Paradise Gone awry

Jackrabbits everywhere, exotic partridges, beautiful rock formations—that was our first experience of Kodachrome State Park, where we are supposed to volunteer for six weeks.  That, and heat.  We expected 90 degree days, but we also expected full hookups and 50 amp electric—meaning air conditioning. 

 

        It has really been quite a week.  We arrived on Sunday and found that the park staff was still working on a third park host site for us—even though they had known since at least February that we were coming and for at least three weeks the exact date of our arrival.  They offered us a site with no hookups if we had a generator, or a site where we could use regular household electric from a long extension cord.  We chose to use our generator.  The site was private and had great views, but we don't have air conditioning with our 2000-watt generator. When we returned from work our third day here, the trailer was 95 degrees inside while the outside temperature was 91.  We decided to go to a nearby KOA campground the next day, returning only if our electric site was ready on Wednesday. 

 

        After we set up at the KOA, we discovered our refrigerator wasn't working.  We were 40 miles from the nearest real grocery store, over 100 miles from a Wal-Mart and decent-sized town, over 260 miles from Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.  The KOA referred us to a man who came and checked out the refrigerator.  He determined it needed a new circuit board.  A week later we are still waiting to hear if he can get one.  We are using a borrowed small refrigerator that sits outside, an ice chest sitting in our living room and the Visitor Center refrigerator and freezer. 

 

        Needless to say, they did finish our site—sort of.  We do have full hookups.  But after two downpours today, our site was first a lake then a sea of mud. 

 

        Oh yes, one more thing--what duct tape doesn't fix, a bungee cord does.  The latch on the screen door broke.  Obviously, we can't tape it shut.  So a small bungee cord hooked the door to a shelf, so the cats don't escape.  Then John found a spring to repair it a little better.  We are waiting for a new part from our dealer, who reports he is waiting for the part from Keystone.  And yet another problem, the awning mechanism locked.  John had to take it apart.  It took the two of us at least a half an hour to put it back together. 

 

        We have no idea how long it will take to repair the refrigerator or get our site fixed.  Hopefully, the next week will be better.  We have looked forward to coming here for months and it is really beautiful.  We would like to enjoy it.

 

        I'm doing all I can to keep John from bolting.

---

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Cedar Breaks

A yellow-bellied marmot and an immense bristlecone pine were highlights of our hike to Spectra Point at Cedar Breaks National Monument. At 10,350 ft, just being able to complete a three-mile hike was an accomplishment.

The marmot was at the viewpoint with its young. When we got too close, the animal played dead while the babies got away. Finally, it became curious and turned to look at us.

Bristlecone pine trees are extremely hardy and live many years. One at Spectra Point has lived more than 1,600 years and in other southwestern states, 4,500-year-old specimens have been discovered. The tree I photographed is certainly impressive, whether or not it is 1,600 years old.

The rock formations at Cedar Breaks in southwestern Utah are beautiful and similar to those found at Bryce Canyon and other places on the Colorado Plateau. We had visited Cedar Breaks for an hour or so, two years ago, but we wanted to spend more time there. So we decided to camp for one or two days, depending on how the altitude affected us. The campground is quiet and most sites look out over huge meadows. There are no hookups, but the water is good, and at $7 a night for seniors, who can complain?

When we were talking to the camp hosts, Ron and Paula, they said they went two months without grocery shopping. She makes her own yoghurt using powdered milk and bakes her own bread in a bread-maker. They fill their bathtub with long-lasting fruits and vegetables and forgo ice cubes till they whittle down the food in the freezer. Many of their ideas didn’t appeal to me, but since I eat yoghurt everyday at breakfast, I’ll have to give that one a try.

Into Utah

(This should have been posted in early August. Somehow, it got lost in cyberspace)

Utah is possibly our favorite state to visit and we will be here for two months. The drive west along I-70 is flat and boring for a while, but the farther west and south you go, the more interesting and beautiful it becomes. The hills grow in size and the rock formations progress from gray to pink to red. By the time we reached Capitol Reef National Park, all of these colors are present—sometimes in different views and sometimes all in one canyon.

