spend a couple of days at Rocky Mountain National Park. We found a pleasant campsite at the Winding River Resort, on the Colorado River, just a mile from the Grand Lake entrance. The Winding River Resort, an extensive ranch, offers every conceivable mountain experience possible. They have guides, outfitters, and gear to meet your every need. They also offer excellent lodging accommodations, from RV sites, cabins, and even covered wagon camping. We highly recommend Winding River Resort for a vacation destination. They have such an extensive offering and schedule, that a week to 10 days is necessary to experience it all.

This visit, to Rocky Mountain National Park, after a number of years, is just as exciting as our first. We drove through Grand Lake Village and the old-west-style village was chockfull of tourists. Looking past that, it is a charming spot, on gorgeous Grand Lake.

At the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, we were impressed with the video, dioramas, wildlife specimens, publications, and Ranger-information, introducing visitors to the Park. On this visit, our goal was to focus on the Park, west of the Lava Cliffs (12,183’) and the western slope of the Continental Divide. The Alpine Visitor Center, with its stone and log buildings, and stunning, panoramic views, was a special treat too! We could see the Medicine Bow Mountains, Never Summer Mountains, Gore Range, Mummy Range, and most of Middle Park today. We got to explore (on the trails) Montane, Subalpine, and Alpine ecosystems, along the Trail Ridge. The Park is awesome and we had a fantastic visit!

A special treat was an up-close observation with two Elk and their calves. We had some exhilarating short hikes and of course the Trail Ridge Road was electrifying. With sudden weather changes prevalent, we were fortunate to accomplish our goals early and come down, before a mid-afternoon thunderstorm moved in and made hazardous conditions.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Heading for a visit with Dave and Diane at Woodland Park, we backtracked from Grand Lake to Kremmling, then caught CO 9 south to Fairplay, in South Park. Our favorites along the route were;

Byers Canyon- An 8-mile Colorado River gorge between Hot Sulphur Springs and Kremmling. All along the canyon walls, you take in views of the dramatic rock formations that stretch toward the sky, featuring intricate details and craggy peaks. The Union Pacific Railroad’s, Moffat Route train tracks, follow the same path.

Blue River Valley- Believe it or not! The Blue River runs down the western side of the Continental Divide and is diverted to the eastern side of the divide. The Roberts Tunnel is a trans-basin diversion, built by Denver Water in 1962, that diverts water under the Continental Divide from the Colorado River basin into the South Plate River Basin. Yep, water is a big deal here! I wonder if animals or people ever get swept into that frightful tunnel!

Silverthorne/Dillon/Frisco- Old mining town with a new look! Now they’re mining tourist dollars, with exclusive restaurants, winter skiing, summer sports, and expensive real estate.

Breckenridge- More tourist mining! I was disoriented here because CO 9 has been totally rerouted to accommodate development.

Hoosier Pass (11,539’) – This is a steep, narrow pass between Breckenridge and Fairplay, (in South Park)crossing from the Colorado River Drainage to the South Platte River drainage. The pass is located on the Continental Divide at the northern end of the Mosquito Range. A hard pull (dog-gear up) and a robust push (Jake-brake down)!

Mt. Lincoln- This (14,286’) mountain was totally snow covered above tree-line, and it’s new snow. It was cold at the summit of the pass!

Middle Fork South Platte River- Rises on the southern slope of Hoosier Pass, and remnants of old, placer, gold mining operations can still be seen. It enters the South Platte River, in South Park, near Fairplay, flowing on over, through Denver.

On this trip we encountered the North Platte and the South Platte Rivers. They were so cold and clear that it’s hard to believe they’re the source of the Platte River, out on the plains. It’s often said that the Platt River, out on the plains, is “too thick to drink and too thin to plow”!

Sept 6 Thur.

From Fairplay, we headed down South Park and took US 24 over to Woodland Park, for a visit with Dave and Diane. South Park, on a cool, sky-blue day, was very scenic, surrounded with the snow-capped mountain ranges. We saw Pronghorn, birds, and Fall colors in the Aspen groves. At Wilkerson Pass (9,567’), we stopped off at the Visitor Center for some panoramic views of South Park. The hosts were from Waco, Texas and he was a Baylor Basketball alumnus.

