Monthly Archives: December 2017

2017 End of Year Review

We are still in Yuma, AZ and wanted to do an end of the year blog recap.  We have been traveling around for four and half years. This blog helps us stay in touch with family and friends but also serves as a diary of our travels for us to look back on.

We began our summer travels in Florida, moving the first of May north to Georgia where we visited some of Bill’s cousins.  Then on to Alabama where I was bit by a tick while hiking.  After passing through Mississippi and a corner of Tennessee we reached Little Rock.  At that point the tick bite caught up with me and I became very ill, resulting in a visit to Urgent Care and several weeks of medication.  In spite of my misery we managed to tour Little Rock, visit the Clinton Presidential Library, the Arkansas state capitol building, and made a day trip to Hot Springs. IMG_20170507_092842 20170509_132301

Then it was on to Bentonville to spend time with my dear Aunt Shirley and her family.

After Bentonville we continued on to Missouri where we stopped for several days in Branson.  We enjoyed the Missouri state parks, including a tour of Onondaga Cave.  We really enjoyed our time in St Louis, so much so we extended our stay.  We loved visiting the Gateway Arch, the Anheuser Busch Brewery where we saw the Clydesdales and the fabulous St Louis Zoo.  We visited Grant’s Farm where we both rode a camel for the first time and toured the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site and Museum.IMG_20170521_16354020170521_161128IMG_20170525_105005

We enjoyed visiting Hannibal, Missouri and seeing all the Mark Twain stuff before heading to West Branch, Iowa to tour the Herbert Hoover Birthplace and Presidential Library.  While in Iowa we stopped in Forest City at the Winnebago factory to have some repair work done and tour their factory.  While in Forest City we drove to the site of the Buddy Holly plane crash,  “the day the music died”.

Next up was Minnesota, a new state to visit for us.  We toured The Spam Museum, an Eagle Center, some Locks and Dams along the Mississippi and enjoyed many of Minnesota’s beautiful state parks including seeing glacial potholes in Interstate State Park.  IMG_20170606_111725IMG_20170609_113319

We found Duluth to be an interesting city on Lake Superior and enjoyed walking along their waterfront. IMG_20170615_135432

From Duluth we drove north along Lake Superior, enjoying the amazing scenery of three state parks, two lighthouses and beautiful waterfalls.  We also made the short drive into Wisconsin to see Big Manitou Falls, the highest falls in Wisconsin and fourth largest waterfall east of the Rockies.IMG_20170620_121327

The beauty of Grand Marais exceeded our expectations and while there we saw High Falls, the tallest waterfall in Minnesota, learned about the Grand Portage and visited the Grand Portage National Monument.

In Ely, MN we toured the Soudan Underground Mine State Park, our first underground mine tour where we descended 2,341 feet below the surface of the Earth.  We also visited a Wolf Center and Bill attended the Ham Radio yearly Field Day.IMG_20170623_112326IMG_20170623_155448

Next up was Voyageurs National Park, the only national park in Minnesota and only accessible by boat.  We had a great, but chilly boat tour of the park.  We stopped at the Kettle Falls Overlook, one of the few places in the continental U.S. where you look south to Canada.IMG_20170625_143840

While in Baudette we made the long drive to Angle Inlet, the northernmost point in the contiguous United States.  It was quite a day, passing through Canada to get to this small Minnesota village.  We checked into customs remotely by phone entering and leaving!IMG_20170627_170057IMG_20170627_173231

In late June we visited Itasca State Park where the mighty Mississippi begins its flow to the Gulf of Mexico.  Bill walked across the Mississippi!IMG_20170701_120817IMG_20170701_144204

Hard to believe we have covered what you just read in two months.  We amaze ourselves sometimes!

After the Fourth of July we visited the Mall of America, Minneapolis and St Paul.  The traffic was terrible and the one way streets difficult and confusing to maneuver.  I will remember those two cities as having some of the unfriendliest and impatient drivers we have encountered.  We enjoyed seeing the statue of Mary Richards, St Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, Viking Stadium, the state capitol building, Peanuts cartoon statues, and Minnehaha Falls made famous in Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha”.IMG_20170709_110402IMG_20170709_122608IMG_20170709_145710

Then it was back to Forest City, Iowa for their annual Winnebago Rally where we enjoyed attending seminars and spending time with other Winnebago owners.

