Hello again, welcome back to our
travels. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, April 30th
when we officially began our summer travels by leaving Santa Maria,
California and starting east. Those of a “certain age” will
recognize the title of this blog as the theme song from Smokey and
the Bandit. Our first night was in Bakersfield, California where we
stayed one night. Didn't even unhook the car, just relaxed for the
afternoon and evening. Monday was another travel day, 150 miles east
to Newberry Springs, California, just east of Barstow. We stayed at
this same RV park last week when we were going West to the coast.
Again we left the car connected for our one night stay and just
stayed in and watched some TV for the day.
Tuesday, May 2nd, we left Newberry Springs about 9:30 and continued east on Interstate 40, heading to Needles, 120 miles away. We arrived at the Needles Elks Lodge just before noon and got settled in for a two night stay. After we got set up and had lunch we went out to explore just a little and get at least one geocache so we could get the souvenir that they are giving for finding a cache today. This is the 15th Anniversary of the sport of geocaching. We were able to find two quick caches and stopped at a store for a couple of things. We were going to make a Walmart run, but it seems that Needles doesn't have a Walmart, or any other grocery chain store for that matter. The closest Walmarts are in Bullhead City, Arizona or Kingman, Arizona. We drove around for a half hour exploring Needles and then went back to the coach for the rest of the afternoon. Today it was going to hit 100, so we are going to stay inside.
Wednesday, May 3rd, we had a
non-travel day for a change. Since it was going to be well over a
hundred today we decided to go for a drive to Laughlin, Nevada, which
is only about 30 miles north of Needles. We have not been to
Laughlin in at least eight years, if not longer. The drive took
about 40 minutes and our first stop was the Harrah's Casino. We
gambled for an hour or so and then went to the coffee shop for lunch,
although we both had breakfast. We then drove up to the Golden
Nugget and gambled for another hour or so before leaving and making
one last stop at the Riverside, the original Laughlin Casino.
Laughlin is named after Don Laughlin who opened his casino and hotel
in 1966. There are now ten casinos in Laughlin and it is listed as
one of the top five RV destinations in the U.S. We didn't win
anything, but between the two of us we only lost less than a hundred
dollars for the day, and had a good time. When we finished at the
Riverside we crossed the bridge into Bullhead City, Arizona, and
stopped at Walmart for some supplies. We then went home, getting
home about 5:30, before the cats even missed us. We spent the rest
of the evening in the coach.
Thursday, May 4th, Star Wars
Day. (May the “fourth” be with you) This was another travel
day, and was going to be as hot as yesterday. We got out around 9:30
and started east on Interstate 40 again. We are going 178 miles to
Williams, Arizona. After 11 miles we crossed the Colorado into
Arizona, leaving California for at least six months if the current
travel plans stick. We made a fuel stop but still made it to
Williams just after 1:00. Because Needles is 500 feet elevation and
Williams is almost 7,000 feet, it was pretty much uphill all the way.
I was really having to work to keep the coach from overheating, but
we made it with no problems. Williams is considered to be the
“Gateway” to the Grand Canyon and the old steam train that goes
up to the canyon leaves from here. We are staying at the Grand
Canyon Railroad RV park, which is right next to the tracks for the
canyon train. We are going to be here for three days, so we took a
little longer to get set up. Once we got set up we relaxed for the
rest of the day. Jackie will need a quiet evening to acclimate to
the altitude anyway.
Friday, May 5th, Happy Cinco
de Mayo! Not Mexican Independence Day as many believe, but certainly
a day when everyone is Mexican. In the spirit, we went out to a
local Mexican place called the Fiesta Grill for lunch. The food was
good, not the best ever, but good, solid Sonoran Mexican food. The
salsa was the best thing, the cost of the drinks the worst. My
tequila driver and Jackie's margarita totaled more than our meals.
After lunch we did one geocache, only because it had been put out the
day before and we would be able to get an FTF (first to find) on the
cache. Since we are not really early starters, we rarely get FTFs,
so it is fun to stumble into one. After our cache find we went to
the one laundromat in town and did our laundry, the first time since
Ehrenberg. While unloading the car we were checked out by a Coconino
County Sheriff's Deputy. It seems a few days ago an elderly couple
were murdered and their car, a white Jeep Liberty, was stolen. The
cops are looking at all white Jeep sedan's. Once our laundry was
done we went home and put our clothes away and relaxed the rest of
the afternoon and evening.
Saturday, May 6th, we left
the coach after lunch to do some geocaching in the Williams area. We
had a good afternoon, getting 15 new finds, along with four DNFs,
before quitting about 3:30. One of the caches was another milestone,
number 8,500! Yea! We then went back to the coach and relaxed the
rest of the day. Sunday was another travel day. There has been a
storm system setting over the southwest for the last couple days,
and, although we didn't have any rain like Southern California, we
were having very strong winds. The winds blew all night long and we
were a little worried about traveling, however, the other side of the
coin was that we were at 7,000 feet and the storm was predicted to
bring snow to as low as 5,000. Decision made, we were on the road
about 10:00. We continued east, about 100 miles to Homolavi Ruins
State Park, just north of Winslow, Arizona. We stayed at this park a
couple of years ago and liked it. It is only about three miles out
of town, but it is up on a mesa and very quiet and pretty. The winds
on the trip were strong, but never got into the scary range, so we
had a pretty good trip. We are going to be here in Winslow for five
nights. We got everything set up and then we just relaxed the rest
of the day.
Monday, May 8th, we went out
after lunch to do some geocaches. We got four new finds, and two
DNFs in about an hour, then the rainy weather that we had been
promised looked like it was moving in. We quit caching and went back
to the coach. As it turned out, the rain bypassed us except for some
very light sprinkles. Nonetheless, we had a nice, relaxing afternoon
and the weather didn't spoil our evening BBQ. About a year ago our
friend Ray Babcock brought back a bunch of Mahi from a Mexico fishing
trip and it has been sitting in our freezer since. We got it out
today, BBQed it and had some great fish tacos. Yum. Ironically,
just as we were finishing dinner Ray called, the first time I had
talked to him in weeks. Of course, we thanked him for dinner. We
spent the rest of the evening watching TV. The picture is of one of the geocaches we found today was at a 9/11 Memorial on Old Route
66. It was built with two of the steel beams from the World Trade
Center.
Tuesday, May 9th, the
promised rain finally came in early in the morning. About 4:00 a.m.
the thunder came and we had a series of brief thunderstorms and rain
showers until about 9:30. There was a break in the weather so I had
time to get my walk in. We left the coach after lunch and went to
Walmart, which is on the far west side of Winslow. We are just east
and north of town. When we came out of the store we noticed a very
heavy, black storm over towards the west. We drove through town,
just sight-seeing a little, and didn't hit any rain until we turned
into the drive for the State Park. We were right under the
thunderstorm and the rain was very hard, and there was small,
pea-sized hail. Fortunately, it was small and soft, so I don't think
it could cause any damage to vehicles, but it was piling up on the
ground like snow. Oddly, when we turned into the drive for the
campground the hail stopped. The storm track was such that the hail
was falling only about a quarter mile north of the campground, so the
coach didn't get any at all. We spent the rest of the day around the
coach. We did get a little more rain, but by evening it had cleared
up. We did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner and relaxed the
rest of the night.
Wednesday, May 10th, we went
out after lunch to do some geocaching. It was still very cloudy, but
the storm system was moving out to the east. In a few hours we were
able to get eight new finds, and one DNF. About 3:00 we finished
caching and stopped at the Winslow Elks Lodge. For whatever reason,
we did not come here when we stayed in Winslow for the first time two
years ago. The Elks are in their original old brick building, built
in 1923, just a block or two from old downtown on Route 66. It is a
two story building with the club room and a large ballroom on the
first floor and the lodge hall taking up most of the second floor.
The bartender took me up to the lodge room and it was very pretty and
very typical for lodge rooms in the older lodge buildings. Very big
with lots of seating. The entire Winslow Lodge is about 300 people
and I think you could sit half of those in the Lodge Room. Clearly
built for a different era. We had one cocktail and talked to the
bartender, who was the only other person in the lodge while we were
there.
Friday, May 12th, another
travel day. We left the Winslow area about 10:30 for the 126 mile
trip east to Gallup, New Mexico. The trip was uneventful and we
arrived at the USA RV park in Gallup about 1:30 local time. When we
crossed the Arizona-New Mexico line we lost an hour, going on actual
Mountain Savings Time rather than Arizona Mountain Time. We quickly
got settled into our space for our two night stay. After we got set
up we stayed in for the rest of the day. Saturday we left the coach
about 11:00 and went out to lunch at a little restaurant called El
Matate. It is a small, converted house in an old neighborhood near
downtown that we discovered two years ago when we were here. We came
then with the Babcock's and Bullock's and we all enjoyed our meals.
We were not disappointed, the food and service were excellent. After
lunch we did some geocaching and were able to get eight new finds and
two DNFs in a few hours. We then did a Walmart run and returned to
the coach where we stayed in for the rest of the night.
