A Monumental Day

Before we left the park we decided to partake in the all you can eat pancake breakfast offered at the park's outdoor cafe. We usually plan one breakfast out on our road trips and this was it. The Indian woman who made our pancakes was very sweet and told Ned that the reason they were so good was because they were made with lots of love. awww. We decided to take a small detour and see the 4 corners. Yep, all 4 states; Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico do meet up. We got the obligatory shot of us straddling the states, but I must admit that the Indians hawking all their wares at the marketplace was much more interesting. I even picked up a pretty necklace, thanks Ned. The drive between Mesa Verde and Monument Valley was jaw dropping. We drove along the San Juan River and were awed by view after view of different rock formations. Part of the time the sky was hazy from the nearby Arizona wildfires, but by the time we reached Monument Valley Tribal Park it had cleared up. We are camped at Goulding's, a private campground, hotel, park, dining, tour guide, and trading post. Their big claim to fame is that John Wayne made 4 movies here, along with a bunch of other movie stars. We both felt a little old and a little sad when a young boy, seeing all the John Wayne posters and memorabilia asked his mom, "So who IS John Wayne." sigh. The campground plays a John Wayne movie every night, tonight is "Stagecoach", we passed on the opportunity. Instead we opted for dinner at The View, the restaurant at the tribal park. We decided to go native and eat two of their Navajo specialties. Ned had pork green chili stew and I opted for the pozole. Both were accompanied by the biggest pieces of blue corn Indian fry bread and tortillas known to man. Dinner was so so, but maybe I'm just dying a slow death of carbs today. Seriously...The sunset view after dinner was pretty remarkable. It's definitely a bucket list item. As we watched the light slowly change the color of the rocks we tried to count all the different languages passing by. It's now dusk at the campground, and we have a gorgeous view through a canyon of the rocks turning purple. today's pics Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Monumennt Valley, Az

Exploring Mesa Verde National Park

Ned here again. We made a casual departure from Lathrop State Park this morning, heading for Mesa Verde National Park. This is one of those locations that neither of us had ever been to, so it seemed appropriate to finally get it on our schedule. The drive over the San Juan Mountains, the southern tip of the Rockies, was spectacular. It was fun to see snow covered mountains again for the first time in a month. The lush green of the aspens, mixed with darker green of pines which lines the mountainsides is really beautiful as we drove over the highest pass today of 10,500 feet. We stopped at a mountain village for lunch and sat outside on a deck overlooking the river. It was fun watching the kayakers and paddle rafters make their way past as we ate. Soon we arrived at Mesa Verde and we were both blown away with how amazing this place is. Somehow we had imagined we would drive up into an arid little canyon and look up at some cliff dwellings from below. Instead we drove up to the top of a very impressive green mesa with unbelievable views in all directions. Our favorite view was from the highest point in the park looking down across the Mesa with the snow covered Rockies in the distance. We also had a great time walking down the trail at the Spruce Tree House, as the sun sunk low in the sky, exploring an amazing 800 year old stone cliff house of the Anasazis. When we returned to our campsite and started making dinner, the sun was beginning to drop behind the hills. We checked the van thermometer and saw that it was 62 degrees. We both ran around and got on sweat shirts as fast as we could, because it felt really COLD to us. We are amazed that after a month of staying in places where the overnight low is in the low 80's, our bodies now consider 62 degrees to be a veritable cold snap! We're off to snuggle down in our sleeping bag, and expect to sleep well tonight.see today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Playing Cowboys in Dodge City

We were woken up in the middle of the night by howling winds gusting up to 45 mph. We thought for sure the Eurovan was going to picked up and blown away. When we entered the park we noticed a large RV trailer was lying on it's side and was smashed. We now understand, it was probably caught in the latest tornado or winds. We had visions of this happening to poor Winnie with us in it. Needless to say we had eyes the size of saucers and didn't sleep much the rest of the night. By early morning things had finally settled down, and two bleary eyed campers stumbled from the van. Today's big adventure was playing cowboy in Dodge City. We did a quick run thru Wichita and then headed to Boot Hill. Having seen Tombstone, Az a few years ago we thought this would be an upscale version. Boy, were we wrong. Tombstone is sooo much better. It's a real town that you can walk around. You feel like there's a "there" there. Dodge City is basically an industrial working town with a one block touristy Boot Hill that you have to pay to see. The tone was set by the intro movie called, "Relive the Legend". Everything is a replica, and frankly our own Rough and Ready is a lot cooler. None the less, we paid our dime and had a few laughs yukking it up. Ned also treated this cowgirl right by buying her an honest to goodness Kansas rib eye steak. We originally were going to spend another night in Kansas, but after driving thru the rather bleak Western side of the State we opted to keep them doggies rollin'. Eastern Colorado wasn't much better so after a long day in the saddle we finally set up camp in the foothills of the Rockies. Ahh, to be back in the West again. For the first time since New Orleans I put on a very light sweater and haven't had to battle the mosquitos or flies. We can see a glimpse of snow on the mountains from our campsite under the Pinion trees. We might even have to do a little snuggling to keep warm. Oh what a change from living in our bathing suits! See today's pics Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lathrop State Park, CO