We have had two great hikes. The first was over four miles on the Old Wagon Road trail, which has an altitude gain of 1,580 feet. It is a steady uphill climb for at least two miles, and we felt it. But the country is so spectacular, we were glad to be there. The contrast of dark green pine and juniper trees against the red rocks and soil is beautiful. The second hike was 3 ½ miles through Cohab Canyon to overlook the old settlement of Fruita. Capital Reef preserves both the natural beauty of the area and the historic Mormon Settlement of Fruita. Those farmers planted extensive orchards, which are still growing. It is peach harvest time and visitors are allowed to pick their own fruit. There are over 3,000 fruit trees in the park, many 80 to 100 years old. It was fun to pick our own afternoon snack.

Many of the tourists here are from countries around the world. The beauty of our National Parks, especially the major parks in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, are major destinations for these tourists. Many of them rent RVs from Cruise America or RoadBearRV to see these far-flung parks. It was fun to see German and French speaking visitors picking peaches at the same time we were in the orchard.

The Fremont Indians, who traveled through this area between AD 700 and 1250, left petroglyphs on the rock walls of the park. We were able to get close enough to view some of them on a boardwalk built next to the cliff.

Last Colorado Camping

Got air? We do. After four months living near sea level, we found the Colorado mountains were lacking in air. We felt the lack of oxygen as we hiked and tried to do our three-mile runs at 7500, 8000, 8800 feet above sea level. But here in Fruita, at less than 5000 feet, we found it easy to run. The problem here is the heat—it was 96 our first day in town.

We are staying at the James Robb-Colorado River State Park. It is one of Colorado’s newer state parks. The sites are long and paved, with level concrete pads in the center. We have full hook-ups and 50 amp service—really good in this heat. All this costs only $11 a night, Sunday through Thursday, with our 50% off Aspen Leaf Pass for residents 64 and older. What a great deal. We have a great view of the Colorado National Monument, just down the road.

We are about to end our month-long camping trip through southern Colorado. We spent five days at Ridgway State Park, one of our favorite spots in the state. This was our fifth stay there in the last nine years.

It is a great place for biking—we rode the Uncompahgre Trail into the town of Ridgway and also biked around the state park. Our hummingbird feeder has never been busier—the broad-trailed, ruby-throated and rufous hummingbirds are drinking over a cup of sugar syrup a day. It is such fun to watch them fighting each other for a spot at the feeder. Our cats are very frustrated with all the birds right outside the window and no way to get to them.

On Friday we found our 50th geocache and our first travel bug. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out www.geocaching.com round trip. By the end of the day, my pedometer had over 17,000 steps recordedto find out. We found it by biking five miles and hiking three miles . The pedometer is our way of maintaining our weight—10,000 steps every day, if possible.

For many years, we spent most of our time off camping in the Colorado mountains. For three of the years we lived in Grand County, we camped two nights almost every week of the summer in the nearby forest campgrounds. Since 2003, we have spent no time in these mountains because of our travels throughout North America. It has been very special to spend a month in Colorado in our RV this year.

Southwestern Colorado

How things change in four years! Since July 16 we have been in southwestern Colorado—a real tourist area at higher elevations, which attracts a lot of visitors from Texas and Arizona, especially. Since we were last here in 2003, the number of RV parks has grown exponentially. We even found a large RV sales lot along Hwy 149 between South Fork and Creede. People from states where summers are hotter and more humid have been spending one to three months in the Colorado mountains for many years. They used to build or rent cabins. Now I think most of them come in motor homes and large 5^th wheels. At 30 feet, our 5^th wheel looks small. As we drove through Pagosa Springs and toward Durango, we saw yet more RVs. Then again, between Cortez and Telluride, they seemed to be the favored form of transportation and residence. Now we know why we don't see many of them in state parks and forest campgrounds—there are so many full-hookup parks for them.

Creede is a small community at 8800 ft, once the site of numerous silver mines. As we drove into town we discovered the Creede Wood Carvers Rendezvous was in progress. What a treat! John was able to see the many different ways to carve and buy some wood to do his own work. He had used up all the pieces he brought from the house. The rendezvous was set up in caves (or mine entrances) in the hills at the edge of town.

