Trytokeepup.blog

As we checked off the days of the calendar through the end of July, we had our sights set on an Escapees Oregon Coast Hangout in Brookings, OR. This weeklong event promised to be full of exciting activities, a power boat tour, sightseeing, kayaking and fishing that we were really excited about. Alas, several days prior I had started having a scratchy throat and a stuffy and running nose. A head cold. A day prior to arriving at Brookings I started to feel great but Teri started having the same symptoms. We decided it would be prudent and respectful for us to skip the event. However, we had to stop in for 1 night to pick up a package.

If you recall, I had broken a bike wheel in Washington. At the time I had contacted Berd Spokes and ordered a set of wheels. Berd Spokes is one of the sponsors for the Level 10 Racing Team that I am a member of. Normally, they only ship to bike shops but as I explained my situation, they agreed to send the wheels to the park. The wheels arrived at the park an hour after we checked in.

Our arrival to the park was quite the fiasco. As we drove along the narrow 2 lane, twisting road, the mapping said the turn was on the left. I didn’t see a turn and continued on. The computer kept yelling at me to turn around. I finally found a spot on the right side of the road where I could pull off and review the mapping. Needless to say, it was a bit nerve wracking as we couldn’t find a spot to turn the coach around on the maps and the road seemed to be a dead end road several miles ahead. I unhooked the Jeep and drove forward. I finally found a spot that I could turn around. It was the entrance to a sand and gravel operation. I drove back to the motorhome, switched seats with Teri so she could drive the Jeep and we drove forward to the entrance. We made the turn around and headed back to the park entrance.

As we arrived at the park entrance, it was obvious this was a 1 way entrance and we were headed the wrong way. Onward we drove back, into town to the boat launch area where we turned around again. Let’s try this again. This time I saw the entrance and thought it was strange that it was only 1 lane wide with low hanging trees and a downward slope. But on we went and we arrived at the office and eventually parked in our spot. We explained to the event coordinators about our health “issues” and advised we were only staying the night. They suggested several times that they appreciated our courtesy and agreed it would be best if we did not participate but there was no reason for us to leave. We thanked them, picked up my wheels and headed out the next day. The park was beautiful and we were disappointed to be leaving but felt it was the right thing to do. We should have the opportunity to visit again in the future.

Our original plans had us spending the rest of the month in the Grants Pass area so we arranged to arrive there a week ahead of time. The drive from Brookings to Grants Pass wandered through the Redwoods National Forest. This was another narrow, winding 2 lane road through huge trees that seemed so close to the road that I thought I was going to rip the passenger side mirror from the coach. It had some amazing views that we will return some day to gander and marvel at the size of the trees in a more peaceful manner. We arrived in Grants Pass without mishap and set up home for the next week.

Our first stop was in downtown Grants Pass. This downtown area was amazing. Many of the buildings are original stone built in the 1880’s. There is a park in the center of the downtown area that was free of clutter and looked peaceful. Downtown was in the middle of their monthly Lemon Days event. We were bombarded by lemonade stands. All the stands were staffed by young people who appeared to be pre-teen along with their parents. Other parents were standing on the sidewalk sharing stories, laughing and having a wonderful time. What we later learned is that there were about 50 lemonade stands set up around the town and it was a competition for the best lemonade. There was no ‘hard sell’ just a friendly community event.

We stopped in at several shops and found all the store owners extremely friendly and welcoming. They were proud of their town and shared their thoughts and feelings about the town. Folks boast that the best part about the town is the climate.

We visited the Farmers Market on Saturday and found a wide assortment of locally grown and baked foods. There were arts and crafts displays and a wonderful feeling of community.

We looked into fishing in the area and found that there is some amazing fishing within an hour of town but not at this time of year. It was still too warm for trout. The temps were in the 90’s during the day and 60’s at night. Most everyone we talked to complained of the hot weather. We reminded ourselves it wasn’t the triple digits that Phoenix was dealing with.

One evening we booked a power boat cruise and dinner with Hellgate Jetboat Excursions. This cruise was in a flat bottomed boat that was powered by 3 large engines. The boats could hold about 50 passengers and could cruise the Rogue River at about 30 mph, at least. The cruise was scheduled to be a 3 hour cruise. I know, now you have the theme song from Gilligan’s Island running through your head.

The cruise was a parade of 4 boats all full of passengers and we headed downstream. We were not prepared for what happened next. We knew there was a possibility of getting wet so we had brought windbreakers but had not put them on. Our Captain was quite the story teller and worked his way through the boat asking where everyone was from and if there were any special occasions on the boat. He also provided the necessary safety briefing. At the conclusion he asked if we wanted a wet or dry run. I was surprised at the number of people who shouted “wet”.

Our boat was 75% people over 50 years of age. The Captain pushed the throttles forward and we leapt down the river. A few minutes later he said “hold on” and put on the brakes. The front of the boat porpoised into the river and the water sprayed 10 feet in the air and drenched the front half of the boat. We were just a few rows back from the front and on the right edge and yes, we got drenched. 5 minutes later he repeated the action and did so every so often. What a rush! Next as we roared down the river he spun the boat like it was a top and of course this sprayed everyone again. Fortunately the sun was shining, it was warm and we dried out before he sprayed us again.

As we reached the turn around point, he informed us we couldn’t go down river any further due to the regulations of this particular cruise. By this time we had floated into a narrow canyon with the sheer rock walls rising about 50-100 feet above us on either side, hence the name Hellgate. He explained that the canyon got narrower further downstream with rapids. This part of the canyon was used in 2 films I recognized, The River Wild and Rooster Cogburn. We then turned around and motored upstream a short ways to the private dinner lodge. There we feasted on salad, bbq chicken and ribs and dessert. There was more than any of us could finish. It was delicious.

As we prepared to ride back upstream we found that our boat had developed a motor problem. One of the motors would not fire. As such, they had to lighten the load and asked for volunteers to ride in 1 of the 3 other boats. Teri and I volunteered and found ourselves in the same seating positions in the new boat. This captain was just as jovial as the first. As we headed upstream he asked if everyone was ready for a splash and dash. This boat was just as festive as the first and there was a loud ‘yes’. So there we were cruising up the river and then we made one of the spinning turns. The wave that was created was right in the path of the boat that was following us. You guessed it, the front of their boat hit the wave and drenched everyone on board. Well, you know what happened next. Yep, they got revenge and we got wet, again. The ride back was just as wet and joyful as the ride down river. We arrived back at the boat launch exhilarated and look forward to doing it again.

You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned bike riding or hiking. Well, we didn’t miss out of those either. Cathedral Hills trailhead was a 30 minute ride from the RV park so I spent one day riding those trails. Wednesday’s are traditionally my climbing days and I found a hill to climb. Dollar mountain was reasonably close to the park as well. A nice ride through downtown and through the neighborhoods and I arrived at the service road to climb the mountain. A 1.5 mile climb, 10% average grade and 800 ft of climbing. After a couple rides up and down, I was wiped out. Teri also attempted this climb on one of her hiking days. Because of the distance to the trail, Teri used all her water getting to the trailhead and had to head back to the RV. There are radio towers at the top of the mountain that are easy to see from the RV. I was told by one of the locals that there are plans to develop some mountain biking trails on the mountain in the next year. I also jumped on the gravel bike and toured the town and surrounding area for a couple of hours on another day. Teri walked from the RV park into downtown to visit with shop owners, have a cup of coffee and acquaint herself with the town.

On another afternoon we took a drive to Cave Junction back along the Redwood Highway. It was our intent to get a tour of the natural caves however we learned that you need to make reservations a day or 2 in advance. It’s popular in the summer and it was sold out when we arrived. Instead, we drove to the Siskiyou Smokejumper Museum. Post WWII this was a training and deployment depot for the wild land smokejumper fire fighters. The airstrip was still used by private planes, although the depot had been closed. The young man who provided us entry explained that although he was not a smokejumper, his dad had been. There are photos and stories of the various teams who had flown out of this airport through the years. We found it quite fascinating.

Ironically, during this same time, northern California was on fire (Park Fire) along with several fires in eastern Oregon and western Idaho. Grants Pass sits in a valley which forms a bowl of mountains. Southern and easterly winds brought the smoke from these fires into the valley so much so that the view of the towers on top of Dollar Mountain were blocked. However, if the winds shifted, the sky cleared.

As our week stay came to an end, we moved 15 minutes southwest to Rogue River, OR. The park we stayed at was near the highway bridge that spanned the Rogue River. The park was aptly named Bridgeview. Our space was narrow and short but the well maintained grassy areas made the park very pleasing to view. From here we forayed into the small town of Rogue River. It is smaller than Grant’s Pass and does not boast the history of that downtown. But we found the people pleasant and inviting. I found a few more places to ride and met some riders who I maintain contact through Strava. Teri explored the rail trail that runs along the Rogue river between Grant’s Pass and several towns to the South.

We shopped in Medford a couple of times and took a drive to Jacksonville. Medford is the largest city in the area and is only about 1 hour north of the California border. Jacksonville is a small community with an historical downtown. It reminded me of a small Prescott, AZ. The surrounding area is filled with ranches and vineyards. The most memorable bike ride of the area was the Sterling Mine Trail. This trail traveled around the mountain on a raised mound. To my left, the mountain sloped down into a 3 ft trough then raised to the mound I was on then continued sloping down the mountain on my right. At first I thought I was on a raised rail bed but I realized the mound was too narrow. Later I learned that the trough was dug to channel water down the mountain to assist with the mining of the mountain. The mound was built so the supervisors could travel along the mining route to monitor the miners. I found it quite fascinating.

As I started my ride, the sky was blue but as the day wore on, I saw gray clouds building to the west. They were moving fast and soon I was seeing lightning and hearing thunder. I had no cell service most of the ride, but as I neared the top of the mountain my phone chimed with an incoming text from Teri telling me to get off the mountain as the rain was coming. I text saying ‘I know’. Now, I was at the top of the mountain and there were no trees as this area had been cleared and no shelter from the rain that started in about another 10 minutes. The temperature had dropped 10 degrees to about 60 and the rain was cold. I rode on. What else could I do? As I started dropping down the other side of the mountain, I made a wrong turn and had to bike back uphill about 1/2 mile to the proper turn. By now I was drenched and I couldn’t operate the phone as the wet screen, wet gloves and wet fingers didn’t recognize the finger movements and then it started to hail. Those small pellets sting when they hit bare skin. As I cruised along hoping to see the Jeep at every corner, the phone chimed again. It was Teri telling me I was going the wrong way! After several attempts I was able to get the map pulled up on the phone and confirmed my location and my travel path. Teri follows me with the phone app but on this day, due to cell service issues, her mapping was delayed so while it looked to her that I was going the wrong way, I had already made a few turns that hadn’t updated on her mapping. I can’t remember when I have been so relieved to see the Jeep after a ride as on this day. But, if it had been a sunshine filled and warm day, there wouldn’t be a story to tell. I will ride this trail again, hopefully without the drama.

One of our day trips took us to a Harry & David store. Wow! This was an adventure. We’ve sent and received gift boxes from Harry & David but have never been in a store. This store wasn’t even the warehouse but was filled with all the goodies. It was a challenge to not walk out with boxes of food. We even found the opportunity to support the Rogue River Little League All Star team who washed the Jeep for us and we attended the Josephine County Fair.

Now it was time to take our leave and we had made our travel plans and had reserved the RV parks for the trip back to Arizona. Our first planned stop was a Harvest Host on a ranch/vineyard in northern California. The online reviews were amazing and the photos were beautiful. As we confirmed our route, we learned the main highway to the ranch was closed due to the Park Fire in northern California. Further checking showed that the ranch was at the edge of the evacuation area. The ranch had posted some photos on social media that showed the wall of smoke just mere miles from the ranch. We felt a detour around the road closure would take more time than we wanted to drive and also felt it was irresponsible of us to enter into an evacuation warning area. So we cancelled our reservation and re-routed.

We rarely miss an opportunity to explore and learn about the areas we are traveling through and the trip south was no exception. Our first stop was at the American Eagle RV Park north of Susanville, California. The reviews showed this to be a nice park. They must have been very old. The park had been closed for several years and was just now being renovated. We had a nice spot that was plenty large enough for our rig and a nice view of the area. We were the only RV in the park. This park used to have a pavilion and a stage where they had provided a band and dancing along with a restaurant. These were all in extreme disrepair. They are busy prepping and smoothing sites to reopen. We took a drive into Susanville which is rich in mining history and visited some of the historical sites. This was just a 1 night stop.

The next day we were on the road again and stopped for lunch in Beatty, Nevada. We were drawn to a large casino on the corner of the intersection. We stopped in and talked with a woman who was working inside. She said the construction crew was busy remodeling the building with plans to reopen the casino. She said Beatty expects to be growing in the next couple of years as there had been a gold discovery in the area and the permits were finally being approved so the mining could begin. She said they had already finished the metal work on the exterior and were now building the interior of the casino.

We stopped for a night in Boulder City, NV where I had a chance to do a bike ride.

On the trip south toward Wickenburg, AZ we had to stop off at Teri’s favorite pie stop, Luchia’s in Wikieup, AZ. This little restaurant has an outdoor yard that hosts several pheasants and a koi pond. It also has the most AMAZING pie, according to Teri.

Throughout our travels Brett and Callie continually reminded us that it was August and we were supposed to be back in Apache Junction. We figured they were tired of sweltering in the heat without anyone to share their misery. We had told them we would be arriving on the 25th. As our arrival date drew near, they confirmed the date with us several times. We figured they had something up their sleeves so we decided to surprise them. We rolled in the morning of the 24th. It was funny to see them scurrying to put out the ‘Welcome Home’ banner while we stabilized the motorhome and set it up for our long term stay. We enjoyed a little buffet dinner as a welcome home gift.