After the rally we drove to Des Moines where we visited the Iowa state capitol, one of the prettiest we have ever visited. While in the area we made the drive to Winterset to visit the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum.  Winterset is also the setting of the novel and movie “The Bridges of Madison County”.IMG_20170724_122127IMG_20170724_112418IMG_20170725_132534IMG_20170725_162848

We left Iowa and entered Nebraska, another new state for us.  We visited Bill’s cousin in Papillion and toured Omaha.  Omaha was great and we visited the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters, the Pioneer Courage Park and the Gerald Ford birth site.  In the nearby town of Ashland, Bill was amazed by the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum, the largest collection of Cold War aircraft.  Lincoln was another interesting city and we toured the Nebraska state capitol building, another beautiful capitol.  We made the drive to Homestead National Monument of America where we learned about the Homestead Act and early homesteaders.IMG_20170801_104945IMG_20170801_111428

Upon leaving Nebraska we hopped over to Independence, Missouri to tour the Truman Presidential Library and Museum.  While staying in Independence we made the short drive to Kansas City to tour the very impressive National WWI Museum and Memorial.  We finished our day in Kansas City with what else but some great Kansas City barbecue!IMG_20170809_131238

Another new state to us was Kansas and during our stay in Topeka we visited yet another state capitol building and also toured the Brown v Brown Board of Education National Historic Site, the only national park named for a U.S. Supreme Court case.IMG_20170812_095326IMG_20170812_102606

While in Kansas we continued exploring presidential libraries by visiting the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.IMG_20170817_154253

One highlight of our summer was making the drive from northern Kansas back into southern Nebraska to see the total eclipse of the sun.  We had a very long drive that day as we dodged the clouds and chased the sun to get a good view, but it was well worth a day of driving.IMG_20170821_132459IMG_20170821_125810

After the eclipse trip we next spent time in Hutchinson, Kansas where we visited the excellent Cosmosphere and Space Center with one of the largest internationally acclaimed space artifact collections in the world. We recommend this space museum for all to see.IMG_20170823_124951IMG_20170823_131129

After Hutchinson was Dodge City, once nicknamed “The Wickedest Little City in America”.  As we continued through Kansas we found a geocache at the tri-state point where Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado meet.  Cool!  The next day after crossing into Oklahoma we found another tri-state marker where Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico meet.  Cool again!IMG_20170825_201211

It is now the end of August and we are in Raton, New Mexico where we stayed several days at the NRA Whittington Center, enjoying the New Mexico scenery and Bill used their firing ranges.

After Raton, we drove to Eagles Nest, elevation 8,238 where even in early September we had nightly temperatures in the upper 30’s and low 40’s.  We drove the beautiful Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway and visited the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.  The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, used in several movies was magnificent.  Also while in Eagles Nest we drove to Angel Fire where the TV series “Lonesome Dove” was filmed and had an emotional tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.IMG_20170902_122241IMG_20170905_133307

Next, in northern New Mexico we marveled at the gorgeous red rocks and geological beauty of this area. Truly breathtaking!IMG_20170916_135825

In Los Alamos we visited Valles Caldera National Preserve where we drove around a caldera and visited the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.IMG_20170921_124449

As we continued heading back south we visited Santa Fe and its capitol building as well as the nearby Pecos National Historical Park with fascinating archaeological excavations.  We also visited the amazing Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument where we hiked in a slot canyon.IMG_20170926_104514IMG_20170926_114603

October brought a bucket list item and the highlight of our year, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  We camped with the Escapees Boomers, worked really hard helping crew a balloon and both enjoyed our first hot air balloon ride.  Our good friends Peter and Beth from Florida flew in to join us, adding to the fun.20171012_080737IMG_20171013_082111IMG_20171008_075723

While in Albuquerque we also visited the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History and toured Old Town Albuquerque.
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After Albuquerque we needed a rest so we stopped at Valley of Fires park, possibly the youngest lava flow in the continental United States.  We also visited several Pueblo mission ruins as part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.  We also had a nice visit with Bill’s cousin Julie and her daughter.

We hadn’t originally planned on visiting Carlsbad Caverns but since we were already so close we decided to drive over for several days and toured the massive cave.

After Carlsbad we stayed several days in Alamogordo where we toured the New Mexico Museum of Space History and beautiful White Sands National Monument.  What an awesome place!IMG_1563

The end of October found us in Arizona with a short stop in Willcox.  While there we made the drive to Chiricahua National Monument where we took some amazing hikes with beautiful views.  We really loved this place!IMG_20171031_144608IMG_20171031_144011

We spent a week in Benson, AZ where we drove to nearby historic Tombstone.  We took a stagecoach ride and enjoyed the Old West town.IMG_20171104_110143

In November we settled in Tucson for a week where we drove through the east and west sections of Saguaro National Park, enjoying the magnificent saguaros.  The Mount Lemmon Scenic drive had amazing scenery.

Bill met up with two amateur radio friends in Tucson, we visited Old Tucson where many movie and TV shows were filmed, and visited the nearby Titan Missile Museum, once an active intercontinental Ballistic Missile complex.IMG_20171113_142457

We spent Thanksgiving in Casa Grande and while we were there we drove to Phoenix to tour the Arizona state capitol.  Bill celebrated his birthday in Casa Grande.

