Arrived in Fresno Nov 7 2016.

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out.  
Monday the 7th - We left Las Vegas for the last leg and final destination - Fresno!  

We were both exhausted by the time we pulled in front of the house about 4:30pm.  Had to make up the bed and wash some towels.  Unloaded about a third of the the stuff from the RV.
Tuesday the 8th - Amye drove down with Ashley and Gracie!  Amye had a Rodan & Fields meeting to attend this evening.  It was so good to see the 3 of them - the 2 older girls had to go to school.

Election day.  What an exciting election - a real nail-biter!  First time we stayed up to watch the outcome.  What a surprise!!  And guess what - California legalized Pot!!

Wednesday the 9th - the little 7 ft POD was delivered.  Mike and Randy (my brother) had it emptied in 30 minutes.  Amye and the girls left to go back home to San Mateo.

Thursday the 10th - We spent the day cleaning out cabinets, drawers and closets.  Robyn and Lester (my sister and brother-in-law) stopped over on their way down from San Mateo to San Diego.  Went out for a delicious Chinese dinner.
Friday the 11th - the 2nd POD was delivered. 

I drove up to San Mateo to help babysit the 4 girls as their nanny was o-o-t for the holiday weekend.  Lynnie to the rescue!!

Nov 14th - the first Pod (that was loaded in NL) was delivered.  Brian G and Peter M helped Mike load the first Pod.  Well, they packed the Pod fuller than full! So guess what!  The Pod arrived as scheduled.  But Mike couldn't get the door open - the boxes shifted and fell against the door.  Mike was able to get the door partially opened and crawled in and passed out 1 box at a time until he was able to clear the boxes from against the door.

Nov 2-6 2016 LAS VEGAS

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Nov 2-6 2016

Nov 2 – arrived in Las Vegas and found the Riviera RV Park.  The drive from Holbrook was 6 hrs.  Very windy on I-40.  Mike did a fine job keeping the rig on the road!  We got settled and ate dinner in.  Didn't go out - watched the final World Series game.

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Nov 3 – drove down to the strip to walk around a bit.  Went to Fremont St (Old Town).  That evening we went to see the Mike Hammer comedy/magic show.  He was funny!  And like with all magic shows I wonder “How did he do that?!”

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Nov 4 – went to airport and picked up long-time friends, Jim and Carol.  They live in Hood River, OR.  Mike and Jim have been buddies since Kindergarten!!

Went to the PBR Championship Finals at the new T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.  Music by country singer, Dustin Lynch.  What an exciting time!  Boy, the Brahma bulls are huge!  This sport is oh so dangerous!

So after the evening’s event we went back to the Monte Carlo for drinks.  And guess who walks into the same bar and sits at the table right next to us!  JB Mauney!  He is the top ranking bull rider in the country.  He only has to earn $21,000 more to reach $7M – the highest earnings by any PBR rider in history.

Nov 5 – walked from the Monte Carlo Hotel (that’s where Jim & Carol are staying) down the Las Vegas strip to the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel.  Nice long walk – good to get some exercise!  Ran into my friends Woody, Buzz and Sponge Bob. 

Had drinks pool-side at the Palazzo.  Nice relaxing time. Have to admit we took a taxi back to the MC.

Had dinner at the Brand Steakhouse before heading over to the T-Mobile Arena for 2^nd night of competition.  Opening entertainer was Steven Tyler!

Nov 6 - OMG – what did I tell you about JB.  Last night he won round 4 of the world's finals!!  We witnessed history in the making!  Way to go, JB!!

Today was a leisure day.  Just stayed at home in the RV and spent the time visiting with Jim and Carol.  No running around.  Just relaxed and caught up on things.  So nice to see these two after 8 yrs (Mike visited them in OR).

THANK YOU, JIM and CAROL, FOR A GREAT TIME IN LAS VEGAS!!

    

Winslow, AZ

October 31 2016 - Happy Halloween!

Most famous attraction is "Standin' on the corner".  a 2-story mural-ed wall and 2 statues illustrate the Eagles' song "Take It Easy" and its well-known reference to the town.
"Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona; such a fine sight to see . . .
We may lose and we may win though we will never be here again . . . so Take It Easy!"

9-11 Memorial - the memorial features two large pieces of actual wreckage from the Twin Towers of the WTC.  These 2 beams were entrusted to the City of Winslow by the city of New York.  