Sunday, May 14th, Happy
Mother's Day. Both of our mothers have passed away, so we don't
really celebrate Mother's Day. It was another travel day for us. We
left Gallup about 10:00, continuing east about 135 miles to
Albuquerque, New Mexico. We made a fuel stop and then arrived at the
Enchanted Trails RV park about 1:00. We have stayed at this park
numerous times in the past. We quickly got parked and set up. The
park is right next door to a Camping World store, so we had to make a
quick run there after we got set up. We didn't buy much, only a
reflective sun shade for the front window of the coach. However, we
did run into some old caching friends, Robert and Diana Knight. It
turns out they are also staying at the same RV park as us, right
behind us in the row over. They have been in Albuquerque for several
weeks getting some repairs done to their coach. After Camping World
we went back to the coach, made cocktails and went over and had happy
hour with Robert and Diana. We have known them for several years,
meeting them while geocaching. After happy hour we went home and had
some of the chili I made. We then stayed in and watched TV the rest
of the day.
Monday, May 15th, Happy
Birthday to my wonderful wife Jackie, as well as our little cat
Benji. Benji is five today, Jackie isn't. We went out after lunch
to do some geocaching. We kind of got off to a slow start, with a
few caches that we couldn't get to for one reason or another.
However, it got better and we ended up with ten new finds and one DNF
in a couple of hours. We then went back to the coach, relaxed for a
bit, changed clothes and went out for dinner. For her birthday
Jackie wanted to go to PF Changs, so that's where we went. We had a
great meal, Jackie had salmon, I had surf and turf. For her birthday
they bought her entree as well as gave us a desert to take home. We
were back home about 7:30 and stayed in the rest of the evening.
Tuesday, May 16th, we left
the coach about noon and went to lunch at an interesting place called
the Monte Carlo Steakhouse and Liquor Store. It has been featured on
Chef Guy Fieri's TV show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and was
recommended to us by a couple of friends. We have been to at least
three other “Triple D” restaurants here in Albuquerque over the
years, some good, some not so much. The restaurant is in the same
building as a large liquor store, however, contrary to what you read,
it does have it's own entrance in the back as well as access through
the store. When we first walked in the first thing that came into
both our minds was that it reminded us of Cactus Jack's in Indio.
Lots of wood, low ceiling, red leather booths and chairs and bar
decorations. Jackie had a cheeseburger, which she said was good, but
nothing special. I had Louie's Special, which was kind of a cheese
steak without the peppers. It was outstanding. Like Cactus Jack's,
the portions where very big, lots of fresh cut fries on mine, lots of
onion rings on Jackie's I would recommend the place, and it will be
on my list of “go backs” the next time we are in Albuquerque.
Speaking of Cactus Jack's, we just learned yesterday that the
original Indio location is closing down this month. We have heard
rumors for a year or more, but apparently the owner George has had
issues with the landlord and is not going to renew the lease. He is
making good money on the new store in Palm Desert. It is too bad,
because the place holds a lot of memories for Jackie and I and a lot
of our friends.
After lunch we drove to Costco for some
things. It was a stormy day, on and off rain and wind, so there
would be no caching. We needed to go to Costco because we are
heading east and needed to stock up on vodka. The only states in the
country where you can buy liquor at grocery stores and Costco without
really high state taxes and fees, are California, Arizona, Nevada and
New Mexico. Once we leave here we are at the mercy of State liquor
stores and high prices. We bought enough to get us about two thirds
of the way through our summer trip. After Costco we headed back to
the coach and relaxed the rest of the evening. Wednesday we went out
after lunch for one more day of caching. In a few hours we had a
dozen new finds, and one DNF. We went back to the coach so that I
could do a couple things to get ready to travel tomorrow. We spent
the rest of the day in the coach.
Thursday, May 18th, we
packed up the coach and headed out about 10:00, continuing east 185
miles to Tucumcari, New Mexico. We parked for the night at the Elks
Lodge, water and electric for $15. Hard to beat. Since we were only
going to be here for one night we didn't even unhook the car. We
spent the rest of the day in the coach. Friday, was yet another
travel day. The storm fronts that have been coming through the
Southwest the last few days are moving out, but there are some strong
winds in their wake. We only had to go a little over a hundred miles
but it was a rough ride because of the strong cross winds. We
arrived in Amarillo, Texas about 1:00 local time. When we crossed
from New Mexico into Texas we lost another hour, moving into the
Central Time Zone. We checked into the Oasis RV Resort and got our
spot. We are going to be here for a week. I originally had it set
up for five days, but the park's weekly rate is cheaper than the
daily rate for five days. That was a no brainer.
Our arrival here in Amarillo, Texas,
marks a good place to close out this episode and get it published.
We are now 1,200 miles almost due east from where we started in Santa
Maria, California less than three weeks ago. We are now out of the
mountains of the Southwest and onto to the prairies of America's
Heartland. We are also crossing Tornado Alley, so keep your fingers
crossed. Until next time I leave you with the words of Billy Joel
from his song, Keeping the Faith. “You know the good ole days
weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.” Later
dudes.
