Welcome Back …. This post is about our “Freedom Trip” that we are taking in the COVID Infested Summer of 2020. The first section, “GETTING AWAY”, is about our trip from Florida, up through Tennessee and Kentucky, over to Wisconsin, then Across Minnesota and North Dakota to Montana. We are Now in Montana and getting ready to Visit Glacier National Park.
17 JULY 2020 – Up early and on the road to Columbia Falls where we have a campsite for two days. Our Plan is to arrive there, take care of some business in town, park the RV and then head out to Glacier.
Ok … We made it to Glacier and it was absolutely AMAZING. We got our spot at the campground, set up a little, hopped in the Jeep and headed for Glacier. The park opened the road all the way to St Mary Lake (which is just about 6 miles to the East Gate … So there!!) So we made the trip all the way to “Going to the Sun Road” … had a sandwich and a local Beer and drove back. Bonus for all of you is I used my big boy camera and I think I got some pretty good shots. Many are window shots but we would never get to where we are going if I stopped and got out to shoot each picture … so, I cleaned my windshield and off we went. Many of them are just mountain scenes so I’m not going to put in a caption unless there is something I want to comment on about it. Enjoy … see what you think:
Lake McDonald … Its about a half mile wide and ten miles long 
Here’s How it Got There 
The Length of St Mary Lake 
The River Running From The Mountains into Lake McDonald 
Mountains Looming As We Go Into The Park 
Many People Out to The Park 
Snow on The Mountains and A Cascade From The Melt (The Little white Streak) 
A Mountain Valley 
A Doe and Her Fawn 
More Cascades 
Now The BIG Ones Start To Show Up 
A Tunnel (Road Was Finished in 1935) 
Harvested Many Years Ago 
Deep Mountain Valley 
A Large Cascade Coming Down To and Past The Road 
Coming Right At You! 
Our Jeep Waiting For Us 
Three Cascades 
A Big Horn Sheep … Just Checking Out the Traffic 
Hello? He Was About 200 Yards Up The Road When We Came Back .. In A Parking Lot … Really Stops Traffic!! 
My Favorite Mountain 
Saddle Back Mountain 
This Is St Mary Lake … A Fire Went Through in 2016 
A Long Beautiful Lake …Boat Tours … Antique Wooden Boats 
The Burn 
This is on the “Going To The Sun Road” … Exceptional ! 
Local Adult Beverage With Lunch 
Nancy’s Cheese Burger … I Had A Pulled Pork Bar B Que … Both Great 
Here’s where You Get’em 
Hotel Is Closed 
Our Dining Room 
We were rained and Hailed Upon during Our return … Didn’t Dent The Canvas Top 
My Favorite Mountain From The Other Side 
The Road We Drove On 
Weeping Wall … More Runoff Later In The Day 
Discount Car Wash 
Impressive Rapids … Wood Left From Spring Floods 
Yup … That’s Me 
Nancy Was Contemplating A Dip … Changed Her Mind 
Great Place to Canoe!! 
Great Canoeing Water 
Last Look AT Lake McDonald 
Bye 
Bye
So … How’d you like that? We had a great day and loved every minute of it. Meeting our Nephew Michael for dinner tonight … we crossed paths touring the West.
We had a great dinner at a local Brew Pub in Kallispel … most places require masks here … most we’ve seen since we left Florida. Kallispel is a very interesting old town with a great mix of old and new. Very Nice.
Traveled So Far 3300 Miles in the RV and 1000 in the Jeep. Total 4300 Miles.
18 July 2020 – Today we drove from Columbia Falls to Fairmont, Montana (Close to Anaconda), about 200 miles.. Pretty Drive especially part of it as along a huge lake with Mountains in the background.
The Mountains & The Lake 
Stack of Hay Bales 
The Lake 
The Long View 
Interesting Country 
See Note at the End of This Series about Rivers, RR Tracks, and Roads 
We made it to Fairmont … They have a nice campground here and some thermal springs near by. They have a lodge there where you can swim in the 95 degree water (our pool in Florida stays that hot most of the time). Many folks come here for a weekend with the kids to enjoy the warm water and pools (Only place you can find warm water in Montana)!!