At Dave and Diane’s, in Woodland Park, we had an excellent visit, enjoying some scrumptious meals, shopping, entertainment, hiking, Barbeque at Rudy’s, and just relaxing at home.

Terry and Diane attended the home-show at Denver. We visited the Mining Museum, Colorado Springs, and enjoyed a fine day-trip leaf-peeping day at South Park, Buena Vista, and Marshall Pass. Another day, we visited Cripple Creek and attended the Mountain Repertory Theatre for their production of “Always … Patsy Cline”. Located in the historic Butte Theater, it was like attending an 1880’s performance!

We especially enjoyed our Mueller State Park, night-hike to listen for the bugling Elk. We had a fun-filled week in Woodland Park! Dave and Diane are good friends and we always enjoy visiting them!

9-15-18 Saturday

Today, we traveled from Woodland Park to Canyon City, and took a week at Royal View RV Resort. We headed west on US 24 to South Park, then CO 9 to Canyon City. The Aspen are in prime Fall-color, radiant gold in the green Conifer forest of the mountain slopes.

The campground is near the Arkansas River canyon and provides an admirable view of the canyon and the Royal Gorge bridge.

Sunday 9-17-18

On a warm day, we explored Canyon City, had lunch, and shopped. In the afternoon, we drove the Skyline Drive, a narrow, Dakota red-rock, razorback ridge or “hogback”, with sheer drops on either side. Scary but sweeping vistas overlooking the Arkansas River Valley.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Another warm day, a high of 98 degrees, we explored Canyon City and did some real estate shopping. We toured some homes currently on the market and were surprised at the prices of used homes. We especially liked the neighborhood along the “hogback” but most are tri-level, not suitable for us. Also, any below-ground level homes need “radon gas” ventilation systems to be safe.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Today, we’re touring-around with Diane and Dave. They drove down for a day-trip visit. First, we drove up the shelf-road, one of Fremont County’s historic roads, which connects Canyon City and Cripple Creek. This old mining-route is a high, narrow, and challenging gravel road, with a sheer drop on the creek side. The area is a year-round destination for rock-climbers, with a wealth of cliff options. Not for the timid but has fantastic views.

In the afternoon, we explored Red Canyon, taking a hike up the eroded-gulch, with amazing red rock formations and vertical spheres. As the canyon narrows, it blocks out the sun and the cool canyon walls provide nice air-conditioning! Formed 290-296 million year ago, it’s a geological smorgasbord of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock. The canyon walls have “striations” of shale, limestone, sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate, gneiss, quartz, and a bedrock of granite.

9-19 Wed.

At the Royal Gorge this morning, we discovered how much it has changed since our last visit. The entire Royal Gorge venue is owned and operated by Canyon City. The Royal Gorge Bridge, America’s highest bridge, at 1000 feet above the Arkansas River, is a heart-pumping experience and a breath-taking landscape. Since our last visit, they have added a “skycoaster”, and “ziprider”, which I would not get near. Resulting from a 2013 wildfire, the Visitor Center and venue buildings were all rebuilt and are very attractive and accommodating. The “gondolas” are even off my radar now! There’s still lots to see and do without these thrill-rides! If you do it all, bring a lot of cash. Entrance is $27 and rides another $65. Lunch can run about $20. My favorite is the free rim-trail. For some stunning views of the gorge, bridge, Arkansas River, Tunnel Trail, and Canyon City, the rim-trail is superb.

In the afternoon, we visited the Colorado Prison Museum. Canyon City, Colorado is a place in the U.S. where prison defines the culture of the area around it. The Colorado Territorial Prison began in 1871 and prisons became the economic foundation for Canyon City. Now,13 prisons, one of which is Supermax, the new ‘Alcatraz’ of America, dot the landscape around the Arkansas Valley. They have a prison for every need and they have an interesting “Prison Museum”. The museum is located in a former prison cell-block and has all sorts of curious things associated with “life behind bars”. They say it’s safe in the area, because “bad guys” don’t want to be anywhere around these prisons!