During our 3 month ‘vacation’ we heard complaints from the locals about how hot it was. Teri and I found it warm but not unusually uncomfortable. The highs were in low to mid 90’s and even lower when we were on the Olympic Peninsula. These temps were a far cry from the triple digit temps that Phoenix/Apache Junction were broiling in. We had hoped the temps would have dropped prior to our returning but we weren’t that lucky. Oh well, that’s AZ.

As always, thanks for traveling with us. We hope you enjoy the trip as much as we did. As we settle in here in Arizona we are preparing for my first mountain bike race of the year, post hip surgery, and Teri is excited to get back to hiking. But that’s for the next month.

Stay Safe.

John & Teri

We left Arizona the first week of June as the weather was starting to heat up (as if it had ever cooled down). The temps were already in the triple digits. Our last night was spent visiting with Brett, Callie, Eric and Rikki. Brett and Callie were so funny. They kept referring to us as their divorced friends and they were going to have to spend more time with their new friends. It’s great to have friends. Our plans were to be on the road for about 3 months and we had plenty on the calendar to stay busy.

Our first stop was in Flagstaff. Black Bart’s RV park is one of our favorites. The Steakhouse is a great place to eat. Delicious food and the serving staff are all entertainers as well. Solos, duets, groups they all take part in non-stop singing while taking excellent care of the diners. We met with my sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Bill, for dinner and had a great evening.

One of the challenges of living full-time on the road is being able to take care of the things that would be quite simple if we were stationary but create logistical challenges when traveling. In this case, the Jeep windshield had been hit with a rock on the Phoenix freeways just a day or 2 before we left. In this case, I was able to get an appointment with Safelite Auto Glass in Flagstaff and had the windshield repaired while we were there. No stopover is complete without a bike ride and hike.

Our destination at this time was Rock Springs, WY to participate in the Escapees RV Club Escapade. More about this in the next couple of paragraphs. Along the way, we stopped to take in the sights. Glendale, UT was the next stop. This town is north of Kanab, UT and west of St George, UT. We stayed at the Bauer’s Canyon Ranch RV Park. A family run RV park. Upon checking in we were greeted by a high school aged young lady and her younger brother. They provided us with all the information we required to get set up and gave us information on a hike near the area. So we loaded up in the Jeep and drove about 15 minutes south of town to the Belly of the Dragon cave. This is a short hike. It is a cave that has been worn by wind and water with the highway built above it. As you stand at the entrance to the cave, you can’t see the light from the other end and the large swirls on the walls look like you are about to go spiraling into the belly. As you walk through, you start to see light at the other end. As you exit you find yourself in a sandy wash. We continued up the wash until we reached a dry waterfall about 50 ft high. We climbed to the top of the waterfall and could have continued up the wash but decided we had seen enough.

We drove back into town to get refreshments. The main highway runs through the center of town with small businesses facing the highway. We stopped in at a small cafe to grab a bite to eat. A young man about 7 years old took our pie and ice cream order. His older brother about 12ish showed him how to ring it up on the register. The pies were homemade and delicious. While we sat and ate, I noticed a lot of paintings on the rock wall above the town. I was informed that each graduating class would paint the year of their graduation on the rock face. The numbers went back into the 60’s.

Next we stopped in at the grocery store. 2 high school aged young women checked us out and made small talk. These observations were striking to me. When I left working at the college, I was surprised that college-aged adults had trouble speaking with people (they didn’t know what to say, wouldn’t ask questions) and were afraid to work in a customer service environment without a security guard sitting next to them and certainly couldn’t handle any kind of confrontation, no matter how small. These young people were quite interactive with the customers and were problem solvers. The world needs more young people like these.

The next day we completed a workout in the motorhome and then went for a biking/hiking excursion. I had planned out a route that I could ride and Teri could hike using several mapping tools. What an adventure this turned out to be. On the maps, it looked like we were going to be on forest service type roads. Instead they were 4×4 trails that went through the cow pastures, through the trees all the while climbing up the mountain. At each crest we thought we were at the top only to see the path continuing to climb. Some of the path was so steep, I couldn’t pedal up it and walked with Teri. We finally reached the top and descended back to camp. We only covered 5.5 miles but it took us 2.5 hours to do it. Normally, this would be about an hour bike ride. We were worn out. Teri said she would never follow one of my routes again. Hahaha.

As we drove out of town, I was amazed at the valley we were driving through. The valley was formed between tall rock faces over 100 ft high and was anywhere from 1/4 mile to 1 mile wide and the road ran through the middle. The area was largely agricultural with cows grazing in fields and other fields of hay.

Our next stop was Draper, UT. This is a town/city about 1/2 way between Provo and Salt Lake City. The park is in the center of the city along the freeway. The park streets were narrow as were the spaces. The one thing we noticed as we traveled through Utah was the lack of trash along the city streets and highways. We also didn’t see any panhandlers on street corners. We didn’t sit around though. We took the time to hike up to the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge. The bridge is located on one of the hills that overlooks Draper and spans a deep gorge that had a beautiful river running through it.

We finally arrived in Rock Springs, WY where we intended to spend the week. The Escapade event was being held at the Sweetwater Events Complex and RV park. The complex is the county fairgrounds, rodeo arena, auto racing, jamborees and any number of other events that might be held in the area. It was huge. We checked in and were escorted to our parking site. We had plenty of room for the RV and Jeep and we watched as other attendees parked their rigs as well. We made our way to the Hospitality Room to obtain our goody bags and confirm our reservations for the Flaming Gorge tour at the end of the week. As we walked into the room we were greeted by a number of vendor tables all designed to entice us to be involved with other events. Next we stopped in at the Marketplace. This was a room filled with vendors selling everything from kitchen utensils to Alaska RV trips to coach cleaning supplies. It was an RV festival. As we checked the schedule of events, we noticed that each day was filled with seminars about RVing. Topics included washing your RV, maintaining, repairing the RV, necessities and gadgets for an RV, cruises and tours. There were pickleball lessons each day for an hour that they had to expand the time for the lessons which reduced the amount of court time for free play. We were unable to take advantage of this. Of course, the majority of the seminars were being presented by the vendors. (You can make your own conclusions from here). Of course throughout the day on the schedule were social times as well. Each of these were focused on food, drinks, alcohol and evening music. Nowhere in the schedule were there events for doing things fun and exciting. We felt very out of our element. We had hoped there would be time for fising, biking, hiking, exploring, etc with others. All we saw were people sitting around talking about things that could be done, but no one was doing anything. Travel around the event center was conducted by walking (very few people were doing this), hopping on the golf cart shuttles or riding bicycles. Of course they were eBikes and nobody was pedaling. The throttles got plenty of use. We arrived on Saturday and planned to stay until the following Sunday. I got out for 2 bike rides and we got in a workout. Then we decided this just wasn’t fun for us and we checked out. The Flaming Gorge tour that we signed up for? They were going to load us all onto tour buses, drive us to the Flaming Gorge, let us off to eat our sack lunch and look into a large canyon and drive us back. It had the feel of a high school field trip. We decided if we wanted to see the Flaming Gorge we could do it at our leisure at another time. This decision made room for 2 others from the waiting list to attend.
One of the things we noted about this area was that it was windy and cold. The winds were 20-40 mph on Tuesday and the morning temp was 34 degrees. Quite a change from Arizona and even Utah. We were on the road on Wednesday morning at 7am with 43 degrees.

However, even though the event wasn’t our style, we didn’t sit around while there and made the most of our personal time. While driving through the town of Rock Springs, we stumbled on a car show. There were cars of all shapes, styles, colors and one car could be heard for blocks. And he liked to rev the engine! The street had been closed for 2 blocks for the cars to be lined up on either side of the street. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the food trucks.
On one of my rides, I discovered a very unhappy red tailed hawk sitting in her nest. She was very unhappy with my proximity. I also noticed couple other hawks flying overhead as though they were ready to strafe me. The folks in Rock Springs are very daring in their bike route designs as one of the trails I was on was precariously close to the edge of a 75 ft drop off. It was so narrow, I didn’t even try to ride it. As I walked it, the right side of the handlebars were hanging over air.

**** We later learned that the whole purpose of the Escapade is about education, networking and socializing and not about activities. There is a different program for activities called the Escapees Hangouts. See the upcoming August Blog *****

Throughout our travels we like to take our time while driving and stop and smell the roses, so to speak. In this case after we left Rock Springs we stopped at the Echo Canyon Rest Area in northern Utah. There is a tribute to President Dwight D Eisenhower for his foresight in developing a freeway system. There is also a nice tribute to the settlers and developers of the area. The folks who built the roads, the railroad, the telegraph and even the oxen that carried them. As we wandered the rest area, we found it was littered with ground squirrels who were eager to grab up any food lying on the ground. They wouldn’t eat from our hands (how did we figure that out?) but they weren’t afraid of humans.

Snowville, UT is the last town before the Idaho border. No stoplights, 2 stop signs (1 north, 1 south) at Main St along with a truck stop, gas station, 2 diners and an RV park. The area was primarily rolling hills with hay fields, cattle and horses spotting the hillsides. This is also the home of the Golden Spike Historical Park. This is where the Central Pacific RR from Sacramento,CA met up with the Union Pacific RR from Omaha, NE. There is an interpretive trail that allows you to walk along the rail beds where trains once traveled that are now just walking trails. They story of the RR in this area is one of a waste of resources, time and money. There had not been any oversight of the project and each of the RR had surveyed their own route toward the meeting point only to learn they had overlapped each other by a lot of miles. Then they had to decide which route to eventually complete in order to complete the RR. I learned that the federal mandate is that no RR grade can exceed 2%. Along the walk we saw the Big Fill and the remains of the Trestle. The Trestle was built by the Central Pacific RR to span a wide gorge. The story is that it was so hastily built and not the most secure that the trestle would sway when the train crossed over. The Big Fill was the Union Pacific RR’s answer to the same gorge. They brought in loads of dirt to fill the gorge. The Big Fill was the eventual winner and where the RR tracks were run. We also came across a shelter cave. This is a cave where men might have sheltered during a storm, spent the night, and/or supplies were stored to include dynamite.

This area is also the home of the Northrop Grumman Space Rocket facility. We did not tour this facility, but did stop at the entrance to view and photograph the rockets on display. Driving along the highway it is possible to see all the bunkers littering the hill landscape.

Mountain Home, ID was a bike ride through the rolling hills. Man, was it hot.

If Pendleton strikes a bell with you, you are probably familiar with the Pendleton Wool products. Pendleton, OR is the home of Pendleton Woolen Mills. We stopped to walk through the store with all the intricately designed and woven products and even bought some clothes. We were unable to schedule a tour. Our stay at the KOA was pleasant but found the sites were a bit on the small size for our outfit. The grass at the site was watered every afternoon so we couldn’t leave the chairs out but we had a wonderful view of the valley.
We spent some time in town even embarking on the Underground Tour. We have done other underground tours of other cities and found this one as interesting in comparison. It was an interesting history lesson. The underground had served as a place for folks to play cards and drink and socialize, especially during prohibition. It was also used to house Chinese laborers, a Chinese laundry and Speakeasy’s. Dinner that night was at a newly opened Flying X Speakeasy Lounge. The owners had built part of the underground into a very luxurious looking restaurant and the food was delicious. We also learned that every year the City will contract with local ranchers to graze their goats along the river bank to they keep the grass mowed.

We took a short drive to La Grande where we hiked biked. The area was amazing with green grass, trees, and steep fun trails. While I had been riding in the area, I came across a gentleman who was doing trail maintenance. He suggested I stop in and see Marc, so we did. We stopped in at Mountain Works bicyles where we met the manager Marc and had a great visit discussing mountain biking in Oregon and Arizona. On the way back to Pendleton we came across an historic bridge, the Upper Perry Bridge. The architecture was one of the more innovative designs of the era and spans the river and the railroad.

This summer trip had a few priorities. One priority was to ride all the race courses I plan to race next spring. The first race course was in Echo, OR, a small, historical town along the OR trail located in rolling hills of grass. Much of the trail had not been maintained recently so it was overgrown with grass 3+ ft high. The trail was barely visible through the grass. Then the trail led up onto the ridge lines with views of grass for miles. The trail builders had seen it prudent to build a crossover bridge where 2 of the trails intersected.

Next stop was Redmond, OR. There’s not much in Redmond, but it was close to Bend and Sisters where I rode 2 race courses. One was a 50 miler and it took me all day to complete and yes, the white stuff is snow. Sisters is a very welcoming community with lots of small diners, bar & grills and places to just hang out and socialize with friends. On one of our travels we stopped off at the Peter Skeen Ogden Viewpoint which had a spectacular view of the canyon and the bridges that span the gorge.

Our next stop was Westfir, OR near Oakridge, and yes, another race venue. We stayed at Caseys Riverside RV Park and it was excellent. We were camped right on the rivers edge. We had a chance to do some fishing but didn’t land anything. I had 1 on the line that got off and another nibble.
The race venue starts at an historic covered bridge and the course climbs the service road to the top of the mountain where you can then ‘bomb’ down the singetrack. I met up with John from California on the trail and we rode down the mountain together. A fun time. I forgot to mention that although we were headed down the mountain, there was still 1000 ft of climbing while descending. Go figure.

This brings us to the end of the month. So much going on and next month is no different that I don’t know where the time went. Stay tuned!
You may be aware that we started our full-time adventure 2 1/2 years ago with goals of seeing the country but also identifying where we might want to relocate. Oregon has always been at the top of the list and the first part of this trip has not changed that priority. So, here we are at the end of June and reminiscing as to where we were a year ago (Georgia with Mike and Marie) and still contemplating where to set roots. Thanks for traveling with us. We hope you’ve enjoyed the journey. Next month is just around the corner.

Stay Safe.

If you read last month’s blog, you know we finished off the month visiting Rob and Bridget in Deer River, MN. I met them back in 2007ish when I started off-roading and met them through the jeep club. As with many, we drifted apart until he called me one day when I was the Commander at GateWay Community College. He started working for me as non-sworn safety officer until I retired and then they moved to MN to realize their dreams. They have a really nice piece of property and large visions of what it will be in the future. We had a wonderful visit and then we were off to our next stop.