From Creed we drove over 10,850 ft. Wolf Creek Pass to Durango, a college town and tourist location in the far southwestern corner of the state. At 6600 feet, we found it easy to resume our three-mile runs. And the Animas River Trail in town was a great place to do it. We know we are in Colorado when we see lots of fit people walking, running, biking, kayaking and hiking. We had lots of company during our morning runs. The United Campground is right along the Durango and Silverton Railroad-–the main tourist attraction. While we were there, four trains a day were running up and down the tracks. We joined lots of other campers in watching them mornings and evenings.

We also took a five mile hike on the Purgatory Flats trail down to the Animas River. It was a pretty hike, but we didn't enjoy the jog back to the car through thunder, lightening and rain. That is always scary. We had a good lunch at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango and toured the many shops—but we didn't spend much money.

Next we were on to Mesa Verde National Park, just 32 miles west along US 160. We stayed at AA RV Campground just across the road from the Park entrance. It was a good campground where we felt we were staying on somebody's ranch. We had a great view out our windows. We drove the Mesa Top Loop Road to tour the ruins of pit houses and pueblos. We also hiked down to the Spruce Tree House cliff dwelling. The next day we hiked 5.8 miles of the Prater Ridge Trail. It was quiet and peaceful on the Mesa. We saw two young buck mule deer with their antlers in velvet. At one point we looked over the mesa rim and saw a small cliff dwelling. How many are there in the park?

The next drive, over 10,222 ft. Lizard Head Pass to Telluride, then over Dallas Divide to Ridgway State Park, was easily the most beautiful part of our travels this year. We followed the delightful Dolores River Valley. We could see the river was very muddy, meaning they had had lots of rain. The next day we learned it had rained again that night and Hwy 145, which we had driven, was closed by mud slides. We were lucky—the other route to Ridgway through Silverton and over Red Mountain Pass—is even more difficult with a trailer. The rains had put a dusting of new snow on the mountains surrounding Telluride—in July!

The Dog that Drove Us Out to Lunch

This sweet, loyal, huge white dog followed us through the campground on Sunday. He would go ahead and lay in the shade, then follow us as we passed. We couldn’t shake him. We rode on the tailgate of the camp manager’s pickup and he trotted after us. We walked him to the river, where he waded out and drank thirstily. We ran up the hill and walked away, but he galloped up the hill after us. We couldn’t go back to our campsite—we knew he would stay there with us. What would PC and Partner do then? We had been headed to the nearby commercial campground to determine if they had a dump station we could use the next morning. We couldn’t have him go there with us.

Finally, John stayed with him and I walked back to get the truck. I even retraced our steps till I was walking where he first started following us—hoping he wouldn’t find the way to our trailer. When I drove down the fishing access road to pick up John, I found them standing together in the shade.

As much as we felt sorry for him—he was shaggy and needed brushing and was probably hungry--we could do nothing for the sweet old thing. He had either run away from his owners and they had to leave before they found him (that is the charitable explanation), or he was abandoned along the Conejos River. How could anyone do that? But once in the truck, we decided to drive down to check on the dump station, then go on into Antonito for lunch, hoping he might give up waiting for us.

When we returned to the campground, the dog was nowhere in sight, thank goodness. But we wonder how he is doing and if he found a new home.

Colorado Camping

Last Monday morning I walked out the door and smelled pine and cedar and knew I was in the mountains. It was wonderful. In years past, we have spent so much time in this environment. Now it has been several years since we have camped in Colorado. And this is really camping—a US Forest Service campground with no hookups, but large, well-spaced sites and few campers. We see wildflowers in our front yard. Rufous hummingbirds come regularly to the feeder attached to the window—to our delight and Partner’s. We went on a 2 ½ hour hike to 9500 ft above sea level. We passed one couple hiking and two groups on horseback. We were headed for First Meadow, but didn’t reach it. So two days later we repeated the hike, going the extra ½ mile or so to the meadow—absolutely spectacular. We had such a good time and were delighted to find that, after nine days at 6000 ft and above, we have adjusted to the altitude fairly well.

We parked for at eight days at Mogote Campground, west and north on Colorado 17 from Antonito in the Conejos River Valley. We have stayed at two different commercial campgrounds south of here in the past. But this year we wanted to CAMP, so we came to this Forest Service campground. We were delighted to find it had numerous vacancies on Sunday afternoon and about half of the sites cannot be reserved. So we can stay as long as we wish (within the 14 day limit). Normally, we describe what we are doing as RVing—meaning we live in an RV and have electricity and often water and sewer hookups. But this is camping—using our batteries for light, heat and to pump water. We have no TV, no internet access. We have a generator to recharge the batteries and use the vacuum. But it doesn’t provide enough power to use the air conditioner. That is why we were at that altitude—it cools off quickly in the afternoon.