Thursday, September 20, 2018

We started with Starbuck’s coffee and pastries, followed by a ride down-along the Arkansas River, to Florence and Penrose. Florence is an antique mecca with unremitting antique shops along main street. Penrose is a cow-town with lots of ranches around. My favorite was the green-belt of Cottonwoods and other trees along the river. On our return to Canyon City, we drove through the irrigated farms, fields, orchards, and vineyards in the river valley. We had a great day in the Arkansas Valley! You can’t add days to your life but you can add life to your days! Colorado is a good place to do it!

Friday, September 21, 2018

Today, breaking cloudy and cool, we decided to hike the tunnel trail, an extension of the Canyon City Riverwalk. The trail is an old water-delivery system (late 1800’s) for Canyon City. It runs from Canyon City, up the Arkansas River gorge, almost to the Royal Gorge Bridge. It passes through the historic tunnels, over bridges, and along steep drop-offs, and following upstream to the old water intake. It provides scenic views of the river, gorge, Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, and side canyons, (home of Bighorn Sheep) as it traverses up the gorge.

We met Dave and Diane for lunch at the Cayote Den in Penrose, followed by some shopping at a local “apple farm”. We had a fun afternoon and enjoyed the fall weather.

Saturday, 22^nd Day of September, 2018

With Tulsa Oklahoma as our destination, we ended our week at Canyon City and traveled to Clayton, New Mexico, putting Colorado in our rear-view-mirror. Along today’s route, we saw many herds of Pronghorn and lots of fall-colors. It’s mating season and Pronghorn adult males either defend a fixed territory that females may enter or defend a harem of females. We had no problem spotting the dominate male in every herd.

The mountain views and river valleys were very scenic on a clear-blue day. We crossed Raton Pass and it was “Welcome to New Mexico” “the Land of Enchantment”!

It’s Chile roasting time and that refers to roasting of green chiles, most commonly occurring during harvest season, in autumn, throughout Colorado and New Mexico. The commercial roasting process, done at purchase, usually involves an operator taking the part as “chile roaster” which involves standing near and turning a cylindrical cage drum over propane-fueled flames, ensuring the chile pods are heated on every side, as they shed their skins; this ensures the chile skins blister appropriately, to allow for easier peeling of the chile. This process is the most popular method, since the smell has become a staple during the early New Mexican autumn, it offers a physical display of the chile, it offers the sound of the chiles crackling, the sight of the blistering and falling skins, accompanied by the widely distributed smell of the roasting peppers. YUM!

Horno-roasting the chiles, while done less often, is a traditional method of roasting the chile. A more common method is simply roasting over an open flame on gas stove-tops and grills. Any method means mouth-watering aromas and visions of Chile rellenos, enchiladas, burritos, and other scrumptious Mexican entrees! Hatch, the favorite chilies, come from the Rio Grande’s, Hatch Valley, near Hatch New Mexico.

Crossing the High Plains of NE New Mexico, between Raton and Clayton, we were astounded by the Capulin Volcano National Monument, a U.S. National Monument located in northeastern New Mexico, that protects and interprets an extinct cinder cone volcano that is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. The large volcanic field surrounding the monument contains at least 100 recognizable volcanoes, and aids visitors in gaining insights into 10 million years of the geological history of northern New Mexico. About 60-thousand years back, these volcanos blew hot lava over the area for miles around. You can see the resulting piles of basalt all over the surrounding Plains. It’s unimaginable to envision these massive blasts, launching bombardments, globules of molten lava all-around! This would make a great action movie! “The day she blew”!

We took a campsite at the Clayton RV Park. It’s a cool, clear, windy night. The RV Park is in a quite area and good for resting.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Notable observations today were:

Left Rocky Mountains behind us

Entered the high plains of the west Texas panhandle. Founded in 1901, Dalhart is named for its location on the border of Dallam and Hartley counties; its name is a portmanteau of the names of the two counties.

Crossed part of the old 3-million-acre XIT Ranch

Lots of those round (pivot-irrigated) agricultural fields

Lots of grain elevators for corn, millet

Lots of cotton fields

Crossed the Texas hills heading south to Amarillo

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument supplied Natives for 13-thousand years

We took a campsite at the Big Texan RV Park in Amarillo. The Big Texan runs a notorious, Texas-style “steak house” down the road and they provide free limousine transportation to the restaurant.