NOTE FROM PICTURE: Here you see a stream, some railroad tracks, and the road. This is really common throughout the West, especially in the mountains. Of course the stream came first … then later they built a railroad following the steams valley. Then came the road later following the railroad tracks and stream. Most of our campsites are near railroads as I have mentioned earlier, many by the road, some by the streams.
Traveled so far 3500 Miles in the RV, 1000 in the Jeep.
19 July 2020 – Here we are in Cody Wyoming … betcha could never guess who this town is named after ….. give up? … Okay … None other than Buffalo Bill Cody … even though he is Buried in Golden Colorado overlooking the city of Denver, this is his town. We had a nice drive down from Montana … full day but the roads were good and traffic was not too heavy. Several changes of scenery in that we actually left the Mountains behind for a while, then they showed up again. High plains all the way … I don’t think we ever got below 5000 Feet. We are staying here, 50 miles East of Yellowstone because every campground around Yellowstone is filled and of the 17 campgrounds in Yellowstone, only four are open … and they are all full. Who said everyone is staying home but the two of us? We did find a good reason to go to Cody … they have a Rodeo here every night so I had already planned to spend at least one night here … turns out we will spend three. Here’s a couple pictures we found interesting along the way. Most are just views of mountains, ranches, farms, or lakes we saw along the way.
A Forest Fire cleared Off This HillSide Some Time Ago 
Foot Hills 
Getting Ready to Bail Hay 
Baled Hay 
This Is A Rock Formation That Nancy Found exceptionally Interesting … Especially The Red Exposure on the Bottom (I Believe Its an Iron Deposit) 
Meandering Through The Hills 
Guess I need to wash my windshield more often. Anyhow, we made it to Cody which is pretty much a tourist kind of town but it is the County Seat for Park County. It has a lot of gift shops, tour places, Kayak rentals, and campgrounds. We got set up and bought some tickets to the Rodeo. Not knowing what the next couple days had in store, nor what the weather would be we decided to go tonight. It was a lovely evening and a GREAT show. Here’s some pictures … It didn’t start until 8 PM so there was not a great deal of light … consequently some of the faster moving pictures blurred a bit … Sorry:
They Told Us The Crowds Were Down Due to The Virus … Every other row of seats was blocked off to keep people separated 
Before The Rodeo Started they Played a Patriotic Cowboy Song, Then The National Anthem while a Young Cowgirl Rode Around the Arena with A U.S. Flag 
No Kneelers Here … Everyone Stood and Most Sang 
Bareback Bronco!!! Whooeee, Did He Ever Take Off!!! Even Lost My Hat! 
Yikes!!! 
Steer Riding … This Rider was (is) 12 Years Old!!! 
Saddle Bronc Riding … Not A Hoof On The Ground. 
I Think He’s Gonna Tip Over!!! Get Me Off!! 
This Was Calf Roping … For Cowgirls … None of Them Qualified 
Rodeo Clown During The Bull Riding 
Contestants Warming Up Their Rides 
Rodeo Clown 
Some Shots of A Very Nice Sunset 
Two Person Calf Rope … One Had to get the Head, the Other Had to Get A Back Leg … They never Did Pull One Apart. 
Barrel Racing … Fast Horse 
One Of The Bulls … His Name was Blurry 
Calf Roping … Outa The Chute 
The Rope 
The Takedown
It was a Great Show … Contestants from all over the West … We were amazed that they pull this off every night … well worth seeing.
Miles so far 3800 in the RV and 1000 in the Jeep. Tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone. We have set aside two days but think we can do it in one … we’ll see. Been a long day … Gonna hit the sack.