Digging thru the Russell Roots

We were pokey leaving this morning and took our sweet time getting to Garnett where Ned's dad (Oak) was born. It was fun driving thru some of the small towns and I have to admit I was surprised by how green and pretty Kansas is. This is our 4th cross country trip and we always managed to miss Kansas thinking it looked like the panhandle of Oklahoma. Tomorrow we head to western Kansas so that still may be true, stay tuned. Once in Garnett, we visited the Clerk Recorder's office to see if we could get a copy of Oak's birth certificate. Unlike Calif. the County office does not issue birth certificates. You can only get those thru the state. (guess we're not in Calif anymore, yuk yuk). Ned brought along some family documents and an old map from the County that showed which tract of land his grandfather had purchased in 1916 for $1000. Ned's dad was born in a stone house that used to reside on this 120 acres. Our mission was to find this plot of land. Armed with the township map and modern day google maps on the iPad, we drove down several gravel roads until we finally located the property. It's still a beautiful undeveloped piece of prairie. His grandfather was never successful in farming this plot and sold it in 1919 for $1. Ironically, it is now dotted with oil wells! Ah, hindsight. After this fun adventure I really wanted to bike the Prairie Spirit Trail. As you probably know, I'm a fanatic about biking the Rails to Trails. Ned did some further puttering around in Garnett and I rode about 10 miles to the next town of Richmond. It was really pretty biking thru the prairie and seeing some spectacular wild flowers, but dang was it hot! Maybe doing it at midday wasn't the best plan of action. I was originally going to ride further on, but I was relieved to see Ned in Richmond waiting with a picnic. God Bless that man and air conditioned cars. It was about 95 degrees and just baking hot. Tonight we are in another Kansas State Park campground which leaves a lot to be desired. The showers are without a roof and have no doors, the campsites are on mowed grass with very little tree cover, but thank goodness the lake is cold! Tonight at 6:30 we were the only people floating in it. What do they know that we don't know? Currently there is a 25 mph dry wind, which sure beats the still and muggy weather in the South. today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:El Dorado State Park, KS

A Hitch in Ned's Gitalong

Before we left on the trip, Ned was having problems with his knee. He had it checked out and was told it was a Baker's Cyst (fluid behind the knee) and it should eventually heal. Things have been going fine for several weeks, but about a week ago it started acting up again. He's been icing it and I've picked up the majority of the driving the last several days to give it a rest, but the leg and foot continued to swell. So, we thought it best to get it checked out again. I did a little research and found a medical clinic in Fulton, next to Westminster College where the Winston Churchill museum is located. First thing this morning we made a bee line for the clinic and waited...the doc scheduled a sonogram for later in the day to check for blood clots. So, we spent the interim time perusing the very in-depth exhibit about the life and achievements of Winston Churchill. (thank you Polly & Eric for this tip). Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at this college, with Truman in attendance. We were quite impressed with the museum and famous Wren church that was brought over from England and rebuilt stone by stone. Still having some time to kill, we visited the historic little town and had lunch. After a trip to the hospital lab and back to the doctor's, the good news is that there is no blood clot. Ned does have a popliteal cyst, which means a lot of fluid has built up in his leg and foot, but he'll be okay until we can get home and he can see an orthopedist. Fortunately, he's not in much pain...or maybe he's just being macho and telling me that. So, no more bike rides for my biking buddy, but lots of swimming was encouraged. Mmmm, I asked him if perhaps he didn't take a big enough swig from the Fountain of Youth springs! We weren't able to visit Truman's library, museum and home, but did manage to make it across the state line into Kansas. This is our 4th trip across the country and each time we managed to skip Kansas. Since Ned's dad was born here we thought it only appropriate to further explore his family's roots here. Ned had some family documents from the county recorder's office and we think it will be fun to do some sleuthing tomorrow and see if we can locate his dad's boyhood home or plot. Now, we are camped near a lake, or more like a flooded prairie, sipping on sangia and enjoying the drier heat. Even though it was another scorcher day, it sure makes a difference when it's less humid. Ned says he might be walking like Grandpappy Amos, but he really does feel fine.See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hillsdale State Park, Paola, KS

