Arizona

I took these pics as we were driving on Monday to Yuma, across I-8.



I love the starkness of the landscape.

Hobbes enjoying the sun in Yuma, but not the wind, it bothers his ears. This is our spot for the winter, we have a brick fence around the back and on the one side.

There is a wash behind us, I have been told there are snakes there, I'm sure there are. The foothills are just to the east of us. Pic above right is what I see from the computer desk window. H just took the bikes down from the back. Pic below right is the lot where the owners of these several lots stays for the winter.

Arrived in Yuma

We arrived in Yuma, AZ yesterday at about 2PM Arizona time. They are not on DST, so we are 3 hours earlier than Ohio. Sunday we will be back to just 2 hours earlier. Yesterday was 95 degrees here, we set up then H and our neighbor Ray set up the Direct TV dish, took longer than we thought it would. We were all red and dripping.
After the dish was up and and TV on, we found out we can not get local stations on it, because we have local stations at home, to get something here might take up to 3 months. So we are going to put 1 Direct TV box on vacation, we bought a small digital TV and hooked it up to our antennae. We had to take out our old small TV in the bedroom, which required moving the TV back onto a shelf as we pulled the door open that it was fastened to, the unscrewing multiple screws to get another shelf out then lowering the TV down behind the door. Much harder than it sounds. But of course, nothing is easy, after moving the antennae every which way, we could get NBC, ABC, Fox, and a bunch of Hispanic stations, but not CBS. CBS is the most important because it is the station with "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race". Finally we found it, just took a slight crank on the antennae knob and we were there.
Today when we got up the sun was out and the temp climbed to 90, but has since dropped with the front that is coming thru with strong winds whipping up the sand. We are staying in the foothills and right now can barely see the outline of them due to the blowing sand. Not good to be breathing that.
I also did some cleaning today, but with all this sand blowing it will probably be dusty by AM.
H is outside right now putting some weights on the dish tripod so hopefully the wind won't blow it over.

Petroglyphs

While in Albuquerque, we also visited the Petroglyph National Monument. These pics are of some of the stones there.

The native Americans often scratched pictures onto rocks with tools to either show their culture, directions, weather, or for some unknown reason. There are many areas in the Southwest where these can be found.

We left Albuquerque early Sunday AM and drove to Willcox, AZ. The weather was warm and got breezy in afternoon. Tomorrow we will arrive in Yuma. The cat will be so happy. This morning Hobbes hid, I had to hunt for him, he was under a chair, he did not want to get back in the truck for another day of driving. He watches what we are doing, when he sees certain items being moved he knows we are leaving again. I kind of feel the same way, there is no place I can hide in the 5th wheel.

Sightseeing

Today we went sightseeing to Old Town Albuquerque, above is picture of an I-40 interchange, the colors are bright and represent the southwest. Below H has a really stoic companion.
Below H and I had lunch in La Pacinta Dining Rooms, this area has a tree thru it. Below right is the church on the plaza.

Albuquerque

Yesterday we drove from Amarillo,TX to Albuquerque,NM, it was supposed to be a quick easy drive. As you can see from pics, the country is vast with rolling hills.

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These men are working on the railroad, miles and miles of tracks were being worked on.

A little snow on the mountains.

Then came the big parking lot. We sat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, only moving a few feet at a time, not knowing what was going on, thinking if this were construction, they did a really poor job of getting vehicles around it. Another 1/2 mile and we found the reason. A semi-truck and trailer had jack-knifed, the truck hit the rocks on the mountain and burst into flames. It is really sad to see what can happen in an instant, something that changes your life forever or ends it.

Wiiindy!!!!

No pictures today, too cold and windy to get out to take any. We are spending the night in Amarillo, TX, temp was 48 degrees when we arrived at 3PM. But the wind makes it even colder. Tomorrow is supposed to be less windy and warmer. I know H is tired of trying to hold the rig on the road. I am hoping we won't regret having taken this route which is much further north of our usual route. We will go on to Albuquerque,NM tomorrow to visit the old section of town. We love looking at the art work there.
As for tonight, we are all settled in to watch " Survivor" on TV, can't miss that.

Best Steakhouse

Our brother-in-law called yesterday to tell us about a restaurant he had seen on TV, supposed to be the best steakhouse. It is in Stockyards City, along with the worlds largest stock exchange. It is very casual, and very busy. The food comes out fast, so the turnover is fast.

H had a rib-eye steak and I had roasted chicken, I did taste the steak, really, really good, but so was the chicken.

Oklahoma City National Memorial

The reason we stopped here was to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial to remember all the people who were lost in that bombing on April 19, 1995 of the Murrah Building. The chairs are to represent each life lost, the smaller chairs are for the 19 children who died that day.


This wall represents the time after the bombing when nothing would be the same.

The above wall was part of the building.
H showing how windy it is here.
Some ducks enjoying the Bricktown Canal, in downtown Oklahoma City. We walked around in Bricktown, ate at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill.

High Winds

Today we traveled from Carthage, MO to Oklahoma City, OK, the winds in Oklahoma were so bad and coming from the southwest, that H had to grip the wheel to keep it on the road and our fuel mileage is in the toilet. We arrived at our campsite at 3PM and the winds have never stopped.
Tomorrow we will visit the Memorial in the downtown area and of course whatever other sites we think might interest us. H is looking thru all the literature now.
For Nikki's benefit, H and I took a walk around the park to get some exercise, after being cooped up for 2 days this will be a nice break. 2 days in 1 place.

Beautiful Day to Travel

St. Louis Gateway Arch, taken out the truck window as we traveled, this area is not the greatest to try to get off the freeway with a 5th wheel. We have been in it before when our children were young. Hopefully they still remember it.

This was just a pretty little lake along the way. We traveled from Terre Haute, IND, across Illinois and almost all the way across Missouri. We stopped near Carthage, MO, just outside Joplin. It was later than we wanted, but tomorrow we will have a short drive to Oklahoma City. We want to spend a few days there to sight see.
Today started out very cool, about 34 degrees, but really warmed up, we had the air on in the truck this afternoon. It is now 7:30 PM and it is 57degrees. Heat wave!!!

We Are On Our Way!

We left home this AM at 0930, traveled thru Indiana and stopped for the night outside Terre Haute, IND at a KOA. The weather turned out to be really nice after all the rain and snow threats we had this week. It only sprinkled on us just before we stopped tonight, and that only lasted a few minutes.
This KOA serves a free supper on Saturday nights, Bean soup cooked outside in a big pot. Really good, and nice not to have to cook after a long day on the road.
Hobbes has settled in a traveling mode, just as if we never stopped. I can't believe how easy he was today. He still doesn't know he can potty outside, thinks he can only use a litter box. So after walking him I have to take him inside the 5th wheel so he can use the box. I guess some things he can't reprogram.
H is watching a magic show in the pavilion while I decided to work on the computer. I'm sure he will try some magic tricks out on me when he gets back.

Getting Ready to Leave

We are currently getting ready to leave for the winter. It got really cold last night, 30 degrees F., even before that with the rain we have been having, H said he was ready for some warm weather. A few winters away and I don't think we could stand the cold for a whole season.
Then, of course, nothing ever goes smoothly. We attempted to start the furnace in the RV yesterday, it kept clicking but would not come on. We tried for a half an hour, doing everything we could think of and that the book said, then called the repairman, as I was on the line with him, H wiggled a wire and the blower then the pilot light came on. We were not looking forward to another big repair bill, we had to replace the cooling unit on the frig in early summer.
We just have to pack a few more things in, then we are off in mid October.
My brother takes care of things while we are gone, good to have someone who can do that for us.