Monday, September 24, 2018

We spent the morning at the Amarillo Mall and ran errands around town in the afternoon. It was a hot day, with traffic, so we appreciated the air-conditioning!

Tuesday, 25 September, 2018

Move around the country, and there’s always a surprise nearby! We decided to take two days at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, second only to the Grand Canyon. The “Grand Canyon of Texas” (Not sure where Boquillas Canyon rates) is just SE of Amarillo. Palo Duro, “hard wood” in Spanish, is covered in Mesquite, Juniper, Hackberry, Willow, and Cottonwood, and likely, very large trees in the past. Water is still present and periodic flooding can be a serious concern. A cold-front brought rain overnight and the trails and washes are muddy today.

Wildlife is abundant, bird-watching is fascinating, and wildflowers are plentiful. Palo Duro Canyon is a place where erosion has shaped the land and a place where one can enjoy the beauty, sights, silence, and sounds, found only in such a remote place. This afternoon, we watched a Roadrunner using his fascinating hunting-skills to catch grasshoppers. During the day, we observed lots of Monarch butterflies, obviously going about their migration ritual.

The canyon is about 120-miles long and was formed just under 1-million years back. The erosion exposes a geologic story of about 250-million years, revealing a panoramic view of magnificent color and silhouettes. The canyon’s archeological and ethnological evidence suggests human habitation of 12-thousand years.

The Native American occupation ended with the 1874 Red River War. The Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne were driven out and in came Charles Goodnight (1876) with a bunch of cows. Goodnight’s, JA Ranch grew to 1.3-million acres, supporting 100-thousand cows. Over-time, the Ranch was sub-divided and now the Park’s public land is just over 27-thousand acres.

The Park has a nice Visitor Center on the north rim, and a steep-descent-road to the Canyon floor. The Park maintains campgrounds, trails, picnic areas, cabins, shelters, and bridges, many facilities built by the (1933-1937) CCC Companies. Pioneer Amphitheatre, on the canyon floor, presents “Texas”, an outdoor historical and musical drama, offered annually, each summer.

We have enjoyed the Geology, Flora, and Fauna of the canyon. We highly recommend this Park! An outdoor-vacation destination, well worth the drive from anywhere in the U.S.

9-27/9-28

Spending Thursday and Friday in Oklahoma City, we had good weather to visit the Oklahoma State Capitol and Bricktown. The State Capitol Building is undergoing a refurbishing but the guided-tour was very informative and enlightening. The impressive dome and murals told a historical story of Oklahoma. Also, the robust materials, represented many areas of the State and nation. For example, beautiful limestone and traditional glass came from Indiana, while many other fine materials came from around diverse Oklahoma.

Bricktown is Oklahoma City’s prime tourist-draw, the renovation of an old warehouse district, into fashionable shops, alluring restaurants, and momentous attractions. Bass Pro Shop and a new Baseball Stadium are a prime-anchors for Bricktown, which has a new trolley line to transport you around the entire district. This is an attractive and entertaining venue!

9-29-18

On Saturday, we took the Turnpike over to Tulsa and a visit with Terry’s folks. It was College Football game day and the Turnpike was busy with traveling fans. We had a nice weekend with Terry’s mom and the family. Ila came over from Lawton for the weekend and we enjoyed visiting with her and Baskerville (her big doggie)!

Now, for the next few weeks, we will remain with Jeanne, while the others travel to Vermont for a visit with Mandy and Seth. We’ll also use this time to do some catch-up maintenance and winter-planning. Currently, we have warm days and cool nights in Tulsa. It’s fairly windy every day but the humidity is high. My skin is improving after being very dry all summer in NW Montana and the high elevations of the Rocky Mountains.

Our first responsibility in sitting with Jeanne is to administer her medications, prepare meals, and meet her appointments.  She has an accessible van, with restraints to secure her chair, in travel. Yesterday, we met her appointment at the Indian Hospital in Claremore. Afterwards, we had lunch and toured Claremore. My favorite was the Will Rogers State College campus. Also, we enjoy trips to shopping, restaurants, and attractions around Tulsa. I’m reading some selected books on Oklahoma history and points of interest, and, as always, making lots of surprising discoveries. Every state is unique and I never tire of learning about them!