Having a Great Time in the Show Me State

We left the shrill of the cicadas for the hustle and bustle of the big city. It's always such a big transition going from pokey back roads to the "pedal to the metal" attitude of most interstate drivers. (Does that sound like an old fart?) First up in St. Louis was visiting the arch. We were both so impressed with the elegance and simplicity of the design. The pictures really don't do it justice. The grounds, especially the tree covered river walk was very much appreciated, especially since it was in the high 90s. We had no idea there was so much going on inside the arch. The themed "Western Expansion" museum was well done and included beautiful photography, fun audio-animatronic historical figures and interesting stories. We took the very claustrophobic tram up to the top and had great views of the city and Mississippi River. Who knew this was the highest national monument at 630 feet?! We also really enjoyed the IMAX film on Lewis & Clark, narrated by Jeff Bridges. We braved the stifling heat to tour the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was handed down. Again, saw an interesting movie about the decision and its ramifications on the Civil War. The frescos on the ceiling were really cool too! I was toying with bike riding the river walk, but it was just so darned hot that we decided to go in search of a late lunch/early dinner instead. We wanted to eat at Sweetie Pie's, a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives suggestion, but it was closed. Instead we found a great Soul food/Jamaican place called, "M I hungry?" Between the two of us we had, Jerk chicken, BBQ rib tips, red beans and rice, candied yams, greens and corn cakes. The owner was an adorable young woman who was so sweet and inviting. She was very generous with her portions and kept bringing us samples. Do not be fooled by the pics of this place, it's a little gem and one of the reasons we love road trips so much. By this time the temp outside was almost reaching the triple digits and we decided enough sight seeing time to find a body of water, any water, to soak in. We checked our Missouri State Park guide and headed for Graham Caves State Park. It was a beautiful park, but the so-called river was more like a muddy ditch so instead we opted for a private rv park we spotted earlier. We both had longingly looked at the rather expansive pool and agreed it was calling to us. Another upside is that wireless internet is provided, which gave us an opportunity to try out the video conferencing feature on the iPad with my folks. It was a blast to see them and they got to hear the deafening roar of the cicadas. After a l-o-n-g soak in the pool, a great soul food meal and a fun sightseeing trip I can see why they call Missouri the Show Me state. Tomorrow more history calls and we plan to see some Churchill and Truman exhibits. See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kan Do RV Park, Danville, MO

Cannonball Express

Ned here again. We headed out of Davy Crockett State Park this morning with out sites set on Jackson, Tennessee, the home of Casey Jones. Debi had warned me for several days that she thought the Casey Jones Village might very well be a serious tourist trap, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up. I assured her that I liked trains, and that a trip to a silly museum sounded like fun. I even researched the ballad of Casey Jones for her, which is why Casey is still known today, and we offer the best rendition here for your listening pleasure.click here for the balladWe noticed a theme, however, in the personalities of the three folk heroes (Ty Cobb, Davy Crockett, and Casey Jones) whom we had seen honored in the last three days. Like the other two, Casey seems to me like a very head-strong sort, with an aggressive streak that bordered on psychotic. The museum makes a big deal about what a hero he was to have died while saving the lives of all the passengers during his famous 1900 train crash, while he was at the controls. What is obvious to even the casual observer, is that the damn train never would have crashed in the first place if he hadn't been fanatically driving it way too fast to make up for lost time. The side benefit of the museum stop was that we ate lunch at one of the little cafeteria style buffets in the cutesy little store across from the museum. This included very authentic southern cooking items of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and corn bread. This being a Sunday afternoon, it turns out that LOTS of locals eat here after church, so we were treated to some excellent people-watching of everyone parading through in their Sunday finest. Soon we were headed out of Tennessee and across the Mississippi River, into Missouri. We were interested to see how the "boot heal" of Missouri looked, but found it to be very flat agricultural land, covered with rice, corn, or wheat fields, and looking very much like some of the farm land in Central California. One surprise in this area was to drive into the little town of Kennett, which proclaims itself to be the hometown of Sheryl Crow, the singer. Heading north toward our present location, we enjoyed the rolling and heavily wooded hills as we entered Missouri's Ozark region. We're camped tonight in a really nice campground where we we able to cool off this afternoon in the rather shallow, but refreshing clear creek that runs through the park. Our campground is being serenaded by tree loads full of cicadas with their sometimes almost deafening roar. Debi is a bit grossed out by the hundreds of dead cicada carcasses that liter the ground. The Ozarks are never boring! See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Sam Baker State Park