La Posada Hotel - built in 1929. designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. a Spanish hacienda that has stone and tile floors, glass murals, original furnishings and gardens. There is a museum in the hotel with antiques and art from around the world. 

Other stops in town . . .

Petrified Forest

October 29-30, 2016

Left Carlsbad on the 29th.  Had a long WINDY drive to Holbrook AZ.  Again the roads were long and empty looking.  Looked like we were driving to Nowhere.

Where the Hell are we???

Arrived at OK RV Park just before dark.  Found out that Arizona does not have Day Light Savings Time.  So we gained an hour!  That means we are 3 hrs behind you guys in CT and same time as those in CA.

Sunday the 30th we went to the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert National Park.  

We did some hiking and also drove around the 140,000 acre park.  

In the park we stopped to view the following:
Painted Desert  

Long Logs and Agate House

Puerco Pueblo - a large archeological site, we walked among a partial excavation of a 100+ room village, occupied 1250 CE.

Agate Bridge - a 110 ft petrified log spanning a gully.

Blue Mesa - named for the colorful bands of blue sedimentary rock, vibrant blue, purple and gray badlands dotted with colorful petrified wood

Blue Mesa

Route 66 Alignment - saw the 1932 Studebaker that sits where famed Route 66 once cut through the park.  

on old Route 66

Texas - Oct 2016

We have spent a total of 21 days in Texas.  Really enjoyed being in Livingston, San Antonio and Ft Stockton.  We did a lot and saw a lot.  But driving to and from the towns is another story.

When you look at a map of the United States, Texas looks like a big state.  Well, let us tell you . . . you don’t realize how BIG Texas is until you drive through it!!!!  There’s just miles and miles and miles of highways with no end in sight.  Maybe that’s why the speed limits are set at 80 mph

Have passed a few different road kills:  wild boars, armadillo, badgers and/or ground hogs; and then you have the skunks, rabbits, foxes and deer   At 75-80 mph the poor things don’t have a chance.


So along the side of the roads are Flood Gauge posts.

    Question:  if there’s a flood, who checks the markings on the Flood Gauge posts?

    Answer:    the Flood Gauge Police, who else!

Forgot to mention in a previous post that when we drove to the Sitting Bull Falls in Lincoln National Forest we literally drove through cow pastures to get to the park. 
( Rt 408) 

Other sights along the roads:
 - old windmills
 - oil rigs
 - and US Border Patrol!

Will miss Texas until our next visit!

Carlsbad, New Mexico and Guadalupe NP, TX

Thursday - October 27 2016

Went to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  Unbelievable!!  We took the self-guided tour and went 800 ft down underground and walked over 2.5 miles among the most beautiful formations in the caverns (see photos on FB post).






Friday the 28th
went to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas.  We went on a hike to the Devils Hall. This trail was over 4.5 miles long, taking 3.5 hrs. What a great hike.  Thank goodness Mike bought us hiking sticks.  The trail was listed as moderately strenuous.  Quite a workout!  Weather was perfect for this hike - partly cloudy, low 80's.
Found our way to the Hiker's Staircase and then continued on to Devil's Hall.

Ft Stockton and Big Bend National Park

October 23-26 2016

Arrived in Ft Stockton Sunday afternoon.  Staying at a nice RV park with full hookups (Electric, Water, dump) and free Wi-Fi and cable TV, with laundry, pool and restaurant.

Monday the 24th - drove to Big Bend National Park.  I got my senior park pass!! Good for life.  



This last great wilderness of Texas NP offers desert and mountain scenery within it's 801,163 acres. Had a great time in the park.  Hiked two different trails. First trail was the Grapevine Hills trail to the Balanced Rock.  Had to drive 7 miles on a gravel dirt road.  Hike was only 2.2 miles RT but it felt like 5 miles! 


The Rio Grande river is the southern border between Mexico and this national park.  We drove to the Santa Elena Canyon and hiked 1.6 miles RT to the mouth of the canyon for an awesome view of the Rio Grande and the 1,500-ft limestone walls.  




Tuesday the 25th - visited historic Fort Stockton
This Indian Wars Fort was active from 1867-1886. It was strategically placed at the life-saving waters of Comanche Springs to protect the San Antonio-to-El Paso mail, freight wagons, cattle drives, and emigrants.

Wednesday the 26th - left Fort Stockton and headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico