Destination - Massachusetts!

Well we are on our way to Massachusetts! Talk about criss-crossing the country! Currently we are hanging out in Pennsylvania for a few days and then we will find a good spot to spend the weekend so Les can watch all his racing shows! We should be arriving in Mass. sometime around the 2nd or 3rd of August. Lindsey's here we come!

Kansas, Missouri and Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana
We can’t catch a break getting past the hot weather but we suppose that no one else can either! I don’t know who “invented” modern air conditioning but we should be erecting a monument to her! We are heading to Indianapolis tomorrow morning and will stay there through Sunday morning. Les is already salivating thinking about getting near the Brickyard at Indy 500 Raceway. I think we will drop him off at the track for the day and head out to get haircuts and maybe lunch.

Oakley, Salina Kansas and Oak Grove Missouri
Well as you probably already know it is HOT all about the country and Kansas was no exception. Fortunately we stayed at a KOA that had a pool, although it didn’t open until noontime! Kansas is…well Kansas…we stayed on I-70 so it was quite boring but not as flat as you would think. Today (Tuesday) we are headed to East St. Louis, Illinois across from the “Arch” to the Casino Queen RV Park - hum…wonder what we will do there? Oh I’m sure that we’ll figure something out since we are parked practically at the front door of the Casino. We have stayed at this park before a couple of years ago and enjoyed it’s security and cleanliness. We shall then head over towards Indianapolis, Indiana and….wait for it….a relaxing fun day at the car museum! Fun for whom?

Shirley’s back is improving, she is down to being bothered by a little sciatica. She has started to dictate menu items and ice cream orders so that’s a good sign that she is improving.

　

Moab UT - Colorado

Moab UT (Arches National Park) Cortez CO (Mesa Verde National Park) Alamosa CO Limon CO

Well I have been remiss in updating the blog but as you can see we have now moved to Colorado from Utah. I think we may be following the heat and eventually catch up with it in Kansas tomorrow as we move East on I-70. We did have a little bump in the road when Shirley’s back was out but she is now on the mend nicely and may even get dressed this week! Of the 4 places above we enjoyed Cortez Colorado the most - partly because we stayed at a lovely KOA with a sparkling clean pool and the friendliest folks!

Today Leslie rode his bike to the “town” of Limon, Co to visit their local museum (free yeah!.) I think he really just wanted to see if there were any old tractors to be viewed and of course here in the Heartland there are plenty! I will post a couple of photos so that Fred can drool over the John Deere ones! I am quite sure that there would be many restoration projects here for Fred to get busy with. As with many campsites Leslie is making new friends so that he can grill them about their jobs - many of the men in this camp are “cutters” waiting for the wheat to dry out enough so that they can cut the wheat. There is a slew of combines in the parking area adjacent to the park just waiting to be fired up. Other men in the park are constructing windmill farms in the local area. It was interesting to learn about the process and how long it takes to complete a field of about 100 windmills. Some of the men have been here since February and will remain until some time in September - wow!

Bryce Canyon (Utah)

Cool weather at last! It was nice to be able to open the windows in the evening and actually pull up the blanket in the middle of the night to ward off the chill. Bryce area was nice but we are still voting for Zion as our favorite place. Unfortunately Shirley is still having some trouble with her back muscle and we felt it best that one of us stay with her during the day for extra precaution so….Les loves to hike so we agreed that he would go into the Canyon for the day and explore the area. He thought that the Hoodoos were cool but that not as spectacular as some of the other National Parks we have visited. He said he felt like Peter Lik (for you Weather Channel buffs) with all of his equipment and backpack! The photos being posted are courtesy of Les not Peter. LOL.

Our next stop is Moab to visit Arches National Park. We expect that it will top 100 here so there will be limited outdoor activity unless it involves the pool or cocktails!