One day we drove 26 miles to Chama, New Mexico, over La Manga and Cumbres Passes. Numerous times we have ridden the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which runs from Chama to Antonito. This year we didn’t ride the train, but we did stop and take some photos as it went by. Chama is a small town, but seems to have some growth and more businesses catering to the tourists.

We spent three nights at the KOA in Alamosa—two days were work days for laundry, groceries, reservations for future stays and arranging to have cat food shipped to us for Partner. Then we rode the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad over the LaVeta Pass Route from Alamosa to LaVeta and back. We had ridden the train a year ago in May, within a week of its inaugural run. They have greatly improved the equipment and the service—including a snack car. And this year the train is pulled by a steam engine on weekends—a great improvement over the diesel used last year.

We had great weather and the fields were filled with wildflowers on July 7. It was beautiful. We saw deer and later a herd of elk bathing in a beaver pond. What a treat! We rode in an old baggage/post office car with open doors. Two other couples, one about our age and the other younger with children, shared the car. We had a good time together.

Finally--Colorado

Finally, we are home! Colorado—where we can see mountains in the distance. We are parked at Lathrop State Park in Walsenburg. After having our neighbors’ slides within 4 feet of ours in Garden City and LaJunta, we are enjoying a huge site screened by Pinion Pine and Cedar where we can’t see any RVs out of the living room or dining room windows. We were here back on February 28-March 1, on our way out of the state. Then the temperature overnight was 14 one night and 19 the next. This time, the high has been 91.

Lathrop has two lakes, so many people come here either to fish or water ski. Most of the campers are from Colorado, though a few are from Texas and other states. The park was full over the weekend, but has vacancies. It is a very quiet place.

We haven’t had a mountain trail to hike on for so long, we went out at 7:30 this morning to hike the 2-mile long Hogback Loop in the park. The cactus and other wildflowers were blooming and we had rocks to climb over. It was wonderful. Even Partner is grateful to be back on Colorado dirt in Colorado sun. We have been traveling all over North America the past few years. Our only stays in Colorado were on the way out of the state or back in. So we are really looking forward to 4 to 6 weeks of Colorado camping before we report to Kodachrome State Park in Utah in August.

We had planned to visit the Grand Canyon North Rim on our way to Utah. But last night I discovered that all the reservable sites in the campground there are full the days we would like to be there. So we have decided to go there the first week of October, when we leave Utah. That will give us even more time for Colorado camping and hiking.

The Santa Fe Trail and mountain men seem to come to life when you visit Bent’s Old Fort National Historic site outside of LaJunta. The reconstructed fort is really well done. We only went there because we had never been and we know we can always learn something from a National Park Service site. We were delighted to discover how interesting the self-guided tour was, reading the booklet carefully and examining each room in the fort. If you have ever read James Michener’s book, Centennial, you know most of the story of the fort, with a merchant from back east and a French trader forming a partnership to promote trade between Mexico, the Indians, and the United States. He closely patterned his story on William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain.

We were fascinated to see that windows and doors had weather stripping made from buffalo hides and most people at the fort slept on the floor on thin mats and the same hides--only the physician and clerk had beds or cots. How did they ever get a billiard table onto the second floor of an adobe fort? And the peacock was a surprise. We were told the Bents really did have a peacock.

Kansas Heritage

Eastern Kansas is as flat as all my images and memories of the state. Maybe that comes from driving on I-70. The last couple of legs of this journey we haven’t been on I-70, but we have seen the lush, flat farmlands the state is famous for: dark green corn fields, golden acres of wheat being harvested this month, small towns, and grain elevators. If there is a tree, it is a cottonwood. Western Kansas is experiencing drought, but the eastern part or the state is having much the same weather as Texas, which means rain. It was sooo green. We have never seen it look so beautiful.