The drive to the next stop, Detroit Lakes, MN was a rough day. We had winds averaging 12-22 mph with gusts up to 30 mph from the south. Of course our journey had us going west and south so we had crosswinds and headwinds the whole day. It was a bit of a white knuckle day as we got pushed around on the road. Fortunately it was a short day of only about 4 hours driving.

We noticed as we continued west through Minnesota that the dense forest started to give way to large open areas of agriculture where there were large corn fields and hay fields and another crop that we were unable to identify. The landscape was primarily rolling hills with no significant climbs or hills.

We spent a day walking through the downtown area of Detroit Lakes. This is a very cute downtown with 2-3 story buildings that rise above the 2 lane road with parking on either side of the road. The stores range from boutique clothing and keepsakes to coffee shops and a hardware store, a bicycle store and a couple bars. Yes, I spent some time in the bicycle shop. Another day saw us touring the countryside scouting fishing holes. We drove about 100+ miles checking out locations that had been identified for us however their current dry climate has left the rivers low on water and just not suitable for trout this time of year. There are a multitude of lakes in the area which seem to be great for bass fishing from a boat and water sports but not for fly fishing.

One morning Teri took off for a 6 mile walk that had her scouring through a swap meet at the half way point while I went to the local ski area for a mountain bike ride. There are 2 types of trails at the ski area, cross country trails with natural terrain (my style) and downhill/gravity which has numerous man made obstacles and features that are beyond my ability and willingness to test. It was fun to try out new types of trails however. We stopped in the downtown area of Rapid Falls for lunch. Another quaint little town with a wonderful looking downtown. In this case, the center turn lane of Main St had been turned into a parking lot as cars were parked angled on either side of the road and double parked side by side in the center turn lane for a 1/2 mile leaving 1 narrow lane to drive each direction. Those shops were very similar to the shops in Detroit Lakes downtown.

One morning we woke to rain but it stopped early so I headed to Maplelag Ski resort to ride. A couple of days earlier we had met the Johnson’s at the RV park. Tracy, Kayla and their daughter. They were there to race at Maplelag. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t known about the race previously. I didn’t feel comfortable racing without having had the opportunity to pre-ride the course. So, I made it a point to go ride the race course a couple of days after the race. The markers, directional tape and signs were still in place so it was easy to navigate the course. It was an amazing ride. I hit the course between rain storms so the trail was sticky dirt and the tree canopy blocked any rain. It was so much different than riding in AZ. I compared my riding time to the race results. I would have finished 44 of 49 overall and 4th of 5 riders in my age group even riding it blind. The other interesting fact of Maplelag is that it is a winter play area. They provide lodging in cabins and train cars that have been moved onto the property and converted to condos. The trails are open for cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the snowy winter. This is not a downhill ski area as there is no mountain nor a ski lift. They are in the process of rebuilding from a devastating fire which destroyed some of the main buildings about a year ago.

We learned of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion going on in the area so we had to check it out. This was much like a county fair with a huge display of tractors and agricultural equipment (threshers). There must have been 100 tractors of all shapes and sizes in the parade through the grounds. The drivers of these tractors appeared to range from about 10 years old to 80ish. There was a huge steam powered locomotive that pulled several remodeled cattle cars around the perimeter of the event and we jumped on that just to see the entire event. The side of the cattle car had been cut off and there was football stadium style bench seating along the length of the car. Throughout the venue there were steam powered tools and equipment. The ingenuity employed to build the various machines was astounding. Log splitters, table saws, butter churns, you name it, you could probably find it and all were steam powered. We grabbed some lunch at one of the food vendors. Teri had a hot dog and potato salad. I had a hot dog, hamburger and baked beans. The distinction of the foods we ate will become apparent. We sat on picnic tables along with about 50+ other people all enjoying the activities and the sunshine. Soon it was time to leave and continue west. The sun was shining on the day we left. As we reviewed the stopover, we realized we had stayed a bit too long. There wasn’t enough to do to keep us occupied as we don’t do well just sitting still. Sarge liked to wander so we were constantly tracking him down but we got tired of the flies and bees. Next stop, South Dakota.

As we pulled into Sioux Falls, SD our first stop after parking the motorhome was Urgent Care. Teri had developed some intestinal pain that had progressed over several days along with some other symptoms we’d rather not talk about. Suffice it to say, she was in pain. After a couple of hours at Urgent Care, they strongly recommended we go to the Emergency Room. We did. Several hours later she was released with instructions to monitor various bodily functions. This was on Thursday. On Saturday we were back in the ER and they strongly advised that she be admitted for observation, tests and IV. She had become extremely dehydrated as she was unable to eat or drink and anything she did consume was evacuated. The hospital staff and specialists determined she had a type of e-coli and colitis but they weren’t sure what strain it was. What they knew was that this was releasing a toxin in her body and if they had tried to treat with antibiotics, the toxin would have entered her blood stream and severely impacted her kidneys, possibly shutting them down. A very nervous and scary time for us. While Teri was in the hospital, I stayed busy. Before you get all bent out of shape, I was acting on Teri’s instructions. I took care of Sarge, kept the coach cleaned up, fixed meals and rode my bike when I wasn’t at the hospital. I toured the city by bike riding the Sioux Falls Bike Path which encircles the city and I also tried out their singletrack park. It was very disappointing that we weren’t able to see the sights and engage in the activities we had planned even though Teri suggested I go see some of it. It just isn’t as fun without her. We’ll get back at another time to do the sightseeing. The nursing staff assigned to Teri were fantastic. Sierra was her RN who was also training Jade as a new RN. Madi was a tech who was attending college and studying to be an RN. The hospital was a University Health Hospital and also a teaching facility. As I said, her staff were amazing. Dr Nick Daane was the Gastroenterologist who was also very friendly and very informative. Unlike so many doctors we have known he introduced himself as Nick and he took the time to explain what was happening in terms we could understand. Teri was released on Monday, again with instructions to monitor various symptoms. On Tuesday we were back on the road.

As we rumbled west the trees of Sioux Falls gave way to flat grass and agricultural lands. We could see the foot high brown grass bending in the wind with not a tree in sight for hours. That’s not completely true as there were a few trees, but it appeared they had been planted and grown up around homes and ranch homes and appeared as oasis’. As we cruised along I-90 we saw a huge horse and the head of a bull in the distance. There were totally out of place in this flatland. We decided we had to see what it was. It was the Porter Sculpture Park. Gary Porter had worked with his dad in the blacksmith shop for many years and then he put his skills to another adventure. The horse and the bull are made of 30# plates welded together. The horse weighs 25 tons. I don’t remember all that he had to go through to get the horse moved to its current location. Suffice it to say he had to use a huge crane and an oversized truck to haul it to it’s current location. He has built a walking path through all his sculptures and has placed signs with poems to describe the sculpture. As my hip was particularly bothersome this day, he offered us the use of a golf cart to tour the property. That was a wonderful hour marveling at his skilled work. We arrived in Wall, SD ready to take on the Badlands.

Wall Drug is advertised for hours on billboards prior to arriving in Wall, SD. Folks had told us it was a must do. It was less than we expected. It is a tourist haven, again all souvenirs and that just isn’t our style. The main street is cute but loaded with cars during the day. Our on-board computer directed us down Main St to get to the RV park. That was a huge mistake. There was about 1 ft of clearance on each side of the motorhome from the cars that were diagonally parked on the street as we inched our way through and the people walking on the wood sidewalks gaped at us. We noticed that most of the shops are food or tourist items. Wall Drug has almost anything you would need from clothes to trinkets, jewelry, and shoes but it appeared to us that it caters to the tourist. We took a day to drive through the Badlands NP. We started on the paved Badlands Loop Rd and ended up on the Sage Creek Rim Rd which is gravel. We were so glad we had selected a Jeep to be our towed vehicle for our travels. Along the way we sighted numerous bison on the plains within the park. Then we stopped at the Prairie Dog Town. Prairie Dogs galore. They were standing up near their holes ready to dive in, others were playing tag and just running around. We finished off the day by walking through the downtown area of Wall which is the time we experienced Wall Drug. Later that afternoon I headed out for a bicycle ride on the gravel bike. I retraced our driving route but going in the opposite direction. The wind had kicked up and I was headed into the wind for the 1st 1/2 of the ride. The gravel road had so much washboard that at times I thought the handlebars were going to shake out of my hands or the bike was going to rattle apart. As I rode past Prairie Dog Town I kept hearing a whistle that sounded like birds chirping. I kept my eyes on the sky as I looked for the birds. There weren’t any. Then I realized it was the prairie dogs announcing my arrival. As I approached the entry/exit ranger station I saw a line of cars stopped at the exit. There was a bison positioned on the right side of the road, near the road. At first it appeared to be a statue, but then I saw its head bob. I stopped about 100 ft away then started looking to see where I was going to shelter if it decided to charge. There was nowhere for me to go. It was all open. I saw it moving forward and back while it’s legs remained still. I couldn’t figure out what it was doing. Then I saw the short poles standing vertically about 3 ft high nearby. I realized it was rubbing it’s belly and side against the pole. Finally it moved away from me and the cars moving down the road and stopped in an open clearing on the other side of the Ranger stations a bit further off the road. Finally some of the cars started to drive past and it showed no interest in them. As a car came alongside me, I asked the driver if I could ride alongside for a short time. He looked at me as if I was crazy. I asked if he had seen the bison and he said “No. Oh my gawd”. His wife quickly pulled her camera out. I used the car as a shield as we moved past this little fella then I started pedaling to get clear. What a rush that was. As I rode, I looked to my left and saw about 20 bison just hanging out on the prairie. There was no fencing to keep them from the road. I’m just glad they didn’t have any interest in me. I finished the 27 mile loop and found the largest wood carved sculpture I’ve ever seen in downtown Wall. The Badlands are an interesting and amazing sight. I find it hard to describe. The land has been carved by wind and rain creating deep canyons across the plains is the only way I can describe it. It is a must see if you are in the area.

Since Wall turned out be less than we had expected we packed up 2 days early and moved on to Rapid City, SD. Teri is slowly recovering but she is weak and constantly cold and still struggling to eat. We’re concerned about the outcome. She can’t hike or walk for long and becomes fatigued very quickly. We did make it to Mt Rushmore and Custer SP. Mt Rushmore was truly an amazing sight. Reading about the design, architecture and eventually the work involved to create this piece of art is astounding. We skipped the Crazy Horse monument and worked our way into Custer State Park. The road from Mt Rushmore into Custer SP is one of the most narrow, twisting roads with amazing views as we have ever driven. Don’t take your RV. The wood bridges are low and the tunnels that are cut through the rock are only 9 ft tall and 9 ft wide and only handle one vehicle at a time. At one of the tunnels some folks decided to walk through the tunnel toward us. I had to come to a complete stop to ensure I didn’t hit one of them the tunnel was so narrow. Throughout the park there are historical signs to provide the history of the building of the road. If you know me, you know what I had to do before we left the Rapid City area. I headed to the Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park for a mtb ride. The trails climb to the top of the hill that overlooks the entire city. On my way down, I rolled into a bike park area with jumps and berms. There were a group of people riding and I met Zack and Steven who were riding. Zack is local and has participated in many trail work days to maintain the trails and the bike park. Steven is military assigned to the base in the area with his family. We all had a great meeting before it was time for me to mosey home.

Spearfish, SD was next on the agenda and Chris’ Camp and RV Park is one of my favorite RV parks since we hit the road last year. It is family owned by Bryce and Lanna Christensen. Lanna explained that Bryce’s ancestors had immigrated to the US and homesteaded on the property in the late 1800’s. They had brought tree seedlings with them and planted an orchard, hence the property (I don’t know how big) is terraced on the sloping hill. They provided fruit for the gold miners who were working the mines up through Spearfish Canyon. Bryce’s grandfather had decided to build a bath house with showers and toilets to support the miners and eventually visitors. The building still stands today. It then developed into the park that it is today. One of the original trees is still standing behind the office as well. We had several packages mailed to the park prior to our arrival (with Lanna’s permission) to stock up on things we couldn’t get locally. By this time we had traveled 8,000 miles and it was time for an oil change on the motorhome. We contacted Carter, the owner of Black Hills Mobile Mechanic who came out to the park to do a preventative maintenance oil and filter service. We have had some amazing service from mobile repair businesses since we’ve been on the road. Lanna and Bryce are so friendly and accommodating and the camping spots have nice tree canopies that make this park so inviting.

We arrived on Sunday and again our first stop after parking was at Urgent Care as Teri still wasn’t feeling well. They said it would take a couple of weeks for her to start feeling normal and they didn’t find anything wrong with the tests. Monday was a workout day and grocery day. Tuesday we spent the morning fishing but just couldn’t find a good spot and we struck out, again. We did take a drive into Sturgis and walked through the downtown. Biker gear is the name of the game along with bars and restaurants. It’s a cute downtown but again, not up our alley. I can only imagine what this town looks like during the Sturgis Rally or any other bike event. I got out for a long mountain bike ride on the Big Hill trails and we discussed our options. Our original plan was to continue west into Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon before returning to AZ. Due to Teri’s illness, we made the disappointing decision to cut the rest of our travels and head back to AZ a month earlier than planned. It was important for Teri to get some consistent care and be sure that there aren’t any other issues going on. I think I forgot to mention that the specialist doctor from Sioux Falls had followed up with Teri. He said most likely her illness was food poisoning and most likely from something such as mayonnaise being left out or something of that sort. We concluded that most likely it was the potato salad she had at the festival as her symptoms started soon after that and generally we eat the same food. AZ Dept of Health Svcs had contacted Teri as they had initially thought she contracted the symptoms in AZ. When they learned it had been in MN, they were in touch with MN DHS. We have learned that there have been multiple reports of people getting sick after attending the same festival and it is being investigated by MN DHS.