20 July 2020 – We have been to Yellowstone several times over the years. First time I went was back in 1967 after we graduated from high school when Zack and I decided to do a road trip before we started our Post High School endeavors. Later, Nancy and I went there on a couple different occasions. We have always enjoyed it and find it to be one of the most diverse and beautiful of the National Parks in America. We have seen thermal activity in Iceland and New Zealand but nothing that compares to Yellowstone. We got an early start and did the entire park. We saw everything we wanted to … even waited for Old Faithful to erupt. Great day … many, many animals. … We saw a bear and her cub but they were a quite a long way off so I don’t have a picture. Here are some of the shots:
A Stream In Yellowstone 
Heading Towards The Pass 
Made It!!! 
A Small Mountain Lake 
A Forest Fire Left This Behind 
Yellowstone Lake 
Remember … “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires” 
Yellowstone Lake with Thermal Vents on the South Shore 
A Bison Rutting In the Dirt 
A Bison Getting A Steam Bath 
Boiling Mud Pots 
INFO 
A Crow 
A Place You CANNOT Roller Skate! 
A Bison Calf 
Upper Falls 
Mountain Roads 
This Was a Large and Spectacular Hot Spring Area 
Lower Falls 
Can You Spot The Wolf? 
A Thermal Basin 
Another Thermal Basin 
Another Thermal Basin … This was a Very Large One With Pots, Spouts, and Pools 
Very Colorful … Different Minerals Cause Different Colors 
A Clear Pool of Very Hot water (I Think They Used to Call This Morning Glory Pool) 
A Gyser 
Old Faithful 
A Smaller Gyser Behind Old Faithful 
It Did Erupt 
Old Faithful Starting To Erupt 
Full Blast 
Other Side Of Yellowstone Lake 
Canadian Geese (How Come They can come to America But we Can’t Go To Canada?) 
Bye 
Bye 
I Had An Extra Photographer With Me Today So Here Are Some Of Her Favorite Shots … The Shosone River 
A Ranch On The Way Out 
A Full Campground 
A Strange Building .. Not Sure What It Is 
Pine Cones 
Rock Formations 
Boiling Mud 
Mountain Flowers 
The Calf and Its Mom 
The Herd 
Lonesome George 
Up Close 
Upper Falls 
Mountain Grandeur 
Mountain Lakes 
The Mammoth Hot Springs 
Sulpher Runoff 
Old Faithful
Sleeping Giant Mountain
I think Nancy is a better photographer than I am … Oh well. That was our day in Yellowstone … another very long but very rewarding day. This evening we had dinner at a local Cowboy bar called Cassies … Lots of old stuff but great food and local brews. Now it is time for bed.
Still at 3800 miles for the RV but added another 300 today on the Jeep so its total is 1300 … That’s 5100 miles so far.
21 July 2020 – Today we are taking a day off, walking around Cody, doing a little shopping, catching up on my Blog, etc. We slept in a bit, had an extra cup of coffee. I gave both of the Photographers the day off so no pictures. Tomorrow we leave Cody moving South towards Fairplay and yet another Park. We are stopping half way so I will post from there.
22 July 2020 – Here we are in picturesque Glendo, Wyoming … Never heard of it? Neither have we till we picked it as a place to stop on the way to Fairplay, CO. It is by a lake, a railroad track, an interstate highway, has one bar/liquor store/grocery store and is home to nearly 100 people. The trip here was good … good roads, little traffic, weather got hot … its 97 degrees right now (5 PM). I wanted to tell you about a couple of friends we made in Cody … they came by every morning and every evening and had breakfast/dinner:
Now for the drive from Cody to Glendo. A real lot of nothing … Western Nothing as in grass (dry) mesquite, and sage brush. Once in a while you came across a rancher/farmer who had some acreage in hay and some livestock. here’s what the nothing and the ranches looked like:
Long Road Ahead 
Junky Rancher … They don’t dispose of their vehicles or machinery … they just park them out back! 