As we came west along Kansas 156 on Wednesday, we were amazed to see water on both sides of the road. We wondered if there had been a flood, since we knew that Kanapolis Lake, which we had just left, had been flooded in May. We discovered we were driving next to the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve, held by the Nature Conservancy. The 7,300 acres of marsh wetlands host nearly one-half of all North American shorebirds migrating east of the Rockies. We didn’t see any birds, but we sure did see a lot of water. In Kansas? We were amazed.

Why all this time in Kansas in late June? It isn’t the typical tourist destination. John’s ancestors were pioneers in Kansas, settling just across the state line from Missouri in Olathe in 1860. Those were the years of Bloody Kansas, when the prelude to the Civil War brought border raids between Kansas and Missouri as it was being decided whether the state would have slavery or not. Two decades later, his great-grandfather and mother homesteaded in southwestern Kansas in Kearny County. This week we found the land they settled on—where combines were just harvesting the wheat. It is very rich farmland.

It has been an interesting journey. We try to feel connected to America’s heartland, since we learned of the family connection here. Our stay at the Venango Corps Park, and earlier at Lake Stockton State Park in Missouri, put us in contact with local farmers enjoying their weekends at the lake. For many people in these states, their fate is in the hands of weather and the market for farm products. From the looks of Garden City (where we stayed in an RV Park) and Lakin, the county seat of Kearny County, where John’s family lived, farming can be fairly prosperous at times. We know that drought and hail and other factors make it very risky at other times. Many of those staying in this RV Park are part of a harvesting crew out of Minnesota, traveling throughout the plains cutting grain. Traveling across this country and into Canada helps us to understand a little of how other people live.

Kansas

Friday night we were grateful we sleep in an RV, not a tent. About 2 a.m. I woke up to see lightening all over the sky, though I couldn’t hear any thunder yet. After watching it for a while, I got up and turned on our NOAA weather radio, then went back to bed. Soon the wind began blowing and the rain started to fall. It kept that up until after 7 in the morning. Not everyone in the Venango Corps Park on Kanopolis Lake in south central Kansas was as fortunate as we are.. These folk had their tent collapse and they must have moved into the 5th wheel parked on the same site. They didn’t have a good night. A number of people had moved from their tents into their cars or trucks to wait out the storm.

This is our second visit to this park. We were here in early May 2006. Our site is lovely, large and very private. The nearest campsite is offset from ours so we don’t look into each other’s units. Friday night there were very few campers. Saturday night a goodly number, but the five loops are nowhere near full. Our site has 50 amp and water, some have just electric—either 50 amp or 30/20 amp. Some have no hookups at all. Venango and other nearby state and COE parks on the lake are used almost exclusively by local Kansans.

This morning we woke up to a humid, foggy morning. These Coloradans aren’t used to seeing 68 degrees be below the dew point. But the dew gave the park a mystical feeling for a couple of hours. Many artistic spiders had been at work overnight and the dew made their webs visible. It also gave a new beauty to dandelion seeds.

Especially during the past two summers, we have experienced many parks where we joined locals in their recreation. Tourists are unusual. We are able to get a feel for the local population and what is important for their leisure time. Here, beyond camping, there is swimming and boating on the lake. Last summer in Canada we stayed in several parks that offered extensive activities for both adults and children, who returned to the same park week after week. We have camped in state parks in Idaho, Mississippi, Utah, Arkansas, Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Vermont and New York—maybe some other states I have forgotten—as well as our own Colorado State Parks. Many states provide beautiful camping experiences for their residents and the occasional tourist who happens by.
After we left Independence, MO, we stayed in the Lawrence, KS, KOA for four nights to do a little genealogy research. We had discovered which Kansas church John’s great-great-grandfather had served in the 1860s and 1870s, so we drove to Olathe for a visit. No one at the church knew much history, but the local library did contain a church history. Earlier, at the Mid-Continent Library in Independence and the Kansas History Library in Topeka, we located more information from microfilm of old newspapers about John’s great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. We also drove to the Eisenhower Veterans Hospital in Leavenworth, KS, where another great-great-grandfather had lived for several years in the Old Soldiers and Sailors Home. The buildings that were then—the turn of the last century—are still there, though most are not in use. How interesting to see a place important to our family over 100 years ago. When we leave Venango, we will continue our research in Kearny County in west

Independence and Kansas City

Today we did our three-mile run on the streets where President Harry S. Truman used to walk in Independence, Missouri. This is a delightful small town, clean, easy to walk and run in. After our run, we toured the Truman home, operated by the National Park Service. Then we visited the Truman Library and Museum.