As we ambled south through Nebraska we noticed all the rolling hills of grass, cows, farms and not a single tree for miles. We stopped for the night at Walmart in Chadron, NE. During the night we endured a severe thunderstorm with lightning lighting up the interior of the coach and thunder that rocked us. The wind was howling and I could hear noises banging on the sides of the motorhome, at least that’s what I thought it was. At one point I was dreaming that the wind had blown the metal steps up against the side of the door, which is impossible, then I realized that Teri was up and had closed a door. It’s amazing what your mind can do. We woke to clear skies and a slight wind and wet roads. The drive to Sterling, CO was without mishap. Except for a detour around a small town. I didn’t even see the name of the town. The Sheriff’s Dept had closed US 385 and detoured all traffic onto a dirt road around the town. As we drove past, we saw that there was a parade rolling down Main St (US 385). It looked like the entire town of several hundred people had turned out for the festival. After about 2 miles we were routed back onto the highway. US 385 is also known as the Gold Rush Byway and the Heartland Expressway. There are several Historic Markers along the route, but none of the pullouts were large enough for us to stop. I had to look it up on Google to find out why it’s called the Gold Rush Byway. At it’s peak, more than $200,000 worth of gold were transported by this road daily. The Heartland Expressway is easy to understand as it is rolling hills, large corn and hay fields, some tobacco fields and lots of ranching with cows and horses. It has it’s own beauty, much like the desert. It seems the wind blows all the time. Another night spent in the Walmart parking lot was quiet and uneventful. We don’t do a lot of parking lot boondocking, but it works at times. We make sure to patronize the store before we move on.

We stopped in La Junta (The Junction), CO for a couple of days. We were too early for the Tarantula Festival but we got in a workout and a trip to Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site. Our America The Beautiful pass saved us the entry fee again. This fort was a major stopping point for folks traveling the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe. The fort was built of adobe and was run by the Bent brothers in 1833 and was built along the banks of the Arkansas River. The fort was abandoned and destroyed in 1849. This fort is call the Old Fort because one of the Bent brothers had built a new fort several miles east after this one was abandoned. The fort was reconstructed in 1976 based on drawings and measurements made back in the 1800’s taken by a Cavalry officer. As we rambled out of La Junta moving south, we found ourselves driving on the Historic Santa Fe Trail. As we drove, I looked out over the landscape. It was flat with brown grass for hundreds of miles. Off in the west I could see a very faint shadow of the mountains off toward Denver (I think it was Denver). The shadow had to be several hundred miles away. I could not fathom the thought of traveling across those plains in a wagon or on horseback. The 8 hours of driving was boring enough and I could only try to imagine what it was like back in the days of the settlers who would travel for days, weeks and months.

Our next stop was Las Cruces, NM. It felt like deja vu as this was one of our first stops when we started our summer trip. We had a pull-in site with the nose of the motorhome looking out over the Las Cruces valley. The lights at night and the morning sunrise were mesmerizing. We caught up on our groceries, I took a ride to the Dona Ana Trailhead and we spent an afternoon in Old Mesilla. We are definitely not acclimated to the 95+ degree heat of the desert. The morning I went out for my bike ride, I pulled into the trailhead parking lot as 1 of the 3 other cars parked there. A car pulled in next to me with a fat bike mounted to the roof. As the driver and I each exited our cars, we said hi and made small talk. He introduced himself as Rick Wellborn and offered to guide me around. It turned out to be a great hour ride. Thanks Rick. After an hour, he had to head to work but I went out for another hour on a different loop. The trails were crushed granite or crushed volcanic rock. The area reminded me of Lake Havasu as the trails dropped in and out of arroyos and Estrella Mtn Park as the longish steep climbs loomed ahead along with some rock step ups. The trails are high enough that you can look out over the Las Cruces valley in the daylight. Old Mesilla was a fun stop, again. Old Mesilla is a small Mexican historical town that was once a stop on the Butterfield Stage route. There were more shops open this time as it was Friday and not during the middle of the week as we had on our previous stop. We enjoyed some nice small talk with the shop owners as we perused their wares. The stores cater to tourists but have quality items, jewelry, hand made clothing and homemade fudge. We had an amazingly satisfying lunch at La Posta. The portions are huge and delicious.

After 2 days of activities and sightseeing we were back on the road and rambled in to our winter home in Apache Junction. If you can recall, I had seen Dr Adele Dixon, chiropractor, in Iowa back in June for my hip. The discomfort with my hip has not improved in spite of my workouts and the corrective exercises Kevin has prescribed. It has not severely increased however I have found that I cannot hike without severe discomfort or walk for long periods of time. I have no problem riding my bikes. I have been in touch with my Dr and will be evaluating the options.

Again, we thank you for traveling with us. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have. As we settle in for the winter, we are busy planning next years adventures. Stay tuned, as we won’t be sitting idle in AZ.

Observations and revelations. We found we really enjoy living in the trees close to mountain biking trails and fly fishing (trout) streams. We severely dislike big city living. The small town RV parks/campgrounds were our favorite type of glamping, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the people are genuinely friendly, but close enough to a city to be able to get the groceries we need. The travel this year wasn’t the greatest for my training as much of our time was spent in flat areas with little elevation for climbing. We will use all this information to guide us on the next adventure.

Until next month.

Stay Safe.

This month’s blog is brought to you by Teri. John’s notes will be in italics.

          We spent most all of August in part of the Western Great Lakes region of the US.  A Michigander (Michigan native) Marie Colvin, couldn’t say enough about all the great things Michigan has to offer so that’s where we headed after our visit with the Colvins in Georgia. The thing that stood out everywhere we went in this region is it’s all about the iron. Iron is mined and shipped across the Great Lakes from the area since about before time and everything is named for Iron.  You’ll see what I mean when you read this months blog. We were in both Iron River and Iron Mountain and there were Iron River, Lake and Stream. There was Iron Café and all kinds of Iron namesakes from Michigan to the other side of Minnesota. Nowhere else did we see more reverence for the mining industry and union activity. For people we talked to, it tended to be no more than two degrees of separation between someone who mined, manufactured, or depended on iron. It’s part of everyone’s culture here.

Pine Ridge Birch Run, MI 8.2-8.7

We began the month in Birch Run, at the Pine Ridge RV Park.  We were excited to see the town of Frankenmuth for all of it’s German  themed sights and activites.  Yeah, I know, we just did a Bavarian village last month.  Frankenmuth is more stunning in my opinion. I was less intrigued with the town of Helen because the shops were more tourist driven without a lot of content beyond souvenirs. The town of Helen was beautiful and the flower gardens were outrageous but I didn’t care for the shopping of all the dozens of trinkets in every store. Still, I enjoyed the Grist Mill near town and the river where we caught several trout.

Day one, we decided we needed a day to burn calories. We got up early and explored,-John on his bike into Frankenmuch and me on a hike into Birch Run. The rest of the day was walking WAY too much through the Outlet stores which weren’t very exciting. So we went to Frankenmuth next.

Entering  Frankenmuth you get a winter wonderland experience right off the bat. They have a whole village on this theme named Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland so if you like Christmas, you’ll find your mecca here. We didn’t stop there because we wanted to begin at the best guide locale first, the Visitors Center. As Visitors Centers go, this one was classy and SO helpful.  We first heard all about the river tour where we’d learn about the town history, what to see and do and have a nice respite from all the tourist traffic. We got right to it.

 It was a short stroll across a covered bridge and we got there just in time to board. We learned about the ship itself and what to do should we sink. Then sure enough, the narrator told us all about the origin and growth of this charming town. I’m sparing the details so you can hear all about it on your river tour when you get there. Hint: Ice Cream shops are EVERYwhere! We toured a few shops and had some excellent treats and even had dinner at a German style restaurant.

Frankenmuth was founded by German settlers in the 1800’s who were bringing Christianity to the Indians. Today the buildings sport a Bavarian facade. It is similar to Helen, GA as it caters to tourists with souvenir stores, restaurants, hotels, pubs, fudge and ice cream shops galore. The Michigan Heroes Museum is a tribute to the service men and women from MI who have served gallantly since the Spanish-American war. It was interesting to note that many of the soldiers who were highlighted returned home from the early wars but not so from Viet Nam forward. Too many of the stories told of the soldiers heroic fights but eventually lost their lives in battle. It was very sobering.

Indian River, MI is a jumping off point for our exploration of Cheboygan, Mackinaw city and Mackinac Island. We’d hoped to be closer to the area but everything was booked weeks out.  Apparently, it’s a bit popular. As it turned out, the location was perfect for the other places we also ended up visiting.

We were craving some trout fishing, so we headed to the Fly Shop in Boyne, MI on the Western shore of Lake Michigan.  We met Drew who’s a wonderful guide/storekeeper who shared a lot of information about several local trout streams.  Of course we had to buy some more flys too. He told us about a great little spot near the Dept of Natural Resources office on the Pigeon River.   The Pigeon River also flows about a mile from our campground. At any rate, we headed out to a couple places near the DNR that seemed promising. We also fished near the campground and on the Boyne River which was a beautiful spot.  None of the gorgeous places were yielding any fish for us.  John often told me, there’s no fish in these rivers.  Throughout our travels this year, water levels are low and fish aren’t easy to find with the hot summer. So we decided we would book a charter for our last day. But first we had some fun activities to experience.

We went back to Boyne City because we had noticed a really cool feature when we were there before, and we wanted to check it out.  They have an enormous suspension bridge that spans across the ski area called Skywalk. It’s a little wobbly but a nice stroll after the ski lift you take to get to it. I cannot begin to describe the views from up there.  Pictures just don’t do it justice. The volunteers who were admitting people on and off were advising folks (children) not to jump while crossing. On our return crossing, we stopped for ice cream before heading down again.

We drove to Mackinaw city.  This is the town you go to to get to Mackinac Island because that’s where all the really big attractions are. But for this particular day, we focused on Mackinaw. We took a tour of the USCGC Mackinaw which is a 290-foot former Coast Guard icebreaker on exhibit as a museum ship at the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum. She was built during World War II to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months across The Great Lakes and decommissioned in 2006. Imagine, a lake as big as Lake Huron frozen solid all winter!

Upon leaving the ship, we saw the Ironworkers parade go by so stopped to watch. The International Ironworkers Festival is held every year to recognize the men and women who constructed the Mackinaw Bridge.

We toured the Mackinaw Bridge Museum which is in the upstairs area of a restaurant amongst souvenir shops.  It felt like a museum garage sale but it was literally packed with mementos and relics related to the iron industry and the construction of the bridge.  There were videos running both in the downstairs shop window and on an old tv in one of the museum rooms. It was so cool!  After that, we ordered  a sign for our RV and headed to Cheboygan.

We found the fishing charter we wanted that was recommended by the marina manager there who gave us a business card. We would call them later to schedule.  Then we went to the Cheboygan Lock and Dam. Now this little place was cool because I had only seen a big lock in the Seattle area. This was a mini lock for river traffic.  We watched as party boats and fishing groups moved in and out of the locks. The two older gentlemen let us get close enough for the best views for pictures. The 2 men were the lock handlers and allowed us into the Employee’s Only area to watch and take photos.

We finally decided to visit Mackinac Island since the weather was fine and we had a whole day to goof off. We boarded the ferry to cross to the island and enjoyed the captain making jokes. When we got to the island, we wanted to find our friend Nick Hedrick.  When John first started bike riding, Nick worked in the bike shop he went to and since has shared some of his adventures bike packing around the country. Now Nick works on the island in the summers and then has winters off to do what he wants. Anyway, we found him and he told us a few things about the island. John and he arranged for a bike ride before we left the island. Then we hit the tours. Nick was the mechanic at Performance Bicycles in Peoria when Teri persuaded me to start riding. He left the store before it closed and moved to Mackinac Island. Now he is the manager of the largest bicycle rental shop on the Island. The shop does about 1,000 rentals per day. Nick has the responsibility of keeping them all in sound working order.

After a quick breakfast we boarded a two horse drawn carriage that took us to a few attractions with stops for as long as we needed.  Of course the drivers were full of interesting stories and humor but the first driver we had was really funny. We rode through downtown first and saw many quaint boutiques and shops.  Then we went up hill into a more wooded section where we stopped at the Surrey Hills Museum. There are several beautiful carriages from the turn of the century that were used when the wealthy families traveled the island. There is a butterfly conservatory there on the same grounds.  The tour continued to Arch Rock. Arch Rock is a beautiful natural limestone formation and one of the most photographed spots on Mackinac Island. Finally, we got off at Fort Mackinaw to end our carriage ride.  We were met at the gate by a boy scout who welcomed us politely. The boy scouts stay in barracks during the summer at the fort and are assigned to various duties. We walked back to town and found our ferry berth almost ready to depart for the return trip to Mackinaw City. Once we pulled into port, we stopped by the shop we ordered our sign from and picked it up.

Before we left the area Nick and I rode at the Boyne Highlands Bike Park. This is a ski area in the winter and bike trails in the summer. We rode the ski lift up the mountain numerous times and rolled down the trails. Nick was much more of a daredevil than I was as he was taking jumps that I won’t do even in my dreams. A 5 minute lift ride and a 10 minute ride down and repeat. This was not my favorite style of riding. I much prefer the cross country style.

On another day, Teri and I had stopped off at the Bod B Banwell Family Nature Preserve. There are trails cut through the Preserve suitable for hiking and biking. She hiked, I biked. The west end of the trails overlook the Pigeon River which we had tried fishing. I bumped into a young couple with their dog. Arron is testing for the Michigan State Police. He and his wife Alex were very friendly and their 8 mo old German Shepherd just wanted to play. It was interesting that the pup wanted attention from me but when another couple had come walking up the trail she barked non-stop at them in a warning bark which Alex called her ‘big girl bark’. She didn’t hurt anyone but never barked at me.