More Nothing 
A Ranchstead 
Guess? …. Right .. Nothing 
We did go through a very Interesting Canyon. It was called The wind River Canyon and was located on the Wind River Reservation. It was located just North and West of Casper, Wyoming. Impressive Canyon with lots of water rushing through it … it was about 10 miles long:
Wind River Canyon 
These walls are 500 Million Years Old 
Big Rocks from the Cliffs 
The Wind River 
One of Three Tunnels 
Light at The End of The Tunnel 
Leaving The Canyon
We got to Glendo, checked into our Spot, set up, and Nancy made Chili for dinner. It was/is HOT … so we went to the bar/liquor store/grocery store to have a cold one and see what is going on. There we saw the most amazing things … first of all we found a Jackalope (A very hard to find animal from out West):
A Jackalope
It is unknown if they are a specific species of animal or are the result of over aggressive Jack Rabbits (They are very big out here). Anyhow, we felt privileged to witness one.
Then in the bar/liquor store/grocery store there was this very old wood bar that is said to be moved here from the Chicago World’s Fair. A lot of impressive wood. However … the most impressive thing was all the animals they had mounted around the bar:
They Had Rodeo On The Sports Channel 
The Best Part of The Bar … An Ultra and a Porter
You would never get lonely here. We met people from the Texas PanHandle, Wyoming, Montana, and some would not say where they were from … and we were there for only 30 minutes!!
Another 300 miles today brining us to 4100 miles for the RV and 1300 for the Jeep. Tomorrow we hope to get to Fairplay where we will spend the weekend with friends. We used to own a cabin in the mountains near Fairplay and got to be pretty good friends with a number of the fine folks that live there. Looking forward to seeing all of them.
23 JULY – We made it to Fairplay with no major problems. Just followed the road South for about 300 miles. Traffic was heavy on the I-25 corridor between Ft Collins and Denver but moved along. Fairplay is at 10,000 feet of elevation and is the County Seat for Park County (yes, again). It is a small but colorful town with businesses, schools, and tourist attractions like many other small towns. We will be here through the weekend hanging out with friends seeing familiar places. The weather here is cool and rainy with lows in the 40’s and highs in the low 70’s. We originally planned this trip to be in Fairplay this weekend which annually hosts the Fairplay Burro Days. Its a great time with Lama races, Burro races and loads of fun. Sadly the event was cancelled this year due to you know what! Milage so far for the RV is 4415 and 1300 for the Jeep.
24, 25, and 26 JULY – We are all set up in the back yard of a friend of ours who is kind enough to host us. We had no schedule or agenda but managed to stay quite busy. The afternoon we arrived we took our Hostess, Tess Debonis out for a late lunch and a tour of the town to find old friends. Tess owns several businesses in town, an EXON service station, a Subway sandwich shop, and a NAPA auto parts store. They are managed by her Son Tom and Tess just keeps an eye on them. We first went to the South Park Brewpub. Great food and wonderful people. It Opened several years ago and has made its mark in Fairplay.
Then we went over to the Platte River Saloon to see who was in town:
Another great place. Opened a couple years ago by Ellen and it also is doing well. After checking the place out we went next door to MaCall’s Bar which is known and called The Park Bar. This was the “Other Park” I referred to earlier.
It was a pleasant evening which led the way for a fun weekend. Lots of good friends.
This is most of them … Left to right: Tom, myself, Reneee (A Nurse in Denver and Tess’s Daughter), Tess, John (A realtor in town), Lori (John’s wife and an IT help Desk for a hospital in Minnesota) Howie (Renee’s Husband and a store manager in Denver), Nancy, Sherry (operates Rocky Mountain Hat Company), Becky (Tom’s wife and Food wholesaler), and Smitty (operates Rocky Mountain Hat Company with his wife Sherry). Missing is another Becky.
This is Dick Smith … Local historian and known by everyone who has ever come to town. Dick is a legend in Fairplay … a well deserved title. (Not sure who the young lady is)
One of the mornings it was raining so Nancy and I decided to take a drive over Boreas Pass. It was developed late in the 1800’s and built to transport people and cargo from Breckenridge to Como. It is one of our favorite passes and has great views.