The home is much as it was when President Truman died in 1972. His wife, Bess, lived there 10 more years, but she made very few changes. She willed the house and its contents to the people of the United States. The President’s hat and coat still hang by the door where he always kept them. The home shows the humble dwelling where our 33rd President regarded as home during his 18 years in the US Senate and as vice president and then president. It really looks like the 1950s, which is when they returned to Independence for good.

The Library is outstanding. The introductory film gave some background on Truman up to the day he was sworn in as president after FDR’s death. The exhibits highlight the many major issues President Truman had to deal with within the first year in office, as well as the massive changes that occurred over his eight years in office. It wasn’t a peaceful time and not easy for our citizens of our president—from the end of World War II to the Berlin Crisis to the Cold War and the Korean War, just to name a few.

Yesterday we went into downtown Kansas City, where we ate some barbeque and toured the World War I Monument and Museum. The monument is truly impressive and the museum gives good insights into why the war came about and the life of the soldiers who fought it, as well as the effects on civilians at home, both in Europe and the U.S.

Kansas City is called the city of fountains, and we saw several near the World War I memorial. One was delighting the children on a hot and sunny day. The other stands between the Memorial and Union Station.

It has been very hot here. We are so glad we were able to repair our air conditioner. When we were at Branson, we found it main air conditioner wasn’t working right. Set at 80, it would keep working until it froze up, even as the interior temperature got down to the low 70s. We realized that earlier in the season, the furnace had continued running till the temp was over 80. That probably meant it was the thermostat that was bad. We found an RV parts store and bought a new thermostat. Neither of us knows much about those things, but we installed it and it is working fine. That is very important when we want to leave for the day with our two cats in the RV.

We move north in Missouri

Stockton Lake State Park in Missouri was a wonderful two-day stay. It is about midway between Branson and Kansas City. There are so many birds, it sounded like we were in an aviary. Summer Tanagers and Northern Orioles were the new birds for this year’s travels. When we arrived on Wednesday, the park was largely empty. The loop with 50-amp electric (where we had reserved a site, not knowing that more than half of the 50-amp sites would be empty) had only six other rigs. We enjoyed the large sites, the privacy and quiet. I put out two hummingbird feeders and we were able to watch several birds feeding. They were sure disappointed when we removed them and drove out of the park. When we started to set up our trailer, we saw lots of bugs. They next thing we noticed was that all the other campers were wearing long pants—despite the 85 degree heat. That was probably partly due to the fact most of them are Missouri farmers. But we decided they had a good idea and we wore jeans, as well. We still ended up with bites and one tick. We were able to ride bikes at Stockton Lake, as we did at both Indian Point and Horseshoe Bend.

We had nothing but sunshine at Stockton Lake, which was a real treat after two days of rain at Indian Point. One of the things we most enjoy about RVing is being outdoors. That isn’t possible in a driving rainstorm. I don’t know how much rain we received on Table Rock Lake. But Joplin was just a little north and west and they received 13+ inches in two days.

We attended a second show in Branson, Spirit of the Dance. It was a great troop of about 18-20 dancers who do marvelous numbers in a semi-Celtic dance style. They are amazing athletes. As time for the intermission approached, I found myself wishing it would hurry so they would have a little time to rest and catch their breath. They were really working hard.

Everywhere we went in Branson, we saw discount ticket outlets. We finally asked why there were so many. The area is rapidly growing, with new resorts and condominiums being built everywhere. Each resort and condo complex has a discount ticket outlet, where you get cheaper admission in return for a 1-3 hour sales presentation. We decided to pass on the sales pitch and pay full price.

I had forgotten about the joy of seeing lightning bugs around dusk in the humid mid-west. What a treat! I’d love to chase them with my grandchildren and see if we could catch any.

Branson Adventures

This is our fourth night at Indian Point Corps Park near Branson, Missouri. Two crows are talking to each other down the hill. As the sun sets, I can see it through the trees reflecting off Table Rock Lake. We love this park. We have extended our stay for three days, though we have to move to another site tomorrow to do that.