On John’s previous bike day, I had opted for a walk through the town of Petoskey. Man, that is one cute harbor town!  It has a ferry dock, lots of historic buildings, lovely boutiques and a bike path running between Bay Harbor, Petoskey and Harbor Springs.  And it just so happens so does the ferry. So I thought it would be cool to take the ferry from one town, John would ride the  bike trail there and then we’d both ferry back.  I could walk around Harbor Springs while John rides before I took the ferry. 

The only problem was that when we arrived in Harbor Springs to board, we couldn’t get a booking because it was fully booked.  So we did some sightseeing.  Harbor Springs is smaller than Petoskey but they had a nice farmers market that morning and the stroll around was nice.  John took the bike trail  over to Petoskey and I drove the car when I was done with shopping.  Then we drove back to Harbor Springs because we found out about the Tunnel of Trees.

The tunnel is a tree canopied driving route through nature parks and rustic towns. It was a little hard to find the point of origin.  So as we wandered several wrong directions, we found a really old church with the neatest signage.  Then we discovered there was a public beach lookout a short path behind the church.  We discovered one more gem along our route that was a pleasant surprise. In  the nature preserve area there was a small event and farm stand venue like no other.  Pond Hill Farm, at first sight, is just stunning with flowers everywhere and acres of gardens and green houses.  It also offers some wonderful pizza, wine and some great hiking spaces.  There are curious animals to visit and wonderful quirky things to see.  We took the tunnel of trees back to town and then called it a day.                       

We saved the best for last on our last day in Upper Michigan.  We got up in the dark and watching vigilantly for deer in the headlights, made the hour drive to Cheboygan to charter our fishing boat.  Our objective, to catch REALLY big fish.  Of course, we’d have to find room in the freezer so maybe not too big. Our captain Jack and his first mate, also Jack, met us at the dock and took no time getting on the water.  They spent some time rigging the poles and then just so quick, the first salmon hit the line.  By noon we each had our limit in both salmon and lake trout. Clearly the crew, not us, were doing all the work and had all the skills. I decided, I want to learn how to catch a salmon on my own on one of our future river fishing trips in Montana or even Alaska. Hey, a girl has to have a dream.

Top O the Morn, Iron River, WI 8.22-8.29

After a pitstop in Iron Mountain, MI, Summer Breeze Campground, we arrived in Iron River, WI at Top O’ the Morning RV and Campground.  Ever optimistic, we were going to try fishing again on a highly regarded river, the Bois Brule. Fly casting practice on the river provided other points of interest for us though. We drove out to where Lake Superior receives the Bois Brule and it was a very windy day.  The water on the lake was choppy but the mouth of the river was smooth as glass. John discovered an antique water spigot and played with it for a while.  Then we saw a quirky war memorial that someone had constructed.   Since it’s a sportsmans paradise and the park was fully booked, we had to agree to move the coach twice because of other reservations coming and going. 

What a great park! It has beautiful quiet roads for hiking which I did often and a lovely lake with lots of places for Sarge to explore.  John found terrific bike trails in the area and Sarge got lost every time he had the chance.  We didn’t catch any fish but boy we tried every spot DNR told us about.  Still, in such gorgeous country, it was worth the effort.

We drove into Duluth, MN for a train ride.  Duluth is an industrial city but they managed to carve out a pretty decent route to offer a slow train for tourists. We listened to a recorded history and praise of all things Duluth along the way.  The hosts made conversation with guests to encourage enthusiasm and it was an enjoyable trip. 

Our final excursion in the area was to Ashland.  Our energy was a little low but we made the best of it.  After a quick breakfast, we started at the visitor’s center which was an incredibly well-designed facility. It featured a gift shop and a museum of the natural and physical features of the area on two levels of the building.  It also has a rooftop lookout to view the surrounding nature preserve.  You can look down on the pond and see the fish at the water’s edge.  Then we drove into Ashland to see the 21 murals throughout the city. The community began in the 1950’s contracting with local artists to design images that reflected community values, industry and commercial interests. The downtown historic buildings were a neat addition to the journey through.

Here are some interesting things I have noted while traveling. Folks in the south (GA, TN, AR) tended to be more friendly. In the park, people would walk by and say high and strike up a conversation. As we moved north, there was less and less of that. At one park, there was a family camped next to us. As I was setting up, the dad/husband was sitting in his chair on the patio with his head in his phone. I said Hi and he looked up, said hi and buried his head again. We never spoke again for the several days we were there. One morning, they were all sitting at the picnic table on their patio. I looked to them several times trying to make eye contact and they completely ignored me. This is not what I’m used to in campgrounds. If you own a vehicle more than about 10 years old, it has rust damage to the rocker panels, the wheel wells and fenders. And lastly, there are so many cities in this country with duplicate names: Superior, AZ/WI. Cleveland OH/GA. Iron River MI/WI. Phoenix AZ/OR. Grand Rapids MI, MN. That is just a short list that I can recall. As we drove through Michigan we were rarely on an Interstate. Usually we were on a US or state highway. There are no truck stops such as Loves, Pilot, Flying J as you would see on the interstate. However many of the gas stations had truck diesel bays separate from the car gas pumps as you would see in a typical truck stop.

Blueberry Hills, Deer River, MN 8.29-8.31

Our final stop for the month was to visit friends from John’s past, Rob and Bridget Marble. As it turns out, it’s now Rob, Bridget and four adopted kids.  As if they don’t already have their hands full. They have a nice little homestead in Deer River, MN with lots of projects to keep Rob busy.  The man has so many irons in the fire and lots of property to play with on 60 or so acres. He’s living his dream. I met Rob and Bridget around 2007 when we were both members of the AZXJ Association. An XJ is the old school Jeep Cherokee. We had many a fun 4×4 trip together with lots of other folks. Years later, Rob came to work for me at GateWay Community College before he and Bridget moved to MN. They are doing well for themselves. Teri fell in love with the vegetable gardens as she can’t wait to start growing her own when we settle down.

We managed to get in some sightseeing in the town and a hike/bike day that was invigorating. We shared a nice dinner in town with the Marble’s on our second day there then said our goodbyes to the them and to our August adventures.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this months travels as much as we did. Stay Safe. See you next month.

John & Teri

Welcome to Georgia. You may remember Mike and Marie Colvin from last years visit to Georgia. Mike and I worked together at Chandler PD. They moved to Georgia from California a little over a year ago. A week before July 4th, Mike had called and asked for assistance. He along with his friend Casey were tasked with providing the town’s fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day. They needed an extra hand and he asked if I’d be willing to help out. Of course I would. Mike explained that he and Casey along with 2 others had provided a fireworks display for the Church last year. They were approached by the Town officials and were asked to provide this years display for the entire town as the Church display was better than the town display. Mike and Casey enthusiastically said yes. Casey obtained all the fireworks and they were ready. Teri and I arrived in Claxton, GA on Monday afternoon and set up camp in Mike and Marie’s front yard. On Tuesday, July 4, we all fished in their pond and that night we blew things up. There were bottle rocket launcher tubes set up on a flatbed trailer and were screwed in so they wouldn’t fall. My job was to load the tubes with the fuses visible and Mike and Casey would go down the line lighting the fuses. The goal was to have a constant display of fireworks. Everything worked well, for the most part. I had to be mindful of which fuses had been lit so my hand wasn’t near a lit fuse when it went off. I’m partial to keeping all my fingers. I couldn’t keep up with them so Mike started loading tubes as well. In the end, we had set off 710 bottle rockets for about 15 minutes of continuous fireworks. We were approached by numerous people that evening and days later who professed their thanks and appreciation for a great fireworks display. We experienced heavy rain in the afternoon of each day but it was a pleasant rain that took the heat out of the day. Over the course of a week I took the jeep to Statesboro to have it serviced, we went to Jekyll Island where we hung out on the beach then took a drive to St Simon Island. I joined Mike for his standing Saturday morning breakfast with his pals and we talked about the fireworks and various other goings-on in the area. They each welcomed me back and hoped we’d visit again. The waitress knew what everyone wanted for breakfast, except me. Everyone in the small diner were friendly and it was a very friendly, relaxing atmosphere. I had to call John Baker (John & Son Mobile Camper Repair) again for another RV repair. Last year John had to fix a slide-out motor. John and his wife arrived on Saturday to fix a non-responsive co-pilot chair. Teri likes to ride with the footrest extended for her comfort and this is also where Sarge likes to ride. On our previous stop, the power had quit at the chair so the footrest would not retract. This is a problem because the footrest blocks the entry door. Neither I nor the previous mechanic nor Mike could identify the solution. The problem was that there was no electrical power to the chair. John located a fuse box that I was unaware of, reset the circuit breaker and the chair was fixed. We had a great relaxing week.

The next stop was Helen, GA. We stayed at the Hearthstone Cabins and RV Park. This park was not what we were expecting. It was more of a national forest service campground than an RV park. Our motorhome was a bit big for the park. We arrived from what we later determined was the wrong direction. The road from downtown to the park was a very winding and narrow road. Fortunately we didn’t experience any oncoming traffic as this road was about 1 1/2 lanes wide. I don’t know how we would have maneuvered past any other vehicles. Finally we reached the entrance to the park. The road had a slight downward curve to the right and the turn into the park was less than 90 degrees. The short version is that I blocked the entire road, had to unhook the jeep while blocking the road and had to do a 4 point turn to get the motorhome into the park lane and off the road. Then we had to wait for the owners to show up and guide us in. Liz is one of the owners and she did an amazing job of making sure we were comfortably parked in our spot. This took some maneuvering to get backed into our spot but we got it done. The back 4 ft of the motorhome was hanging off the edge of a bank. When the stabilizer jacks were lowered, they just sank into the ground about a foot. You might remember the same problem last month if you read the previous post. Liz said she would get some rocks to fill the holes and she returned shortly with several buckets full of river rocks to fill the holes. Then we lowered the jacks again and all was well. This park seemed to have a lot of long term campers but everyone we saw were friendly. We spent a week in the area. We visited Unicoi State Park for some mtb riding and hiking and fishing. While riding the South trail I came across a stream that I decided not to cross after looking for an easy crossing. The water was shin deep and I didn’t feel like riding in wet shoes and socks. The north trail was just as scenic but provided some excitement. This day I was the nail and not the hammer. I was cruising along downhill stretch until I wasn’t. The trail was part of a creek bed that was rocky and sandy. As I bounced along, the front tire buried itself into some soft sand and stopped abruptly on a rock. The front wheel and handlebars turned sharply to the right and I was airborne. I landed on my left side. First thing I did was check the bike. If you know, you know. The bike was ok. I had some scrapes on my leg but otherwise I was ok. I finished the ride without further mishap. The next day I found and felt the bruising on the hip and legs. We fished the river running through the park and Teri had some success. We took a drive into Cleveland, GA for groceries and stopped for lunch. There were a lot of fast food joints but few diners.

I have probably mentioned it before, but we continue to workout while we are traveling. We do 2 days of strength work per week and one of those days we have a Zoom workout with Kevin. We setup the iPad on a stand and he can see the entire front interior area of the motorhome. That is where we set up our workout mats, weights, TRX straps, Bosu Ball, Stability Ball and elastic bands. He is a slave driver. He makes sure we get the reps but also critiques our form. Kevin is great for providing positive reinforcement which helps keep us motivated.

We took several day trips while in the area as well as some fishing trips. Anna Ruby Falls is an amazing site. There is a 1/2 mile hike on paved trail to the falls, with some steep inclines but the views are worth the effort. Watching the water cascading off the cliffs was spell binding. There are actually 2 rivers that make up the falls and converge into a single river. On one of our day trips we kept seeing signs for Brasstown Bald. We had no idea what this was. As we approached the turnoff, we made a hasty decision to check it out. Hang on as we made a quick turn. As we drove we started climbing a steep grade and above us, on the top of the mountain, we could see a large round structure. We found out this is the top of a mountain in which you can see 4 states (GA, TN, NC, SC). The top of the mountain is the highest point in Georgia at just under 4800 ft. The round structure is a fire watch tower. We did not have the opportunity to climb up into the tower.

Helen, GA is a small, tourist attraction town with a strong Bavarian heritage. The shops are tourist souvenir style where you can buy almost anything with Helen printed on it. We did stop for lunch and the Bavarian pretzel and beer were delicious. For a bit of history, we stopped in at Nora Mills. This was a grain grinding mill that was water and wheel powered. Here they would grind up the grain to make cornmeal, grits and whole grains. In the store you had the opportunity to buy much of this. Betty’s Country store is a must see. A log cabin style grocery store is the primary grocery store in Helen. Down the road was the Fly shop. We stopped in to find out the best places to fish and the best type of flies to use. Several times we fished the Chattahoochee River near the RV park with varying success. One day I’d catch some, the next day Teri would. We couldn’t seem to walk away with both of us winning on any particular day. Our last day trip was to Murphy, NC to the Piney Knob Trails for a bike ride and hike.

As we left Helen, we wondered how many more countries we would visit without leaving the U.S. So far we have been to Switzerland (Ouray, CO, the Switzerland of America), Holland with the Dutch Heritage in Orange City, IA and now Germany in Helen. Next month you’ll learn of another German stop in Frankenmuth, MI.

As we continued moving northward our next stop was Heiskill, TN north of Knoxville. This stop had some drama to it. One morning we let Sarge out of the motorhome around 7am like we do almost every day. It surprised us that we hadn’t seen him by noon as he normally checks in around 9 or 10am for a snack. We tried to call him to no avail. His tracker was not connecting to Teri’s phone indicating he was out of bluetooth range and had not connected to any other type of wifi or bluetooth device. The campground is surrounded by heavy woods and undergrowth. We figured he was hunkered down as it had been raining with thunder and lightning all morning. We went out into the woods on a trail and called for him with no luck. That night we didn’t sleep well. I hadn’t realized how attached I am to him. We tried to console each other and discussed the various options. The next morning he was still missing. We walked the trail that surrounds the camp calling for him without success. I bushwacked my way through the forest and undergrowth until I came to several homes. I saw a couple in their back yard and approached. I explained why I was bothering them and they couldn’t have been more friendly. They were Ed and Donna Paris. We talked for bit and they said they would keep an eye out for Sarge. Teri had created a missing cat flyer so we drove into Knoxville to have several copies made and laminated. We mentioned to several of our neighbors that he had gone on a walkabout and hadn’t returned. That evening as we were sitting at the dining table about 7pm (Sarge has been gone for 36 hours) I checked Teri’s Find My phone app. It showed Sarge had connected to a wifi an hour earlier. He was about 1 mile away as the crow flies but it was more like 2 miles as he had to climb and descend the ridge. The tracker had connected at a house on the other side of Bullrun Ridge. We excitedly jumped into the Jeep and drove around the ridge to the house. There are no trails, paths, roads, etc over the ridge. We pulled into the driveway and walked up to the front door. Les and Meg answered my knocking on the door. I apologized for bothering them so late but said we were looking for our lost cat. Before I could say another word she asked if it was a white and black cat. I said yes and she said they had seen one in the morning out near their vehicles. They grabbed jackets and we went looking. As soon as we got near their Jeep while calling for Sarge, he started to announce his presence. We were ecstatic. Sarge was excited to see us and buried his face in the small bowl of food I put down for him. Les and Meg Lockhart explained they had seem him that morning near their garage but didn’t check him close as they believed he probably belonged to one of the neighbors. They don’t have a neighbor within sight of their house. We chatted for a bit and were amazed at the amount of country he had traveled. We all slept better that night.

One afternoon as we pulled into our camp, a vehicle pulled up behind us. The driver asked if we were from AZ. I said yes and he said they were too. They were from the “Dirty T” as he put it. He asked if I was Law Enforcement as he had seen my Thin Blue Line flag and Public Safety license plate. I told him I was retired out of Chandler. He said he had retired from Rural Metro in Tucson and they had moved to TN to try something new. They were Eli and Deb. After chatting for a bit they moved on. They are currently living in their RV while looking for a piece of property to install a manufactured home. We wish you luck.

We spent several days fishing in the area. Some mornings were beyond words. The mist coming off the water just made everything seem so surreal. Additionally we scouted several other streams and found some beautiful sights.

There is no way you can drive your home down the highways without minor issues, as you’ve previously read. Well this stop was no different. When we arrived I attempted to extend the awning and noticed it wasn’t extending properly. Without boring you with all the details, there was a tension cord that had become caught on a bracket that hindered the awning extension. I was able to unhook the cord and the awning extended properly. However I found that the tension cord keeps a rod in place, centered on the awning. That rod was no longer centered. Without correcting this problem, the awning would not close properly and we couldn’t have that. I tried for over an hour to figure out how to re-center the rod. A gentleman from another camp stopped over and offered his assistance. He said he didn’t know anything about it, but was willing to help. He did some internet searching while I was fiddling with various options. Neither of us could figure anything out. Later that day, he and his wife moved on in their travels. I certainly appreciated the offer of assistance. I ended up calling Travis, the owner of Lively Mobile RV Repair. He agreed to stop out and work on it once the weather cooperated. A couple days later, he was at the park as agreed and spent an hour working on the awning and had it repaired. I would highly recommend his services if you are in need of mobile repair work.

As part of my workout program I spend time on the bike trainer. I have a smart trainer which replaces the rear wheel of the gravel bike. This allows me to keep spinning my wheels without getting anywhere (pun intended). This allows me to ride at a defined pace or power or I can do a virtual ride in which the power and speed will change upon the change of the virtual geography. I always wanted to ride the Tour De France without actually traveling there. On one of my ‘rides’ one of the other campers approached and asked about the trainer. He had never seen this type. His name was Will. He and his wife Lona were staying in the park for the summer. They are bluegrass musicians and song writers. They spend their time traveling to bluegrass festivals where they compete and participate in the events. Over the course of our stay we visited several times.

One of our side trips was the Museum of Appalachia. This is a replica of a small town that could have been situated in the Appalachian Mountains. Several cabins of historic nature have been relocated to this park along with a hall of memories and the history of the music of the area. We saw 2 woodchucks and we had to ask what they were as we had never seen a woodchuck. How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I still don’t know. This one was munching on a nut that had fallen out of the tree. Teri had to say hi to the miniature horses and donkeys before we left. There was a motorcycle on display in one of the buildings. Imagine my surprise as I read that it had been carved out of wood with a pocket knife. Amazing.

After arriving in the Georgetown, KY area we took a walk through the historic downtown area. Our initial reaction was not a positive one. We stood on the corner of an uncontrolled intersection with a marked crosswalk. The traffic was steady but not one driver acknowledged we were waiting to cross and it took 5 minutes before we could find a break in traffic. This was not the level of courtesy we had experienced further south. The weather was hot and humid with 86 degree temps 65% humidity that the weather app said felt like 91. There were few trees compared to the Knoxville area. We popped into a small gift shop and while Teri walked through the shop, the young man behind the counter started a polite conversation. As he asked about our travels he commented that he doesn’t drive yet so he couldn’t fully understand some of the nuances of our trip. For being such a young man, I would guess 15ish, he asked very intelligent questions and provided us with some suggestions as to sites to see. It was very refreshing. There was a small orchard store near the campground that we stopped at. It was staffed by 2 middle-aged men. The first was sitting on the porch and didn’t even acknowledge our presence as we approached. As we walked through the store, the second was behind the counter and didn’t say a word until I said hi. We were quite surprised by this as we had experienced a very different level of friendliness in GA and TN.

We had stopped in this area to tour Lexington. There were a lot of amazing historical buildings and historical markers all over. We dropped into the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Park and walked the battle lines seeing the hillside as the armies would have seen it during the Civil War. There were interpretive signs identifying the view and we found a cannon set on a hillside. There were 2 memorial markers on site. One was a memorial to the Confederate Soldiers of which many are buried in a mass grave on the site. The other was for the Union soldiers.

The biking and hiking in this area was disappointing. The roads are very narrow without any shoulder so I felt very uncomfortable just thinking about riding on the road. Teri wouldn’t even consider walking along the road. I did find 1 mountain biking area. I made a mistake at the entrance and found myself on an equestrian trail. About 15 minutes into the ride I was disgusted. The trail was steep, muddy and marked up by horse hoofs. I called Teri and said I quit because the trails are so unmaintained and damaged it wasn’t worth the effort. As I took a side trail to get out of the park, I found a trail that criss-crossed the one I was on. That looked more like a mtb trail. I took a left and continued riding. I’m glad I did. I called Teri and said, I had been on the wrong trail but now I had found the right one. It made all the difference. This trail was well built and maintained and was a lot of fun.

We were disappointed in our visit. We had expected there to be plenty of riding and hiking areas as well as the history. It just didn’t meet our expectations. The weather was hot and humid and we suffered through a rain downpour. This was not one of our favorite stops. The campground, Whispering Hills RV Park, was a nice one and one we would stay at again if we were to visit the area again. We decided to leave a couple days earlier than we had planned due to the lack of interest in the area. As we pulled out of our site and were exiting the park, we drove over a small speed bump. The back end of the coach bounced more than usual and just didn’t feel right. We stopped at the park exit and I got out and walked around the coach. It become obvious right away that the rear airbags had not inflated. After doing some quick checking and not being able to correct it, we pulled back into our camp spot to regroup. One of the camp hosts guided us as we backed into the camp site. I got out of the coach to check to make sure we were situated in the space properly and I noticed that the bags had inflated. I thanked the camp host for backing us in and for correcting the airbag issue and we pulled out and were back on the road. As of this writing, we’ve had no further issues and I don’t know what had caused the problem.

We then zoomed into Wapakoneta, OH. This is the home town of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. We toured the Armstrong Museum which we found fascinating. The roads had changed in that there was now a shoulder that would support bike riding. There were no mtb trails in the area. Each day I rode past the fields of corn and soy beans and marveled at how much farm land there was in the area. On one of my rides I rolled through the center of town. A police officer was parked near the town park with his window rolled down. I pulled up and asked if he had a few minutes. The officer was Joe Welker. We then began to chat about his work in this small town compared to my career. I noticed he was a K9 and we chatted about his dog, Fox. He opened the kennel door which allowed Fox to poke his head into the drivers area. Fox poked his head forward and laid it on Joe’s shoulder. It was obvious this young, large german shepherd loved Joe. Joe let Fox out of the car and Fox eagerly walked up to me to get some attention. Joe displays his dog at various school and community functions on a regular basis. Seeing Fox’s disposition I can see why he would be a great asset for developing community support for the PD. I wouldn’t want to meet Fox in a dark alley however. Joe suggested we stop and see the Temple of Tolerance in downtown before we left the area. We said our goodbye’s and I rode home. About an hour after getting home, there was a knock on the door. It was Joe. He brought over a Wapokoneta PD shoulder patch, cloth badge and some stickers for trading. Of course we had to take another photo. The park owner drove through while we were talking and fearfully asked if everything was ok. He said they don’t see the police in the park very often. We explained we were just comparing stories. The owner invited Joe and other officers to visit anytime. We also stumbled upon a county fair and took a walk through admiring the animals and the food trucks. On one of my morning rides, I couldn’t believe the view of the sun as it rose into the sky.

While we were in the area we visited the Bicycle Museum of America. This is a private collection of bicycles spanning the decades. Some of the bikes were the predecessor of e-bikes and shaft drive bikes. PeeWee Herman’s bike was on display as well. Teri entered her very first bicycle race while touring the museum. A machine in which you spin a handle to make the bicycle go around in a circle was on display. There are 2 handles so 2 people can race their bicycle against each other. The Museum was next door to the Canal Lock 1 of the Miami-Erie canal. Boats would reach this lock and would be turned around to head back down the river/canal. One afternoon we found the Temple of Tolerance. A man had turned his enormous back yard into a world of stone art. He had dedicated his “garden” to giving troubled souls a place to decompress and to find solace. His career is that of an archeologist and he has a number a newspaper clippings posted that explain his mission of peace. The path through the yard was lined with stone walls and a tunnel of vegetation. There were artifacts from around the world. The Temple was a mound of rocks that had been piled up about 15 feet high. It was a very relaxing stroll. One of the things I noticed both last year and this year is that the streets of Ohio towns are lined with banners of military service people. The street light poles throughout the towns fly banners commemorating the service men and women from the town and from the area.

As we finished our stay we moved north to Michigan. But as I’ve said previously, that’s a story for next month.

Thanks for riding along.

Stay Safe.

The month of June started with us landing in the Fayetteville, Bentonville, Bella Vista area of Arkansas. We camped at Hog Valley RV & Treehouse Park near Fayetteville which is about 10 minutes south of Bentonville. Our first day there was the 2023 Bike Fest, a mountain bike festival in Bentonville. It was a collection of Bicycle and bike parts vendors galore along with food vendors. There was a jump park setup where riders could exhibit their level of jumping and airborne tricks. There had been a cyclocross race just prior to us arriving along with a short mtb race. Trials riders were practicing their craft on man made obstacles of rocks, tree stumps and tree logs. If you’re not familiar with trials riding, it is very different. The bikes look like small BMX bikes, something your pre teen would ride. There is no seat in most cases or the seat is attached to the frame. The riders do not sit on the seat, they stand the entire time. The object is to navigate the course of obstacles without falling off the obstacle or the bike in the shortest amount of time. These riders would jump their bike from the ground up onto a log that was 4 ft in the air, traverse the log, come to a stop and hop over to a rock, landing on 1 tire, stand there until they had their balance and hop to another obstacle. Their skill is amazing. There was to be an international championship event the following day, but we did not attend.

My first mtb ride in this mountain biking mecca was on Mt Kessler. I consider myself to be an intermediate rider and mainly ride the blue (intermediate) trails. Bentonville takes blue trails to another level. The blue trails on Mt Kessler would have been black diamond trails in the west. It was a great ride and workout. While I was riding, Teri was hiking. She found a turtle that needed some assistance before it got run over on the trail.

As we said previously, life doesn’t stop because we are on the road. My doctor had requested that I get some lab work done so we arranged for that. The windshield on the Jeep had cracked from the cold weather and snow in Colorado, so we got the glass replaced.

The Phat Tire bike shop has 4 different shops in the region. I stopped into the one in Bella Vista. The 2 guys in the shop were super helpful on describing some awesome places to ride. The next day I rode the Back 40 in Bella Vista. This was a 25 mile loop, blue trail that was more in line with the type of blue trails in the west.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include Sarge in the activities. He eats breakfast as soon as we get up which is usually between 5 and 6 am. Then when it’s light outside, we’ll let him out to wander. If we don’t let him out, he whines for half an hour. Typically he will check back in about every 1-2 hours. Sometimes we have to track him down. While we were here, he caught 2 baby bunnies. They did not appear to be injured and we released them into the woods at the park. In the evenings, Sarge will crash on the floor while we watch TV, or work on the blog. When he’s ready for bed, he is a pest. He crawls up into Teri’s arms or crawls across the dining table to put his face in my face. If I’m working on the computer, he will walk across the keyboard so I can’t work. Then it’s bedtime and he curls up on the bed with us.

On another day we hit the trails. Teri completed an 8 mile hike while I was riding. As I was nearing the last couple of miles on this 25 mile loop, I came across a couple who were hiking with their dog. As I started to pass them, I realized that I recognized the male. I stopped and immediately realized it was one of the guys from the shop from the day before. I chatted with him and his wife for several minutes before moving on. (I’m sorry I don’t remember your name if you’re reading this).

This was the 2nd longest stop in our travels as we were there for 2 weeks. What did we do? Well, bike, hike, fish and sightsee. We toured the downtown areas of Bentonville, Fayetteville and Bella Vista. We drove out to Beaver Dam and Beaver Creek. We tried to fish Beaver Lake and got poured on when it started raining. We took a drive to Devils Dam which is a rock dam built by the CCC. There was some amazing architecture to see and we got rained on. We then sought out Natural Dam, again a rock dam which provides a water play area for the locals. Lee Creek was a hike, bike and fish destination. Of course we also got our scheduled workouts done so we could keep Kevin happy. My last mtb ride before we left the area was Centennial Park. The park was designed to increase tourism and was built upon hearing it would be the host for the 2021 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup. The 2022 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup and the 2022 UCI World Cup races were both held at this location as well. Having the opportunity to ride on some internationally acclaimed trails was a treat for me.

Several days before we left the park, we finally met our neighbors. They are very active as we are so our paths did not cross until this time. Kenny, Natalie and 2 daughters and Maggie (their labradoodle) are from Florida but are in the area as Kenny is working here. We had a great time visiting with them our last few days and wished we could have met them sooner.

We decided we really wanted an opportunity to fish before we left the area, so we booked a site at the Town of Beaver RV park located at Table Rock Lake. All the routing maps I use which show RV friendly routes said there was a weight limit and low clearance trying to get to the park and our motorhome was too heavy and too tall. A phone call to the park confirmed that we could get there by following a specific route as the park was before the restricted bridge. As we turned onto the road that led to the park, there was a sign that told trucks and RV’s to turn around due to the restrictions. Confused, we turned around and drove back to the nearest development. I checked the routing maps again and still could not see how to access the park. Another call to the park and they confirmed that the park entrance was prior to the restricted bridge. We turned around and retraced our path. We eventually got to the park but not without some concerning moments. While driving the extremely narrow and twisting road we hit a tree branch that was hanging down into the road. How this had not been knocked off prior to us passing under it, I don’t know. We did not sustain any damage fortunately. Then there was a sign across the road indicating the low clearance of 11 ft 6 inches. Our motorhome is 12’10”. Yep, the sign is the clearance height of the bridge and we hit that with a loud clang. Again, no damage fortunately and we were able to roll into our site for the next several days.

We pulled out our fly fishing rods and waded into the lake/river to fish. The water was surprisingly warm. I was amazed to see some type of building foundation sitting under about 2 feet of water off the bank. I never did learn what had been there. We learned that one of the best places to catch trout was at the Beaver Dam tailwaters. These are the river waters below the Beaver Dam. As the water is coming from several hundred feet below the surface, the water is cold and perfect habitat for trout. We put our waders on and wandered out into the river. After a couple of hours, we had caught several fish but couldn’t keep any. As they are trying to build the trout population, any fish between 13 and 16 inches have to be released back into the river. Can you guess how many of our fish were in the slot? Yep, all of them. But we had fun. Then the warning horn sounded indicating that the TVA (TN Valley Authority) was going to be releasing water out of the dam to generate power and we had about 15 minutes to get out the river before the water started to rise and the CFS increased dramatically. The water will typically rise 4-6 ft when they are generating. As we left, we decided to stop in at the Beaver Dam Store to stock up on some flies and get more local information on fishing. We learned the clerks name was Carl Caso and that he was a guide. On a whim, we asked if he’d be able and willing to take us out. He said if he could find someone to staff the store for him on Sunday, he’d be happy to guide us. It all worked out and we met him at 630am Sunday morning. We loaded into his boat and he took us up river to several places where we got out of the boat and waded in the water to fish. By noon, we had caught our limit (10) of trout and had released almost as many. Carl not only knew the locations to find fish, he provided hands on instruction on casting, tying flies and lots of other instruction. As you’ll recall we had Connor to guide us in NM on the San Juan and we thought he was fantastic. Carl was just as fantastic as a guide and we had a great time.

The height and weight restrictions? That was a single lane bridge with a 10,000 lb weight limit and an 11′ clearance. The ‘road’ was still wood planks set on steel beams. We were a bit nervous driving over it in the Jeep but there were no mishaps. There is no way the motorhome would fit. As I said, the motorhome is over a foot taller than the bridge height and 30,000 lbs heavier than the restrictions. The bridge spans Beaver River and Table Rock Lake.

Eventually it was time to leave. As we drove out of the park to retrace the 5 mile drive back to the highway, we drove very slow. The road was very narrow, twisting with blind corners and no shoulders. Several times Teri thought we were going to drop the tires off the pavement as she looked out the window. As we drove, cars started to pile up behind us and there was no way for them to pass and no place for me to pull over. As we approached the intersection of the state highway, I saw a pull off on the right as we rounded a corner. There had been a lot going on as we approached this corner and I became distracted. As I pulled to the right to pull off the roadway to allow the cars to pass, the passenger rear dipped hard to the right and we felt a hard bump. I looked in the mirror to see the jeep bouncing onto the shoulder. As we stopped, the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) started beeping loudly and continuously. I got out of the motorhome to see what had happened. The rear tires had dropped off the pavement and there was a lip of about 4″ that became a small gully. In coming off the pavement and into the gully, the bead of the outside rear dual tire had broken and now the tire was no longer inflated. Worse, the aluminum wheel was badly bent and no longer usable. 4 hours later, we were back on the road. JD from Natural State Towing was one person we talked to who said he’d be able to help if Josh could not help us. Josh from J&M Mobile Tire Service was able to source a wheel and tire for us and drove out to meet us and fixed everything. This incident really hurt my pride as the entire situation was of my doing and allowing distractions to override my concentration. But as with all of our adventures, everything worked out and we are still traveling and exploring.

Our next stop was at the RiverTime RV Park in Van Buren, MO. A very small community but very welcoming. As we pulled into the park Treva and Terry met us and guided us in. Terry and Treva are the owners of the park. They currently have 15 RV spaces and plans for another 15. I met up with Terry the next morning and he explained that he and Treva had just purchased the property about a year ago and were in the process of building it. He described his vision for the park and Teri and I provided some initial thoughts. The park will be the primary location for the town’s July 4th celebration this year. They told us we needed to check out Big Spring before we left, so we did. I couldn’t believe the amount of water that was flowing from underground and out of the rocks in the side of the hill. The entire river water was supplied by this underground spring. We tried to fish the Current River in the area but it was flowing too fast.

As we rolled eastward, the agriculture and the landscape changed from fields of grass (hay) and soy beans to corn. There were fields of corn as far as the eye could see. We also found ourselves following the Trail of Tears Auto Route. We learned more about this later but knew basically that this was the trail the Cherokee Indians had travelled when they were removed from their homes and marched westward.

As we drove to our next stop, Elk Harbor RV Park in Cumberland City, TN, we established our landmark for the week. 4 towering smoke stacks that are about 1000 ft high with steam coming out of the top of 2 of them. These columns shot the steam exhaust from the Tennessee Valley Authority steam powered power plant. I believe these stacks were the tallest in the state. The TVA provides the power and electricity for the state. There were several signs in the area advising of hot water waste being discharged into the Cumberland River. However, there was a designated fishing area alongside the power plant. We didn’t try it. Our RV space was large but the ground was soft. When I put the stabilizer jacks down, they merely sank into the ground creating a hole about 6 inches deep. I retracted the jacks and put 5 1 inch tall 12×12 inch square plastic blocks under the jacks and tried to level the coach again. It was better, but the blocks sank as well. When it was time to leave, I couldn’t pull the blocks from the ground. There was a small forest of trees behind the coach and Sarge had a great time roaming through it. This park is not on our list of favorites. We fished several areas but didn’t catch any fish. In our travels, we came across the Loretta Lynn Ranch. There was a Jeep event going on that weekend and there were Jeeps all over the place. Topless, doorless, lifted, stock they had everything. Some were covered in mud, others clean. Everyone looked like they were having a grand time. We saw signs for various events, such as hill climbing, mud bog and others. We did not partake. We also toured the Ft Donelson Battlefield. It was interesting that the walls of the fort were a mound of dirt that was 12 ft high on the outside. The Confederate Army decided to save money and time by not building a log fence. The tour was an auto tour, where you drove to the various stations and listened to the narration on your phone. The amount of property that was encompassed by the fort was amazing. The last stop of the tour was the hotel where the Confederate Army surrendered the fort and relinquished possession of the fort to the Union Army. We also took a side trip to Dunbar Cave State Park. A natural cave in the rock provided 60 degree air conditioning going back to the 30’s. This became a hangout for folks on the hot muggy nights to sit, visit and dance in ‘air conditioning’. Some big name acts performed here as well as the Big Bands from that era.

I was able to get a mtb ride completed in nearby Clarksville, TN but found there weren’t a lot of riding in this area. There was not any gravel riding and the roads were not made for safe riding.

Then it was time for our reunion with my cousins. As we made our way into the Sevierville (say severe ville, not seever ville) and Pigeon Forge, TN we were met with a sea of traffic. 3 lanes each direction with cars stacked as far as the eye could see. Along the sides of the road were amusement parks galore. It was sensory overload as you inched your way along the highway with the jungle of amusement parks. It remineded us of the Las Vegas Strip. Only later did we learn that this is an amusement park destination and we were here during summer school break. We spent a lot of time searching for fishing spots and found beautiful scenery but no fish. Are you starting to see a pattern? The cousins rolled into town, Rob and Donna from TN, Aunt Gladys and Teresa from TN and VA, Bethany and Aunt Gloria from NH. We missed those who couldn’t attend. The log house they rented was amazing. It was huge with 3 stories set in the forest. We had a great time visiting, catching up, sightseeing and just enjoy the company. One of the trips we took was the Cades Cove Loop road. This is a one-way road that loops through the forest with opportunities to see wildlife. At one point we stopped and could just see a glimpse of the back of a bear in the distance. We also stopped at a site called The Sinks. The road into this area had once been a railroad for the timber and lumber industry. The Sinks is a spot on the river that had been blasted open to float logs downriver to the mills. In the course of blasting the rock, a waterfall was created and below that a swimming hole. As we watched, folks would jump from the cliff about 20-30 ft above the water into the deep, cold water. Again, we enjoyed watching but no way was I jumping. We also stopped at a historic church. There were several cars in the parking lot and a group of 3 men standing near the door of the church. I asked if there was a private event happening and the one young man said there was a wedding. I asked if it was his and congratulated him when he said it was. He was called away and I was left with another young man who I assumed was the best man. We began talking and found out that he had worked for Mesa PD but after I had left Chandler. He currently works for the state of TN. I didn’t get his name but wished him a safe career in TN. Later, he contacted me through Instagram as I had provided him with our non-business card.

After a long weekend, it was time to say goodbye to the cousins with promises of future meetups. One thing I found disappointing was the fact that there was no bike riding in the area. No mtb, no gravel, no road. I could have gone to the top of Ober Mt to ride the ski trails but it was highly recommended that riders have a full face helmet and full pads (elbow and knee) and a bike with a lot of suspension. I don’t normally ride that style as I am considered a cross country rider (XC) and not a downhill rider so I don’t have any of that equipment and my bike isn’t built with that type of suspension. It was disappointing to be in such a beautiful area and not be able to ride it. But that is what drove us to our next stop, Ellijay, GA.

Part of our drive to Ellijay was along the Ocoee River on US 64. The road is narrow with no shoulders and very twisty. On one side is the mountain and on the other is a drop to the river. There are warning signs that vehicles may cross the centerline. We did see a tractor-trailer that had the rear axles of the trailer in our lane as it wound it’s way along the road. I was nervous as we made our way around the blind corners and was especially cautious when 18 wheelers came our way. Eventually we arrived in Ellijay, GA. Ellijay is considered the mountain biking capital of GA. I stopped in at the Cartecay Bike Shop and the fellows there were extremely helpful in identifying areas to ride mtb. If we’re ever back in the area, I will surely stop in and see them again. We had the opportunity to ride and hike several trails in the area and really enjoyed our time there. We jumped on a train for a 1 hour ride from Blue Ridge to McCaysville,GA/Copperhill, TN. These 2 towns are separated by a blue line through the center of town. Teri and I tested out a long distance, multi-state relationship for a short time as we were separated by the state line. Copperhill was established to support the copper mining industry in the area. We expected a town full of history but instead found a tourist attraction. Bars, restaurants, boutique and souvenir shops galore. We did stop into the Taccoa River Outfitters. As we entered the store, I heard a voice welcome us in. I didn’t see anyone. Then the young man stood up from behind the counter. As I stepped closer I saw what he was doing and asked if he was tying flies. He said yes he was. We told him we were just there to look through the store so he sat down to work on the fly. I asked if he minded if I watched and he graciously allowed me that pleasure. I asked several questions as he finished tying this fly. I could see a fly box on the counter and asked if he was a guide and he said he was. I presumed he ties his own flies for his guiding trips and he confirmed that. He then handed me the fly he had just finishing tying. It was exquisite. I asked if he sold them and he pointed to the display of flies in the store. I asked if he sold any such as the one he had just made and he said “No, but that one is for you”. After our 2 hour layover in town we boarded the train back to Blue Ridge. Another side trip had us on the Taccoa River Swinging bridge. This is a steel cabled suspension bridge over the Taccoa River. Across the bridge is a local favorite swimming hole. Our last stop of the day was at Expedition Bigfoot. Teri is a huge fan of Sasquatch so we had to check this out. Much like our stop in Roswell, NM where the stories of aliens make you think about other inhabited planets, the research and stories of a Sasquatch also make you think about creatures here. It was quite an interesting tour.

Before we left the area we drove to Collegedale near Chattanooga for a bike ride and hike. Afterwards we met my cousin Rob and his wife Donna for lunch before returning “home”. The drive home was on the Trail of Tears and also the Georgia Federal Highway which was used during the Civil War. As we returned back to the coach, the skies opened up and dropped buckets of water.

The Ellijay and Blue Ridge and southern Tennessee areas are ones we want to return to and spend more time. We drove out of Ellijay further south to Claxton, GA but that is a story for next month.

Stay Safe.

May is the month of mays: It may rain, it may snow, it may be sunny, it may be cloudy but we knew it was going to be an adventure. Hang on for the ride.