Late November we spent several days at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  We enjoyed hiking in the desert and earned a neat pin for hiking five miles.  We drove along the Mexican border, amazed at the lack of a border wall between our country and Mexico.IMG_1669

December 1st we drove to Yuma where we had our yearly physicals and met up with some members of the Escapees Boomers for several dinners.  Bill has been enjoying getting together with the Yuma Amateur Radio Club.  Christmas Eve we had a social at the park and I fixed Christmas dinner for us Christmas Day.

We are in Yuma until January 17th when we head to Quartzite AZ.

It has been a great year!  We feel very blessed to travel this wonderful, amazing country.  We can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!

Happy Happy New Year to all!!

Yuma, AZ DEC 1, 2017

After leaving Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument we drove to Yuma, AZ on December 1st for a seven week stay.  This was our third trip to Yuma so we were already very familiar with the area.  Along with the typical name brand stores and restaurants Yuma has three Walmart Supercenters.  It is a thriving snowbird community.

Our first couple weeks we were super busy with yearly medical exams, dentists and eye doctors.  We are just about finished with all the appointments, follow ups and lab work.  We feel extremely blessed that we both received good results.  Now we can take a big breath and relax for the remainder of our time here.

Along with the medical stuff we did manage to have a little fun and social time.  Bill met with the Yuma Amateur Radio Group and helped them one Saturday with testing for those trying to receive their amateur radio license.  He also met the group for breakfast one morning and attended one of their meetings another Saturday.

There is a very active Escapees Boomers group here in Yuma.  They meet every Wednesday afternoon for a movie then an early dinner we have joined them three times so far.20171220_165318

The South Western Area Geocachers are also an active group in Yuma and we met them at an area park for one of their events.  We plan to join them at a breakfast get together in January.20171216_13001320171216_130548

Our RV park, Mesa Verde RV Resort had a welcome back snowbird ice cream social one afternoon and we had a chance to meet some of our neighbors. IMG_20171212_133627 

Bill even won a door prize which he shared with several people at our table.  IMG_20171212_135530

They invited us to join their Happy Hours but we just haven’t had time yet!  The RV park is having a Christmas Eve Hors d’oeuvres get together which we plan to attend.

As snowbirds often say, if you are bored, it is your own fault!

We have taken advantage of being in one spot for a while to order to complete some things we need.  Bill ordered a camera to mount on the front of our Honda.  I love our rear backup camera.  We ordered a new mattress and Santa brought me an Instant Pot for Christmas.  I am used to my crockpot so it will take some getting used to.

We made several trips across the border to Los Algodones Mexico where we both got new eyeglasses for less than half the price quoted in Yuma.  I got a haircut and a new hat.  Bill enjoyed some shrimp tacos and we both enjoyed the margaritas.  During one visit we ran into some Escapees Boomers from our Wednesday movie and dinner group and joined them for some margaritas and music.  The central plaza was full of snowbirds eating, drinking and dancing to the music.20171214_14345920171214_14344020171214_15000620171214_15061820171214_150639  

And there are always plenty of people walking among the throngs selling jewelry and just about anything you can imagine.  I was plenty happy with just a new hat!20171214_14335020171214_143453

We have been attending church here in Yuma.  The First Methodist Church had a social one Sunday after church and had on display over 300 nativity scenes owned by church members.  All beautiful!IMG_20171210_111228IMG_20171210_111249IMG_20171210_111323IMG_20171210_111335IMG_20171210_111412IMG_20171210_111419

We wanted to get this blog posting done in time to wish everyone love and a very Merry Christmas.  Thanks for following along in our travels and taking the time to read our blog!

Yuma facts:

  • In the Guinness Book of World Records, Yuma is called the sunniest place on Earth, with an average of 339 days of sunshine a year.  It is the country’s driest and least humid city, but not the hottest.  Miami wins the prize for the hottest.
  • Yuma sits near the end of the 1,400 mile long Colorado River in Arizona’s southwest corner and shares borders with Mexico and California.  It is about halfway between San Diego and Phoenix.
  • Spanish explorers first visited the Yuma area as early as 1540 and over the years many have passed through the area on their way to California including 60,000 gold rush prospectors in 1849.  In the 1930’s thousands fleeing the Dust Bowl passed through Yuma.
  • Yuma was acquired by the United States from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase in 1854.
  • The first railroad bridge across the Colorado River was built here in 1877.
  • Yuma is home to one of the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalting plants to ensure the United States could meet treaty obligations for water delivery to Mexico.
  • Yuma is the winter lettuce capital of the world.  If you eat a salad anywhere in the United States in the winter, there is a good chance the greens grew in Yuma.  Yuma’s winter produce production is the main reason Arizona ranks second in the country in production of head lettuce, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli.  It is the world’s top producer of gourmet Medjool dates and the major exporter of durum wheat to Italy to be made into premium pasta.
  • Movie makers have been making movies in Yuma since 1913.
  • Yuma’s population doubles in the winter when the snowbirds arrive.
  • The number two economy in Yuma is the military with both the Marine Corps Air Station and the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground located here.