Today we attended the afternoon performance of the RFDTV—the Theater Revue with the Sons of Tennessee and Penny Gilley. A new venture of the 6-year-old cable channel, the audience at 3 pm was small. But the price was right. As subscribers to RFDTV Magazine, it was buy one – get one free. So we got two tickets for $25—a real bargain in Branson.

The two-year-old son of one of the Sons of Tennessee joined his dad and grandpa on stage. He was so focused and so cute. Penny is a very talented singer. The performance was very patriotic and brought tears to our eyes as the focused on our soldiers in war—especially since our son Doug will go to Iraq in September.

Earlier in the day we found this Walking Stick (that really is its name, according to our biology teacher son Eric) on our door frame. It is five inches long and we don’t know if it crawled or flew there. How interesting.

Yesterday was a lost day because we got so little sleep the night before. Thursday the weather news was filled with talk of the severe thunderstorms and tornado threat heading for the mid-west, from Michigan to Texas. That storm line went right through Kansas City and Branson. We went to sleep with the NOAA Weather Radio on and were awakened four times by alert signals regarding watches and warnings. At 4:30 am the most dramatic electric storm I’ve ever seen took place all around our trailer. Two lightning bolts were white explosions of light and sound right outside our windows. I’ve always enjoyed watching thunderstorms, but this was a little too close for comfort. Earlier in the day we had watched the noon fountain show at Branson Landing, where the waters played to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner, accompanied by cannon-like tubes belching noise and fire. “Bombs bursting in air” was the effect there and again the next morning in the space around our RV. No pictures of the fountain show or the thunderstorm, I’m sorry to say.

A great anniversary

Today is our 42nd anniversary. Who could ask for a better day? We were able to run 3 miles at Horseshoe Bend Corps Park, where we spent the past 5 nights. While we were running, we saw 11 deer, including two does with fawns still covered with spots. Our cat Partner spent several minutes staring down a gray squirrel on our picnic table.

After a slow, twisting drive through the Mark Twain Forest to Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO, we discovered we have reserved a site in the best loop of the park. It is paved, level, private and beautiful. It also has both water and 50-amp electric. What more could you want at $8.50 a night? We will really enjoy our visit to Branson from this spot. We have seen white-tailed deer here, also. And we have a three-toed box turtle right below our trailer pad. That sure got Partner’s attention. (Our other cat, PC, was car sick on the way here, so he isn’t enjoying anything. He wanted to eat, then sleep.)

It is really special to spend our anniversary doing what we most enjoy—traveling. And, at age 64, being able to run 3 miles is also special. Our National Parks Senior Pass, which gives us free entry to parks and half-price camping on all federal lands, is such a bonus. It makes the cost of our travels much more reasonable.

While staying at Horseshoe Bend, we spent a pleasant day at Eureka Springs, AR, and visited Pea Ridge National Military Park, where John’s great-great-grandfather fought in the battle at Elkhorn Tavern and was injured. We were able to learn a lot about what he experienced there.

Exploring Central Arkansas

During our two months at Hot Springs National Park, we have hiked most of the trails in the park. They are excellent trails and a good way to get away from the busyness of Central Avenue and Bath House Row.

We toured Garvan Woodland Gardens, spectacular botanic gardens near Hot Springs. The Japanese Gardens were really special, as was the waterfall. They also have built the Anthony Chapel on the grounds, a beautiful space that makes you feel you are surrounded by the forest and God’s creation.

We have gone geocaching several times. This is a sport where we use our GPS to locate treasurers that have been hidden by other geocachers and listed on the Geocaching.com web site. This activity helps us discover some of the hidden nooks and crannies of the community where we are staying. One geocache was located in Entergy Park, a newly developed area along Lake Hamilton. It gave us a glimpse of the lake and showed us some bike trails. We returned a couple of weeks later to test our new bike rack and ride our bikes.

Two trips to Little Rock have allowed us to visit the President Clinton Library—really interesting and an impressive building and the Little Rock Central High School Historical Park where we relived the integration of the school 50 years ago. The exhibits in the visitor center are very well done and really brought that period back to life for us. It was very moving. We could see, read and hear what people experienced and felt during those difficult times. It is sad to see how cruel people can be to one another and how they are afraid of the unknown. One comment was especially poignant, “That was the first time I’d ever gone to school with a Negro, and it didn’t hurt a bit.”