Top of the Pass … Dirt Road (Mud actually) 
View of Breckenridge From Boreas 
The Pass Road 
Top of the Pass and old train station
That pretty well summed up our weekend. Good time, good friends. No more miles on the RV but about 200 on the jeep for totals of 4415 for the RV and 1500 for the Jeep.
27 JULY – Left Fairplay and drove over to Buena Vista, Colorado located on the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Another western town, a little bigger than Fairplay. We came here to do two things … Today Tom and Tess joined us for a round of golf and tomorrow Nancy and I are going to Raft the Arkansas River. I hope the rafting goes better than my golfing did. Nuff said! Just added about 50 miles to the RV for 4465 and nothing more for the Jeep so it stays at 1500.
28 JULY 2020 – Last night we celebrated Tom Debonis’ Birthday, which is actually today, a little too long so we slept in till 7 or so. Nancy had some laundry to do so she took that over and got it started while I prepared our morning coffees. Got all that done and prepared ourselves to go White Water rafting on the Arkansas River. We had a 12:15 booking so we headed out, reported to the office, sign the mandatory responsibility release forms, got geared up with vests, paddles, and hard hats. They had other stuff but we passed on all the tourist things. They briefed us, bussed us down to the river, briefed us again, assigned us to our boats and guides, briefed us, and had us drag the boats into the water. AND THE FUN BEGAN …. WOW … 10 miles in three hours doing calm areas and rapids up to level 3 and 4 (out of 6 which is ARE YOU CRAZY!!) We got thoroughly soaked, bounced, paddled our butts off, and just really enjoyed it. The paying customers do the paddling, the guide just steers the boat. You don’t paddle when the guide says paddle … you hit a rock … pretty straight forward. Our guide was P.J. and he was absolutely incredible. He had us spining through rapids (that’s doing a 360 degree spin of the raft while it descends between rocks), pulling up in eddy’s behind boulders, surfing, and even standing at times. Here’s some pics:
I’ll not tell you wish of these boats we were on but we were there and it was a great time. Everyone was thrilled from the beginners to the experienced. Highly recommend you do this if you ever get the chance.
After getting back to the RV and getting a hot shower and putting on some warm clothes we went out for dinner. After dinner Nancy wanted to take a drive up past Mt Princeton to see a ghost town called St Elmos. On the West side of Buena Visa is a big mountain range called the Collegiate Mountains. All the mountains over 14,000 feet (known as 14ers) are named after Ivy league schools. So there is Mt Harvard, Mt Princeton, Mt Yale, etc. Here are some shots of the drive out to and St Elmo. The pictures were taken right at sunset so some are a little dark:
Mt Princeton 
A Chalk Face 
Large Aspen Growing Like Weeds 
A Mountain Lake 
An Enviable Home On The Lake 
There Are Hot Springs On Mt Princeton so there is Warm Water Available. This is a Resort about half way up. Very Nice. 
The School at St Elmo 
The “Residential” Area 
Probably A Hotel 
A Business 
An Interesting Wall 
So that was St Elmo. St Elmo is owned by the Colorado Historical Society and they strive to keep it as authentic as possible. A nice evening drive, an interesting place, great mountain views. The RV stays at 4415 and we add another 100 miles to the Jeep for 1600 for the Jeep. Tomorrow is a short day. We are leaving early and heading South to visit one of America’s newer National Parks … The Black Canyon of the Gunnison. An incredibly narrow and deep canyon that runs for mile … just wait and see!
29 JULY 2020 – A very nice Day. We left Buena Vista fairly early after our morning Cupa Joe and headed South to Montrose, Colorado. It is a medium sized town just South of The Black River of the Gunnison National Park. We got there just after noon, parked and set up the camper, unhooked the Jeep and headed out to the Park. We’ve been to this park a couple times before but we figured as long as we were in the area, and we do like it a lot, we would take another look. It is not a big park but it is very interesting. Here are few photos from our drive down:
Driving The Range 
A Lake Along the Way 
Quite Large and Picturesque 
High Plains 
A Farmstead 
A Junky Farm … They Never Dispose of Machinery 
Mountains in The Background 
A Pond 
Little Communities Along The Way 
A Story About Pinnacles 
Pinnacles 
This IS A Huge Reservoir Formed by Daming The Gunnison River 
A Little History
So that was the 150 mile trip down. The Gunnison River formed the Canyon the park is named for (Before I was in High School). It also feeds the reservoir pictured above which is a very busy recreation area … Camping, Fishing, Boating, and hiking. Lastly the Gunnison gives it’s name to the town of Gunnison which is close to the dam that forms the reservoir. The entrance to the park is farther along. As I mentioned earlier, it is not a big park but the dramatic depth and shear drop of the walls with the Gunnison still running at the bottom is incredible. So here are some shots we took at the Park:
The Beginning or East End of the Canyon 
The Walls 
There Are Many Pinnacle Points Jutting Out Into The Canyon 
Preacher Pulpit … A Walk Out Viewpoint 
Looking down about 2000 Feet To The Gunnison 
Rapids 
There are About 10 Different Walkout Points Designed For Optimum Viewing 
A Story About How The Canyon Was Formed 
Another View 
Looking Down A Chasm 
One of The Walk Out View Points 
The Shear Walls 
Up 
Down 
A Long View 
The Painted Wall 
The Walkouts Ranged From 0 to 500 Yards To Get Out 
Isn’t That Amazing? 
More Shear Cliffs 
Looking Down 
The River At The Bottom 
Layers of Sediment Caused The White Lines 
A Pinion Tree 
See The Person? 
The High Plains Brush 
My Little Friend 
Out On The Edge 
Long Way Down 
A View 
Heading West 
The Western Portal 
Running Out of The Mountains
Hope you liked that … You can always find out more info about the Gunnison and the Park by Googling it … they may even have better pictures! On the way out, right by the entrance was a road to the “East Portal”. It had all kinds of restrictions about how big a vehicle could go on the road and so on but we had the Jeep so we went to see where it went. Turns out it goes all the way to the bottom of the Canyon on it’s Eastern end. It is not as dramatic there so they put in a road. Here’s a couple of Photos from there:
Sides of the Valley 
The Road Down 
The Water Runs Smoothly from the Reservoir Dam to the Canyon 
That Little Wall on the Left between the trees is part of the Dam … They don’t let you get close to it! 
The Road Out … Lots of Falling Rock 
Bye! 
Bye!
So that was out big day in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We made dinner in the RV and turned in early. Tomorrow is a BIG day. We found out that New Mexico is not welcoming strangers and if you stop any where in their state you must self quarantine for 14 days before mingling with the natives. Consequently we changed our plan and worked up a different route … that does not include NM. We are disappointed as we have two sets of friends in Albuquerque and we are going to miss seeing them. I’ll Tell you about the new route tomorrow. So far the RV has traveled 4575 miles and the Jeep 1700.
30 JULY 2020 – Welcome to Flagstaff, Arizona and the 13th State on this trip! We left Montrose, Colorado heading South towards Ouray and Durango via Hwy 550. After three 11,000 ft passes, 17 construction sites, and eye bulging drop offs we made it to Durango. If you ever want to drive a stimulating piece of road and want to see some of the most incredible mountain country ever … do U.S. 550 from Ouray to Durango. Here’s some Photos … I don’t have a lot cuz Nancy got really nervous with me taking pictures with one hand and driving the RV pulling the Jeep with the other!
Climbing 
High Country Farms and The Mountains 
They Make a LOT of Hay here … need to feed those cows all Winter 
This was one of our construction stops … at least 20 minutes! 