We got up in the morning all set to roll out of Peacock Meadows RV park in South Fork, CO with resolution to return. It was a great visit. Everything was put away and locked up, the slides were retracted, the leveling jacks were in the travel position, the Jeep was connected, Teri was in her seat and I was in mine, the only thing missing was Sarge. He was too far away for the tracker to register his location or for us to hear the musical tune it plays. 2 hours later, we found him. He had wandered further than normal and we think he was a bit anxious because when he saw me and realized it was me, he came running. Finally on the road. We took the San Juan Skyway into Silverton and then the Million Dollar Highway into Ouray as our next stop. Both of these have some amazing views but as the driver, you had better keep your eyes on the road. The road is a narrow 2 lane road with tight switchbacks. We could not find a definitive source for how the Million Dollar Highway was named although there are several suggestions such as the cost to build, the amount of gold found in the hills are just 2 of them. As we came around 1 particular corner, there was a CO State Patrol vehicle on the right shoulder with emergency lights flashing. We slowed and rounded the corner. A passenger car had veered into the canyon wall on the opposite side of the road. How it missed any oncoming traffic and didn’t flip over is a miracle. I didn’t see anything in the way of tire marks, debris or other marks on the road to suggest what happened, the old traffic/motor cop in me coming out, but then I wasn’t able to study it as there was oncoming traffic and the road was down to 1 lane at this point. The damage to the car didn’t seem severe so I am of the assumption there were no serious injuries and the Trooper was just waiting for the tow truck.

As we dropped into Ouray we were presented with a beautiful sight although I couldn’t look much, remember what I said about switchbacks. Yeah, there are several just as you come off the mountain into town. The town sits in a valley with the canyon walls towering several hundred feet above. The canyon can’t be more than a mile wide at this point. As you look through the valley you can see the snow capped mountains in the distance. Ouray is called the Switzerland of America for the way it sits in the valley. As there had been a late snow melt, there were waterfalls cascading off the canyon walls to feed into the Uncompaghre river that flows through the town and the valley. Our campsite was within 100 feet of the river in downtown.

We took a day drive into Telluride. Again, a wonderful little town that has grown from when I visited as a high schooler to ski there. As we drove into town, I could see the ski slopes dropping off the mountain into town. It used to be called The Plunge and as I recall was a black diamond run. I never skied it and haven’t been on skis since high school. It was obvious the town is built for tourism as many of the shops were closed since it was a weekday. We found this to be the norm in many small tourist driven towns. They gear up for the weekend and then take Monday and Tuesday to recover.

Back in Ouray we walked the town. We tried to hike to Box Canyon Falls, but it was closed for maintenance. Again, they are gearing up for the summer stampede. As we were standing in one of the stores, we heard a loud siren emitting from the center of town. It reminded me of an avalanche warning that I’ve seen/heard in tv movies. The business owner smiled and said it was just the 12 noon notification and test. He then proceeded to tell us that 1 siren was 12 noon and a test. 3 sirens were an indication of a traffic collision. I don’t remember what 2 sirens were. This was the emergency paging system for the volunteer fire department. We learned that cell coverage can be spotty so the siren is used along with more current technology to summon emergency services. We heard the 3 siren a couple more times during the days we stayed. Before we left we took a drive to the Ridgway Reservoir and spent a couple hours fishing. We kept 4 trout and threw twice that many back.

Next up was Denver, CO. We stayed at the Denver West KOA which is west of the metropolitan area, still in the mountains. Our campsite was on the edge of the mountain with a view into the valley where Central City and Black Hawk were nestled. The road from the KOA down into the valley was a steep twisting road that I had no desire to try and ride on the bike. The 2 towns are tourist towns and are primarily casino driven. It looked like a Las Vegas strip with all the casinos, except the roads are narrow and steep. The towns are remnants of the mining days. They are the only towns with casinos in CO that are not on an Native Indian reservation. The town leadership had petitioned the Governor decades ago to grant them the opportunity to run the casinos as a source of revenue and now you see the results of that.

We ran into Golden and spent the afternoon with Teri’s nephew Bill. His wife Holly had just graduated with her PhD in pharmaceuticals and was off visiting and relaxing with her mom before she got back to the grind so we missed seeing her.

The old fashioned train ride in Georgetown sounded like a fun afternoon so off we went. The train is a narrow gauge so the rails are 3 ft wide instead of the standard 4ft 8in. This is due to the steepness of the mountains and the sharpness of the curves as the train lumbers up the mountainside. The engine was steam operated so as we started up the mountain you could actually hear the chug-a-chug-a as the power was applied. The whistle could be heard throughout the valley and there are a sequence of whistle blows as various indicators such as starting, crossing a road, rounding a blind bend, etc. The train started in Georgetown, a small mining town that again, is tourist driven as there is no mining any longer. The ride ends about 1 hour up the mountain at the Silver Plume development. This was the origination of the Silver Plume Mine. Can you guess what they pulled out of that mine? Yep, silver along with some other minerals. There is an opportunity to do a mine tour that we declined as we have toured several mines over the last couple of years.

Throughout our travels, Kevin keeps us on target with our workouts and nutrition. In my dreams I can hear him saying “Come on John, only 3 more, you got this, what do you mean you can’t do a pushup, you ate WHAT?!” We do 2 workouts per week with 1 of them a Zoom and the nutrition discussion is Zoom so he can closely monitor our progress. He says “that’s what you pay me for…”. It’s working because we are getting stronger and slimming down.

Clear Creek runs through the mountains above Golden so we took a day to fish. We walked a lot, lost a lot of flys in the trees and marveled at the beauty. We didn’t catch any fish as the runoff is still too strong. We gaped at the rock climbers as they worked their way up the cliff walls like a lizard climbing a rock. There are several popular spots along the river in this area for rock climbing. We watched as 1 young lady was trying to climb up to her partner but was having trouble. There was a rock outcropping that forced her to lean out away from the wall while hanging on over head to pull herself up. She tried for about 20 minutes and called it a day and worked her way back down about 50 feet to the landing. I’ve got nothing but admiration for her efforts, as you wouldn’t find me even putting the harness on much less trying to climb.

We next connected with Les and Marlene. I had met Marlene when I started working at Phoenix College in 2006. Les, her husband was also a police officer with the District at a different college. Shortly after I was promoted to Commander at GateWay Community College, Les was promoted to Commander at Scottsdale Community College. When it was appropriate for them, they retired from the District and moved to Broomfield, CO. The Denver metropolitan area is very similar to the Phoenix metro area in that there are cities all connected with only an invisible line separating them. Broomfield is one of those cities similar to a Goodyear or Chandler. Les and Marlene cleared their schedules to show us around. Downtown Golden, Red Rock Park, the amphitheater and Lookout Mountain were all on the agenda. Lookout Mountain is the gravesite of Buffalo Bill Cody, and I’m going to assume the Wanted sign was his. It was a fantastic day. The following day Les and I had plans to go a bike ride on the paved multi-use trail that winds it’s way through the metro area. Teri had decided to stay home and relax. Unfortunately it started to rain and was too much to ride. We spent the day visiting and just enjoying conversation. That afternoon I stopped off to visit Megan at the Fire Station. I met her several years ago at The Cactus Cup race and we have stayed in touch. It was interesting to catch up albeit a short time. It rained all day, into the evening and into the night. The next morning we woke to several inches of snow. We were scheduled to spend 1 more night at the KOA but with the temps and the snow, we decided to get off the mountain. I was concerned the roads would be icy in the morning and I did not look forward to driving down the mountain in a motorhome on icy roads. We packed up and headed down the mountain. It was a slow drive with the rain and snow. We pulled into Cabela’s in Broomfield for the night and had an impromptu dinner with Les and Marlene. The next morning we were saying goodbye to Colorado and hello to Nebraska.

We hit the road to Big Springs, NE where we spent the night. We endured 48+ hours of rain. I kept looking for Noah and his Ark. The sky started to lighten and we thought there might be light at the end of the tunnel when we had an hour of sunlight, but it turned out to be a train. The rain continued with 30 mph crosswinds.

The next morning we woke to sunshine and no rain or wind. It was going to be a glorious day but here came that train again. We got ready for an early start. Everything was hooked up, I put the motorhome in Drive and we started forward, for about 10 feet. Everything stopped and the left rear was tilting downward. I tried reverse, forward, reverse, forward to rock it but nothing worked. As I surveyed the situation from outside, we had buried the left rear dual tires in the mud and were sitting on the frame. A phone call to Nadia (owner) resulted in Mark (her husband) showing up in about 15 minutes. After discussing options, he called a friend who showed up about 30 minutes later. During that time I received an education on Nebraska farming and ranching. George (I think that was his name) showed up with a heavy duty wrecker with Amy’s Towing Service listed on the side. He hooked up a chain to the receiver hitch and pulled us out in 5 minutes, with no damage. It took longer to hook everything up than it did to pull us out. Off we went.

As we moved our way east on I-80 we came across the Archway spanning the freeway. We decided to stop and be a tourist. The Archway is in Kearney, NE. Say Kearney with me, it’s not like Kearney, AZ. This is the Archway for the start of the trek west in the 1800’s. The California Trail, The Oregon Trail all started from here as well as the railroad which I-80 now generally follows. There is a wonderful audio tour with lifelike models in the Archway that depict the travels and the move westward of the settlers by wagon, railroad and cars through the 1960’s. I caught Teri in an awkward moment. There is a model of a young man coaxing the animal team pulling the wagon up a hill while a young woman is pushing to assist the animals. Teri is standing alongside looking at her phone and listening to the audio tour. It smacks of irony.

We arrived in Spirit Lake, IA and parked at the Cenla RV Park. Spirit Lake, Okoboji and a few other towns all make up the Iowa Great Lakes area. It was explained that there are about 8 lakes in the area. Our primary reason for being there was to hang out with Megan and Devin. You’ve heard of them if you’ve been following the blog. We met them in AJ last year and we all went to Tombstone and Bisbee together to cause trouble back in December. We spent just shy of 2 weeks with them. They introduced us to more of their crazy friends, to include Sandy and Curt, Tami, Adam, and several others who we unfortunately don’t remember the names. If you’re reading this, we’re sorry and we’ll have to reintroduce ourselves when we roll through there again. Many of the evenings were spent sitting on the patio playing cards and watching the turkeys and deer in the meadow. We did spend 1 evening boating on the lake. Teri and I tried fishing various streams and lakes without any luck.

The Tulip Festival was being held in Orange City that weekend so we took a drive over. Was I ever in for a surprise. My thought was that there would be street vendors in the center park with displays of Tulips much like a farmer’s market. Was I ever wrong. As we rolled into town I was astonished to see people of all ages wearing Dutch clothing and wooden shoes. There were no tulip vendors in site. The town square had a large windmill reminiscent of the windmills in Holland. The streets were closed and filled with people sitting in lawn chairs along the street and an announcers booth announcing the parade participants. It was a heritage parade. The Tulip Festival commemorates the Dutch heritage of Orange City. The building facades are Dutch in design and the costumes were elaborate. The parade also had huge demonstrations of dancers of all ages participating in heritage dances. One of the acts was the street washing so the street would be clean enough for the queen. In this case it was an opportunity for the young people to throw water on each other as they walked the parade route.

During our time there we reached the end of our 3 week detox cleanse that was suggested/required by Kevin. The goal was to give the kidneys a rest from the toxins we consume everyday. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I had expected when he first explained it. No dairy, low protein but same amount of food. Damn, it was hard giving up ice cream and coffee. But we got through it and felt great. Fortunately we were able to complete it in time to have some nice dinners with our friends. The Little Swan Lake Winery was an exceptional favorite. A 3 piece band sang for us, Megan and I killed a wonderful bottle of wine (I’m not a wine drinker) and the food was very good. Watching the bison in the fields was special.

We fished the area and thanks to Adam and Tami, we used their boat dock and caught several sunfish. Teri tied on to a large fish that dived under the dock but it was able to get away before we could see it. Yes, it really was the one that got away. We spent a day at Arnolds Park which is a city operated amusement park. The marine museum was especially interesting as the stories and photos go back to the 30’s. There are a couple of boats that had been recovered from the bottom of the lakes after having been sunken since the 30’s. We took a walk through the Tilting House. None of the floors are level and it requires hand holds to navigate. We continued to ride and hike and complete our workouts with Kevin. When I started working with Kevin, I had an issue with my right leg. It felt weak. We worked on strengthening it before we hit the road and it was feeling great through the races in NM. But it finally started being an issue. I went to Dixon Family Chiropractic on a reference. I met with Dr Adelee Dixon who owns the practice with her husband, Walt and is also a bike rider and personal coach. She understood my mental anguish although I was able to ride without much issue. I was able to get 4 visits. Each time I felt great when she finished working on me, but the discomfort would not go away. On the last visit she took X-rays and suggested that I potentially had a degenerative hip joint. She said it might require a hip replacement. That was not what I wanted to hear. I contacted my Dr in Chandler and we made plans to see an orthopedic when we return in the fall. On a side note, Adelee said she had overheard I was a police officer and asked where. Chandler, of course. She said she knew a police officer from Chandler who had been killed in the line of duty. Of course I asked who and she said it was Carlos Ledesma. I didn’t know Carlos personally but I know of him and his sacrifice. As we talked we both started to tear up as she told stories of meeting Carlos and his wife Sherrie. It always amazes me at how small the world can be.

As we prepared to leave, we asked about staying longer but we were told that there was no vacancy. The summer season was starting and all the RV parks and campgrounds were filled up. It surprised me but so many of the folks who came to the Iowa Great Lakes area rent the RV space for the summer, park their RV and only use it on weekends as they return to their homes to work for the week.

So the month of May has ended. It rained, it snowed, it was sunny, it was cloudy, it was calm and it was windy. The month lived up to it’s name and we had a great time. Thanks for traveling with us. See you next month as we travel to Arkansas and Tennessee.

Stay Safe.