Zion National Park (Utah)

Zion National Park…truly one of the most beautiful places in the United States as far as natural beauty. We were lucky enough to have made reservations at the Watchman Campground inside the National Park and courtesy of Shirley’s annual senior pass, our rate was $9 per night with electric. Can’t beat that with a stick!

Sunday we chilled out and spent some of the late afternoon trying to get satellite reception so that Shirley wouldn’t miss the Red Sox games while we were here. It was tough and I would have given up 2 hours before Les did, but he finally jockeyed the RV around and found the spot that allowed reception. Forget cell phone and/or wi-fi service, cell phone service is spotty if available and no wi-fi in the canyon. It certainly won’t hurt me to read a book or two this week.

Monday morning, Les headed to the shuttle bus stop to catch the park shuttle to the Temple of Sinawava where you can hike a mile into the canyon and then hike into the Narrows, mostly by hiking through the Virgin River. He took the 6:30 am shuttle and we expected him to be gone all day. His backpack contained 4 bottles of water, camera, identification, hiking shoes, sneakers, extra socks, food, sunblock and sunglasses. He was really prepared to spend the day hiking, something he really enjoys. About 9:00 am he came back to the RV with news that the Narrows was closed due to rushing water. As most of you probably have seen on the news the snowmelt has effected many of the parks, most notably Yosemite, with extraordinary water flows this year. Apparently the Narrows is a victim too. The last time we were here 2 years ago we ventured up a short bit into the Narrows but we weren’t prepared then so we promised we would return to explore that area. We may have to return yet again another year. Les will try to hike it on Wednesday if the area opens. I really hope it does because he loves it so.

We did take a walk on one of the trails and put our feet in the river (okay Les put his body in the river, I only put my feet in). The river is running quite fast so you have to stay on the side or whoosh down you will go!

Happy to say that Shirley’s back is starting to resolve with some ice and lots of ice cream!!

Wednesday was the day for Les to trek into the Narrows. It’s quite a scary place to hike and as I have said the last time we were here we hiked up to the river but didn’t have the proper equipment to traverse it. This time Les was prepared with extra everything in his backpack. He left at 6:00 am and returned around 3:00 pm with so much excitement. I am posting some photos of the Narrows that he took. At many points the river was waist deep and chest high at others. He held his pack above his head to get down the trail. I am happy that I stayed behind with Shirley considering I would not want to get that wet! A little water crossing is fine, but chest deep rapid water? No thank you. Anyway he had a terrific time and is still talking about it hours later. I am sure that this will be a hike he will remember for some time.

Off to Bryce National Park tomorrow for a few days before we hit Moab.

Las Vegas "Hot" Nevada

Ah…Las Vegas, City of Lights and City of Sin! Well, we can’t speak about the sin but we can tell you about Las Vegas being the City of HOT, HOT, HOT and not the Slots! Of course for some reason we continue to visit this area in the Summer and apparently didn’t learn our lesson the last time we were here in July. It was well over 100 degree every day and it was hot. Okay so there was less than 10% humidity so you weren’t sticking to the car seats, but it was hot.

Shirley was having some back issues so we decided to take shifts touring Vegas. One day Les and I did go to New York, New York and MGM Grand for about 2 hours but that was about it. Since I am really the one who enjoys the gaming I went to Sam’s Town and The Cannery for a couple of hours after dinner.

We did stay at a nice resort, Las Vegas RV Resort which was located about 7 miles from the Strip but next door to Sam’s Town. Good thing we had our car because you couldn’t even walk ¼ miles in that heat. Of course the two tires on my new bike apparently didn’t like the heat and the tubes “blew up” according to Mr. Fixit himself…or maybe he let the air out so I wouldn’t go with him!!

Anyway Vegas if now off our list for this time of the year and we are on to Zion National Park in Utah. Zion is a favorite of ours, although when I checked the weather it was also forecast to be over 100 each day! Considering we had snow in Flagstaff in mid-May I guess we’ll take the heat!