There’s where we are going 
No Guardrail 
Narrow Lanes 
We went over that 
Mountain Pond and Camp 
Another RV pulling a Jeep
Sorry I don’t have more from the Mountains … Guess you will just have to try it one day. We left Durango heading for “The Four Corners” where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. There is a monument there but it is controlled by the Native Americans whose reservation it sits on. It was closed as was every other Native American Casino, Gift Shop, Trading Post, and TeePee that we have seen on this trip. They must be really upset! Anyhow, the trip across Southern Colorado and Northern Arizona gives “Nothing” an entirely new meaning. Some interesting Geographical stuff but miles and miles of nothing. Because of our change in route and because we want to make it to Tucson tomorrow we did 400 miles today. That is about a hundred more than we usually do and the mountain passes, construction, and country roads made it a LONG 400 miles. But … We made it. Here are some pictures from the last leg:
Mesa Verde … Home to Mesa Verde NP 
High Desert 
More High Desert 
Whats That on the left? 
A 300 Foot Centry Guarding the Desert 
Dry 
Red Rock 
Big Flat Layers of Red Rock 
Baby Pinnacles on the right 
Surf’s Up? 
And and Water Sculpted Rock … Look at That Circle! 
More Baby Pinnacles 
where Did This Come From … You only see the top 1/3 
All Rocks 
Twin Natural Towers 
White Rock 
Looks Like Mars … was 107 Degrees on my Dash Temp Gauge 
That’s it … we made it to FlagStaff and are staying at a very nice campground … until tomorrow morning. Then off to Tucson. The RV is at 4975 Miles and the Jeep remains at 1700 for the trip. Been nice having you along.
31 JULY 2020 – Tucson … Yahoo!!!! This the Western end of our Summer Sojourn. We came here to meet a couple we have been friends with since about 1983/4 and have not seen since 2005. They retired before we did and moved out to Tucson where they owned a home. They LOVE golf and baseball so they play a LOT of golf and enjoy baseball … except this Summer. Anyhow … we left Flagstaff this morning and cruised down I-17 to Phoenix. The road from Flagstaff descends from about 7000 Ft to about 1000 Ft in Phoenix. It is not a steady drop but go down a little, go up a little, go down a lot, go up a little … and so on. Consequently you are either climbing or descending (both of which are more difficult in an RV pulling a Jeep). But … we made it just fine. The scenery from Flagstaff to Phoenix is nice … Pines, Trees, green, then it starts to flatten out and turn into a desert.
Pine Forests at the upper elevations 
Mountains in The Background 
Those green spots are Prickly Pear Cactus’ 
More Pine 
Some Canyons have Towns in Them along the way 
Getting Lower and Dryer 
More Pricey Pear 
Then you know you are in the desert because the Saquaro Cactuses Show Up
We zipped right on through Phoenix (a quite a bit of traffic) and continued on towards Tucson. The geography between Phoenix and Tucson is mostly desert with a few big mounds or push ups. They do have some artistic overpasses.
Artistic Overpass 
Overpass 
Artistic Over Pass 
Desert 
Rocks and Saquaro 
Mt Picacho State Park 
Mt Picacho 
Fancy Over Pass 
A Desert Ridge
We arrived at our RV park site … Called Voyager RV Park Resort … Right … A Walmart sized Parking lot with little hookup spots closely aligned. Oh, I forgot to mention it’s 109 Degrees.
So far we have logged 5250 miles in the RV and the Jeep will stay the same till after we go to dinner tonight … maybe about another 30 miles for a total of 1730.
1, 2, 3, and 4 JULY 2020 – We had a very pleasant evening with our friends in a small pizza place … had some great food and had a great time catching up with our lives. Lou and Cathy Jakowatz were at Scott AFB back in the early to Mid 80’s and we used to go out with them and two other couples once a month for a special dinner. we called our group a Gourmet Club but it was far from that. Each month one of the couples was responsible for finding a good place to eat … only rule was no repeats. We ended up going to every kind of place you can think of … from Hot Dog places to 5 Star restaurants. We did that for several years and we all grew quite close. Good Friends.
Back to the trip. We left Tucson headed for home. We had decided to skip New Orleans due to reports of low activity and big hassles due to the Virus. We are ready to go home so we are. Van Horn, Texas is our destination … about 400 miles. Another reason we have decided to head for home is the heat …. IT IS HOT:
This is on the Dashboard of the RV!! While we are moving.
We do have three different air conditioners but the heat just penetrates everything. Anyhow … back to Van Horn. Van Horn is a very small town in West Texas about 438 miles from Tucson … about the farthest we want to drive the RV in one day. Had a really crappy meal at a place called Chub’s that is a favorite stop for John Madden as hauled his butt from one NFL Game to another. I shoulda known when I saw a picture of him on the wall. We ended up going to another place just to have a Margarita and it was nice with pleasant people and good Margaritas. That was the 1st of August. Nothing of note going from Tucson to Van Horn other than going by the entrance to Seguaro Cactus National Park and some hills. This is all desert with very few trees and lots of scrub grass and cactus.
Hills 
We got a really early start on the 2nd … mostly because we lost two hours of time, one leaving Arizona which does not do Daylight Savings time and the second was entering the Central Time Zone which ends in the West about five miles West of Van Horn. So by 5 AM we were wide awake … so we had some coffee and took off Eastbound for San Antonio. Here’s what a West Texas Sunrise looks like through the windscreen of our RV:
The only thing of interest along the way from Van Horn to SA is The Texas Vally which is a cool collection of big rocks:
It Only Lasts About 5 Miles But is Interesting to See … Some Glacier Probably dropped the rocks there. The terrain from Tucson to Louisiana, including the 875 miles of Texas goes from arid desert to gradual greening to bigger plants, then trees, then more hills and then, after Houston you get to the Bayous.
We planned a short day so we could go to the RiverWalk in San Antonio … one of our favorites and we made it to SA around 2 and were headed downtown in the Jeep by 2:30. Walked the RiverWalk, listened to some Mariachi bands … an amazing number of people out. Had a Margarita and some Nachos for dinner and headed back.
Flowers Along the RiverWalk 
A Little Waterfall 
A Tourboat on the River 
Nancy Contimplating A Swim 
A Sidewalk Cafe 
These Pubs are Everywhere 
Another Cafe
So that brings us to the 3rd. We left San Antonio at a normal time and headed East Again with Lake Charles, LA as our destination. Only about 350 miles but we had to drive through San Antonio and Huston so we decided not to push too far. Made it all the way .. through SA and through Huston (which is always busy no matter what time or day you go through and got to St Charles after being held up only once by a traffic jam of some sort. Never saw why it was jammed but there’s a great deal of construction along the way.
On the 4th we went from Lake Charles to Milton, Florida … Yup … back in Florida. Very Interesting drive because you cross the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya Swamp.
There It Is 
The Atchafalaya Basin 
18 miles of Bridge through and over the Swamp 
Bridge Across the Mississippi
That was exciting … then we got to Florida … Always get a thrill seeing a Jet from the Second Best Aerial Demonstration Team in the World.
Mobile Bay 
Mobile Bay crossing 
Perdido Bay Bridge 
Perdido Bay 
There’s That Blue Angel! … We Must Be In Florida
Traveled 6842 in the RV and 1730 in the Jeep so far. One Day to go.
5 July 2020 – This is a wrap up or ending to our trip. (Boo Hoo) … Summary when we get home. Okay … we made it home. Found the house in good shape, had a quick dinner on the way home at a favorite local eatery, parked the RV in the storage lot, took out the essentials till tomorrow when we can clean it out, and drove to the house. All’s well that ends well as they say. I think we had a great trip, drove the RV just shy of 7300 miles and the jeep 1730 miles exploring along the way so we logged just over 9000 miles in the 43 days we were on the road. We crossed 17 states, numerous big cities, several National Parks, and countless little towns. America is a pretty great place with an awful lot of good people everywhere. Thanks for coming along.
